A Curious Visitor
Pitch-black emptiness gave way to ethereal blue radiance as Twilight blinked her eyes open. Her thoughts were slightly sluggish and her memory strangely hazy. Her body felt light. Too light, like she was made of air. The filly felt as if she could drift away on a stray breeze, yet she remained firmly planted on the ground—or so she initially believed.
Casting her bewildered gaze about her shimmering azure surroundings, Twilight realized there was no ground where she stood. Everywhere she looked was simply empty blue space, yet even in her confusion, Twilight had a hard time mistaking her surroundings for the sky. The world around her was too strange. Too alien. Too ethereal.
Radiant motes of white light dotted the sapphire blue view, the small glowing orbs falling like winter snow all around the filly. It all gave the space an otherworldly quality and Twilight found herself awestruck despite not knowing where she was or how she'd gotten to this magical place. She tried to speak, to proclaim her amazement, but the words wouldn't come. It was almost as if the world would shatter before her very eyes if she so much as breathed a single syllable.
Then something changed.
Twilight wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but sudden clarity returned to the filly with the force of a thunderclap. It was all she could not to cry out in shock as the atmosphere grew heavy. A sudden, all-consuming pressure drove the filly to her knees, her previously too-light body now feeling as though it weighed several tons. A sense of wrongness seeped into every facet of her existence.
It suddenly felt as if she'd stumbled into a place she very much did not belong. Twilight's small frame trembled with the sensation of it. She felt like she couldn't breathe—like the air had been stolen from her lungs as recompense for such a trespass. And through it all, Twilight could feel something rooting around in her head. She didn't know what it was or what it was looking for, but it scoured her mind, peering into every thought and memory.
The horrific invasion ended just as quickly and abruptly as it had begun. The crushing pressure and inability to breathe vanished as well, but that almost existential sense of wrongness remained. The whole ordeal lasted maybe a second, but Twilight was nevertheless left shaken and terrified. She looked around her with new eyes, now fully aware that she wasn't alone in this nightmarish realm, whatever it may have been.
As if to confirm her fears, every single mote of radiant light ceased their gentle fall and hung suspended in the air. Before Twilight could even guess at what it might mean, hundreds of motes began to converge on a single point a short distance in front of her. The filly stood frozen as the radiant motes congealed into a massive shape made of blinding white light. The light itself shone brighter than the sun, but Twilight found she couldn't look away.
Before long, the light began to dissipate, revealing what lay beneath. The creature—if it could be called even that—looked at Twilight. Twilight tried to look back, but found that just looking at the creature wasn't so simple. Looking at the entity in front of her was like trying to piece together a half-remembered dream. Any comprehension of the entity's shape seemed to slip further and further away the more Twilight tried to focus on it.
Oddly, the overwhelming fear of only a moment ago disappeared, but the mind-bending shape of the creature still left Twilight unnerved. Ultimately, the filly lowered her gaze to her hooves, no longer able to stomach the sight of whatever stood before her. When the creature finally spoke, Twilight was surprised to find that its voice was soft and feminine, but there was something hidden within its soft tone—some indefinable thing that brought just a little of that earlier fear back.
It seems you've lost your way, little wanderer... The fated hour has not yet come... Moreover, you are not the one I am meant to meet here in this place upon that fated hour, and yet... how curious...
Twilight shuddered.
The creature's voice was soft, but when it spoke, the entire realm trembled with the sound. Such was the power behind the creature's gentle words that, even had Twilight wanted to speak, her own voice would be snatched away, possibly never to return. She had no idea what the creature was talking about, and in all honesty just wanted to leave this place and return to Ancient Scroll and the others, but she dared not utter a single word in the creature's presence.
There is no need to fear me so, little wanderer... I will not harm you, though I do find myself rather intrigued by your existence... you walk the path of Ascension... but yours is a different path from the fated one... an aberrant path... one I've not come across in... quite some time...
Surprised and confused by the creature's words, Twilight looked up, only to wince and immediately snap her eyes back down to the non-existent ground. The questions roiling in her mind had nearly come spilling out of her mouth in a torrent, but the sight of the creature had thoroughly staunched that flow before it could be released. Still, her thoughts were racing as she tried to parse the meaning of the creature's proclamations. While she mused on the words, the creature continued.
