The train chugged along its route, traveling down the Canterlot mountains onward towards Ponyville. I fidgeted in my seat, leaning uncomfortably against the window, while holding an ice pack against my eye. Two mares sat opposite of me, who together encompassed the entire color spectrum.
Pinkie Pie, who was trying to flag down the food cart with excessive enthusiasm, was beginning to grow on me. The pastel pink pony had a way of bringing energy into every situation, and I was enjoying her company. Her friend, on the other hoof, was a different matter. Rainbow Dash, a cerulean blue pegasus, with her namesake rainbow hair, was beginning to get on my nerves. She had been gawking at me periodically, ever since we met at the train station.
I turned away from the window to face them, and then snapped at her, "Is my pain that amusing to you, or is your face just permanently stuck in that position?"
Rainbow shook her head, snapping herself out of whatever trance into which she had fallen. Then she grinned, and then said, "I just can't believe that a pony that was strong enough to fight Princess Celestia, would let a regular unicorn get one over on him like that."
I huffed at her, shaking my head slowly, "I can't blame my brother for being angry with me, what I did was stupid. He just tried to knock some sense into me, but I'm still surprised he could hit that hard," I said, pressing the ice pack harder into my right eye.
Then, on a more serious note, I pulled my collar out of my saddlebags, examining the damaged gems on either side, before holding it up to them.
"Can either of you tell me what happened to this?" I asked them, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, totally,' said Rainbow Dash, before taking a breath, and launching into the story, "So, yesterday, I was just starting to settle in for a nap, chilling on my favorite tree branch near Sweet Apple Acres. I hear this weird sound, and then watched a big pink bubble float up, followed by a Pinkie Pie attached to it."
Pinkie Pie jumped out of her seat, placing herself between me and Rainbow Dash. " And then I said, 'Dashy, Dashy, wake up, my tongue's burning. That means that some pony is fighting with a princess!'" She exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash pushed Pinkie back into her seat, stood up, and then continued, "And then I said 'Fine, let's go wake up Twilight, she'll know what to do.'"
"But then I reminded Rainbow that Twilight was in Canterlot, and that maybe she was the princess fighting some pony else," Pinkie Pie interjected, poking her head through the gap from between Rainbow's hooves.
Rainbow pushed Pinkie's head back down with a squeaking sound, before continuing, "So, I grabbed Pinkie by her hooves, and then we flew straight to Canterlot, in like ten seconds flat."
I gave her a flat look, waiting for her blush of embarrassment to overcome her boast.
'Fine, fine, it was more like 10 minutes flat, but still, you should've seen me zoom up and over the Canterlot mountains," Rainbow Dash said, mimicking the motions with her hoof.
"When we got close to Canterlot, my tongue burned again, and this time, it twisted into a pretzel knot," Pinkie tried to say, as she demonstrated the bizarre tongue acrobatics.
"I tried to tell Dashy where to go, but before I could,"—She was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"There was this huge light that shot into the sky, and a sound wave that nearly knocked me off course!" Rainbow dash exclaimed.
"So I flew us towards the light, and that's when we saw this monster fighting with Princess Celestia," Rainbow said. I grimaced at that, and then looked down at the train floor as she continued, "And it looked like Celestia was done fighting, when she landed on the ground. But the monster wasn't, so I flew as fast as I could towards them."
"Then," Pinkie Pie pipped, "I got out my trusty frying pan, and slipped out of Rainbow's hooves, before I flew down towards them. I rolled on the ground like a cannonball, and then swung my frying pan when I got close. It made this really cool ftang noise and then the monster fell asleep," Pinkie Pie said, before looking over at me, and then her smile faltered. "But then the monster turned out to be you, but you were still attacking Princess Celestia, and I was confused.
"So after all that, what happened to my collar?" I asked, holding my ice pack with one hoof, and then touching the other to the side of my face. It still stung, but wasn't as tender as it had been.
