"Wake up."
Concerning sounds filled the silence. The Listener listened to them. They were disjoined voices and sounds. Some images also flashed. It was hard to describe.
"Wake up. It's morning already. You don't want to miss out the day."
More images. Some creatures talking. Crystals. The Tower.
The Listened looked around. The images disappeared. There was a white room, and a single hospital bed in the middle.
"You are awake. How about that?" a male voice called. The Listener looked around, and saw a dragon-like creature on the wall.
The Listener attempted to say something, but couldn't.
"Take it easy. I know it might be confusing, but I will explain it to you. What is your name? Do you remember your name?"
The Listener sat in silence for a while. Finally, she spoke.
"Zipp. Zipp Storm," the white Pegasus mare said. "Princess Zepheryna Storm af Dalnum, Princess of Zephyr Highs"
"This is correct! I am happy you remembered that, my Pegasus friend. You know, I once knew a Pegasus mare. She was the kindest creature I met."
"Who are you?" Zipp asked. She did not remember getting here.
"Well, I have many names."
The white walls changed their colors. They showed strange, abstract images.
"I am the Initial Chaos. I am Primordial Shadow. I am the First Enemy. I am the FillTool of Oblivion. My name is Ciemno!"
The walls changed back to white. A black dragon, or a dragon-like creature, was on the walls, like a shadow.
Zipp realized who this creature was. "Discord!" She read about him on the boards, but always thought he's just a myth.
"Yes. Your kind called me Discord back in their time. You can call me that."
The shadow dragon disappeared. In a puff of black smoke, a strange, mismatched creature appeared inside the room.
"What is this place?" Zipp asked.
"This, my friend, is Shelter Against Ciemno. Shron pszet Ciemnem as the primordials called it. It was built six kalpas ago, yet it is still in perfect shape. It is my house, for now."
Zipp looked around. She saw a door.
"Can you walk?" asked Discord.
Zipp got out of bed. She attempted to make a step, and almost fell down.
"I am sorry. My chaotic magic might have side effects. They should be gone soon."
Zipp managed to walk towards the door. She attempted to open it, but they were locked.
Discord summoned a key, and opened the door.
"Watch out!" He warned. Beyond the door, there was a long drop into water. He spread his wings, and flew above the drop. He opened the door on the other side of the corridor.
"Let's see if you still know how to fly. Get here. Don't worry, there's water below, you won't get hurt."
Zipp spread her wings. How did I get here? she thought. It was very strange.
She flew up, and effortlessly flew over the drop. She landed next to Discord.
"How did I get here?"
"I have a special offer for you."
"Well, what is it?"
"It is quite simple. You are going to fly east."
"East?"
"Yes. That's quite simple. You go from the Shelter. You fly east. Each Sunday at noon, you need to be at least 50 kilometers further east than the previous week, otherwise the challenge fails. If you reach the eastern border of Landkaria, you win."
"How far is it?"
"I haven't made the measurements. The last time I checked it was over one hundred thousand kilometers. It's most probably less than that, I haven't paid attention to this place for kalpas."
"One hundred thousand? That's impossible."
"Well, this world is supposed to be infinite. Still, it is quite far away, and would take a while. I hope you like adventures."
"Sorry, but I don't want to. I have family and friends that will miss me."
"That's no problem. There's a thing called arcane time dilatation. The time in this realm is passing very quickly. If you stay here for two years, you will still get back to your home for dinner."
"How is that even possible?"
"I dunno. It just is. As I said, I was on a veeery long vacation, so my information might be out of date."
"I would rather not trust some…"
"Draconequus?"
"Yes. I mean, I'm completely fine with your kind, there are good draconequui in Equestria, I guess."
"Doesn't matter. I see you would need some more convincing. Come to the armory."
Discord walked through the corridor. Zipp followed him. She carefully watched everything around her. This is too real for a dream. He must have put some spell on me. I better see what he wants, she thought.
On the way, she passed through a few doors. Above these doors, there were pictures of different creatures. There was an open door, with a Pegasus. Next to it, there were four locked ones. One had something that resembled a lion with wings and beak. Next to it there was a tall and slender creature, looking quite like a Pegasus with a beak and claws. There was a third creature, that looked very much like a Pegasus, but had wings that seemed to be leather, and had pointy teeth. Something like a cross between a Pegasus and a bat. The last creature was a large bird.
