When she was a little filly, Twilight had a big imagination.
During class, when she was supposed to be concentrating on how to levitate objects with magic; her mind was sometimes on another planet that she had created. Her visits would usually involve her meeting a tall, funny looking alien, making friends with it and learning all about its kind. When class ended, she’d race home happily, eager to practice what she learned in school and afterword’s; she’d read sci-fi novels of ponies in space, visiting other planets. Sometimes, she’d pictured herself in the ponies place, gazing upon an alien planet in a mixture of shock and awe. She’d have adventures all, and make friends with an alien; exploring his home planet and learning everything there was too learn about him.
However, as she grew up; her day dreaming lessened and her imaginative mind was replaced by one of logic, and reason. An explanation existed for why things happened, and anything unknown could be hypothesized and turned into a theory.
This all changed when she came to Ponyville, where she learned that something’s couldn’t be explained, no matter how hard you tried to break it down into an explainable form. She learned that during her obsessive episode of not being able to accept Pinkie sense.
So whilst for a long time, she had not thought about aliens, nor considered how they might not exist at all; the child like fascination with them never really left her mind.
This was why Twilight was staring down at the unconscious, armored being in glee!! “A real, live alien” she excitedly thought, clapping her hooves in a giddy fashion. “And I’m one of the first ponies to meet it!! Oh this is so exciting.”
Inhaling deeply, most likely to let out a string of long, logical questions; Twilight was halted by her mentors raised hoof; indicating for silence. Inwardly, her enthusiasm deflated at having to wait abit longer before getting to ask the alien her questions. “But it’s just a little bit longer” she assured herself, feeling some of her giddiness return.
Twilight wasn’t the only one who was stunned by the alien’s presences. The rest of her friend’s expressions were a varied mix; ranging from shock, to excitement to wariness.
“I’m certain you all have questions about what exactly this creature is” Celestia stated, cocking her head back at the sleeping alien. “All will be answered in due time; I summoned you six here because I need your help” informed Celestia softly.
Turning back to face the armored creature, she relayed “Last night, my sister had returned from night court for some solitude in her gardens. All was well until a flash of light that appeared from nowhere. When it faded away, this creature was standing in its place.”
“It appeared from nowhere? B..but what is your highness” interjected Rainbow suddenly. A collective “SHH” from her friends quickly silenced her, wanting the Sun Goddess to finish her story before they started barraging her with questions.
“Upon sighting my sister, it ignored her greeting and attacked her on the spot. It called her Xehanort, and unleashed a flurry of attacks using its own variation of magic. It used it from its weapon that seemed to be a mix between a sword and a key. I am uncertain on its proper name, so for name it shall be called a Keysword.”
“Ooh!! Oooh!! Does it do anything else? I bet it can be used to unlock a huuge supply of” Pinkie Pie suddenly butted in! Another collective “SHH” from her friends quickly cut her questions off; as she smiled weakly before fumbling out “Sorry.”
“Whatever this creature is, it’s certainly powerful since it was able to match blow for blow with my sister. It very nearly killed her” stopped Celestia for a moment; allowing that bit to sink in. She could picture the looks of terror from that statement, appearing on her little ponies faces.
“I arrived, and was prepared to fight this stranger…but it stopped fighting upon seeing me. For some reason, it called me Master Eraqus and laid down it’s weapon. In that moment, I utilized a sleep spell and put it to sleep. Afterword’s, I had it placed here and have been keeping it locked up for the time being; at least until we can determine whether or not it will threaten anypony else…
Fluttershy took a good look over the armored creatures form. Its various dents, burn marks, and nicks suggested that the creature had been in a serious fight before showing up in Equestria. Her empathy with animals, helped develop her sense to where she could feel how somepony else was feeling. Maybe that could work on aliens too. Closing her eyes, she tried to get a quick feel on the creature’s emotions.
She was bombarded with a whirlwind of emotions, varying from anger, to sadness, to worry. It was too much for Fluttershy to handle at once; snapping her eyes open with a gasp. “Wh..what is it Princess” she meekly asked, finding the courage to speak up.
