Illusions

by Ember Dash

Prologue

Prologue

Yes, Twilight Sparkle had saved the day once again. She had discovered the plot of the nefarious Changeling Queen, and she had saved Cadence from being trapped in the crystal caves - doomed to losing her one true love forever. Even though she had saved her brother - and pretty much everyone in Canterlot and Equestria, for that matter - , something didn’t settle right with her. It was as if she had eaten a bad daisy sandwich, and all the contents of her stomach were rumbling around unpleasantly.

Looking around at all the happy faces of her friends - and her friend’s friends - she felt that things had cut too close for comfort. She had almost lost her friends, her Princess and her brother, all in the same day. Their cheers, their laughter.. What would she have done if she had lost them? If the Changelings truly did get their way, and if they ruled Equestria, what would of happened to them?

“Ah’m sorry ah ever doubted ya, Twi!” Applejack’s voice came loud and clear, close to her left. Twilight turned and forced a smile.

“Yeah.. I’m glad I made it in time. Who knows what could of happened to you all?” Twilight responded. She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof.

“Oh, man, but when you burst through that door with the real Cadence behind you - man, that was so cool!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed from above, punching the air wildly. Her daredevil friend had already been released from the imprisonment of her dress, and she was free and airborne again. Twilight couldn’t blame her. She seemed to be more.. Dash that way.

“Again, Twilight, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I believe I speak for everypony else, as well.” Rarity added. For once, she looked sheepish.

“Yeah, we know now that we were wrong! I mean, what pony doesn’t enjoy a super duper silly fun extraordinary Pinkie-Party?” Pinkie chipped in, bouncing (as usual).

Twilight gazed at her friends. They were all so loyal, forgiving and kind. She would hate to leave them behind, but.. She really needed her space. It wasn’t just that, either - for a while now, she had been feeling restless. The drive to gain more knowledge, to learn just about everything there is to learn about Equestria, spells, and the many creatures that might populate far off lands - creatures that nobody has ever seen.

Twilight Sparkle had the itch to move on from Ponyville.

This thought stuck to her like a burr in her mane as she continued to act like she wasn’t troubled throughout the rest of the reception, which extended long after the lucky bride and groom had gone off on their honeymoon. She played ‘Pin the veil on the pony’ and she had even humored the young foals’ games, pretending to be a changeling as they pretended to be herself and her friends. Twilight could even say that for a while.. Well, her thoughts had left her head. But later on that night as she lay in bed, they returned in full force.

“Oh, for the love of Celestia--” Twilight stopped herself mid-phrase. It was no use praying to her beloved Princess. She hadn’t believed her either. She knew that she believed her now, sure, but that was all after the Changeling Queen had revealed herself. She felt as if Discord were twisting her pure thoughts, turning them to thoughts of betrayal and hatred. However, she also knew that this was her own brain. She wasn’t under the control of Discord. That was just silly - he was locked away again, hopefully forever this time.

She got out of bed. No use sleeping while these thoughts were buzzing around in her head. They would give her odd dreams and cause her to have a fitful sleep. Trotting quietly around her sleeping baby dragon, she made her way downstairs into the main room of her library. She turned on a lamp with her magic and sat down at the table, her elbows propping up her hooves. She rested her head in her hooves and let out a regretful sigh. It was looking more and more like she would have to go on that journey.

Without a second thought, Twilight fetched her saddle bag and went around her room, quietly fetching items that she thought she would need. Obviously her plush that she had received from her brother would come with her. She would miss it dearly if she were to leave without it. What else was on her list? Well, let’s see here.. She found a few books that she felt that she would need. Edible Wild Plants was one. Another one was a book of spells essential to any pony’s every day life if they were magical, called 101 Essential Spells, used when a pony was out on a journey or in the wild, camping. One of the spells was to make a campfire, providing that they had the right materials.

Of course, she also had packed a small amount of food, and all the bits that she could carry without weighing her down. That should last her until she reached civilization. Now she faced one final dilemma - should she leave a note for her friends, or should she just up and leave? If she left a note, that would allow her friends to somehow track her to where she was located, and she couldn’t have that. However, if she didn’t leave a note, that would cause guilt to eat at her worse than a rotten apple. So she decided to take the risk and leave the note behind.

