This Night

by 7H

Chapters

Chapter 1 - The Beginning
Chapter 2 - New Acquaintances
Chapter 4 - Ends and Beginnings, of Sorts
Chapter 5 - Contact
Chapter 6 - New Doors, No Keys
Chapter 3 - The Ginstone

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Chapter 1 - Beginning

***********************

I woke up really groggy. I really need to stop going out with my drinking buddies so much... My name is Professor Gin, and you're probably wondering why I, a respectable member of the scientific community, would drink. Well, it's fun. Enough said. I sat up and turned my alarm off; the blasted device had yet to ring and I didn’t want it to worsen my abating hangover. I almost never woke up before my alarm. My current residence was a Boston one bedroom hotel room with a somewhat-stocked kitchen, and a living room. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for a decent living.

Well, time to go to work.

* * * * *

At a glance, my workplace was a shoddy, nearly run down, two story building with cracked pavement. However, on the inside, the facility was like none other imaginable. Scientists, rent-a-cops, and students were listening to a speech. Shit. I was supposed to help deliver that speech. Urgh.. what was that thing about again? Oh yeah... shit. I had to help give a speech about my scientific breakthrough from a couple days ago. I've never really had any pull over the scientific community, but ever since I found the stone....

* * * * *

5 Days Earlier

24352345>Antarctica.

24352346>Frozen Research Base.

I got out of the two seater biplane. My best friend, Frank, looked at me excitedly. The man was dressed in double lined slacks and an insulated sport coat, and had short, cropped gray hair with a leopard skin overcoat. Was he trying to start a fad or something?

"We're finally here!" He seemed excited to the point of jumping, and as entertaining as that would be, I decided to save my friend a bit of dignity when I said,

"Alright, we're here. Now, we need to find our new station."

"And just where do you think it is?" Hm. Just leave it to Frank to hand me the bill. But where is the bloody thing? Taking one hand, I shaded my eyes and re-scanned the landscape.

That's right about when I heard something behind me. I whirled around, drawing my stainless steel switchblade in the process. My arm stopped just short of its throat when I realized it was a human. I lowered my arm saying, "Well who the hell are you?” He nearly fell to the ground laughing, and took his time recovering too.

"It's me, you goofy American!" He pulled off his ski mask; his clothes were all very thick, and white as the Antarctic snow around us. I recognized the man as Tom, a Harvard colleague of mine who occasionally visited to work with me in Boston.

We then briefly embraced, laughing, asking each other how we'd been, how our families were going, etc. After we were done, I spoke up. "So, I assume you're here to lead us to the station? Oi'm a freezin’ me bloomin' arse off out here!" I loved making fun of his Irish accent.

Tom immediately snapped back to reality. "Oh! My apologies. Right this way." He gestured for us to follow him, and he led us to a seemingly empty piece of land. He then fumbled on his belt for a walkie-talkie, and muttered a few words into the receiver. The ground shook, sending the snow in front of us into little flurries.

It was then that a crevasse began to form in front of us, shaking the Earth like a hundred bulldozers. When the shaking was done a very large, gaping hole was in front of us. We each peeked down with apprehension, aside from Tom. "Well, here we are. Follow me!" Tom swan dived into the maw.

"You first." I took one last look at Frank and the surrounding area.

"Last one down's a frozen Frank!" I dove, and heard him jump after me, shouting "I don't think so!" before the world turned black.

Author's Note

Hey guys! This is my first fimfic(or any fic), and I hope you guys enjoy my piece. And no, I don't intend to leave you without material, and so the more people rate\comment on my work, I know how to change my writing to better accommodate you guys! Well, I'm going to leave you alone now, hope you enjoy the fic!

(Also, depending on the comments, I'll keep the length roughly what it is now, and do daily releases, or, do 1,200-1,500 word chapters every 2 or 3 days. Let it Qwn!)

Chapter 2 - New Acquaintances

* * * * *

I awoke in a dark room on a bed that felt like stone. ‘What the hell? Where am I?’ I got up and hobbled toward a crack of light on the floor, then felt along the wall trying to find a light switch. Finding only a doorknob, I turned the cold metal and stepped out into a brightly lit hall.