“I cannot determine what sort of species it is exactly” Celestia confessed softly, feeling a twinge of regret for not knowing what it was. “But from its appearances, mannerisms, and seeming to have its own form of magic; I can safely say that this being is not from our world. We haven’t been able to identity what it looks like because of…” She tried to say.
“Not from this world?!?! Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!! An alien! A visitor from beyond the stars! THAT..IS SO…AWESOME” Rainbow Dash cheered, suddenly not able to hold back her enthusiasm any longer! She knew that the Princesses we’re hiding something big, probably for every ponies safety. But an alien?! That was so totally cool!!
“I can’t wait any longer! I’m sorry Princess, but I have to know! What planet does it come from? Have you managed to establish an understanding through its language? What’s its culture like” Twilight joined in. The questions that had been plaguing her all last night, spilling out like a never ending river.
“U..Ummm..girls”
“What ah wanna know is if whether or not it can be trusted” voiced Applejack, making her displeasure of the creature clear. “Ah mean it did attack one of the Princesses, so I think that pretty much says whether or not it’s good or bad” she sardonically pointed out.
“I don’t think it’s that bad Applejack!! Maybe on its planet, attacking somepony is their way of saying “Hello-do-you-wanna-be-my-friend.” Gosh, that sounds really funny, if that’s the way it is; then that’s the way it is. Oh!! Oh, maybe it likes parties!! We’ll throw it one as soon as he’s back from dreamland” quipped the energetic Pinkie Pie.
“..Girls….”
“The craftsmanship of its armor is very impressive, along with its vibrant mixture of red, yellow and black coloring” Rarity hummed aloud, finding the aliens armor to be very fascinating. “I wonder if it would permit me to take a closer look at it, once it awakens? Would that be acceptable Princess Celestia?”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but frown lightly at the scene. Princess Celestia was trying her best to answer each of her friend’s questions, but she couldn’t even finish explaining to any one of them because some pony new kept jumping into the conversation, and diverting it towards them. If her friends could only just reel in their excitement just a bit, then she was sure the Princess would be willing to answer each of their questions.
“BE SILENT” echoed Luna, the royal canterlot voice silencing the group. Silence filled the room, none of the ponies feeling brave enough to voice any of their questions or concerns. “I know you are all eager, but please for the love of Faust; let my sister finish her thoughts.”
Recollecting her thoughts, Celestia spoke “I fear that for the time being, we won’t be able to find out about its kind, where it comes from, or what its people are like”. Turning back to the face the imprisoned Terra, she narrowed her eyes before stating “At least, not until we discover what’s causing it’s emotions to run rampant, so we can have a civil conversation with it.”
“Ummm..could it be possible that something is influencing it? Maybe, in the same way that uhh…Princess Luna was” asked the element of kindness, noting Luna lift her head at her mentioned name.
Stepping up to the cell, Luna explained “During our battle, I was able to take a peek inside of its memories.” Pausing, an uncomfortable look made its way onto her face, as she struggled to speak “Ne-needless to say it’s a mess in there. His memories of who he is, what he is, where he’s been and everything else..It’s a jumbled mess. Since his memories are in such a chaotic mess, they’re causing confusion and in that sense; frustration.”
Looking up, Luna finished “The frustration the alien feels..it’s angering it. We’re not certain but; it may be possible that its anger is being amplified to the point where no pony can reason with it. What’s amplifying it; it may be the darkness within it.”
Watching the alien continue to sleep, Rainbow suddenly asked “Hey, how come its armor hasn’t been removed anyway?” Sure, talking about the alien was fascinating; but she really wanted to see what it looked like under the armor!!
A faint blush came to her cheeks, suddenly realizing what she said. “Umm, I didn’t mean it in that way” she corrected inwardly.
“I tried to remove it Rainbow Dash. Perhaps it’s because its magic is foreign, or perhaps it’s because it’s shielded from our magic in some way; but in any case; we can’t remove its armor from its body. It’s almost as if its..fused together.” Celestia explained, her gaze darkening as it fell upon the alien.
“What really surprises me is its own unique resistant to our worlds magic. It almost broke free when it awoke, and saw Luna. The bonds holding it, are meant to shackle even the most powerful magic users; yet…” Celetsia’s tone trailed off; nodding towards the mangled shackles lying in the corner.
