//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ I glower at the pathetic fools as they lead me through the halls of Kandrakar, towards the Fold where our forces are all bound, be it by chains, rope and even wood, ready for transport. “She the last of them?” one of the traitorous guard’s asks the one holding my bindings. He nods. “It’s a good thing Caleb and that Passling were able to knock her out long enough for The Guardians to dispel the enchantment giving her all that power.” “Don’t bother trying to transform, Miranda,” that wretch Tynar says, looking to me. “Those are enchanted to keep any creature bound in them from changing form. That includes you.” I just hiss at him, though, inwardly, I’m smirking. They think I’m powerless. That I’ve no chance of escape… but they’re wrong. I watch patiently as Tynar and the rest of his traitorous lot move all of our forces through the Fold, until I’m the only one left. Did they leave me til last to try and make me feel worse as it dawns on me my final moments of freedom are ending? Well, won’t they be in for a surprise? The large oaf, Vathek, shoves me roughly and we walk towards the Fold. “Enjoy your final moments of freedom, you wretched beast,” Vathek says, shoving me forward. The moment I feel myself passing through the Fold, I enact my escape. While I lost almost all the power my dearly beloved Cedrib gave me after he tricked that ungrateful excuse for a ruler, Phobos, into giving him permission for a percentage of the power he’d taken from the former Guardian Nerissa, unaware Cedric would take 100%, after those accursed Guardians defeated my Cedric, I was able to keep a tiny fraction of that power, even after all was said and done. It’s barely a spark, not even worthy of being called a flicker, but it’s enough. I call on the spark of power within me, altering my destination when I’ll leave the Fold. Those fools won’t even realize I’m free until… wait. No, what’s happening? Why’s everything going dark? Help! Help! Someone, anyone stop this before— ___________________________________________________________ I scream, shooting up in bed, my breathing heavy and laboured. I just sit in the bed for several moments, trying to calm my mind and breathing. What…? What in the world was that I just went through? It felt like I was falling into nothingness, my very self fading away, dissolving into a void of emptiness. Were… were those Miranda, the real Miranda’s, final moments? Pushing the covers of Applejack’s bed off me, I turn and lean my legs over the bed, my eyes not really staring at anything. Is… is that why I suddenly found myself as her? She’d tried using that last spark of magic she’d gotten from her share of The Seal of Phobos’ energy and it had backfired on her, big time? She’d meant to escape, but, I think she somehow ended up erasing her essence. That or her mind or… I shudder at the thought, her very soul. That must be why her body was empty when I ended up in it. Maybe she’d unintentionally linked us and, the moment her body had a vacancy, my soul got yanked in to fill it. I shudder again, suddenly imagining whatever it would’ve looked like to others, my real body just suddenly slumping forward, empty, like Asuna Kagurazaka in the original Negima! anime, how, once her time was up, her eyes simply went vacant and her body fell, dead. I slap my face with both hands and shake my head. Now’s not the time to worry about the what ifs. If my body is soulless, maybe there’s a way of putting mine back in it. Just have to hope time works differently in Equestria than back home. If time moves at the same pace, my parents probably already would think I’m dead and plan to have me cremated. Glancing out the window, I see the sun is already up and, judging by the lack of anypony charging in to ask why I was screaming bloody murder, the Apples are out in the fields already. Then again, Granny Smith’s so old she just might not have heard me. Sighing, I get off the bed and put on the clothes I’d arrived in. Yes, I slept naked. They didn’t exactly have any night clothes I could wear and I wasn’t wearing clothes I’d been wearing in an alley in Applejack’s bed. Thankfully, Granny said she’d washed them they’d be clean by the time I woke up. Heading downstairs and into the kitchen, I find a small plate with some apple slices and what looks like cinnamon toast, with a note simply saying, “Miranda’s Breakfast”. Shrugging, I sit down at the table, grabbing one of the glasses and pouring myself some water from the jug next to the set in the centre of the table. When I’ve finished breakfast, I take my dishes to the sink and do my best to clean them, before heading out to find Big Mac, so he can take me to Twilight so we can see if we can sort this whole thing out. Turns out, I don’t have to go very far. As I walk down the porch, Big Mac trots up, pulling a wagon full of basket of apples. “Eeyup,” he says, nodding and heads towards the barn. I take that to mean to wait and so I do. A few minutes later, Mac and I are walking through Ponyville. It being early, not too many ponies are out, which helps, since it doesn’t mean I’m getting countless stares from all around. Granted, I