It took a minute for my dilated eyes to adjust to the light, but there were several 100-Watt light bulbs lining the seven foot high ceiling. The walls, the floor, and the ceiling were all crafted from pure ice with only a plain oaken door on the right wall. That's right about when I realized what I was standing on. "Holy Jesus!" I hopped straight toward the door.

I tried the knob, but it was locked. I put a little more pressure on the stiff knob and it gave in.

Huh. Guess it wasn't locked.

After pushing the heavy door open, I found myself in a room very alien compared to the rest of this place I'd seen. The floor was covered in luxurious carpets and the walls adorned with tapestries. In the new room, instead of ice, the walls and ceiling were made of wood. At the far end of the room, a roaring fire in a brick hearth warmed the entire room.

As I began to walk in, however, I noticed the occupants of the room. In front of me was Tom on his iPhone. Probably looking at porn, knowing Tom. There were two more people chatting at the far end of the room next to the fireplace, holding what seemed to be champagne glasses. I recognized the man as Frank, but the redhead he was talking to, a very beautiful woman wearing glasses and a white lab coat, was unfamiliar to me. They were in a pretty heated conversation, so I decided to bother Tom first.

"Yo Tom!" His face turned white and looked up in surprise, and quickly turned off his phone. Porn it was, then.

"H-hey, buddy! A-about time you woke up!" He had a very bad poker face.

"What kind was it this time?" He looked as if his heart had stopped when he whispered,

"Dude! Not here man, we'll talk about this later!" I kinda knew he just meant 'shut up'.

"So, who's the chick over there?" I pointed to the red headed woman talking to Frank.

"Oh, taken an interest in Mrs. Core, have we?" His eyes twinkled, and I knew that if I let him, he'd get his payback very, very soon. I intended to not let that happen.

"And I assume this is the station?"

"No. You're on Mars, you derp. Of course this is the station." I deadpanned. What? He deserved it.

"So, what is our assignment exactly?" You'd think that our employers would be kind enough to tell us what kind of work we'd be doing on a continent several days travel from our homes. You'd think.

"We're here to examine the latest scientific phenomenon of the twenty-first century. You see, about a week ago, strange rocks fell from the sky, and punched through an ice shelf. What happened next, no one knows. Its why we were sent here.

“After they went through the ice, they went into a hexagonal - seemingly carved out - ice cave. After that, they'd punch into the floor, but then, that's what makes it a scientific miracle. They bounced up, trailing a black substance, which hardened in a few milliseconds after contact with the floor, making the stones the tops of three foot tall stalagmites." He looked at me to see if I understood, which I didn't, because none of this made any sense whatsoever.

He gestured to the tapestries on the wall. They were depictions of the ice cave, but... something just seemed wrong about them. They didn't have the stalagmites Tom spoke of; it was just a hexagonal, cleanly hewn cave.

"So, what exactly are we doing here? It sounds extremely important, and, erhm, we aren't exactly the top scientists of our field, if you know what I mean.." Tom knew exactly what I meant. You see, no one believed our employers. No one was willing to come to Antarctica, of all places, on a wild goose chase! We were the best scientists they had for the job! Meaning, they rank us at the bottom, but hey, if this gets us promoted, I'm game!

Our conversation had drawn Frank and his new acquaintance's attentions. Frank walked over and, leading his lady friend by the arm, introduced her to me.

"Gin, this is Felicia Core. Felicia, Gin." She looked at me, and immediately I was stricken silent by her insane beauty. She had light freckles all over her face, but was surprisingly plain. This intrigued me, but first things first.

"Hello, Mrs. Felicia. My name is Professor Gin, and it is my pleasure to make thine acquaintance." I gave a deep bow, and Tom rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I have heard a lot about you, Professor Gin. Those closest to you can be very... insightful." Shit. That meant she knew about the times I'd been caught doing stupid things in college and high school. Well, might as well take the bull by the horns. "So. Where is this oh-so-legendary cave at, anyway?" My stomach growled, betraying my interests at heart. Felicia spoke up for me. "Hold on there, speed racer. We're not going anywhere until we fix you up some some breakfast."

Chapter 4 - Ends and Beginnings, of Sorts

4 Days Later

Boston

Oh yeah, crap. I had to help give a speech about my scientific breakthrough from a couple days ago. I've never really had any pull over the scientific community, but ever since I found the stone... I don't know. Since Antarctica, I've discovered that my personality has been... altered. I don't know any other word to describe it. It's as if instead of being quiet, and passive, I'm far more outgoing and aggressive. My life seems to have taken a turn for the better, so I suppose it's nothing to worry over.

