Ch I - An Extra-Dimensional Dilemma
Hey there, the name’s Stardust. Kind of a strange name for a thestral I know, but that’s not important right now. Let’s just say that I’m not exactly from around here. If it helps, you can simply call me Cortex… Fearsome captain of the Kraken, I’m sure you’ve heard of me… if you haven’t then I’m sure you've at least heard the ghost stories of a bloodthirsty monster roaming the ocean, mere tall tales but with not without a dash of reality, for you see, I’m the harbinger of that very monster, but its not really the monster the world makes it out to be, the true monster lies somewhere out there, in some parallel reality, a long sealed world, a cosmic prison... a labyrinth of nightmares… and whether the world realizes it or not I’m saving them from it all.
Now this is a story about the past… not just my past mind you, no, its about this universe… its past, the long lost Thestral King, the countless lives he ruined, and the role he played in completely derailing my life. This is the tale of my trek through an alien world, facing threats and danger that I never could have even imagined existing back home, an Odyssey that might even change the course of history, a clash between a mad king bent on revenge and the many pawns he’s thrown onto the table.
I’m not a bloodthirsty pirate per se, but when it comes to stopping some insurmountable threat one must sometimes go to extreme lengths to see an end to them. The world sees me as a pirate so what’s the harm in conforming to such a role? They see a bloodthirsty pirate? Well I’m more than happy to play the part if it means that they all get to live another day, even if they’re unaware of the true forces that gave them that blessing. So how did this all begin? Well its a long story but an important one all the same.
I’ll never forget that night, the night everything changed. I was sitting alone in my house, when the world grew rather dark and gloomy. Now this wasn’t normally an unusual sight in Moondust’s Hollow, but this kind of gloomy weather wasn’t scheduled for at least another week or two. Thinking back to it now, what should have thrown me off more than anything else were the weird shadows and lightning, but it only drew me in even more.
its hard to explain, but this strange phenomena drew my attention like a moth to a flame. In that moment my thoughts raced more than they ever had before, and I quickly made a dash for my notebook to jot some of the findings down, but of course that’s when… it… happened. The shadows seemed to warp into strange pony creatures, as the flashes only grew brighter. The wind seemed to form a strange murmur of unintelligible voices as if they were trying to warn me of something… something that I so dearly wish I could have listened to... but oh well.
I couldn’t help but gaze on at the shadows, unable to move from my place... it was as if something was keeping me there, forbidding me to leave... and then the brightest flash I’ve ever seen in my life lit up the world around me, sending my thoughts into the oblivion as the world suddenly grew dark.
When I woke a pain surged through my front right leg. I flashed in and out of consciousness, time was impossible to really gauge. I should have been dead, but I somehow survived. After what felt like an eternal epoch of time I finally snapped awake and was reacquainted with the sharp pain in running down my leg… or rather, what was left of my leg.
I tried to thrash but the pain only worsened, as my vision began to black out a voice called out to me.
A pegasus ran up to me, dropping their bag on the ground next to them. “Stop! You’re lucky to be alive, we need to get you out of there first though!”
Nothing could break through to me, my world was nothing but the searing pain in my leg… and then it suddenly stopped as I blacked out once more. It must have been hours later when I awoke, as the sun had already started to rise over the mountains. My strange savior simply sat there poking the fire, as if I didn’t even exist.
I began to sit up, groaning in pain. “Wh..who are you?”
“Aha, the little survivor awakens!” The figure sat up and turned towards me. “Sorry I had to zap you, you were only going to harm yourself more. Don’t mind the prosthetic, I had to make do with what I had, I’ll get you a better one as soon as we get to the Hollows.” As the figure neared closer I was able to make his features out. The dark blue pegasus shifted to help me up, supporting me until I could stand.
I eyed my false limb, testing my weight on it hesitantly. “Who are you?”
He inspected my false leg, concern flashing across his face. “Try not to go too fast, you need to get used to standing on it again. its going to sting for a while, but I can address that better once we get moving. The quicker we get there the faster it’ll take.”
“But who are you?!”
“My apologies, the name’s Onyx, Onyx Haze. I’m the local scavenger. I like to check this field for various pieces of scrap that wind up here.” he paused, turning back towards me. “So what’s your story? Where’re you from?”
“Huh? Oh… Well I’m Stardust, I live over in Moondust’s Hollow… but where are we?”
Onyx flashed me a confused look, setting his saddlebag down. “Stardust huh? That’s a strange name for a thestral… Where did you say you’re from again?”
I shuffled around, trying to get a feel for my new leg. “Moondust’s Hollow, a little village over in the forsaken forest, right at the base of the northern mountains...”
“Stardust… I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about… no one’s settled over there for years...”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I was just...” I glanced around at my surroundings, surveying the rubble all around. “Something’s wrong… my home, the Hollow, all of it was just here!”
Onyx looked on with concern. “Stardust, let’s head back over to town, I think you need to rest for a few. Clear your head…”
A bolt of panic flashed through me as I tried to pace around, falling flat on my face as I put too much weight on my wooden leg. Onyx ran forward as I tried to stand up, shaking his head. “Stardust, please come with me. You need to pace yourself and calm down. You can do it yourself or I can zap you again, your call, but you’re coming back to town with me either way.”