"Oh yeah, after Pinkie Pie knocked you out with her frying pan, your gem starting sparking and shooting out flames. So I moved quick as a Wonderbolt, and pulled it off you," she said, looking at us proudly. "Then I threw it to the side, when Twilight came up and placed a shield around it. It stopped making noise eventually, and Twilight said you'd want it back."
I rubbed my hoof over the cracked gems, considering what might have caused such a backlash of energy. "Thank you for returning it, and I apologize for any trouble I've caused you girls," I said, bowing my head to the pair.
"Awe, don't be so blue, Azure, it was actually kind of fun—scary, but fun!" Pinkie said, before continuing, "And now you can make it up to me by letting me throw you a party!"
I face-hoofed, before my lips eventually formed into a smile. "Sure, Pinkie, I'd love a party, especially if it makes you happy." The pink party pony sprung forward, and then gave me a warm hug. Her pink mane itched my nose and smelt of cotton candy. When
we broke apart, I caught Rainbow Dash staring at me, sporting that goofy grin you see on a filly at times.
"You want one too, Rainbow?" I said, taking a step forwards.
"Bleh," she said, before jumping up and out of the cart. "No way, Azure, you keep all that mushy stuff to yourself, I'm gonna go stretch my wings." She walked out, leaving me alone with Pinkie Pie.
"I'm gonna take a short nap, Pinkie, wake me up when we get there," I said, stretching out across the booth seat.
"Okie dokie, Loki," she chimed, making me chuckle.
---
I stepped off the train, stopping to stretch my legs out, which had cramped on the journey here. Pinkie Pie bounced past me, just as Rainbow Dash flew on ahead.
"I'll go tell Twilight you're here, Azure, so just follow Pinkie to Sugar Cube Corner for lunch," Rainbow called back to me as she passed.
"Sounds good, lead the way, Pinkie Pie," I said, watching her nod to me, before bouncing towards the center of town.
I had never been to Ponyville before now. Even during my travels, most of the places I visited had been outside Equestria, so the only pony city I had really known, was Canterlot. So it took me by surprise to see how friendly everypony was here. They all stopped to wave at Pinkie Pie, and gave me a polite smile as well. There was also a decent mix of the three pony races, rather than the primarily unicorn population of Canterlot. Overall, Ponyville just seemed to radiate this aura of friendliness, so much that I couldn't help, but smile.
We arrived at a colorfully decorated bakery, which Pinkie pointed to, before saying, "Come on, silly billy, I want to introduce you to all my friends."
"All of them?" I said skeptically.
"Well okay, not all of them, that'd take like, a month, and you're suppose to be leaving tomorrow," Pinkie said, hopping into the store.
I followed her inside, my nostrils filling with warm baked goodness. The inside had many ponies scattered around, talking between bites of pastries—it was all very warm and inviting.
"Over here, Azure," called Pinkie Pie, who was standing at a table where two other mares were seated. As I approached, I recognized the pair from Pinkie's torture sessio—I mean photo album. I walked up next to Pinkie Pie, and then extended a hoof to the orange earth pony.
"You must be Applejack, nice to meet you," I said to her.
Applejack extended her hoof to mine, and then gave it a good shake, "That's me, and yer, Azure, right?"
I nodded, and then put my hoof out to the yellow pegasus with a pretty pink mane, "And you're Fluttershy right?"
Fluttershy let out an squeak, and then slowly reached her hoof out to mine. I shook it gently, and then glanced at Pinkie Pie out of concern.
"Oh, she's just a little scared of you, after we told her that you had fought head to head with Princess Celestia," Pinkie said, Fluttershy slowly shrinking in her seat.
"I see," I said, turning to look at Fluttershy, giving her my surest smile. "I promise not to engage in any foolishness of that level while I'm here, Miss Fluttershy."
She looked at me over the table corner, and then gave a small nod.
I sighed, and then looked over as a new pair of ponies entered. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity,— I recognized her pretty easily,—stepped into the bakery.
