//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: When Worlds Collide // by Decmaster //------------------------------// Chapter 1 A noise snapped the purple mare out of her spell. “Something so simple, yet something that holds the power to tear even the most focused pony away from anything.” She finally found the meaning of this passage, the forgotten words of a book too old to remember. It had probably been lost to time. Twilight Sparkle glanced up. Nothing had changed. The fortress of books still encased her; Twilight’s way of escaping into wonderlands filled with adventure, mystery, and wonder. The subtle sound of Spike’s slow breathing in his basket hadn’t broken its relentless pattern, it had been her metronome for– how long had it been now? Twilight could have sworn that she’d only lain down on the comfortable library rug a few minutes ago… Twilight shook her head. “How long” was not important at the moment. What was, however, was finding what had awoken her from her slumber of waking dreams. She stood up and stretched. Her muscles were a lot more sore than she thought they would have been, considering that she’d only been laying down for a couple of minutes. The purple pony wandered around the library, looking for what might have been out of place. Every book was perfectly aligned on the shelf, alphabetical by title and author. Twilight smiled. Just the way she’d left them. Well, except for the huge pile on the floor, with bookmarks sticking out of them like weeds. Deciding that the tales of old must have gotten to her, she shrugged off the noise that had startled her as just a remnant of the stories that filled her head; nothing but the wishful thinking of the mind to just know a little more than the pages allow. Ever intent on finishing the story on the pages of the book she left open, she laid back down on the rug and tried to arrange herself in such a way that it was comfortable, as one may find it hard to do on a floor. Just as she found a comfortable position, she heard a distinct voice from behind the front door: “C’mon, everypony, Twilight must not be here. We’ll just have to go without her.” Go without me? Twilight thought in alarm. The room flashed with the soft purple glow of Twilight’s magic, and the door opened, it itself surrounded in the same purple glow. Twilight’s vision was instantly graced with the sight of her friends. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. The Elements of Harmony. Her very best friends. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought we’d have to go without her!” Pinkie Pie burst out quite loudly. Twilight cringed; this was a library. She forced herself to change her demeanor, as she didn’t want her friends knowing how eager she was to return to her books. After all, they were her friends. She couldn’t let them down like that, could she? “Hi, Girls!” Twilight said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Whatever would bring you here?” “Well,” Applejack began; her southern drawl thickening her voice, “We were jus’ goin’ to a party–“ “It was my idea! You know how I LOVE parties!” Pinkie Pie interjected, and, in Pinkie Pie fashion, started bouncing around the room, scattering books in every direction. Twilight cringed again. Those were her organized piles Pinkie was messing with. Rainbow Dash made sure to get her voice heard. “Yeah, I heard the DJ play some radical music. Some of the best stuff around!” “You will accompany us, won’t you, darling?” Rarity added. “Of course, if you want to, that is…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice was barely audible. “Pwetty PWWWEEEAASSSEEE!” Pinkie Pie fell to her stomach and looked up at Twilight with bloated eyes. She started whimpering in only the way Pinkie Pie can. “I… I just can’t. Twilight looked away. Her tone changed dramatically, and she spoke again. “And besides, who goes to parties this early–“ “Early? Are you loco in the coco?” Pinkie Pie said, shifting away from her adorable whimpering to adopt a quizzical frown on her face. “It’s nearly sundown!” Twilight looked past her friends and out the door. Sure enough, Ponyville was shaded in a dark orange, signaling that the sun had almost sunk behind the mountains. “But… how’d it get so late? I just started reading a few minutes ago!” Twilight exclaimed in frustration. “Daring, I think you’ve been too absorbed in your books. I know how you feel, sometimes I just fall into my work, too.” Rarity gave a sympathetic smile. Twilight turned around. Her “I’ve read” pile, kept in a neat stack, minus the few Pinkie had scattered, had most definitely increased since she’d walked downstairs this morning. A good six, maybe ten books. How did that happen? Have I really been reading for that long? Twilight wondered. “Listen, you’ve turned us down six times in the past month, claiming you’ve been too busy with this and that to tag along with us to various occasions. Take a break, relax! Enjoy time off to have fun.” Applejack put extra emphasis on the last two words. “I’ve already said I can’t,” Twilight’s words were sharp and staccato, hinting at a tinge of something else in her voice other than a desire to return to her books. “Alright, but it’s going to be a HELL of a party!” Pinkie was obviously hyped up for the party, as her language showed. “Just… just leave.” With this, Twilight hurriedly used her magic to shove her friends out of the library and slammed the door. Can’t they tell that I just want to be left alone? Twilight wondered. Her magic making the task easy, she placed the scattered books, courtesy of Pinkie, back in their careful place. Slinking back into her fortress of books, she lay down and settled herself. Hooves delicately tugging on the silk bookmark, the book fell open to a page, and Twilight’s eyes scanned the page until she found where she had left off before she had been so rudely interrupted. Preparing herself with the proper mindset, Twilight immersed herself in her own universe of worlds. –––––––––––––––––– All right, here you go, FIMFiction. The first thing I've put out for people to read other than English papers in well over two years. I'm sure that there are a lot of mistakes. Please, point them out to me, and I'll make changes. On that topic, I'd love constructive criticism. That's how I'll get better, so any advice you have to give me is appreciated. All in all, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I plan to update this every chance I get. (Yes yes, I know this is a little short for a chapter. This was just all I had to write for this particular part.)