Chandra Nalaar hated running.
Not that she wasn't used to it, though. She had a knack for attracting unwanted attention; whether through her fiery red hair that caused her to stick out amongst the blondes and browns of the townspeople, her considerable skills at pyromancy, or stealing a priceless artifact from the legendary Aerie of the Firemind, Nivix.
Besides, she thought to herself as she ran down the alleyways, attempting to escape from the approaching sounds of the Boros Legionnaires, It's not like they really needed this. It was just sitting there collecting dust, and clearly hasn't been used in ages. She ducked into a dark corner, waiting patiently as the soldiers passed her by. Once she was sure they were far away, she took a quick glance at her prize to ensure that it was, in fact, the item she sought.
It was a small spherical object, about the size of a grapefruit, covered with strange runic markings. From what Chandra had heard, this orb was actually a puzzle box, and inside it contained an ancient source of mana. If Chandra could unlock the orb, she would have a constant source of mana on her at all times, allowing her to draw upon its power even when she had exhausted her own.
She quickly stowed the orb back into her pack, and checked to make sure no one was nearby. She wanted no distractions for her next move. Planeswalking took considerable concentration, and could be disastrous if done improperly. Chandra had experienced first hand the effects of an unprepared 'walk, and didn't want to repeat the experience if she didn't have to. She sat down in the corner, and began to breathe in slow, even breaths.
In.... out... in... out... She spoke to herself, focusing on collecting her mana for the planeswalk. In...
"Stay where you are!"
Chandra broke out of her calm, and quickly got to her feet. There before her were at least 10 guards, led by what she could only assume was their captain, based on his gilded armor and insignia. Also accompanying them were 2 men in royal blue robes, lined with scarlet along the cuffs, collar, and seams.
"So, the Legion needed mages to catch a criminal, eh?" She knew the taunt wouldn't get to them, but she hoped she could stall for just a bit longer, as she prepared to cast a spell that would hopefully knock the guards far enough away that she could escape.
"These respected mages are from the Institute of Arcane Research. They were able to trace you by following the mana trail you left as you fled the scene."
Damn, she thought. Why is it that every time I want to steal something, there's always some lousy mage or two that follows me and tries to stop me? I can't even go to a different PLANE to escape them. "So, you found me. Now what, I return the orb, get locked in jail for a few years? Is that the plan?" She was almost ready, just a little bit longer...
"Unfortunately for you, no. It would seem that the leader of the Izzet Guild, Niv-Mizzet himself, had ordered that anyone who so much as touches the artifact be executed immediately. Frankly, I've wasted enough time just giving you the chance to speak." At once, all the legionnaires drew their lances, aimed squarely at Chandra.
"Sorry, boys, but I'm a busy girl, and I'm afraid that execution just isn't on my list of things to do today. How about we schedule it for some time-" Chandra quickly brought her hands together, creating a small ball of red mana. She then spread her arms wide and closed her eyes, as the ball erupted into a torrent of flames, washing over everything around her in the alleyway. The screams of the soldiers told her that her spell had worked. It wasn't strong enough to kill them, but the scars would certainly be a strong reminder: don't mess with a cornered pyromancer.
She opened her eyes, but what she saw was not to her liking. While the soldiers had been burnt and flung away from her, the captain and the mages were standing exactly where they were, but were covered in a strange, blue/green aura. One of the mages held his hands aloft, empowering the spell.
"Of course," she muttered to herself. The mage clearly knew protective countermagic, and was able to quickly throw up a shield on himself and the others. Thankfully for her, she was at least able to disable the soldiers.
"A novel trick, but it won't work again" the mage taunted from behind the barrier. "This shield is able to absorb whatever spell you just cast, and will automatically deflect any further attempts."
"Well then, I'll just have to try something new, won't I?"
This isn't good. If I don't find a way to get out of here fast, more of those soldiers will show up. And these mages clearly are able to block my spells, meaning I'm basically a sitting duck. She knew of one last trick that could work, but she only had one shot. She began the casting, but she suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her head
"Get ready," the other mage spoke "She's going to use another spell."
"Hey! Don't you know it's rude to poke around people's brains?" She shouted as she fired off another inferno, this one directed right at the speaker's feet. She HATED mind mages. They always used their magic to probe around in her head, and block her favorite skills.
Fortunately for the mage, his ally was ready with another counterspell, and the fire was quickly swallowed by a wave of water.
"Stop wasting time!" The captain roared. "Finish her!" He began to charge towards her, lance at the ready.
Well then, it's now or never, Chandra realized, and she quickly ran backwards towards the alley wall. She focused all of her mana into her chest, and quickly created a smokescreen behind her. She only had a second or two before the mages cleared it, so she dove forward as a portal into the Blind Eternities opened itself for her, hoping her pursuers didn't see her. The captain shouted as he charged forward, but suddenly stopped as his lance hit a brick wall and splintered, the portal closing mere moments before his lance hit the wall.
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“Twilight, do we really have to do this?”