"Hey, Twilight, we're over here!" Pinkie Pie shouted, almost blowing out my eardrum. I rubbed the side of my head as the mares walked up to us.
"Azure," Twilight said, "how are you feeling, uncle?"
"I've had better days, Twilight, but we'll have plenty of time later to talk about it," I said, before looking over at the fabulous white Unicorn.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Rarity," I said, giving her a half-bow, "I've been told quite a lot about you."
"Nothing too terrible I would hope," Rarity gasped in mock exasperation.
"Nothing like that, I promise you, only of your brilliant acting skills, and your fondness for gemstones," I assured her.
"Ah, yes about that," Rarity said, magically opening her saddlebag, before floating out a small assortment of gems. "Twilight had mentioned to me that you might have need of some replacements."
My eyes widened at the collection, and then I smiled at the both of them. "Wonderful, these will do quite well after a fashion, what do I owe you for the gems?" I said, pulling out my bit pouch.
Rarity waved a hoof at me in dismissal, "Don't you mind the cost, dear, especially if it will help Twilight on your grand adventure."
I bowed again to her, and then raised my head back up to say, "Thank you, Miss Rarity, that is very generous."
"Well, that would be a first for me, wouldn't it?" Rarity asked, before the five mares all started giggling.
"What's so funny?" I said, which only served to further encourage their laughter.
---
Twilight and I walked silently through Ponyville, supposedly heading towards her castle. Neither of us had spoke much, not after we had departed from Sugar Cube Corner. I guess we both have a lot on our minds at the moment. The silence remained unbroken for a few minutes, Twilight not even glancing towards me, when I thought I would do well to clear the air between us.
"Twilight," I said, before I stopped in the middle of street. She caught some meaning in my tone, and then stopped, turning to face me.
"Yes, Azure," She said, her expression curious, but with a hint of anxiety.
I looked into Twilight's eyes, before closing mine to help keep myself steady. "I'm sorry, my dear Twilight, for...for everything," I said, before opening my eyes, a trace of water running down my bruise-less eye. Twilight stared at me, but I continued before she started to reply. "I made you worry, about me, and about Princess Celestia," I said, shaking my head in self-loathing. "I'm a terrible uncle, and I want, no, need to be a better pony for you."
The flood gates beneath my eyelids were beginning to break as I continued my out pour. "So, please let me make it up to you, Princess," I managed between small sniffles. Twilight trotted up to me, lifting my head with a hoof, and then giving me firm hug, her wings wrapping around me. We just stood there, holding each other, while other ponies pretended not to see us.
"You're a strong pony, Azure, I just hope you have enough strength to forgive yourself, and the ponies that have wronged you." Twilight said, her voice slightly muffled by my silver mane. I sighed in response, knowing full well that she was right.
'That's not going to be easy for me, Twilight," I said, pulling myself away from her, so that I could look her in the eye. "I've relied on anger and hate as a motivator for long time. It's what made me seek out the power I have now."
"It doesn't matter how much time you need, uncle, but I'll be here, whenever you need me," she said, smiling at me.
I released her, sniffling as I took a small step back, and then said, "That means a lot to me, truly, I can see how you earned your title. You care about ponies, and sincerely want to help them."
Twilight nodded at me, and then gestured forward—we had attracted a decent audience, who quickly whistled, and then walked away. We chuckled with embarrassment, before continuing along our route.
The first thing I noticed about the castle, besides it's odd design, was the sheer scale of it. It towered over all the other buildings in Ponyville, and looked as if it was made of crystals. I turned my head to Twilight, giving her a skeptical look, "So that's your castle?"
Twilight gave me an awkward smile, before saying, "Yeah, I know it looks tacky, but I didn't design it, or even ask for it."
"You'll have to explain that to me at some point," I said, following her into the strange structure. Twilight nodded her head in agreement, taking me down a long hallway—which was filled with doors on either side. We turned right, walking through a large set of ornate doors, into a modest library.
