Chapters Chapter 1 (I'm so creative)
My name is Paradox. I'm not quite sure why that's my name, but where I live everyone is given strange names. Smelly Underwear, Balloon Cheese, Relativity, and so on. My name is actually fairly normal, considering.
Oh, right. I forgot to tell you where I live. Well, I used to live in Miasma. You've probably never heard of it, but it does exist. It's kinda like an inter-dimensional plane of existence. In Miasma, we break the fourth wall. Ever wonder how Pinkie Pie can pull a party cannon out of midair? Miasma is why.
Let me explain a bit better. Some ponies/humans/creatures/etc. are born with an unusual sense of perception. They are, from the moment they are born, aware of many things that others never become aware of. These unusual ones can 'feel' Miasma around them. As such, they are able to harness some of its energy. In Miasma, the citizens do our best to supply the other planes of existence with materials, and so on. To use an example that you are probably familiar with, we are the ones who make sure everything, in all planes, is balanced, but not too balanced. We can control planet's rotations, create new species, create balloons out of thin air for Pinkie's stunts, and so on.
Now, to explain a bit more, let's go back to the start of the last paragraph, where I was talking about unusual 'creatures' with the power to harness some of Miasma's energy.
As you can guess, the level of energy they can harness varies widely. Pinkie Pie, for example, can control a relatively small amount. Discord can harness a much larger amount, so much, in fact, that it almost becomes dangerous. When creatures like Discord harness a large amount of Miasma's energy, then they have great power. As such, the citizens of Miasma have to take measures against these creatures, to ensure Miasma's well-being, and to ensure that the other planes do not get too far off balance.
There, explanation done. Not all that good of an explanation, but it's kinda hard to explain Miasma. Anyways, now that that's over, lets talk some more about me.
Like I said, my name's Paradox. The inhabitants of Miasma can shift forms, but the form that I usually took was that of a medium blue 'earth pony' stallion with a dark blue mane and orange eyes. In Miasma each inhabitant is in charge of a specific plane or planet, and I was in charge of Equis, the planet that Equestria is in. I took my job rather seriously, since Equis has far more beings that are connected to Miasma than most other planets do. I was pretty proud of my work, since, in my opinion, Equis had turned out pretty well so far. Well, mostly. But that's another story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I woke up with a pounding sensation in my head. That was odd enough, considering the fact that Miasmians were immune from headaches, but what was even stranger was that it felt like I was lying on itchy, cotton, sheets. I flickered my eyes slowly open, and gasped. I was lying on a white bed, in a white, sterile-looking room with minimal decoration. Glancing quickly around, ignoring the pain in my head, I quickly deduced that I must be in some sort of hospital room, on one of the other planes of existence. I looked down, and saw that I was still in the form of a blue stallion. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on shifting forms. Strangely enough, I felt nothing. I opened my eyes again and saw that my form was still the same.
I racked my brain for information. The only possible explanation for this was that I had somehow lost my connection to Miasma. That would be scary enough, but even worse, I was stuck in an entirely different plane, with no way of getting back to Miasma!
I groaned. Just then, the sound of hooves clopping on the floor met my ears. My head jerked upright as a pale tan unicorn mare with a wispy yellow mane entered the room. Her horn lit up with a soft blue glow to match the color of her eyes, as she gently levitated her nurse's cap to a better position on her head. I groaned again, this time inwardly. Of all places, I was stuck in Equis. Which, I reminded myself, now had no Miasmian care-taker. The mare coughed softy and spoke up.
"Hello, my name is Healing Potion." She said in a gentle, high voice. "I'm your nurse."
I sighed and said to her, "What happened? How did I get here?" She probably wouldn't be able to give me much information, but I still needed all the information I could get about how I ended up here.
She frowned slightly. "Nopony is really sure. Some fillies found you lying outside the boundaries of the Everfree forest, unconscious. They brought you here immediately, and the hospital has been taking care of you since."
Great, I thought to myself, now I have even LESS of an idea how I got here. Nevertheless, I smiled at her and said, "Well, I'm very grateful."
