Leap of Faith: Wolokai Vs. Life

The Arc of Mind

Darkness...and wind.

That is all Wolokai could see and feel at this present moment in time...darkness and wind. There was no pain to speak of, no discomfort, no aches. But neither was there comfort, ease, or relaxation. If anything, the only thing he could really think of what was happening...was that he was floating. Weightlessness seemed to press against the colt's belly and wings, carrying him across the black void of space like a feather caught on the wind. Wolokai had his eyes open, but he quickly realized that it didn't matter if they were open or closed anyway as the darkness covered and smothered him like a choking veil and a pressing weight. He knew he was in the air, as he could feel no solid ground underneath his hooves, but with his wings handing limp at his sides he certainly knew that he wasn't flying on his own accord. Was it magic? Was it some sort of strong updraft keeping him afloat?

These would have been normal questions to consider were the situation different...but right now the only question that seemed to be registering in his mind was "Where?" There were no landmarks, no trees, no lakes, rivers, or mountains. Nothing but the dark blackness...a blackness that seemed to grow thicker and heavier with each passing moment. It was crazy to believe at first...but Wolokai could have sworn that the darkness was...alive. It seemed to move and churn like a black, writhing mass of chaos, wrapping around him tightly like a thick blanket and holding him still as he floated along the void. As the darkness closed in on him...he had begun to notice just how...tired, he was becoming. The desire for sleep had begun to press at his mind, his body slowly numbing and his eyes drooping slowly. The darkness gently rolled him onto his back as his eyes closed, his body quieting down and growing still as sleep began to envelop his weary mind.

Within moments, he felt a soft, gentle weight press against his back, his movement finally coming to a halt. He had landed somewhere...but in his state, sleep for some odd reason seemed loads more important then figuring out where he was and what happened. What happened....what...happened? Wolokai whimpered as an image of a bolt of magic flying towards Ditzy Doo passed through his vision. He let out a cry of fright as it roared towards her, his own hooves kicking up at the air and mimicking his frantic gallop to get to her in time. A shove, a cry, and an explosion of pain happened all at once, driving the Pegasus pony's mind into a state of panic and shock. He remembered being thrown back and slamming into the hard dirt as the magic dissipated after frying his side, the screams of the Solar Flare and Ditzy Doo just before blackness shrouded in vision in nothingness.

"DITZY!" Wolokai shouted, sitting up quickly and panting, his eyes wide and his pupils shrunken in fear. He looked around quickly in a panic, the scene before him becoming hard to take in. He was no longer in the Town Square of Ponyville, that was for damn sure. Instead, the panicked Pegasus found himself sitting in a vast field of green, lush grass, with most of the field covered in beautiful, violet wild flowers. The terrain was very hilly, with what looked like a mountain range in the far off distance. In other words, according to him at least, he was in the middle of 'fuck-all' nowhere. Wolokai rubbed his head gently, a pounding headache wracking at his brain, and looked towards his side, expecting the worst after remembering that he had been struck down. His eyes widened however, as he beheld his side...uninjured. There was no gore, no burned flesh, no visible trace of any kind of magic blasting his form. "What the hell...?" Wolokai muttered, turning on his side slowly and pushing his hooves into the ground. He got up slowly, his bones and body aching and sore...but from what he hadn't a clue.

He turned his head in all directions, trying to get a better indication of where he might be in Equestria, but alas he could think of nowhere that he might be. "Maybe I can find out where I am from the sky?" he muttered to himself, his eyes looking up towards the sky...the eerie looking sky. He grimaced, not really noticing the state the sky was in. It looked as if the color of blackness had been mixed into the usual blue, creating a grotesque mix that looked like lumpy soup. The clouds themselves that dotted the sky were black and white as well, and appeared to be frozen in mid-air. "What is going on?" he whispered, just before flexing out his wings. This however, gained the immediate reaction of him screaming in torrential pain. His wings surged with pain as he tried to extend them, his nerves searing like they were on fire. Wolokai hollered as he gently retracted his wings, the pain dissipating almost instantly as he did so. He panted for a moment, staring hard at his wings which at first glance, appeared to be uninjured and untouched. Whatever had happened, it meant no wings, and no flying for the time being. "Guess the sky isn't an option..." sighed the downed Pegasus, the incident once more drawing his eyes to look out in every direction possible to see if there was any kind of civilization or landmark.

