An Epic Adventure

I awakened the following morning to an only slightly brighter light than yesterday shining in the room. I yawned and stretched, uttering a yelp as the muscles in my legs screamed in protest at my movements.

"Geez, that hurts!" I exclaimed aloud.

'Good morning.'

"Good to you, maybe. My legs are dying." I grimaced.

'Come now. You are just not used to walking such long distances. You'll get used to it. You have alot of walking ahead, though some places you can find carts or a train.'

"Right now, I only want to find breakfast." I retorted, easing my sore body out of bed."Ow. I just don't wanna walk."

'Just wait a second. You will have your breakfast without going anywhere.'

Before I could demand what that meant, there was a loud knock on the door. Wincing and grimacing, I walked painfully over and opened it, staggering back as Bluebell bounded inside carrying a tray.

"Good morning!" The energetic pony sang out as she put the tray on the nearby table."You looked super tired last night! I thought I would bring you your breakfast so you wouldn't have to drag yourself downstairs to eat! Hope you enjoy!"

And whoosh, out the door she went, closing it behind her. I blinked. Well, then. Whatever that pony used to be so energized in the mornings, I wanted it.

"Ow, ow, ow." I mumbled as I limped over to the table and collapsed in the chair.

'Really, Liz?' I could hear the amusement mixed with mild disapproval.'All that moaning over sore muscles?'

"Well, it hurts!" I protested.

'Mhm. And it will continue to hurt until your muscles strengthen enough to accommodate all the walking you are going to do. You should know that.'

I huffed. "Thanks for the brief lecture, Professor. Can I eat now?"

'By all means. And while you do, you may ask the questions you are wanting to ask me.'

I grabbed my fork and shoved a big bite of pancakes into my mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking.

"Tell me something about this Equestria. Why is it different from the original universe?"

'Good question. I will explain. Eat.'

I took another bite while listening for the answer to my question.

'This alternate version of Equestria is vastly different than the normal one, because it is divided.'

I frowned. "But I thought the entire land of Equestria was ruled by friendship, and protected by the Elements of Harmony."

'In the original universe and timeline, yes. It is. However, this alternate version is not. It is divided exactly in half, with half ruled by the Princesses, based on friendship, and protected by the Elements of Harmony; and the other half ruled by tyrants, based on evil, corruption, and hate, and protected by the Elements of Disharmony.'

I stopped eating and stared at the wall oppisite me. "Hold on. Elements of Disharmony??"

'Yes.'

"As in, the evil doubles of the Mane Six??"

'Yes.'

"Now hold on, I thought they were destroyed by Chrysalis, after they tried to revolt?"

'In the other Equestria. Yes. Here, no. They did not revolt, but stayed true to Chrysalis, who incidentally is one of the ruling tyrants.'

"So is that why I'm suspected of being an enemy? I'm guessing the evil side has tried to infiltrate the good side."

'Many times, yes. You are new, not to mention some creature they have ever seen here, therefore you arouse suspicion.'

I thought for a minute. "Ok, so, I know the Elements of Harmony are Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity and Magic. So their evil counterparts will be the exact oppisite."

'Yes. Open your guidebook. Page 100.'

I blinked as the book suddenly floated over and dropped in front of me, then I shook it off and opened it to the page. I frowned at the image.

"What am I looking at? They look similar to the Elements of Harmony worn by the Mane Six, but at the same time, not."

'Those are the Elements of Disharmony. Memorise them. Thier names and exactly how they look. It will be easy for you to piece together which evil Mane Six counterpart each belongs to.'

I studied the page, reading aloud. "Dishonesty. Rage. Madness. Horror. Sadness. Black Magic." I winced. "Ouch. Those sound terrifying."

'You may cross paths with one or more of these in your journey. It is vital you learn to identify the evil ones from the real ones.'

"Understood. But I'm not scared, you know."

'I did not say you were. Caution is not fear. Being wise is not being fearful. You must be alert.'

"Thought that's why you're close by. So you could have my back."

'It is. And I do indeed. But you must not rely solely on my protection. You must learn to pay attention yourself.'

"Alright, fair enough. But tell me. Why is it that Celestia and Luna and the others are nt trying to take the half of Equestria that is under evil rule?"

