Astrum Nova

by Solaris Hemera

Starlight Glimmer (Part 2)

--------*☆*-------

"Some gentlecolt you are, letting your female colleague carry Sunset Shimmer," Twilight commented.

"We took turns, okay? And it was Lightfall's idea, not mine," Shining Armour snorted indignantly, glaring at Twilight.

They reached the end of the stairs, and Shining gently set Sunset down upon her bed. Strangely, the bed creaked way more than it should have, a cacophony of painful noises radiating from the wooden frame and mattress coils, burning through the air.

Twilight watched from slightly behind her brother, her every nerve tingling with apprehension. Carefully, she stepped back, sliding the journal under the sheets of her own bed.

Glancing back at Shining, she realised that her brother was still staring at Sunset's prone body.

"You know," he mused. "She looks almost angelic when she sleeps."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That was... unnecessarily creepy."

Her brother turned towards Twilight. "Speaking of which, did you know that she can fly?"

"Fly? As in, self-levitation?" she questioned bewilderedly. What is his point?

"Not really. She's too flashy for that. She creates wings out of telekinetic energy and consciously flaps them. Kind of like a pegasus, if the legends were true." Shining continued absently.

"Uh...When did you find this out?"

Silence.

"Just now."

His expression morphed into one of frustration. Swiftly stepping back from the bed, he charged his horn with energy. Almost immediately, a rose-tinted dome formed around them. Twilight felt the ambient noise that once filled her ears completely disappear, leaving a tense void in its place.

"A Bubble of Silence?" she guessed. Her voice sounded strange in the noiselessness.

"Yep," her brother replied. "You can't hear the outside and the outside can't hear you."

Did her brother know? Her throat immediately clogged itself. Every thought in her brain, every gut instinct was telling her to dispel the dome and get out.

No, I could just run out, couldn't I? Unless –

She glanced at the Arcane Circle beneath her. Her heart sank.

...the Boundary acts as a shield enchantment for any physical object that is within it.

Since when did her brother use Arcane Circles?

"So. Anything you'd like to tell me?" Shining Armour asked.

She tried to look as casual as possible. "No."

There was a brief silence as Shining glared at her, breathing slowly. "My Celestia, you are bad at lying."

"I told you, no means no," Twilight continued, lamely. "I've got absolutely nothing to say."

Her brother advanced. Nervously, she backed away until she was against the shield wall. She could feel the thrum of Shining's magic webbing through the surface.

The shield wall lurched, tossing her back within the Boundary. She screwed her eyes shut, a thousand thoughts flooding her mind at once as she put a hoof to her head. "Wh-what..."

Shining exhaled. "Never mind. I get that you don't really trust me. But keep in mind that I know, okay?"

Everything inside Twilight turned into stone.

"You know about the–" she gestured vaguely towards the window, where sunlight was spilling through and drenching the room with gold. The jagged hole in the window now seemed twice as glaring.

Her brother hesitated, before nodding.

Twilight blanched. "How?"

"Sunset," – she could sense defeat in his tone – "She flew up to the lecture hall and recorded the scene. You know why she's passed out in here? She showed me the scene. She showed me everything."

Sunset knew. Sunset had leverage.

Sunset had leverage.

To her vague interest, tears were not falling from her eyes. Twilight merely stood – silent and trembling and catching her breath. And thinking.

"And... and you're not mad?"

Shining Armour raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be?"

"I mean..." – Twilight struggled to find the right words – "I thought you'd be mad that Sunset knew, you'd be mad that I even took up the mission in the first place," – she placed a hoof on her face – "Or even worse, you'd be mad that I didn't trust you enough to tell you."

Silence. She didn't dare look into her brother's eyes. Twilight stared at the wooden swirls of her teak flooring, eyes tracing the curling patterns they made.

"Should I?" –His voice sounded hollow– "Should I be mad at somepony who's trying to save the world?"

Twilight hung her head even further, ears flopping down. "Maybe..."

"No, I shouldn't. Twily, look at me."

His deep blue hoof gently pushed her head up. She met her brother's eyes. They were cerulean – striking and soulful. It had been so long since she last saw his eyes so full of emotion like that. Twilight wanted so badly to cry and hug her brother, lying within his fur for hours like a little filly, where the world couldn't reach her.

