//------------------------------// // Prelude to Weirdness // Story: The Crisis on Infinite Equestrias // by Redback Spino //------------------------------// It was like a great wave, crashing over the land, destroying all in its wake. Farmlands were wiped out, mountains crumbled, the few forests that remained fell, and the vast cities that dotted the land were wiped clean off the face of the earth. Except there was no wave. There was nothing, and this great wave of nothing was destroying all of Equestria. Rolling invisibly and silently across the landscape, everything it touched was devastated and utterly erased from existence. As this nothingness approached the bustling industrial metropolis that was Canterlot, the only sounds that could be heard were the panicked screams of the ponies as they desperately tried to flee. The streets and walkways were overflowing with bodies, all rushing to escape the city. All except one. Even as thousands of ponies of all ages, breeds and social backgrounds milled about her, a single dark-purple alicorn stood her ground, facing the oncoming wave of nothingness with an expression of grim resignation. She sighed at the sight of the buildings and smokestacks of Canterlot, dissolving into the air as the wave reached them. She watched with mournful eyes as airships and planes took off from landing pads all about the city, packed with ponies eager to be as far away as possible from the oncoming invisible death that came ever closer. She tried to block out the screams of mares and stallions as they were caught in the nothingness, their cries of terror and pain cut short as they were consumed and erased. Twilight Sparkle said quietly to herself, "It's no good... looks like I was too late to warn them again. Not like they would have listened anyway." Buffeted on all sides, the alicorn sprinted through the streets of Canterlot, trying her best to remember the way to the palace, where her only means of escape this forsaken city lay. As she ran, she listened to the screams of the ponies she passed: "What is that thing?!" "It's coming right for us!" "He promised! He said he'd keep us safe! He lied!!" So he was here then as well, Twilight thought. He's moving faster than I expected. Let's just hope the time dilation here isn't too bad. Rounding a corner, she found herself at the gates of Canterlot Castle, now abandoned by its guards and wide open. She hurried through the massive iron doors into the corridors of the palace, at last allowed some relief from the pandemonium outside. Please let it be here, please let it be here, please don't let him have moved it, please let it be here... As she took a right down the corridor, she kicked the doors of the vast throne room wide open, wisps of dust swirling in the harsh bright light. The throne room was a far cry from the one she was familiar with. Instead of the marble steps leading up to the twin golden thrones, bedecked with jewels and fine velvet cushions, there was a single throne carved of jet black stone and draped with blue cloth. On the wall behind on either side, there hung long banners emblazoned with an image of a black crystal shard, and a red and green eye above it. But she had seen this all before. In countless other Canterlots, across hundreds of Equestrias, the banner could be seen hung in the throne rooms and from the walls of the palaces. But whether that banner hung or not, wherever she travelled, she knew that disaster and death were not far behind. She focused her mind back on the task at hand. For just on the side of the steps leading up to the enormous basalt throne, was the mirror. Propped up against the wall, gathering dust, but otherwise in perfect condition. Twilight's horn flared up with blue light as she lowered her head and aimed a spell directly at the mirror. A small fragment of debris rose up from the floor, surrounded by the same blue aura, and was flung at the mirror. But instead of shattering the glass, the rock simply passed through the mirror and vanished from sight. "Excellent, it's still open," she said to herself, before a familiar muffled sound came from behind. She spun about on her back hoof and her blood ran cold at what she saw. The walls and doors were gone, now replaced by a great expanse of blank, empty mass, and the emptiness was inching closer with every second. Quick as a whip, Twilight conjured out of thin air a black marker pen and drew a tiny line on the side of her left hoof. Just one more tally mark added to dozens more already drawn there. A flash of blue light and the marker was gone, then with one final mournful glance at the throne room as it crumbled and dissolved into nothingness around her, she took a deep breath and leapt at the mirror and straight through it. Behind her, the throne room was gone. The mirror was gone. Canterlot, and the thousands of ponies who called it home, were gone. In an instant, countless voices all across the world, and even out in the farthest reaches of space, were silenced. And the universe was simply no more. Her body felt like it was being stretched and pulled in a hundred different directions at once as she tumbled further and further through an endless stream of lights, spiralling and shimmering in every colour of the spectrum. You never get used to that feeling, she mused. And just when you think you have, something new comes up and makes the whole journey unpleasant in a whole new creative way... As she tumbled through the