//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to my Bedroom... // Story: I Wasn't Prepared For This // by August //------------------------------// A peaceful silence filled the air in Ponyville. From the far fields of Sweet Apple Acres, to the streets and alleys of the inner town, hardly a single sound could be heard. The sun had long since set, and the townsfolk's candles put out, leaving only the pale crescent moon to illuminate the darkness. Perhaps the only exception was a single sputtering candle casting its gentle light across the interior of the Golden Oaks library, and the lavender glow from the horn of the unicorn writing by its light. Twilight Sparkle was standing in front of her desk beside the window, admiring the peaceful stillness of the night as she wrote a letter. Beside her, sitting on one of the Library’s couches, was Spike, looking bored and half-asleep as he dozed off to the scritch scratch of Twilight’s quill. It was a rhythmic sort of sound, one Spike had become well accustomed to in his time as her assistant. It paused for a second, and the momentary silence caused him to open his tired eyes and gaze at his older sister. She was looking out at the star-filled sky, brow furrowed as she contemplated something or other. Considering Twilight, it was probably an academic quandary that'd be dreadfully boring to the young dragon. But if there was one thing Spike knew about Twilight, it was that she loved to discuss her thoughts. Preparing himself for whatever mental exercise that was sure to come next, he let out a quiet, “Something up, Twilight?” When she didn’t immediately respond he spoke a little louder. “You’ve normally got your muzzle buried in a book right about now. I thought Celestia’s next report wasn't due until Tuesday.” “I was just thinking.” She continued to stare out the window, eyes glued to the night sky, watching the stars as they twinkled overhead. Or maybe she wasn't looking at the stars at all, but rather through them. “Twilight, you’re always thinking. I’ve never seen you not think about something.” The thoughtful librarian turned her head and looked at her assistant, a bemused half-smile on her face. “Oh, you know what I mean, Spike. I’m thinking about some bigger questions.” She shifted her gaze back to the stars. There will never be a question too big for Twilight Sparkle. Spike thought. “Well, uh, like what? Fate? Life and death? What it would be like if you were cursed and no one could remember that you existed?” That last one was from a book he had read. Easily the longest novel Twilight had ever insisted he check out. Who was the author again? Spike wondered, I always thought it was funny how obsessed the author was with fictional Princesses. I’ll have ask Twilight about it some time. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like…" She's pausing for dramatic effect, I'm doomed. "To be like her.” “…huh?” That certainly wasn't the response he had been expecting. “Be like who, Twilight?” “Princess Celestia” Oh… Spike let himself sink back into the couch. He should have known she was thinking about Celestia after the Crystal Empire fiasco. All that worrying she did about being a failure had left her acting pretty skittish ever since. The dragon pondered the question as he counted the knots of wood on the ceiling of the library. “I’d imagine it’s a lot of hard work and long hours, with not nearly enough sleep for my taste. C’mon Twilight, we both know how this ends; everyone is impressed and awestruck by her royal bearing, the pomp and circumstance, but then you learn that behind it all is just another difficult job like all the rest, except with a little more glorification. It’s classic as classic can be. We’ve all seen it a million times.” Socratic exercises like this could go on for hours with someone like Twilight. Spike had learned from experience to nip things in the bud fast, before Twilight got into another one of those frenzied moods. Cerberus was still dealing with the results of her last 'raise the dead' experiment. “You’ve been around the Princess enough to know it’s true. “ “I know that, Spike, but I wasn't thinking about the Princess' job or anything else. I’m just wondering what it’s like to be her. To have lived for eons; to have so much time to see the world and learn from it, and to have the chance to pass that knowledge and wisdom down to others.” At this, she turned to look at him. Spike could see a spark of fervor in Twilight’s eyes, that look she always had when looking at a fresh stack of blank parchment. “To not only have the power to change the world, but to live long enough to see the long-reaching fruits of your labor. I know I probably wouldn’t like to be an alicorn, the disadvantages of immortality and all that, but… I don’t know. It’s just interesting