Interesting as that may be... it is the many threads of fate wrapped about you that truly pique my curiosity... The ties that bind you so tightly to those you've come to know... and those you have yet to meet... Ties that stretch across even time and space... Yours is a very fascinating destiny indeed, little wanderer...
Twilight frowned as she took it all in. Ascension? Fated hour? Fated one? Ties? Destiny? An aberrant path? The filly bounced all this around in her head, but couldn't put the puzzle together. She had pieces, but clearly not all of them, nor did she have any clear image of what she was supposed to be putting together. She still didn't know why she was even here in the first place, or how she came to be here—to say nothing of the creature before her.
What had happened when she tried to give Ancient Scroll some of her mana? Twilight didn't know, but maybe the creature would. The filly didn't know what the creature was or why it was here, but it seemed like it knew a lot about... well... a lot of things. If she could just work up the nerve to open her mouth and say something... but it wasn't meant to be.
Ah, but as interesting as you are, little wanderer... I'm afraid it is past time for you to return to where you belong... This place is not meant for you... Not this time...
Twilight's ears perked up, and her heart thumped a bit louder in her chest. She was being sent back! The realization flooded her with relief, but at the same time, she desperately wanted to say something. Anything. She had so many questions about this place and the creature and what she'd heard and what had happened to her during the mana transfer and... and...
And... what?
Twilight's thoughts began to slip through her hooves, the questions melting away like snowfall in the spring. Panic surged within her, but that too died away as Twilight's eyelids began to drift shut, her vision and consciousness fading. From somewhere far away, she heard the creature's gentle voice, its final words echoing through her wavering thoughts like the distant chime of a bell.
We will not meet again... but I wish you luck, little wanderer... for you will need it in the trials to come...
And with those parting words, Twilight Sparkle fell into a blissful, dreamless sleep.
Ancient Scroll frowned as another line of emerald green mana washed over the unconscious and currently undisguised lavender filly lying in the cot. Veins of magenta tinted mana lit up within Twilight's body in the wake of Ancient Scroll's internal mana scan. The veins of mana reached through every inch of Twilight, coalescing at her center where her mana wellspring rested. The old stallion looked over the results of his scanning spell once more and let the emerald light around his horn die out with a sigh.
This was the third scan he'd run on the filly in as many hours. Each scan brought with it more and more surprises, showing Ancient Scroll things he'd never seen before, phenomena he had no name or reference for. What had happened to Twilight—what was happening to Twilight—was both alarming and fascinating in equal measure. The good news was that his plan had gone well. Almost too well, in fact.
With no small amount of effort, Ancient Scroll was able to wrest control of the rampant mana Twilight had poured into his wellspring and cast the pseudo-invisibility spell. With the absurd excess of mana at his disposal, the stallion had no issue maintaining the spell. He'd actually had to maintain the spell long after the danger of being discovered had passed just to bleed off all that excess mana.
Even when he finally felt it was safe enough to drop the spell, Ancient Scroll still had mana to burn. The wrinkled old unicorn could say with absolute certainty that he hadn't felt this powerful in decades. It was like being back in his prime, and the stallion would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling. Such potent energy was intoxicating, but ultimately fleeting and—more importantly—gained through another's suffering.
At least, that's what Ancient Scroll assumed. He didn't actually know, as Twilight had passed out as soon as the mana transference spell was cut off. The filly had seized up, then dropped to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. Ancient Scroll hadn't been in a position to check on her, but when he asked Rouge about it later, the Abyssinian said Twilight just lay there, still as a stone and cold as the grave. What had happened to Twilight had stripped away her disguise, and when Rouge checked for a pulse, she'd found none.
There was a brief but horrifying period where Twilight Sparkle was, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Of course, with Ancient Scroll occupied, there was no way to check for brain activity, so this was the obvious conclusion to make given what could be gleaned at the time. Needless to say, there was shock, grief, despair, all manner of grim emotions that came with the death of a loved one. Ancient Scroll himself had been spared from the worst of the shock, as it had taken all his focus to keep the overwhelming flow of mana from going out of control.