I surveyed my options, looking down to my false leg again, and at the vast sandy expanse around me. Seeing no better solution I opted to go with the strange pegasus. “Al..alright, I’ll go with you.”
Onyx smiled and reached down to help me up again. “A wise choice indeed. Here, use it more as a crutch for now, don’t put all your weight on it or you’re going to just fall down again. I gave you a powerful pain reliever but that’s only going to do so much to alleviate it. Xenith can help you once we get back to town.”
I tested my limits, awkwardly walking around like some lame dog. “Who’s Xenith?”
Onyx watched my progress intently, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. “Xenith is a thestral like you, he’s the town’s resident doctor. A good friend of mine and my mentor too, though to be completely honest I was never really interested in the medical field like he is. It does have its perks though I suppose.” he said as he gestured to my makeshift leg.
“Well I suppose I owe you one then--”
He suddenly interrupted me, catching me off guard. “--No no, its all fine. I owe it to help an injured pony, regardless of the situation.”
I stared back at him with a look of disbelief. “You saved my life though, Surely there’s something I can do to at least repay you for that.”
Onyx looked around the campsite, eyeing the various trinkets and scrap he had collected. “its not fair to ask you to help me drag this haul back to down, but how about this: once I get you back on your hooves you can assist me going forward. Is that fair enough for you?”
I looked at him and then back to the rubble that I had awoken in. “I.. Until I really know what happened I think that that’s a good idea. I… I don’t know what to call it. I remember everything, but this place is alien to me… a complete mystery. Until I have my bearings I think its really the best, if you don’t mind having me.”
Onyx smiled gleefully. “Well I would never turn down help, I’m sure Xenith’s going to be happy to have a patient who isn’t just some hypochondriac with a case of the flu. its been a while since he’s had the chance to actually use his talents.”
I squinted as I looked over to the sun as it slowly rose further above the horizon, I could stay awake during the day, I hadn’t in a long while but it certainly wasn’t impossible. Though with the state of my leg I figured the extra fatigue might not be very healthy. “Onyx, I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but many of the thestrals back where I come from are nocturnal--”
“--and you’re probably tired right now. I understand. Let’s get back to town, we can worry about introductions later--”
“--its fine Onyx, I can manage in the day, I just need a little time to adjust is all. Let’s start walking though.”
Onyx looked back at me, then to the sun, and finally to his day’s haul that was scattered around the makeshift campsite in various piles. “Okay, I hate just leaving my haul out in the open like this, but I’d say that you’re a little more important than some junk. Go ahead and hop in the cart over there, I’ll pull you back to town.” he said as he gestured past me to a nearby cart.
I shook my head, not needing his pity. “its fine Onyx, I can walk back.--”
“--Look, I said I’m not interested in the medical field but that doesn’t mean I’m not ignorant of the issue at hand. You’re down one leg and you have a rather shoddy replacement, now unless you want me to zap you, you’ll get in the cart.” He said sternly, cutting me off.
“But… Can’t I just fly?” I asked pleadingly, not wanting to have to burden someone.
Onyx shook his head, sternly replying to me. “No, not with your leg in the state its in. I don’t want you landing roughly and causing further damage.”
“I… Look…” I sighed, lowering my head. “Oh alright, fine.” I hobbled my way over to the cart while Onyx extinguished the fire, carefully climbing into the worn wooden cart as he ran over, no doubt making sure I wouldn’t harm myself while climbing in.
“Alright, now it won’t be long until we get to town, but here, take this.” he passed me a worn metal canteen. “its not much but you need to stay hydrated, you just encountered some serious trauma and I don’t need you to add dehydration into the mix too.”
His explanation only served to make me realize how dry my mouth really was, not seeing any reason to argue I merely shrugged and greedily gulped down the water as he dragged the cart down the road, presumably towards “The Hollows”. There admittedly wasn’t much to do to bide my time, so I did what any injured pony stuck in the back of a cart would do, I stared at the passing desert landscape until we finally pulled into a wooded clearing.
Onyx pulled further forward into the forest, as the desert slowly faded into the distance, the sand and rocks gradually being replaced with trees and vibrant plant life. It was a strange shift, but not as strange as my current predicament. As we continued on the world slowly got darker, easing my tired eyes.
Onyx called back to me, sliding his strange goggles down over his eyes and tapping the side with a hoof. “We’re almost there Stardust, this next part might get a little bumpy so make sure you hold on to your personal effects.”
I was about to give him some smart remark about not having anything to hold onto when all of a sudden I was violently jolted, throwing me from one side of the cart to the other, interrupting my little attempt at humor.
He chuckled at my predicament, no doubt formulating some smart remark. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
I rolled my eyes and held on for dear life as the cart continued to rock and sway.
“Alright, sorry about that Stardust, the road’s going to clear out up there, it shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“Yeah alright, just give me a holler when we’re there!” I shouted back, still holding on with all the strength I could muster.