"This is my personal collection," Twilight said, gesturing to the wealth of knowledge before her. "You're free to read till your heart's content, but if you want to check a book out, talk to Spike—my favorite junior assistant."
"Spike?" I said, looking around for anypony else in the room.
"Spike!" Twilight yelled, after which there was a yelp, followed by a crash, which was polished off with a loud 'ow'. A small purple dragon, who sported emerald green scales and eyes, jumped down from a small stack of books.
"Ah, Twilight, you're back!" he said, before stifling a big yawn.
"It's nice to see how busy you've been since I left," Twilight said smoothly, giving him a stern look.
"Oh, um, I was just, uh, ah pony feathers." he said, his cheeks going beat red. I coughed once, and then cleared my throat lightly.
Twilight blinked, before looking at me apologetically, "I'm sorry, Azure. Spike, this is Azure, he's my uncle," she said, gesturing to me.
"Uncle!" Spike said in surprise, "I didn't know you had one of those!"
Twilight chuckled at that, before nodding to him, "Neither did I, until a few days ago. Anyways, I needed to tell you that Azure and I are about to go on an adventure together."
Spikes eye's widened, and then he asked us, "An adventure? Do I get to come?"
Twilight slowly shook her head, Spike deflating before she even opened her mouth, "I'm sorry, Spike, but it's going to be too dangerous for you, besides, I need some one to watch over the castle while I'm gone."
Spike looked up, somewhat mollified, before asking, "How long until you have to leave?"
"We'll leave just as soon as I have everything packed, and if Azure has finished all of his preparations as well," she answered, looking at me.
I nodded to her, and then thought about what I would need for the trip. "Actually, before I do anything else, I need to send a letter," I said, rubbing my mane with a hoof. "I sort of promised Princess Luna that I would apologize to her sister."
"Oh," Twilight said, looking at me thoughtfully, "Spike, you know what to do." Spike saluted her sharply, before grabbing a quill, ink and paper, which he had stashed nearby.
"Ready when you are, Azure" he said, his quill loaded and poised for action.
"If you say so," I said, looking down at him, before stopping to think. "Alright then, Dear Princess Celestia, I would like to apologize for my words and actions during the last few days."
Twilight flew in and out of the library, frequently carrying an assortment of different items to a center table. She would stop briefly to hear me dictate my letter to Spike, but would then flutter off to find more gear—or look for a certain book.
After a few minutes of thinking, pausing and a little blushing, I gave spike the farewell for the letter, "Finally, I would like to thank you for the wonderful job you've done in teaching my niece Twilight. And I hope that we could have another meeting soon, so that I can share my appreciation in person, sincerely, Azure," I said, nodding to Spike.
Spike scratched out the rest of the sentence with the quill, before rolling it up, and then applying a seal. "Do you want to send it now," Spike said, balancing the letter on a claw.
"I'll take it to the post office after we've packed," I said, turning to walk over to the table of ever-growing materials.
"Oh, there's no need for a post office for that" he said, before taking a deep breath. My eyes widened as he torched my letter of humility, which then curled into smoke, before rising and rushing out a window.
"What was that?" I said in surprise.
Spike looked quite proud of himself, as he puffed out his chest and then said, " I sent it to Princess Celestia, with Dragon magic."
Twilight came down, having apparently watched our little exchange, before saying, "Spike can never resist showing off, but I'll admit that the instant mail delivery has been useful over the years."
"Hmm," I said, before looking at Spike with a thoughtful gaze.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" he said, eyeing me nervously.
"I need to borrow your assistant, Twilight, I needed a source of magical fire anyway,' I said. Twilight shrugged, and then nodded at Spike, who had begun to worry.
I took Spike into a room with less flammable materials, leaving Twilight to finish the packing.
---
It had taken over an hour, using Spikes fire breathing, to magically infuse my ruby. Both of us were completely tired at the end, but I promised to bring him a souvenir from the trip. He responded by informing me of his love of large emeralds.