"These are training rooms. If you want to test your abilities, you can go there."
"I am fine, thanks. Just show me what you wanted me to see."
"Yes, let's see. In my notes…" Discord said, and summoned a file with his magic, "..it says you are quite fond of technology. You own a high-tech helmet, model SHP-12vC, as I presume?"
"You mean the one Izzy dug out and fixed for me? Yeah, it's quite cool. As for technology, I know a thing or two."
"I think you might like this one, then," he opened the door to the armory, and levitated a suit of white armor. The helmet was almost the same as the one back home. However, it had a cover for a horn. It seemed to be made for Alicorns.
"Starborn Recon Armor, model 12. Light, won't give you trouble in flying. This helmet has a horn, but I can try and modify it. You can't use Starborn magic anyway."
"How did you get an Alicorn armor?"
"I have connections."
Zipp looked at the suit. It looked good, and seemed to be quite advanced.
"I mean, it looks nice, but why would I need armor? Equestria is at peace now."
"Yeah, Equestria, right. In my notes, I see you like to play video games? Especially those that aren't exactly ad-friendly, as they, quote, promote violence and disharmony? You also like to talk about them on those websites that are accessible only with the Garlic Browser?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about," said Zipp. Only her sister knew about it, and she would never tell on her.
"Take a look at the weaponry," Discord said, and pointed towards a door. It opened. Zipp decided to walk towards it.
She entered the room. She looked at the shelves, and was shocked. "Where did you get these?" she asked. On the shelves, there were guns. Some similar to the ones that were in the shooters. Some similar to these she owned before she had to move them to a secret location once Equestria was reunited. Some looked like something straight out of sci-fi.
She walked towards the largest one on display.
"Singularity Minigun. Blockers used them during the war against Starborn. I wouldn't advise taking it, it wasn't designed to be used by biology-based creatures."
"Which one would you suggest, then?"
"Starborn arcanolaser rifle would be a good one. It would fit with your armor."
Zipp walked towards it. The rifle looked good, but there was a single problem.
"How am I supposed to hold it with hooves?" she asked.
Discord snapped his fingers, and a pair of socks appeared on Zipp's hooves.
Zipp reached her forehoof. She managed to grab the rifle with her sock. It seemed to be some advanced mechanism.
"Starborn designed these gloves so they could work in a magic-less environment. I can give you an old Equestrian battlesadle if you prefer."
"No, these are good," she said. She looked at the rifle close.
"This and the armor is yours, if you accept my offer."
"So, you say I am going to go east? That's it?"
"Yes. I have to warn you, you might need this thing to survive out there. If you succeed, you will be given an extra reward."
Zipp thought about this.
"What kind of reward?"
"I shall give you not one, not two, but three wishes. Not to brag, but I am about the most powerful non-Alicorn being around. I can give you almost everything you want!"
"Almost everything?"
"I mean, if you wish to become the Supreme Princess of all Princesses, you will most certainly perish horribly. I will still try to help you. Don't do this, okay?"
"Okay. You agree that this is very suspicious, don't you think?"
"Waking up in the headquarters of Prince of Chaos, with no memory as to how you got here? It might be suspicious."
"Where's the hitch?"
"There is none. I just want to see somecreature travel through Sivmusi, and you seemed like the best candidate. If you don't want it, I have a pretty big backup list."
"How can I trust you? You confessed that this all is too suspicious."
Discord's expression turned serious, and he looked straight at Zipp.
"I, Ciemno, also known as Discord, the Prince of Chaos, First Enemy et cetera, hereby promise that I am not going to trick, scam or otherwise bamboozle Princess Zepheryna Storm af Dalnum. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," he said, doing strange signs with his hands.
"What was that?"
"Starborn's Oath. Not even the most powerful of Alicorns can break one. My advice, never do this yourself."
Zipp raised her eyebrow at the Draconequus. Her friendship with Izzy and Sunny taught her that most supernatural things look bizarre at first sight. This oath is something that looks legit, she thought. She thought about her friends…
"This is all nice, but I can't just leave my friends behind. How about I bring them with me?"
