Hiding in the darkness

by DR1

Entrance?

Twilight sat alone in her room in the royal castle. The grand room was hers for use whenever she visited Canterlot; for personal or professional reasons. She was most definitely here on business. In the middle of her studies of magic and science she realized she may have come across something truly amazing. However, she could not claim anything of the sort without some kind of proof. Her reason for being there was simple enough; to get a few books related to her research with which to determine the credibility of what might be the next big discovery in magic. She had already found what texts she needed but before she could even leave the castle her curiosity got the better of her. She had quickly ran to her room and cracked the books open scanning their pages for any speck of knowledge that may help her. The single night she had planned on staying soon turned into two weeks as she turned page after page searched from something between the lines. Multiple tests had been devised and in turn used, each with varying results. The answer that had eluded her for what seemed like years, even though it had only been several days, was finally within grasp.

She turned from the book that she had been engulfed in, wrote a few things down on a piece of parchment and then turned to a mirror on the wall. She stared at it for quite a while wondering what mysteries may lie on the other side. She was scared of what might come. Truthfully, she had almost no idea what would happen and when it did happen if it would be a good or bad thing. She thought long and hard about it and in her young age came to a conclusion much quicker than she should have. It was decided; she would do it. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and concentrated channeling the natural magic that flowed through her. Focusing it on her horn she formed the spell she needed to use and magic engulfed the mirror. As it finished she stared into the glass waiting. A few seconds later the mirror began to shimmer. A figure appeared in the glass, at first distorted and foggy the image soon cleared and Twilight gasped in disbelief. It had worked and she had no idea what she had done. Standing in the mirror seemed to be the strangest creature she had ever seen. It was tall; much taller than any pony. The first thing that stood out was its limbs. She assumed it had four but she didn’t know for sure because she couldn’t see its legs. Only the upper half of the creature was revealed and that’s the strange part; it wasn’t using it front two legs. She came to the conclusion that it must be standing only on its hind legs. She had seen ponies do it before but only when supported by something and when it needed to be done to play an instrument or something of that sort. The things mane, or what she thought to be the mane, was tied up with multiple strings and woven into an intricate pattern that seemed to go on forever and ended in a ball of hair. A white paste covered its face along with markings. Its face was a piece of artwork in itself. Twilight stepped closed to the mirror to get a better look. She was intrigued by what she saw but as she got closer the being turned and looked straight at her. Well, she thought it looked at her. She wasn’t inclined to find out if it had seen her or not and quickly ended the spell. Sighing with relief she backed against the wall and slid to the floor letting her thoughts run wild. She almost couldn’t process what had just happened. Her brain was running at full speed and it burned as if someone was holding a candle under it. She quickly pushed everything out of her head; she didn’t have time for any of it she had to tell Celestia.

The young lavender pony quickly gathered the most important document of her study to prove what she had discovered. She bolted out of her room, forgetting to close the door and ran down the hallway passing various ponies along the way. The documents floated behind her surrounded by her magic. Twilight made her way to the princess’s chambers and forgetting her manners, burst into the room. She paused to catch her breath before speaking.

“P-princess!”

But she had spoken too quickly. Before she could continue speaking she once again ran out of breath and stopped for a moment breathing heavily. I need to exercise more.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” The princess spoke with genuine concern for her student. If whatever had bothered Twilight had made her forget her manners it must be of the utmost importance.

Twilight’s breathing steadied and she could speak once again. She looked up at the princess and levitated her papers over to her.

“I’ve been doing some research and…well, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. Now that I think about it the very thought sounds insane.” Twilight looked away in embarrassment even if she knew what she had to say was completely true.

“Twilight you know I trust you completely.” The princess smiled and that made Twilight feel much better. Her smiles were beautiful. “Now what is this you’ve brought me,” the princess asked curiously as she magically picked up one of the parchments and unrolled it beginning to read it. Twilight didn’t say anything as she read; she knew she would piece it together. When she first finished the document the princess didn’t quite understand it. She scanned it over once more and then it finally pieced together in her mind. She looked up at twilight in amazement.

“Twilight…If what you’ve written down here is true than…is that even possible?”

Twilight nodded quickly in affirmation. She knew the discovery was amazing and it might be quite hard to believe. She trotted over to the princess with the rest of her scrolls and books and opened them all up pointing to excerpts and paragraphs in each explaining the principle of it all and the reason it was all possible.

“You see, we’re only one part of this large area of existence. We can’t sense the others normally but with magic it’s
possible and they do exist. Earlier I cast a spell and used a mirror to see if I could prove that they existed. When I did I saw a strange creature in the mirror. I know it was at least partially intelligent because it seemed to be speaking…and it seemed to know I was looking at it. I don’t know if it actually did or not because I ended the spell right as it seemed like it saw me. Princess, this may have something to do with all the strange things happening in Equestria lately.”

