Chapters I wish that i had the courage to get rid of this cursed piece of paper you’re reading myself.
The truth is that i simply couldn’t; for what’s left of my equinity—not after what i had seen and done—not after discovering what nopone had ever lived to reveal to the world. As hideous as the truth is—i can’t destroy all of it.
To you reading this—whoever you are—i only ask one thing from you.
When the unknown does not want to be meddled with; do not meddle with it. For sometimes; it is unknown for a good reason.
If i had been told this—i would never have made the mistake that got me, and Equestria, into this.
I’ve already done the irreparable by the time you read this—the first war has been won—but at what cost? The one that is now brewing by my fault is much worse than anything else Equestria has ever been put through. For—this time—our enemy is beyond even our comprehension.
I’m sorry for what I did. But i know my words are meaningless. The harm has already been done.
And. If you do not choose blissful ignorance. I am sorry for what you are about to read.
May Celestia help us.
It was the happiest day of my life, we were all chanting, celebrating, partying like there was no tomorrow.
A few minutes earlier we had received a crystal projection announcing the results for this year’s SGU entrance exam; not only was Milegold on the list of admitted students—he had also received a personal congratulation letter from Celestia herself.
"Third place!" my mother let out a tear of joy. "Third place in all of Equestria!" she almost fainted from the emotion —but i managed to wake her up just in time. A dozen letters appeared in the living room from neighbors and acquaintances alike—some of which i didn’t even know by name—all congratulating my little brother’s achievement.
Suddenly, the entrance door opened—unveiling Milegold’s bright and calm face. My mother galloped towards her little golden mare, caressing him with her hoof while letting us all know how happy she was and how proud Milegold made her. It was a little annoying—i have to admit.
I walked towards him in turn. "Milegold... You made it! I always knew you were one hell of a smart unicorn!"
He let out a smile. A subtle yet priceless smile. "But i would never have done it without you sister, you taught me everything about this!" i blushed. He was not completely wrong. I remembered the countless days and nights we had spent scouring the library—trying and practicing hundreds of spells—cracking hard objects over and over again to make sure that on this day; he would make it. So much time we spent chatting, laughing, crying in this place.
The entrance door suddenly slammed—kicking me out of my thoughts. "Looks like our gifted unicorn arrived in advance!", it was dad.
"Sorry for the delay," he took off his helmet. "Those new pegasus automatons are still not nearly as fast as good old magic... Or the originals, for the matter."
Milegold’s eyes turned wide open, like he had just seen a specter. "Dad?!" he exclaimed. "I thought you were on coast guard duty in Vanhoover."
It was true that we only saw dad once in a blue moon. His work was tough. Most of Equestria's navy had been lost at Haukland—something about advanced antimatter weaponry being able to sink a carrier in a single shot—and a landing by Griffking forces has very much become a possibility.
Sometimes—there were news of cities on the coast being shelled with unprecedented vice and precision—and there was nothing that could be done about it—thank Celestia we weren't on the littoral—dad however...
At least—the air force was still protecting the skies from bombers and missiles—but for how long would this last?
"You know my little pony, there is something poney about this war. It has been raging for nearly a year at this point, but do you see any battles in here?" he petted Milegold on the mane. "That's exactly what i said to my lieutenant; and he gave me the day, just for you," he winked at me and Milegold. "Don't tell anyone, of course." shhh .
I admired my dad—he was on the forefront of the war—yet he tried his best to be the best father he could to us. Even though we rarely saw him—he always did his best to cheer us up and tell us that—despite the war on our doorstep—everything would be alright.
And unlike mom, he also supported my obsession with veil-hunting—which—with hindsight—might not have been such a good thing—but he just wanted to see me be passionate about something.
What's veil-hunting? You might ask. Well. As i hope you know—since the great war—Hyperbearia and the rest of the world have been separated by a massive veil. Blocking all light and waves trying to pass through it.
I'm sure you know a pone who knows a pone who courageously—and stupidly—crossed the veil to see what's on the other side—never to return to Equestria again. Well I—as well as other pones, deer, and griffons on the Crystanet—were kind of like this. Of course—we never tried to go through the veil ourselves—we weren't stupid—we knew it was pure suicide.
We mainly experimented with all kinds of things to try and learn more about the veil—and Hyperbearia. Obviously—it was dangerous—even merely tripping and falling to the other side of the veil could be fatal—and sometimes, pones who hadn't even crossed the veil went missing—but trust me—it was fascinating . That's why i loved doing it so much.
But anyways—I was just happy that dad could come home to celebrate with us—it was all that mattered for me—and so was Milegold—as he placed dad's helmet on the hat stand with magic.
The next few hours were the last time we truly enjoyed ourselves—mom had prepared a feast that would have made even the kings of old jealous: a massive apple pie, apple cupcakes, caramel apples, candy apples, apple cheese, apple chips—okay, it was all apples but i can assure you it was delicious.
We chatted for hours on end—about the future—about Milegold’s accomplishment—and about what he would do in Equestria’s most prestigious unicorn school—he was so excited. He had always admired the elements of harmony—especially Twilight—ever since he was a little foal he was always telling me how much he wanted to be Celestia’s student like her—to master the powers of friendship—to be a force for good in a world that so many sought to burn.
I knew that he had what it took—he was a certified gifted unicorn now after all—that’s why i tried my best to be his guardian pegasus... Despite not having wings.
Of course the celebrations would not last forever—and as the clock began to reach it’s latest hours—sleep began to claim it’s rightful due. Milegold fell first—then my dad—and—before i knew it—mom too was sleeping like a little filly.
I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon though, I and Milegold had plans for tonight—I slowly walked towards my room—on the tip of my hooves—while making sure i didn’t stub my hoof—or accidentally turn on a crystalvision—it would have been silly to wake somepony up-
CLINK!. A vase fell from a table as i hit my sloppy knee on it—shattering into tens of pieces—my heart almost stopped.
