Beyond the Threshold
It was not by chance that the young princesses would find themselves drifting into this strange and wondrous realm that I call home. A task was I given, and - though I hoped the day I was to fulfill it would never come - my heart swells at the thought of at last imparting my knowledge unto those who have only just begun to see the Light.
Celestia gasped as she opened her eyes, immediately blinded by a radiance to rival the very sun. She squinted through the twinkling of prismatic light, stumbling backwards as the bloom slowly faded. Birdsong from every direction drifted through the chilled air, the princess’s hooves caressed by soft, golden grass that swayed in the gentle breeze.
As her eyes opened wider, Celestia would find herself gazing up at towering trees of silver bark and crystalline leaves, the rays of the sun refracting through the canopy like stained glass to paint the forest floor below with a palette of greens, blues and purples. Bright little fireflies that mirrored the prismatic beams flickered and darted about happily, looping through the air and chasing after each other.
The filly blinked in a mixture of wonder and confusion, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar scene as the pounding of her heart began to ease. The world around her seemed to be bathed in a faint glow, the trees of the enchanting woods swaying in a peaceful dance. Caught breathless, Celestia took another shaky step back.
There was a squeal from below, and Celestia echoed it as she tripped on something and tried to whirl around, only to fall over. With a THUMP she collapsed on top of a dazed and bewildered Luna, the two princesses laying criss-crossed atop each other in a heap.
Luna grumbled as she wriggled beneath her elder sister. “T-Tia… where are we…?”
Celestia rolled off of her sister and pulled herself to her hooves again, shaking her head. “I… I don’t know…” she stammered.
She looked back at Luna, finding the younger princess’s sapphire aura enveloped around the journal as she found her footing. Luna let out a huff, glancing around with narrowed eyes. “Was that a teleport spell?”
“I’ve been teleported before… it didn’t feel like one,” Celestia said. “One moment we’re reading, and the next…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence, struggling to believe her own eyes.
Luna looked up and winced at the blinding light. “This place… it feels like a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Uhuh,” Luna said. “Like… all wobbly and… stuff.”
Celestia sighed. “‘Wobbly and stuff?’”
“I don’t know,” Luna grumbled. “Y’know, that kinda weird feeling you get in dreams where you feel light and floaty, and your senses are all hazy?”
Celestia looked around again. “Everything feels pretty normal to me… well, aside from this weird forest.”
“Is it a forest?” Luna wondered as she trotted forward.
Celestia followed. “What else would you call it?”
Luna paused for a moment, biting her lip as she stepped up to one of the trees and began knocking on the bark with a hoof. “Uh… well I guess it’s pretty forest-y…”
Celestia stepped up beside her little sister, stifling an irritated grunt and gazing up at the sparkling tree. The two sisters stood beside each other in silence, the scents of the woodland flooding their nostrils and the twittering of the birds flirting above gracing their anxious ears with song. They both took in a breath as the serenity calmed their nerves, but Celestia could not so easily banish her fears.
“W-we’d better find a way back…” she muttered, turning away from the tree and gazing up at the sun through a clearing.
Luna said nothing at first, her gaze fixed upon the crystalline canopy. She flinched in response to the absence of her sister and galloped over in a hurry. “W-wait, a way back?” Luna said.
“Yes, the castle is still under attack! We’ve got to do something!” Celestia said.
Luna frowned, pursing her lips in a pout as her head swiveled. “But… what if we were supposed to come here?”
Celestia blinked. “Huh?”
“Mother told us to read that specific page… right? Maybe… maybe she knew it would take us here!”
“But what could she be wanting us to do here? There were no instructions or anything… just some weird incantation!” Celestia replied.
“Well… what did the incantation say?” Luna asked.
Celestia bit her lip, her thoughts wandering back to mere minutes ago when she sat upon her sister’s bed. Though her headache was gone, only a few vague words entered her mind.
“I don’t remember it exactly…” Celestia grumbled. “It didn’t make any sense to me, anyway. Something about a river… and imagination?”
“Well… maybe there’s a magic river or something!” Luna suggested.
“Maybe…” Celestia said. “I can’t think of anything else it could mean right now.”
Luna hopped in front of Celestia with a confident smile. “Maybe we’ll find it if we start exploring!” she declared.
Celestia gave her sister a painful smile. “I guess, but what if we get lost?”
“Aren’t we already lost?” Luna said.
“Uh… well, I suppose we are!” Celestia nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s go get even more lost!” Luna turned around immediately and began prancing away, leaving Celestia to stare after her in bewilderment.
