Chapter Eight
“Delta: Voluptuous Her Remnant”
“The Element of Magic has sent Celestia a letter…” Grim Tutor said as he paced, his tail swishing irritably “These humans of yours have stirred up quite a bit of trouble, Morganna.”
“It matters not; your Sun Princess remains unaware of our intentions.” Morganna replied and Tutor sighed heavily.
“That is true; if anything she’ll be doing us a favor by returning the humans to their world. Their very presence here unnerves me, Morganna; ponies are easily cowed into submission, you show a modicum of force and they shall bend a knee but these humans…” He said, still pacing “I haven’t the first clue how they’ll react, which is worrying to say the least.”
He continued to pace for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. A strange eye on a nearby wall tracked his movements carefully.
"Let us see what is occurring in Ponyville." He said and the eye blinked slowly, opening to reveal a point of view from the eyes of the strange being Morganna had summoned to this world.
It was across the way from the local bakery, where it appeared a party was just wrapping up and ponies were dispersing. The humans came out a moment later, with the females waving at the male as they left with a small yellow filly and an orange mare that Tutor identified as one of Celestia's Element Bearers, while the male with the staff turned and left with the newly crowned Princess of Magic.
"It appears they are separating, perhaps to gather information on their own." He said.
"Do you wish to strike against the humans while they are vulnerable?" Morganna asked but Tutor shook his head.
"No, that would be foolish on multiple levels. Our greatest weapon at this time is anonymity; if we make any sort of move against the humans, not only do we risk bringing the wrath of the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses of Equestria down upon us but we risk the success of our plan." Grim Tutor explained "Better to let them fritter away their resources playing with the humans while we stay in the shadows and seek our prize. Do you not agree, Great One?"
"Of course. I shall trust in your wisdom, dear Tutor. Although if you do not mind my asking, what is it that we are here for?"
Grim Tutor turned away from the eye and looked out over a balcony to a throne room that at one time had been majestic and proud. While a portion of its majesty still remained in the form of great columns and enormous tattered tapestries, the castle they resided in was nothing more than a decrepit ruin now.
"We are here to find the source." He replied simply.
"I see. How do you wish to handle the humans, then?" She asked and Tutor paused a moment before answering.
"Have your servant follow the females and keep one of your eyes near the male. I do not want any of them moving without us knowing about it." He replied.
"As you wish."
In Ponyville, a stallion with a beige coat and a black mane and tail detached itself from a crowd of ponies and began to follow Haruka and Rosemary back to Sweet Apple Acres. What it didn't see was a lean unicorn mare with a dark grey coat and a teal mane and tail appear from some nearby shadows, her emerald eyes staring carefully at the stallion before turning her head and gesturing. A pair of pegasi flew out from the shadows and began to follow the stallion while the mare turned and followed MuSeiryu to the library.
"Thanks for letting me stay here tonight, Twilight, I really appreciate it." Jack said as he perused the various books in the library.
"You're welcome, Jack." Twilight replied amiably as she trotted out of her kitchen, levitating a tray with a tea kettle and a couple of cups on it "I was actually hoping you would tell me a little bit about how magic works where you come from."
"Well, to start with, the kind of magic you want to hear about doesn't actually exist in my world except in fairy tales and games." He said, taking a seat in a cushion next to a coffee table which Twilight set the tray upon while also sitting in a different cushion "In fact, the magic I used earlier comes from The World, which I've already explained is a game I play back home."
"I can't imagine not having any magic, especially since I'm a unico- I mean, since I'm an alicorn and also the Element of Magic. Magic's a part of me." She explained and Jack nodded.
"Understandable. If you don't mind me asking, I've noticed that you appear to be the only alicorn here in Ponyville. Are your kind rarely born or something?" He asked and Twilight glanced away nervously.
"Well... to tell you the truth, I wasn't originally an alicorn." She began, shifting uncomfortably in her cushion "You see, I used to just be a unicorn. My mentor, Princess Celestia, sent me out here to learn about Friendship and one thing led to another and she turned me into an alicorn."
"So the only way an alicorn can be made is if a pony... ascends, I guess you could say. Is that right?" He asked but Twilight shrugged.
"I'm not really sure; no pony is. My old foalsitter, Cadance, once told me that she used to be a pegasus before becoming an alicorn. Then there are various professors around Equestria that claim a naturally born alicorn is possible, but if that were the case it hasn't happened in a very long time." She explained.
"How long, do you suppose?"
"Probably not since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, though their exact origins are shrouded in mystery as well since there are no known documents in Equestria that describe when the Royal Sisters came to be." Twilight continued, sipping her tea "As far as anypony is concerned, the history of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna is a closely guarded secret between them. Some ponies even go so far as to say they destroyed any records of their birth they could find, though I believe that is highly unlikely."
"And why do you think that?"
"Well, it has to do with the fact that there aren't many books that go back any further than the forming of Equestria during the Windigo Winter. The reason is that with resources running low, the three pony tribes began to burn whatever they could to try and stay warm, which meant many books were destroyed during that period." She said but added under her breath "Heathens..."
"Okay." Jack said, thinking her words over carefully "Would there be anyone in the world who would know?"
"Well, there are the dragons. The Great Wyrms among them might have lived long enough, but good luck getting any of them to talk to you. There's also the Eidolons that live in the Spirit World except no pony's heard or spoken to them in ages though there's a rumor that Princess Luna has been trying to open up a dialogue with them." Twilight replied.
"Okay. Anyone else?" Jack asked and Twilight shifted uncomfortably once more.
"Well... there is one more race in Equestria that might have been around during that time." Twilight said carefully and Jack quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Who are they?"
"Um... o-oh, would you like more tea? Perhaps another cookie or three? Ha ha ha." Twilight said, her eyes darting around suspiciously.
"Twilight, you didn't answer my question. Who are they?" Jack asked again and this time Twilight gave him a desperate, almost pleading look.
"I really doubt they'd know, so let's just move on and-"
"Please answer my question, Twilight." Jack stated sternly.
"That won't be necessary, I can answer it for you." A voice from the door spoke, causing Jack and Twilight to turn their heads where they saw a tall unicorn mare with a dark grey coat and teal mane approaching them calmly, a satisfied smirk on her muzzle "But first, let's ensure a bit of privacy, shall we?"
And with that her horn glowed with a green aura. The door to the library slammed shut and locked, then the various windows shut and curtains slid closed. Once that was done, the mare fixed Twilight with a piercing stare, with the lavender alicorn staring frightfully back.
"What Her Majesty doesn't want to tell you is that the only other race who would know anything regarding the circumstances of the birth of the Royal Sisters are the changelings. But that is neither here nor there, human, for I have come to you with a warning." The mare said as she approached Twilight and Jack "There is something lurking within the shadows of the world and its attention is focused on you and your friends. Strange eyes have been appearing in town lately and a doll of a stallion shadows you. Your every step is being watched."
"How do you know all this?" Jack asked and the mare chuckled.
"It's simple, really." She said and suddenly erupted into green flames, which dispersed quickly leaving a creature whose tall, lean body spoke of noble grace and predatory beauty. It smiled wickedly at them, its sharp fangs glinting in the light.
"I am the monster that goes bump in the night. Now be a dear and fix me some tea, would you? We have much to talk about."