The Eye of Destiny

by derpyland

Chapter 1: A Thief in the Darkness

As Crimson Star looked up at Twilight’s castle, he began to feel a bit nervous. Am I really going to do this? After all, Twilight–

The aging green stallion shook his head, vainly trying to force his doubts out of his mind. No. This has to be done. Besides, I’m sure the stories about her have been wildly exaggerated. She’s probably completely harmless. Right?

From his hiding place, Crimson took another look around. It was two in the morning and there were no ponies to be seen. The sky was overcast, hiding the moon and making Ponyville even darker than usual. He was confident that no one had seen him. Normally a green pony would have been easy to spot, but he was wearing a black cloak that hid everything but his face. Now all he had to do was get inside that castle. There was only one problem: where were all the guards?

If Crimson knew anything about castles it was that they were well-guarded. Celestia and Luna were protected by an entire army. Cadance was surrounded by her crystal soldiers. Twilight had to be protected by something. But what?

Over the past week he had taken the official tour of her castle three times. He now knew the layout of that castle by heart – but he had never seen so much as a single guard. He didn’t like that at all. Not one bit.

Are they invisible? Is she guarded by more than just ponies? Do powerful spells watch over those crystal halls?

Unfortunately, the tour guide had just laughed at him when he’d asked. Either she didn’t know, or she thought the answer was so obvious that it wasn’t worth asking.

Crimson finally stood up. Luck favors the bold, I suppose. Using his magic, the unicorn reached into his saddlebag and took out four black sneakers, which he carefully put on. He knew he looked ridiculous in them (seriously, who thought that creating shoes for ponies was a good idea?), but it couldn’t be helped. His hoofs would make far too much noise on the crystal floors of that castle. His mission required stealth – and if that meant looking silly then so be it.

After taking one last look around to make sure that nopony was watching, he carefully approached the castle, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. His greatest fear was being discovered by that unholy terror that seemed to know everything – the one they called Pinkie Pie. That crazy earth pony should be in bed at this hour, but she was impossible to predict. Crimson occasionally wondered if she was really Discord’s sister, and was just pretending to be a pony in order to amuse herself.

Step by step, inch by painful inch, Crimson crept toward the giant castle. In the daylight it looked friendly and inviting, but at night – cloaked in darkness and shadow – it looked positively ominous. It seemed to be daring him to try something.

But I am no ordinary pony, Crimson thought with resolve. I am a powerful wizard, second to none! Twilight will never know what hit her library. Well, until I tell her, that is. Then she’ll know.

After what seemed like an eternity (but was really just five minutes), Crimson finally reached the massive doors that led to the interior of the castle. This was the moment of truth. He hadn’t really expected to get fried by counterspells as long as he was outside; after all, that would be pretty unkind to any passing pedestrians. But attempting to break in – now, that was a different matter.

If this was my castle I’d have it surrounded by armed ponies, and a moat filled with cragadiles. The front door would be protected by an electrocution spell. The halls would be patrolled by the undead. The–

But that line of thinking wasn’t helpful. There was only one thing to do: he had to try to open the door. If it killed him then it killed him. Can I still accomplish my mission as a ghost pony? What do I know about ghost ponies? Have there been any books written on that topic?

Crimson whipped a pad of paper out of his saddlebag and jotted down a quick note. If he survived all of this then he would do some research. Who knows – perhaps he could get a paper published on ghosts, and then–

But he was wandering again. His mind kept drifting; it was very annoying. It must be old age setting in. But, really. Is it my fault that I love books?

The wizard braced himself and cast a protection spell. He then used his magic to oh-so-carefully reach out and touch the massive front door.

Nothing happened.

He slowly, gingerly, touched the latch on the door.

No sparks shot out. No undead ponies tried to eat his brain. The door did not respond.

With great fear, Crimson pulled on the latch. The door quietly swung open.

Crimson’s mouth dropped open. You mean to tell me it wasn’t even locked? But–

The wizard looked inside. He didn’t see any guards anywhere. Perhaps they were all invisible, and the unlocked door was just a trap. There was only one way to find out.

After making sure his sneakers hadn’t fallen off (keeping shoes attached to hoofs was such a pain!), he quickly darted inside and shut the door behind him. In front of him was a pitch-black hallway. He could see absolutely nothing.

The cloaked pony cast a see-in-the-dark spell. It wasn’t a very good spell, but it gave him some rudimentary night vision – and that was all he needed.