to think about.” “I guess, Twilight.” It certainly was interesting to think about. If he was immortal, what would he do with all that time? I’d probably sleep a lot, that’s for sure. “Maybe you could ask her the next time she visits. I’m sure she’d be willing to talk about it.” “You’re right, Spike,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’ll write a letter to her tomorrow, ask her a couple of questions. Nothing big.” Spike chuckled. For Twilight, there wasn’t anything related to Princess Celestia that was ‘nothing big’. With Twilight content to look out the window once again, Spike looked around the inside of the Library, thinking. Something had been bothering him for a while, something that this conversation had reminded him of. “Hey, Twilight?” This wasn’t something he normally liked to talk about, but… might as well. He took a deep breath. “Since I’m a… a dragon, and dragons are really long lived… does that mean I’ll…?” He didn't want to finish that sentence. “Oh, Spike.” Twilight gave him a gentle smile before reaching over with her foreleg and wrapping him in a warm hug. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re together now. The future is for future Twilight and Spike, right?” she said with a giggle. Spike laughed with her. It was hard to forget that crazy week several months ago - especially after the tummy ache that followed after. His stomach still hated him for it; he hadn't been able to eat ice cream for a week! “I guess so.” “Besides, even if I’m not always around out here.” Twilight promptly held Spike with her magic while she used her foreleg to gesture around the Library. “I’ll always be right here.” She poked him softly in his chest, and then on his forehead. With a yelp he was wrapped up in another tight hug. “I love you, Spike.” “Alright, alright! That's enough of that for one night.” The lavender aura faded as Spike came to a rest on Twilight's back. “What’s that you’re writing?” Twilight followed his gaze to the parchment on her desk. “Oh, my letter! I almost forgot I need to finish this tonight!” She grabbed a quill with her magic, dipped it in ink, and began to scribble along the parchment once again. “It’s to Shining Armor and Cadence.” “Oh, did you already get a response from them for your last letter? Are they gonna be able to visit?” Spike pushed up onto his clawed toes, but couldn't see past her hair to read what she was writing. “I know how excited you were about having Cadence over during, as you said it, ‘sometime when the fate of the world doesn’t hang in the balance’. I was kinda getting excited too. Cadence said she’d bring me some malachite gemstones!” The Crystal Empire was heaven for a gemstone-eating dragon. “Well, from their last letter I received earlier today, it seems like they won’t have a chance to visit for several months, as busy as they are right now.” Twilight let out a short sigh, which Spike mirrored a heartbeat later. “It’s completely understandable, of course, what with them being tasked with leading a nation that just spontaneously sprung out of the ground a few weeks ago. They’re probably up to their horns in work!” She finished writing the letter, signing her signature with a flourish and rolling up the scroll. “Still, I wish there was something we could do. Perhaps we should arrange a visit some time, see if there’s anything we can help with. If Winter Wrap Up is anything to go by, I’m pretty good at organization!” “Yeah, don’t remind me.” Spike said as he glanced at the gigantic ‘checklist of checklists’ hanging up beside the window, only half of which was visible within the sputtering candle’s range. He yawned and hopped off of Twilight’s back. “Hey, Twilight, I think I’m gonna hit the hay. I got a long day tomorrow. Rarity is gonna take me gem hunting; we might even find some emeralds!” Twilight yawned as well. “I guess I’ll get an early night’s sleep too.” Spike glanced out the window, taking note of the deep sea of stars and the moon hanging directly overhead. “If this is your version of an early night’s sleep, I don’t want to know what ‘late’ is.” ~~~~~~ Moments later, Twilight reached the top of the library stairs with Spike on her back and a candle in her magical grip. As she entered their room on the balcony, the purple unicorn could already hear her Number One Assistant snoring gently. Stepping over to the basket where he preferred to sleep, Twilight lifted him off her back with telekinesis, laying him down and covering him with blankets. Sometimes she felt bad about having him up so late to help her. Of course, that was usually before remembering that he tended to sleep most of the day anyways. She always joked that he was more like a cat than a dragon. With the gem-eating cat tucked in, Twilight snuffed out her candle and used a soft glow spell to