//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: One Night in May // Story: Alpha Centauri // by StLeibowitz //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle felt that there was something odd about her situation, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong about it. It was a conundrum – the strange sense that something, somehow, was off about the world, yet despite this knowledge she was unable to determine exactly what the issue was. She opened her eyes slightly, fighting back the temptation to just slip back to sleep on the incredibly comfortable red-sheeted bed she was curled up on, and took a look around the water-filled room she was in. She briefly considered the “underwater” thing to maybe be the issue, but dismissed that as preposterous – she could breathe, obviously, so that was probably normal. Besides, she had to admit that the Library was much prettier underwater – there were some bioluminescent snails or something on the wall, keeping everything brightly lit despite the evident depth, and granting the familiar space an ethereal cast. No, it wasn’t the state of submergence that was odd, she decided, snuggling closer into the draconequus that was curled protectively around the bed. Maybe it was the bed. Didn’t she have something simpler than this silk-sheeted monstrosity they were laying on? If so, she decided getting something more like this would probably be a better idea. It was round, comfortable…and warm. And she had company. That was always a plus. With a yawn, the draconequus stirred, stretching his mismatched arms and scratching at his side. He raised his head and blinked at his surroundings, puzzled. Twilight giggled. “Morning, Dissy,” she said, hugging him. Discord blinked down at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Well,” he started, slithering off the bed and out of her grasp like an eel. “I can honestly say I was not expecting this when I decided to interfere with your dream to bring you a message.” “Might you mean ‘massage’?” she suggested playfully. The sound of crunching popcorn behind her caused her to glance back, and she realized with some mortification that Princess Luna was in the room with them, snacks in hoof and situated comfortably on a chair. “Pay thee no attention to me,” Luna ordered, waving a hoof dismissively. “I am merely observing.” “Luna, this is private – “ “Thou hast thy trashy romance novels” - she smiled - “and I have dreams.” “But – “ “No, no, Twilight, she has a point,” Discord interrupted thoughtfully. “It is a dream, after all.” He grinned mischievously. “I wonder what restoring your real memories while allowing you to keep your dream memories would do…” “Don’t thou darest, Discord,” Luna warned. “My supervision is intended to curb such impulses. ‘Twas a requirement of me granting thy request, was it not?” “You got boring on the moon, Lulu.” He sighed disappointedly at the closing of a wonderful opportunity to cause mischief and turned back to Twilight. “Well, Miss Sparkle, from an examination of the memories this dream insists I be bestowed with, I can say it was a rather remarkable night, but sadly I must be going.” She let out a disappointed groan. “I somehow think you’ll be singing a different tune when you wake up. That was the message by the way. Wake up!” And then the draconequus’s smiling face turned into a ringing alarm clock. ------ With a start, Twilight bolted upright at her desk, bringing a sheet of paper that had the temerity to cling to her face with her. She blinked in the golden sunlight streaming through her window – a nap? She’d fallen asleep? “Spike!” she shouted, getting out of her chair. “Spike, what time is it?” “Seven in the afternoon,” he answered, poking his head through the door of the small room – one of the many unused spaces they’d found in the library, and hadn’t really known what to do with. This one, she’d turned into an impromptu study, a quiet retreat away from the near-constant interruptions that came from living in a public library. Spike kicked the door open fully, unable to use his hands thanks to the neatly wrapped stack of books he was carrying. “I was just about to come wake you up! Rainbow Dash’s birthday party’s in like an hour!” “I know!” She lifted the books out of his hands and floated them along behind her as she galloped out of the room. Just outside and to the left was a spiral staircase; she slowed her pace to a safer trot and started to descend. “I can’t believe I fell asleep – while reading, too!” “You were up kind of late planning it,” Spike pointed out, following her down. “That’s no excuse!” She reached the bottom of the stairs and paused. “Telescope! We need the telescope! Spike, go grab it from the balcony!” The baby dragon groaned. “Twilight, it’s just a stargazing party! Do you really need a telescope?” “Of course we need the telescope!” She frowned. “It’s an astronomy