She seemed to perk up at that. "Oh, it was no trouble. Any hospital would have done the same." She grasped a notepad from a table by my bed, and said, "Now, then. First thing's first. What's your name?"
"Paradox." I told her.
She seemed slightly puzzled, and said, "Paradox? What an unusual name for a pony. Well, anyway. Next question. Where are you from?"
I cracked a bit of a grin. Most ponies didn't even know about Miasma, so I would certainly be put in a loony bin if I told her the truth. So instead I said, somewhat truthfully, "I'm not exactly sure."
She immediately frowned again. "That's concerning. Do you remember anything other than your name?"
"No, afraid not. I must have some sort of amnesia." I lied.
She sighed. "Well, in that case, I'd better consult a doctor," She turned to leave.
"Wait!" I said. "Could you please bring in the fillies who found me?"
"Certainly." The mare said. "I'll tell them, and they should be here in a few minutes." She turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her.
I sighed as I laid back in bed. Maybe I could get some clues from the fillies about how they found me. In the meantime, I desperately needed some shut-eye, something that had been completely unnecessary in Miasma. I set aside my worries as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note
Sorry for the poor explanation of Miasma, I'll explain more as the story progresses.
I was floating in a sea of purple. I twisted around wildly, but all I managed to do was make myself float upside down. Panicking, I cried out, "What the buck?!"
I heard an amused chuckle. "You are in a dream, my dear Paradox."
I attempted to see who was talking, but to no avail. I recognized that voice, though....
I heard the chuckle again. "Ever so observant, aren't you? Yes, I am Discord, Lord of Chaos. In case you were wondering, I trapped you, using my strong connection to Miasma's magic, inside Equestria. The way I figure it, without its care-taker, Equestria will have nothing to prevent it from falling prey to my rulership."
I groaned audibly. "Great. Just great. You do realize that without me to take care of it, Equis will be destroyed?!"
"Wrong, Paradox. Without you to take care of it, Equis will not be destroyed, but will instead be completely under my control. I have grown even stronger now that I have gained the trust of the ponies, and without you to stop me, it will be quite easy for me to take all of Equis under my chaotic reign."
I sighed. Just what I needed, not only was I trapped in another plane, I had no connection to Miasma, and Equis was without its care-taker, I ALSO had a lunatic draconequus trying to take over!
As these glum thoughts ran through my mind, I became aware of a tapping on my shoulder. The purple faded, and, stretching, I opened my eyes.
"Gosh, do ya reckon he's okay?" A yellow filly with a red mane and an oversized pink bow, who was sitting in front of my bed, asked.
"Course he is! He's just napping!," cried an orange pegasus filly, tapping my shoulder again. "HEY MISTER! WAKE UP!" she yelled in my ear.
I jolted upright. "I was awake! I'm up! I'm up!" I cried.
"See? Told you!" The pegasus grinned at the yellow filly, as she trotted over to sit beside her. Another filly, this one a white unicorn with a curly pink-and-purple mane, walked up to the bed.
"Are you okay, mister?" The white one said.
"Er...yes," I told her. "Well, except for my hearing..."
The pegasus blushed. "Uh, sorry about that..."
"Meh, it's okay. My name's Paradox, by the way. What are your names?" I asked them, trying to distract myself from the conversation I'd had with Discord.
"Muh name's Apple Bloom!" The yellow one cried.
"I'm Sweetie Belle, and this here's Scootaloo." The white filly said, pointing to the orange one. "Why are you named Paradox?"
"I'm not sure, actually." I grinned slightly.
"Not sure?! NOT SURE?! But a name's the second-best indicator of your special talent, aside from your cutie mark!" Scootaloo cried in disbelief.
"Hmm..." I mumbled to myself, momentarily distracted. "I wonder what my cutie mark is?" I hadn't bothered to create one, so I doubted I even had one. Rolling down the sheets, I stared at my flank. Yep, it was blank.
The three fillies collectively gasped, and were silent for a minute.
"Er, hello?" I said, waving my hoof in front of their faces. They seemed to be in shock, though why, I'm not sure.
Their eyes grew almost impossibly wide, before they all sprang up at the same time, and cried out so loudly that the walls literally rattled, "YOU'RE A BLANK FLANK!!!!!"
