Hey there! I bet you are wondering if what you are about to read is true or not, but if you are reading this, then you already know that answer. If you don't, then what you are about to read might seem a little... odd. But I assure you, Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, that everything you are about to read is the uncensored truth, not that watered down crap ol' Sunbutt is feeding everyone.
On another note.... The truth might just set you free...
What is the Void? Many scholars and scientists agree that it if nothingness. An area of vast space where nothing can exist. But is this truly the case? What if it is actually a wall? A wall between worlds, galaxies, and universes? A wall between realities? Would it be possible to cross the wall, and if so....
What is the toll?
A Series of Chaotic Events
Once Upon a Time...
Have you ever had that feeling? You know, that little tug at the back of your head that tells you that something big or bad was going to happen only to survive the entire day with no trouble and open your front door to find that your cat has destroyed your grandmother's fine china? Yeah, that one. I was feeling that one all week and it was beginning to show. I had dark bags underneath my green eyes. They are kinda my favorite part about my body. My eyes that is. They are green with little flecks of red in them. I'm told that they are either pretty, or pretty creepy. Right now though? They looked tired. All week I've had this feeling that something was going to happen, only to have nothing happen. It was really affecting my sleep and my fans. That is right, I have fans.
I guess I should introduce myself before I get any further into all this. My name is Daniel. That is really all you need to know really, my last name really doesn't matter much in terms of this tale. I am a 22 year old art major going to school for an animation degree. I draw this neat little web comic, that started out as a school project, about a girl and her friends. Sounds boring you say? What if I told you that they fought evil on an almost daily basis? Intrigued? No? Well, I understand, it isn't for everyone. It has a small cult following though. My fans are very dedicated though, and I love each and every one of them. Even that one crazy freak that only goes by CP on the forums. Creepy bugger that one. I don't have very many friends, mostly because I have a hard time trusting people, but the ones I do trust would probably die for me. I would do the same for them too. I'd rather not, but I would anyways. Death is not a fun experience. It feels like being trapped in a cold prison, unable to move at all...
I'm getting off track! Where was I.... Oh right!
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"Uuuugh...." I groaned, my face seemingly plastered to the small art desk in my dorm room. The light attatched to the desk was still glaringly bright, peeking between my screwed shut eyelids. I moaned again and pushed myself up, the paper I was working on was stuck to my face. I pulled it off and saw the smeared pencil lines. Useless now.
Great... There goes that page..." I said to no one in particular. Truth was, I drew and wrote a webcomic that had a small cult following. It was about a girl and her friends. They went to school and fought evil in their off time. A sort of mix between a superhero and magical girl type thing. It started out as a sequential art project for school, but it blew up so much that I had to continue lest I incur the wrath of the internet.
I ran a hand through my shaggy, brown mess of hair. Yech, I needed a shower badly. Sometimes I would get so caught up in some other fantastical world that I would forget to take care of my body. It was something of a curse and a blessing I suppose, to be able to see someone else's world so clearly, yet hardly be able to see what went around me. Does that say something about me? Probably, but we all have our upsides and downsides. Some even have loop-di-loop sides.
After my short shower (I was about to run late for class), I got dressed and grabbed my bag. My campus was pretty big, my class just so happened to be on the other side of the school. Not that I minded, the scenery was great and it always provided inspiration with it's old timey beauty. The streets were made of cobblestone, the buildings made of old brick. Even the "Park" was full of greenery. There were only a few trees, but the ancient oaks had limbs that stretched wide over most of the park. I could spend hours under on of the old oaks, the golden sunlight filtering through the leaves and warming spots of my face as I adventured through space or rode into battle on a mighty pegasus.
"Hey! Nerd!" A familiar, female voice called out from behind me. The bearer of the voice slapped my back so hard, I thought I was going to bruise! I turned to her and the first thing I always noticed was her blazing red hair. She had added some yellow streaks when I suggested it. She had something of a punk look going on with her hair and her leather jacket. I had bought the old, ratty jacket from a yard sale years ago and never wore it. When she had found it in my closet, she instantly fell in love with it and I gave it to her. We have been best friends ever since according to her. Personally, she was annoying at times.
"Great.... What do you want Susan..." I droned. I already knew what she wanted but I still asked.
"Well... You wouldn't happen to have finished that homework for Mr. Smith, would you?" Mr. Smith. A truly strange teacher. He taught history and said the strangest things sometimes. I sighed.
"Yeah, I got it. Why do you want to know?" Here it comes...
"Can I borrow it for a bit? I didn't get a chance to finish mine..." She asked, giving me a pleading look. I felt a little anger well up inside me.
"Why should I?" I growled. "If you really cared about your education, you would get it done instead of partying all the time. I'm always the one who has to bail you out on your schoolwork!" I turned and pointed my finger in her face. "In fact, almost 40% of your grades are because of me! So no, you can't copy my homework! Just do it yourself, who knows, you might learn something!"
I stormed off and left her with her mouth wide open. I was not one to blow up like that and she wasn't used to my angry side. I'd never admit this, but one of the villains of my comic is based off of her. Her super villain name was "Sunset Shimmer". Pretty stupid, huh. After turning the corner and entering the art building, I suddenly felt really bad. I really over reacted. She was the closest thing I could call a friend and I just blew up at her for something inconsequential...
