True history remembers how one pony rises to fame, though few are often left to remember it as well.
Sometimes fate finds you on your journey to avoid it.
For a unicorn pony that couldn't cast a single spell if his life depended on it, Star Swirl wished upon a star that magic would help him get rid of an apparition that taunted him ever since he was born. He would have never believed that several decades later, in the royal palace nevertheless, there would be a library aisle named after him. The record of his journey was read by few and almost forgotten, in the least trotted section of that very same library. And it would have stayed just as dusty and abandoned had it not been for an inquisitive young filly looking for books to read as it was one of those moments when the late hours of the night caught her hoof-deep in her reading instead of being in bed...
The grand library of Canterlot had seen its fair share of visitors since its opening, ponies of all manners and trades, scholars with great interest in the works of some of the most important weavers of magic and earthly powers alike; it is true though that only a handful of visitors ever delved in the deeper portions of the library, where the true nuggets of history have been kept safe for generations, and for good reason: accidents can always occur and the written word cannot be replaced by the memory of it. Princess Celestia knew this all too well when she placed restrictions over certain sections of the library, to the distress of those that sought after the wisdom of the ancestors, but there was little else she could have done. Even so, her personal library had but a little of all the knowledge that was out there, spread all over the land of Equestria. And in her wisdom, Celestia saw that there may come a time when the words of caution delivered by the wise ponies of the past will serve in dealing with the troubles of the future. Now, if only some other young filly would learn to pay heed to the words of her elder, it would all turn out for the better...
Twilight Sparkle was thirsty again, but it wasn't for a tasty grape juice which by coincidence she was just enjoying as she browsed the titles of the books in front of her. She could barely reach the bottom shelf, and that sometimes frustrated her. There was just so much that she could learn from the written words of great ponies that lived before her, and she thoroughly enjoyed the hours she spent reading about their lives and their exploits, wishing only that she could grow a little bit faster so that the mysteries of the top shelves would be revealed to her. The history of magic fascinated her, and her thirst for adventures of magical prowess was nigh-insatiable. She was often scolded by her mentor for burning the night oil when she was meant to be sleeping instead, and not few were the mornings when the sun's first rays greeted the young purple unicorn filly as her head rested on the worn pages of an ancient tome from the library. The guards grew more than accustomed to her presence in the library, much to the amazement of older ponies that had serious difficulties to gain access to the books pertaining to their fields of interest - but then again, they were not the best student of her Majesty, princess Celestia.
She just came in to return a book, the latest in the series of Darring Do's brave adventures. Having just finished it (and just in the nick of time too, since her magical study swallowed up much of her waking hours - but Darring's heroics were just too good to postpone their reading for some other time), Twilight allowed her random browsing to lead her to a section of the library she had not been into before. In large, silver letters it was written above the archway of the entrance: "Star Swirl the Bearded section". The doors appeared heavy but they responded almost instantly to Twilight's shimmering magical horn: without the slightest sound, they swinged open and a breeze swooped inside, stirring the dust from the neatly stacked tomes. The young filly's eyes grew larger and larger as the titles on the spines of the books illuminated as she went by them, the letters sparkling in all the colours imaginable, dancing around her in a frenzy of swirls and twists as their words vibrated in the profound tones of purest magic. She couldn't stop giggling at the sight of such magnificent examples of practical applications of magic, and it was in this very moment that Twilight truly felt at home inside the library, perhaps more than in any other circumstances. All the titles looked incredibly promising, and Twilight started to mentally write a list to prioritise the order in which she would approach the reading of the books.
Some of the books weighed too much for her budding magic to be able to lift them from their spot, and she quickly abandoned them, moving them on the bottom of her mental list. Other books were too stuffy, dealing with magic far beyond what she knew she was able to perform, but nevertheless interesting. One by one, the treasure trove of arcane knowledge dwindled in size as she eliminated the books one at a time - that one was too obscure, the other one was written in a language she did not know, another refused to open without the proper spell being cast upon it, the next one was filled with blank pages to the naked eye and barely revealing any words under the influence of her valiant attempts at magic. Twilight was growing quite tired, yawning as she skimmed the first pages of the last book she managed to hold, and the moon was already casting her cold glare across the room, through the partially covered window on the opposing wall. From her tower, high above the library, Celestia smiled as she noticed the small glimmer of light coming from the library. Twilight had ignited a small spark on the very tip of her horn, so that she could see better in the dark; she only wished that her nightly foray would prove to be fruitful as no particular book was accessible to her, and the other sections of the library had already suffered her incursions and were depleted of anything of interest.