The main auditorium opened up via two large double doors from the center of the lobby. From their, I could see Frank and Felicia standing behind Tom, who was delivering the actual speech. He seemed especially nervous, but he worked at Harvard! Surely he'd given plenty of speeches before. Maybe. I don’t know.

I tried to look away from the crowd, and keep a casual stride as I made my way into the room, turned to the right and realized that there wasn't a single seat that wasn't occupied. Oh, now isn't this just a dream come true..

Be careful what you wish for Gin, you know as well as I it could very easily become reality.

Yes, I know... I took a deep sigh, and attempted to keep my composure as I tried to keep regular strides toward the stage.

"And here is the head of our expedition, Professor Gin!" Tom seemed extremely relieved to not have to speak to a large audience anymore. I climbed the stage steps (trying not to trip, mind you), and stood behind the podium.

Everyone suddenly seemed very attentive when I took the mic. Great. Everything I say can and will be used against me. I drew a deep breath and began.

"Hello, my fellow colleagues, friends, neighbors, and scholars. I assume you've gathered here today to learn of the events of the Antarctic Expedition." The words I said were just there in my mind; just a moment ago I was afraid to the point of hiding in a corner, and I now appeared confident even, though I really felt like a carrot.

I then spent the next hour outlining the events from the trip to the Antarctic Station to the time of the stone being retrieved. The main reason I was so scared right now was because I told my boss that I turned in the stone to his boss, who was directly under the CEO of our company, or so I'm told. The thing is, the stone I gave him was a fake, but apparently it too was from space and contained new, previously undiscovered micro-extremophiles, while the stone in my pocket was the real thing.

I stepped away from the podium, and received a round of applause. Great, I thought, now I'm a well-appreciated idiot.

* * *

A Few Hours Later, Office Front

Well, I'm glad that's over. After the speech, there was a lot of hand shaking, some job requests, compliments here and there. It was pretty boring, but if I didn't have the stone with me, I'd probably be psyched, or scared out of my mind. Oh well. I'm going home and I have a perfect pot of coffee with my name on it..

Gin.

Yes, oh mirror of the mind?

Really, Gin? I'm not sure what the effects of our shared thought connection will have, as this is only experimental technology and might have undesired after effects. I only think that--

‘Nah, man! Don't worry about it! Everything is going great. Listen. Ever since you came around, I've been the envy of the scientific community, and before that, I was a deadbeat. Surely, you can realize the difference in that, from my perspective? This has been a life changer, and for the better.’

Gin. You being a scientist, I expect you realize what “unintended consequence” would implicate.

‘Yeah, yeah. I should be concerned, and truly, I am. It's just that there haven't been any undesired effects, and everything is going great, so I don't think there's any cause for negative concern.’

Well, I suppose you have a point.. but after being in your mind for a while, I think your society is doomed..

Well, it likely is if the entire world thinks like I do. I (we, whatever) then arrived at my apartment. A few minutes afterward, watched a bit of news, some of which I was in. That was a nice change. I got up to get the coffee I put on, and then enjoyed a nice, hot cup of coffee...

Wait. Why do I feel so drowsy..?

SHIT! I remember this happening in movies. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes they made, I ran to the door to lock it. When I got to the door, I collapsed and didn't feel myself hit the floor. No. That would've been too nice. Instead, I materialized twenty feet above a snow trough, my drowsiness disappearing instantly. Instead, it was replaced by fear and adrenaline as I fell into the drift.

Actually, the landing wasn't that bad. I just landed awkwardly. When I sat up and shook the snow off of me, I took one step forward, and fell face first on the ground.

‘...The fuck?’ Erlking didn't try to stifle a laugh.

‘What's so funny?’

After he finished laughing, he explained, 'Well, I don't think it's very wise to try to walk with two legs, in your current predicament. he then broke out into more laughter, while I attempted to comprehend what he was saying.

‘...Four legs?’ I looked around, making sure no one was around, and discovered I was in the middle of a snowy plain with nothing in sight, aside from a mountain off into the distance, which I judged from the sun to be East. I looked down, and I saw that I had hooves instead of hands. The wind blowing against my coat felt like hundreds of spiders were crawling up my arms. Legs. Whatever they were now. I turned my head to the side and noticed, now that I had increased peripheral vision, I was able to identify my new shape.

