//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Somewhere Along the Way // by GrimPInkamena //------------------------------// It was starting to get dark outside. Twilight Sparkle let out a soft sigh as she looked out a window, then back to the runic circle that was drawn on her living room floor. Taking a deep breath, she mustered up the will to try the spell once more. The first try had been interrupted by the library front door being swung open with great force, breaking Twilight's concentration making the spell become unstable. The result had been the magic snapping back from her glowing horn like a powerful elastic band, making a resonating boom that sounded like thunder, and most likely could be heard even from Applejack's farm. The pink mare that stood in the doorway had looked at Twilight with a puzzled expression as Pinkie Pie was given an annoyed stare. This happened almost two hours ago. Pinkie had helped to clean up the mess of books that had been shook off their shelves to litter the library floor. Then she had left, after inviting Twilight to her "One month with her colt-friend" party. That is probably not a very appropriate occasion to invite the whole town to celebrate with, but Twilight also knew that the reasoning behind most of Pinkie Pie's parties were of little importance. It was just an excuse to host another one of her great parties. But Twilight had a lot on in her mind at the moment about that very subject, and being the only one of her best friends that was still single, she knew she would probably feel out of place if she went. Twilight stepped up to the runic circle. It was about three feet in diameter. One meter and nine centimetres to be exact. She had taken a lot of time getting the drawing just right, using an old brown book as reference. The circle was drawn in black, with seven lines inside it, forming a septagon. Inside the geometric shape was three symbols next to each other. An arrow pointing up, one looking like a "V" rotated ninety degrees clockwise, and the last looking like a sharp "R". Twilight hadn't looked into what the symbols meant, which was unusual for her. But she didn't have much faith that the spell was going to work anyway. It was something she came across while she was feeling a little lonely. 'A spell to bring one meant for me before me' she thought again, reciting the text from the spellbook she was using. Her horn gave a faint glow, and the seven candles surrounding the rune lit. She looked at the whole set-up one last time, to make sure nothing was out of place, or smudged. Everything seemed fine... ‘Except...’ She snapped her head towards the door with a childish frown on her face. The door knob started to glow as a sound of it being locked was heard. Collecting herself, she looked down at the circle, closing her eyes and began to channel her magic into it. It seemed to demand quite a bit from her. The book was never specific about the difficulty of the spell, but she didn't think it would be even a third of what it felt like right now. Though the massive sound it made when it failed indicated that this might indeed take some effort to complete. It still wasn't enough. Twilight's horn increased its brightness as she focused as much magic as she could into the hungry rune. The channeling had been going on for at least five minutes. She surprised herself with her determination of making this work. A feeling came over her that this was her limit. She could only hold this magic going for a few more seconds. Opening her eyes for the first time since she had started channeling she could see a black object floating in front of her. The second she caught sight of it, she felt the spell's demand on magic lessening. Twilight instantly knew what this meant. She had done it. The spell was saturated with magic, and the rest would happen on its own. One of the great things with rune spells, all that is needed from the caster is a dash of magic. She trotted over to the round table to sit down and take notes as she observed the spell being performed by the rune. The black object, most likely a summoning portal, grew in size. After about two minutes it was a size that could fit a pony inside. Curious if this was the time "one meant for her" would appear, she squinted her eyes, trying to make out any irregularities forming inside the darkness. Something caught her eye, a different tone of black started to form, and grew rapidly. Baffled by what she saw, she leaned in for a closer look. Out of the black circle came a satchel at high velocity towards Twilight's head. In surprise she let out a cry and covered her head with her hooves. The satchel hit her and sent the pony and the item tumbling a couple of feet backwards. Shaking her head she got back on her hooves, rubbing the part of her head that had just been struck. It hurt. It felt like the thing was filled with rocks. She glanced her eyes over to her assailant lying on the ground next to her. She wanted to kick it away for having caused her pain, but quickly noticed there was something significant about the satchel. It was of a design she had never seen before, and it didn't look very convenient to carry either. "What the hay?" Twilight levitated the strange bag up in front of her. "What does this mean?". This whole situation had Twilight puzzled. Why did a weird bag come through her portal? Was it the spell that had gone wrong? She looked at the portal which still hovered over the rune on the floor, looking as active as ever. Wondering how long the portal was going to maintain open, she noticed that it was still growing in size. She became nervous. How big was the portal going to become? How would she stop its growth if it didn't halt on its own? For the moment there was a more important precaution she should be taking immediately. She collected herself, and the strange bag, and moved to the side of the portal, safely behind her table. If more projectiles were going to come through, she did not want to be in line of fire. One shot to the head was more than enough. Her attention quickly focused on the bag, and wondered about its contents. Looking around the bag, it did not have a clear way of opening. Though there was something peculiar about the line of metal that went from one side of the bag to the other. They looked like small teeth, intertwined in each other to seal it shut. Of course, nopony had ever seen a zipper mechanism before, but Twilight figured it out quickly. There was a tiny slit already open on one of the sides, and she pried it open with her magic, noticing something metallic moving upwards, releasing the teeth as it went. She got the bag open and looked inside it. "Books? The one meant for me is... books? No wonder it felt like being hit by a rock." Pulling out one of the books inside the bag, she read