party! You can’t properly stargaze without a telescope.” “But – ” “Spike, this party has to be perfect,” she cut him off. “I’ve put too much effort into this for it to go wrong now!” “Fine, fine,” he mumbled, starting back up the stairs again. “I’ve never seen you get this worked up about a party before. Not any of Pinkie’s, not Moondancer’s…” “This is different. I planned this, Spike!” she responded. “Hurry!” While he grudgingly marched back upstairs to fetch the heavy telescope, Twilight continued down into the Library’s main room to wait. On impulse, she grabbed a few books off the shelves in the Astronomy section that might prove useful – Starly Skygazing Secrets, Astral Anomalies, The Music of the Spheres: A Beginner’s Guide – and her saddlebags from beneath the table in the center of the room. She slipped the presents and other books into them, and them onto her back, smiling; Rainbow Dash would love her present, she was certain. The library hadn’t been receiving as many book donations as it once had over the last few years, and so its collection of Daring Do novels had turned out, on closer inspection, to not be quite as complete as Twilight had boasted when Rainbow Dash first discovered the joy of reading – a jarring find for them both. Therefore, as an ideal birthday present for her friend, Twilight had hunted down the latest three novels in the series – and found copies for herself and the library, of course, but she resolved not to put them on the shelves until some time after Rainbow was through with hers. Spike returned several minutes later, panting as he tried his hardest to keep the telescope from banging against the stairs. As soon as he was in sight, Twilight took the delicate instrument out of his claws and brought it over to follow her instead. “Thanks, Spike.” “No…problem!” He collapsed to the ground comically, misjudging the wisdom of doing so on stairs and sliding painfully down the remainder of the steps. “Owww…” Twilight chuckled. “Take care of the Library tonight!” “My head…” The sky was clear when she stepped outside and checked. She nodded to herself, satisfied; a cloudy night would have ruined her plans, not that she’d been expecting one – the weather pegasi usually held to their schedule in Ponyville, unlike in Canterlot, where union contract disputes occasionally led to solid weeks of unscheduled light rain and overcast skies. Of course, a cloudy night would have given her the perfect opportunity to test some of the aeromancy she’d been studying… “Twilight!” She turned her head at the sound of her name, smiling as she saw Pinkie galloping down the road. The baker skidded to a halt in front of her, somehow keeping the large white box that was balanced precariously on her nose from falling. She snatched it off and opened it in a single fluid motion, showing off a small rectangular cake perfect for sharing between friends, with blue-black frosting and a star-encircled Wonderbolts insignia done in icing on the top. “Just came out of the refrigerator!” Pinkie declared happily, closing the box again. “I guess I could have baked it later, but I got it done this morning so I could give it time to chill, since cold frosting is always the best, especially cold buttercream frosting! I wasn’t sure what to decorate the top with, since it’s Dashie’s birthday, but it’s an astronomy party, so I just mixed the two and I think it turned out well.” “It looks delicious, Pinkie,” Twilight assured her. “Better than what I could’ve done. You know how my attempts at baking turn out.” “They turn out helpful!” Pinkie grinned and nodded vigorously. “The Living Oatmeal actually made the frosting, so if it tastes a little like pencil lead or charcoal, that’s why.” “Thanks for helping, Pinkie.” Twilight started trotting down the road in the opposite direction from the way Pinkie had come. The party was being held on a hill outside of town, where the admittedly sparse light pollution of Ponyville would be all but negated by distance. She grinned; yes, this party would be perfect, especially in light of Rainbow Dash’s recent interest in the night sky. “You’re welcome!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing along beside Twilight. “This is gonna be fun, going to a party I didn’t plan! You covered all the bases, right?” “Applejack’s bringing plenty of cider, specially made for this occasion – ” “Is it hard cider? ‘Cause if it’s hard cider, we should pick up some water on the way there, so I can drink something that won’t give me a headache in the morning if I get thirsty.” “No, Pinkie, it’s not hard cider.” She rolled her eyes. “Applejack even refused to bring any, not that I asked. We both learned our lesson at Apple Bloom’s party.” “Yep!” Pinkie chirped. “That was a fun party!” “In any case, we’ll have plenty of cider on hand. Rarity is in charge of the decorations, so I feel completely confident they’ll be