"I..is that a problem?" I said, rubbing my ears to get the hearing back.
The three fillies turned to each other and grinned widely. "Problem? PROBLEM?! Are you kidding me? This is the best thing EVER!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"Yeah! Y'all are practically one of us!" Apple Bloom said, trotting closer.
"This. Is. So. Awesome!" Scootaloo cried.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Standing in one of the hospital hallways, Healing Potion glanced up from her pile of papers. She had thought she heard a noise..Oh well, she isn't hear anything now. She bent to write on a sheet of paper, before she quickly straightened up. There it was again...funny, it sounded almost like...
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The blue stallion from earlier cried as he raced frantically down the hallway, skidding to a stop right in front of Healing Potion. "You...you've got to save me!" He told her in a frantic tone.
"Er..from what?" Healing Potion said, confused.
"THEM!" The blue stallion cried as three small fillies rounded the corner. The stallion crouched behind Healing Potion, trying to make himself as small as possible.
The three fillies had a manic look on their faces. "COME HE-ERE!" The orange one shouted, grinning as she raced towards Paradox.
"YEAH! WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN T' THE FUN PART YET!" The yellow one yelled as she skidded to a stop in front of Healing Potion.
"UH-HUH! WE'RE GOING TO MAKE YOU A CRUTIE MARK CRUSADER JUST LIKE US!" The white one shouted.
"....run?" Paradox said quietly, looking up at Healing Potion. The mare glanced at the three fillies, who were trotting closer with the same manic, happy look on their faces. She gulped.
"Good idea." Healing Potion said.
The pair took off running down the hallway. Trying to ignore the sound of six pairs of determined hooves behind them, they ran for their lives, rushing outside the hospital.
"You...*pant* have any idea where we're going?" Paradox said to Healing Potion, gasping for breath as they raced down the cobblestone streets of Ponyville, dodging past surprised ponies.
"Yeah...*gasp* we...can go to the*pant* library, they'd never venture in there willingly." The tan mare told him, panting.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book. She heard a frantic pounding sound on the door, and scrambling to her hooves, she ran to answer it. Outside stood two bedraggled-looking ponies. One was a medium blue stallion, and the other was a mare named "Healing Potion" that she recognized as a nurse from the hospital. The pair rushed inside, slamming the door behind them.
"Um..hello?" Twilight said, confused.
"That was TOO close of a call!" The stallion said, gasping for breath.
"I completely agree!" Healing Potion said, also panting.
"Excuse me? Why did you come running in like Cereberus himself was after you?!" Twilight said.
"Yeah...why did they come running after you like that?" Healing Potion turned to the stallion.
"Two sentences. One, I'm a blank-flank. Two, Cutie Mark Crusaders." He replied.
The two mares both gasped. Twilight started giggling, saying, "Yeah, I can see why you would be running."
The blue one started laughing, too, then Healing Potion joined in, and soon all three of them were laughing loudly.
As Healing Potion finished laughing, she stood up again.
"Sounds good, if it's okay with her." The stallion chuckled, turning to Twilight.
"I'd be happy to help out." Twilight smiled as Healing Potion stepped outside, waved goodbye, then closed the door behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I (Paradox) regarded the purple mare thoughtfully, as she sat down in a chair and opened up a book.
"You're welcome to browse among the books if you like." She said.
Twilight, Healing Potion had called her. I wasn't familiar with many of the inhabitants of Equis, choosing to look at the overall picture instead. However, this was one of the ponies that had captured my attention. After all, Twilight Sparkle was a personal student of the Princess of the Sun, and was the bearer for the Element of Magic. As I studied the mare, who was now absorbed in her book, I came to a conclusion. This pony might be able to help me.
"Twilight?" I said to her, as she looked up from her book.
"Hmm? What is it?" She asked, putting her book back on it's shelf.
"Are you familiar with Miasma?"
Twilight immediately gasped. "How do you know about it? Only a very few ponies know about it, and the only way I knew was because Celestia told me!" She asked, extremely surprised.