I'm a fucking pony! That just doesn’t happen. Not even in those movies. You don’t get drugged, fall through your floor and into the sky above a vast snowy plain and change forms into that of an equine. You just don’t. And even if you did, you wouldn’t look like this. My legs were all wrong, with no discernable knees or other joints, and were far thicker than I remembered horse, or pony, legs to be. My head felt off too, but without the aid of a mirror I had no way of knowing how different my head was, from either that of a normal pony, or my own human head. I hoped it was closer to a pony head. A human head on this body would be the stuff of nightmares.

My initial shock began to subside and was replaced by fascination and curiosity as I continued to gawk at my completely white body. Mane, coat, and tail. All white. I didn't yet know it, but my eyes were a very, very deep red.

Author's Note

I'd like to thank Soulless DCLXVI, Journeyman, and Behrking. If you would please, tell them thank you for helping me out, as they were volunteers, did their best, did a fantastic job editing, and truly busted their @#$es helping me. Thanks you guys!

Chapter 5 - Contact

* * *

I’d no idea of what to do from this point, other than heading towards the distant mountain I had seen previously. Everything else was just an endless expanse of snow.

‘Any ideas?’

Well, I never took the survival classes where I lived, however I believe going to the mountain may yield a better view of our current whereabouts.

‘I suppose.’

* * * * *

A few hours later we were in the shadow of the mountain. Exhaustion had set in, followed closely by hunger, and both took a hefty toll. At least the snow took care of my thirst. Other than my panting and my stomach’s constant complaints, the walk to the mountain was uneventful.

This is very boring. Entertain me.

‘Entertain yourself. I’m the one that’s been walking for hours on end.’ However, I chose to think about how one day in the lab, I walked in on Frank watching porn with his pants down. That gave him something to laugh about.

Ha! Ha-hahaha ha!! Pure gold! I love a good laugh. Thanks.

Time for business. I looked up at the mountain, and still didn’t see any other features of the snow plain environment I was currently in, aside from the gradual thirty degree slope before me. It seemed from the sun to be around nine or ten. I squinted and thought I caught a very faint scent of rosemary on the wind, but it must’ve been my imagination.

I started the ascent up the mountain side, but moving my hooves quickly felt like I was hauling lead ingots. My sides were sore, my head hurt from the constant chatter from Erlking, and I was shaking quite a bit, but it had little to do with the cold. My hunger had gotten so bad my vision was starting to fade, and I felt random pins and needles in my head, hooves, and other places. I felt lightheaded, but I tried to weather through it. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt compelled to reach the summit.

I was in the middle of another step when I started to hear scraping sounds. Before I could even ask Erlking what it was, fatigue overtook me. I felt myself go numb from hunger and exposure, and my vision succumbed to darkness.

* * *

I awoke, but it took a few minutes before I was aware of my surroundings. I detected the smell of stewed meat and herbs, maybe a bit of garlic. Beef stew? I tried to sit up, but my sides screamed at me in protest. I winced slightly at the pain, and when I did, I heard someone drawing breath, and realized I wasn’t alone.

“I wouldn’t recommend that.” I looked around the room for the source of the voice, and discovered it belonged to a zebra in the corner, or was he a pony? He had a black and white striped coat, blue eyes, and a deep, resolute voice.

“Who are you?” I managed to speak up, despite the pain in my sides. “Where is this place?” I looked around the room once again, but this time I paid heed to the details. Various dried herbs and plants hung from a clothesline strung along the walls. Several trophies adorned the Lincoln-Log styled cabin walls, including deformed pony heads, wolf heads, huge lizard heads, and large spider abdomens on wooden plaques.

“You’re awake, I see. My name is Shirotora, and you’re in my home. I was the one who saved you earlier, by the way. No offense, but how much do you weigh? Carrying you here was like carrying a load of bricks.”

“My name is Gin. Considering I owe you my life and everything...” I sighed, and decided to tell him... mostly everything... excluding the stone’s true nature, of course. I gave him the cliff notes, mostly outlining my career and last job in Antarctica. I was a little hazy on the details on how I got to this place, but I couldn’t fill him in; I didn’t even know.

He scrutinized me once or twice before speaking.

