Twilight Sparkle had had a long day: Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had blown up the Apple's shed trying to become Cutie Mark Crusaders Demolition Experts, Rainbow had broken her wing trying a move used in pegasus hoofball, and Twilight had been assigned to study the last spells of Clover the Clever.
It was on her way home that she saw a note in the margin of Clover's spellbook. This note appeared hoofwritten, scribbled in at the last moment. A noise from above startled her before she could read the note. She looked up to see two creatures standing above her, appearing almost like hairless minotaurs, but the head was too different.
"What are you?" Twilight asked the creatures. When she received no answer, she ran inside, hoping to find a translation spell.
"Spike!" She looked around for him before remembering that Spike was helping the crusaders rebuild the shed, so she would have to find the book herself.
As she looked for the book, the creatures walked back into the library, chatting amongst themselves. She found the book in the 133-134 section of the books, and took it out. This spell was a complex one, but she was sure she could cast it. She started chanting under her breath, channeling magic through her horn towards the creatures. Her eyes started to glow as she wove a pattern connecting their language centers. This spell did this because otherwise it would create an intelligent, magical construct, and it needed the processing power and complexity of a sapient mind. Her vision struggled, turning black on the edges. She felt a large g-force, and she was glad for the gravity training that Rainbow had made her go through. She struggled to the end of the spell, her ability to speak nearly gone and her body almost collapsed, but she had successfully cast the spell.
"What are you two?" She walked towards the bipeds, nearly falling on her face when she stopped in front of them.
"We're humans. How're we able to understand you? You're a unicorn, right?" asked the shorter of the two bipeds. This being was close to twice Twilight's height, with a clump of dark red hair on top of its head. It was wearing clothes: short blue denim bottoms, a plain red t-shirt, and black shoes.
"A translation spell. Yes, I'm a unicorn. You have unicorns where you come from?"
She was answered by the taller of the humans. They had dark brown hair on the top of their head, and they wore denim bottoms with an orange t-shirt.
"No, they're mythological."
Twilight was about to make a reply when someone called through the door.
"Bon-Bon was at Sugarcube Corner and she told me that you summoned two beings from another dimension. She said all of this calmly, which I guess makes sense because you've been experimenting with the summoning of demons for nearly half a year -- by the way, is Fred home already? I meant to give him a cake before you sent him back -- anyway, I came here to meet these beings you summoned, I'm gonna throw a party welcoming them to Ponyville. Are these them?"
She spouted this entire paragraph before Twilight could even get a word in edgewise.
"Pinkie, I did not summon them." Pinkie almost opened her mouth to talk, but Twilight continued talking: "Yes, these beings are probably what Bon-Bon was talking about. I was going to ask them how they got here when you walked in. And Fred has been sent back to Tartarus, sorry for not telling you sooner."
Twilight turned to face the two humans and asked, "How did the two of you get here?"
"We were on a camping trip when we made our way here. By the way, I'm Taki and --"
"-- I'm Ross. We hiked into Ghost Forest, the largest forest near our town. It's not two long of a hike, only about one and a half miles to where we planned to camp. I went searching for firewood, and while looking I saw a fuchsia blur. I went back to our camp, hoping Taki wanted to go after it and find an adventure."
"I did. What we found was an enormous hollow tree, and when we went in we found the blur. It was a cute little fox, though later we discovered that she was some sort of nature spirit or goddess. It led us up a ladder that was at the center of that tree, and we came out a trapdoor into a cavern. Fuchsia, that was the name we had given the fox, came in a human form and led us to your world with a promise of adventure."
Twilight had many questions, but Pinkie started talking first. "You made it here on your own. Well, with the help of this Fuchsia -- do you have any idea why she brought you here? You probably don't, I guess, considering you didn't mention talking to her much. Anyway, someone needs to show you round town before your..."
Twilight stuck her hoof in Pinkies mouth. "I think you might be from a different universe. I'm going to have to find a spell to check your magic -- I've not done magical diagnostics for years -- so you should go on this tour with Pinkie."
Twilight had set up a study station at the Café. Books on magical diagnostics lined the table, but her interest was on the note in Clover the Clever's last spellbook. The spell next to the note was a simple one, though Twilight wondered why anyone would want to use their life force to power a spell. The note was far more interesting to her, and it read as follows, once translated from Old Equestrian:
"These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die.
As Twilight read this warning she became increasingly scared. She muttered under her breath, "I haven't seen any signs of corruption, though why else would those humans have come here. I should check for signs, starting at my home."
"Miss Sparkle, what are you going to order?" Asked the waiter.
"Egg salad sandwich with the cola." She immediately got back to studying, finding in Clover's last spellbook spells of supreme power. They ranged from a simple fireball spell to methods for the summoning of powerful automatons. She wondered how these could be used to fight world destroying monsters, but she would figure that out later. Lunch had been brought during her studying, and she was not about to waste it.