endless tunnel of spinning lights, she closed her eyes and summoned up another burst of magical energy. As her horn lit up, a beam of white light shone out from the tip, pointing towards a point far in the distance. Spreading her wings, she tilted her body and headed straight in the direction of the beam. The light grew brighter and brighter as she neared the point, until finally she was engulfed in light. Her head was pounding, her vision was blurry and her limbs were weak and shaking. C'mon, hang in there! Almost...there... Then at last, she felt it, that familiar tingling across her body as she passed over the threshold of a portal, and arrived in the magnificent and grand throne room of... WHUMPH! Any further thought was cut short as she felt herself slam headlong into a wall that seemed to come far too early. She slid down the wall and her vision went black. Princess Cadance awoke with a start. Sweeping her mussed mane out of her eyes, her ears pricked up as she heard a commotion downstairs. Like something was crashing about somewhere on the lower floor of the Crystal Palace. Rolling over, she nudged Shining Armour, who still lay fast asleep beside her. "Shining... Hey, Shining..." "Mmmh... No, my vision of hell... So much lentil casserole..." he whimpered sleepily, gesturing feebly with a forehoof. "Shining Armour! Wake up!" "Guh-wha?! Quick, get the baking soda!!" The unicorn sprung up, yanking the blankets up to his chin. No longer finding himself sailing a mighty ship on a sea of casserole, Shining Armour glanced around the bedroom with bleary eyes. "Uhhh... Oh, Cadance? What's the idea? It's still dark out." "That's why I'm worried," Cadance replied. "I'm pretty sure I heard something downstairs." "Like what?" "Like something hitting a wall or something. I think there's somepony in the palace!" she said, looking warily at the door. Shining Armour simply smiled. "Oh sweetie, I'm sure it was nothing." "Please?" Cadance said, nudging her husband. "Could you just go check it out or something?" He swept the bedclothes aside and slowly got out of bed with a sigh. "Alright, tell you what, I'll send some guards downstairs to check it out." He pushed the door open, and right where they should be, on either side of the door, were two crystal stallions, dressed all in silver armour. "Something wrong, your majesty?" one of the guards asked as his prince poked his head around the door. "Cadance said she heard something moving about downstairs. I'm not certain I heard it, but I'm a heavy sleeper as it is," he said, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. The guard nodded. "Yes, we heard it as well. It sounded like something big moving around downstairs. I've sent a pair of guards to do a sweep of that floor." Shining Armour felt a tiny shudder at this news. "Huh... Well, as soon as they've searched the whole floor, report back to me immediately." "Yes your majesty," the guard replied with a bow. Closing the door behind him Shining Armour returned to the bed. "So what was it?" Cadance asked, sitting up against the backboard. "Apparently they heard a noise downstairs too. Don't worry though, the guards are checking it out and if it turns out to be somepony in the palace, they'll report back to me but they'll take care of it," he replied, slipping into bed again. Cadance gasped. "So it wasn't just me! What do you think it was?" Shining Armour shrugged. "No idea. I hope it was just an animal that got through the windows or something. We'll find out soon enough though." "I dunno, it sounded a bit bigger than just some animal," she replied. The unicorn put a comforting hoof around Cadance. "Hey, don't worry. You know I handpicked the palace guards myself, they're the best soldiers in the Empire." Cadance nodded, lying back down. "By the way, you were talking in your sleep again, why didn't you just tell me you didn't like my lentil casserole?" He opened his mouth to answer, but none came. "I... I have no explanation for that..." Before she could reply, there was a timid knock on the door. "Come in," she called, and the door creaked open, revealing a rather bemused-looking guard. "Erm, sorry to disturb you your majesties, but we, er, found the source of the noise." "Ah, fast work," Shining Armour said with a confident smile. "So what was it?" The guard scuffed the floor with a hoof, before answering hesitantly, "I think, honestly this is something the both of you need to see for yourselves." A pair of guards walked down the stairs, their horns glowing in the darkness, followed closely behind by Cadance and Shining Armour, both clad in thick, silvery-blue dressing gowns. On the floor below them, the commotion had returned, louder than ever. Several guards were gathered around one door in particular, with several entering and exiting. "She's in here, your majesties," the guard leading them said. "Better be careful, she's rather aggressive." "She?" As if on cue, the door flung open and an armoured guard was flung out the door, skidding along the floor a few feet until coming to a halt at Shining Armour's hooves. Squinting through bruised eyes at his superior, the guard gave a weak salute before blacking out. "That's what you get for touching me, meathead!" Cadance's ears pricked up, and her eyes went wide with surprise. "Hang on, I know that voice!" Peeking tentatively around the doorframe, Cadance and Shining Armour gaped at the pony who stood in the corner of the room, her wings flared