//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: My Little Anime: Manga Is Magic! // by Alsvid //------------------------------// "Spiiiiiike! Spike, help me with this mirror, would you, please?" Another quiet day in Ponyville. Twilight sat down and caught her breath, glaring at the huge mirror sitting in her living room, a monstrosity a few heads taller than herself, its frame wrought from cold grey steel, its reflective face gleaming in the midafternoon light. Her own reflection - a chubby little unicorn pony - looked back at her. "Looking pretty good, Twilight," she said jokingly, striking a pose in imitation of Rarity. Then she cantered over to Spike, who was lying on his belly, surrounded by strange little softcover books. "Hey, Spike, watcha reading?" Twilight trotted up behind the little purple dragon, peeking over his shoulder. "This thing? Somepony tossed 'em on the ground outside. I dunno why, they're awesome! Check this out, Twilight! It's sooooo much cooler than those comics I had. Look, she's about to get into this giant machine thing!" Twilight squinted at Spike's book. It was all too messy for her to understand. A strange looking, slim creature walking on its hind legs, with rather large, expressive eyes, was trying to enter a much larger copy of itself, via a hatch. "Wow. Uh. Heh heh...yeah, that's kinda weird, Spike." Spike blushed fiercely. "Why? What's wrong with it, Twilight?" he said, sounding a touch defensive. "Nothing! Can you help me move this mirror? If you can leave those alone for a second." Twilight forced herself not to smile at Spike's embarrassment. "Oh, all right." "Great! Thanks, Spike. I said I'd meet up with Rarity for a spa visit after we're done, so we've gotta do this quick." Spike tossed the book over his shoulder nonchalantly and stood up. They went back into the living room. "Geez, this thing is ugly. Who gave you it?" Spike said, walking over to the mirror. He put his paws on his snout and made a silly face. "Bleh!" "It's a gift from Her Highness, Spike. Although, she didn't say what it was for..." "Huh. That's strange. Anyway, let's see what we can do with this hunk of junk. You grab the other end, Twilight. I'll grab this end!" Spike rubbed his paws together, and then grabbed the side of the mirror. Immediately, a piercing beam of red light shot out from the centre of the mirror. "Spike!" Twilight gasped, recoiling from the mirror, scurrying back as quickly as if it had changed into a venomous scorpion. "I...I didn't do anything! Honest, Twilight! I didn't touch it!" Spike realized his error a second later. "Well, I only touched it because you asked! W-whoah!" He fell flat on his face, rolling towards the mirror like a little bowling ball. At the same time, Twilight felt herself being pulled into the mirror, as firmly as if invisible ponies were holding her and dragging her towards it. The red light played about the room, darting to and fro like the beam of a lighthouse. Then it rested on the heap of books Spike had scattered about on the floor. In no time at all, it inhaled the books. They whizzed towards the mirror, disappearing the instant they made contact with its surface. The mirror swallowed them whole. "Waaaaaaaaah! Twiliiiiiiiiiiight!" Twilight had a split second to watch Spike disappear into the mirror. He fell through the shiny surface, as if he had been tossed into a reflective pool. It closed over him. Then she felt herself falling in as well. There was a shocking sensation all over her body, as if she'd been drenched with a pail-ful of ice-cold water. "I'm sorry, Spike," she murmured, her lips numb with cold. --- There was a very soft knock on Twilight's front door. It swung open ominously. Fluttershy nervously peeped around the door, wings tucked tightly around her body. "Um....hello?" she murmured at the seemingly empty room. Bright red light blinded her. An inexorable force gripped her, dragging her forwards into the room. "Oh, goodness," Fluttershy barely had time to whisper. --- "Guys! Hey, you guys! Guess what!" Pinkie darted head first into Twilight's living room. She found herself bathed in bright red light. "Oooooooh! Twilight, I didn't know you put up a light show for my Pinkie Party! That's so cool! Hey, this light makes me feel funny! It's like I'm being pulled by something! How'd you do that!? Lemme see, lemme see, lemme...oops!" --- Rarity paced up and down outside of the Ponyville Spa, complaining heartily to a very browbeaten Rainbow Dash. "...and she SAID she'd be here by now! Whatever is that pony doing? Really, Dashie, you'd think SOME PONIES would know what CLOCKS are! And to think I've gone an hour now without a nice facial mask. My skin will never forgive me. I shall certainly blame Twilight if I lose my beautiful complexion because of her tardy behavior." "What?" Rainbow raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Did you just call Twilight a-" "Tardy! Tardy! It means 'one who is prone to lateness', Dashie! DO try to keep up with us intellectual sorts." Rarity sniffed at Dash dismissively, tossing her head and stomping one elegant hoof. "Oh, for Celestia's sake," Rainbow Dash groaned inwardly. "Howdy, fellas!" Applejack cantered up to them, a load of apples on her back. "Why the long faces, y'all?" "It's because Twilight's late! She's the reason my face looks anything other than MARVELOUS!" Rarity said. "Rarity's driving me insane," Rainbow Dash complained. "Oh, grow up," Rarity huffed. "Girls! Y'all behave." Applejack gave them both a withering glare. Both ponies wilted under Applejack's gaze. Rainbow Dash kicked a stray pebble and looked away. Rarity giggled nervously. "That's better. Now, I'm thinking we should go by her house. Maybe she overslept," Applejack said, helpfully. "At three in the afternoon?" Rarity said, with no small measure of incredulity. "We'll find out when we get there, Rarity. I was gonna sell these apples, but I reckon I could get back here after we check on Twilight. Follow me, everypony!" Applejack trotted off, Rarity and Rainbow Dash in her wake. --- Bright red light shone from every window and door in Twilight's house. "Looks like Pinkie's having one of her rave parties. They forgot all about me!" Rarity complained. "Well, we're gonna remind 'em, won't we?" Rainbow Dash said. "C'mon, you guys! Last one in's a muddy filly!" She shot through the open front door in a technicolor streak. Applejack and Rarity ran after her. --- Some time later, the eerie red light pouring from Twilight's house dimmed, leaving the place looking quite normal, if unnervingly void of ponies. The mirror sat innocently in the middle of her living room, giving no sign whatsoever that it had swallowed the six ponies (and one mischievous little dragon). Birds tweeted merrily in the trees outside, the myriad buzzing and humming of insects keeping a steady background drone. ---