stellar – “ “Did you just make a pun?” Pinkie gasped. “Maybe.” She grinned. “Fluttershy might bring Discord along later, but she had to make sure Angel was feeling better, first. I’m still not sure how he managed to ingest Poison Joke, but that potion Zecora made for him seems to be working, at least. Why are you grinning so widely?” “Oh, no reason!” she answered. Her grin didn’t shrink at all. “I’m just happy Angel’s feeling better! Maybe a few days of having horns and scales will change his attitude about things.” “What things?” “Stealing-carrot-cupcakes things.” “Hm.” Twilight had the odd sense she was missing something obvious. “Well, if all goes well, all the girls will be in attendance. Plus Discord.” She shuddered slightly as a vague memory of a dream came back to her. “Tonight’s going to be perfect…I hope.” The road led them out of town, past the darkened windows of sleeping houses and the bright doorways of night-owls. By the time they’d passed the outermost home – the residence of the Hooves family, if Twilight recalled correctly – the sun had set almost completely, and a dark new moon was edging up into the eastern sky. The stars began winking into existence, one by one or in small clusters, outlining constellations against the dark of night. The beautiful sight was all she needed to confirm her predictions, in her eyes – tonight would be absolutely perfect! The first-ever party she’d planned herself was set to go off without a hitch. When they finally reached the hill, barely ten minutes before eight o’clock, the sun was gone. Only the stars now lit the sky, clustered in a milky streak or scattered across the rest of the heavens. The hilltop was crowned by a sextet of poles stuck into the ground, with lights just bright enough to enhance the visibility of the table of food. Rarity and Applejack trotted down to meet them while Twilight carved a flat platform out of the dirt for her telescope. “Everything’s all set, Twi,” Applejack declared. “Plenty of cider and fresh-baked snack food.” “And since nopony else seemed to think of it, I brought a platter of sandwiches,” Rarity added. She glanced nervously back at the hilltop. “Oh, I do hope this will be enough! Heavens know it should satisfy Rainbow Dash, at least, but if I’d had more time, I could have done so much more.” “It’s perfect, Rarity,” Twilight assured her. The telescope’s tripod stuck into the packed earth, and, satisfied it wouldn’t fall over and break one of its lenses, she left it alone. “We’ll mostly be watching the stars tonight, anyways. Everything is fine.” “Certainly, it’s fine, dear,” she sniffed. “I don’t do anything less than fine. What I’m worried about is whether it is perfection or not.” “She already said it’s perfect, Rarity,” AJ snorted. “C’mon, Fluttershy and her guest’ll be here soon. We should probably start reinforcing it, really.” “Yes. Her...guest.” The fashionista sighed. “Perfection may be difficult to achieve, with Discord in attendance, however nicely Fluttershy assures me he cleans up.” “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Fluttershy wouldn’t bring him otherwise,” Twilight said, though there wasn’t a great deal of conviction in her voice. “Yeah! He’ll be like a party magician!” Pinkie agreed, bouncing in place. The cake was on her back, still; Twilight watched it nervously as it hopped into the air with each bounce. “Or a party prankster! That’s a really important position, after all, and we don’t have anypony to fill it yet. Maybe he can even help with catering!” “It’s a mite bit late for that,” Applejack chuckled. Pinkie shook her head. “Not if he makes chocolate rain!” she continued. “The most super-amazingly scrumptious weather phenomenon in all Equestria!” “No,” Twilight said flatly. “No rain! It’s an astronomy party. Clouds, cotton candy or not, would just get in the way.” “Ah, you’re so booooring, Twilight,” Discord’s disembodied voice moaned. With a flash of light and an old-timey piano sting, the Mad Lizard himself teleported into the party, bringing along with him a very frightened yellow pegasus. He wore a neon-green shirtfront, black silk bowtie, golden monocle, and a top hat that appeared to have been last washed in Winsome Falls. He seemed to notice her attention, and asked, “Do you like the ensemble? I thought it fitting, considering whose party I’d be crashing. Though perhaps” – he grinned – “you would prefer me unclothed?” “Discord!” she snapped, blushing as a slightly more clear memory of the dream forced itself back to the conscious levels of her mind. He laughed. “So, has our polychromatic guest of honor arrived yet?” He pulled an old-fashioned alarm clock out from behind his back and examined it. “We seem to have arrived precisely three-point-two-four-three-F minutes ahead of time, so I doubt it.” He sniffed the air. “Is that hard cider I smell?” “It wasn’t,” AJ grumbled. Discord laughed again. “It’s been a long time since any pony has invited me to a party. It may as well be a proper party, if I’m attending!” He snapped his claws, and a spray of fireworks screamed up into the sky, detonating in a quintet of multicolored blasts of sparks. “Let the festivities commence, then!” Twilight frowned. “Rainbow Dash hasn’t arrived yet.” “Perhaps she’s decided to show up fashionably late?” Rarity suggested. “Darn inconvenient time for her to decide to start doin’ that,” Applejack grumbled. “Ah left Big Macintosh to watch Apple Bloom and her friends tonight.” Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “You delivered the invitation?” “Oh! Um, yes,” she answered. “I pushed it through the mail slot on her front door this morning before she left for weather patrol. She should have got it.” “And I went up and put one in all her windows!” Pinkie added. “She can’t possibly have missed it!” Twilight nodded. “Very well. We’ll just have to wait for her.” Discord shrugged and conjured a hammock in the shape of a giant banana peel to lay on. The fireworks fell back out of the sky, completely intact, a second later. “Well, let the waiting commence then!” ------ High above Equestria, higher than even the most daring of pegasi would attempt to go, a shooting star streaked through Equus’s mesosphere, leaving a brilliant trail of orange-yellow fire in its wake. It drove downwards through the thin air, its angle of attack varying wildly and for seemingly no reason at all, until finally it entered the uppermost extremes of the troposphere. Pony astronomers everywhere would have recounted it as a stunning stellar anomaly, a true wonder – Princess Luna never, with no exceptions, allowed a meteor to dip down into inhabited airspace; a shooting star so deep in the atmosphere would have excited the entire stargazing world. But then that shooting star hit an anvil cloud somewhere between Fillydelphia and Baltimare, and went out like a candle in a rainstorm. Had any amateur astronomers been watching, they would have been extremely puzzled. A shooting star does not just "go out". They fade away, yes – burned to a crisp and then even further, reduced to ash by their speed; sometimes, they even explode, if Luna were in a particularly bad or show-offish mood – one need only read about the Sibearian-Equestrian border disagreement to find evidence of that in a history book (the incident was resolved in Equestria’s favor, naturally, when the Sibearian representative from Tunguska unexpectedly changed stances on the war bill). No, a shooting star did not go out quietly. Fortunately for confused astronomers, this was not a shooting star. Atop that cumulonimbus cloud at the terminator between light and dark, waiting nervously for her detector spell to report back, the avatar of the star Beta Centauri paced. Her mane had faded back to its normal proportions, after boiling a soccer-field-sized trench into the cloud from her landing. The dense water vapor felt almost springy beneath her hooves, tendrils of it sliding reluctantly off her kelpie coat as she tugged her feet out repeatedly to walk. She’d cast the spell the instant she’d landed, to give it as much time as possible to search the nearby pony megalopolises for Alpha’s magical signature, and knew the exact instant it would be finished thanks to the magic of repetition, yet still she paced. “Why am I nervous?” she muttered to herself, glancing up at the faintly star-flecked eastern sky. The west was still an incandescent orange, thanks to Celestia’s setting; it almost reminded her of herself. “Why am I so nervous? It’ll just be the same as every other time! Every – last – time.” She jumped slightly as the spell returned, a rushing in the ethereal winds around her as the magic bent to her will. With a slight sense of trepidation, she let the results unpack inside her head, and growled. “Nothing!” she spat, returning to her pacing. “Okay, not nothing…thirty-four percent match, on a funny little purple filly…eighteen percent on a black-and-red – thing, I guess. Thirty-six percent on a grey pegasus mare with bubbles on her butt…” She giggled slightly, a sound verging on hysteria. “Thirty-six percent! That’s almost as good as that thirty-eight percent match I found last year…or was that last decade? So hard to distinguish…” Abruptly, she catapulted herself back into the air, employing a little-used thunderbird technique to accelerate herself back up to supersonic speeds almost instantly, leaving a shockwave of flame and a trail of fire in her wake. She pointed herself arbitrarily towards Canterlot, casting her detection spell every time she spotted a village below her, laughing all the way from the simple exultation of flying fast. The sky darkened almost unnaturally quickly as she sped off towards the night side of Equus, until she found another cloud to bury herself in. With a startling