He sighed, drawing his eyes over the far hills in the distance...and gasped as he shot his vision back towards one particular hill. There, on a hill far off, was a tree that he just knew wasn't there a few moments ago. It was large in nature...and was shaped in a way that seemed almost familiar to the colt...as if he had seen it before. He narrowed his eyes towards the tree and found himself walking towards it, his curiosity taking over and drawing him towards the far off horizon. He walked for what seemed like hours, and it didn't help that when he checked his watch, he found the hands to be spinning rapidly forward like a compass gone haywire. It was as if time itself was broken in this place, wherever it was. Despite this, Wolokai continued to push himself towards the tree, which started to take an even familiar shape to his eyes as he drew closer to it. When he had finally made it to about two hills away, he let out an audible gasp and widened his eyes in shock. He KNEW that he had seen it that tree before, and with the sign labeled with a book sitting outside of its front door to the left, his hunch was proven true. "Twilight Sparkle..." Wolokai breathed "What's her library doing here? Why isn't it Ponyville? Does that mean she's here!?" Questions crammed themselves into his brain as he picked up his pace, going into a light trot as the sky above continued to churn with black and blue colors.

As he approached, he started to feel a bit...uncomfortable. A feeling of unease slowly passed over him as he stared towards the towering oak, and for some reason, he couldn't figure out why. Something seemed...off about Twilight's library, it didn't feel the same. He couldn't see through the windows which gleamed with yellowish light, and the book sign out front looked to be...a different color then normal. He had remembered the sign as being a brighter color of wood, not as a dark, near black color. Even the color of the leaves seemed off, with them being a deep, dark green instead of their bright emerald like color. All in all, Wolokai knew that this was Twilight Sparkle's library...but he also knew that nopony would have recognized it at first glance. He quickly trotted up towards the door, lifting a hoof and pounding it against the front door several times while shouting "Hello!? Miss Sparkle?! It's me, Wolokai! Are you home!?" Silence answered the Pegasus, drawing a frown across his face. He banged his hoof against the door once more, but jumped back in fright as the door swung open on his third knock. He blinked as he stared into the library, many things already registering as odd in his mind. The first thing he noticed was that nopony was at the door, nopony had answered his knocking. The second thing he noticed was that it appeared to be slightly dark inside the library, giving it the sense of abandonment and vacancy. This certainly struck Wolokai as odd as he looked towards the brightly lit windows, and then back towards the darkened interior of the library. The third thing, and most odd of them all...was that he knew the interior of Twilight's library, and knew that a wide open rotunda sort of area was supposed to be just beyond the threshold of the door...not rows and rows of bookshelves.

Wolokai could see bookshelves lined up just beyond the door, plaques nailed into their sides visible from where he stood. He stood there for a moment, taking in the odd scene before him before he started his careful tread towards the dark opening. "H..hello?" he whispered towards the open door, his hooves making soft indents in the grass as he drew ever closer. Finally, with delicate movement, Wolokai slowly poked his head into the library and gasped. The interior of the library was MASSIVE! There was no way that a library of this size would fit inside the tiny confines of an oak tree! The library had to have been at least twenty stories tall in size, with the entire area of the second floor and upwards towering up like a giant cylinder. The only thing different about the first floor was that it was laid out like a general library, with rows upon rows of bookshelves taking up the vast area that had to be at least as wide as the length of a hoof-ball field. Wolokai drew his head back, staring with a perplexed expression towards the tiny outer shell of the oak tree before sticking his head back in and observing the overly massive interior. "I guess physics and logic are broken here as well..." he muttered, taking light, careful steps into the library. He walked up towards one of the plaques which was nailed into the side of one of the bookshelves and squinted his eyes, barely making out the inscriptions that were carved into its metal face. He read quietly:

"6/2/3(1)-6/2/3(99)"

Wolokai frowned, realizing that the plaque was reading dates instead of lettering or genres like a regular library did. Then again...he should have expected odd thing from an already odd library. He noticed the numbers in parenthesis, and frowned, wondering what they might be. He had never seen such a thing attached to a date before...and the meaning of it all was lost on him. He shrugged, moving into the row and walking down its length. He stared towards the books as he continued his walk, his body and mind starting to get severely unnerved about what he was seeing. All the books were exactly the same. The same shape, the same green color, the same size, and there wasn't even a label or title written on any of them! The Pegasus stopped, turning towards the bookshelf and raising a hoof up to the books. He pulled a single green book out of the shelf, balancing it in his hoof and gently opening it with the push of his nose. The words inside were written in italics, and were written as a single column in the center. As he read the first line, he immediately dropped the book and stepped back in horror. The words displayed in the pages burned in his mind as he felt his breath catch and his heart skip a beat.