If the castle was guarded by the undead, they either hadn’t spotted him yet or they were toying with him. In either case his best bet was to carry out his plan as quickly as possible and then leave. His elaborate, somewhat ridiculous plan completely depended on these next few moments.

The library is the third door on the left, he thought to himself. Crimson longed to make a dash for it but knew he would create far too much noise – even in sneakers. So he stealthily crept down the hallway.

When he finally reached the library door he paused. The castle was eerily quiet. His keen senses detected absolutely nothing.

Crimson carefully eyed the door in front of him. Perhaps this is where the traps are. After all, Twilight is as crazy about her books as I am! If it were me, this is where I would unleash doom on intruders.

Once again Crimson cast a protection spell on himself, and then – with great fear and trepidation – reached out and touched the door. When he didn’t drop dead he pushed on the door – and it opened.

What he saw inside almost brought tears to his eyes. The room was absolutely packed with books. The bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling, and they contained some of the rarest and most priceless books in all of Equestria. Twilight had first editions, autographed copies–

But there was no time for sightseeing. The green pony darted inside the room and closed the door. He then used his horn to generate light, so he could see what he was doing. The see-in-the-dark spell was fine and all, but it wasn’t strong enough to allow him to read anything.

In the soft, magical light he could see everything. Now all he had to do was find one very special book. Fortunately, Twilight was fanatical about organization. He had to hand it to her: she knew how to run a library.

Crimson scanned the shelves. E, E, where are the E’s… ah, here we go. Now I just need to find the right book. Eclipse, Elephant, Embers, Exercise – there it is. The Eye of Destiny. Perfect!

The wizard reached out with his magic and gingerly removed the brittle book from the shelf. It was a large brown volume with gold lettering on the cover. Sadly, the book was not in good condition. Its spine had badly decayed, and its pages were yellowed and falling apart. That’s what you get for not using acid-free paper! What was the publisher thinking? Didn’t they know any better?

Even so, just being able to hold the book was a joy in itself. He knew that this edition of the story was almost a thousand years old (making it one of the oldest books in existence), and was in fact the oldest known copy of that obscure tale. Most importantly, it contained some key details that had been left out of later editions.

He would know – he had read that very book countless times when he was younger. In fact, he practically had it memorized.

Crimson looked at the book with fondness. It’s good to be reunited with you, old friend. If only for a few moments.

Seeing the book took him back. Twenty years ago he had been an important, powerful wizard in Canterlot with a magnificent library of his own. Then one day Celestia threw him in her dungeon and confiscated all of his possessions. Apparently she had given his rare books to Twilight.

The unfairness of it all grated on the elderly pony. True, he had led an armed revolt against the princess. He had invaded her castle and attempted to seize power over all of Equestria. The plan might have worked, too, if she hadn’t been such a light sleeper. How was he to know that the princess found it impossible to sleep since she banished her sister to the moon? He had been absolutely floored when he snuck into her chambers at two in the morning and found her wide awake, staring at the moon, crying. He had no idea that the tyrant of Equestria was even capable of feeling emotion, much less sorrow.

Besides, all he was trying to do was seize power and make everyone his slaves. Celestia had reigned for far too long – everypony knew that. He wanted to overthrow her for her own good.

Well, for his good, really. Let’s be honest: absolute power really rocks. But, sadly, his plan failed, and he was imprisoned for years, and then–

But the past was the past. It was the future that he cared about. In fact, that was the whole reason he was here.

I’ve got the book, Crimson thought triumphantly. That’s step one. Now it’s time for step two.

Crimson looked around the library and saw that the room had three doors. He didn’t know which one Twilight would enter, so he would have to be quick. Fortunately, Twilight would probably be both angry and drowsy, so that should give him the edge he would need to survive.

While still levitating the book in the air, Crimson reached out with his magic and deliberately knocked a vase off of its pedestal. It fell to the ground with a crash. The noise sounded like a firecracker in the stillness of the night, and it echoed off the walls of the room.

The wizard tensed, ready for action. He waited – but nothing happened. He heard nothing. He saw nothing. No one showed up.

After waiting for a few minutes the truth finally dawned on him. This castle was not guarded at all! There were no patrols of any kind. Twilight was completely unprotected.

Well, of course she is, you dolt! Who would be foolish enough to attack her? Her reputation is all the defense that she needs. Only a complete moron would try to break into her home.

Crimson thought a moment. What do I know about her? There’s got to be something I can do to get her attention.

The stallion looked around the library and saw that there was a writing desk in the middle of the room (not far from some truly bizarre mirror contraption that he did not want to touch). On the writing desk were three inkwells and three quills – all in perfect alignment.