Did i just wake everypony up? Was this my mom’s favourite vase she kept talking about?! I’m going to spend the rest of my days in a dungeon for sure! As tens of images of the inpony punishments that imagined myself going through for this mistake flashed before my eyes—i realized...
I could just repair the vase. In a few seconds. It's one of the first tricks you learn at unicorn school... sometimes i forget that I’m a unicorn.
I tried to forget what had just happened — and finally got to my room. I gathered everything i had prepared.
"Jetset-packs: check, applebars: check, cupcakes: check, flashlights: check, telescope: check, PERITON-II drones: check, How to Survive a Bear Attack in Five Simple Steps Deluxe Edition by Summer Song: che—»
I had almost forgotten batteries—would have been quite stupid to not be able to fly those drones!
I thought i was about to make a breakthrough—of course, i was not the only one to have tried to fly drones through the veil—many before me had attempted this—even the EIA—but even the most advanced crystalline drones simply stopped transmitting the instant they broke through the veil. Cloaked or not. It didn't matter.
Here came my ‘master plan’—instead of using a regular modern drone and hoping to catch a few low quality frames before the signal got cut off—i had prepared ancient models of drones from the third north zebrican war—which still used radio waves for communication, and not the much more recent crystal waves. Stupid? Absolutely.
Once i had everything in hoof—i quickly packed my bag and got back to the dining room where everypony was sleeping.
We both carefully left through the entrance door—and galloped to a nearby skatepark at the outskirts of the town. There was nopony there—and nopone was looking. It was the perfect place to do sketchy things at this time of the night.
"Ready? We’re going far this time!" Milegold didn’t fully share my enthusiasm. "Remember to always follow where i am on the map!" i hoofed him one of the tablets.
"Y-you have everything set up r-right Brine!?"
"Of course, what kind of pony do you think i am?"
"The one who forgets their parachute!" he quietly laughed as he pointed his hoof at the open case on my jetsetpacks.
"Oh that uhm i-" i quickly got the parachute out of the bag and loaded it inside the device "I was going to do it of course!"
"You know..." he yawned. "It’s getting late, we could do it tomorrow instead so we have a good night’s rest."
I pondered for a moment—on the one hoof—Milegold definitely had a point—it would have been wiser to get some sleep first. On the other hoof though...
I pressed the big red button on my and Milegold’s ‘packs to begin takeoff. "What did you say? Couldn’t hear you!"
Before he could pronounce a single word—our jetsetpacks began firing—we both zoomed hundreds of meters above the ground in the span of a second.
I adjusted my jetsetpacks to rush straight towards the north—and watched as the ground flashed before my eyes. I had practiced for weeks for this moment with Milegold—yet, there was one thing i knew about jetsetpacking: i would never get used to it.
The ground was flashing before me faster and faster by the second—houses, buildings, and mountains soon began to look like tiny succinct flashes of light—barely crossing my sight for a tenth of a second.
I could feel the speed go higher and higher—the thrill—the adrenaline!
"Woohoooo!" i couldn’t even hear my own scream of excitement quickly disperse through the wind—but at that moment i felt like a true wonderbolt. I was going so fast—i thought i was going to cause one of those sonic rainblooms.
I took a glance at my map—three hundred kilometers—it would be ten minutes before i arrived at the place—i was reassured to see that Milegold’s yellow dot was almost on the same coordinates as mine.
We might have some advance i rejoiced at the idea of putting my ‘genius’ idea into action. Soon, veil-hunters from all over Equus would be acclaiming me and Milegold for our discovery, or so i thought.
Excitement started kicking in—i was literally flying like an alicorn—of course i had to enjoy it to the fullest! Despite the likely risk of burning the mane i had worked for months to maintain—i did barrel roll after barrel roll—loop after loop—and hammerhead after hammerhead. I felt like the master of the skies! Faster! Stronger! Better! Invincible! Even hail rain and thunder couldn’t stop me! Soon all pegasi would know their new lead—
The massive veil that separated the lands of Hyperbearia from Equestria suddenly appeared on the horizon.
"Wait already?! I’m still at full speed!" i began panicking—i hadn’t even started decelerating—and it was already a few kilometers away from me at most!
I quickly glanced at my map—two hundred kilometers from the place.
Impossible, how could it be so close?! —i should have known never to trust those pesky maps made in Kiria!
I was flying right towards the veil and there was nothing i could do to slow down or change direction! I scrambled to try everything i could: parachute, brakes, magic, even applebars (don't ask how)—nothing was working! And my jetset-packs wouldn't respond!
The map had fully gone mad. Dots of all colours flashed all around the screen—before the whole device completely went dark.
The veil got closer and closer. I could see the sky distorting and bending. Almost as if it was preparing for it’s next victim.
Veil-hunter safety guides were clear: nopony had ever crossed the veil and come back to tell the tale—by land, by air, by sea it didn’t matter—once on the other side, even all-mighty Celestia wouldn’t be able to save me!
I closed my eyes—was this it?
I couldn’t hear anything anymore. I couldn’t feel the warmth of my overheating jet-packs.
I couldn’t even open my eyes again.
I tried to utter a word, a plea, whatever—but nothing came out of my muzzle.
Who was there to listen anyways?
Before i could contemplate my fate—a sharp orange light pierced through my eyelids—like somepony was pointing a flashlight right at me.
The sun?!
When i regained consciousness—and my feeble eyes adapted to the blinding white light coming in my direction—i was greeted by a small—nearly empty room.
"Am i in... The heavens?” was my first reaction—before the slightly more rational part of myself remembered i had done the unthinkable: i was on the other side of the veil.
There was a single small window behind me—way too high and way too small for me to get through—from which enough light came to illuminate every corner of the room. I noticed that my watch was still on my pastern Four O'clock in the morning , it showed. How was this possible?
All the gear i had taken with me was missing—except my watch and my now empty bag.
I was lying on a few pillows of all colours—unusually warm and comfortable for their small size—i almost wanted to stay a few more minutes.
But the poetic quietness of the place was quickly interrupted by voices coming from the other side of the door. Several voices. I tried to focus but i could hear nothing intelligible.