light the rest of the way to her bed. Once under the covers, she shifted around before finding a spot that felt comfortable. That old mattress had seen better days. I should really look into adapting the cloud-walking spell for sustained use. I bet a cloud-bed would be wonderful on my back. Thoughts filled with the theoretical applications of cloud-themed spellcraft, she drifted off to sleep within minutes. ****** That night, she dreamed of specters. Everything was ghosts and spirits, swirling around her in some kind of endless void. No matter where she turned or where she looked, all there was to see was darkness, and the gray shapes of those strange beings flitting across her vision. She felt a sense of urgency, like there was something she needed from them. Something important. Something essential. “What are you?!” she called, her voice unceremoniously swallowed by the void (Was there even sound here at all?). It felt like there wasn’t a single noise anywhere. No sound existed here; no sound had ever existed here. Yet she could feel a deep howling noise, coming from… somewhere. From the void, or within herself? She could not say. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity (or was it just a few seconds?), the spirits responded with a single word: “Echoes.” There seemed to be no single source, it came from all directions. “What do you mean? Echoes of what?!” No response. She tried to move and found herself falling, down, down, farther into the void. All at once, the whirling void snapped into clarity once again, with the tornado of spirits still swirling above her like circling crows. What caught her attention was the creature in front of her. It was made from sharp, ever shifting lines, like an artist’s stencil sketch come to life. The lines were pure white, like snow, forming the border of the strange being. The thing seemed to have no substance; it formed the silhouette of a pony, but she could see right through it. It was large - larger than her. It was hard to scale anything in this place of nothing, but the thing dominated most of her line of sight. She wanted to feel comforted by the pure-white being before her, but instead it terrified her. There was something horribly... wrong about this thing - there was just no other word for it. It was not necessarily evil, nor was it chaotic or disorderly. It was simply wrong. The lines began to move in a new pattern, revealing a slowly opening mouth. A single word emanated from its maw, deeply powerful and horrifyingly but unidentifiably familiar. “Echoes.” She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even breathe (did she ever breathe in this place?). She began falling down, farther and faster than before. The darkness was becoming suffocating now, closing in around her. Looking up, she could see that the silhouette was still facing her as if she had never moved, and now it had a pair of gigantic wings spread out behind it. The horn upon its head glowed, releasing tiny tendrils of the whiteness out into the void, before being swallowed whole by the same darkness that was covering herself. She could feel her mind falling too, into deeper sleep. Just before she finally lost consciousness, she thought she heard another voice, laughing. It, too, was familiar, but she was too far gone to know why. The darkness took her, finally, into bliss. Darkness was all she knew. ~~~~~~ Early morning sunlight filtered through Twilight Sparkle’s closed eyelids as she slept soundly, tired despite her ‘early night’ of rest. As the insistent light began to burn her eyes, she shifted and turned her head the other way, sighing with peaceful bliss as she became comfortable once again. Her ears twitched gently as the sound of angelic birdsong drifted inside. The familiar tweets and trills were a beautiful melody to wake to, and she found herself smiling contentedly. Twilight's bed felt more comfortable than she had ever remembered it feeling. Almost as if she was sleeping on a cloud, rather than her old mattress. It was the best night of sleep she'd had in ages. As she drunk in the bliss of utter contentment, the sun’s glare continued to creep across her, until its insistent call could wait no longer. Groggily, and with a slight frown upon her face, she turned to face the offending window, eyes shut tight against the sun as she extended her magic. After a moment of confused searching, she gripped the curtains in a field of telekinetic energy and attempted to pull them shut. Instead of comforting darkness, however, her eyes were assaulted by even more blinding sunlight, accompanied by the sound of ripping fabric and the clatter of the curtain rod being torn from the wall. Startled into an upright position by the sudden attack on her senses, Twilight had to raise a forelimb to protect her vision from