//------------------------------// // Prologue Part 1: Introduction // Story: The Mage's Jump // by Marvelous Cheshire //------------------------------// THE MAGE’S JUMP BY GENOSABER PROLOGUE PART 1/3 (Location- Ponyville Library, Equestria) Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk inspecting the strangely colored stone in front of her, it had been found earlier that day in a box at the door by her assistant Spike as he was heading out on some errands. The box had no return address on it, and contained nothing more than the stone wrapped in a piece of cloth, and a note stating it would be ‘unwise’ the come in direct physical contact with the item enclosed. While she wasn’t quite sure what the writer of the note was implying, she decided it would be best to heed the implied warning. The studious unicorn had quickly finished her breakfast and got to work investigating the stone, pouring over every book on geology, fossils and gemstones she could find in the library. Sadly she had been so far unable to find anything in her books that matched the object before her. She continued searching through lunch, and by the time she had finally stopped to take a break, Spike had already returned and had just finished preparing her a daffodil and daisy sandwich, along with a plate of hay fries for himself. As the two sat down to enjoy their respective meals, Twilight couldn’t help but sigh as she continued to think about the mysterious rock. “Something wrong Twi?” Spike asked, glancing up from his plate. “I haven’t been able to find anything on the stone in any of the books in the library, it didn’t match any known rocks or fossils found in Equestria, and so far, whenever I begin to find a gemstone that matches it, I find something new about it that doesn’t match up to the details of gem. The shape, density, and hardness all match several different gems, and the colors and gradients don’t match any gemstones in Equestria. As far as I can tell, it’s not from Equestria, or any other country for that matter,” Twilight said solemnly, a frown quickly forming on her face. “Well, if it’s not from Equestria, maybe Alex or Matt will recognize it, have you thought about asking them?” Spike said, remembering Ponyville’s resident jumpers. “I would, but neither of them are in Ponyville, Matt went with Lyra and Bon-Bon to Manehattan, and Alex took Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to see the Wonderbolts in Canterlot. I don’t want to wait till they get back, what if they don’t know what it is, then I’d be back at square one,” Twilight said with a sigh. In truth, she didn’t think she could wait, the stone had been driving her crazy, and she doubted she could go much longer without finding out what the Celestia-damned stone was and where it came from. Spike quickly tapped his chin in thought. ”Hmm...what about the Princess, she might know something about it, or at the very least she could look through the books in the castle library, they might have something about it,” He said as he threw the last of his hayfries in his mouth. At the mention of the her mentor, the unicorn’s face immediately brightened. “That's it, a letter to Princess Celestia, I can send her a copy of the details on the stone, and ask if she has ever heard of anything like it. One moment Spike,” She said, heading up the stairs before reappearing a minute later with two pieces of paper and a quill held in her magical grip right behind her. She pasted one of the sheets and the quill over to Spike. “Spike, take a letter,” She stated as the dragon took both items in his claws. Dear Princess Celestia, This morning I received a package containing a mysterious stone. I have spent the last last few hours researching and have been unable to find anything that resembles it in any of my books. I have included a table containing the details I have been able to record on the stone, along with a rough sketch of the stone in hopes that you will be able to provide some insight as to what this object is and where it comes from. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. As she finished, she levitated the other sheet of paper over to Spike, who rolled it up with the letter before sending it off with a fire. “Hopefully she’ll reply soon, in the meantime, I’m going to see if I can find out anything else about that stone,” Twilight said as she trotted up the stairs back to her living area. As she returned to her task, she created a mental list of everything she had done to the stone so far. To her dismay, the only thing left she could think of was to touch the object and find out the outcome. While the note warned her to not touch it, Twilight doubted that a simple rock could be capable of anything dangerous. Steeling herself, Twilight carefully stretched out her right foreleg, slowly inching her hoof closer to the stone, until finally the tip of her hoof came in contact with the smooth surface of the stone. In retrospect, this was by far the stupidest thing Twilight could have done. The instant her hoof hit the stone, it began to emit a blinding light, startling the mare and causing her to cry out in shock, before quickly releasing a scream of pain as the stone began to send jolts of energy through her body as the light intensified. Downstairs, Spike jumped at the sudden sound coming from beyond the door, reacting quickly, the young dragon bolted up the stairs and threw the door open. “Twilight, What's wro...” Spike voice caught in his throat as his eyes widened at the sight before him. Twilight Sparkle was gone, and all the remained was a black spot in front of the desk. In Canterlot, Princess