I jumped out of my makeshift bed and slowly walked to the door as the voices got louder, yet even less comprehensible.
CLI-CLICK —locked. I looked around for a key of some sorts but quickly realized there was nothing—i would have seen it with all this light. While i was pondering what to do next—the voices got even louder, before briefly turning into some sort of roaring—then to an awkward silence.
"Bears sure do know how to talk," i nervously giggled to myself—but i still knew nothing about what they could be discussing behind my back.
Panic began settling in as i realized how bucked i was—i sure wasn't in the heavens—but i hope you realize that being exiled and locked in a cell at the place i was exiled to was not the best of predicaments—especially in a country nopony had ever returned from.
But this was the least of my worries.
Where in Tartarus is Milegold?! my mind began asking the real questions.
I knew that he had been much wiser than me with those jetset-packs—but what if his map has failed too? What if he had decided to follow me to the other side? What were those bears going to do to him!? I'd go to Tartarus if something happened to him by my fault—going for this expedition was all my idea—i couldn't believe i had dragged him into this!
I needed to get out—i couldn't just stand here and wait for my fate!
I checked every corner—ripped apart every pillow i was lying on to look for something inside—i attempted to jump like a zebra to try and reach the window—to no avail.
"Only one option left," i said as i trotted towards the door.
I turned around—and pawed the ground in preparation for the biggest kick in my lifetime.
I took a long, loud breath—so loud in fact that i hadn't realized that the door had opened behind me...
My back legs launched a kick with the power of a yak—like i had been holding it back for six, no, for seven years waiting for this moment. However—what i heard was not the loud wood cracking noise i was expecting...
"OW!"
I turned around and saw the unfortunate bear who had taken my kick right in the face.
"Oh dear sorry sorry sorry sorry!" the only logical choice would have been to run as fast as i could—hoping to find an exit, a hiding place, anything— but my equine instincts got the better of me.
The bear could more accurately be described as a cub—he was barely larger than me—and the sound he made when i kicked him was not what i expected from such a beast. I stopped and crouched down to him to help—and used my magic to try to ease the wound—it was rather superficial—five to ten minutes of magical healing and it would be all over.
But before i could begin my magic—i was pushed away.
"That's cute," he got back up and began smiling "but there's no need." The wound on his muzzle disappeared in the blink of an eye. He gave me his paw to help me get back up.
I raised my eyebrows—despite his recovery, you can guess that i was not expecting to get away with kicking a bear in the face.
"Come on, I'm not gonna eat you," he clutched his paw.
I finally got the courage to take his paw and got up with his help—still shocked by what was happening.
The bear began walking down the hallway and signaled me to walk alongside him. I obviously obliged.
"Sorry for the rough reception, it's not every day that we see pones around here," he said calmly. "But you kicked me in the face so i think we're even."
"Sorry about that," i felt a little ashamed.
"Forget it, you saw how fast it went away right?" he haughtily smiled and closed his eyes. "Anyways, the name is Elinbjörn , son of the great Björnling."
Son of whom? i thought—this name was definitely familiar—something from the great war history books. Then i remembered—it was the bear who had founded Hyperbearia and stabbed the changelings in the back.
"He's still alive today?" i tried to call a bluff. "It's been two centuries."
"We live much, much , longer than you pones. Besides, Golden Morning too is still alive and kicking right?"
He had a point—but i did not completely buy it. I decided to change the subject.
"Anyways my name is Briny Heart," i responded. "But you can call me Brine."
"I already know that," he said almost as if he was correcting me. "I had a talk with your lil' one, Milegold right?"
My heart pounded faster than ever as i tried to hide the sweat going down my neck—at this instant my biggest fear had just materialized.
"I left him at the town's daycare—i ain't good with cubs so don't start with colts," he continued.
I wanted to believe him—but what if it was simply a lure? What if i was just walking along to my death? I didn't have the guts to question him about all the ponies who came here before me. But then i remembered how fast Elinbjörn's wound had healed—i had studied magical healing of all sorts for years. Yet i had never seen such an recovery with no intervention. Those bears had something i didn't know about, and if he had truly meant us harm; I would have been in the depths of Tartarus already.
The corridor abruptly stopped—as we reached a door at the end of it. Elinbjörn stopped and took a strange, glowing white crystal out of his pocket. He shook the strange object—like it was a rattle. The crystal glowed even harder for a few seconds in his hands.
Before i could muster the strength to question him about this artifact—the wall in front of us disappeared into nothingness. I still wasn't used to how bright the sun was up here—as Elinbjörn could probably see as i covered my eyes with one of my hooves.
Unbothered—he looked at me and pointed towards the outside with his paws.
"Ladies first."
I slowly walked out of the building—looking down so my eyes didn't get obliterated by this blinding light. But as i began adapting to the sun—i was thrown off by the sight before me.
This 'town'—it was not a town—it was everything except one—and nothing like what i had seen anywhere. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief trying to make sense of what i was looking at. This settlement was not made of houses, buildings, or whatever beings build in towns these days—instead—a dozen marble pyramids filled this exotic settlement. Each measuring the size of several buildings stacked on top of each other. Even Manehettan—the jewel of Equestria and city of all grandeur—appeared like a puny hamlet compared to this place.
The streets seemed empty—i could only see a few bears walking around—but i was quickly proven wrong as i looked up to the sky. Hundreds of ursines were zooming around at speeds that would have put even the legend herself, Rainbow Dash, to shame—yet no jetset-packs or wings of any sort were in sight—i knew about the old fairy-tale of Ulrik the aviator, and I'm sure that he would have been proud.
How are they doing this!? i couldn't fathom what i was seeing.
Elinbjörn didn't bat an eye—despite having seen how wide mine had opened.
"Impressive huh?" he winked at me. "I know how small your cities are down there in Equestria."
The demons of curiosity had gotten the better of me after a few hours in this place.