I had to give him credit, as much as I still had no reason to trust him, he hadn’t outright lied to me yet. The road suddenly smoothed out, just as he had promised. I hesitantly raised my head over the side of the cart, looking at the dark village we were now closing in on.
I finally had a chance to really look over Onyx, the dark shade making it easier for me to really notice the strange apparel he was wearing. Ponies wearing clothes wasn’t an odd sight, but his certainly were. A strange hood sat at the base of his neck, and his saddlebags seemed incredibly patched together, almost as if he had meticulously repaired them over the years rather than just buying a new set. Looking up, I also noticed the scarf that was draped around his neck, and completing the odd assortment of accessories were his goggles, though given the dark nature of the village I could only assume that they aided his vision much the same way my own two eyes did with the darkness around me.
Onyx dragged the cart further forward and began to slow to a stop in front of a large imposing tree. “Alright Stardust, we’re here. Let me help you out of the back.”
I looked around at my surroundings, noticing several similar structures, with strange glowing mushrooms illuminating the surroundings in their cool blue glow. As he stepped forward I was able to see his goggles better, noting the unnatural red glow that emanated from them, no doubt proving my theory correct.
“Admiring my goggles? They’re an invention of my own design, they work similar to how your own biological eyes work. its rare that a non-thestral lives in this village and the ones that do needed better ways to see that didn’t require them to carry some clunky lantern around all the time.” He smiled proudly as he helped me out of the cart, brushing some dust off of my fur.
“I kind of guessed that. So what now?” I asked inquisitively.
“Let’s get you in to see Xenith so we can fix that leg of yours. Afterwards I can show you around town, my workshop… whatever really suits you best.”
Seeing no reason to object I nodded. “Lead the way.”
Onyx ushered me in, greeting a few groggy looking pegasi who flashed me a look of concern as we passed by. Onyx spoke up once more. “I apologize again for the crude nature of your prosthetic, we’ll get you all hooked up with a better one soon enough. The unicorns don’t like sharing their tech but we have ways of getting some of it out of their city.”
I raised my eyebrow in confusion once more as I questioned him. “What do you mean by that?”
Onyx stopped and turned back to me, evidently hesitating. “I.. I forgot about your predicament. The unicorns are a thriving technological tribe here, though much to the frustration of the others. its rare that they let an outsider into their city, let alone a thestral, but Xenith was able to pull a few strings. its even rarer that they let someone leave with some of their tech… but just don’t worry about that. its a long story that I’m sure Xen doesn’t want shared.”
I began to voice my concern when he suddenly cut me off. “--Ah! Here we are, Stardust, welcome to Xenith’s lab.” He pushed the large oak doors open, ushering me into the circular room. The first thing that stood out to me was the large assortment of artifacts and leather-bound tomes that lined the walls. Bookshelves towering as high as the ceiling surrounded the room. The ceiling itself was an ornately painted dome, various stars and constellations covered every inch of it. A grizzled voice called out to us, surprising me at first. “Welcome back Onyx, I take it you were successful this time around?” I gazed ahead at the strange black thestral with a striking white mane who currently sat in front of a large circular window at the far side of the room. As he turned, I caught sight of his own pair of goggles, similar to Onyx’s but with a green glow instead of the red.
Onyx pushed past me, walking up to greet the strange pony who I could only assume was Xenith. “Not quite Xen, as you can see we have a new guest. I found him out in the badlands, trapped under some rubble. As you can see he didn’t quite make it out all in one piece.”
Xenith raised an eyebrow to his goggles, tapping the side with a hoof as he scrutinized my makeshift leg. “Follow me, we need to address that as soon as possible.” He gestured to the adjacent table as he began to rummage around a large ornate trunk.
I walked forward cautiously, not quite sure what to make of the strange thestral. “I’m… Stardust, you must be Xenith.”
Without turning to greet me he simply replied, “That’s a really odd name you know? Are you one of those thestrals from the Crystal Caverns?”
“The what?.. No, sorry I’m--”
Onyx suddenly spoke up, interrupting me. “Xen, he claims he’s from the waste, where the ruins of his kingdom are.”
Xenith paused for a moment, walking over to face us. “No one’s lived there for centuries… Go lay on the table, I want to run a few tests, make sure your leg isn’t the only thing that’s injured.”
I hesitantly hopped up onto the table, laying back as he adjusted his goggles again. “Is.. is there something wrong?”
“The strange name… the odd origin point… the freak storm… I have a theory, something that Onyx and I have been formulating for years but could never truly verify.”
Another look of confusion spread across my face as I sat up. “What theory?”
He gestured to a large map on the nearby wall. “The badlands are a strange place, every new moon there’s a strange unexplainable storm that occurs over them. Anyone that enters the region during it is usually never seen again. You’re the first pony that’s ever been caught there post storm… This might sound crazy but what if you never entered there to begin with?”
I didn’t like where this was going at all. “What do you mean Xenith?”
He stepped closer to me. “What if you are some visitor from a place beyond this one?”