“I believe you’re not lying, Gin, but your story is most... intriguing. I had thought to let you into my abode. Now, though, I’m not sure... I know this world from top to bottom, and I have never heard of ‘Boston’ or ‘Antarctica.’ That aside, I can’t provide for another pony, as I can barely keep up myself because of this bad Winter season.”

“Can I take some survival supplies? Oh, and by the way, where do I go from here? All I saw was a vast snow plain completely devoid of anything. I’d appreciate knowing where to go, so as to avoid getting myself killed.” He looked away, towards one of the heads mounted on the wall, looked back to me, and gave a deep sigh.

“From the summit of this mountain, travel north, and you will come across a snowy forest. If you can make it out of there alive, well, after that you’re on your own. Should you ever need my help again, just give me a shout.”

“Thanks, Shiro. I will remember that you saved me, when I would've died out there. Hopefully, I can pay you back some day.” He chuckled.

“Don’t mention it. You might want to start heading out soon though. There are things you... don’t want to meet at night in these parts.”

I heeded his advice, and while being able to stand with little difficulty, my sides were the only hindrance to my movement. I slowly walked to the door, and braced myself for the cold.

Chapter 6 - New Doors, No Keys

Chapter 6 - New doors, No keys

I opened the door, and thankfully, it wasn't snowing or raining, just pretty cold. Turning around, I waved goodbye to my rescuer. "Goodbye. Thanks for saving me and all."

"Farewell. Also, if you see somepony named Pine Doctor, let him know I haven't kicked the bucket yet. Good bye!"

I turned and shut the door behind me, as I began into the surprisingly fairly lit night towards the top of the mountain.

Bet you're glad I found you; now you can see in the dark.

'Oh yeah, love that. You found me, and now I'm stuck in a foreign place trudging through snow at night. Lovin' it.' I was finally near the summit, and took a look at all the surrounding area. For miles in all directions, it was simply snow, aside from a small patch I could see that must have been the forest Shirotora had been talking about.

'Well, now we at least know where to go. Know anything about forests?'

I know that they have lots of trees.

'I swear, you're taking on my sense of humor.'

I'm honored.

Yeah, definitely making an influence.

The next five hours was spent making our way to the forest, which now stood over us, pretty impressive up close. "Well, no time like the present, I suppose." And so we began our trek into the forest.

***

As I took my first step into the forest, immediately I could hear rustling leaves, nocturnal birds chirping in the night, the occasional rustling bush. Compared to the snow plain, this place was a rock concert. It was even darker here, but I could still see my way in the fairly closed in pine forest.

It was pretty nice having pine needles under my hooves rather than snow for a change. ‘Trees were an awesome invention’.

I initially just wound myself around the random little clearings the pines made, but after a few minutes I found a path, and I followed it. ‘Seems like a hiking trail. I used to love going to places for short hikes. I always thought the brief exercise was a nice reprieve from the stresses of my job, and it was useful for clearing one’s head.’

Where I am from, clearing one’s head means emptying it out. It isn't an enjoyable experience.

Note to self: Teach Erlking what facepalming is. The path wound down a gradual slope, to even out in a few hundred yards. The trail, however, stopped at the end of a slope, in front of a small lake. I wondered how it wasn’t frozen, but I didn’t think it was really that cold outside anyway, so I didn’t really care. I continued along the path until it ended, and I stood before the body of water.

'So, what no--' My thoughts ended when a half serpent, half pony came out of the water, about fifteen feet in front of me. It looked to be half submerged, but it was big. Standing in the water, it was slightly taller than me. It looked at me, and instantly I knew this was a predator, and it was above me in the food chain.

"Ho...ly...shit..." Was all I managed to say. It then looked at me inquisitively, and said with clear English,

"An Earth pony that speaks Seapony? Tell me, who are you and why are you trespassing in my domain?" It said while ferociously grinning, showing rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Um..." Was all I managed to get out while looking at the impressive figure before me. The Seapony sighed.

"Just another pony then, I guess. Lunchtime!" That's when it launched itself at me, water trailing in the air. I huddled up in a ball, which I still do not know how I did, and screamed as loudly as I could,"GO AWAY!" Nothing happened. I unrolled myself from the position I was in, and no one was there anymore.

I tried to say 'what was that', but I couldn't find the voice. Great, now I have to let my voice return to me too. Fantastic.