Wolokai is spoon-fed foal food
Wolokai is given formula
Wolokai is patted on his back by his father
Wolokai burps and grows still in his father's arms.
Wolokai fall asleep in his father's arms.
Wolokai naps for 4.5 hours before waking up.
Wolokai cries
Wolokai is picked up by his father.

The column continued down towards the rest of the page, with the Pegasus the book was describing short of breath and panting for air. Something...was seriously wrong here. The book was describing every action he had ever taken or had been taken by from his foalhood. The dates suddenly started to make sense...6/2/3...June 2nd, 1993, a year after he was born. Wolokai slowly backed away from the shelf and the dropped book, looking up towards the giant twenty stories of bookshelves that towered upwards. This wasn't just a library...this was his life. This was his memory...with every action and happening written down and sealed away in books. "H...how?!" Wolokai suddenly shouted, his pupils shrinking and his breath coming out in heaves "How is this possible!? Where am I!? What's happening to me!?" It was at precise moment that a voice spoke out behind him in an excited tone,

"Oh, hello! My goodness how interesting! You're here in the library too? How incredibly odd, but fascinating!"

~*~Ponyville~*~

"Move aside!"

"Everypony make way!"

"Set him on the table here!"

Several of the Solar Flare shouted and yelled commands as the ponies inside the Town Hall scrambled for cover, getting out of their way. Wolokai was being carried upon one of the soldier's backs, a calm, peaceful expression on his face. Close behind them was Ditzy Doo, who continued to let her tears fall while wincing at the explosions and magic-fire echoing from the outside. It had been several minutes since The Lunar Shard had begun their attack, with The Solar Flare doing their best to maintain a perimeter around the Town Hall. All around, The Solar Flare and Captain Volokai himself were showing sheer shock but determination at the current situation they were in. The Lunar Shard were surprisingly strong and skilled in numbers and in combat...leaving many to wonder exactly how long they were planning this attack and why. These questions would have to remain unanswered for now, for survival was a higher priority.

The Solar Flare brought Wolokai into one of the large sitting areas near the back of the building, far enough into keep him safe from any Lunar Shard that managed to push past their lines. A small coffee table was cleared and the wounded Pegasus placed upon it, Ditzy Doo immediately moving to his side. She let out a choking sob as she beheld his wounded side, her ears only just picking up one of the soldier's words "Alright, Valeen, get outside to the Captain and ask him for further orders, go!"

The Pegasus soldier named Valeen nodded and with a quick salute shouted "Yes Seargent Kane!" before dashing off.

The unicorn, Kane, turned towards the other soldier and barked "Firemane, find the Mayor and inform her of the current situation, have her contact The Citadel and inform Princess Celestia and the rest of The Solar Flare that we have come under heavy attack from The Cult of the Lunar Shard and are in desperate need of reinforcements! This is not a drill!"

Firemane nodded and gave a quick salute before galloping off in the opposite direction, moving further into the town hall.

Ditzy sniffed as Kane slowly walked up to her, jumping a little as he put a hoof on her shoulder and whispered "I was able to magically 'freeze' his wound, but the damage isn't as bad as it appears. He's not bleeding and the burn doesn't go very deep into his skin."

The grey Pegasus looked up at Kane with teary eyes, her voice hoarse as she spoke "B..but why isn't he waking up? Why does he look calm!? He's not dead, is he!?"

Kane shook his head frantically "No! No of course not. I can't really tell you what's happened, but I can reassure you that a medic is on its way. I tried scanning the wound to see what kind of magic hit him, but I can't pinpoint its exact type. It's unlike any magic I've ever seen...and whatever it did to him, I can tell you for sure that this spell was directly meant to kill. Why it didn't, I haven't a clue, but we should be extremely thankful that it didn't."

Ditzy nodded but jumped as a loud voice shouted from behind her "Where is he?! Is he ok?!"

Kane stood at full attention as Captain Volokai rushed towards the table his wounded son rested on, saluting as he said "Captain! Your son has been stabilized and I have magically frozen the wound! There is no bleeding and the burn is only moderate!"

Volokai nodded, letting his eyes scan over the wound "What magic is this...?"

"Unknown, sir." replied Kane, moving past Ditzy Doo to point a hoof at the wound "I scanned the magical residue left behind from the shot. I don't know its exact type, but I do know that this was a standard 'kill-shot' spell. This spell was meant to kill, however it seems to have only knocked him unconscious."

A voice, thick with a russcoltian accent, suddenly spoke out from behind Kale as he finished his report "I vill be the judge of his condition soldier." Kane turned and observed a semi-tall, chocolate colored colt standing just a short distance away from the group, his cutie-mark that of a red-cross and a pair of white saddlebags thrown across his back.