After lunch she looked up a basic magical diagnostic spell as she left the café. She decided that before she would start checking for corruption she would find Pinkie, Taki, and Ross. She walked down the street, waving at the various shopkeepers as she walked to Sugarcube Corner. She started to hear screams behind her, so she turned around. A bear the size of a two story building was in the middle of town, terrorizing the market-goers. It was going to eat somepony, so Twilight lit her horn, focusing all her magic on lifting the bear. Her magic reported back to her, telling her that the bear was only half there. She tried to hold on to the half-gone bear, but it resisted the hold of her magic. Her magic responded in turn, snapping the bears neck as she tried to find a way to hold it.
Twilight fell to the ground, crying. Applejack ran over from the knocked-over applecart and hugged Twilight.
"I killed it. I meant only to take it back to the Everfree, but it wasn't there and my magic just snapped its neck."
"Now there, sugarcube. It was meanin' ta eat us, but ya made sure it couldn't. You also didn't mean to kill it, did you?"
"No," responded Twilight.
"There ya go. Ya meant ta show it mercy, and that's what matters. You okay, sugarcube?"
"Maybe. I will come to you if I don't feel well, okay?"
Twilight struggled to stand, so Applejack helped her up. Twilight walked towards Sugarcube Corner before decided to head home to get some rest. She took the long way home, hoping to calm her thoughts that were running wild, and by the time she reached the library she had come to the conclusion that the bear might have been corrupted. She did not like this answer, but there was not any other explanation for it being partially there.
When Twilight walked into her house dubstep almost blasted her out of the doorway. Pinkie had set up this party. A banner welcoming Taki and Ross to Ponyville hung over the bookshelves, DJ PON-3 was mixing the music, and a buffet had been set up. Most of Ponyville was here, dancing and talking with one another. As Twilight looked over the room she saw Fluttershy in a corner talking to Big Macintosh, Applejack dancing badly with Rarity, Ross and Taki conversing with Bon-Bon and Lyra, and Pinkie walking right towards her.
"Hi, Twilight! Isn't this party great! It's a bit sad that Dash couldn't come seeing as she's in the hospital, but I just couldn't wait to hold this party welcoming Ross and Taki to Ponyville! Wait, is it Ross and Taki or Taki and Ross, I just can't decide which one sounds better, which is kind of weird. Wait, you look down in the dumps. Is it because Rainbows not here or -- wait, Applejack told me about how you saved her and Carrot Top and the Flower sisters from an enormous rabid bear by killing it, which I guess could ruin your mood considering you've never killed anything before. She said she comforted you, so do you want a cupcake?"
Pinkie had pulled a cupcake out of her mane and held it out for Twilight.
"Pinkie, I will take that cupcake, but I am not just sad because I killed that bear. I'm also anxious, because that bear has given me evidence that Clover the Clever's warning I read earlier today has came true." Twilight took the offered cupcake, eating it in one bite.
"What warning are you talking about, Twilight? I mean, I know you've been assigned to study his last spells by Princess Celestia, but you didn't mention any warning."
"I will tell you girls after this party. I want all of you to know, but I don't want to ruin your fun."
Twilight went upstairs and started studying to try and find an explanation other than world-eating eldritch horrors for a bear that is only half there.
Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Ross, and Taki were on their way to the hospital. Ponyville General Hospital was on the other side of town from Twilight's home, so it took them a bit to get there.
"Sugarcube, what was this warning you're so scared about?"
"I was reading Clover the Clever's last spellbook when I saw a note in the margins, in a rough but similar writing to the rest of the book. Translated from the Old Equestrian it says roughly: '"These eldritch beings corrupt and eat and create worlds", was what the silver dragon told me. He came from another world to give this warning, prompting me to create this spellbook, which I now know is my last. Heed this warning: if you see signs of corruption in this world, they are coming. If you do not, this world will die.' When I tried to lift the bear my magic said it was only half there. As Clover's warning is the only explanation based on my research we must find a way to defeat these eldritch world-eaters."
"World-eaters. Are you sure, darling?" asked Rarity.
"Why are you so sure that it's that instead of any other explanation?" asked Ross.
"I'm sure because I spent the entirety of Pinkies party -- sorry, Pinkie -- researching, trying to find a different explanation for that bear."
A scream came from up ahead. The group ran towards it, finding its origins at the hospital. The hospital looked normal, its Germane façade pristine as always. Rainbow Dash came running out of the hospital, stopping once she saw her friends
"Stay back. Are you your normal selves?"
"Rainbow, we're ourselves. And we're as normal as we'll ever be," answered Twilight as she went and hugged her marefriend.
"Why wouldn't we be our normal selves?" asked Fluttershy.
"I concur with Fluttershy here. Why do you think we'd be different?" asked Rarity.
"Because the hospitals gone crazy! There are cracks in the walls, which I'm still seeing now, that glowed! There were also rainbow crystals growing off the walls, and the other patients were going crazy!" Rainbow was crazed. She had wiggled out of Twilight's grip and her eyes were wide open.
"I think that Rainbow must be correct, Twilight. I can see ponies hobbling out of the hospital," said Ross.
Ponies were spewing forth from the hospital, hobbling and groaning as they walked towards Twilight and her friends.
"Everyone, run to Twilight's place!" yelled Taki.