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The rest of the day dragged on so slow, I could swear that Father Time must have had a molasses bath or something. I barely payed attention to the lectures, barely ate my lunch, and drug my feet home. The sky was starting to mirror my mood, dark heavy rainclouds were hanging low in the sky. I only sighed as the rain started with the low rumble of thunder. To say I wasn't paying attention at all when it happened was an understatement. I never heard the Semi as it ran a red light and barreled straight for me. I only got a glimpse of it's blinding headlights before I blacked out.
When I awoke, I was suspended in complete blackness. I could strangely still see myself even though it was still dark. Was I dead? I had to be. Last thing I remembered was the Semi, but no pain. At least I died painlessly. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt as I remembered my fight with Susan. I never got to apologize and now my last words to her were said out of anger. I wonder how she was taking this? Did she even know? I wished with all my soul to be able to go back and let her borrow my homework. But it was all for naught. The dead are dead.
I quickly became bored with all this floating and experimentally tried to swim forward to no avail. I had no way to tell up from down. Who knows, for all I knew, I was upside down. After a few minutes of sitting there trying to orient myself, I felt something tug at my chest, pulling me forwards. I was slowly pulled, getting faster and faster as my limbs were held behind me from the g-force. It was only when I hit terminal velocity that I slammed smack into a gel like, invisible wall. It was enough to knock the air out of my lungs and left me gasping for air that wasn't there.
After regaining my senses, I tried to pick myself up, but I could still feel something pressing me into the wall, leaving me immobile in my struggles. I felt a slight burning sensation, a little like hot pins and needles, in the parts that were pressed to the wall. My eyes were either still a bit wonky, or my hand was shifting a bit. To my utter horror, I could see the skin on my hand disintegrating, revealing the red flesh underneath. I heard a shrill screech as I inspected my hand and arm. It was obviously the source of the feeling. Damn, that screeching was really annoying. It didn't take me long to realize that I was the one screaming. As well as I should. My body was being pulled apart at the atomical level. I watched with my eyes wide as cell by cell, my body was pulled apart and disappeared into the shadowy wall. Half of my vision blacked out as I realized my right eye just got disintegrated. I would have struggled, but with the force and having my muscles gone, I couldn't even scream anymore. This was it... I was dead dead.... Can that happen? Could you die twice? I figured out the answer much, much later, but the answer is yes....
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Princess Celestia was sitting on her gilded throne inside the marble castle of Canterlot. She inwardly sighed as she listened to the 20th noble who felt they deserved more bits for sitting on their flanks and drinking scotch. Oh how she could go for a glass or two of scotch. She loved her ponies, but sometimes they got a little out of hoof. Currently, it was her nephew, Blueblood, that stood before her, explaining why she should increase the taxes and give the extra to the nobles. He didn't word it like that, but she had more than 1000 years of practice to read between the lines.
"And that is why the taxes on the peasantry needs to be increased by 15%." He said smugly. Celestia only gave him a warm smile and replied in a simple tone.
"I'm sorry Blueblood, but I cannot allow that. Doing so woul-" She cut herself off as the air in the room became thick with magic. She would have thought it was Blueblood, but he was pretty much magically inept, not to mention the power felt far too familiar. She could feel the fur along her spine stand on end and the wind whipping through the closed chambers, circling around in the air. Blueblood had scurried off when the red bolts of lightning started while the guards pulled out their blades, ready for anything. Although they were not ready for this.
Near the center of the room, suspended in the air, was the center of the maelstrom. The crimson bolts arced from this area, striking the room randomly and splashing against the magical shields Celestia brought up to protect her citizens and guards. Something was happening in the gale, she squinted and saw something white begin to take form. She was unsure of what it was until it had completely formed. It was a skeleton, bipedal with a curved spine meant for standing upright. I'ts jaw was wide open and seemed to twitch a bit as if it was trying to close. After a few moments of nothing, organs and muscle began to form on the bones. The muscle twitched and spasmed as if it was in pain. This was proven correct once it's lungs had formed and a shrill scream pierced the silence.
Celestia winced as it continued to scream, she and all present were frozen. They could only watch as the creature was tortuously brought into existence. She watched as it's pinkish skin was wrapped taught onto the red muscle and it's eyes, wide and full of frightened pain, were materialized, darting around the room and coming to rest on Celestia. She couldn't bear to look into it's eyes and looked away. It's voice became hoarse as it's hair started to grow on it's head and around it's groin. It was also obviously male.
The whole ordeal only took 5 minutes, but it was the longest 5 minutes she had ever experienced. She could only wonder how long it felt for the creature. It had stopped it's screaming as it's eyes rolled into the back of it's head and fell to the floor with a crack. The guards slowly approached it with spears pointed forwards until Celestia said softly.
"Stop..." The guards all looked to her in confusion. "Please, take it to the infirmary..." The guards only looked to the creature with pity, some still believed it to be dangerous. Especially if it could generate that amount of raw power. But despite their personal feelings, they obeyed her orders and picked the creature up in their collective magic, making sure not to aggravate the bone sticking out of it's leg.
Celestia looked around the room to see frightened nobles, many had fainted while others made a mess of themselves. Even some of the newer guards had left a puddle of bile at their hooves and were still recovering from the display. Celestia had no idea what to tell her ponies, she didn't even know what had just happened, but she had a hunch. She had to go and check on a certain statue in her gardens....
