You see, little ones, when you get to be as old as I am, you tend to see things with a bit more... perspective. My kind, children of the realm of chaos and subversion... we experience time all at once. We know what was, what is, and what ever will be.
Provided, the notion of knowing all of time drives many of us positively mad. Yes, there are plenty of claims that Azathoth isn’t nearly as mad as it is said; I’m here to say, however, that he really, really is. That bloke is more daft than a Shoggoth shagging a 1957 Chevelle.
At any rate, I suppose that little introduction was to clarify that, in fact, I knew of that day. I knew what would happen. For the first time in a very, very very long time, we were to be released once again. Released onto yet another unsuspecting, innocent, little world. We were to do as we do on such delicious occasions, and be done with it. The anticipation of that day sometimes made light of the torturously dull existence that one waited out in the void. To think, we have been here for so long... why didn’t we invent some sort of party games, or something?
Never mind that. As weaver of this tale, I nearly feel as though it is my duty to take advantage of my role every now and again, provided I feel up to some playful, inevitably one-sided banter.
Now, our story continues with the latter.
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Equestria
1005 CR
Ponyville
Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start, her hooves flailing as she desperately tried to find purchase.
Her ears rang slightly with an annoying, high-pitched whine that made her wince. Her chest was heaving, and she found herself feeling the all-too-familiar stings of dehydration as her parched tongue and mouth cried out in protest.
Now fully resolved to be awake for the moment, the purple unicorn mare quickly but quietly made her way to the bathroom down the hall, not even bothering with the cups on the shelf as she turned on the spigot with a flash of her magic and stuck her muzzle under the cool, crisp running water. She drank a few gulps, instantly feeling better as the liquid sloshed over her tongue, down her gullet and into her stomach. Turning the tap to the right once more, the water halted its flow into the basin. Suddenly feeling very tired, Twilight Sparkle practically collapsed onto the toilet, sitting on the closed lid in a slightly uncomfortable position.
That dream... no, that was no dream. That was a nightmare! She shuddered, trying not to remember the awful, horrific visions that her sleep-deprived brain had assaulted her with. The night before (read: only several hours ago), the purple mare had been deep into her studies, reading an admittedly creepy but all the more fascinating series of texts and tomes that dealt with ancient Equestrian beliefs. Supposedly, there were a series of tales - a mythos, in the ancient tongue - that chronicled a great, cataclysmic event that foretold of “old, or elder” beings that descended from the heavens to bring death and destruction. Initially regarding the epic tales with a casually scholarly eye, Twilight couldn’t help but find herself becoming more and more entranced with the material at hoof; it was fascinating, when she first paused to think on it. A whole civilization of ponies, ones who existed even before Princesses Celestia and Luna!
The prospect was both terrifying, but awe-inspiring none the less. The more and more parallels Twilight found between civilizations scattered throughout time and history, the more and more it became difficult to deny such parallels for what they were. That led to a one-sided argument, one arguing for the possibility that life could exist outside of the planet’s atmosphere, with another arguing against that notion, suggesting perhaps a natural disaster or a horrible magical accident. Eventually, it was decided upon that there was no inexorably conclusive evidence to go on; it was further decided that the candle stick that had once been nearly full was now burnt down to a miserable little nub.
She found herself asleep in her bed moments later. Then, the dreams came.
Twilight found herself going about her morning ritual in a daze. The shower felt nice, admittedly, but it did little to lift her spirits, or replace the lost sleep she was definitely feeling.
Maybe a nap later on in the day is in order... she thought to herself. Had it been a few months prior, the unicorn mare would have paid little to no attention to her rapidly deteriorating state; though she was well-acquainted with the throes of sleep deprivation and all-night study sessions, the particular incident she labeled as the ‘Smarty Pants Fiasco’ instantly came to mind. From that day forward, she had resolved to take better care of herself, even if it meant sacrificing valuable research time.
“Can’t learn anything new without a clear head, after all,” Twilight said aloud, allowing a crooked grin to grace her muzzle.
Noting as she stepped out of the shower that the sun had not even begun to crest on the horizon, she resolved to let Spike sleep in for a little while longer.
No sense in waking the little guy, she thought. After all, even baby dragons need their beauty rest, too.
She made her way downstairs, shivering slightly at the cooler temperature as she descended; once she had some coffee in her, she further resolved to do a little research into a heat retention spell, or something to that effect. She put on a pot of water for the coffee, and made herself a simple breakfast of warm oatmeal with a few slices of fresh Sweet Apple Acres apples. With just a dash of freshly ground cinnamon, her ‘poor mare’s’ breakfast was complete.