“Of course we do, Spike!” Twilight said, exasperated at having to answer the young dragon for the third time. The two of them stood in the middle of the library, with an assortment of cleaning supplies next to them. “If we don't do a thorough cleaning of all the books once a year, do you know what happens?”
“Um...” Spike thought for a moment before answering, “they get dusty?”
“Exactly!” Twilight leaned in closer to the dragon until she was almost directly in his face. “And do you know what happens to dusty books?”
Spike shrugged. “They make you sneeze?”
Twilight brought her hoof to her face. “No! They start to fall apart! We need to clean all the books so that ponies can actually come in and read them, and not have the pages be worn and illegible!” She started to hyperventilate slightly, as Spike merely sighed.
“And why does me dusting the library every day not count?” he huffed as he crossed his arms.
Twilight answered “It does count, Spike.” she gave the little dragon a pat on the head and continued “But we need to make all the books extra clean, so we're going to do more than a regular dusting. We're going to spend the next two days cleaning every book.” Before Spike could complain again, she shoved a box of Q-tips and some cleaning solution into his claws. “Here take these and get started on the Fiction section. I'll be in the other room working on Biographies.” She picked up some of the cleaning supplies with her magic and trotted into the back room, leaving Spike to mutter pointless nothings as he got to work.
In the other room, Twilight picked up the first book and opened it to the front page. She carefully dabbed a Q-tip in some cleaning solution, and slowly began to lower it to the upper left corner of the book. “Careful,” she spoke to herself, hoping to lower her nerves “Careful...”
“Incomiiing!”
Recognizing the voice, Twilight quickly ducked under the table. A rainbow blur crashed through the window and into the bookshelf on the other side, shaking the whole room and knocking the contents of the shelves across it.
As the dust settled, Twilight got up from underneath the table. “Rainbow!” She ran over to the cyan pegasus, who lay upside down with her eyes crossed.
“Oh, hey Twilights” she slurred dizzily. “What are you two up to?”
Spike burst through the door. “Whoa, what happened in here? Did somepony make a tornado?”
“Were both fine, Spike. Rainbow Dash just had a little accident is all.” Twilight used her magic to right the dizzy pony, who promptly lost her balance and fell over again. “She may need a minute to recover, though. In the meantime, shouldn't you be working?”
“But, what if Rainbow-”
“Spike...”
The dragon knew that once Twilight used his name, there was no point in arguing. He sighed, “Okay, okay, I'll get back to work.”
As he started to leave, Twilight pulled him into a tight hug. “That's my number one assistant! I know you'll do just fine!”
Spike saluted “Yes ma'am!”
He rushed out the door as Twilight closed it behind him. “Well, that should keep him focused for a while.” She turned back to Rainbow Dash, who was starting to get back on her hooves. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
Rainbow slowly stood up and shook her head for a moment before responding. “Nah, just a little woozy. I should be fine in a minute.”
“Are you sure, Rainbow?” Twilight began to twist and turn the other pony's head, examining her for bruises and checking her pupils. “No bruises, concussions, or brain damage?”
“I'm fine, Twilight!” She broke away from the unicorn's grip. “I've been in worse crashes than that before.” She looked around, observing the carnage she just caused. “Hehe, sorry about that, by the way. Need any help cleaning up?”
Twilight, relieved that Rainbow Dash was alright, answered “Sure, if you want. I just need to get all these books back on the shelves in alphabetical order.” She started to magically re-shelve the books by author, and Rainbow followed suit. She scanned a group of about ten books, then quickly zipped about, placing them back on the shelves in their proper order.
Rather impressed by Rainbow's speed and accuracy, Twilight remarked “Wow Rainbow! You could be a great librarian!”
“Nah, that's not for me.” She quickly shelved another group of boks. “I like reading and all, but I wouldn't want to be surrounded by books all the time. Being a librarian's for eggheads like you – no offense.”
Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbow's comment, and continued to shelve books. “So, what exactly caused that crash?” She looked up at the pegasus with a wry grin. “Practicing for the Wonderbolts again?”
“Yep! I was trying to improve my Buccaneer Blaze, but may have done a few too many corkscrews. At least I wasn't making lightning bolts when I crashed.” She blushed as she continued to pick up the scattered books. “Again, sorry about that.”
“It's okay, Rainbow.” Twilight smiled at her friend. “No hard feelings. At least we'll be able to get this done quickly.” She picked up another pile of books with her magic. “I'm just hoping there won't be any more distractions.”
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Chandra tumbled through the realm between realms, fire burning every inch of her body. She wasn't as alarmed or as shocked as she was the last time this happened, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience. She knew that she had to find a plane quickly, or risk being torn apart by the never-ending stream of energy in the Blind Eternities.
She focused herself, and began to search for a source of mana. Planeswalking wasn't like traveling down the road to your mother's house; instead of following roadways, one had to follow mana. Chandra knew that if she found a strong enough source of mana, she could use it as a guide to the plane that contained it. She found several different trails, but most of them were rather... dark. Chandra remembered her last foray onto a world with unfamiliar mana, and knew that repeating the same mistake wasn't a wise decision.