But she held her ground, holding her breath in a bid to prevent her eyes and sinuses from prickling. She couldn't let her brother watch her dam break.

"Twilight Sparkle. What you are partaking in is incredibly noble. I don't know many non-military ponies who would do that for Equestria," Shining stated, smiling. "What I know, however, is that you'll make many enemies along your way. Have you ever considered that some of your Elements may be earth ponies? Or maybe even pegasi?"

No, I haven't. Oh no, oh nononononono–

"Anyway, I won't stop you from doing this. I know you have always wanted a purpose in life. I know you have always wanted to do something great," –Shining sighed– "And so I'll get to my point: Beware of Sunset. I'm not sure yet how she feels about this whole thing. "

Twilight glanced at Sunset's prone body.

"On one hoof, she may be happy because she knows that you're not meant to be Celestia's student after all. On the other, she'll be mad that Celestia didn't choose her for this. Either way, she's dangerous. So, uh, always bring shield charms on you. Place security wards everywhere Sunset doesn't do that well with defence," Shining continued. "Thankfully."

That Twilight knew. The only thing Sunset has ever had trouble with was breaking and making defences, which she had always made up with rage-filled blasting, obliterating any barrier ahead of her. That in itself destroys any element of surprise she may have had.

"So, just...stay safe, okay? Not just for yours and my sakes, but for Dad's as well," –Shining winced– "I don't think he can take the death of another... "

Her brother bit his lip. "I'm sure you know what I'm getting at."

Twilight's ears flattened against her skull, and time slowed to an agonising crawl.

The dome dissolved. For a few moments, the sound of silence remained. Her brother turned and began purposefully trotting out of the room.

Twilight waited. The way the conversation ended was off, incomplete. Wrong. They couldn't end like that.

She grasped for something else to say – A goodbye? An 'I'm sorry'? Something else, something else...

But Shining was already gone.

--------*☆*-------

She was sitting on her bed, journal in hoof. It had been five minutes after her brother left her room. Truthfully, the length of time she took to collect herself really scared her, especially since she has learned that Sunset knew almost everything. Twilight had always considered herself as rational and in control, and to be as easily triggered as a crudely-made charm...

She gnashed her teeth together. This blows.

Flopping face first onto the mattress, she folded her forelegs in and brought her head up, going into her sphinx-like reading position. Twilight tossed the journal in front of her and, after fidgeting for a bit, flipped the cover open.

After any stressful situations, reading felt like the only way to relieve emotional pressure. Perhaps, she should begin with actually reading the book, for she had been only skimming –

Her breath caught.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ASTRUM
By Twilight Sparkle

It had changed. Twilight was sure it had said 'Ashes' a day ago. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. The title page couldn't have rewritten itself.

Frantically, Twilight shut the book, shutting her eyes so tightly that ghostly spots danced within them.

1.

2.

3!

The leather cover flung open, aided by the force of her own magic.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ASTRUM
By Twilight Sparkle

Her eyes widened. It was real. She seized the page with her telekinesis, heart fluttering in her chest. A tremor passed through her.

Twilight sucked in a breath. The rest of the book. Could it have...?

Bracing herself, she flipped the page.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

It's me. You know, the other Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Call me what you like. I know it is strange that your so-called counterpart is addressing you directly, but please bear with me here. Right, you've managed to get access to Main Channel as you have managed to get three very important unicorns in the same room. Good job!

Alright, I'm going to get to my point.

I've left this book with Princess Celestia, as you may already have known. She will not ever see this message. Why? It's simple really. The 'Main Channel' of this book (the one you're reading right now) can only be accessed by you. I'm not sure whether or not she has told you this or not, but Celestia has made a pact with me.

Under no circumstances would she ever try to access the other channels of this journal.

So, I'll skip over all the details about why this journal exists and all that. I wouldn't want to be superflouous superflooos? too wordy.

Anyways, the Main Channel contains all of my friendship lessons. I've spent days transcribing the letters and journal entries (from the Journal of Friendship) onto this book so that you may find out more about the ponies that were my friends. I've also included a drawing of a buffalo dreamcatcher on the next page, with the added bonus of it being enchanted! It works as a signal flare for Luna, who would be drawn to our collective magical signature. Luna has decided to reside in the realm of dreams for a couple of weeks to retrieve and organise the needed memories, where they will remain (perfectly sorted) for however long it takes for you to finally view them. The details of how something may be enchanted to be a virtual flare have been written in the Journal of the Ashes, just in case you would like to know. It's very complicated.