Crimson smiled. He trotted over to the desk, reached out with his hoof, and moved one of the inkwells out of line.

* * * * *

Upstairs, in her bedchamber, Twilight turned over in her sleep. “Stop it,” she muttered.

* * * * *

By now Crimson was getting irritated. He had been in her library for a good twenty minutes, and Twilight still had not shown up. What would it take to get her down here?

Maybe I’ll just leave her a taunting note. I’ll have to adjust step three, but I can make it work.

Crimson reached out with his magic to grab a quill – but he forgot that he was still holding onto the priceless book. The instant he let go of it he knew he had made a terrible mistake. As the rare first edition fell to the floor, it twisted in the air and partially opened. It then whacked the ground face-down with a sickening thud.

The wizard stared at the book in horror. The volume’s fragile spine had snapped in two, and the book was now laying in pieces. This was bad.

Upstairs he heard a pony bellow in rage. It was definitely time to go.

Crimson ran like mad toward the nearest door – but he forgot he had sneakers on. He tripped over his shoes and went sprawling onto the floor. As he struggled to his feet and kicked off his footwear, he heard a noise behind him. He didn’t even need to turn around to know what had happened: the enraged princess had teleported directly to her library. How did I forget she doesn’t need to use doors?

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” the enraged pony shrieked. “HOW DARE YOU DAMAGE ONE OF MY BOOKS!”

Crimson desperately teleported out of the library and to the street outside the castle. He then began running – but he wasn’t fast enough. Twilight teleported directly in front of him.

The wizard had never actually seen Twilight before. He had read a great deal about her, but he naturally assumed that the press accounts were largely fictional. There was simply no way such a small, nerdy pony could possibly have done all the things that were credited to her.

But now, seeing her, all doubts disappeared. Twilight was angry. Her nostrils flared and her wings were spread wide. Two purple eyes – full of wrath and rage – were locked onto him. Her horn was glowing a brilliant shade of purple. She had dug her hooves into the ground and was about to blast him with everything she had.

Since he was a wizard he could sense her mana level, and he was staggered. Twilight was powerful! Even Celestia couldn’t compare to her. Why, if she had been on my side in the revolt–

But he was drifting again. And he was about to be fried.

Crimson desperately tried to run, but it was too late. As he turned and galloped for his life, a bolt of powerful energy smacked into his flank and knocked him into the air. The wizard screamed in pain and tumbled out of control. His robe flew off and he crashed painfully into the ground.

Twilight was about to shoot him again when she suddenly froze in place. Now that his cloak was gone she could see the intruder’s cutie mark. To her amazement it was a magenta six-pointed star that looked exactly like hers! No, it’s not quite like mine. My mark is surrounded by five white stars, and his isn’t. Do those stars represent my friends? Does he have no friends? Does–

But that delay gave Crimson all the time he needed to complete step two. Then, using all of his mana in a single burst, he teleported out of sight.

Crimson reappeared in a cave in the middle of the Everfree forest. When he saw how close he was to the wall, he shuddered. Only a fool teleports blindly – but it was either that or be turned into ashes. At least I got out of there alive!

Since his magic was temporarily depleted, Crimson used a hoof to remove his notebook from his now-singed saddlebag, and checked off step two. So far so good. Time for step three.

Author's Note:

For the record, I'm writing and posting two (completely unrelated) MLP novellas at once: THE EYE OF DESTINY and THE FALL OF NIGHT. My plan is to alternate chapters: first I'll add a chapter to The Eye, and then The Fall. (Yes, I'm just crazy like that.)

I'm going to try to post at least one new chapter each week (total, not per-story), but sometimes things come up. I'll do my best to keep things moving along, though.

Oh - and the tags describe the entire story, not necessarily chapter 1.

Thanks, everypony!

Comments

[Flammy]

um

[LiterarySerenity]

Wow. Great work! I like the fact Crimson Star tried to be super sneaky when creeping into the library in Twilight's castle, and then kept getting shocked when there were no actual guards or protection spells in place. That says a lot for his character (and he's a very interesting one). It is also neat how Twilight could sense something was going on in her library and would have fought in defense of her books. In fact, I had to laugh at the thought this was the first thing with which she took issue, opposed to a stranger being in her home that late at night. So you characterized her really well there too.

This is getting intense.

I can't wait for the next chapter!

[derpyland]

5292848

Wow. Great work!