“Like an alien?”
He shook his head, pacing around. “No, like a… a.. Onyx, what’s the word you use?”
Onyx stepped forward. “A rift walker.”
I looked at the two with serious look. “A what?”
“A creature that was carried from one point in space and time, and deposited in an adjacent one. Like a unicorn’s teleportation, but instead of two places in one reality its two places in two realities. What I’m suggesting is that your point of origin does not correspond to one in our universe, but rather one in a parallel one.”
I could feel a headache coming on. I started to shift off of the table as Xenith suddenly jumped forward. “Stop! You need to sit down.”
“No, I’m sorry but this is all too crazy for me.”
“Fine, right as that may be you’re still injured, at the very least we need to fix your leg!”
I hopped off the table, immediately regretting my decision as I toppled over in pain. “No.. I..I’m fine!” I grunted out through clenched teeth.
“No you’re not. Get on the table and let me fix it before you cause more damage.”
I started to object again, but gave up, relenting as Onyx helped me back up. “Fine. But you owe me an explanation after this okay?”
Xenith adjusted his goggles again, carefully removing the prosthetic and inspecting the remnants of my amputated leg. “Sure. But I need you to understand that this may be something I can’t fully solve.” He turned towards Onyx. “You did a fine job with this one, it should pair fairly well.”
Ignoring the last part, I questioned him again. “My leg?”
He walked back over to the far side of the room, gathering some supplies as he went. “No. Your extradimensional origin.”
I calmed down and laid back as Xenith dug around the trunk again. “Alright, but I just need answers okay? its clear that something’s happened but I don’t know what.”
Xenith continued to rummage through the trunk for many more minutes until he finally walked back over. “I don’t think anyone knows what’s happened… at least not with any sense of finality.” A strange case was cradled in his arms. I craned my neck over to see it more clearly but was quickly subdued by Onyx. Caught off guard I quickly yelled out a response. “What… what are you doing?!”
He stepped back with an embarrassed look. “You’re gonna wanna sit back for this, its not going to be comfortable.”
“What do you mean?” I said with an air of confusion.
“Let him see Onyx.”
Onyx flashed him a worried look. “Are you sure Xen?”
“Yes. Absolutely, he has to know what’s coming otherwise he won’t be able to prepare himself for the pairing process.”
I craned my neck back over to get a better view of what Xenith was holding. “I’m not sure I like the sound of this…”
“You won’t like the feel of it either, at least not when its pairing.” He set the case down and flipped it open, revealing a strange prosthetic leg that seemed to be made of some unnatural metal. “This is one of the unicorns’ most advanced creations, a prosthetic that can pair with the user seamlessly utilizing existing nerves… its a bit of a prototype I’m afraid but its better than that glorified peg leg you were getting by with before.”
I looked on at it with concern and started to voice my objections. “I… How can I trust this?”
Xenith smiled. “Because the unicorns made it. They’re the premier authority on technology such as this. Consider this a great gift, you’ll likely be the only thestral in the entire world who has such a device, maybe even the only non-unicorn… a very rare breed indeed.”
I nervously nodded. “Is… is this going to hurt?”
Xenith turned away, adjusting his goggles once more. “Do you want me to be honest with you?”
I gulped and nodded. “Yes, I do…”
He turned back, this time his goggles gave off a strange blue glow. “its going to hurt. A lot. The pairing process will likely be the most excruciating pain you’ve ever experienced but it’ll only last but a few minutes. Once paired it’ll operate and feel just as natural as any other limb you were born with… but this one is so much more.” He said as he shined a section on the leg.
I raised my voice again, the tone betraying my own distrust of the strange pony. “If this is so rare then why are you giving it to me?”
Xenith met my gaze. “I was originally going to just substitute your simple replacement with one of the usual models, something that wouldn’t feel as natural… but you might be exactly the kind of pony that I’ve been looking for… durable and strong… plus if you’re who I think you are, then you might need something like this for your journey.”
I sat up again, frustration rising within. “What journey, who? Can you just give me a clear answer?!”
“After the pairing is complete.” He walked over to a cabinet, fishing a simple green vial out and tossing it towards me. “Here, take this. its a mild pain reliever, its not going to spare you the pain of the pairing but it’ll ensure that you live through it. This is a prototype after all.”
I turned towards Onyx, flashing him a concerned look. “Onyx, can I trust this?”
“You’re going to want to. He’s not kidding when he says its going to be excruciating. Unicorns can just suppress this for themselves but if you haven’t noticed… there’s no unicorns here.”
I gulped the strange potion down, feeling a calm chill run down my spine. “Why… Why is it going to hurt?”
Xenith answered me sternly. “We’re sticking a new limb on you, a limb with an advanced computer that needs to map your entire brain out in order to function. its going to feel like every single cell in your body is on fire and you’re going to wish you were dead, you’ll probably even feel like it too, but it’ll only last a few minutes at most.”
My hooves started to tremble at this. “That’s… not reassuring.”