on its cover. "Thermodynamics...", she had never heard the names of the authors before, and the names looked strange to her. She didn't have much time to ponder on this, as the portal started to resonate a quiet sound, and looking like it was either being shut down, or becoming unstable, or... Before she could think of more explanations, a creature covered in blackness walked straight out of the portal and into her living room, stopping a few feet away from her. Her heart sunk, and for a moment she stared terrified at the creature. She broke out of her trance and realized she definitely didn't want to stand in the open like this, not before she knew what this thing was. She galloped up the stairs in panic and hid behind her bedroom door, leaving it open by a crack so she could observe the creature. It didn't look like it had noticed her at all... ~~~ Everything went black when you entered the portal. You felt a sensation you had never felt before. If you had to describe it to someone, you would say that it felt like your whole body was falling asleep, while being submerged in jelly. 'That's a good description as any.' Your head quickly cleared, and you felt your feet treading onto a new surface. Inside the portal it had felt like walking on clouds. Now a new solid surface was under your feet, and it felt good. The ride had been intense. Not knowing what was happening had scared you. But the new reassuring floor told you that your life was probably out of danger. Probably. Your sight was starting to come back. You hadn’t noticed but your hearing had also been gone while traveling, you noticed as you could start hearing the faint humming sound made by the portal. 'Where am I?' You looked around as your sight fully recovered. You were in a library. The architecture wasn't something you had seen before. It looked like it came straight out of a movie. You couldn't put your finger on it, but this place felt very familiar. Turning around you barely got a glance of the portal disappearing. And under where it had been you noticed a drawn runic circle. Looking at the table next to the circle, you spotted your bag. It was opened, and beside it lied a scrap book and...'a quill?' The ink was still wet. The thought that the person who made the circle must still be around came to mind. "Hello?" you muttered. Not sure if you wanted to meet the wizard responsible for your summoning. "Someone here?" No one answered. Somewhat relieved, you let your shoulders sink. You started to analyze your surroundings. The doors were a bit smaller than what you were used to, but the library was roomy, with at least fifteen feet from floor to ceiling. The staircase going to the second floor was open to the main room, and the main part of the second floor was also visible from where you stood, but you didn't quite see what was up there, as the walls were a bit too high for that. As your gaze roamed the second floor your eyes caught movement behind a door. Obviously something was hiding from you. And by looking at the size of the doors around you, the thing was probably smaller than you. The thought didn't completely let go of the nervous feeling of what was hiding in that room, but it was comforting in some way. You couldn't come up with anything clever to say. This situation was really strange to begin with, definitely not normal. 'If it's hiding, it's probably afraid.' "Erm... If you think I'm dangerous, then don’t worry, I won't harm you." You tried to sound as friendly as possible. Though you’re not sure how well you did, since there was no response from the door. After a little while someone answered. "You really won't do me harm?" You weren’t expecting a feminine voice to come from the door, but now that you had heard it you felt relieved. Thinking you really weren't in any danger. "No, I'd never harm anyone." The door slowly opened, and a creature on four legs stepped out. Your eyes opened wide once again. All the pieces fell into place. The library architecture, quills, and Twilight Sparkle! It was Twilight standing on the second floor, looking straight down at you... with a skeptical look on her face. You quickly realized that might be a normal response. You had seen her kind before, but she might have never seen yours. You try to contain your erupting emotions, and close your mouth. This might not even be the same world, just a look-a-like. You decided to play with the cards close at your chest. "How did I end up here?" You asked, hoping it would start a conversation. The awkward silence was starting to make you uncomfortable, and besides, you really would like to know why you were here. This seemed all too perfect to be real. "I'm not quite sure I understand it myself. The spell was a summoning spell, but I never expected it to bring me something interdimensional." Twilight explained, never taking her eyes off you. Like you were something that was not to be trusted. Which you could understand. "Soooo... What were you expecting?" Twilight straightened up in snapping motion, like she was startled by the question, then she looked to her left. "N-nothing in particular." Her face turning a slight shade of red. "And sorry for asking this so straight forward, but what are you?" "I'm a human." Having to tell someone you are human because they don't know was a strange feeling. You play dumb and ask her some questions. You figured you had the authority to, since she was the one who did the summoning. "And what might you be? And what’s your name?" "Me? I'm a unicorn pony, and my name is Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." She confirmed all your suspicions. But you still decide act as if on clean slates, after all, you don't really know Twilight. You've been observing her through the show on television. Which would seem kind of creepy in this scenario. Twilight continued, "Hold on a minute... I've heard of your kind somewhere!" She put a hoof on her forehead, trying to remember. "Ah, there were some ancient historical texts mentioning a human in the canterlot archives." She said while walking down the stairs. Still cautious, but at least not afraid anymore. "You don't seem like a bad guy. I'm sorry I brought you here. It's all my fault. I was just trying out a new spell, I didn't even think it would work." She looked at you with an apologetic face. You put on a friendly smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will work out." Twilight was in deep thought for a second. "It will! I'll make sure you get back to your home world in one piece." Twilight said with determination. It wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear. You wouldn't mind staying here for at least a while. But you thought saying that right now would be sort of inappropriate. You only smiled at Twilight, and asked her where you had been summoned to.