'The Princesses have been trying for a long time, but the evil side always manages to stay one hoofstep ahead of them. They and thier loyal followers always lose the fight. So for now, they are simply holding down and defending the side that is theirs.'

My mind was working fast. "Spies." I said."Either the dark side put one of thier own on the other side, or somepony on the good side turned rogue and is working with them from the inside."

'That is what the Princesses have come to think as well.'

"Hm. What if someone could make the bad guys think they were one of them?" I asked."Gain their trust, and start working for them by 'spying' on the good guys?"

'Liz. That is dangerous and ill-advised. Not to mention I strongly protest. These tyrants are not to be toyed with.'

"Well, neither am I." I announced.

'I know. But you would be better suited on the side of Friendship and Harmony.'

"Whatever you say, Chief." I said. "But next question: can the dark side be defeated? Or is it some kind of impossible task?"

'It is a difficult task, but not impossible. It will be harder the longer failure to overcome them continues.'

"Harder? Why?"

'With each failed attempt to defeat them, the dark side quickly regenerates whatever magic they lost in the attempt by drawing good magic from the other side and corrupting it, then absorbing it. The more good magic they draw out, the weaker the good side becomes.'

"Damn." I said slowly."But wait. If they are using good magic, how is it that it doesn't overcome the dark magic and turn it into good?"

'They never draw enough of it at one time to have that problem.'

"Oh. Well, yeah, that makes sense. They would have to draw enough of it to outmatch the power of their own magic, and they wouldn't do that." I rubbed my head. "But if the good side of Equestria is kept safe and well because of magic, then doesn't the magic the ponies lose replenish itself?"

'You are assuming that ponies automatically regain thier lost magical abilities. That the magic contained within the boundries of the light side of Equestria is enough to sustain, replenish, and repair all life there.'

"Well, yeah. Doesn't it?"

'In the other version of Equestria, yes. But here, no. The magic sustaining and protecting the good side is not only confined to the good side. It reached into the dark side as well, fighting to protect whatever vulnerable and uncorrupted life it finds there. The problem being, in doing so, it has, in a sense, divided up its power into seperate parts. Altogether, these parts can and will have enough to sustain the good side. However, remaining seperated, each part alone does not contain the strength to do so, and in fact any given part could become Equestria's downfall. Do you understand?'

"I think so. It's basically working like a double agent from a spy movie: working for both sides. Only it has no malicious intent whatsoever. Its acting as a catalyst, too...trying to bring uncorrupted life and magic back into the completely uncorrupted realm of light, in a way that could bring both sides together."

'Yes, in a manner of speaking.'

I frowned. "But at the same time, its efforts could be the downfall of the entire universe, if the corrupted magic should detect it. It could then overcome and corrupt each part, and channel its way through over into the good side, like crossing a bridge kinda, and cause massive destruction."

'Yes.

"Couldn't someone, somehow, pull all that magic back together to prevent that from happening?"

'They could, with enough effort. But the good magic will do what it will do, as it is meant to. And any interference from others would very likely only cause more harm than good.'

"Got it. So. What I am doing now?" I asked.

'What do you think?'

"I think its time I sign up to help the good guys! I'm not a great fighter, but I am not afraid to fight."

'Mhmmm.'

"Don't believe me?"

'I not only can read your thoughts, Liz, I can also know the feelings you experience. Fear. Excitement. Joy. Sorrow.'

"Uh. I'm not sure how to react to that." I said slowly."That's kind of, uh, creepy. Ish. Sort of."

A chuckle. 'You will get used to it.'

I shrugged. "So where am I going next then?"

'I suggest you eat your breakfast. Then take today to get acquainted with the history and traditions of this universe. But do not forget to have some fun as well. Bluebell will be able to help with that.'

I snickered. "I have no doubt of that."

I finished my breakfast rapidly, then took my tray and carried it downstairs. Bluebell accepted it, squealing in glee when she saw I had eaten everything.

"It was really delicious." I told her, smiling.

Bluebell beamed. "I'm really, really glad you liked it!" She said happily.

I hesitated, then grinned. "Bluebell. Would you maybe show me around your town? I'd like to see everything, and plus relax and have fun. Also, is there a library?"

"Yep and yep!" She replied cheerfully. "I'll show you around! Come on!"

I let out a startled yelp, then giggled as I was dragged out the door by the excited pony.

This would be fun.