As she cast one last glance around her familiar library, she let out a sigh. She wouldn’t hear the soft, familiar snoring of Spike anymore. She wouldn’t be able to gaze at the moon that was gently risen by Princess Luna each night anymore. She wouldn’t.. she wouldn’t send her daily letters to Princess Celestia anymore. So many things would change because of one decision, but that wouldn’t stop her. With a determined look, she set off towards the Ponyville borders, casting doubt and dread aside as she paved a new pathway in her life.

The sun rose, as usual, for Rainbow Dash. From her perch on a perfectly situated cloud, she got the best view of the sunrise. Actually, that had never crossed her mind until just that moment, really. She always slept through the morning sunrise, but an odd feeling in her hooves made her get up hours earlier than usual. Well, Twilight was acting pretty odd last night. Was she still upset or something? Rainbow Dash decided to check it out.

“Twilight? Hey, Twilight, are you up yet? C’mon, you gotta be up!” Rainbow Dash called, pounding on the door to the library. What she got, however, wasn’t Twilight. It was Spike, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Dash? What are you doing here? It’s like, only sunrise!”

“No time, where’s Twilight?”

“I’ll get her.. Just keep your tail on, will ya’?” Spike grumbled, clearly miffed at being woken up at such an ungodly hour. “Hey, Twilight, Rainbow Dash is here to see you!” No response. “Twilight!” Again, no response. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia herself is visiting!” Complete silence, even to that rather extreme lie.

Rainbow Dash’s gut feeling seemed to be correct. Twilight was nowhere to be found. What they did see was a note on the table, with a quill and ink lying neatly next to it.

Spike picked up the note, cleared his throat and began to read aloud from it. As he did so, his eyes began to tear up.

To my Little Ponies and best friends -

If you’ve found my note, that means that you know that I’m gone. In fact, I have been gone for probably a good five hours now. With this fact aside, I feel that I must explain my absence to you all.

I know that you all finally saw the truth as myself and Cadence revealed the fake Cadence as the Changeling Queen. I know that you all have apologized to me, and believe me, I’m grateful. However, I feel as if all this could have been avoided somehow. If only we had more knowledge at the time - knowledge of Changelings, and knowledge of illusions. This is my reason for leaving you all today.

I have gone to lands unknown to learn things that nopony in Equestria has ever learned before in hopes that I can prevent another incident such as the one at Shining Armor’s wedding. I will return someday, and I ask that you please don’t follow me. But know this: you will always be in my heart as my best friends. Nothing will ever change that.

Forever yours,

Twilight Sparkle

She had ended her note with a flourish, as usual. Rainbow Dash shook her head, as if this were a dream, and she would wake up soon if she could only take control. When this failed for her, she muttered something about ‘rounding up the gang’ to break the bad news to them.

As Rainbow Dash flew off into the heart of Ponyville, Spike unknowingly gazed out in the direction that Twilight Sparkle had left in. Why didn’t he take him with her? He wouldn’t of minded leaving, if it were with her. He couldn’t change the fact that she hadn’t taken him.

“Oh, Twilight..” He sighed. “Come home soon.” And with that, he began his newfound duties as the stand-in librarian for Twilight, believing that he she would return to them soon, and everyone would be all happy and smiling again. Someday..

~End of Prologue~

Comments

[Feloua]

Oh my, this looks like it has great potential. Tracking, can't wait to see some more.

[ultra8]

An interesting start and premise. Kinda makes sense that she'd be the one to undertake a quest like that.

[THAT_1GUY89]

nopony likes being left behind. tracked and thumb.

[Xenonic]

Tracking device...ACTIVATED!>:D
Trixie demands more. NOW.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oh Twilight. You stupid, silly pony. You're going to regret this, and you're going to end up over your head, just in time for your friends to pull a Big-Damn-Heroes-style rescue.

Looks promising thus far. I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

[armando92]

tracking lets hope that you release chapter 1 soon :D

[IraqLobstah]

Shape shifter spell?
adaptershack.com/m/files/www.gifsforum.com_images_gif_dis_20gon_20be_20good_grand_this_gon_b_gud_gif.gif

[Mossflower]

oooooh, this sounds like it has potencial. i look forward to more of this!

[Geios]

I expect adventures of epic proportions and edge of your seat moments! Make it so! Nah, jk what ever you want to do is fine. Like the story so far!