"First thing's first. How much do you know about it?" I questioned her.
"Er...not much. All anypony knows is that it's some sort of inter-dimensional plane that has some sort of power over the other planes." She said in confusion.
I then quickly explained Miasma, using the explanation from the previous chapter. She looked extremely surprised, but seemed to slightly understand.
"But how do you know all this?"she said to me in an incredulous tone.
"Simple," I grinned, "I'm from there."
Twilight fainted.
(Narrated by Paradox)
Twilight flickered open her eyes.
"Oh, good," I said. I had been busy browsing among the books while she was unconscious from having fainted. It was amazing how stupid some of the ponies that wrote these books were. I mean, what kind of self-respecting creature would write a book called "Dusk" about a vampony that sparkled and a sappy mare named Belle Swallow? Vamponies don't sparkle!
My attention was brought back to the matter at hoof as Twilight yawned.
"Long enough for me to realize 'Stephanie Neigher' is an idiot..." I mumbled.
She didn't seem to hear me, and instead of responding, asked another question. "Uh...did you really say, earlier, that you were FROM Miasma?"
"Yep."
"Oh." She seemed befuddled for a moment, before her expression changed. She jumped up and ran to me. "YOU'RE FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION?!" She grinned.
"....yes?" I said, unsure of what direction this was taking.
"THIS. IS. THE BEST THING EEEVVVEER!" Twilight yelled in my face, her grin now at an almost creepy size as she grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me.
I groaned inwardly. Great, and just when I thought I was done running...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FlutterShy smiled. She had jut finished feeding all her animals, and now she was about to prepare a nice, relaxing cup of tea. Suddenly, she was distracted by a pounding on the door.
She quickly moved to answer it, and was shocked when she saw a panting, blue earth-pony stallion outside. She considered hiding under the couch, but the stallion had already come inside and slammed the door shut behind him in the time it took her to react.
"umm....hi?" She said, cowering slightly as the stranger gasped for breath.
"Oh..uh, hi. Sorry, kinda rude of me to barge in like that, but I had a crazy pony after me and I was trying to lose her." The stallion said, panting.
"Um...okay." FlutterShy said timidly, still unsure what to make of the situation.
The stallion walked over to the door and peered outside. "Good, I finally lost her." He said, cracking a slight smile. "Oh, right. Name's Paradox, what's yours?" He told her, extending a hoof.
"It's...Fluttershy..." She said as she hid behind her pink hair.
The stallion, Paradox, face-hoofed. "Element of Kindness. Great, I'm sure Twilight will find me here."
Fluttershy looked up in shock. "T..twilight? But I thought you said you were running from a c..crazy-pony..." She stuttered.
"Yeah, well, she may be sane at first, but tell her that you're from another plane of existence? BAM, crazy-pony." Paradox chuckled.
"...another...p..plane of e..existence?!" FlutterShy squeaked.
"Yeah, kinda hard to believe, huh? But yeah, Twilight kinda went crazy from excitement. So that's why I'm here, hiding from her."
"Oh...I...see.." FlutterShy said, now even more confused.
They stared at each other awkwardly for about half a minute.
"Er...yeah." Paradox said, trying to break the silence.
FlutterShy just hid behind her mane again.
Suddenly, Paradox cried out. "Aagh!" The stallion pressed a hoof against his head, and sat down with a bump on the floor. "My...head..." he said through gritted teeth.
FlutterShy immediately sprang into action, lifting Paradox onto a couch by the side of the room and, grabbing a wet towel, pressed it on his head.
"Er...yeah..." Paradox said, clenching his teeth as his head throbbed with pain. "I think...I think that I'm not reacting well to taking a more 'physical' form..."
"Oh, my! Th..that doesn't sound very good." FlutterShy sympathized as she set about preparing a soothing mixture of herbs and tea.
"Yep.." Paradox sighed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(Narrated by Paradox)
Finally, after two cups of the herbal tea that FlutterShy had stirred up for me, my headache had finally ceased. FlutterShy was sitting on a couch opposite me, and was sipping daintily from a cup of tea.
"So...um...where are you from?" She said in a quiet voice.