Celestia’s head was full of ideas. All of this was so sudden and she couldn’t piece it together just yet no matter how many years of wisdom she had attained. If the changing of the land was caused by these other worlds and the beings in them, then can they even be trusted. What would become of her kingdom if she were to let these other worldly beings contact with Equestria. Her main concern was in the safety of the people of course. She had no idea if these things were hostile or friendly. Another thing plagued her mind. Twilight said the creature had turned and looked at her through the mirror. If that’s true could it see her and more importantly if it could see her could it gain access via the mirror? She could see that her student was anxious for an answer as she had been rubbing her hoof against the floor ever since she asked it. The princess soon formulated a response but before she could address the question a loud crack echoed through her chamber. Behind Twilight a large whirlwind of rose petals formed and spun around in a thick cone. Twilight spun around on the spot but as quickly as the petals had appeared they disappeared. In their spot, however, stood a tall skinny creature that stood on its hind legs alone; if Celestia hadn’t been bombarded with strange facts already today that might have surprised her beyond belief. As it were she was only taken aback slightly. The creature was strange looking indeed with hair tied up with string and a paste she could not identify covering its face in strange patterns. It was the creature Twilight spoke of before. The creature stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice.

“I’m sorry for intruding in your bed chambers but I needed to speak to you, Celestia.”

Celestia then realized that the “it” was a “he.” How foolish of her to not have noticed before. She was so new to the fact that other beings existed that she hadn’t even give consideration to gender. She also had completely missed the fact that the creature had addressed her by name.

“How do you know my name?” Celestia had lost all formality in her voice. All of this was so overwhelming that she had completely forgotten social formalities.

“We’ve known of you for a while now,” the creature said. “We are not allowed to contact you however until certain requirements have been met.”

Celestia was stunned; she had no idea what to think of that statement. Were these creatures truly to blame for all the problems that are now part of her land?

“What requirements,” she demanded.

“The requirements set forth by The Order of Universal Magi. You see we’ve known about you and your kingdom for a long time. As your student has explained there are other places that exist. To explain it bluntly, we all reside in the multiverse. And there are multiple “planes” that exist in that multiverse. Yours is but one but there are many others. The Order is not allowed to contact anybody on a plane until that plane has reached a certain level of magical or technological ability. When Twilight used her mirror to view me that level had been obtained, by her. And thus, here I am.”

“What now then; Did you come from your ‘plane’ just to share formalities over dinner? And why do I get the feeling that all the new creatures and magic that afflicts my land have something to do with your ‘order’,” Celestia responded as calmly as she could.

“No, but you are right. The Order is related to your lands problems. However, we are not the cause. Quite the opposite. You see when a plane is formed The Order makes it their duty to assure that the plane can exist peacefully in its beginning days and can proceed unhindered by whatever creatures and things that lurk in the corners. But as the planes knowledge grows the Order must release control over that plane and slowly let it take control of itself. Once that plane has enough knowledge to understand that they are not the only plane then all control is released allowing all the danger that had once been held back to roam unchecked. Thus the plane must fend for itself. But with that new responsibility also comes new privileges. When that knowledge is obtained the plane is allowed in The Order and can have a say in all multiversal affairs. That is why I am here princess, to help you adjust and make sure that you complete all the prerequisites for joining The Order.” The creature smiles softly. “That’s all; you have my word.”

Celestia and Twilight turn to each other in disbelief. Before either of them can say a thing the creature extends its arm and a large shimmering circle appeared before them.

“I welcome you both and Equestria itself to The Order of the Universal Magi.”

Comments

[Material Defender]

And here I thought this would be a(nother) Dark Souls crossover...

[DR1]

1270748
Is that because of the picture?

[Material Defender]

1270802 It's a fairly iconic picture for Dark Souls (Knight Artorias), so yes. Aside from that, though, you definitely need to work on formatting (very wall-of-texty) and some punctuation work.

Also, this:

“We are not allowed to contact you however until certain requirements have been met.”

...seems self-contradictory.

It's a good start, though. AUs are probably one of the rarer genres of story around here.

[DR1]

1270810
It probably seems like it because of my grammar. I will admit I'm not the best at grammar. I've never played Dark Souls and I don't remember where I got the picture. Thank you for the info.

[Traintrax]

I believe you said you needed proof-readers and editors. If you still need one, then I'd be happy to help with both areas. As for the first chapter, good job. Very few punctuation errors, and almost no spelling problems. For a first chapter this is rather impressive. If you decide to take me up on my offer, then send me a PM. Now have this epic emote,

dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_dealwithit.png

[DR1]

1271601
I may take you up on that offer. I'd like at least a few editors but at the same time I don't want too many. I'm going to see where all of this goes before I make any choices but I'll definitely keep your offer in mind since I have none right now.

[Traintrax]

1271746

Sometimes having multiple editors can make progress go slower. As one editor will change something, and then the next one will change it back. Just sayin. Anyways, just PM me whenever you decide.