“H-hey, wait up!” Celestia took off, kicking up grass and bounding after her little sister, trying to keep her in sight.
Luna darted side to side, jumping over shrubberies and dodging around trees as the fireflies parted in a panic. Celestia looked left and right, scanning the woods as she tried to keep up with the excited filly ahead. “Last one to the river’s a rotten egg!” Luna called out.
“We don’t even know where the river is!” Celestia shouted back at her.
The land began to slope upwards, a steady incline leading them up a hill. Luna was in a full-sprint, leaving Celestia in the dust before long as the elder princess tried to survey the land for any landmarks or this mysterious river they sought.
The foliage became increasingly dense as the hill grew steeper, Celestia huffing and puffing as Luna repeatedly dipped out of sight among the trees. “L-Luna! Slow down!”
As if on cue, Luna vanished among the underbrush and massive trunks. Celestia’s heart sank, clenching her teeth and picking up the pace in an effort to find her sister again.
However, as she broke through a particularly heavy layer of shrubs, she found the land dropped away abruptly into a steep slope, a small creek running through the bottom of it. She squealed and skidded to a halt, hooves grinding on the dirt as she panted and looked around frantically.
“Luna-?” she gasped. She dared to look down the hill in fear. “Luna!?”
Without warning, there was a crashing of leaves and branches. “YAAA!”
Celestia turned around just in time to see Luna diving at her, the elder princess screaming as Luna collided with her. They rolled backwards, tumbling over one another as Luna giggled excitedly, while Celestia’s heart raced and she scrambled to break free from the tackle. She grunted and wriggled desperately as she felt the land beneath her begin to dip. The two princesses both cried out as they began rolling down the hill, crashing through bushes and sending blades of grass into the air.
Panic roared through Celestia’s mind as her eyes darted about, trying to make sense of the flurry of colours while she fell down the hill, Luna’s laughter intermixed with little yelps as Celestia tried to find a hoofhold, before with a SPLASH the two fillies finally came to a stop in the creek below.
Luna was on her hooves immediately, still laughing but with a distinct sense of nervous excitement behind her voice. “H-ha… haha…!”
Celestia groaned in pain as she lay partially submerged in the knee-deep water, shivering as her coat dripped. She stumbled and sputtered as her mane lay partially draped around her neck, shaking her head before whirling around to Luna. “W-what is WRONG with you!?”
Luna’s laughter came to an abrupt halt, her smile vanishing along with the bounce in her step. “Huh?”
“You don’t just… jump on me like that! And right by the edge of a hill? We could have gotten hurt!” Celestia growled as she stomped forward before tripping on a rock, collapsing into the frigid waters again.
Luna took a step back, her mouth hanging open a bit. She fumbled over her words for a moment, before smiling awkwardly. “I uh… I found the river!” she said with a toothy grin.
“This isn’t even a river!” Celestia shouted as she stood up, her legs quivering as she tried to find her balance, standing tall and escaping the waters. “This… this is a creek, at best! Too shallow for even fish to swim in!”
Luna frowned. “I think fish could swim in it…”
“That’s not the- UGH!” Celestia pushed past her sister, shivering as she stepped up onto the bank and shook her whole body, sending droplets of water everywhere. “L-look what you did! Now I’m all wet and cold!”
Luna lowered her head. “I-I just wanted to have a little fun…”
“Luna,” Celestia stepped up to her sister, waving one of her hooves about. “We are lost in who-knows-where while mother is back home fighting, and you’re just… goofing off and getting us into even more trouble!”
Luna kicked at the ground as she avoided eye-contact. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t think we’d roll down the hill…”
“Didn’t think-” Celestia stopped herself and took in a deep breath, holding back a stinging retort. “Ugh, this is ridiculous… we don’t know what we’re doing! A magic river? We don’t even know if that’s what we’re looking for!”
Luna frowned. “But that’s all we have! We gotta start somewhere…”
Celestia slumped, frustrated at how right her sister was. “Just… let's look at the journal. Mother told us to bring it, so it must be important. Maybe there’s a clue in it, or something.”
Luna blinked, before a look of fear fell across her face, her lips tightening as she tensed up. Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Luna… where is the journal?”
Luna lowered her head again and turned around. “I uh…” she cleared her throat. “I left it up there…” Luna pointed to the top of the hill.
Celestia gazed up in dismay, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, before letting out a groan. “Great… so now we have to climb aaaall the way back up?”
“Mhmm…” Luna mumbled.
Wonderful… now I’ll be wet, cold, sore, AND tired… Celestia fretted to herself as she sized up the creek again. “Fine… let’s just get this over with and get the journal then,” Celestia said.