By the time he was able to perceive the world around him once more, Twilight was alive and breathing again. Her condition had stabilized after some time, but the suddenness of what had happened still shook everyone to their core. Both Trixie and Sunset had cried themselves to sleep, relief and emotional exhaustion mixing into a vicious cocktail too potent for them to handle.
Rouge had taken up the role of comforting the two shaken fillies before heading to the kitchen to make some tea for the adults. To the others it was a kind gesture, but in reality, the molly was simply trying to settle her own nerves. The warm tea did wonders for her trembling paws. Yojimbo stayed by Ancient Scroll's side as he examined Twilight, the old diamond dog, knowing full well that his oldest friend would blame himself.
Fell Wind, for her part, had remained largely unfazed by the ordeal, having grown up in an environment where such sights were tragically common. That said, the pegasus at least had the decency to keep her mouth shut and make herself scarce while the others gathered themselves. Ancient Scroll had spent much of the day keeping the spell camouflaging the Vardo active, which meant the enchanted caravan hadn't moved from their hiding spot in the valley.
With nothing else to do while they all waited, Fell Wind had taken it upon herself to patrol the surrounding area. As the day went on, she reported seeing a steady procession of Royal Guards emerging from Farhoof Forest. While their hurried pace was expected, the state of the soldiers was not. They exited the forest in small squads, and most of the Guard looked as if they'd seen battle, and lots of it.
What's more, Fell Wind counted far fewer soldiers leaving the forest than there should've been. Something had clearly happened after she and the others left, but the pegasus chose not to investigate any deeper, instead returning to the Vardo to tell Ancient Scroll what she saw from afar. Whatever had happened, it was good news for their escape. Probably. Still, the stallion warned Fell Wind to be vigilant. The mare had grumbled a bit, but continued her patrol nevertheless.
That just left Ancient Scroll to ponder over what to make of Twilight's reaction to the mana transference spell, and what was going on with her mana. Night had since fallen and all was quiet now, but his mind was working overtime to figure out some kind of answer. The old stallion had rummaged through the many tomes he'd brought on the subject of internal mana and had begun to formulate an idea in his head, but it was simply impossible. Ludicrous. Absolutely unheard of.
And yet...
"And yet, how else do you explain such a development?" Ancient Scroll muttered to himself as continued to contemplate Twilight's softly snoring form, "it just doesn't make any sense otherwise..."
"Care to fill the rest of us in, teach?" Yojimbo asked from the armchair opposite Ancient Scroll. The bulky husky leaned forward and nodded toward the sleeping filly, "you figure out what the deal is with her, yet?"
Ancient Scroll didn't answer right away, instead choosing to collect his thoughts first. After a moment, he frowned and gave a slow shake of his head before replying, "it's a frankly absurd notion, but it seems that, somehow, this filly has gained—has grown—a working set of earth pony mana circuits in addition to her own mana wellspring." He let out an incredulous laugh, "She's even gained a few inches in height!"
Yojimbo furrowed his brow at the explanation. "So... what? You're telling me she's like a... like an earth unicorn now or something?"
"Essentially, yes," Ancient Scroll chuckled, though there was no humor in the sound, "it defies all logic, but I can't think of a better way to put it." He paused and raised a hoof to stroke thoughtfully at his beard, "Although... thinking back to that evaluation, I can't help but wonder..."
"Evaluation?" Yojimbo's ears perked up at that, "What evaluation? You holdin' out on me, you old codger?"
Ancient Scroll grunted a vague acknowledgement of Yojimbo's question before answering almost to himself, "Some time ago, I used an artifact to gauge each of the fillies' magic potential. They're all gifted girls, but Twilight's results were especially odd."
"Odd how?" Yoji asked before his remaining eye lit up, "and that artifact you're talkin' about. It was that ring, right? Why not use that now? Might give some insight on what's going on here."
"Much as I'd love to do just that, I can't," Ancient Scroll replied with a bitter shake of his head, "I haven't been able to find the blasted thing. I'm fairly sure I left it back at the cottage." He sighed before moving on, "And to answer your first question... I'm not actually sure how to explain it. Her thaum count was very high for a foal, but her lym count... the artifact didn't give one."