Xenith spoke up. “Well you did ask for the truth after all.” He pushed my head back and lifted the prosthetic into place. “Do me a favor will ya?”
I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing, replying back with a simple “Huh?”
He rubbed a similar looking potion over the stump that comprised the remainder of my leg. “Try not to vomit everywhere ok? I’m not going to clean it up and I’m sure Onyx sure isn’t going to, so if you do its your problem to deal with.”
“Wait what?” Before I could verbalize anything further he pressed the prosthetic onto the stump and pressed a button. My entire body lit up in agony as all I could do was scream for what felt like an eternity. Fire shot up my spine and ran through my limbs and my head felt as if it was about to crack open entirely. My heart raced as I screamed myself hoarse, the world around me fading into a blur of color and light as I squeezed my eyes shut and thrashed about on the table. Nothing could alleviate this horrible pain but yet I was still alive.
Through the pain I heard the worried voice of Onyx. “Xen, his heart rate is spiking! You need to get him under control before his heart bursts!”
“No! It’ll stabilize momentarily! Give him a few more seconds and then hit him!”
“Are you sure?!”
“I mean... I think so?”
“You think so?! I thought you designed this!”
“Well… I modified the original… by all means it should still function properly…”
“Great, just what I needed to hear Xen, I knew we should have just gone with the standard models!”
“Wait! Onyx look!”
I continued to thrash about for another eternity as the pain in my head and limbs grew to an inferno… and then, the world went dark...
Ch I - An Extra-Dimensional Dilemma
Ch II - Odysseys and Oddities
He slowly stood up and groggily looked around, noticing that he was now in some strange cavern like room that was bathed in an unnatural blue glow. Four streams of water cascaded from the ceiling, meeting at the center of the room in a bubbling spring. Save for the sound of trickling water, the room was entirely silent. A large stone door covered in glowing runes was the only other discernible thing he could notice. Without any other option, he hesitantly stepped forward, cautiously moving towards it. The thestral reached for his aching head, rubbing his temples to ease his pain, suddenly realizing that he had been stripped of all of his belongings.
A flurry of thoughts raced through his head, distracting him for the moment. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he tried to think back to the events that had led up to this point. As hard as he tried though he was still running a blank. Much to his confusion, the thestral had no inkling of memory of anything, not even his own name, only the sudden pain and darkness that had enveloped him just before he had awoken here. Was he dead? Or was he merely in some limbo awaiting some final fate. He shook his head again, gazing around at his surroundings once more, noting that he was in a dead end, dashing his hopes of any kind of escape. Seeing no other path, he pressed forward into the strange room.
Darkness suddenly enveloped him, as a strange ethereal voice greeted him, startling the young thestral. Greetings traveler, face the Labyrinth’s trials and unlock your greatest desires, though be warned, he who loses his way is doomed to an eternity of torment, wandering the world in pursuit of a treasure that they may never find. Will you proceed?
This voice didn’t leave much choice, so he nodded. “I’ll proceed.”
Very well. May the fates find you in their favor.
The darkness faded around him, as he found himself back in his hometown, a sparkling city that sparked a latent memory in him, though it now lay in ruins. A bolt of panic spread through him as he feared the worst… in a panic he began to hastily fly above the city, hurriedly looking around, trying to find someone… anyone who might have survived. As he continued to wildly look throughout the ruins something caught his eye. There was simply nothing outside of the city’s borders except for a dark rolling fog. The thestral stopped for a moment, simply hovering in place as he tried to make sense of everything. The strange voice’s words echoed in his head “...face the Labyrinth’s trials…” Was this one of those trials?
He composed himself and pressed onward, wandering through the desolate town until he reached City Central, a towering spire that sat in the very center of the city. The place was a wreck, but he still took to the skies to survey it. He flew up into the sky, the familiarity sparking a sense of nostalgia in him, nostalgia for memories he was blind to. It was a strange feeling but one he could never hope to place.
Like some great bird of prey he sat perched on the tip of the spire, staring at the desolate landscape all around him. Despite his best efforts he couldn’t make out anything that might hint at there being life here. One thing did manage to stand out to him, the spaceport seemed to be relatively intact… for the most part. The actual site was largely damaged, but one launchpad did appear to be intact. With no other inclination, he dove off of the spire and glided down to the spaceport, surveying the massive damage along the way. Strangely enough this was seemingly the only intact thing in the entire city, he felt that it called out to him, drawing him ever closer. He flew up to the lone waiting rocket, stepping in through the open door. A million memories seemed to flood back to him, dazing him for a moment.
It was as if everything had suddenly shot back into him, the memories of what had occurred, the moment he had awakened in the wreck… all of it made so much more sense. Seeing as how this was the only intact structure in the entire city, this must surely be the solution to the Labyrinth… could it really be that simple? There was only one way to find out. He suited up and sat down at the controls, initiating the launch procedures.
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine it all, the launch, the views… the storm… the crash. It all came back to him in a flurry of emotion. His heart started beating rapidly as fear took hold. He wasn’t just stuck in this labyrinth for any old reason, dark forces were at work, and he needed to escape. The thestral looked around the decimated city one final time, strapping himself into the seat, closing his eyes and awaiting the final countdown. He recalled that fateful day, and the dark turn his destiny had taken.