"Miasma. Probably never heard of it." I answered her.
"Oh, you're from Miasma?" She said, curiousness momentarily overriding her natural timidity.
"Yeah...how do you know about it?" I said, equally curious.
"Oh, well, animals have a strong connection to Miasma, so..."
"Yes, I know, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Um...I can...kinda speak to animals..." She said in her gentle voice.
"Really? That's incredible!" I told her. I was genuinely surprised, in the old days of Equis many ponies could speak to animals, but barely any possessed that gift nowadays.
"Oh...uhm..thank you."
"No problem."
"So...how did you end up here?" She seemed less shy now that she knew I was from the place her animal friends had talked about.
"Well, long story. In short, I'm the Miasmian in charge of Equis. Discord somehow found a way to bring me here and strip me of my connection to Miasma, so that he could take control of Equis."
FlutterShy gasped. "But he reformed!" She cried out in shock.
"Yeah, no." I told her bluntly.
"B...but I reformed him myself..." Her lip trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. "He...he said he was my friend...I trusted him...are you sure you're not wrong?"
I felt sorely tempted to tell her, No, Discord was still her friend, everything was going to be okay. I sighed. Better she hear the truth. "I'm sure." I told her.
"It's not true!" She shouted as she suddenly glared at me with her tear-filled eyes. "It can't be! You. Are. LYING!"
I sighed. So much for that approach.
"I never want to see you again." She snarled at me as she tried to hide her hurt at what I had told her. "Get. Out. Of. My. House!"
I sighed as I trotted to the door. "Bye."
She slammed the door behind me.
Great, I needed to convince ponies that Discord was a threat and I was good, and what did I go and do? I broke a mare's heart by telling her that her friend had tricked her, ran from what was probably my best hope in finding a way back to Miasma merely because she had been over-eager in asking me questions, probably convinced three little fillies that I hate them by running from them when they were trying to be friendly, and had absolutely no place to stay during the fast-approaching night.
I sighed dejectedly as I flopped down on the ground. I may have been care-taker of Equis, but I was awful at being a pony.
Author's Note
Poor Fluttershy! D:
As I groaned in frustration at my utter stupidity, I heard the sound of hooves trotting up to me.
"Now why are you lying on the ground, mister?" A feminine voice said from behind me.
"Because I'm an idiot," I said, not bothering to look around.
"Huh?"
"I've utterly failed at trying to convince the other ponies that I really am from another dimension and I need their help getting back there. And now I probably sound crazy to you, too." I groaned again. I'd been doing a lot of groaning lately.
"Ooh, you're from another dimension?," the voice said. "Okie doke!"
"Wait...you seriously believe me already?!"
"Yep! Why shouldn't I?"
I smiled slightly. "Nevermind. Anyway, my name's Paradox. What's yours?" I stood up and turned around to face the voice.
The source of the voice was a grey pegasus mare with a blond mane, and, oddly enough, yellow eyes that faced in completely different directions.
"I'm Derpy Hooves!" She said, grinning.
Tearing my gaze away from her eyes, I smiled at her. "That's a nice name."
"Thanks! Most ponies think it's a kinda stupid name, but I like it."
"So do you live here in Ponyville?"
"Yeppers, I live with Dinky and Timey in Ponyville!"
"Dinky and Timey?"
"Dinky is my little filly, and Timey is my coltfriend!"
"Oh, how nice."
"Yep! So, where do you live, Mister Paradox?"
"Just Paradox is fine. I don't really live anywhere, I only recently found myself in this dimension."
"Ooh, why don't you stay at my house for now? Timey will love meeting you, Just Paradox!"
"Uh," I said, trying to think how to explain that my name was just Paradox, not Just Paradox. I gave up and instead said, "Thanks, that would be really nice of you."
"No problemo!," said Derpy, turning and walking towards the center of town and motioning with her wing for me to follow.
I smiled slightly as I followed her. She was a bit...odd, but she was certainly a very nice pony.
************************************
Doctor Whooves sat in a chair in Derpy's house, reading a book. Dinky sat by him on the floor, coloring a picture of her and her mom, or rather, stick figures that were colored like her and her mom.