Somepony cleared their throat behind them, a mare’s voice speaking up. “Do you mean this journal?” There was a hint of a sneer behind those words.
The two princesses tensed up, alarmed by the sudden presence as they slowly turned around.
Before them towered an alicorn mare with a silver almost-white coat, vibrant blue eyes gazing down at them as she smirked. Enshrouded in a fiery aura and floating beside her was the very journal they had brought with them. She flicked her head, tossing a thick layer of pale-orange hair out of her face as she stepped forward.
Celestia took an instinctive step back in response, still scanning the alicorn that had practically appeared out of nowhere. A cutie-mark sporting what looked like a map and a bottle of ink decorated her flank. Her features, her voice, even her expression… Celestia found herself recognizing the figure. Her appearance matched a description she had once read somewhere.
Luna took in a huge, gasping breath. “Y-you’re… you’re Silver Tongue!”
The mare’s grin somehow grew wider, showing teeth as her eyes filled with glee. “Aha! You recognized me!” she exclaimed, her whole body practically wiggling with excitement.
Celestia stared up at her in shock, her mouth hanging open as she tilted her head. “W-... what-!?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Silver Tongue mused. “Though, I suppose this must be especially weird for you two, what with the whole ‘storybook character’ thing…”
“You’re an alicorn!” Luna squeaked as she hopped around the mare.
Celestia, however, was far more skeptical, beginning to strafe around Silver Tongue. Silver Tongue? That's impossible... “You were a unicorn in the story we read…” Celestia muttered, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening.
Silver cleared her throat. “Ah, yes… that… I can explain later. More importantly, are you two okay? You look terrible.”
Celestia frowned, shooting Luna a glare. “We’re okay… somehow. We’re lucky we didn’t hit a tree on the way down.” Luna just looked up and away innocently.
“Lucky indeed!” Silver said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to find you earlier. The incantation is a bit finicky, you see… you didn’t quite end up where I hoped you would.”
“Wait…” Celestia began. “YOU wrote that spell?”
Silver opened her mouth, before hesitating a moment. “Ah- well, in part. You could say it was a… team effort between your mother and I.”
“Then you must know why we’ve been sent here!” Luna said.
“Hold on, Luna,” Celestia interjected, frowning at Silver. “You’re… real?”
Silver chuckled, leaning down. “You’re welcome to poke me if you have doubts.”
“N-no, I mean… I thought you were just a character in a story!”
“Not so, little one!” Silver said. “I live and breathe just as you do. What you’ve been reading is the greatest tale of my exploits. Though I suspect you’ve already read about my other adventures in this book.” She lowered the journal towards Luna, who accepted it with her azure magic.
“Wait, so this is your journal?” Luna asked, her eyes sparkling with wonder.
“Yes!” Silver declared, raising her head in pride and placing a hoof to her chest. “Full of all my wondrous adventures! Well… almost all.”
Luna gasped loudly. “Wow…!”
Celestia let out a breath, her head starting to spin again. “Th-this is crazy. Why didn’t our mother tell us you were real?” Celestia narrowed her eyes. She was growing tired of all these secrets, but with few other options, she took a breath and turned to Silver. “Look… we don’t really know what’s going on here, and it seems like you do, so… do you know why we’re here?”
Silver nodded and turned around with a hop, her curly tail whipping as she began trotting through the woods. “That I do, little princess! I’m guessing your mother didn’t explain?” she said as she glanced over her shoulder.
Luna dashed forward to gallop alongside Silver, Celestia following right behind. “No, she just told us to read page 372 and that was it.”
Silver’s expression shifted, the smile finally wiped off her face as she frowned. “So… you skipped to that page?”
“She told us to!” Luna said as she jumped in front of Silver and trotted backwards. “We were reading it normally… but then this weird black stuff started attacking the castle! So she told us we could help her by reading that page.”
Silver stared down at the little filly, her mouth hanging open ever-so-slightly. “Black stuff… oh no. That’s…” Silver shuddered. “That isn’t good…”
“You know what it is, don’t you?” Celestia asked. “The story we read… it was about the same thing. The inkblight.”
Silver froze, wincing as she stared off into the distance. “Y… yes… ahem, yes! I know all about it. For better or for worse…”
“Then you must know how to stop it!” Luna said excitedly. “That must be why mother sent us here… to get your help! You faced the inkblight in the Silver Scrolls Saga!”
Celestia took in a breath as the gears in her head started turning. Luna was right. If Silver Tongue knew about the incantation, the journal, and the Silver Scrolls Saga, they were surely meant to be here. The pieces began to fit together as Celestia thought back to the events of the book.