do still get stared at, but with the sparsity of ponies out, it doesn’t feel all that uncomfortable, plus, I don’t recognize any of them, so they must all be background ponies. We reach Twilight’s castle in good time and Mac knocks on the door. To my surprise, it’s Starlight Glimmer that opens it. Okay. So, she’s already reformed. That’s one hurdle I won’t have to deal with. “Oh, hi, Big Mac and… um…” Starlight looks at me in confusion, before it becomes curiosity. “Wait. How are you still a human and when did you come through the portal?” Now I’m the one confused. I just stare at her in bewilderment for a moment, before it clicks. Mirror Magic must’ve already happened. “I’m Miranda,” I say, holding out a hand, it only occurring to me a second after how odd it must look, though Starlight shakes it anyway. “Well, nice to meet you, Miranda,” the unicorn says she takes back her hoof. “I’m Starlight Glimmer. What can I help with?” “You and Twilight, actually,” I say, glancing to Big Mac, who nods. “Can we come in? It would be easier to explain it to both of you at once instead of multiple times.” “Eenope.” Starlight and I both turn to Big Mac, myself very confused. “Huh?” He just nods to Starlight, then turns and heads back the way we’d come… myself and Starlight just standing there, staring after him. “Guess… he thinks you don’t need him around now?” Starlight suggests, rubbing her neck. “Honestly, Big Mac is so hard to read at times.” I give an exasperated sigh, rubbing my eyes with one hand, before looking to the unicorn. “Okay, let’s just go inside. Time is kind of an issue.” ___________________________________________________________ “This is so interesting,” Twilight says, rubbing her chin. The three of us are sitting in Twilight’s castle’s library, myself having just finished explaining what I can to the two ponies, including the dream I had showing the real Miranda’s final moments. Spike’s apparently out doing errands of some kind, so he’ll be getting his own explanation, though I’ll leave that to Twilight or Starlight. I’m not too fond of repeating myself and the subject matter isn’t exactly helping with that. “So, this Miranda was downright evil?” Starlight asks, looking to me. I nod. “Oh, completely. There’s not a good bone in her whole body. Um, I mean…” I glance down at my hands. “I get it. I get it,” Starlight assures me with a slight deadpan, waving a hoof. “But… shouldn’t these… Guardians, did you call them?” I nod. “Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin. They fought Miranda and her cohorts so many times.” Starlight nods. “So, they’re aware Miranda escaped and you’re in her body now?” I grin nervously. “Not… exactly. Like I said, Caleb didn’t really give me time to explain.” I frown, folding my arms. “Though, the fact they haven’t come after me is really weird. It shouldn’t take that long to track where the Fold I opened would lead to. Wonder what’s keeping them.” “Well, it’s probably for the best,” Twilight gets up from where she’d been sitting and starts pacing. “Even with our magic, I’m not sure we could hold them back long enough to let them hear the whole story, let alone send you home.” “Wait, you think you can do that?” I ask, standing up quickly. “I’ve never really heard of this Folding before,” Twilight rubs her chin. “But, if I have a little time, I should be able to figure it out. There must be some reference to it somewhere in my books.” “I’ll help,” Starlight holds up a hoof. “Two heads are better than one, after all.” “I’ve studied the portal to Sunset’s world enough to see the method sounds slightly similar,” Twilight pauses in front of said mirror, before turning back and looking to me with a confident smile. “Give me a few hours and I should have something.” I just stare at her, before cocking an eyebrow skeptically. “A few hours? Twilight, it took Princess Elyon a lot longer to learn how to Fold than a few hours.” “Well, no offense to this Elyon, but she’s not me,” Twilight says a little smugly. I roll my eyes. “Alright. Give it your best shot, though I’m not too sure that’ll be long enough. Besides, what about my body? I still need to transfer my soul back into it.” At this, Twilight’s smile fades and she looks to me with a sad look. “I’m sorry, Miranda. If your soul really has been switched into the body of this one, transferring you back would be impossible without your real body. We’d need it in order to do that.” “And getting my body from my family wouldn’t exactly be the easiest thing to explain,” I nod, rubbing my neck. “Hey, Mum and Dad. I know I don’t look like your adult son when I’m a little girl, but I really am him. Mind if I take my body through that gaping hole in the air so I can have a purple pony princess transfer my soul back into it?” I shake m head. “Like that’ll work.” Twilight nods. “So, our best bet is simply sending you back to your world. I know you don’t want to live as Miranda, but, as things stand, it would probably take too long to explain things before your old body becomes too dead to be able to switch you back. Even twenty-four hours is a long time.” I nod sadly, before bowing my head. “Thank you, anyway, Twilight. While I would