//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Explaination and preparartions part 2 // Story: A darkness within a Twilight // by Ultimaexe24 //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Explanations and preparations Part 2 Once Sparkshine said those words we got started….well after he insisted I get some sleep first. I protested of course but he forcibly had me go to sleep and by that I mean he placed a sleep spell on me, how I know that well when I woke up he told me, and that was the first lesson that he taught me, and after that he showed me around the tower. I remember I studied every nook and cranny of that place, and when I thought I knew everything with a little chuckle and a warm smile he would always tell me, “No Twilight your not there’s still more within here,” and would reveal even more floors of that place. I remember asking him, “How many more floors are there?” he rubbed his chin and said in a fatherly tone, “Hmm how many floors…well Twilight let me put it to you this way. It would take a few lifetimes to even reach the first half of floors that’s in here and that’s judging from the time difference within here. but in my case, uh...I lost count after the....hmm...nine hundred and fifty second floor.” I felt my jaw lowering from the pure shock of what he just said, nine hundred and fifty two, he lost count after the nine hundred and fifty second floor. We went through I believe it was around fifteen floors of nothing but books and that still wasn’t even ten percent of what that place had. The floors he had showed me had every book a pony would want, from books on attack spells and defensive spells to even (to my surprise from when he told me) books on raising foals, I mean I thought that the Libraries in Canterlot or even the Castle archives had a lot of books but that place, the “Opacnt sanctum of scientia” he called it, (but I liked my name for it better, the “Montis Santorum of knowledge” but I’m moving off into a tangent here) completely over shadowed them. Those places alone or even all the libraries throughout all of Equestria couldn’t compare to the amount of books that was stored within it, it would be like comparing and ant to a pony, no a dragon. My new teacher told me that was the reason why he placed those circle of gems or those “Warp pads” on each floor, so that it would be easier for him to navigate to which ever floor he wanted. After all of that and a little breakfast we started on one of the most important things in my life at that moment, my new magic training. Now I thought all this training was going to be easy, but my training on this new form of magic has been anything but easy. For the first few weeks he had me studying and memorizing spells from his Plethora of books, and another few weeks he had me practiced them. I remember those sessions were so exhausting, I practiced those spells until I had no more magic left, well practicing those level of spells would tire any pony out and I couldn’t fault Sparkshine for them going like that, to be fair he did tell me to pace myself but I wouldn’t have it. I was so focused on mastering these new spells so I could be prepared for either one of those magic pony constructs arrived or Sombra’s inevitable return. I remember the first few days he had me train outside the tower, and I don’t mean outside of the tower as in back in the Everfree forest, I literally mean outside the tower. I open a side door and saw nothing but pitch-black nothingness I mean there was nothing there, no road, no sky, just pure nothingness. I couldn’t even feel any wind but something was giving us air or else we would have suffocated from a lack of oxygen. I turned to Sparkshine and he just motioned me to move forward, I looked out to the nothingness again, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and place a hoof forward, and to my surprise my hoof made contact with the nothingness. I lifted my hoof up and placed it back down just to confirm this, then I heard Sparkshine laugh a little but I didn’t care I wasn’t going to charge head first and find myself falling into an abyss of Nothingness, Once I confirm it was ok I proceeded forward. As I’ve taken a few steps out an uneasy feeling washed over me. In mere moments I felt like my entire world was spinning around me and turning upside down, I couldn't tell up from down, right from left or if I was standing or sitting, I felt like I was going to lose my breakfast, the temperature didn’t make it any better for me neither, I should explain. You see it was like being in a block of ice shivering while at the same time I felt like I was in the desert, with my mouth all dry my body sweating then it would all switch in a matter of minutes. I think I read a book on sensations like that, I think its what happens when a mare becomes pregnant not sure really, not that I’ve ever been pregnant mind you, so don’t think that about me, although it’s not like I don’t want a foal of my own I’m just not ready for a foal of my own yet but if