The day he had waited his entire life for was here at long last, he gazed out at the desert vista below, taking in the sight one final time. Today was the big day, the moment he had worked towards for as long as he could remember… the day he would finally breach the atmosphere. The comm was alive with all sorts of chatter, everyone was working hard on the final preparations, it all only served to fuel his excitement further.
The final announcement came over the comm, startling the young thestral. “All personnel clear the launch platform and prepare for a full systems check.”
He gleefully reached over to the comm, shouting back a cheerful reply. “Orion to mission control, initiating full systems diagnostic.”
“We read you Orion, proceed as planned.”
He flipped a few switches, radioing back each status. The comms lit up with activity for a few more minutes, until the moment he had been waiting for was finally at hand.
“Mission control to Orion, you are clear for launch!” This was it, he secured his helmet and reached for the large button on the dashboard, hesitating for a moment as he gazed down at the world around him one final time. "Alright Apollo, here it is, the moment we've waited our whole lives for..."
Well, you've waited your whole life for this, I was built for it.
Orion smiled and shook his head, "Oh come on Apollo, you're still thinking like a computer. Remember what my dad told you?"
Sound less like a robot, I know. So, are you all set to go? I think its a little late to back out now and you know how he gets about this kind of stuff...
"Nervous and overprotective? Yeah I know." Orion smirked as he pressed the button and sat back, anticipating every moment of the launch, "Here we go little buddy, from the earth to the moon, just like we've always dreamed about."
A loud rumbling began as the engines fired, suddenly forcing the thestral down into his seat. The entire world around him started to grow smaller and smaller. Quickly fading away as the sky filled the entire span of the viewport, quickly shifting from a vibrant blue and into a dark black starry void. He waited a few minutes until he heard the all clear, and excitedly jumped up out of the seat, running over to the ship’s observation window.
The world sat below him, continuing its beautiful dance around the sun, a truly spectacular sight to him. Space was… is beautiful he thought. There was nothing that could truly describe it, the great vast unknown that was the universe that lay out in front of him. Orion gazed out of the porthole again, soaking in the pure beauty and allure of the unknown, feeling truly humbled by the sight. This was a sight that very few had ever seen, and Orion was thankful and humbled that he was now one of those rare ponies that could share in this experience.
He thought back to everyone down below, his friends and family. He of course owed everything to his parents, who had really been the true key to his success. They had always encouraged him to follow his dreams, even when it seemed that it would be impossible. Over the years he had worked tirelessly on this project and this was the end result, an experimental rocket being launched from some oasis in the desert. The Mesa Verde spaceport had practically been his home for most of his adult life, it was truly a place he had loved more than any other.
The sound of the comm stirred him from his trance, bringing him back to the task at hand. He would have stayed there for hours if he could… what rational pony wouldn’t?.. but he couldn’t. There were more important tasks ahead of him, Orion was on a mission after all. He was the sole crew member on The Horizon, well save for Apollo, but the AI hardly counted in the traditional sense. No, he had a special task ahead of him. Slingshot around the moon and return back to base, but not before taking a few up-close photos of the dark side of the moon. He would eventually land a ship on it, but they needed this data first. Baby steps were important after all. He had worked all his life to reach this moment, and he was about to finally achieve his lifelong dream. He couldn’t have been any more excited!
He closed his eyes and sat in relative peace for a few solitary moments, awaiting the new orders from mission control. Without much warning, sirens began to blare, startling him from his trance.
[WARNING! ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY IMMINENT! SECURE FOR LANDING!]
A loud computerized warning sounded out. Sensing that something was off, Orion jumped into his seat in a panic, this shouldn’t have been happening so soon. Something was wrong and he knew it. He gazed out of the porthole again, noticing strange dark clouds surrounding his ship. Lightning arced across the side of his ship, casting strange shadows through the windows. Orion could only hope that his ship would hold together long enough to reenter.
“Mission control do you copy? This is Orion, I seem to have entered the atmosphere far earlier than expected, there must have been an error with your calculations because something is definitely wrong!”
There was only silence and static on the comm.
"Apollo, you there buddy? I need a status update stat!"
Diagnostic systems offline, I don't know what's up Orion.
The thestral shook his head and cursed under his breath before returning to the comm, “Mission control?! Do you read me?! This is a Code Red event, I’m requesting immediate authorization to disengage the autopilot, I need to steer out of this!”
Warning! Systems failing!
"Damn it not you too Apollo! Hang with me buddy, we're gonna steer out of this!"
Orion, my systems are failing, home coordinates do not seem to align with our original trajectory— it's as if something's interfering with my data systems—
The AI suddenly sputtered out as the ship's power surged for a moment. The thestral let out another curse before trying the comm again, only to find more silence. As the lightning continued to flash faster, the shadows only seemed to grow into more complex shapes, almost appearing as wraith like phantoms out of the corners of his eyes. Orion shut his eyes tightly, no longer finding this experience to be as fascinating as it originally was. A flash brighter than anything he had ever seen before suddenly illuminated the entire ship… and then everything went silent.