"Ugh, thaums and lyms," the diamond dog grumbled, leaning over to rest his meaty arms on his knees, "you bring those words up like I'm supposed to remember what they mean."
"Ah, right, sometimes I forget that you're not a pony," Ancient Scroll replied, this time with a genuine chuckle of amusement at his friend's flat look, "thaums represent the amount of mana a pony has, and lyms refer to the depth of a unicorn's mana wellspring. In Twilight's case, I wasn't able to get a read on the depth of her wellspring. There's also her unusual magic surge to consider as well."
"You're talking about that crazy teleportation that brought her all the way to your doorstep?"
"The very same," Ancient Scroll affirmed with a nod, "As far as I know, this is the second time she's displayed a font of mana far beyond what should be capable, and this latest event was no simple surge. Of that, I'm almost certain." The wrinkled unicorn grimaced in frustration, "I have guesses, but not much more. So many questions still remain, and I doubt Twilight herself will be able to tell us much, if anything at all when she wakes."
Yojimbo looked on as Ancient Scroll began to pace the small room. He wasn't sure what to say to the unicorn. This kind of problem was far outside his wheelhouse, and the husky didn't have much else to add to the discussion. Scratching at one of his ears, he opened his toothy maw to try anyway, when the sound of approaching hooves beyond the closed door caught both their attention.
At first, the two thought it was Fell Wind, returned from her latest patrol, but Ancient Scroll realized that there were too many hooves for just one pony. Both stallion and diamond dog gave each other confused and concerned looks before turning to the bedroom door just in time to watch as it was thrown open. Yojimbo was on his feet in an instant, and Ancient Scroll's horn had already flared bright green with a defensive spell.
Both relaxed somewhat as Fell Wind strode into the room with a wince and a hoof raised in apologetic supplication. "Whoops, sorry about that," she hissed, glancing over to make sure Twilight hadn't stirred, "didn't mean to... well, y'know. My bad."
Ancient Scroll and Yojimbo did the same, and it was only when they confirmed Twilight hadn't so much as twitched that the two rounded on the intrusive pegasus.
"What's the big idea, super soldier?" Yojimbo growled, "you tryin' to wake up the whole valley?"
"Hey, I said I was sorry," Fell Wind replied with a shrug, "Twilight didn't wake up, so it's all good, right?"
"What's going on, Fell Wind?" Ancient Scroll asked, choosing to get straight to the heart of the matter, "And who's out there with you?"
The other set of hoofsteps had sounded a little too heavy to be one of the other foals, which could only mean that whoever had followed Fell Wind was a stranger. As if to prove Ancient Scroll's point, Fell Wind frowned and glanced at the unseen visitor behind her.
"Yeah..." Fell Wind began, sounding both wary and skeptical, "so I was out doing my thing when I see this bundle of rags come flying out of the darkness toward the wagon. Thought it was some kind of assassin or something, but nah. Just some kid."
"Just some... kid?" Ancient Scroll repeated before giving Yojimbo a bemused look. The husky returned his look with a shrug before both turned to Fell Wind for a further explanation. The mare just gave her own shrug and stepped aside to let the "kid" into the room.
"Yeah, girl's lucky I didn't break her neck," the pegasus groused before calling out, "hey, get your flank in here. It's your turn to do the talking."
For a moment, there was no movement, but after a few seconds of awkward silence, a heavily cloaked shape shuffled into the doorway. Even with the ratty brown cloak and hood, it was easy to tell that the creature was a pony. What's more, Fell Wind had been right. The pony in question was bigger than any of the three foals Ancient Scroll knew, but still too small to be called an adult. A teenager, most likely.
Ancient Scroll watched as the pony stepped into the room and looked around. In the dim light, he could just make out a bright purple eye and a tri-colored tuft of mane beneath the hood. It didn't take long for the older filly to spot the younger, sleeping filly, and once she did, the reaction was both immediate and surprising.