“It’s that strong? Nelly, umm..beggin your pardon Princess” Applejack spoke up, sounding almost embarrassed. “But are ya’ll sure it’s locked up tight fer now? Ah mean, Ah know that we should try to help it; but how do we know whether it’s friendly or not? It did attack Princess Luna after all.” Making her thoughts on the alien clear, she continued “Even after it recovers; it could still attack and could prove to be more dangerous with a clearer head.”
“Oh c’mon AJ. Maybe whatever’s wrong with him, darkness or not; is possessing him like what happened when Discord messed with our heads” protested Dash, defending the alien.
“Ah’m just being a realist Rainbow. Ah know that how you wanna talk to it, but the matter is; we don’t know anything about what is it, where it comes from, or even if it’s friendly. I wanna give it a chance, but…sumthing about it just doesn’t make me trust it.” Insisted Appejack
“Or, maybe your just scared of it and don’t wanna take any chances” snorted Dash, taking a shot at AJ.
Eyes flashing with indignant anger, Applejack spat “Ah ain’t scared of nuthin. Ah’m just saying we should”.
“I did insist “Celestia cut in suddenly, wishing to stop any further arguing before it broke out into something bigger. “That we place it in a larger cell, with more guards..Luna was against it, so we had to compromise for this so long as in the time it was here; we keep an eye on it.”
“That isn’t a bad guess Rainbow” Twilight agreed, ignoring the triumphant smirk that Dash was shooting an annoyed AJ. “I can still remember how all of you acted, when you were under Discord’s control.” The unpleasant memories, sparked sadness into her voice, as she softly continued “No amount of reasoning, or convincing I did was able to snap you girls out of your possessed state, at least until I remembered I realized one of the most important things about friendship.”
Facing her friends, Twilight smiled lightly; stating “Friendship isn’t always easy, but there’s no doubt that it’s worth fighting for. In the end, we didn’t give up on each other and because of that; we were able to stop Discord. Maybe we can use a similar method to help the alien.”
“Well said Twilight” praised Luna approvingly. “It would be unkind to leave, or send this creature away without offering a hoof, at the very least. At first, we considered using the elements of harmony on the alien.”
The Mane Six straightened up, and mentally readied themselves, figuring that was the plan.
“However, due to this being an..unusual case; we’ve decided to use that as a backup plan. The effects of the elements on the alien would be unpredictable, and could possibly cause more harm than good. So in order to find out what’s wrong, my sister, Princess Cadence, and myself we’ll travel into the alien’s mind to see what’s wrong.”
“Huh” was the collective response from the Mane Six, stunned by this declaration. Travel into the aliens mind?
Was that even possible?
“I-I’ve never heard of that kind of magic before” Twilight admitted begrudgingly; wondering why she had never found it in any of the books she had.
“Long ago, such spells we’re necessary; before the three tribes of unicorns, earth ponies, and Pegasus had united” started Celestia, a note of disapproval entering her voice as she resumed “It’s one of the more advanced, if…frowned upon spells. You can imagine why it would be frowned upon, since a pony of weak moral character could travel inside one’s memories, gaining information, or intruding upon something they weren’t meant to see”.
Silenced filled the room, the group feeling uncomfortable with the sudden idea of some pony viewing, or exploring their memories without permission.
“Once inside, we’ll locate whatever darkness that’s influencing the alien’s actions. We’ll see if we can mend it’s memories, and bring it’s emotional state to one where it’s more..controllable.” Luna spoke.
“That will be my job” Cadence spoke up for the first time. “If I bring down it’s emotions to a point where the alien can control them again, then hopefully it won’t lash out at anything it sees. Whether or not it will stay that way after I’m done, we’ll just have to see once we’re inside.”
“Ummm…Princess, something seems a bit off” Pinkie suddenly pointed out. “If the three of you are going to be poking around its memories, and looking for whatever the problem is; what are we supposed to be doing?”
Shining Armor cut in “Whatever’s possibly influencing it, we’re not sure how it will react when strangers are suddenly looking around inside the aliens head. It could get violent and attack. So if worse comes to worse, and for some reason we can’t reason with it; it’ll be up to you six.”
“It’ll be my job to keep it shielded, so it won’t be able to break free from its bond. Just as a precaution” cleared up Shining to the confused looks on the girls faces. “But if I fail..then..” Shining paused.