I walked back into the library, Spike snoozing on my back, to see Twilight reading over a long list. She smiled at us, before walking over to check on her little buddy.
"He's quite a tough one for his age, Twilight," I said, giving her an appreciative smile. "I feel a lot better about this trip, after having fixed at least one of my offensive gemstones."
Twilight nodded, and then slowly levitated the dragon off my back, and then onto her own. She bent her neck close to me, and then whispered, "I'm going to tuck him into bed, and then leave him a note," she said, before walking out of the library.
I took my collar out of my saddlebags, and opened the clasp with the burnt out ruby. I gently extracted it, setting it to the side, before fitting the new one carefully into place. The clasps fit almost perfectly, Rarity herself it seemed, was a gem of crafting. The red stone hummed with energy, responded to my slight touch with a pulse of warmth.
My elemental stones had all fractured during my battle with the sun, and only a few useful ones remained intact. My gem of levitation, as well as my zebra stone, the targeting quartz, and my water gem—all glimmered in response to the proximity of the dream pearl around my neck.
Twilight flew back into the library, and then landed next to me, "So, anything else that needs our attention, before we set off?" she said, giving me a cheerful smile.
"I don't think so, Twilight, I looked over your list of supplies, and if everything that's on it is here, then we're probably good to go," I said, waving at our bulging bags.
She nodded in agreement, before saying, "I always try to account for a large variety of situations, better safe than sorry!" I chuckled softly, before Twilight levitated the bags up and onto our backs. She turned to me, after they clicked into place and said, "So did you already have a route picked out?"
"Sort of," I said, "I was thinking of testing a theory in the process, and take out two cakes with one Pinkie Pie."
Twilight snorted with laughter, grinning at me, "You did seem to take a liking to my friends, Azure."
"I didn't get a lot of time to talk to them all, but Pinkie has definitely rubbed off on me," I said, smiling despite myself. "Now let's head outside, we're gonna need some open space for this."
"Oh, Azure, I forget to tell you, I ran into some pony you know, before I left for Ponyville yesterday," Twilight said off-hoofedly.
I blinked in surprise, "Who might that be?'
As we walked out of the castle entrance, my question was answered. A familiar yellow pony, who sported a golden mane and a sour look, stared at the pair of us.
"Hello, Azure," Golden Quill said, "my father sends his regards."
I scoffed at him, my eyes narrowing in disdain, "What are you doing here, you bucking horn head."
Golden Quill barely managed to suppress a snarl, instead settling on looking undignified, "I was invited, dirt pony, so watch your mouth."
Twilight stepped between us, a determined look upon her face, "Azure, I asked him to come, I've invited him on our mission to Starswirl's library."
"What!?" I said, looking at her, my face stuck between concern and bafflement.
'I thought it would be a good way for you to work through your past issues, and there's something else as well," She said, giving me a serious look.
Golden Quill took a step forward, "I just happened to meet Princess Twilight, who was trying to check out a selection of books from the royal archive. The books in question coincidentally are the ones that I am currently engrossed in, but I can imagine you already know which ones."
I groaned at this, but gave Twilight an appreciate smile for her efforts.
"Anyway," Twilight said, "since the contest between yourself and Princess Celestia was a tie, Golden Quill approached me with a offer. He would lend these books to you, if we allowed him to accompany us on our journey."
I scowled at the yellow pony, to which he responded by saying, "Don't give me that attitude, Azure, this is a one in a lifetime chance of discovery, and I wont miss out on it—but I also know you wouldn't take me along willingly."
"Azure, please," said Twilight, "I know this might seem like a bad idea, but you have to start somewhere," she finished, her eyes growing wide and quivering.
I huffed at her, and then turned to Golden Quill, "I need to speak with you in private for a moment, Quill,"
"Very well," he said, eyeing me carefully. We walked out of Twilight's earshot, leaving her to watch us worriedly.