Silver, meanwhile, smiled awkwardly. “Well… I don’t really-”
“We need the artifacts of imagination, don’t we?” Celestia cut her off.
Luna stopped her bouncing, tilting her head as Celestia trotted up beside Silver. The alicorn gazed down at her, a look of surprise on her face. “Oh, good. You at least know that much. What else do you know about the artifacts?”
“Not much… in the story, the wisemare told you and your friends that you needed the three artifacts to defeat the blight, but she never said how. She didn’t even really say what the blight was,” Celestia replied.
“Ahh, a mystery story!” Silver said. “Then I won’t spoil any more than I have to!”
Celestia frowned. “But everypony back home is in real danger. I don’t care about spoilers anymore, I just want to help.”
“Oh, they’re not in any danger right now,” Silver said. “Didn’t you pay attention to the incantation? ‘Let Equestria’s river of time be dammed up!’ As long as you’re here in Clydestale, time will be stopped back home.”
Luna’s eyes widened, the filly taking in a breath. “Oh, that’s what it means! It’s a… a metavor!”
Celestia winced. “Metaphor…”
“So we can spend as long as we want here?” Luna asked. “That’s convenient!”
“Isn’t it?” Silver chimed. “Hardly the most inventive way to send two foals on an adventure unburdened by their home lives… but it gets the job done!”
“Well… we can’t spend too long here,” Celestia said. “Weird time stuff or not, mother needs us. Do you have the artifacts?”
Silver laughed nervously, scraping one of her hooves against the grass. “A-ah… about that…”
Celestia did not like the sound of that. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just… I don’t have them anymore,” Silver said. “Each one of them is under the protection of the ponies of Clydestale. We’ll have to go get them.”
Celestia’s heart sank, the scope of their mission increasing rapidly. “Why didn’t you keep them?” she asked.
Silver shook her head. “They weren’t really mine to keep. I just borrowed them for a bit.”
“Do you hear that, Tia?” Luna said, facing her sister. “We gotta go on an adventure to get the artifacts, just like Silver Tongue!”
Celestia’s mouth hung open. “W-what? We’re only fillies! We can’t go on some perilous adventure like that! We barely even know how to use magic!”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll be coming with you,” Silver said with a smile. “It’s been a long time since I went on an adventure!”
Luna practically vibrated with glee as she pranced around the alicorn. “Adventure! Adventure! We’re going on an adventure!”
Celestia shook her head in disbelief. “B-but this is… this is crazy! We were in the castle not too long ago and now we have to go on some sort of… quest? A-and we've only just met you!”
Silver laughed as she leaned down to look Celestia in the eyes. “Oh, my dear little princess, don’t you know anything about The Hero’s Journey?”
Celestia blinked as she met that piercing blue gaze. “The Hero’s Journey?”
“Yes! It’s a structure for storytelling. And now you’re in your own story, little one. You’ve just crossed the threshold… the boundary between the status quo, and the great unknown. As such, I will fill the role of your mentor, and guide you through the daunting path before you!” Silver said.
“C’mon, Tia!” Luna said. “It’ll be fun! We used to play pretend all the time… now we get to do it for real!”
Celestia grimaced, her mind flooding with all sorts of scenarios. What she had once imagined while she and Luna ran around Canterlot now became very real to her, the very thought of it causing her heart to start racing again.
And yet, as she looked up at the canopy above, with the shimmering multi-coloured lights of the leaves shining down upon her, she realized her heart rate was rising, not only out of fear, but out of excitement. Questions rushed through her head, the little princess feeling like she could drown in them. Surely she would have her answers soon if she played along, right?
…Right?
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So there's a time-freeze instead of two plot threads. A bit disappointing, as I think the siege could have been a very fitting tool to deliver extra tension and a sense of urgency, but if you think this will lead to a better narrative, I'm not gonna grumble much.
I can tell this Silver Stream, just like the story itself, won't be as straightforward as she seems. A character with no ulterior motives surely wouldn't immediately greet two defenseless fillies with a sneering voice. The fact that she almost immediately changes character to become a mentor-figure, while also displaying much uncertainty about the things Celestia and Luna mention also seem to back this up. It almost makes me thing she might be an impostor or that her tale is either greatly embellished or an outright fabrication.
I'll be curious to see where you're going to take this.
Also, I have to ask, while it certainly isn't the only story about being transported into a book, but I'm still getting heavy 'The NeverEnding Story' vibes from this fic. Are you perhaps inspired by that book or is it just a coincidence?