the glare until her poor eyes could adjust. Wincing from the pain, she slowly lowered her hoof and opened her eyes, taking in the sight before her. “What the…” Instead of being met by the wooden walls and bookshelves of her balcony room on the upper level of the library, magnificently adorned stone walls surrounded her. She was in some kind of bedchamber, almost as spacious as the entire main level of the Golden Oaks Library. However, what caught her eye were the colors and uncanny design scheme. The sides were covered in rich purple and lavender tapestries, and across the ceiling a massive star chart could be seen. Several beautiful oak dressers and cabinets sat along the walls, each covered in strange crystals of every hue and shape, pulsing with magical energy. Just stay calm, girl, Twilight thought to herself. There has to be a logical explanation for this. It must be some kind of prank! Yeah that’s it, Rainbow Dash’s newest prank. Before she could investigate the room further, her ears once again pricked up at the sound of familiar birdsong coming from outside. But something was off about the trilling, she realized. Twilight had always loved listening to birds since she was a child, and she had come to recognize the distinct sound of the local flocks in every place she had lived. Fluttershy's bird choir had certainly helped with that. I know I’ve heard those birds before, but not in Ponyville. They sound like… “Canterlot!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping from the bed and moving towards the window. She tripped over her own legs, however, and fell on her face, tangled up in the blankets of her bed. After a moment of struggling, she freed herself from the offending covers and bounded towards the window, gazing out upon the breathtaking sight before her. Canterlot, in all its regal glory; the shining city was laid out before her in every direction, huge and beautiful and awe-inspiring. She could make out the tiny specks of ponies moving across bustling streets below, and spot the large crowds where the merchant districts must be. Everything was the same. And yet… different. There were crystals she had never seen before fixed upon towers she didn’t recall existed. Transport routes and train stations in different positions than the last time she had visited. Where had these things come from? What was going on? Her wings fluttered subconsciously from the agitation; there was certainly something strange going on- HEY WAIT A MINUTE. No… no… no no no no. The wings were shifting quickly now. She could feel them, squirming and quivering like they had a mind of their own. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. As she turned her head and looked at the foreign, unwelcome appendages that had attached themselves to her spine, she caught a fleeting look through the mirror propped against the far wall behind her. Within the reflective glass stood an Alicorn as large and powerful as Celestia, staring at Twilight with a look of complete, unmitigated horror. No. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” “Princess Eos, what’s wrong?!” two guards burst through the oak doors at the end of the room opposite the bed, wearing glimmering purple and gold armor on their backs and resolute expressions on their faces. They saw Twilight huddling in front of the mirror, holding a lavender primary feather in her trembling hooves as she looked deep into her own eyes. “Wh-wha?! But I, I-I what?! Who are, who is, whabuthat’s-” don’t panic don’t panic TOO LATE ALREADY PANICKING. “Your Highness, please, what is the matter?” they had already surrounded her on both sides, poised for danger. “I’m not a princess, why do I have wings?! Who are you?!” They exchanged worried glances. After a moment of silent discussion, one of them, a unicorn stallion, kneeled down before her and gently grabbed the feather with his magic. Her gaze followed the thing as it gently floated next to the guard’s face. His fur color was a very light brown, almost tan. “Princess Eos, you know me. My name is Stalwart Vigil, and I am one of your guards here at the palace.” He removed his golden helmet, setting it on the marble floor with a soft thunk. He gave her a look of calm, and while they looked at each other Twilight could see through the enchantment designed to make all royal guards visually identical. He had a light green coat and blue hair, but what caught her attention was the scar across his muzzle. It seemed he expected her to recognize the feature, as if it bore significance to her. In all her years living in the palace as a student, she had never seen nor known of this guard. Shaking her head, Twilight backed away from the stallion, bumping into the mirror and startling her wings into action again. They began to flutter and flap out of