I looked Golden Quill in the eyes, my own eyes briefing flashing white with magic, before saying, "This is important to Twilight, so I'm willing to give you a chance, hell, I might even try to be nice to you. But,If you do anything that would put our lives, especially Twilight's, in danger, so help me—I'll make sure you come back to Canterlot as an earth pony."
Golden Quill automatically reached up to touch his horn as he winced at my implication, and then opened his mouth to reply. Instead he thought better of it, and simply nodded to me in understanding.
"Good," I said, mostly satisfied. We walked back over to Twilight, who seemed relieved that we hadn't broken out into a school yard brawl.
"Twilight, we're going to need to journey back to where you first met me, for the next part of my plan," I said, Golden Quill walking up behind me.
"So, are we taking the train, or did you want me to call for some pegasi guards to fly us?" she asked curiously.
"Neither, we're going to have you teleport us there," I replied.
"That's quite a distance, Azure!" she said, astonished, "And with all of our gear, and the extra pony, I don't know if I can do it without making multiple trips. Also, that many teleports over that distance is going to drain me quite a lot," she finished, looking at me skeptically. "But you probably knew this already, did you have something in mind?"
I smiled at her, "Perceptive as always, Twilight. Yes, I'm going to use this as a chance to give you a lesson in co-operative trans-magical casting."
Twilight's eyes opened wide in surprise, and then she jumped up with excitement, "My first lesson with my Uncle Azure, ooh, I can't wait!"
I rolled my eyes at her, and tried to ignore the annoyed groan from behind me. "Alright, we need a big open area, away from any buildings, so we can begin."
"Alright," Twilight said, leading the way past her castle, to a small field, just past the town's border. "Will this work, Azure?"
It was about forty feet of clear, level ground. There was no trees or large rocks to obstruct what I was going to do.
"Perfect," I replied, "Now pay attention, dear pupil, as I will explain the basics as I work." Twilight nodded, observing me walking the perimeter of the area. I stopped to think for a moment, measuring the distance in my mind, and then began dragging a hoof through the dirt.
"Magic exists in everything, even if it's just a trace amount." I said, working my way backwards in a circle. "In its raw form, it can't be used to cast spells, but it can still have very potent effects on the things with which it interacts," I said, coming full circle. "Unicorns don't usually have to know this, except when enchanting objects, as unicorns have their own magical supplies."
Twilight nodded, taking out a notepad and quill as I spoke. Golden Quill simply sat a few feet beside her, silently observing us.
"Now, Unicorns can't draw upon raw magic in its natural form, but if that magic were put into let's say, an amulet, it would be possible."
Twilight looked up, frowning as though remembering something distasteful. "I think I've seen an example of what you're talking about, uncle."
I nodded, starting to work my way inwards from the circle's edge. "So, in order for a unicorn to access the vast quantity of magic in nature, we must first create a link between them, to act as an intermediary," I said, not looking up. I turned, creating angles and patterns in the ground, and then glanced at her, "It is this link that an artifact serves as, though what I'm doing now is only temporary, it comes with the bonus of avoiding the lengthy process of gem crafting.
Twilight scribbled down on her notepad, letting out a "hmm" or an "I see" occasionally. I looked over to Golden Quill, who had become somewhat intrigued in my glyph mark, but then looked away when he saw me watching him—pretending not to be interested.
"So," I said, carving the final lines into the dirt with my hooves, "This glyph will serve as a conduit for the excess energy for your spell to draw on, and the object of your first lesson." I gestured her over to me with a hoof. She put her notepad and quill away, and then, careful not to step on any of my lines, walked over to me.
"So, now what?" she asked.
"First," I replied, "Golden Quill, come join us, and please take care not to smudge any of the lines, unless you want us to end up in Saddle Arabia."
Golden Quill smirked at me, but said nothing as he walked carefully over to us, standing next to me.
"Now, Twilight, stand between those connecting lines, and then close your eyes," I said to her. She did as instructed, taking a deep breath afterwards.