rather return to my own body, if you can’t do that, returning to my world as I am is at least better than nothing.” “Twilight, I’m back and… how’d you stay human after going through the portal?” We turn to see Spike walking in, carrying several paper bags in his arms. “Ah, Spike, perfect timing,” Twilight chirps. “Would you mind showing Miranda around the castle?” The purple drake looks to me and I nod, confirming I’m whom his mother is talking about. Yes, I said mother. It’s how I see their relationship, so why not refer to it as such. He shrugs. “Sure. Maybe I’ll show her around town too.” “Baby steps, buddy,” I smile, walking over and kneeling down, offering a hand, which he shakes. “Baby steps.” ___________________________________________________________ “Okay, I won’t lie, I did not expect them to be done that fast,” I admit to Spike as we walk through the doors into the castle. After he’d given me a tour of the castle, we’d gone out into town for a small tour. I say small, because, with more ponies moving about now, I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself. We went to Sugar Cube Corner, where I was surprised to not find Pinkie Pie at all. Mr. Cake was at the counter and Spike had smoothed things over as best he could without actually knowing anything. While we’d eaten a snack of cupcakes, I’d explained my story again. He’d taken it in stride pretty well, though him mentioning my predicament sounded like something from a Power Ponies comic explained that. It was as he’d been showing me towards Rarity’s boutique an hour later that he’d belched up a scroll from Twilight, her saying she might’ve figured out a rough way to send me home. “I just hope, when Twilight says “rough way to send me home” she doesn’t mean it’s going to be rough getting home,” I rub my arm nervously. Spike nods, frowning as he folds his arms. “I know she has a lot of information thanks to the mirror to Sunset’s world, but I can’t help feeling that was too quick, even for Twilight.” “You can thank Discord for that.” We turn to see Starlight walking towards us, looking a little frazzled. I blink, before facepalming. Discord. Why didn’t I just try him first? “So, Discord’s just going to send her home?” Spike asks as we follow Starlight towards… the throne room? Okay, didn’t expect that. Starlight shakes her head. “He popped by just to mess a little with her, but when he learned what she was doing, he gave her a small push in the right direction.” I frown. That feels a little too helpful for Discord. There’s must be a trick in this somewhere… I wonder what though. We enter the throne room to see Twilight standing next to the map. All around her are diagrams and scrolls with scribblings I can’t even pretend to begin to understand… and is that a magic circle made from chalk on the ground around her. “Never thought I’d say it, but I’m glad Discord barged in like that,” the alicorn says as she turns to face us. “It wasn’t easy, but I now have a rough idea how to open a Fold for you, Miranda.” “Twilight, I have to ask again, are you sure about this?” Starlight asks, slightly nervous. “Nopony has ever opened a Fold before. We don’t know how it’ll work or even if it will.” “What happened to the cheery Starlight we met coming in?” Spike asks, looking at the unicorn. Starlight grinned sheepishly. “I honestly was just trying not to worry you.” I sigh. Why do I not feel confident about this? “Okay, Miranda,” Twilight points to a wall, where I see she’s drawn another magic circle with chalk. “I’ll cast the spell. All you have to do is think about where you came from and a Fold should open up there, allowing you to return home.” “Twilight’s it’s barely been two hours since you started trying to figure this out,” Spike says anxiously. “Are you sure this is even safe?” “Discord wouldn’t lead us down a path that would harm Miranda,” Twilight says reassuringly… which is far more than I would expect. Does she really trust Discord that much now, especially after the whole Blue Flue thing? Twilight doesn’t let us argue the point any further as she lights her horn and closes her eyes in concentration. At once, the circle around her glows with a lavender light, as does the one on the wall. Starlight lights her horn, channelling her magic towards Twilight, applying the spell’s power. Spike and I watch anxiously for several minutes as the two ponies strain. “Miranda,” Twilight grunts, her eyes tightening as she puts more power into the spell. “Focus on your home as best you can.” I turn to the glowing circle on the wall and concentrate, doing my best to try and picture Earth. It’s not easy, but I think I’m getting a vague picture of it in my mind. Suddenly, a bright light flares from within the circle. The light opens out like a tear, revealing an empty whiteness. “That’s… the best we can do!” Starlight gasps as the strain of maintaining he spell seems to become more difficult. “We can’t… keep it open… for much longer!” “You have… to go, Miranda!” Twilight struggles, gritting her teeth with the effort of the spell. “Go, now!” “I… I guess this is goodbye then? Already?” Spike looks up to me and I nod, giving him a small smile. “Looks like it