"How in all of Equus is this possible?" i looked at Elinbjörn straight in the eyes. "First the wound then the door then THIS! If you're going to reduce me to cinders like all the ponies before me then at least tell me what's up in this place!" I blocked my muzzle with one of my hooves before i could get even more carried away.
"Ursinochrome, " he looked calmly at the horizon—like he had only heard the first few words of my sentence.
"Ursino-what?" i was not more enlightened by this answer. But the bear purely and simply ignored me and began walking down the path in front of us.
We walked for a couple hundred meters as an uneasy silence had settled in.
"Sooo what's your tribe anyways?" i asked to try and break the massive wall of ice between us.
"Tribe?" he looked at me like i was from another planet—although that was practically true.
"Well yeah," i pushed my curiosity. "Aren't you all bears part of some sort of tribe?"
"First, it's Hyperbears , second, you mean my clan?" he corrected me, twice. "Those haven't been a thing since my dad came around. But I'm surprised you know about them."
"I've opened a history book more than once in my life," i remarked.
"Oh so that means you know about Björnling's betrayal, the razing of Vesalipolis, the fall of Dachaig and the new Aquil—"
"Yes I do. We all know about the great war," the urge to correct him for once became stronger than me. "Also, it's Nouvel Aquileia, please respect this beautiful language."
"You're smarter than most of the pones I've met," i blushed a little for a moment. "So like... three of them," my cheeks quickly turned back to blue. "Nice cutie mark though." it was the same colour as the veil—i got it the day i fell in love with veil-hunting.
"Anyways," Elinbjörn continued. "Walking's boring, time to speed things up a little..." he grabbed one of my hooves with his paw.
"What are we doi—"
All the colors around me abruptly changed—the sky turned black—the grass red—the pyramids blue—and the sun... i don't know which word can describe it. All the bears who were scouring the skies suddenly disappeared as a deafening silence settled in—it was only me and Elinbjörn in this place.
"Where are we!?" i thought he had given me some of those mushrooms that grow in the badlands. But all he replied was utter and complete silence. The world began disintegrating around us—one after another the pyramids phased out of existence, leaving nothing but massive slabs of marble on the ground—then—everything started to turn black—the ground, the clouds, the sky—all that was left was the sun. I tried to scream—scream as loud as equinely possible—but nothing would come out.
Soon—even the sun was fading into the dark—and, as i observed in shock—i was being consumed too. I tried everything to awaken Elinbjörn—hitting—kicking—scratching—but nothing would do. And soon—there was nothing more i could do to fight—all that was left of me were my head and my horn.
I gathered all the strength i had left to muster one last thought.
So that's what happened to all of them...
"We're there!" i heard Elinbjörn's voice.
I gasped for air like i had just spent an hour underwater. The sun, the ground, my hooves, my body—it was all back! I frantically checked almost every part of my body to see if it hadn't somehow disappeared along the way.
Elinbjörn chuckled. "That's how i felt the first time i teleported, you'll get used to it it's not that bad."
"Not that bad?! Not that bad?!" i looked at him like he had just killed somepony "How am i supposed to begin to call what just happened 'Not that bad' !?"
"Listen, it was this or walking for ten whole minutes," he was somehow surprised by how upset i was. "Aren't you glad i spared you all that? Besides, it's all over now."
I did my best to resist the impulse to do something that would have gotten me reduced to darkness for real. Getting mad was the number one worst thing to do in my situation—but i nonetheless gave him a death stare.
All of a sudden—a white shock wave blasted out of Elinbjörn's pocket.
What again? I thought—it was this damned crystal. Elinbjörn took it out and brought it closer to his head. It seemed like some sort of telephone—but neither him nor the artifact were producing a single sound.
"Something came up, gotta go now" he put his crystal back in his pocket. "The daycare is at the second floor, tell them the Älderbjörnen sent you alright?"
Milegold, i almost forgot about you I nodded as he turned around and walked away to cast this freakish spell again.
"One more thing, take this" he threw a blue crystal over his shoulder at my direction.
"Take wha—" the hyperbear vanished before i could finish my question.
I examined the crystal Elinbjörn had given me—it was the exact same colour as me—blue like the brine in the sea. I couldn't exactly make out what i could see inside it—but it was neither my reflection nor the sky behind.Could this be this Ursinochrome thing? my imagination came back for another round. All the strange happenings i had seen there seemed to originate from those things—but for now—mine was doing nothing but wait—ominously.
I had dodged tens of ill-mannered looks from hyperbears in the corridors—fruitlessly asked half a dozen ursines for directions—and bumped into one or two of them on my way—but after an hour of struggle i finally found my way to this daycare. Hyperbears weren't very talkative—in fact—they did not talk at all. When i tried to interact with them they simply looked at me—and stood silent for a few seconds before continuing their way.
Yet they seemed to somehow communicate with each other. Maybe it was some sort of telepathy? In any case—i couldn't get a single word out of them.
I walked through the entrance looking around the place for anything yellow—dozens of little ~~cubs~~ hypercubs were hibernating in small pods all around the main room—some were reading books—some were breaking toys in the play area—but none of them was the mare i was looking for. I checked all the rooms one by one for Milegold—they all looked the same: layout, paint, lighting, down to the type of toys and the titles of the books, it was starting to make my head spin. This place was a literal maze—like the rest of the pyramid—there was nothing to help me navigate around the place; no map, no indications, no windows, nopone else other than the cubs—nothing.
Soon, I was going around in circles, or at least i think i was—i did not have a single idea where i was going—maybe he had gone somewhere else, or i was in the wrong place... right?
Eureka! The word echoed in my head as i saw a room with a slight difference from the others in the distance—this one was painted in some sort of purple colour instead of the usual aqua blue—that was it, the only difference—but this was enough to give me some strength to continue. I galloped carelessly into the room sensing the long awaited end of this madness but...
There was not a single bear or pone there.
The room turned out to be a small corridor lit up by a large chandelier made of crystals similar to the one Elinbjörn had given me. I walked carefully towards the door at the end of the hallway. As i got closer and closer i started hearing voices coming from the other side. The exact same as the ones i was hearing in my cell.