I were to have a foal I would may…be have one with Master Sombra. I could see us ruling as king and queen but…. No…no…I gotta get those thought out of my head, bad twilight, bad twilight, no naughty thoughts, oh great look what I did I written all of that inside the book oh well I'll just edit these parts out (if I can last long enough before she returns) but..I…um…anyway I’m getting waaaaay off topic here. Anyway I remember just standing there, staring at that dark abyss just trying to get my bearings on how this area actually worked and then saying to myself, “This place it looks like it goes on forever.” “It does actually.” “Gah!” That was all I said as I jumped up a bit and fell down all the while turned around while grabbing my chest and breathing erratically. I literally felt like I jumped out of my own skin, The only time I had felt like that would be with Pinkie pie popping out of nowhere. As I saw it was Sparkshine he had an ear-to-ear smile just like Pinkie would, I started to slow down my breathing. He place a hoof on my shoulder and said, “Twilight relax it’s just me, sorry I scared you. I sometimes forget that when walking out here you hardly make a sound.” Then I realized he was right, I looked to the tower to judge how far I've walked and thought for a second and realized I didn’t hear any of my hoof steps. He helped me up and said, "As I said this place actually do go on forever and if you're not careful you can get lost, and trust me I've been there I wondered for hours trying to get back to the tower." "Then how did you get back?" I asked. "Well luckily I always place a wavepoint so I can teleport my way back to where ever I was, no matter how far I've went." He answered. "W.wait, a Wavepoint what's that?" I asked him still confused. Sparkshine raised his head and was tapping a hoof to his chin, I could tell he was thinking because after tapping his hoof to his chin he would cross his forelegs close his eyes. After a few moments he finally said, "Ok, but first close your eyes." I did as he asked. "Ok now picture a giant Hooftack placed in the middle of Ponyvile." "Wait a giant Hooftack?" I said to him "Yes a giant Hooftack or a Railroad spike if you will, hmm.. now that I think about it yes a Railroad spike will make much more sense. Anyway now said Railroad spike is actually a bit of you magic given form. Now you're traveling to a far way place to lets say, um...oh Appleloosa." Sparkshine said "Ok." I said still not getting where this was going. "Now as you travel picture the distance between you and the Spike is a big rubber band and as you travel it's stretching longer and longer as you as you get further and further from it, until you reach Appleloosa." Sparkshine said and swear I could feel him smiling as he is explaining this to me. "Ok, so now what?" I asked as I started to what I thought I was figuring out where this was going. "Now as you arrive there and you've done everything that you needed to do and you're planning on your return trip but realize you do not have enough bits for it, so what do you do?" He said. I thought for a moment trying to figure out the answer and trying to piece together everything he has told me thus far, :Hmm he mentioned the Railroad spike and a Rubber band being my travel distance, so there's gotta be a connection. Wait if I'm in Applelossa then..." "Ah you got it now don't you." Sparkshine said "Yes I do." I answered with so much confidence all the while puffing up my chest, "This is a trick scenario because the ticket would be a round trip one." Sparkshine giggled a little and said "Well that maybe true Twilight but in this example no that's not answer." and right then and there all of my confidence and ego just fell and shattered like a piece of glass. I felt my ears fold to my head as I fell to my hunch and said, "What, but how is that wrong?" Sparkshine walked closer to me and said, "Twilight it's not that it's wrong, it's just not the scenario I've given you." lowered his head and shook it slowly, "I can't blame you though. You've probably came up with that answer do to Celestia's method of magical training you and your way of going through your studies." He placed a hoof to my shoulder, given me a more serious look as he stared at me square in the eyes and said, "You're over thinking it Twilight, just think about everything I have just I told you." I sat there and thought for moment and then it finally it me. I facehoofed myself for not getting it sooner, I mean it was so simple. I stood up now brimming with new confidence and said, "The Railroad spike I would use that, I mean it's so simple." I gave him a big smile "you said that it's my magic in a form right." "That's right, you're on the right track." Sparkshine said "So if it's my magic I should be able to trace it and use it to teleport." I said. "Exactly but not just any teleport, you would use a method that I like to call a snap teleport." he said after giving me a little applause, but just then a something came to mind, "Wait but