'Did you see that? Where did the Seapony go?'

It disappeared after you yelled. I don't know what you did, but I suppose you scared it off somehow.

Whatever the case, I didn't intend to stick around to find out. I spotted the other side of the lake where the path resumed, so I walked around the lake for the next hour or so and picked up where I left off. I continued down the path for a few hours, until the trees thinned out. I was now in what looked like a plain, though with a few scattered hills here and there.

I scanned the newly opened environment, and spotted some lights in the distance. ‘Civilization!? ABOUT TIME!!’. I started trotting to the lights, some distance away, attempting to ignore my still healing wounds.

About half the way there, I was knocked down from behind and a sack went over my head. “AHHH!!! What the hell? Who is that!?”

“Who are you, and why are you coming from the Everfree, pony? I’ve never seen you before, and Ponyville is currently under lockdown, due to a recent changeling incident. How do I know you’re not a changeling?”

Who is this guy? Who the hell does he think he is, obscuring your vision like that? . And what’s this changeling crap about? That was some of my entertainment, even as boring as it was! No offense.

‘None taken. What should I do about this? Er... I’ve just the thing.’

“Everfree? I apologize, but I’ve no idea where I am. I woke up in the forest, found a path, and followed it. I then saw some lights, so I got excited and went to them as quickly as I could manage. I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go, seeing as I haven’t done anything wrong. Oh, and what’s a changeling?”

He slowly took off the sack, and the world promptly appeared around me. I saw the pony who had sacked me was a white pegasus stallion with an absurdly long jet black mane and bright red eyes. On his flank he had an image of a solid black shield. It had three points on the top with the center point higher, and tapered to a single point at the bottom.

“Well... I guess. My name is Night. Do you remember your name at least?”

“Gin. That’s really all I know about myself at this point anyway.”

“Well Gin, it’s strange to find random ponies wandering to Ponyville from a place renowned for its evil mysteries, especially ones claiming severe amnesia. Changelings are a branched species of pony who consume the love of other ponies. I’m sure you understand. I’ll tell you what. I’ll let you continue to Ponyville on one condition.”

“Which is..?”

“You must come with me to ascertain whether or not you are a danger to the citizens of Equestria, changeling or not. Follow me; we’re going to pay City Hall a visit.”

“Fantastic...”

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long guys!! D: Between school, writing, reading, and editing it's been hard to find the time, but here is the 1st edit version of chapter 6! Enjoy

Chapter 3 - The Ginstone

* * * * *

Okay, I'm going to be honest. The breakfast was awesome. Apparently, Felicia isn't only beautiful, she was a good cook as well.

She fixed me up a plate of three blueberry waffles, buttered them just right, made me homemade orange juice (yes, homemade as in freshly squeezed, not grown in the room), my favorite brand of milk, and Irish coffee. It doesn't sound all that great, but trust me: you'd have to try it before you say that.

As I finished, I realized everyone was looking at me. "Okay, okay! Jeez!" I quickly finished, and forced myself from licking the plate. I got up, gave Felicia my thanks, and we were underway.

Right before Tom opened the door, I realized how cold my feet were, so I looked down. Well.

"Yo, Tom. Have any spare shoes? I.. don’t have any." When I looked down, that's when I realized I wasn't even wearing my clothes. I was dressed in some plain, white sweats.

"Oh. Mind telling me who had the balls to redress me when I was unconscious?" Felicia leaned around Frank and Tom to say,

"Hmm. Funny thing. The person with the balls to get you into warm clothes, that was me. Also, I saw all your dimensions and saw you aren't as big as you act."

Frank and Tom's jaws both dropped, and Frank's mouth motioned a 'DUDE!' and Tom's did a 'BURN!'. I suppose they didn't want Felicia turning on them too. Whatever.

"So, about some shoes?" Frank turned around and grabbed a pair off the table next to the door. "Thanks." I put the shoes on, and we walked into the hallway.

* * *

I motioned for someone else to take the lead. Tom took the offer and led us down the hall near my bedroom (I still don't think it qualified as a bedroom), and took a right further down the hall. The floor wood turned to rock, and steps were carved into the decreasing sloped stone. I hoped none of us would slip into the darkness below. The steps wound around in a massive circular spiral. We walked so far down, I began to wonder how the rocks didn't break apart after going through so much ice, but I pushed that thought aside.