I peeked through the lock—nothing i could see. But unlike when i was in my cell i could hear everything that was being said.
"Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"
"I told you, this mare is the one."
"He could put what happened to Vesalipolis to shame!"
"Soo, that means i did good?"
Milegold! It was his voice there was no doubt. But those three hyperbears... i had no idea who they could be.
"You did very, very, very good! You should be proud of yourself."
"Damn right you did well!"
"Your performance was marvelous! We'll be back to you shortly you can be sure," then, the conversation turned into pawsteps.
Uh oh. There was nowhere to hide in this bloody room. It was all open. All lit up. Even the blindest mole from Klugetown would be able to see me here. And boreas forbid i got caught here snooping on them! I needed to come up with something quick ! I began casting the first invisibility spell i could think of. But as invisibility was slowly covering me, the pawsteps got louder and louder. I braced myself. And hoped i would make it on time...
The door opened.
And the three hyperbears all came out one by one.
One of them succinctly glimpsed at the corner i was hiding in.
I closed my eyes, preparing to beg for my life.
Had the spell not covered a spot?
However—the bear simply looked at his two fellows.
"Björnling gave us five minutes for this, and you know damn well what happened last time we were tardy,"
The invisibility had worked; Milegold might have eclipsed me at every spell—but my magic wasn't that rusty yet.
"Wait a silly-second." one of the bears raised his paw and sniffed. "I sense some equine presence here." the bear looked near my direction.
Please please please don't see me My eyes almost grew to the size of a watermelon as i fully held my breath to make less noise. However the sound of my heart beating like a drum might have compensated.
"Quit making stuff up, Nitta, we'll talk about it when we don't have four minutes left to get to the palace," the hyperbear grabbed the paws of his fellows, and all three disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I decided to wait a moment to make sure they wouldn't return—it was a very close call—i was glad to still be around—what if they had been given ten minutes instead? I still wonder to this day.
I reappeared—still sweating and hyperventilating—i took a long beath—and opened the door to Milegold's room.
"Surprise surprise!" i dashed through the entrance—while he was reading a book in some sort of play area.
"Brine!" he rushed towards my neck as he saw me.
Words can't explain how happy i was that Milegold was alright—i thought I'd never see him again after what had happened.
"I'm sorry for everything, I'll never drag you into such danger again." i hugged him, and shed a small tear.
"Sorry? You're sorry?" he looked at me in disbelief.
"Listen, it's okay if you don't forgive m—"
"Sorry for what?" Milegold raised his eyebrows. "This place is awesome applesauce!"
"I know it's awfu- wait what?"
It took a lot of restraint to not tell him every single reason why i wanted out of this place.
"Look! There's applebars, cupcakes, pie, everything!" he grabbed a mysterious looking white cake from a table and hoofed it to me. "Here have a bite!"
"No thanks." i slightly shook my head. Had i never told him not to eat food from strangers? Especially this kind of strangers.
"And the bears they're so awesome!" he continued. "They're so cool and their books are amazing!"
I looked around me for those 'amazing' books—they did indeed look decent—i could notice several titles The Coming Bears by Edward Bearwer Lytton, The Sun Above the Sea by Nita Wolmark, The Den by H.B Lovecraft. But one of them caught my attention.
Powers and Properties of Ursinochrome by nopone else than... Björnling.
I quickly took hold of it with my magic and put it somewhere in my bag.
"They look uhm, nice, I'll take a look later."
"Told you the bears are great!" Milegold hopped in excitement. "Check this out!"
A crystal—it was one of those damn crystals—a yellow one this time.
"Oh they look uhm, really great, but i have a question." it was time to finally know what's up. "Who were those three bears exactly? "
"You don't know them? It's Osolveig, Nitta and Melvedev," i knew that already. "They said my magic was really cool and they want to see more! They told me i might perform in front of Björnling himself soon!" he said, way too proudly for my taste.
"And why do they want to see you perform exactly?" i looked him straight in the eyes. "I mean they have an artificial sun and everything, they can teleport anywhere and anytime, and they-they have this massive veil around their country," i stopped for an instant. "Why would they even care about magic!?"
Milegold shrugged "I dun'no."
"Listen..." i put my hoof on one of his shoulders. "You're my brother and I'll always be looking out for you, i don't care about what happens to me here; but I'd go to Tartarus if something bad happened to you."
I struggled to find words for a moment. "I don't know what's up with this place, but i know for sure that it's not safe for us. No matter how much they want us to think it is. And..."
The enthusiasm in his eyes disappeared—leaving place to inquietude. I felt horrible for breaking it to him—but i knew i had to.
"I miss mom and dad."
Even if this place was safe—even if the hyperbears were the kindest and most benevolent race in the world like they let us think they were—it was obvious we would never return home—to the other side of the veil—and there was nothing we could do about it. It was hard to imagine—what if you suddenly woke up and found out you'd never see your town, your home, your loved ones again?
Milegold almost fell off his hooves as he realized the same thing as me. He remained quiet—eyes wide open—but i knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Hey... hey!" i snapped him out of it. "We'll find a way, like we always do."
"R-really?" he was still in shock. "B-but what about the other pones?"
"We're not like the other pones; especially you," i rubbed his mane with my hoof. "We'll make it out of here and we'll be the very first, i promise."
"You promise?" he looked up to me in the eyes.
"I promi—"
I was was interrupted by the crystal Elinbjörn had given me. It emitted a shock wave of it's own. A blue one this time. Followed by a strident continuous noise. I took it out of my bag but nothing happened. I tried to hold it near my head. Like Elinbjörn had done it. But i could hear no voice. Soon. Milegold's crystal was doing it too.
"W-what's happening?"
"I have... no idea."
This went on for a whole minute. As we plugged our ears to bear the noise.
And then.
The world around us went dark.