that can't be right, even if i did use a teleportation spell I wouldn't have nearly enough magic to take me all the way back to Ponyvile, I don't think even the Princesses have that much magic for it, and even if i did I would be way too tired to do anything else." "Ah yes normally you'd be right, you wouldn't have enough magic just to make that long distance jump, but performing a snap teleport you would, you see...." Sparkshine said, just then his horn glowed and out appeared a railroad spike, a barn and a little version of me just standing there in mid air between the both of us and continued, "by using this method it's like you're creating another you in ponyvile which is basically telling your body and the world around you that you haven't even left from Ponyvile but in reality you have, and as you are traveling...." he then moved the mini me away from the Spike, towards the barn. As he done that a faint light blue trail appeared slowly waving in the air like wave of water. It gotten longer as he moved the mini me closer to the barn. Sparkshine then continued with his Explaination, "you're creating a sorta link between you and your magic and as your traveling your extending that link,henceforth the giant rubber band reference. So once you've reach your destination you could use that link or trail to return to that very spot you placed it, just by tugging your link with your magic, in a sort of rubber band effect." "Wait, so what's to keep anything from interfering with the link?" I asked "That's the marvelous thing about it, nothing can interfere with it, no pony walking through it, not a spell being cast on or near it's location, not even when you cause or during a snap back, in fact no pony can see or feel it but the caster." Sparkshine said, I nearly fell over from all of that, I mean it was a new type of magic that could revolutionized all pony kind. Don't get me wrong all of the spells and techniques he had taught me could do that, but that new form of teleportation could push magic even further. After a what felt like hours but were actually a seconds of thinking of that (as well as imagining me getting the highest achievement award for bringing this method out to the world) Sparkshine asked, "Do you remember the training I had you do on teleporting when you were younger?" I quickly blinked snapping out of my little dream sequence and said, "Bwha huh. I um I'm sorry can you repeat that, I was deep in thought." Sparkshine chuckled a bit, shook his head and said, "The lessons on teleportation I was giving you when you were younger, do you remember it?" I thought back to those happy times we had together, of him teaching me the basics of magic as well as some of the advanced stuff like the teleportation spell. I remember jumping with joy after completing my first teleport from the middle of the backyard where me and my miss smartypants doll were, to a nearby tree. I smiled at that memory and answered, "Yes of course I do. It was very hard to learn, being a filly at that age but I still learned it. Why, what does that have to do with this?" we started walking back to the tower as he asked, "Well, you do know that once you teleport you leave an Ether trail right?" "Well yeah. Any pony who's ever studied on teleportation spells would know that." I quickly answered, "Once a teleport is triggered you don't just move from one place to another, you dematerialize yourself and enter into the Aether, once inside you travel through it until you reach the location you want to get to and re-materialize there. The trail is actually the movement that the caster makes within the Aether. I'm still not following on how this has to do with snap teleporting?" "Ah but it has has everything to do with it, you see when performing the usual method of teleporting you leave that Aether trail, which any pony with enough knowledge on the matter can follow you through that said Aether trail, While using the snap Teleportation...." Sparkshine paused for a moment as we reached the opened door of the tower, "I should come up with a better name for it, ah well that's not important right now back to what I was saying. When using a snap teleportation spell you're not traveling through the Aether, your traveling through your link to your magic anchor, so if you were to use it while being pursued no pony would be able to follow you due to you using your link and not leaving an Ether trail." "Is that why you brought me out here, to teach me on how to do that?" I asked him "That is right my dear as of today I'm going to teach that spell." Sparkshine said wearing his ever so warming smile. I hopping for joy and squealed with glee upon hearing those words. But the next thing said with a serious tone in his voice caused me to stop, "But.....I must tell you that it's extremely difficult to learn and even more difficult to master. Now I must ask you, do you think you you can handle it?" "Yes." I said with a serious look on my face. "Are you sure now Twilight, once we start there's no