is, buddy. Sorry.” “Well, it was nice meeting you, Miranda,” he holds out a claw. “It was interesting, getting to know you, even if only for a few hours.” I smile, shaking his claw. “I feel the same way—” “GO!” Twilight and Starlight yell. We jump, before I give Spike and apologetic smile and look to the mares. “Thank you both. I”ll never forget this, or you and be forever grateful—” “We know! Just go already!” Starlight yells, cutting me off. Not wasting anymore time, I focus back on what I can vaguely remember of home and run towards the Fold, diving in. ___________________________________________________________ I cry out as I tumble forward, slamming into something that grunts and fall back onto my ass. “Hey, careful there, kid,” an unfamiliar voice that sound like a man’s says. “If you don’t watch where you’re going, you could seriously hurt yourself.” I open my eyes, expecting to see a real world man staring down at me with a little concern… but I see a cartoon man… in W.I.T.C.H.’s animation style. I get up quickly, looking around to see I’m in some kind of diner… in Heartherfield. The diner’s literally called Hearthfield Diner. Talk about unoriginal. My heart sinks as I walk over to an empty chair and slump down in it, putting head in my hands. I ended up back in the W.I.T.C.H. universe? I just knew Twilight’s eagerness was too blinding for her. I should’ve insisted she properly study the method of Folding until she fully grasped it. Now what am I supposed to do? Being back in Hearthfield means I’m now going to have to get around without the Guardians finding out I’m back. The only way I’m going back to Equestria is through another Fold and I can’t open that unless I find Blunk again and, knowing my luck, he’ll be sticking close to the Guardians so he doesn’t get eaten. “What am I gonna do?” I slump forward on the table. “Miranda?” My heads shoots up at the unfamiliar male voice and I glance around, before I notice one of the teenagers behind the diner counter, a tall boy with short brown hair and blue eyes, is looking around, holding a wall phone in one hand. “Anyone named Miranda around…? Huh?” he puts the phone up to his ear and does another scan of the diner, before his eyes fall on me and he points the phone at me. “You? Are you Miranda?” I blink, hesitating, before answering slowly, “Yes?” “Your father, Gregor is calling,” he holds the phone out expectantly. I just stare at him blankly. Miranda’s father? What? Since when did she have a father? I mean, it would make sense in the end, but why would he be calling this diner? Wouldn’t he be in Meridian? How in the world would he be calling a diner on Earth? And how in the world would he know I’m here? The guy is starting to look annoyed, so I take the phone and raise it to my ear, him giving me another quick annoyed look before returning to work. “Who is this?” I ask cautiously, before making my voice firmer. “And how did you know I was here?” A man’s voice (didn’t the teen say his name was Gregor?) chuckles from the other end. “My dear Miranda. It’s been far too long.” That is not an answer. “Hey, I asked you a question,” I say firmly, turning away from the front of the diner so I’m looking at a wall. “Who are you and how did you know I was in this diner? I didn’t even know I was going to be in this diner until a few moments ago.” “That was two questions, my dear Miranda,” the man on the other end replies. I scowl. “Whatever. My point still stands. I know you’re not Miranda’s father, Gregor, or whatever your real name is. If he’s even still alive, he’s somewhere in Meridian, so there’s no way he’d be calling some random diner in Hearthfield.” “So inquisitive, my dear Miranda,” he chuckles. “Quit saying that!” I hiss. “I am not your Miranda and, judging by your voice, you’re an old as shit dude, so it’s really freaking creepy and gross. So, quit messing around and explain how you knew I was in this diner!” He just chuckles again. “If you’ll do me one tiny favour, I promise I will make everything clear.” “I don’t think so, pal,” I growl. “Knowing old creepy guys like you, you’ll want something you should go to jail for. You sound like the pedo type.” Again, he just chuckles. “I promise, it’s nothing so vile, my dear Miranda. Just say Pord Lartsa and all will be explained.” “Spord Lartsa?” I ask, before blinking, my eyes widening. “Wait a minute. Isn’t that the spell for—” “Goodbye,” he cuts me off, the line going dead. “Hey! Hey, wait!” I yell into the phone, panic surging through me. He just tricked me into saying Pord Lartsa. That’s the spell that creates Astral Drops, copies of whomever says the phrase. Did… did he want a copy of Miranda? And, since I don’t see one near me, it would’ve appeared on his end. Who is this Gregor and why did he want an Astral Drop of Miranda? Before I can think beyond that, however, I suddenly feel like my gut has been yanked backwards, before I feel my whole body being pulled back. The world blazes with light, before I feel myself slam backward into something, hard, winding me causing my vision to immediately start to fade. “Miranda!” I hear a worried voice call from far away as the world goes completely black, then silent.