right-angle turn, she slammed into the side of a developing stormcloud, the heat of her wake reducing most of the cloud to so much mist. The spells caught up to her soon afterwards while she looked down on the glittering sprawl of ancient walls and new apartments that composed the capital city of Equestria. She smiled wanly; she could remember when Canterlot was little more than a cattle-driving earth pony village, almost fifteen hundred years ago. She’d watched it grow up, every year seeing new houses added, even the year after the Great Fire that had destroyed most of the old city. It was kind of comforting, really, seeing something else as durable as herself, especially when all her subjects died so quickly. So quickly… While she examined the latest results of the spells, she cast another one over the city. It returned as soon as she decided that absolutely nothing of note existed in the scattered villages of Ponysylvania and Mareland provinces – she’d only get really excited for a 50% match – and she set upon the report with her usual eagerness. Then, she froze. “Wha – What?” she gasped. She cast the spell again, waited patiently for another minute or so, and examined the second set of results to confirm the first. The spell didn’t lie, or at least it lied the same way both times. “An eighty percent match?” In a flash of heat and light noticeable even from the ground, Beta vaporized the cloud she stood on and tucked her wings in, the wind pressing against her face almost putting out her mane as she dived. With a roar of metal against metal, she snapped her wings open again just above a hundred feet from the ground, leveling out and gliding towards the maddening mass of white towers and onion domes that was the Royal Palace. The city passed beneath her in an eyeblink, and she was past the guards on the Palace wall before they could even raise a cry of alarm. The closest official entrance to where she wanted to be was the main gate; the closest hole in the wall to where she wanted to go was some kind of stained-glass window. She decided to take the window. A blast of burning air preceded her into what the locals would call the “throne room”. The window – a priceless work of art by the earth pony glassblower Glittering Mosaic depicting the defeat of Nightmare Moon – was reduced to a hail of priceless shards before Beta even passed through. When she landed, the room was absolutely silent; remarkable, considering that not a minute earlier the Princess of the Night had been failing to moderate a shouting match between a cadre of incensed monks and a gaggle of furious astrologers. Now, both sides stared in open-mouthed shock at the celestial intruder. For her part, on her black marble throne on the raised dais at the head of the room, Princess Luna simply looked confused. “Where is she?” Beta demanded, a mad gleam in her eyes. She strode to the center of the chamber and fixed Luna with her gaze. “Where is Alpha Centauri?” Luna frowned. “Is it not in the sky right now? We were under the impression it was night.” “No, not Alpha Centauri the star!” she snapped. “Alpha Centauri, my sister! She’s here, I know it – eighty percent match! Within margins of error! Take me to her!” “We have no idea what thou art speaking of,” Luna said. “Art thou – “ “I am completely sane!” “ – okay? Thy head appears to be on fire,” she finished. “Though that may have been a valid question as well.” A hooded monk cleared his throat. “Princess Luna, if this is a bad time, the Order of the Evening Star would be more than happy to reschedule.” “Er…yes, as would the Equestrian Astrological Society,” a monocled mare across the room agreed. “You seem to have another…rather insistent guest.” “Trouble thyselves not with this matter.” Luna shook her head. “We shall have the Guard escort her out.” Without further signal, bat-winged pegasi in dark armor seemed to materialize out of the deep shadows of the hall, pushing through the petitioners and advancing on Beta. For an interminable instant, her vision went black. She caught herself before she toppled to the floor, her internal clock telling her that a mere two minutes had passed. Around her, scattered like so many toys, was the charred and smoking armor of no less than six guards. Luna’s mouth hung open in shock; the petitioners had pressed themselves as close to the walls as they physically could, and several of the monks appeared to be deep in prayer. Beta was breathing heavily; her heart was hammering like she’d just been in a pitched battle. It slowly dawned on her what had just happened. “No, no, no…” she muttered, staring at the bones. “No, I fixed that, I’m not – “ “Get thee gone from my throne room, Nightmare,” Luna hissed, standing from her throne. Shadows seemed to congeal into armor around the Princess of the Night as she made to advance down the steps of the dais. Uncertain, Beta retreated a step. She