Celestia was galloping toward the castle library, both the letter and list gripped in her magic behind her. As soon as she saw the details of the stone, her heart leaped in her throat and she became overwhelmed with fear. The last time she saw something matching the description, she ended up sending her sister to the moon for a thousand years, and she prayed that history wouldn’t repeat itself. As she reached the wing she was looking for, she blasted the doors open, and charged to the shelf she knew held the records, following Nightmare Moon’s banishment. She immediately found the book she needed, grasping it in her magic, she threw the book open and read the passage detailing the items recovered from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Among all the artifacts recovered from the chambers of the former Princess Luna, the most peculiar is a small gemstone found on the remains of the Princess’s dresser. The stone was pear shaped and roughly the size of a coconut. Weighing exactly 3 pounds, the stone had a smooth, glass-like texture to it, and upon testing, was found to be almost as hard as diamond. It had a gradient coloration, being amber colored on the larger end, and transitioning to a jet black at the narrow tip. While the stone showed no unique physical properties, thorough test found it to contain traces of powerful dark magic, and ended up sending five unicorns to the infirmary, and one to their grave. At Princess Celestia’s command, several attempts were made to destroy the object, but none managed to work. The stone suddenly shattered four weeks after the order was given, and all traces were lost. Celestia couldn’t believe what she was reading. The details, along with a drawing of the object, matched up almost perfectly with the one her student had found. Not wasting a second, the solar diarch made her way out of the library, intent on reaching Twilight before she could suffer the effects of the stone. (location-unknown) (First-Person) “Well this day was a bust,” I said as I glanced over the herbs and materials I’d gathered. “Let’s see, three blood roses, six devilvine leaves, a handful of wolfsbane root, a single mandrake root, and a dozen snapdragon seeds. I was honestly hoping to get more, winter's almost here and I’ll have few chances left to gather supplies before the cold overtakes the area.” I muttered with a sigh, looks like I’m going to need to contact some traders if I wish to have any hopes of brewing a decent stock of potions to sell. I let out a sigh. “I guess I’ll just take this home and see if I can get in touch with a trader in Elfheim, hopefully they’re having a better harvest than me.” I didn’t doubt this for a second, the forest elves are renowned for their skills and knowledge of the flora and fauna of the world, and would likely be able to supply me with a decent amount of herbs and reagents to get me through winter. With a final sigh, I loaded up my meager harvest and made my way back to the city. As I walked, I took the time to admire the changes taking place around me, leaves changing, small animals gathering the last few bits of food they can before rushing home to begin hibernation. Thankfully there weren't any wolves, bears, or manticores about, having all ventured off to either hibernate or hunt somewhere else. I was quickly pulled from thoughts by a sudden explosion to my left, throwing me aside and making my ears ring. After several minutes, I pulled myself off the ground and turned to face the cause of my discomfort. “What in Gaia?” I said as I stared at the aftermath before me. Several trees had been uprooted and thrown several meters away, and a crater, roughly fifteen feet in diameter, laid less than a foot from where I was originally standing. Glancing into the crater, I was met with an odd sight. Before me lay a small, purple horse-like creature, judging by the horn jutting from its head, I could only assume it was a unicorn. As I came closer to investigate, I found that it was alive, but unconscious. I quickly dropped beside the creature and began examining it. After several minutes, I could conclude three things: 1) It was indeed a unicorn, and judging by the size I believed the proper term would be ‘pony’. 2) the pony’s right foreleg had been broken, something I’d be able to fix once I got it to my house and my medical supplies. 3)the pony was a mare, so I shall henceforth refer to the her as such. With these in mind I resolved to carry her back to my house to treat her wounds and possibly continue my examination. Taking care not to cause her any more pain, I slowly lifted the mare onto my back (thanking years of having to carry painfully heavy loads over long periods making this task rather pleasant in comparison) and draped a brown cloak over her to keep her out of sight, I turned and continued my trek back to the city. *Thunk* The gods were clearly not smiling upon me today. I turned back to the crater with the intent to glare the offending object into oblivion and- 'Oh sweet Cosmos is that what I think it is!?' In the center of the crater, right where the unicorn lay a second ago, was a small gemstone, roughly the size large pear, with a black-to-brown gradient. At the very sight the accursed gem, my heart rate skyrocketed, and my blood ran cold. I now knew exactly how this mare had arrived in this world, and what caused it. A Chaos Seed, a fragment of the dark god himself. In my new found state of panic, I reached down and grab the seed, its power already spent, and turned back to the path and ran full tilt back home, fully intent on getting this problem solved as soon as I possibly could.