The teleportation lasted for a few minutes—like the last time. Elin was right—it wasn’t that bad now—and i quickly got used to it. It’s much easier when you know you’re not really disappearing into nothingness—although it’s still a little unsettling.
For Milegold on the other hand... It was a whole other story. I almost thought he was going to faint from the sheer terror. But i knew that he would be alright. The place we were in was some sort of hall—a large fountain stood in the middle from which flowed abundant quantities of water. Hyperbears of all sizes and colours were scattered in small groups all around the room—looking at each other like they were having a conversation—yet a deafening silence reigned supreme, only broken by the sound of the water flowing. Despite our sudden apparition—not a single bear even seemed to pay attention to or even notice us.
Calling the decoration ascetic would be an understatement—other than the fountain, some marble pillars, some and tables, and a few pieces of greenery—the likes of which i had never seen before—nothing extravagant was in sight—even the hyperbears seemed to be holding mere glasses of water and nothing else.
One of them suddenly appeared in front of us—it was Elinbjörn.
“Long time no see,” he glanced at both of us. “Sorry for leaving you like this.”
“It’s only been three hours... Where did you even go?” i asked.
“My dad always insists that i take part in his boring meetings with his advisors, even though i couldn’t care less,” he rolled his eyes. “However this one was important, for once.”
“What could even be important?” my indiscretion got the better of me. “Things look quite good here.”
“Not here...” he stopped.
Elin’s naturally relaxed attitude turned into seriousness. He looked at Milegold for an instant—before leading me a few steps away from him.
“It’s about Equestria,” he looked me in the eyes. “Something about massive Griffking landings in Manehettan and Vanhoover.”
“Massive... What?” i hoped it was some sort of sick joke. “They were kicked out in no time? Right?”
Elin hesitated before continuing. “Apparently, they are rushing straight towards Canterlot, and Crystal City.”, he said. “Almost unopposed.”
My heart almost stopped. Vanhoover—that was only a couple dozen kilometers from where i lived. From where mom lived. I hoped she had fled to somewhere else in Equestria on time—but if they were advancing as fast as Elin said... For how long would there even be an Equestria? And dad... I prayed to Celestia for him to be okay.
“T-theres nothing that hyperbears can do about it? What did Björnling say?”
“According to him, Hyperbearia has nothing to do with this,” he answered, trying to not be too brutal to me. “He knows a few squads of our forces could wipe out an entire army that doesn’t possess Ursinochrome ; if it even dared to go through the veil.”
I sighed. “Could you finally tell me more about this Ursinochrome?” i was getting a little irritated. “I think I’ve waited long enough to know.”
“All i can say is that...” he searched for his words. “It’s what’s making this whole place go round. The sun, the veil, teleportation, telepathy, everything, it’s all Ursinochrome .”
“Everything?”
“Yes, its power would make the elements of Harmony look as strong as your average earth pone. And yes i know about those.”
“But what is it? How do you even use it?”
“I told you, that’s all i can say.”
I remembered that book i had taken from Milegold. I had to read it. As soon as possible. I knew it could be the key to everything. If this Ursinochrome was so powerful—then i would need it to get out of here—and even more importantly—Equestria would need it for its very survival.
“Anyways, i know all this has been hard on you and on Milegold.” well guessed. “What about a little break?”
Elin manifested a small marble table in front of us—as well as a three large pillows—upon which the three of us lied down.
“Thanks.” it felt good to finally get some rest. “That was certainly; much needed.”
“I also thought you’d be hungry, so i brought something.”
I hadn’t eaten in almost a day—so i was certainly excited about the otherworldly foods i would try out in this mysterious paradise! Two plates appeared in front of me and Milegold. Inside each of them was... A whole live fish... Paradise or not, i had almost forgotten that this place was run by the bears. I looked at Milegold, he too seemed to share my disappointment.
“We’ll have to, uhm, pass, fish isn’t really our thing,” i tried to be as polite as possible. “What about you?” i hoofed him my plate. “I haven’t seen you eat either.”
“No thanks,” he pushed it away. “I told you, Ursinochrome powers everything . Hyperbears barely need to eat,” he manifested a glass of water for himself instead.
At this point—i wasn’t even surprised.
Milegold looked at me, “Nitta brought me a lot of cool things back in the daycare. I still have some,” he hoofed me an applebar.
Elin spat his water. “Nitta?”
“Yeah, Nitta, Osolveig, Melvedev, you know them right?”
“I do. But I’d prefer it if you ignored them.”
“Why so?” i seized the opportunity to find out more.
“Trust me, they just want something out of you,” i didn’t care to ask more questions. I was too busy clearing the water Elin had just spat at my face.
Elin noticed what had just happened. “Whoops. My bad...”
We ended up chatting and talking for hours on end—he told me some more about hyperbears and Hyperbearia—apparently, many bears had forgotten or never even learned how to vocalize, as telepathy was much more practical—Elin told me that he was afraid this would make future contact with non-hyperbears completely impossible.
However Elin didn’t believe it would ever happen—telepathy or not—hyperbears did not care the slightest about the outside world—in fact, they didn’t care about much. He scrambled to find words when i asked what hyperbears did in their day-to-day lives.
We also talked about some silly trivial things. Did you know that hyperbears could tan and turn red if exposed long enough to their sun? I certainly did not. The more you know.
Speaking of knowledge—Elin turned out to be very cultivated—nothing like what they tell you about the bears of old. We talked a lot about ancient Griffonian and Zebrican history—he was a huge fan of Karthina, good tastes. We even played a silly game of ‘Which country starts with this letter’—Milegold won this one, if you wonder—he was just too good—Elin had to pull out a world map to make sure he wasn’t just making up ‘Twizanyika’ and ‘Karkadannistan’.
Unlike other hyperbears—Elin seemed to actually care about what happened beyond the veil. He told me he wanted to visit Equestria one day—and he even admitted that he had a poster of princess Celestia where he hibernated—it was hard to hold my laughter. He also knew much more than me about the elements of harmony. Something that Milegold appreciated a lot.