instinct, completely out of her control. It was unsettling, to say the least. She could feel them there, assaulting her mind with sensations she had never felt before, yet she had no idea how to move them. Yelping in distress, she rolled away from the mirror and tried to pin the wings down with her hooves, magic temporarily forgotten. “C’mon you stupid things! Stop moving!" with her wings pinned down for the moment, she looked up at the ponies with fear in her eyes. “Where is Princess Celestia, is she in the castle? She must know what’s going on, please!” Their only response was confusion. After a moment, the stallion spoke again, “Princess… Celestia? Your Majesty, who is this Celestia?” “No… no you can’t be serious! This doesn’t make any sense!” Twilight no longer cared about the wings. None of that mattered, not compared to this. “I don't believe she's in her right mind. Should we take her to the Infirmary?” the other guard had spoken up, helmet still on. By the sound of the voice, she was a mare. By her wings, a Pegasus. “Yes, and quickly.” He stood, leaving his helmet upon the ground where he had placed it. After a moment of silent motions to his companion, he began to approach Twilight once again, speaking softly so as not to startle her. “Princess, please, we’re not going to harm you. We have to take you somewhere where we can help you. Please, it won’t take long.” “Why do you keep calling me that? Nothing is making any sense.” Twilight had curled into a ball, gently trembling. “It’s okay, Eos. We’ll take you home.” The unicorn extended his hoof to her. After a moment of hesitation, she grasped it, and allowed him to pull her unsteadily to her hooves. With a slight nod, she motioned for him to lead the way. Her wings had decided to rest, at least for now. As they began to gently hold her and pull her towards the door, Twilight looked towards the mirror once again. Her mane and tail were a disheveled mess, and her eyes were glistening from fresh tears. She looked absolutely insane. I probably am. ~~~~~~ Once outside the bedchamber, they moved through several secondary rooms and antechambers before entering a larger hallway. Twilight began to feel slightly calmer as she exited the confines of those royal living quarters. The guards moved briskly, their speed only dictated by Twilight’s unstable feet. Aagh, these darn legs! They’re too long, I feel like a newborn foal! She was tired of tripping, tired of having no idea what was going on. Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. Just calm down, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this. It’s still entirely possible I’m dreaming. Yes, that’d be nice. All just a dream. A dream, a dream! Ha! All of a sudden, the prospect felt so funny that she burst out laughing, and had to stop for a moment to catch her breath. The guards, meanwhile, exchanged more worried looks. “Your Majesty? Is… is everything alright?” “M-Me? Oh, hehe, oh yes. Everything’s fine, it’ll all be fine!” her voice drifted off from there, giggling in a not entirely sane-sounding way. They could still hear her muttering under her breath in between giggles, something about dreams. “Please Princess Eos, we have to get moving again.” The unicorn gently pulled her forward by her hoof. They moved around several corners again before the guards began to speak to each other. Twilight, at the time, was still chuckling to herself as she looked at the beautiful palace tapestries. “Imbrium, do you recognize her affliction?” the stallion spoke to the other guard, apparently named Imbrium. The question was not one born of ignorance; it was a quiz. “Yes, sir, I think so.” The mare looked back towards Twilight, watching her. “Though I’ve never seen it this close before. ‘Delirium Induced by Magical Exhaustion’, right?” “Apparently in its advanced stages, yes, and I’ve only seen her like this once before. I had hoped I’d never be in this position again.” The stallion shook his head. Now was not the time for such thoughts, Eos was vulnerable. “We’ll be passing through the Throne Room. I want you to fetch Spike and the Captain. They’ll meet us there.” “Spike? Spike is here?! Where is he, I want to see him!” at the mention of her assistant’s name, Twilight had suddenly jumped back to where the guards stood in quiet council, tripping over her forelegs and nearly rolling the entire distance to where they were. Imbrium was already galloping down a side passage. “Don’t worry, your Majesty. We’ll be meeting him in the Throne Room, just a little distance away.” With that, Twilight immediately jumped to her feet and took off in the direction of the Throne Room. She knew the way through the castle; she had spent much of her life within these walls. Even in this strange dream world, the hallways were much the way they had always been, with