Now, with the journal in your hooves, memories would be transmitted to you by accessing very memory ever known to my dimension. Test it out by going to sleep now.

Just pay heed: I am writing this in preparation for the time this book will reach your hooves. I don't know when that would be, so do not attempt to contact me in any manner.

Your Faithful Counterpart,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S. Spike here! It'll be great if you could say hi to my counterpart for me too. Thanks a bunch!

She flipped the page. Instead of another letter, what greeted her was a table scrawled in a hurry, in a vastly different hornwriting. The author of this entry must have been writing with a broken quill nib for the words had a shadowed quality to them, as if there was an inconsistency in the pressure of the quill.

Contents: Trigger method/ Log Name

Journal of the Ashes NIL
Journal of the Astrum Unicorn Location/ Main Channel
Journal of the Apple Key 1/ Secondary Channel
Journal of the Ahhhh Let Me Think of a Better Name Key 2/ Secondary Channel
Journal of the Adamant Key 3/ Secondary Channel
Journal of the Aimable Key 4/ Secondary Channel
Journal of the Awesome Key 5/ Secondary Channel

Then, below it was the aforementioned drawing of the dreamcatcher, which was a design that Twilight had never seen before. There was a ring, with various strings forming a webbed pattern across its middle. On the bottom half of the design hung five threads, sketched feathers dangling loosely beneath them. It was ... beautiful, in a strange way. If Alicorn-Twilight hadn't mentioned what the drawing was supposed to be, she would have probably guessed that it was an arcane circle for birds.

Reaching out, she touched the page. She could feel the slight hum of magic dancing within it. Other-Dimension-Twilight must–

No, she couldn't keep going on like this. There was only one Twilight, and that was her. And she was not a princess.

Twilight decided upon the name 'Astrum'.

Astrum must have come from some extremely advanced dimension. To create a charm so advanced that it attracts...dreams? Luna; Princess Luna of the Earth Ponies used to oversee dreams, though she has long since gone missing. Had Astrum found her? But then again, the journal was hundreds of years old. Did that mean that Astrum herself was already dead? And who was Spike? She didn't know any 'Spikes'. The letter even mentioned that Celestia was supposed to have told her a lot more than she actually did.

She inhaled sharply. That wasn't stress relieving at all. Twilight shut the book.

Test it out by going to sleep now.

Running her hoof over the inked dreamcatcher again, she readily accepted the advice.

--------*☆*--------

She was somepony else. A stallion. One that was briskly trotting through hallway after hallway, pale blue crystal walls racing past him.

Finally, he skidded to a stop outside a door. Shoving it open, he peeped into the room. "Hello?"

"Yes?" Another voice piped up. A mare.

She...he stepped in, nearly tripping over his cloak while doing so, before being greeted with the sight of a pale purple unicorn sitting alone on a long dining table.

The mare had the front of her mane fall into a long curl, while the mane on her crest was curved into a ponytail. Her actual tail was done in the same fashion, aquamarine streaks gleaming from the sea of purple locks they lay in.

"Sunburst?" she asked, tentatively. A strange whimper sounded from the base of her throat.

"My goodness, Starlight!" he squawked in reply. "You look–"

"Terrible," she groaned. "Yes, I know."

There was a cool silence. Sunburst fidgeted a bit. "So...um... I-I don't mean to intrude, but what's been going on?"

"I don't know!" she shouted frustratedly. He jerked away, glasses knocked out of alignment. Starlight's face softened. "I mean... It's just really complicated. I actually don't know all the details myself. But you must have heard the news too, right? Princess Celestia convulsing and bedridden, Luna just–" she closed her eyes. "All the alicorns are going insane. Even Flurry Heart. Even Twilight."

Adjusting his spectacles, Sunburst sat back hard on his haunches. "Wow... I never thought that the situation was so...dire."

"You didn't know?" –Starlight put her head in her hooves– "How could you not?"

"I've been holing myself up in my house. I should've known things were not –"

He froze when he saw Starlight. She had her head on the table, quiet sobs wracking her body. "And it's... it's all my fault... I-I didn't know that they would– I thought I was..."