jumped in surprise as the throne room’s doors slammed against the walls behind her. “Luna, hold,” a tired voice commanded. The Princess did no such thing; if anything, she started walking faster. “Luna, I know this mare. Hold. She is a friend.” “Tell that to my guards, sister!” Luna retorted furiously, gesturing to the half-melted platemail. Beta dropped her head in shame, Luna’s inflection on the final word calling up memories she would’ve liked to never have had. “Aren’t they magical constructs, Luna?” Celestia asked, stepping alongside Beta. “Calm down, please. This is no Nightmare – this is Beta Centauri, Queen of Domhan. She is on Equus with my permission.” “Wait – the signature!” Beta realized, her head snapping back up. She backed away from Celestia, cast the spell again, focused squarely in the alicorn’s direction – and the results came in. Eighty percent match, precisely. A false-positive. Of course Celestia’s magical signature would be similar – she was a star as well! “Nevermind. I need to go – good night, Celestia” – she nodded to the Princess – “Luna” – nodded to her as well – and galloped for the opening she’d blown in the throne room wall. She was caught in a golden aura of magic before she was even halfway there, spun around, and made the victim of one of Celestia’s calm smiles. “What brings you to our Palace tonight, Beta Centauri?” she asked amicably. “Surely, it must be of some importance, to bring you so far from your world.” “Well, I tend to come here often. Once a year, actually. I’m searching for her, you see,” she answered. “I’ve been searching for her for a long while. I thought I’d found her tonight, but really, it was just you – eighty percent match” – she cast the spell once again, with greater refinement, to prove to herself that it really was Celestia she’d detected, and the results came back almost instantly. Thirteen percent precisely. Her eyes widened in surprise. She cast another spell, in Celestia’s general direction instead of on her exactly, and got the result again – eighty percent. In a flash, it came to her – she wasn’t detecting Celestia’s magical signature, she was detecting the trace of someone else’s magical signature in her aura! “Beta Centauri?” She ran a quick set of calculations in her head; if she was correct, an eighty-percent match from a mere trace would mean that the trace was likely from close contact with someone who had an even closer match than that, and if said contact had occurred within a month, the decay in the signature trace’s fidelity would amount to exactly twenty percent. Celestia had had physical contact with Alpha within the past month! She realized that she’d been standing silently, staring at the alicorn, for almost a minute. “Beta Centauri?” “Celestia, I need a list of everyone you’ve been in magical contact with for the last month,” she said. The madness was back in her eyes; Alpha was here! Alpha was within her grasp! “And I need it fast.” “To what purpose?” Celestia demanded. “To find Alpha, that’s the purpose!” she replied. “Your aura bears a trace that matches Alpha’s magic signature with an accuracy of eighty percent. Someone you have had magical contact with in the last month is her, I’m sure of it!” Celestia sighed. “Beta, Alpha was a close friend of mine. Her death at Proxima’s hooves was a tragedy. I have searched for her incarnation as well, all across Equus, and found nothing. If you have similarly found nothing on Domhan, then I believe it is time we face the truth.” “She is here,” Beta insisted. “I am certain of it! More certain than I have ever been of it before, in two thousand years of searching. I will not give up now!” “Beta – “ “You’ve found her, haven’t you?” she demanded, suspicion seizing hold of her. “She’s close to you, and you know it! If you will not help, fine – I shall continue searching, if I must search each and every cave, home, and city on this world personally to find her!” “Beta – “ “And when I do find her, Celestia,” she continued, grinning darkly. “When I do, if I discover that you have harmed her, or hidden her, or prolonged my search…well” – she giggled – “we’ll see how long it takes to find you.” “Beta Centauri!” Celestia snapped. The alicorn closed her eyes and sighed, and when she spoke again it was much calmer. “I have not found her. I do not know where she is, Beta. I – “ “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Beta asked, more softly. “You’ve been in actual, soul-to-soul contact with her, and not recognized her.” She snorted, galloped over to the edge of the shattered window frame. Before she leapt back out into the night, she glanced back. “Your blindness is irrelevant. She’s here. She’s close.” She grinned. “Before the year is out, we’ll be back here to say hi. Maybe then you’ll see.” And she was gone. Celestia tried to imagine she hadn’t seen a flash of red in Beta’s eyes before she’d jumped.