Eventually, fatigue settled in—the day had been rough—and getting a good night’s rest was all Milegold could think about. Well more like a good day’s rest—since there was no night here.
Elin brought us to a large bedroom—unlike anything we had seen in this place—it looked more like you’d find in your average earth pone’s house... If you ignore the complete lack of windows, the freezing cold, and the overwhelming smell of fish.
“We made this room specifically for our unfortunate visitors,” he said. “Both of you should feel right at home, for my part I’m going to hibernate too,” he began walking away.
“Wait! One more thing.” Elin turned around to face me.
“Thank you for uhm, everything,” i blushed a little. “You’re definitely the nicest bear i know; i mean hyperbear.”
He smiled at me—and teleported away. I looked at Milegold—the mare had already fallen asleep.
But for me—it was not bedtime yet. As soon as i saw Milegold slumber—i pulled the book out of my bag.
Powers and Properties of Ursinochrome by Björnling
This was the one. Finally i would really know what is up in here. I look around me like i was about to steal an apple, and then, i opened the book. I quickly skimmed over the first pages—it seemed to mostly be boring things i already knew. ‘Razing of Vesalipolis...’—’Two hundred megatons of TNT...’—’Death of queen Chrysalis, decisive Hyperbearian victory...’—’Several hundred gigawatts of energy...’
Mixed with slightly more interesting knowledge: ‘Occupation of every changeling town in the span of a day...’—’Prevents all biological decay...’—’Usage by ponies and griffons deemed possible...’—’Proven ability to cure cutiepox...’—’Limited inter-dimensional travel...’ —’Powerful hallucinogen, aphrodisiac, and laxative...’
However—it was still nothing much. Before i could even yawn out of boredom and fatigue—i was already at the end of the book. Well—not really—a few hundred pages seemed to be left—but they were all... Blank? I tried to look for any sort of text in the rest of the book—i even shed ultra-crystal light to reveal any invisible ink—but there was; simply; nothing.
“That was a massive waste of time,” i sighed, disappointed. But as i was about to close the book—my crystal began to make this noise again.
I immediately closed the book, hid it under a blanket, and pretended that i was asleep. I thought Elin would teleport me somewhere at any moment—like the last time my crystal acted up. But as the minutes passed; nothing happened. It was like i had hallucinated it. I found the courage to open the book again—and skimmed over the first pages one more time to look for more details. I found... Nothing of value—but when i got the the blank pages...
H-how did that happen? Massive walls of text had appeared over all the pages that were blanked out—every single one of them. I looked at my crystal—all those pages must have come from somewhere—but it simply stood there motionless.
I cracked my hooves and stretched. It was going to be a long read—but i was sure it would be worth it. Knowledge is power right?
How wrong i was.
I carefully read the rest of the book, page by page, line by line, word by word.
The first chapter was filled with cryptic but polished drawings of all sorts of races and sub-races: bears, earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, griffons, zebras, penguins, buffaloes, even camels for some reasons. Each drawing had a few details written next to it: height, width, places of origin, and... A number between one and a hundred simply labeled as Ursinochrome .
For earth ponies it was fifty—for bears, a hundred—for penguins it was twenty—and for griffons, sixty—and, if you wonder—it was two for camels. For unicorns however—several numbers seemed to have been crossed out—each larger than the last—i could make out seventy-five—then a hundred and fifty—then—something in the four digits.
As i turned the page of the last drawing—a second chapter began. Simply named Extraction & Usage .
“Finally,” a spark appeared in my eyes. “Something useful.”
I read a page. Then two. Then three. Then ten. Then a hundred. The more i read. The wider my eyes opened. At first it was excitement and curiosity. But as i got deeper. It turned into stupor. Every page became harder to turn. Every word made my heart beat slightly faster.
For the sake of my equinity, as well as yours—i don’t want to detail too much what I’ve read in this forsaken book.
I could have made this whole notebook about what I’ve read in those few hundred pages and how horrible it was. But some things... Some things are better left forgotten. What I’m about to show you is merely the surface of the iceberg.
Extraction of Ursinochrome from typical unicorns is rather straightforward.
It consists in delicately removing the horn of the subject.
The soul of the subject must a remain fully intact.
Through all means necessary—the pain receptors of the subject must be kept as active as possible for maximum output. And for the process to succeed. The subject must obviously be fully conscious.
Massive quantities of Ursinochrome can be extracted from Unicorns through this process.
In fact—much more than from any other race.
Especially the more... Gifted ones—which today make are the bulk of our production.
Of course, the younger.
The better.
Ursinochrome can only be conserved in small colourful crystals. Along with the soul of its previous holder.
It may attempt to talk—to cry for help—but it must not be listened to under any circumstances.
After several hours—the soul will wither away. Then—and only then—can the crystal be used.
Every single sentence was worse than the previous one.
Every.
Single.
Sentence.
I still remember the full, detailed process to extract and make use of Ursinochrome—for obvious reasons—i will not write it down here—or anywhere—ever—hasn’t enough damage already been done? At some point—i just closed the book—i simply couldn’t continue further. The content of the last fifty or pages will remain lost to history—for history is the only one who can bear such horrors.
I was exhausted— but i could not sleep a single minute after reading this—everything was starting to make sense—in the absolute worst way possible. I knew what those three bears had been up to with Milegold. I knew what had happened to all the pones who came before us—never to return. I knew why Hyperbearia was so secretive—why nothing would come in or out—why they needed this massive veil to keep their horrors from washing over the world.
But... What about Elin? he knew about all this—why couldn’t he tell us—why couldn’t he get us out of here? Was he somehow protecting us? Maybe—he was definitely not like the other hyperbears after all. And he had become my friend but... I didn’t know if i could still trust him after what i had seen.
I looked at my crystal—it was still light blue like the brine. Yet i knew what was hiding inside now. I knew everything i should never have known. But most importantly, i knew how to get out of here.
And i knew that i had to do it.
Now.
I grabbed my crystal—and dashed towards Milegold’s bed.