Volokai let out a sigh of relief as he spotted the colt, beckoning him closer "Doctor Snow, you've come from The Citadel on such short notice!"

Doctor Snow nodded, trotting up to the group "Da, I am alvays quick on my hooves Captain. I vould ask vut is vrong vith this pony, vut I already can tell that he is in a very deep coma."

"C...coma?" Ditzy whimpered, staring back towards the still form of Wolokai.

"Da, Captain's son is in coma. You can tell vy the vay his eyes slowly move vehind the lids, and the vay his vreathing is slow and very vell placed." Snow explained, dropping his saddlebags on the ground by the table.

Kane spoke up as Snow took a careful look at the wound "As I said...that spell was definitely a killer, it should have killed whatever it hit. Not saying I'm not glad it didn't, but I'm still curious."

Snow nodded, putting a hoof on Wolokai's throat and feeling for a pulse "Da...very interesting indeed. Spell meant to kill pony, but spell does not kill! Vhy it did not, I can only say something shielded pony from death. Perhaps magic user misfire spell, or perhaps a spell protect Captain's son, vut I know not. I vill send message to colleague and ask him vut he thinks. He knows many things concerning spells of this nature. Answers I vill get for you, Captain Volokai and Seargent Kane, as vell as for you Miss Doo."

Ditzy Doo blinked in surprise as Snow mentioned her name and whispered "You...you know me?"

Snow frowned, narrowing his eyes as he looked over towards Ditzy and scoffed, grumbling "Of course I know you Miss Doo. Captain's son vould come and get checkups yearly at Citadel. Damn pony just vould not shut UP vhen he talked of you. 'Ditzy Doo' this, 'Ditzy Doo' that, he vus very chatty." At this, Ditzy blushed and looked towards Wolokai with a small smile, watching as Snow continued his work.

~*~'Unknown'~*~

"HOLY SHIT!"

"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED!?"

Wolokai screamed and jumped up into the air, swearing as the voice spoke out from behind him. He landed and whirled around, coming face to face with a shocked looking earth pony, a colt. His coat was a lightish brown and his stylish mane a deep chestnut color. His eyes were a gentle blue, and above all he looked like any regular ol' pony...if not for his cutie-mark...which looked almost identical to Wolokai's. The colt pointed a hoof at him and spoke "Are you ok!? I didn't mean to scare you. I was just surprised to find you of all ponies in here! This is truly fascinating!"

At this, Wolokai blinked, his mouth opening to speak but no words coming out. It took a few tries, but eventually he found his voice, questions bubbling out of his throat and in a panicked manner "W..who are you!? Where am I? Why do we share the same cutie-mark!? How do you know me!? What the FUCK is going on!?"

The colt's eyes widened, drawing him to raise his hoof in defense and shout "Calm down, easy! Catch your breath or something, you're in no danger here!" He waited until Wolokai had taken a few breaths, his form relaxing before he continued on "There, see? Nothing to be panicked about...well...maybe there is, but it's better to take information as calmly as possible, you know?" Wolokai nodded very slowly, his heart still thudding with panic as the colt went on "Now...as to who i am, you already know that you silly pony! After all, you ARE the one who created me! As for where you are, well you should already know that to! And I don't really know what you mean by 'What's going on', as I haven't the slightest clue. Nothing seems to have been going wrong...unless you count you being here...which I find relatively odd. Hmmm..."

He trailed off, leaving Wolokai to only blink in amazement and stare at him. He didn't know why...but he felt himself slowly start to grow frustrated, his eyes narrowing and his voice rising in volume "Look, I don't know who you are or what's going on, but I need answers, clear ones! Assume I don't know anything ok?! Give me the basics, what the hell is happening here!?"

The colt looked up, a surprised yet curious expression on his face as he spoke "I don't understand how you seem to not know me, you MADE me!" He frowned as he saw Wolokai's eyes narrow further and he went on "But...if you insist on having me state the obvious, I suppose I should go ahead and fill you in." He took a moment to smile and give a graceful bow and exclaim at the top of his lungs a sentence that shook Wolokai to his very soul, drowning him in a wave of pure shock:

"My name is Detective White Quill, a character you created in one of your earlier stories as a self-image of somepony you've always wanted to be, and with that, I say welcome to your own Mind!

With that, Quill could only stare in amazement as Wolokai's eyes stared upwards towards the ceiling above, and watch as he fainted, crumbling in a heap on the floor. Quill sighed, picking up the book left on the floor by the writer and tucking it back in its place on the shelf with a delicate whisper "Oh Pony...this is going to take awhile to get him used to..."