only the occasional alteration. In what seemed like no time at all, Twilight was standing in front of the grand double-doors of the Throne Room. Her unicorn escort was already speaking to the four guards in front of the door. Each guard was wearing matching purple and gold armor, just like the first two ponies to have met her during this nightmare. These guards, however, were bearing strange spears inlaid with runes of power, which glowed with faint lavender light. Twilight took a moment to admire the craftsmanship of the weapons. Even without a proper scan, she could tell that each held impressive amounts of magical energy, even though the guards did not seem to be powering them. Apparently the devices were self-sufficient. Whatever her escort was saying to them, the guards nodded with grave understanding. Striking their spears upon the ground, the mighty doors swung inward, opening into the room. She rushed forward, passing between the doors before they had even opened all the way. The Throne Room was even larger than she remembered it. It was veritably cavernous now, with giant purple standards hanging from the vaulted ceiling. Beautiful morning sunlight was shining through the stained glass windows, creating splashes of color all across the floor. The most conspicuous difference, however, was the massive doorway to the side of the throne, as large as the main entrance itself. That certainly hadn’t been there before. Stepping forward with her escort beside her, Twilight came steadily closer to the grand Throne, observing the guards flanking each side of the room. Approaching a random group as hastily as her new legs would allow, she said, “Excuse me, sirs? Is Spike here yet? Where is he?” Before any of them could respond with more than confused bows, the large secondary doorway she had noticed earlier began to open. From its mouth dashed another guardstallion, this one clothed in the garb traditional of high authority. Before she could ponder this new pony further, he had already approached her and given a sweeping bow. He was a unicorn with a pure white coat and short blonde hair. His cutie mark was covered by the armor he wore, but she knew she had seen this pony before. “I am so sorry Princess. Spike is coming, he’ll be here momenta-” “Wait, wait,” manners forgotten for a moment, Twilight couldn’t help but interrupt. “Are you… Prince Blueblood?!” “-rily and wh- I beg your pardon?” that voice! It was definitely that good-for-nothing Prince from the gala! Before Twilight could respond, her escort had stepped forth and given the prince a solute. “Captain Blueblood, sir, I take it Imbrium filled you in on the situation?” “Yes, I came here as soon as I heard. Thank you for staying in control of the situation, Stalwart Vigil. Your actions in this debacle have been commendable.” “I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t care anymore, where is Spike?!” Twilight could practically feel the hairs on her mane springing up. ‘Captain’ Blueblood began to say something, but just as quickly stopped and paused for a moment, looking back towards where he had entered while holding his hoof up in a sign of requested silence. He smiled. “Well, there he is now!” Twilight could feel something. Something deep, a rhythmic bass that reverberated through her entire body. It was slow, but steady, like a heartbeat. Thump thump, thump thump. It was getting closer, she knew it. She could feel the vibrations moving through the floor. Thump thump, thump thump. Her teeth chattered from the raw, earth-shaking power. She could practically see the vibrations now. Thump thump, thump thump. She could remember very few times in her life that she had ever felt something like this, and they weren’t the most peaceful of memories to contemplate. Thump thump, thump thump THUMP. After a final, heart-throbbingly loud beat, there was no more. It took several seconds for the reverberations to finally come to an end. A giant purple dragon head, larger than her entire body, poked around the corner of the entrance. It peered about the throne room with huge green eyes, taking everything in. After a moment of searching, his eyes fell upon the trio, staring directly into Twilight’s own. His face brightened upon seeing her, and he immediately began moving more of his massive body through the door. The entire room shook with his movements. “Eos, it’s good to see that you’re okay. Relatively speaking of course.” He chuckled, a sound akin to an avalanche. “S-Spike?” why do I get the sinking feeling that this isn’t a dream… His face showed only the briefest flicker of concern before the warm smile returned. “Well, of course.” “Oh. Good.” With that statement, Twilight let the last of her sanity fade. “Then I have nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.” She fainted.