"Twilight!" the filly gasped before racing over to the cot where Twilight lay, "Twilight, are you..." The filly reached out a pale pink hoof, but stopped just short of touching Twilight's cheek. Reluctantly, she pulled her hoof and back and lowered her head, "Oh, Twilight... I can't believe it... I didn't expect... I thought you'd..."
The older filly trailed off, her voice choked with emotion. She trembled slightly and though her back was turned, Ancient Scroll could almost see the tears running down her face. Reading the room, the stallion chose not to say anything as the stranger tried to collect herself. A glance in Yojimbo's direction showed the diamond dog had more or less the same idea, though his arms were crossed, and his expression was fixed in a wary scowl.
Fell Wind looked from the silently weeping filly to Ancient Scroll and Yojimbo before rolling her eyes. With a tired sigh, the pegasus mare started to make her exit. "Alright, this looks like it's gonna get complicated, so I'm out," she called out over her shoulder, "think I'm done patrolling for the night. Gonna get some shut-eye. Let me know how this all shakes out."
And with that, she headed out the door and made for the room she shared with the other two fillies. Yojimbo shook his head, but the cloaked filly seemed either not to notice or care about Fell Wind's exit. Instead, she gave one last sniff, rubbed at her eyes, then finally turned to face the stallion and diamond dog. Without further preamble, she raised a hoof and pulled her hood down to reveal a pair of slightly puffy bright purple eyes, a cute, if sweaty, pale pink face, and a rather frazzled mane of violet, rose, and gold.
The filly looked bone tired, like she'd been wandering the valley all night. Or, if the slightly rumpled feathers on the wings at her side were any indication, like she'd been flying all night. Despite her clear exhaustion, the filly looked at the other two occupants of the room with firm eyes and when she spoke, her voice was resolute.
"My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, and I've come to take Twilight Sparkle back to Canterlot."
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Dun dun duuuuun!? Also, woo, Cadance is here. Time will tell if that's good news or not. I was wondering where she has been this whole time. I have to wonder, who sent her? Or did she come for Twilight of her own volition?
I seem to remember that Celestia is the only Alicorn in this story, so, Cadance is probably not here on her orders. Unless she actually is an Alicorn, in which case, things just got a lot more complicated. In any case, I don't expect Twilight will go with her without a fight. Or at the very least, without an explanation of who she is, why she's here, and how she found the group.
So no alicorn Twilight in this universe. Sad to see but with Cadence coming here and hopefully the truth about what has been happening getting out the story is rapidly approaching its climax. I wonder how things will go now that Twilight can not become an alicorn?
11599432
Who said she couldn't become an alicorn? Might need to re-read what the creature said if that was your takeaway.
So Twilight's like on 66% ascension progress or is it 50% since she already has unicorn magic at the first place? Anyway, with Cadance is in the equation, things are gonna be sketchier which depends on her stubbornness to bring back Twilight. I'm sure Scroll wouldn't just let Twilight go just like that, even if Cadance was her foalsitter or ordered by Celestia herself. Though both parties are headed for Canterlot, if Cadance can be assured it should be a little easier to sneak past the guards, so that's a plus. However, no mention of a horn, Cadance's still a pegasus?
11599432
not yet.
I also hope frozen gale learns in the future that there are threshals in the outland in Equestria
Title drop. I love it when the title of something is mentioned whether on tv, books, etc.
Oh no this ain’t gonna end well.
great chapter
Yayyy love this story.
You have a great world-building and characters. All those connections and different parties, the way they interact, it makes the world feel alive. Great story
I hope it'll be finished one day
11691505
Cool, I'll read it after I finish the chapters of this one.
Now we just have to wait
I have a question. Will there be a time skip at some point in the story when Twilight, Sunset, and Trixie get to grow up to be adult mares someday in the story?
P.S. I’m not that far into the story yet so don’t spoil me too much please.
11885546
I personally detest time skips (that span years) in stories on principle, but I do acknowledge their use in certain circumstances. Given the way things are going, I'll likely implement a time skip of some kind, but if I do, I'll make sure to at least summarize any important bits that might've happened in the interim. No guarantees about the time skip though. I've given it some thought but I'm still on the fence about it.
11885758
Thanks for the information.