Almost resigning to the thought of having to go to sleep without a good book under her hooves, Twilight prepared to exit the aisle when she noticed the shadow of a tome underneath the bottom shelf, possibly dropped by someone careless. She found it odd that her magic could not move it - with the other books, she was able to feel their weight pressing down on her spell, but this book felt like it wasn't even there. She had to lay on her back to see the book underneath the lowest bookshelf, and reach for it with her hooves. The book vanished before she managed to touch it; puzzled, she stepped back a bit, only to trip on it as it appeared behind her. All the other swirling book titles had vanished, and in the dark corridor only Twilight's magic light and the moonlight were the remaining sources of light. Twilight picked up the book, and as she raised it up to her eyes, the cover of the book slided aside, revealing hoof-written pages. She found the writing to be a bit eccentric, but understandable: she sat down near the door, absorbing the words as they revealed themselves to her:
"Gazelle suggested that I write my memories down on a piece of paper. Or more, for I would have quite a tale to unravel for whoever might read them. I take this opportunity to congratulate the reader for his efforts in acquiring this particular book, for I have no intention of making it easy to posess. If I learned anything from my ... activities that lead me to this moment of relative tranquility, is to never take things for granted, especially something that appears as benign as a book.
Now, I do not know how my story will be told in the future, or if it will be recounted at all. What I can provide you with is the truth, in its simplest and most beautiful form. Maybe I will become a great pony wizard and my achievements will become a trademark of my abilities, but that does not change the fact that when I grew up, I found myself as a baby unicorn with no talent for magic, in the very least."
A unicorn without magic? pondered Twilight.
"Yes, yes, I know it sounds rather far-fetched but that's how it was. Now..."
Twilight nearly dropped the book in amazement. Surely, the unicorns of the ancient times had truly powerful magic, but to be able to read minds even after their departure from life (and through the medium of a book as well) was way beyond anything she would have expected. She jumped away from the book as she clearly heard, in the crispy silence of the library, the perfectly articulated words emanating from the now stirring pages of the book : "Would you mind picking me up?". Carefully approaching the rustling pages, the filly picked up the tome and resumed reading:
"Before you ask yourself how can I read your mind since I am more than likely dead by your standards, I can assure you that I don't. However, whether you touch these pages or levitate them with your magic, you have established a connection with it, and I weaved a spell in it in such a manner that it would metaphorically read you just as much as you literally read it. Yes, it is possible. No I won't tell you how to do it because that's not the information I have placed in this book. Look at it as the way you use coloured crayons to fill up a blank contour; your mind will choose the hues and your body will fill the empty spaces - but the contour stays the same regardless of your tastes in nuances. I have more or less written myself in these pages, and they will deliver their story as quickly as you let them to. Now, if you'll have no more questions, I'll begin by explaining you why I was unable to perform the simplest of magic, and why in my early years I genuinely hated magical folk and their abilities. You see, I always had a ghost following me."
"I cannot imagine what the world must be like in your lifetime, but back in my day things are mundane and there is little room for excitement. So it came as an incredible development that at the moment of my entrance to life, a new star appeared on the dome of the sky. They said that my mother delivered me in the middle of the night, and that my birth was somewhat unexpected, before the term. Before I went to write these words, I used to think that considering my path in life I might have prefered to stay a bit longer inside my mother. After all, it was all warm and cozy in there (I presume). But I digress. So, yes, the new star had no name, and no one knew where it appeared from. Our wisest elders were puzzled by this conundrum, and the mystery of the star only grew deeper when its light started to whirl around it, the ebulious eddies descending slowly from the heavens. Many ponies prostrated immediately in adulation of the wondrous event, hoping that their newly discovered faith would somehow help them further along. It never hurt to get in good terms with any future boss, they thought.
I was in my mother's caring hooves when she gave me my name, and my name stuck to the apparent significance of the event like sweet caramel on a tooth. The elders saw an omen in my birth, my mother saw a little angel looking up at her, and I saw the ghost for the first time. Yes, I said I saw it, but not that I remember seeing it - I'll get to that, but be patient. I sense that you're young and can't wait to get to the good parts but this is not a bedtime story, nor is it a small task to imprint memories into ink. The flow of memories cannot be jolted, you cannot skip to the... Oh, fine, Gazelle now pats me on the back and tells me to relax. And she's right, and both you and me should be thankful of her presence beside me. Good. Calm. Peaceful. Non-beligerent. *deep breath* To me, it must have looked like an undefined cloud, a small splinter from the magical twister that now was standing right above my family - and the rather large group of gawking ponies. My mother sang to me, and in her tender voice I found comfort and safety, disregarding the apparition which must have gone somewhere else for the time being. I fell asleep, but the play of the swirling starlight had one more act. I talked to several witnesses of the original event, and I managed to coax the information regarding the last interesting detail of my birth.