Thanks for the encouragement - and the clear feedback! It's very difficult for me to judge my own work; having an outside opinion is really helps. I'm always a bit nervous that I've overlooked something important. When I was just getting started writing, I once wrote an entire book and didn't realize until I finished it that the story would have turned out exactly the same if the heroes had all stayed home in bed.

That says a lot for his character (and he's a very interesting one).

Thanks! I wanted to spend this chapter fleshing out the opponent, and I wanted him to be more than just a stock evil villain. I like the way he turned out. I think he's going to be fun to work with.

So you characterized her really well there too.

Thank you! That is one of the things about Twilight that makes me smile. The idea came from the Season 3 episode "Spike At Your Service", where Applejack gets Twilight's attention by moving one of her inkwells. Twilight instantly knew something was wrong. She must have a sixth sense about these things!

[LiterarySerenity]

5293023 Sure! It is always great to get constructive feedback on any work, and your writing is particularly well-crafted and imaginative. The only real question I had in terms of content was how Crimson Star knew the location of the library, only to reason that since this is Twilight's palace, and she probably still provides open access to her collection for ponies around town (so it might be well-known). There is also the fact that if he is as big a bibliophile as Twilight (and magical), he could probably figure it out anyway.

[KalAllBea]

Is the eye voiced by Peter Dinklage?

[Number_2]

While I have no major qualms over this chapter and intend to read more as it comes, I must confess that I have hopped onto this ride for one reason. And that reason is best pony; Carrot Top.

Imagine my surprise after I read the description to actually find Carrot Top in the tags! CT is horribly underappreciated. Well at any rate I wish you good luck with your writings, do not mind my ramblings.

[derpyland]

5296049

Imagine my surprise after I read the description to actually find Carrot Top in the tags!

Well then I have some good news for you! Carrot Top will indeed be in this story; she makes her first appearance in the next chapter, and she will be the one who ultimately saves the day. Crimson Star will not be defeated by Rainbow Power, or the Mane 6; it will be Carrot Top alone who saves the world. Rainbow Dash will get her wish.

Incidentally, Carrot Top is the star in another story I wrote: Garden, Garden, Burning Bright. She truly does deserve more recognition.

[derpyland]

5295052

Is the eye voiced by Peter Dinklage?

Excellent question! The Eye is a small inanimate object, not much bigger than a marble. Like the faithful companion cube, it sadly does not talk. (It would be pretty cool if it did; that never occurred to me.) However, I think that Dinklage would do a great job as the voice of Crimson Star. I certainly enjoyed his portrayal of the sinister Trask in the latest X-Men movie!

[derpyland]

5293779

your writing is particularly well-crafted and imaginative

Thank you very much!

The only real question I had in terms of content was how Crimson Star knew the location of the library

That is an excellent point! Fortunately, Crimson had a plan. In paragraph 5 there are these lines:

Over the past week he had taken the official tour of her castle three times. He now knew the layout of that castle by heart – but he had never seen so much as a single guard...

No castle tour would be complete without visiting the library!

A number of years ago I took a tour of Biltmore, and was absolutely floored at the library in that mansion. (If you haven't seen it, you can find pictures of it online by searching for "Biltmore library".) If I ever become a multi-millionaire I definitely want one of those in my house!

[LiterarySerenity]

5296083 Ooh! Thanks. I'll have to add the Biltmore Library to my list of libraries to visit (someday, I'd like to travel across the country, visiting them to my heart's content). ;3

[-Frost]

Wow, what a solid start to a story. I like the sound of the plot and how you got Twilight's personality down (and only in the 1st chapter). Your pacing is just right and you can tell when a story works because I forgot that they were just mere words on a page and could actually picture this as maybe the start of a film or an episode! Thank you for making me smile and laugh (i'm normally a miserable sod). This was worth the favourite and in liking and following you.

I can't wait to read more from you, and wow simply just wow!

Frost

P.S I like the sound of Crimson Star, interesting...very interesting

[derpyland]

5297106

I can't wait to read more from you, and wow simply just wow!

Thank you very much! I can't tell you how much it means to hear that the story is being enjoyed. I appreciate the favorites, the likes, and the follow! I am very glad you are enjoying the tale.

...I forgot that they were just mere words on a page and could actually picture this as maybe the start of a film or an episode!

Wow! That is the highest compliment I have ever received.

There is more goodness to come! I should be able to add a new chapter to this story by the end of next week. I'm looking forward to it!

Thanks!

[Number_2]

5296065
Woah, spoilers man!

I kid. Looking forward to a lighthearted adventure!