*knock, knock*
Doctor Whooves barely looked up. "Can you get that, Dinky dear?" He asked, still absorbed in his book.
"Sure!" Dinky cried, scrambling up to go answer the door.
She opened it to find her mom and a strange blue stallion standing there.
"Mommy!" She cried, delighted, as she nearly knocked Derpy over with a hug.
"Hello, Muffin!" Derpy said, smiling as she ruffled her daughter's blonde hair.
"How are you, mommy?" Dinky asked, detaching herself from her mom's embrace and grinning at her.
"Glad to see my little muffin, that's how I am!" Derpy said in return as she and Paradox walked inside the house.
"Who's this, dear?" Doctor Whooves said, finally looking up from his book and setting it down on a table.
"I'm Paradox," said Paradox, who had been busy marveling at how adorable Dinky was.
"Unusual name for a pony. Anyway, what brings you here?" Whooves said in a pleasant tone.
"Oh, he's from another dimension but he doesn't have any place to stay the night so I invited him to stay here!," Derpy said. "Ooh, I forgot to make introductions! Dinky, Paradox. Paradox, Dinky. Timey, Paradox. Paradox, Timey," she told them, pointing to each of the other three ponies in turn.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Paradox!" Dinky chimed in, then returned to her coloring.
Doctor Whooves rubbed his chin with a hoof, "So you're from another dimension? Hmm, interesting."
"Yeah. By the way, is your name really Timey?," Paradox asked him.
"No, my name is simply, 'The Doctor,' though I go by 'Doctor Whooves,' 'Time Turner,' and, according to Derpy, 'Timey.' "
"Oh, I see," Paradox chuckled.
"So, what dimension are you from, Paradox?"
"It's called Miasma."
"Oh, Miasma. Yes, I remember that place. But how, exactly, did you end up here?"
"Well, long story short, I'm the Miasmian care-taker of Equis, Discord brought me here so he could take control of Equis without my intervention, and he also somehow made it so I lost my connection to the Miasma."
"Discord...but I thought he was reformed?"
"Some creatures never truly reform, Doctor."
"Good point. I suppose poor FlutterShy would be devastated to hear of this, since she was the one who 'reformed' him."
"Yes, she was..."
"Hmm?"
And so, Paradox related his tale(s).
*************************************
(Meanwhile, in the Library.)
Twilight stood near the center of the library's main room as her friends sat down in various places. Clearing her throat, she began talking.
"Rarity, A.J., Dash, Pinkie, And Flutters. You're probably wondering why I called you here..."
"Lemme guess, y'all wanted ta talk to us 'bout that Paradox pony?,"a southern drawl broke in.
"Uh...how did you know?" Twilight said in a confused tone.
"Well, AppleBloom keeps goin' on and on about a strange pony without a cutie mark, an' I figure that since its mighty unusual for a full-grown pony ta be a blank-flank, y'all must'a been curious an' talked ta him, and sumthin odd must'a happened so now yer callin' this here meetin' ta talk ta us 'bout yer suspicions."
"Uh....you're actually right. How did you?"
"Ah'm smarter than y'all think, ya know."
"Well, maybe it would be easier to tell that if you didn't insist on speaking in that dreadful accent, dear," Rarity said.
"Now what the hay does that mean?!"
"Simply put, you talk like a hick, darling."
"Why ah oughta..." AppleJack snarled.
"I'm only telling the truth, AppleJack," Rarity sneered.
"Rarity, shut your boiler! You always think you're so high and mighty, you selfish prick!" Rainbow Dash broke in.
Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash, as Twilight nervously said, "Uh...girls?"
The three quarreling ponies looked at her. "What?!" They cried out in unison.
"Could you stop fighting, please?," Twilight said, sounding almost as timid as FlutterShy.
"Oooh, look, Miss bossy-pants here is tryin' ta tell us what ta do-agin!," AppleJack growled.
Pinkie Pie started to glare, "Yeah, you dooo boss me around a lot, Twily."
"They have a...uh...point...," FlutterShy broke in.
Twilight glowered at the others as the room erupted in shouts.
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