turning back, I will not lie to you although the training of this will sound and seem easy but it truth it will physically and mentally be draining for you, it will take every once of strength and will power just to even get the process right. I must no I have to tell you not to agree with this so quickly and to think carefully on this, we still have time to do this after you mastered some of the other spells I have for you." Sparkshine said. I soon felt wave of doubt wash all over me as questions soon raced through my mind, :Am I really ready for this?: :Can I do this?: :If I fail on doing this will there be enough time to go over the other spells he has in mind for me?: :Should I do this, I mean I've read enough books within the tower to fully prepare for any sort of training he would have for me, but the way he's telling me all of this makes it seem like it could be life threatening, so am I truly ready for something like this?: I looked at him straight in his eyes, giving off a look of determination and confidence and said proudly, "Yes I'm ready." "Good. Now come inside and we'll start the first step." Sparkshine said as lead me back inside the tower. The moment we walked inside it felt like a huge weight was lifted off me, like I was carrying a large boulder for so long and dropped it at the door step. My mind was clear again and I even felt lighter, hence my previous statement, all in all I felt like I was back to normal. We walked a little further from the open door to a writing table with one long drawer on the bottom of it and three smaller ones on the side, sitting on top of it were three glowing Crystal shards, that seemed to shift to many different colors in a little rhythmic symphony of their own little design. He looks them over and mutters to himself, "Hmm one...two...three... should I use another one." Sparkshine looks to me and then to the gems, then picked one up with his hoof and placed it up to the light while rubbing his chin and almost instantly it started to slowly change it's shape, from a single simple crystal shard to having two more sprouting on it's sides while still keeping it's rhythmic color shift with the others. It just astounded me, I've never heard or read anything on a crystal that would do anything like that due to simply having light pass through, til this day I'm still astounded by it. Anyway Sparkshine then placed it back on the table and just as slowly the crystal returned to it's previous shape, he stared at them a bit more and with a slight nod he said, "Ok, Let's use four just to be to be on the safe side." He walked over to the small drawers, he lit his horn up with magic and one of the small drawers cloaked in his blue magic opened. He then started shifting through it, I could hear the shuffling of papers and other miscellaneous objects, all the while saying, "No...no... not that one....hmm oh here's that ruby I was looking for." He went on to the next one but this time he was tossing things out from it. I remember thinking to myself, "How could he be so organized with his books but not everything else, maybe I should take some time to organize everything for him." I chuckled to myself as he went to the third drawer more frantically like he was going mad with panic if he didn't find what he was looking for. Moments later he breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out another crystal shard but this one was different, it's shape was that of a flame frozen in time, it didn't glow like the others did it was all grey like stone grey, in fact if any pony saw it they would say it was a rock. Sparkshine place the flame shaped shard as well as the others on the ground close to me in a circle, walked over to me and said, "Ok Twilight we're gonna start here, first I want you to create a magic waypoint, it will take some time for you do it but I will know when you've done it." "Wait, how will you know if I've created one if you can't see it?" I said. "Oh right I forgot about that, here let me show you." He said He then lowered his horn until it was almost touching the floor, closed his eyes and his horn glowed in a different shard of blue kinda on the side of Luna's mane color of blue. Seconds later his horn stopped glowing as he let out a heavy breath and raised his horn and said, "There, now then that's how you create a waypoint out of your magic." Staring at the empty spot, I cocked my head and raised my a brow and said, "Um Sparkshine I don't see anything." he laughed a bit and said, "Oh right sorry I forgot only I can see it, hold on just a moment." he then levitated the four crystal shards towards us and one by one he placed them in a circle. As he placed the third shard I noticed their shifting of colors had stopped, they only glowed to one color, blue. Well to be more precise they were shifting to different hues of blue, but as he place the grey shard next to the others to complete the circle it too was changing to different hues as well and what I saw just left me fro the most part speechless.