“Uhh… hello? Is anyone else out there?” The Thestral called out, as he carefully climbed through the rubble that was formerly The Horizon. The first thing that caught his eye was the unnatural glow of the world around him… a sight that sent an uneasy chill down his spine. Was he… dead? Could this be the afterlife? Orion couldn’t be sure, but he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye, so he did what any sane astronaut would do when faced with an unknown threat lurking in the shadows. He started exploring.
He reached into his pack and grabbed his radio out once more, fearfully calling into it. “Orion to base, do you copy?”
There was only static.
“Uhh base?! Do you copy?! Anyone?!”
The phantom was back, looming in the corner of his eyes once more.
“Base do you copy?! Come on guys this isn’t funny! Please pick up!!”
The figure only grew closer. Orion ran. The wraith lunged at him, he dodged. The chase was on.
As Orion ran through the dark alien landscape he yelled into the comm one final time, desperation and panic in his voice.
“Orion to base, I don’t know where I am, but something’s wrong! I’m activating my distress beacon, if you hear this message stay far away from here!” He suddenly stopped, realizing that he was facing a sheer rock wall. There was nowhere left to run, he was left to face this… creature alone. The wraith flew forward, cornering him against the wall. Orion couldn’t bear to watch any further so he snapped his eyes shut, awaiting the end.
The figure came to a stop, slowly walking towards him, laughing in a low raspy voice. “What a shame Orion, I thought you might have had some potential, though it seems the fates have willed otherwise. Oh well, you can still serve my plans in other ways. its no consequence to me of course, the universe works in strange and fascinating ways after all. For you... well it seems like the labyrinth is where your destiny lies. There’s so many more potential prospects on my list and much like the ones before you, they'll all find their way here in due time. Farewell brave traveler, and good luck, fortune and glory shall find you if you should ever escape the labyrinth.” The wraith lunged one final time, and Orion’s world went dark.
Orion opened his eyes, looking back at the console. The bright red launch button was flashing, seemingly tempting him to press it. “it's not like there’s anything to go back to now…” he thought. He shrugged, pressed the button and sat back, as the day seemed to repeat itself. He closed his eyes once more, reflecting on everything that had occurred up to this point. The cabin shook as the thunderous rumble of the engines grew to a deafening roar.
And then it all faded away.
Orion hesitantly opened an eye, cautiously looking around. The sight before him caught him off guard, what was once the utilitarian cockpit of a starship was now some modern subway, a strange scene that genuinely confused him for a few solitary moments. Curiously, he noticed that he was still in possession of everything he had acquired in the city. Shaking his head, he hopped up off of the bench, hoping to catch sight of anything that might explain this unusual situation to him. The dim fluorescent lighting illuminated the station in a sickly yellow glow, something that unnerved him for some reason.
He called out, hoping to grab one of the passerby’s attention. “Hey, can anyone help me?”
They simply ignored him, walking along like some artificial construct… for all he knew they very well could have been. He began to walk away, frustration growing within. Something caught his eye however, as he walked along the platform a lone figure seemed to follow in his hoofsteps, pausing when he stopped, resuming when he continued. Orion was starting to become paranoid, surely he wasn’t being followed… but none of what had occurred today could be considered normal.
A plan started to hatch in his head, a trick to catch the watcher off guard. He walked up the stairs and quickly dashed around a corner, waiting to leap out and catch his pursuer by surprise. He ducked down next to a trash can and watched in anticipation as the figure rounded the corner, pausing ahead of him.
Out from the shadows he leapt, knocking the figure over. “Why are you following me!”
The figure threw up his hooves in surrender, shouting out a hectic response, though curiously not drawing any attention from the passersby. “Wait! I mean you no harm!”
Orion lunged forward, pushing him back down. “Who are you?!”
The figure’s voice wavered as fear took over. “Y..you’re a walker too aren’t you?”
“A what?!”
He flinched back. “A rift walker! A soul trapped in the Labyrinth… one of us!”
Orion started to raise his voice, growing frustrated with the strange thestral. “I need you to start speaking some sense or I’m going to do a lot more than just knock you over.”
“The light show, the shadows… the wraith! It happened to you too right?!”
He tensed up for a moment, his eyes growing wide. “How.. how do you know about all of that?”
“I.. I experienced it too!— We all did!”
“Who’s we?” he asked accusingly.
“The other walkers! The ones trapped here too! You can’t seriously think that you’re all alone in here right?!”
“I… I suppose not.” Orion backed off, helping the thestral up. “Sorry I knocked you down.. I just had to make sure I could trust you.”
He dusted himself off, straightening his glasses. “it's alright, the labyrinth is full of phantoms, unfortunate souls trapped here for all eternity that chase down any unfortunate souls that they see.” He stuck a hoof out in greeting. “I’m Crescent by the way, Crescent Eclipse!”
“I’m.. Orion…”
“Just Orion?”