11088866
The NeverEnding Story is definitely an old favorite of mine, but I wasn't directly thinking of it while conceptualizing this story. It may have a subconscious influence on me when I planned it out, though!
In short, the reason I've opted to avoid exploring the siege is because I don't want to distract the audience from the journey and development our main cast is about the experience. Furthermore, while this DOES sacrifice a sense of urgency, it opens the door for the fillies to continue being fillies. There is a weight upon their shoulders now, barring them from returning home prior to completing their quest, but this way it makes more sense for them to focus on what's immediately in front of them and maintain the light-hearted tone.
Plus, with what I have planned, poor mother would be holding the line for a LOOOOONG time if things kept going as normal. :D
Wow. These descriptions are absolutely wonderful! I really need to step up my description game.
Yep, don't trust Silver Stream, not one bit.
Halt the presses!
Alright, quite a lot right and quite a lot wrong with this chapter. I'll do tit for tat
1. Good: Celestia has a stronger characterization in this chapter. It's nice that she can keep a level head given the situation they're in. Unfortunately, this gives way to the first major problem
1. Bad: Luna. Just given the context that they escaped the last chapter seeing their mother fighting for their lives, we're greeted by Luna saying things
Given the fact that even Celestia points this out to her ( “Well… we can’t spend too long here,” Celestia said. “Weird time stuff or not, mother needs us. Do you have the artifacts?” ) it feels very out of character or extremely foolish that a child would behave so playful and aloof given what we just witnessed.
It's like watching Nero play the fiddle while Rome burns.
There is no problem is Luna becomes aloof and playful AFTER the reveal of the Time warp in this dream dimension, but witnessing beforehand, it torpedoes her character and the pacing.
2. Bad. Killed the tension. Idk, maybe Silver Tongue is playing up to her name and their mother is getting chewed, maybe she's lying through her teeth about everything, though that would bring problems as to why their mother would entrust her children to her. This chapter is trying to tap dance being an incredibly cute kid adventure whilst the parental figure is being attacked by an eldritch horror. It's trying to have its cake and eat it
2. Good. Silver Tongue. With a wonderful introduction, a whole new batch of mysteries gets opened with each question. This is something I have really enjoyed out of every chapter thus far, every time a question gets answered, the answer is satisfying AND it brings about new questions. A shifty character to say the least, I'm looking forth to her interactions with the duo!
Hmmm...HMM, protect them from whom? I ask!
11105238
I'd like to address each of the problems you pointed out.
This ties deeply into my portrayal of young!Luna. Young Luna deflects. If you study psychology, particularly trauma, different people have different responses to it. Some people laugh hysterically when they're afraid or shaken. It's a coping mechanism. Luna is one of these types of characters. She internalizes everything, and fears conflict, making every effort to avoid it. At the same time, she is still a child - a sheltered one, at that - and as such has no idea how to deal with this sort of problem. I think it's asking a lot for both young child characters to suddenly "man up" as it were and be fully focused and serious, especially when Luna has already been established as very rambunctious and abrupt.
I don't quite see how Silver Tongue ties into this problem? Anyways, this I will acknowledge is a struggle-point for me, but I would like to point out that this was never meant to be a high-octane action story. It was always meant to be more about mystery, character growth, and adventure. Chapter 4 was the exception, not the rule. Yes, it establishes the threat and the danger, but it does not establish the tone going forward. I believe the "tension break" more lies with Luna, and I've already addressed why she's behaving the way she is.
I'll admit that the shift is a bit too quick in Chapter 5, but I do not want this story to be moody and drawn out. This is an all-ages fic, written in such a way that I would be comfortable sharing it with children. It has its scary or intense moments, but for the most part it is simply fun, exciting, and - hopefully - thought provoking. (That last part comes later.)
Hello, when can we expect the next chapter? I'm really excited to see the rest of the story.
11141953
Very soon! Honestly I can't apologize enough for the delay.
Admittedly, Into the Light is a very low priority compared to the enormous list of other projects I've got on my plate. BUT, I do want to make clear that Into the Light has an EXTREMELY special place in my heart considering where I plan to take it. I have no intention of abandoning it, but it MAY be slow going.
That being said, I've actually been sitting on Chapter 6 since January, and have Chapter 7 mostly written. I just wanted to take a bit more time to edit 6 and finish 7 before probably releasing them both pretty shortly after one another. Thank you for being patient so far, it's encouraging to hear people are anxiously awaiting more!
11186233
Ah, I'm glad to hear the story isn't dead. I was just surprised that the story went dark after the first five chapters came out in such rapid succession, but it makes sense now. Take your time and I'm looking forward to it!