She sat down at the table, the smell of the brewing coffee already lifting her out of the funk she had awoken to and making her feel more awake. Though the mare only drank on the most social of occasions, and didn’t partake in any... other substances, she did allow herself a rather healthy addiction to the heavenly, brown liquid.
“Canterlot can keep their tea,” Twilight mumbled to herself.
A knock on the door accompanied by the fluttering of wings signalled the morning’s post - though ponies sometimes were wont to poke fun at Derpy and her inherent clumsiness, most if not all agreed that she was at least very punctual and very professional. Twilight cantered to the front door of the library, opening it with a bit of magic. She eyed the newspapers she was subscribed to along with a few personal letters, and then...
“Need any help this time, Derpy?” Twilight asked.
“Nope, I got it!” the pegasus mare cheerily replied, already working herself free of a thick tangle of branches on the left side of the treehouse.
“All right, then. Have a good rest of the morning!” Twilight called.
“You too!”
Now feeling slightly better about her morning, Twilight re-entered the library.
Making her way back to the kitchen, she poured herself a healthy cup of coffee, adding a dollop of warm milk left over from the oatmeal and a dash of sugar.
When she casually glanced over the headline of the Canterlot Tribune-Review, she nearly spat it out.
New Ancient Equestrian Texts Unearthed
“Wh-what?” Twilight gasped, setting down her coffee. “When did this happen?”
Earlier this week, Archaeologists on a dig in the Kingdom of
Gryphonia discovered an entire complex of buildings, previously
thought to have been lost to the ages.
Contained within the ruined buildings were a series of
very old texts and scrolls, ones that told of a prophecy that
chronicled the rise and fall of an ancient Equestrian civilization.
Approximations from experts in the field on site estimate the
writings to be no less than ten thousand years old, an antiquity
that predates even our own Princesses of Equestria.
When asked at royal court regarding the status of the dig, and
subsequent study of the materials recovered, Princess Celestia
declined to comment directly on the manner, instead referring the
questioner to one Professor Fossil Finder of Canterlot University.
“Professor Finder?” Twilight gasped again. “He taught my Advanced Anthropological Applications seminar back in my Senior year!”
Without warning, a loud belch arose from upstairs, followed by a sleepy moan and the slow plodding of feet.
“Twilight... I know you’re the Princess’ favourite student and all, but seriously? It’s not even sunrise yet!” Spike protested as he rounded the corner from the hallway, sluggishly shuffling into the kitchen.
“Oh dear... I’m sorry, Spike! I didn’t know that the Princess would need me so early in the morning... I wonder if it’s urgent?”
Spike wordlessly thrust the scroll outward as Twilight enveloped the parchment in her magic. She floated the scroll over towards her primed eyes, ready to speed-read the contents of the page if necessary.
“Twilight Sparkle, my most Faithful Student:” she began aloud. “By now, you have no doubt read of the discovery that has taken place in what is now known as the Kingdom of Gryphonia. One of your former professors, Fossil Finder, and his team of several graduate students have unearthed the Grand Unicorn Archives - although the media has not quite caught wind of that little snippet, and I would remind you to keep it that way for the time being, if you would be so kind.
“At your earliest convenience, it would be my honour to invite you to participate in the translation and deciphering of these cherished lost works. You need only send word via your ‘Number One Assistant,’ and I shall send a Pegasus carriage to escort you and any necessary luggage - or companions - you should desire. I know that the field of Archaeology is not unfamiliar to a well-read mind such as yours, and your various published theses on Anthropology will ensure that your reputation precedes you. I have already notified Professor Finder of your soon-to-be arrival, and he was delighted at the news.
“However, if you’ll allow your equally faithful mentor a bit of an indulgence - prior to your introduction to the research team, would you care to join myself and my sister Luna for tea in the Gardens? It would be lovely to catch up with you in person, I daresay.
“Sincerely,
Princess Celestia.”
“The Princess... wants me... research... Professor! Tea! Princess Luna? I... I!” Twilight hyperventilated, trying but failing to grasp onto the beginnings of a single sentence. Her mind raced at breakneck speeds, playing out situations, variables and possible outcomes to this sudden - but undoubtedly exciting - turn of events.