"Now, I want you to envision that hilltop, the way you would normally when teleporting." Twilight nodded at me affirmatively. "Alright, now I'm going to gather energy into this circle, and I want you to clear your mind of everything but the image of that hilltop. Understood?" I said.
Twilight nodded again in understanding, so I went ahead with my end of the process. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath while doing so, and felt for the magic around me. The natural energy was almost reluctant to be drawn in, probably because of the effects of the magical surge I'd had during my fight. But, slow and steady, it gathered around me. I pulled the magic towards me, moving it through my body, and then out again, from my hooves into the magical circle. I took my time with the process, no need to rush it, really.
After a few minutes, the circle began to glow with light, after which there was a soft "ooh" from Golden Quill.
"Now, Twilight, try to mentally place your spell's core into the circle, and use it instead as your designation for teleportation." I said, watching her wiggle her nose while trying to focus.
"Okay," she said, taking another breath, "I think I got it."
"Good, now just pull on that magic with your horn, and let the circle do the work." I said, watching her work.
There was a small grunt, and then a flash. Suddenly, we fell a few feet out of the air onto the ground, the high wind of the Canterlot mountains whistling around us.
"I did it!" Twilight squeed, before jumping over to hug me. I laughed and ran a hoof through her mane, just enjoying that she was happy.
"Well, that was long and tedious," said Golden Quill, grumpily reminding us that we weren't alone.
"Well, next time, you can walk," I said to him, to which he simply turned and look away from me.
"So, now what?" Twilight said, still smiling at her success.
"Now, we get to the real fun," I said, walking over to my grand magic circle. "Stand next to me, both of you," I gestured over to them. "We're going to ride the world's magical current, which will save us days of travel time."
"Really?" Twilight said, looking over my design, "Is it safe?"
I gave her a small shrug, "There's no danger in the process itself, I've confirmed that, but since I don't have an anchor downstream, we might overshoot or undershoot our target," I said, giving her a knowing smile. "But either way, we'll be hundreds of miles closer regardless."
"Alright," she said, walking up to stand next to me.
"Let's just get this over with," Golden Quill murmured.
We stepped into the center of the circle, standing next to the stone pedestal. I moved a small gemstone, which sat upon it, into the South-East position. Then I tapped the white gem on my collar, before turning to activate each sapphire rod along the circle's end points. Each gem resonated with magic, before shooting energy down their corresponding rod into the circle. The magical glyph hummed with light, and then we vanished in a flash.
I opened my magical sight, my dream pearl connecting with the worlds magic, and was amazed and terrified at its magnitude. A world of vibrant, wild color, flowing like the largest river imaginable, filled my vision. I hadn't really prepared for this, not that I could have accounted for how it would actually appear. I looked to the side, and then saw the magical forms of Twilight, who was even more purple than before, and Golden Quill, who had taken on a green tint. They floated next to me, their magical forms connected to me by a small tether. I managed to regain my composure—barely ,and remembered to start counting. I had calculated that moving at the speed of magic, which is the close to the speed of sound, we would arrive after about a minute and a half.
I closed my eyes, simply enjoying the feeling of the world's energy around me, until I had reached what I thought was the proper length of time. Then I pulled on the magic around me, and pushed us outward, curving a path away from the great magical stream.
A blinding flash and stomach wrenching fall later, we fell as a pony pile, back into the physical world. I looked up, my head spinning and whirling, wondering why I couldn't see the sky. After my vision cleared, it became clear that we were underground, in a cavern of sorts.
A small black shape walked at the edge of my sight, the caves very dark and gloomy. I could make out strange sound, followed by a cacophony of noise, before we were swarmed by a small platoon of strange giant black insects.
Twilight moaned, and then quickly came to her senses upon hearing the stomping, buzzing and hissing. She looked around us, unsure if she was dreaming, before noticing that I was staring the army down as well, looking equally startled.
"Changelings!" she cried.