Sunburst's heart was sinking faster than a hunk of gold in water. "Starlight. You didn't. "

A bottle slid across the table, before tipping and spilling a heap of black capsules onto the faceted surface.

"Y-yes, I did."

Author's Note:

Two-parter named Starlight Glimmer; only less than four hundred words actually about GlimGlam.

Seems legit.

Just informing you guys: this story will ignore the events in canon occurring after Spice Up Your Life, unless it fits into the story well (e.g. if the changeling episode later this season fits well with the plot points of Astrum Nova)

Thanks and sorry for the late chapter!

Next: Beneath the Shadow of a Mountain

Comments

[FrostVortex]

[Solaris Hemera]

7435568

Basically.

[TheMajorTechie]

7435590

[Scorch215]

Oh interesting. Things are going bad in PTS world from.some capsules that remind me of Soy Sauce from John Dies at the End.

Not sure if that is a refrance or not.

Things are Getiing so interesting. Looking forward to more chapters.!

[HiddenMaster]

Very interesting developments, and I'm fairly certain Princess Twilight did not expect things to have diverged so much, if her casual mention of Spike is anything to go by. That could complicate matters significantly-I can easily picture any advice she gives this Twilight as being rather flawed, because it's based on her own world, not this world.

Also, I'm not sure ohw Luna is supposed to be related/work in relation to the dreamcatcher. I thought this was a reality that had been altered in so way, so why would Luna be here? Nightmare Moon might be, or maybe just a different variation of Luna and-

I don't know. There's just not enough information on if this is a divergent timeline in a linear manner, if this is part of a multiverse and these two dimensions are interacting or something else entirely.

Regardless, this is getting more and more interesting.

[diablo4000]

Ok confused, what happen?1 Did Starlight do something to the Princesses?

[Solaris Hemera]

7435793

Mayyyyyybbbbbeeeeee

7435779

Hmmm, interesting theories you got there. Unfortunately, you've got to wait for, like, a month for me to churn more of the plot out.

[Solaris Hemera]

7435666

Nope...

I'm really out of the pop culture game.

[Scorch215]

7435779 well Twilight said that Luna was leader of the Earth ponies but she went missing g like 10 years ago so yes Luna is there or at least was there.

Just need to wait for more inf.

In the mean time we can all form theories and speculate on what is coming and ehst is happening and who can be trusted and who is who and what and so on.

[diablo4000]

7436966

Heh i relooked at the story and think got a better understandng, i thought this was one of those worlds wher eStarlight created when she went tiem traveling bu the last chapter made me think different now.
Well I cans ay can't wait to see what happens next.

[Magic Step]

*Is late to the party*

Are you still doing this? Your world is really cool and I'd love to find out more... and am also very scared to find out.

[Solaris Hemera]

7525784

Yep! Next chapter is in the works! Just...uh...Expect really long update intervals for Astrum Nova.

Glad you like the world so far, though! Hope you'll enjoy the rest of it *cue evil grin*

[Magic Step]

7527101 Guess you can't rush art.

[ferret]

Journal of the Ahhhh Let Me Think of a Better Name

Princess Luna of the Earth Ponies

I love this world.

"And it's... it's all my fault...

I hope you meant to say that Starlight drove Celestia, Luna, and Twilight insane. I'm not sure if you were intending to say that, or if you meant to say it's all her fault that they got access to suicide pills so they could become an hero instead of blowing up the world. If it's the latter, that needs some rewording.

[BoundlessImagination]

Dead? y/n

[Ice Star]

*poke*

[Cutie Honey]

This is an amazingly good story. Too bad it's left unfinished.

[mrgysao]

I should not read this. It's incomplete and I hate unfinished stories.... but the plot is too interesting to pass up. Damn it!

[Telaros]

8576975
I know that feeling. Author made an incredibly interesting AU. I know I know. Old post. But I happened upon this fic again and got nostalgic. I wish the author good health and good fortune. But tis the life of fanfiction, many a story remain incomplete leaving thousands over the years feeling starved.

[mrgysao]

9145301
Yes, I know. That's why I typically only read complete stories. I hate leaving things unfinished, but I know life can get in the way or maybe the author gets writers block or this or that.
I'd completely forgotten about this story but you had to go and reply to my comment. *Le sigh Guess I'll read it after all.

[PixelatedPerson]

Ugh I need more this is amazing damn