wide open in anger, a glass vase in her magical grip. Surrounding her were half a dozen crystal guards, none particularly eager to get within swinging range of the agitated alicorn. "T-Twily?" Shining Armour stuttered. It sure looks like her, he thought, but... different. The pony seemed to recognise the voice, as she slowly turned to face the doorway, the vase lowering to the floor as it slipped from her grip. She looked straight into Shining Armour's eyes with shock, and maybe it was a trick of the low light, but her eyes seemed to shimmer with the first signs of tears. "Twilight, is that you?" Cadance asked, stepping forward to stand beside her husband. The mysterious alicorns eyes widened, and there was no mistaking the tears in her eyes. Without warning, she shoved the guards bodily aside and leapt at the two, knocking them both to the floor in a tight hug. "Cadance! Shining Armour! Is that really you?" she sobbed, holding the both of them tightly. "Thank the Queens, you're both still alive!" "Uh... Yes, Twilight, we're... both alive," Cadance replied, becoming more and more confused by this strange pony who may or may not be Twilight, who was presently hugging her. "Why wouldn't we be, exactly?" "And where did you come from?" Shining Armour wheezed out as he was squeezed tighter. "This room is locked inside and out." Twilight "I came from the mirror, of course. But I had no idea it'd been moved to the Crystal Empire! And what luck too, it's wonderful to be able to see you again!" But her embrace was broken as Shining Armour pushed her back, his hooves on her shoulders. "Alright listen... Twilight. I always love to see my little sister, but what are you doing here this time of night? And since when did you get a dye job?" "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well last time I checked, your fur wasn't quite this dark. Not to mention as far as I know, your cutie mark isn't purple and black." The alicorn looked back at her flank. Sure enough, there was the black starburst cutie mark, surrounded by five purple stars. "Ah... yes, well you see the thing is, I am Twilight Sparkle but... well, not the Twilight Sparkle you know." Cadance raised a confused eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" "I mean, I'm not your Twilight Sparkle. Your Twilight Sparkle is probably back in Ponyville right now... In fact, you should probably send her and your Celestia a message about all this right away! This concerns them too, and all of Equestria for that matter!" Shining Armour and Cadance looked to eachother in utter bemusement, each silently pleading for the other to say something, anything, that might make this situation make more sense. When it became obvious neither had the answers the other needed, Shining Armour sighed, his shoulders slouching in resignation. "Cadance, you take... Twilight, upstairs to the throne room. I'll send those letters." Cadance nodded, and she and not-Twilight headed back up the stairs, the purple alicorn casting glares at each of the guards she passed. Shining Armour watched them leave, and as soon as they had gone, slumped down on the floor, forehooves over his head. "Your Majesty!" one of the guards cried, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine, Sergeant," he said as he nodded. "Sheesh, of all ways to start a morning. I tell you, that mirror has caused us nothing but trouble since it was first moved here." "Shall I lock it up again, sir?" the guard asked. Shining Armour got up. "Yeah. And have guards posted outside that room. Nopony goes in or out, Sergeant, not until we know what's going on here. In the meantime, I better get to those letters. Princess Celestia will want to know that the mirror is active again." The guard saluted, and after saluting back Shining Armour returned upstairs to his bedroom. Once he was out of sight the sergeant turned to his men. "You heard him boys. Two guards outside the room at all times, nopony goes in or out. Is that clear?" "Yessir!" "Aegis, Ironhelm, you two take first shift. Somepony will relieve you at noon." Aegis and Ironhelm have a smart salute and another "Yessir!", while the other guards returned to their posts around the castle. The sergeant turned about on his back hoof and trotted off towards his post at the main doors. But as he rounded a corner in the crystalline corridor, he came to a halt as he spotted another guard in a rather odd state. A guard he did not recognise. "Hey, you!" he barked, and the guardspony jumped to attention. He trotted over to get a better look at the young stallion. "Name and rank, now!" The young guardspony gulped and stated, "Silverspear, second lieutenant, Topaz Division, sir!" The sergeant cast a scrutinising eye over Silverspear. "Is that so? Well I'm the sergeant of Topaz Division, so why haven't I seen you around before? Are you a new recruit?" "No sir, enlisted a year ago, sir!" "A year ago?" The sergeant parroted, "I call horseapples on that, Lieutenant! A pony in my division for a year and I never see them around? Highly suspicious..." "Well sir," Silverspear replied, "With all due respect, I've never seen you around either. I thought Jet Battleaxe was the Sergeant of Topaz Division, sir." The sergeant barked back, "Jet Battleaxe? Never heard of him! I've been sergeant of my division for 3 years now..." The two guardsponies argued back and forth long until the morning, unaware that the strange events of this day were only just beginning.