After several minutes, the staircase ended and we stood in yet another hallway. Upon reaching the end of this one, however, we found ourselves in a very alien environment. It was a lot colder, and I had only begun to take in the characteristics of the room we were in. If you could call it a room.

I noticed six separate stalagmites near the middle of the room, all about ten feet from another one in the middle, which seemed to be glowing. The room itself was ridiculously enormous. It was as big as a football stadium! "Jesus Christ..." As I took in the room, I realized the entire thing was being lit by the stone in the center of the room. Sure, it was a bright stone and all, but it was about as bright as a 60 watt. There was no logic for it to be able to light this whole 'room'.

"Um.. so what is that?" Tom, once again, took the liberty of answering my question.

"Well, you see, while you were blacked out, we conducted every kind of test possible on the rock, aside from direct contact, of course. We cannot gather any data whatsoever on the stone, and we really don't know what to do." Felicia reluctantly said, and Frank nodded.

The surrounding stalagmites all had stones at their points, just as the center one did; they just weren't glowing anywhere nearly as brightly as the center one.

"Have you touched it yet?" Tom looked at me like I was insane.

"Are you out of your mind? We can't even run tests on it, and you ask me if we've touched it!?”

Disregarding his response, I started walking to the stone as casually as I could manage. "Hey, what'ya think you're doin’?!" Felicia actually looked amused at Tom's reaction. Frank facepalmed while moaning, "He's gonna touch it." As I got nearer to the stone, it kept getting brighter. So bright, in fact, I was starting to have trouble seeing, even using my hand to block the light.

As I got closer to the stone, I began to hear waves, as though on a beach. Then, when I touched the stone, time stood still. The light dimmed to the point where I could see, and there was an ethereal phantasm of me standing before my eyes. I rubbed my eyes to clear my eyes, but it was still there. "Now I've seen everything." I looked at my reflection, and thought, ‘Am I drugged? In a coma? Am I dead?’

That's when the other me began to speak. He had the same voice as me, but stronger, and it echoed in some impossibly way. He spoke more slowly than me too, as if aged somewhat.

"Gin. I have been waiting for you to find me, ever since I arrived on your planet." Yep, definitely shrooms. Whatever. I'll humor the thing, whatever it may be.

"So, what are you exactly?"

He laughed with my voice, and said, "No, Gin, you're not dreaming, you're not in a coma, a drug induced stupor, or insane. In fact, you're now the most sane person on the planet." Hmm. I've read stories like this, where the main character teams up with some random alien and it back-stabs him in the end.

"First things first. One, who are you? Two, do you have any crazy powers I need to know about? Three, why aren't my friends moving? Four--" He cut me off with a wave of his hand.

"We don't have much time. My name is Erlking, and I don't have any super powers. Your friends aren't moving because the stone my essence is currently residing in has slowed your brain's cognition and perception of events outside my influence."

"Oh." I felt a little faint, but I tried to remain firm. "So, why were you, er, waiting for me, exactly?" He had a gleam in his eye, and he reminded me of the way Tom looked earlier; it set me on edge.

"Androthul. A villain of sorts where I am from, and I managed to use my civilization's technology to transfer my essence into an unbreakable stone, a material known - in your language relative to ours - as Metacarbon, and I needed another species to help me fight.

You see, though, I can't hold this transformation long--" His image began to flicker. "As I was saying, you get the gist. Now, release me from this stalagmite, and I will do my best to save your dimension from the likes of Androthul." It was hard to believe the guy. I just met him, me, whatever. What the hell.

I picked up the stone, and his image vanished. So did the glow, but I could now see in the dark as easily as if it were day. I saw my friends unfreeze, "Great! You turned out the lights!" Always positive, that Tom.

Hmm. My mind’s new occupant said he didn't have any superpowers...

I don't. The sound startled me, and I nearly dropped the stone. Oh, that's just great. Now it's in my head. But how am I able to see in the dark now, when my friends can't? Beats me. Huh. Oh well.

I walked over to my friends, holding the stone triumphantly. "I give you... the Ginstone!" This time it was Tom's turn to facepalm, Felicia tried to stifle a giggle (Wow, isn't that a first), and Frank clapped.

"So, what now?"

Tom replied, "We report back our recovery, and we bring it with us to Boston for a press conference, of course!"

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