He hesitated for a moment, finally speaking back up. “Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Don’t want to share your whole life story? That’s fair enough… I have to imagine that you don’t remember much… it's something all of us deal with too. Something about this place just saps away your memories… makes you more complacent with the idea of being trapped here I guess.”
Orion thought on this for a moment, realizing that Crescent was oddly correct. Despite being trapped in some strange world he felt oddly… at peace. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t bring himself to feel any kind of lingering fear… it was almost as if something was suppressing that entire part of his mind. “You mentioned others… are there more like us?”
Crescent nodded. “Aye, a whole little enclave of ‘em, holed up in the slums. Want to go see them?”
“I think.. That that would be a smart idea.”
“Come on, follow me.” Crescent led him up the stairs and out into the gloomy city. Orion scrunched up his muzzle in disgust as the smog and pollution overwhelmed his senses.
“You… you can actually stand this?”
Crescent shrugged. “After a while you can… when you’ve been here as long as we have you start to tune it out.”
“How… How long have you been here? All of you that is?”
“it's hard to really tell, there’s no real basis of time here, it's perpetually day…”
Orion raised an eyebrow. “So how long do you think you’ve been here then?” he said as he eyed the boarded-up businesses.
“At least 4 or 5 entanglement cycles… I kind of lost track. its been a long time though”
Orion paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, what cycles?”
“Entanglements… it's what we refer to those storms as…” he said, gesturing his hooves around.
“Why do you call them that?”
“its something one of the others came up with… he thinks that universal alignment is the key to bringing someone here. When you were grabbed from your own reality you were thrown into this one, it happened at a specific point in time and space, a point that was converging with this reality.”
“So I passed through some temporary rift…”
His face lit up. “Precisely!”
“What if we could harness that?”
Crescent cut him off, smiling as he continued to lead onward. “Let’s talk more about that when we get to the sanctuary, I think you’re going to really spark some minds there.”
The pair continued walking, hastily moving across the city until they reached a dark alley. “I… this doesn’t exactly scream “Sanctuary” for me…”
“it's not exactly the best location, but it's safe from the Phantoms.”
“Why haven’t we seen any out today?”
“it's a telltale sign that an entanglement cycle has occurred, the massive blast of thaumatic energy keeps them at bay, though only temporarily. That’s why we have to move fast.”
Crescent pushed a grate aside and crawled in, waving Orion in. He quickly crawled in, pulling the grate shut behind him. “Why do the Phantoms go after us?”
“No one really quite knows though… They used to be ponies, but the Labyrinth has corrupted them, I think it might be a mix of mania and vengeance. They’re creatures driven by emotion, and hatred is one of the strongest emotions there is.”
“How.. how do we stop them— ”
Crescent interrupted him. “We’ll get to that in due time, let’s go meet the others first.”
The two wandered further down the dark hallway, coming across a large concrete chamber with natural sunlight filtering in through the long-shattered windows. This is definitely more Sanctuary like.”
Crescent ignored his statement, instead leading Orion over to a hooded thestral. “Nebula, I have another one.”
The figure sat up “Another lost soul?”
“What else?”
He leaned forward. “Do you think he can help?”
Crescent shrugged, turning towards Orion. “I mean another mind is better than nothing.”
Orion shuffled awkwardly. “Excuse me, but help with what?”
The figure faced him. “With solving the labyrinth of course. The first task is always the easiest, but we’ve all been stuck here, trying to sort through it all. We have a few leads, a place known as the Sanctum, but we’ve never been able to breach the doors.”
“How many are you?”
“Well, there’s me and Crescent, and then there’s Zax, Flare, and Comet. That makes five, with you we have an even six.”
Orion raised an eyebrow. “Well if you’re stuck with this, can you at least show me the sanctum?”
Nebula looked around inquisitively. “Crescent do you know where the others are?”
“I think they’re there right now actually.”
“How much time do you guess we have until the energy dissipates?”
“Well I’d say at least a few burns.”
Orion interrupted the pair. “Excuse me? I’m sorry, what do you mean burns?”
Crescent gestured to a nearby flare, its red glow lighting up the room menacingly. “Burns. As in how long it takes for one of these to burn.”
“And how long is that?”
“it's… hard to explain.”
Orion rolled his eyes and fiddled with his suit, suddenly realizing something. “This suit!— it has a built in clock!”
“Huh?”
“A clock, a chronometer, you know?”
Nebula stood up and walked over. “Are you sure it's functional?”
Orion fiddled with the readout a few times, nodding his head to confirm it. “Yeah, seems to still work.”
“Well that’s very fortunate indeed… do me a favor, follow Crescent to the Sanctum and take a look around, see if you can understand it a bit better than we’ve been able to, when you get back we can better map out time references now that we have something far more accurate.”
Crescent smiled, dramatically turning to face Orion. “Will do, c’mon Orion, let’s go see the others!”
Author's Note
Surprise, another chapter release. I’ve got at least one more planned out this week. The third person perspective in this one is a deliberate stylistic choice, the majority of the chapters will remain in first person.