Suddenly, she found a mana source not too far from her. This one was bright, almost unusually bright... as if the world was simply exploding with magic. She knew, at least, that once she arrived there, she should be able to collect herself and leave without too much trouble. A world with this much magic should have more than enough red mana to sustain her in planeswalking. She dove towards the world, ready to break free, but suddenly found herself stopped.
Chandra didn't understand. She was at the boundary of the plane, she could feel the mana, but for some reason, was unable to break through. This certainly wasn't normal; every other 'walk she took, she simply waltzed right in, with no restrictions. This plane seemed to be pushing back against her, almost as if it didn't want anything to get in or out.
She knew that she didn't have any more time to find another plane, and staying in the Blind Eternities was certainly not an option. She pushed against the barrier, but it still held firm. She started to panic, and desperately focused all her power on breaking the barrier. Slowly but surely, she began to enter the plane, pushing past the barrier into this new world. She prepared to regain her physical form, when just as she crossed through the barrier her body was wracked with pain.
This wasn't anything like she'd experienced before. She had felt the pain of being exposed to the raw power of Eternity, but this was entirely new. It was as if her body was being torn apart by the force of the magic on this plane. Every inch of her body felt like it was being stabbed by a million icy needles, and her bones were warping and twisting inside her. She screamed as she continued to be tortured by this force, but she was already entering the plane, and there was no turning back. Her life began to flash before her as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
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With Rainbow's speed and Twilight's magic, they were able to rearrange the library wing in only ten minutes. The two ponies wiped their brows, and Twilight said, “Thanks for the help, Rainbow Dash! At least I didn't waste too much time. Now I can get back to work!”
“What exactly are you doing, again?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“Oh, I'm just doing a thorough cleaning of all the books in the library.” Twilight gave a huge grin, as if this was the most exiting thing in the world. “Gotta make sure they don't fall apart for anypony!”
“Ugh, Twilight...” Rainbow knew her friend was a bookworm, but even this was going a bit far. “You're a super-powerful magical unicorn for Pete's sake! There's gotta be more fun and exciting things to do than clean books all day!” Rainbow gestured to the open window. “There's a whole world of cool stuff to do!”
Twilight simply picked up a fresh Q-tip. “Oh, Rainbow, I'm fine with working in the library.” Using her magic, she pulled the first book off the shelf again. “I'm not cut out for adventures and excitement like you are: besides, I get enough crazy excitement from Ponyville. I'm perfectly happy just being with all my friends!”
Rainbow landed next to her unicorn friend. “I love being here with our friends too, Twilight. But I still wanna do fun and awesome things!” She picked up the book that Twilight was about to clean. “And cleaning books is not fun. I know there's better things for you to do, like...” She pondered for a moment, then exclaimed “I got it! You could put on magic shows, like Trixie!” Twilight's stare was cold enough that even Rainbow felt a chill “Okay, maybe not exactly like Trixie...”
“I know it may seem boring to you,” Twilight magically grabbed the book back from Rainbow, “But this is what I enjoy doing. I know my special talent is magic, but there's not much I really need to use it for, other than to help me study. And occasionally save Ponyville.” She set the book back down, and prepared to clean it once more. She slowly lowered the Q-tip to the book...
Suddenly, a bright flash of red light and a deafening noise came from the main wing. “Oh, what now?” Twilight dropped the Q-tip as she and Rainbow ran to the door. Once she opened it, smoke started billowing through the opening. “Spike! Spike, are you in there?” Twilight coughed, attempting to breathe through the cloud.
Rainbow Dash dove into the smoke and started dispersing it with her wings. It took a few seconds to clear the entire library of the haze. Once clear, Twilight rushed in and found more piles of books. She looked to the left, and saw Spike, knocked up against the bookshelf covered in ashes. “Spike!” She pulled the dragon up into a squeezing hug “Are you okay”
“I'm fine, Twilight,” Spike wheezed as his eyes bulged “except for the fact that you're crushing me...”
“Oh. Sorry.” She set him down, and he started brushing the ashes off his scales. “What happened in here?”
“I dunno.” He shook his head for a moment, as more ash scattered from within his spines. “I was just cleaning the books like you wanted, and suddenly this huge explosion happened!” He looked around the library, and pointed over to the corner. “It came from over there!”
The area he pointed to didn't have any books in it, but instead a small dark figure lay, blackened slightly by ashes. As the three approached it, a small groan could be heard. Rainbow stared at the prone figure on the floor. “Who do you suppose it is?”
“I'm not sure.” Twilight took a closer look, and another groan was heard. “Whoever they are, though, they sound like they're hurt!” She used her magic to lift the figure up, and started out the door. “Come on, Rainbow! Let's get them to the hospital!” She ran out the door, as Spike hopped onto Rainbow Dash's back and the two followed after her.