Discord thought about this. He smiled. "Hmm, so you are chickening out?"
"What! I am Zipp Storm, and I never, ever, back down!"
"I mean, I understand. Your Ponies are nowhere near Twilight's level. You turned into softies over centuries. Oh well, maybe there will be some nice Hippogriff that accepts the challenge."
"We Ponies are not soft!"
"Yeah? Prove it!"
Zipp stared at the smiling Prince of Chaos. How dared he insult her!
"I agree. I will fly to the eastern border of…"
"Landkaria."
"Yes. I shall fly to the eastern border of Landkaria."
"Do you accept the terms and conditions?"
"Yes."
Discord smiled, this time genuinely. "That's perfect! Finally somecreature that's strong enough. Do you want to go out now? You can spend as much time as you want here, but once you go out, there's no coming back."
"I will go to the armory, and will be back soon."
Zipp went back for the Recon Armor. She also took the laser rifle. There was also a saddlebag, some food and medical supplies.
On one of the tables, she saw her phone. How did it get there? She didn't know, but she took it back.
Once all the supplies were gathered, she went towards the exit. Discord was waiting for her. The door behind her closed.
"Now, there is one last thing that needs to be done. I'm warning you, this might sting a bit."
Discord's eyes turned black. He started using some magic.
Suddenly, everything went dark and cold. Zipp felt like something was trying to pierce her skull. Luckily, it all ended soon. She was standing alone before the exit.
"Discord, what the heck was that!" she shouted.
Nothing, just a mild dose of mind magic, Zipp heard a voice.
"Where are you?"
Inside.
"You're inside my head? Get out!"
I shall have the front row seat for the journey. Besides, you agreed to that, she heard, then she heard sounds of moving furniture.
"What are you doing? Stop messing with my mind!"
Calm down, I won't hurt my Listener. In fact, I will be able to help you greatly from inside your mind.
"Listener?"
You listened to me, right?
"Right."
Let's go.
Zipp noticed the touchscreen next to the door. She touched it with her hoof.
The touchpad read Authorisation of Lord Ciemno granted. Elevator unlocked. The door opened. Zipp walked to it, and clicked Surface.
The elevator started moving up. There was some music that Zipp never heard before, yet was nostalgic for.
One of the themes of Sivmusi, she heard Discord say.
The elevator reached the surface. The doors opened. Zipp had a corridor before her.
The main entrance is at the end of the tunnel, Discord said.
Zipp moved forwards. After opening two doors, she reached the final one.
The door was huge, round and made out of metal. There was something that seemed like a complicated mechanism to open it. Zipp walked forwards, and saw some machine. There was a port to connect herself to it. She checked her armor, and saw that there was a cable she could connect to it. She connected. Before her eyes, she saw some statistics. This might be useful, she thought.
She turned on the machine, and clicked Open the door with her mind. The machine started loudly moving. The large arm lowered itself to the center of the door, merged with it, and turned it with a great noise.
Zipp looked behind the door. There was a cave beyond this point. She also saw a skeleton that probably belonged to a large cat.
Zipp looked at the hour and date. 9:13 PM, 8 April, Y1, E2, A1, K(-NaN^3).
"What kind of dating system is this?"
Year first of the second era, of the first aeon, of the negative not-a-number cubed kalpa, Discord responded. Zipp decided to leave the questions for later.
She moved next to the skeleton, and forwards out of the cave.
She reached the entrance. She saw stars, completely different from those at home. Full moon illuminated a valley located below the mountain on the side of which she was standing.
"Wow," Zipp said.
The HUD gave her new information. Location Discovered: Shron Pszet Ciemnem. Location Discovered: Zone 50M
Look east, said Discord.
"Sure," said Zipp and looked towards the valley.
Suddenly, a purple meteor flashed. It crossed the sky with a great speed, then disappeared beyond the horizon. Soon after, there was a flash of purple light that briefly illuminated the night.
"What was that?" asked Zipp.
Do you feel inspired? asked Discord.
"Yes. I do."
Then let's go, replied Discord. Zipp spread her wings, and flew up, towards the valley. She smiled, she was ready for the adventure.
Author's Note
Unlike my other stories, this one is not pre-written. I will upload new chapters when I write them. I don't know when.