“Wake up,” i tried to shake him through the blanket. “Wake. Up.”
“H-uh?” Milegold rubbed his eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“We’re going; now,” i grabbed Milegold’s hoof and held the crystal with my other one. According to the book—teleportation could be achieved by thinking as hard as you could about where you wanted to be, of course while holding the crystal as tight as possible. At that moment—all i thought about was home, my room, my town, my parents.
This was it.
This was the place where i wanted to be: home.
“Goodbye hyperbears!” i certainly wouldn’t miss this place.
My crystal lit up and the world around me turned weird—just like the first time.
However as the world went dark—and then back to normal... I couldn’t be further from home.
I tried to make out where this crystal had taken me. And the diagnostic was quick: i was on top of one of those bloody pyramids—turns out they were not actually pyramids—their top was not a peak, but a medium sized flat platform. We stood at vertiginous heights—the sun was brighter than ever—and clouds were a mere zebra’s jump away—thank boreas i didn’t look down.
Four bears stood in front of me—three of them were holding some sort of rifle; except that instead of a magazine or crystals those were loaded with one of those crystals. I recognized them—it was the three bears Milegold was talking to.
Between those three stood a larger, blue-eyed hyperbear with a slightly darker fur. I quickly recognized him too.
“Björnling...” i looked daggers at him.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Brine,” he slowly started walking towards me. “Let us have him, and we won’t reserve you the same fate; even though you already know way too much.”
“Stay the Tartarus back,” i placed Milegold behind me to shield him.
I’ll fight to the end i pawed the ground out of spite. If they get him, they’ll have to get me too.
I stood defiant—while the three guards raised their weapons and prepared to shoot.
I braced as i thought it was the end—even with the most powerful magic, i was fully outmatched.
Suddenly—a silhouette appeared in front of me.
“Over my dead body; dad.” the silhouette stood up between me and Björnling guards.
Elin! it was him! He was really our guardian bear after all.
“I won’t let you rip another being apart for some Ursinochrome,” he shouted. “There are better ways to survive than this. When will the massacre end?”
“And you? Elinbjörn?” Björnling’s blue eyes almost turned red. “I thought i had raised you to be a hyperbear and not a pathetic equine. I’ll deal with them whether you want it or not.”
“I thought you were better than this; dad.”
“Guards!” Björnling barked. As his two grunts aimed with their rifles.
Elin quickly grabbed our hooves and looked at me. “Quick! Your home!” he shook his crystal and hoofed it to me.
I closed my eyes thought as hard as i could—this time—i remembered Milegold’s admission party. It was so fun—i wished i could go back and forget all this. We weren’t worrying about things.
We were just... Home.
I simply wanted everything to be normal again...
“Brine... Brine!” it was Milegold’s voice, i opened my eyes back up. “We’re back home.”
Our living room had not changed a single bit since we had left. Everything was still the same—at the same place. I had to rub my eyes several times to believe what i was seeing. We were... Home?
I placed my head right next to Milegold’s.
“I’ll never put you in danger again. I promise. I’m never doing this veil-hunting thing again.”
As i looked around this place i had languished so much. I noticed a shadow on the other side of the room.
It was Elin—his crystal in paw—looking quietly through a window—was he seeing the night for the first time? I did not dare to interrupt him.
Suddenly—he shook the precious stone.
“What are you doing? Stay here! Why would you even think about returning to Hyperbearia!?”
“You’ve read that book...” he remained quiet for a few seconds. “Now you know full well that we are monsters; that I’m a monster.”
Milegold intervened. “You’re not! You just proved it—”
“There’s no other way than being one. Milegold.” he interrupted him. “Ursinochrome is something without which we can’t survive. We’re hyperbears; not bears. It’s them or us,” he looked at me. “You should know it, Brine.”
Elin was right—the book explicitly stated that hyperbears couldn’t survive without Ursinochrome—for the same reason why pones can’t survive without eating. After all—Ursinochrome powers everything .
There was no changing his mind. Elin did not want to be a monster—but it had never been up to him. Yet—i still couldn’t understand why he did not want to try and find another way. I knew so much at this point, yet i still knew nothing. But the truth was: he had no choice.
“If that’s what you think you want; i can’t stop you,” i took a deep breath. “So long, Elin. ”
It took the bear a few seconds to respond. I thought I’d see him cry for the first time. “Farewell, Brine. ”
Elin smiled—as closed his eyes—slowly vanishing into obscurity. For the very last time.
Unlike this place—i still miss him—sometimes. He might have been a hyperbear—a monster even—but at least he was a monster who understood friendship—and he understood it better than many pones ever will. Maybe one day he would ? My hopes were vain.
I walked to the window Elin was looking through. The night felt so good after having spent so long in everlasting daylight. But something was off. I couldn’t put my hoof on it.
Then i realized. All the buildings were empty. Not even a single light. Nothing. I looked at the clock in the living room. Midnight. Some pones should still be up at this time. Right?
“You see anypony?” Milegold shook his head.
“You’ve seen mom and dad?” he asked in return.
“No.”
I looked at the skate-park. Nopony. Not like i would ever go there again. Even the cinema—normally full of life at that time—was dark and devoid of all ponies. I walked towards my room—it had a perfect view on the main street. Surely some streetpony would be wandering around. But before i could get to the window.
BOOM! i heard a deafening blast coming from above.
I looked outside. Dozens of jets were scouring the skies above me.
I had almost forgotten what Elin had told me. The landings in Vanhoover. The march to Canterlot. The war had finally come to claim its due. The home i cherished so much was now fire and blood. I didn’t want to imagine what had happened to dad.
This will never end, i thought. Things will never go back to normal. I wanted to cry—i wanted to give up—but i resisted the urge—Milegold still needed me.
In despair—looked at my crystal—i still had it after all this—and it didn’t take me long to realize that... I now possessed a power and a knowledge that not even Celestia or Golden Morning could begin to imagine.
Is it my time to be a monster?
Author's Note
Author jumpscare! Boo! Bet i scared you.