“Then, the six of you will need to stop it with the Elements of Harmony” Celestia finished, stone cold seriously. Closing her eyes to the sound of the Mane Six gasping, she apologetically spoke “I understand that all of you are fascinated by this being, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. This is the first time we’ve ever made contact with something from another world. But the safety of Equestria, and every pony living in it, outweighs our curiosity. So, if this creature proves to be a threat; you will need to use the Elements to stop it from wreaking havoc.”
Opening her eyes, she asked “Can I count on you six to do this, even if it means squandering the chance to learn about whatever lies beyond our own world.”
The group of friends looked at one another, uncertainty written all over their faces. They honestly wanted to find out as much about this creature as possible. But if curiosity was pushed up against the safety of the world…they would have to choose the safety of the world.
“It isn’t easy to answer at first, Princess Celestia” Twilight honestly answered; head downcast towards the hard floor. “Learning something new every day is a passion of mine, and finding out that we have an alien right here in Canterlot; in the excitement I wanted to learn about it at any cost” she continued. Bringing her face up to meet her mentors, she solemnly responded “But if you’re asking for us to do this for the worlds sake…then yes; we’ll do it.”
Glad that she could count on her student, Celestia gave a motherly smile; nodding “I know that you won’t let me down.”
Opening the cell door, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence entered and surrounded the unconscious beings body. “Let’s get started then. I will use the spell, and bring the both of you in with me. I don’t think I need to remind you both this, but everything that we’ll see is events that have already happened. So don’t get too caught up in what’s happening; no matter how painful it is.”
“I-I understand” nodded Cadence, eyes filled with determination. She might have been a princess for only a short time, but she wasn’t gonna let anypony down.
“I am aware of this already sister” Luna responded with a bit of a bite in her tone, feeling that Celestia was more addressing her then Cadence. “She’s certain that I’m going to get too caught up in anything tragic, or horrifying we find. Humph, good to know that she has faith in me.”
Trotting up to his beloved, Shining pulled his love into a comforting hug. “Please be careful while you’re in there” he instructed softly, wishing that he could go with her. If anything happened to her whilst she was in there, he honestly didn’t know what he’d do.
Smiling at her husband’s concern, she lovingly whispered “Don’t worry about me so. I’ll be alright, and back before you know it.” His worrying for her was touching, but she’d be fine.
“Alright, here goes” readied Shining, closing his eyes. Slowly, his horn lit up in a light rose aura. His closed his scrunched up, showcasing the concentration rushing through him. A tiny ball of light began to gather upon the tip of Shining’s horn, the rising energy increasing every second. Just as it reached its peaking point where nothing else could be gathered; the ball disappeared and out shot a powerful beam!!
The beam collided with the alien’s form, slowly encompassing it in an aura similar to Shining’s. The aura spread itself out, bathing the armored being in its own radiant brilliance. Soon, its entire form was completely covered.
Shining slowly raised his horn up high, the alien following its movement. Lifting it off of the ground, the alien hovered in place, as Shining nodded towards the Princesses.
Nodding in return, Celestia shut her own eyes, her fellow princesses following suit. The corridor seemed to darken more so than usual, the light fading away from it. The Mane Six looked around in wonder, and shock as the light grew dimmer and dimmer.
Soon, it was pitch black.
Through the darkness, three separate horns lit up in yellow, blue, and pink aura. The room slowly regained its light, the glowing horns from the three alicorns the only source of light. The energy from the Cadence and Luna slowly transferred towards Celestia; lifting her off of the ground as her horn slowly grew brighter and brighter. Her eyes shot open, revealing her pure white pupils.
The light from her horn became so bright, that it was almost blinding. Everypony else, save for Shining, Cadence, and Luna; flinched at the display before them.
The transferred energy combined with Celestia’s own energy; spun around her horn like a whirl wind. Aiming her horn at the aliens form, a mismatched beam of light shot out and struck the aliens form. A vivid light slowly surrounded the alien’s shielded form, its brilliance so great that it lite up the entire room.
It just got brighter…brighter…until the whole room was swallowed up in it!!
Then as if somepony had flicked off a light switch, the room was plunged into darkness…