“Whoa, whoa whoa. Hang on there, Twilight. Just take a couple of deeeep breaths... that’s it,” Spike said, holding out his arms placatingly. “You remember what happened last time you got so worked up, you know. Remember Big Mac? The whole creepy 'Smarty Pants Obsession' thing that you had to ask Zecora to make an antidote for?”
“Big - heh...hee hee. Don’t remind me, Spike,” Twilight chuckled, a mild blush forming on her violet cheeks. “I know, I know. It’s just a lot to take in at once. Gosh... where do I even begin? What should I bring along? What did she mean about ‘companions’? Did she mean my friends - or you, Spike? What if-”
She continued on this train of thought for some time. Spike tried his best to follow the lightning-paced dialogue, but eventually found his eyelids once again grow heavy. He stifled a yawn, nodding his head at strategic intervals in order to maintain the illusion that he was, indeed, paying attention to the unicorn mare. He would every so often raise a claw to interject, but soon gave up; it was a fruitless endeavour, he found, to offer a counterpoint when Twilight was rambling like this. He stifled a chuckle, still finding his caretaker amazing. Spike didn’t know any pony as smart as Twilight Sparkle. She seemed to have an answer for everything...
And, indeed, Twilight was already formulating an answer.
“So, that’s it, then. I’ll just have to make a checklist for my checklist checklists, then a master checklist inventorying all total checklists and subsequent sub-checklists! I’ll need to get to work right away!”
“So, uh, Twilight? Can I go back to bed?”
“Hmm, what’s that? Oh! Bed! Sure, Spike. I don’t expect to be done until the mid-afternoon, anyhow. I’ll go ahead and pack your things for you - we don’t want to be late!”
Spike yawned. “Sure, Twilight. Wake me if you need me.”
As spike wearily made his way back up the staircase to his hopefully still-warm bed, Twilight got to work. Never one to doubt her own organizational skills, the task of pulling together checklist after checklist was a breeze: once she started jotting down the necessary books and manuals she would need to be of any assistance to the research team - and perhaps to show off a little for Professor Finder - she really hit her stride, inking page after page of fresh parchment with a complex, yet startlingly simple system of categorization.
Within a mere two hours, the preparations were complete. The sun had long since crested over the horizon, spilling its golden, glowing light across the valley that Ponyville lay nestled within. The morning fog and dew dissipated as the warmth of the mid-autumn morning permeated the frost that had collected overnight, warming the earth below. Twilight found the chill that had accumulated in the library dissipate similarly, much to her relief. Now that she wasn’t so cold, she could fully focus on the task at hoof.
She briefly considered waking Spike, but decided against it - the work would go faster, given that she had memorized the locations of nearly every book in the library. Plus, it was bound to be a long day for the both of them... or perhaps more?
Twilight paused in her ruminations, considering her options. If she were to bring any of her friends along, who, and for what purpose? Given the fact that the Princess herself had invited Twilight to participate in the research (and had similarly suggested that bringing along some colleagues was not out of the question), she supposed that if she were to bring her friends along, they would likely be accepted without much debate.
Mentally glancing over her friends’ abilities and character traits, she went through the variables, one by one. Rarity, with her fine attention to detail, would surely be a valuable addition to the research team; though the prospect of an impromptu trip to Canterlot would be sure to cause some rather... vocal reactions, Twilight decided that the alabaster unicorn mare was a sure strength. Applejack, though the most honest of out all of them, was likely to politely decline - Twilight had not ever known the earth pony mare to be interested in ancient history, let alone the rigors that come associated with Archaeology. Though she did have her strengths in her own field, Archaeology required a certain... finesse that Twilight doubted Applejack would have the patience for.
Fluttershy, on the other hoof... well, she probably would decline, but for much different reasons. Known among her friends to be of a particularly meek demeanor, Fluttershy would likely balk at the notion of diving muzzle-first into such morbid and lurid tales of ancient apocalypses and otherworldly horrors. Twilight didn’t blame the yellow pegasus mare in the slightest; briefly recalling her own dreams, she shuddered to think the effect they would have on such a kind soul as Fluttershy’s.
“That leaves... Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said aloud. Ay, there’s the rub.
Pinkie Pie was... different. Unpredictable. Spontaneous - even dangerously so, at times. Yet, for all of her quirks, she had a certain sense of knowledge to her - a sage sense of advice, even a keen inkling of things to come. It could be a scientific endeavour on its own to bring the earth pony along, just to see her reactions to the ancient carvings and texts.
These are the thoughts that swirled about the studied mare’s head as she planned the rest of her day. How little did she know of the true significance of her plotting.