For what could have possibly embedded deeper the brand of prophecy on my tiny forehead than the unnatural appearance of my cutie mark on my baby flank? Under the already befuddled gazes of my parents and those of the other pony folk, out of the shimmering vortex of starlight a smoky tendril emerged, and just before dissipating completely it touched my left hind leg, revealing a small white snail shell with the tiniest possible twinkly star in the middle. It stands to reason that no one saw the shell, they saw a whirlpool of magic emanating from the star, my star. They wanted to name it in the honor of my parents, but their endeavour failed for as quick as it had appeared, the swirling cloud vanished and the star's sparkle faded in the inky background of the night's sky. Least to say, my future was expected to be the brightest possible, and great many things were expected from me and my magic. And it took them three years precisely for the shock of my inaptitude for the most basic of unicorn magic to settle in their minds."
A slight flutter distracted Twilight's attention from the pages. As she turned her head towards the door, she noticed Philomena dashing through, landing square on her head. That bird was a wondrous mystery of its very own, and possibly the best reason why Twilight secretly wished she would become a princess someday. The phoenix weighed next to nothing, and as she plucked a few feathers from her wings, the delicate plumes landed on the book, illuminating the words with a warm ember glow. Twilight found the incandescence of the phoenix's soft cover incredibly alluring, swaying her into embracing the silent velvet of the sleep. As she slowly rested her head against the pages of the book, the tome started to lose its resemblance of a book and adopt the shape of a pillow. Philomena looked kindly down on the sleeping filly and gently took off, gliding out of the library and into the tower of Celestia. Moments later, she emerged from the tower with a small package which she carried in her beak. Going back to Twilight, Philomena burned the thin wrapping sheet that covered the bundle, revealing a fuzzy blanket, just the right size for a young pony. And Twilight went on dreaming about how she got her cutie mark, and how superbly interesting magic is - and underneath her sleepy head, the words were patiently waiting for the morning.
The very first thing Twilight saw when she reluctantly opened her eyes in the glare of the sunlight was a rather large green box that had been surreptitiously placed beside her. Clutching a small note, Philomena greeted the drowsy filly with a joyful chirp, swooping down from the ceiling and dropping the sealed paper in Twilight's lap before opting for the longest way out of the library in spite of the open window of the aisle. A mixture of awe and protest reflected the general reaction of the other scholars that were, judging by their grumbling demeanours, just as nocturnal as Twilight. Ripping apart the royal seal, the filly read:
My most studious student,
For every journey you undertake, you must have adequate supplies prepared beforehand. I think you'll find that strawberries add to the flavour of a good story.
If Philomena had been near, Twilight might have asked her how was it that the princess knew everything that's going on in her castle. But boy, was she hungry! Upon opening the green box the delicious steam of freshly baked goods envelopped the small filly's face, and the contents of the "supplies" revealed themselves as neatly portioned compartments of freshly picked strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate mousse, on top of which reigned the scrumptious golden cupcakes, Twilight was way too preoccupied with the mouth-watering picture in front of her hooves to notice that the pillow had not been an actual pillow; the book reverted to its original shape and, gliding silently behind the little pony that was struggling to achieve the perfect strawberry-to-mousse-to-cupcake ratio, opened its pages abruptly. The perfect cupcake almost had a close encounter of the flat kind with the floor, nearly dodging an early demise thanks to Twilight's magic field of suspension. Munching on the tasty treat, she resumed reading the book:
"You must be the second reader that managed to get this far, and whether it is by coincidence or planned action, your strawberries just allowed you to read further into my story. I chose strawberries as a key because at the farm where I grew up these ridicilously yummy fruits were cultivated in abundance. It was rather strange to see a family of unicorns settling in for a life of quiet and dignified earthly work among non-unicorn ponies and I always admired my parents (when I had the mind to see things for what they were) for the strength of their sacrifice: they had cut almost all ties with the select order of the unicorns that dabbled in the magic arts and politics, all for the sake of me. I never asked my mother or father if they had ever blamed my inability to use magic for their departure to the farm: after all, I was supposed to become possibly the greatest unicorn that ever was and the community of wielders of the magic arts were more than interested in observing my prowess. Which was absolutely missing.
I should mention right about now that the ghost was still with me. Well, I may have misused this word because it was not the textbook type of apparition that some folk use to scare little children with, nor was it something that had an immediate, solid explanation. Not few were the circumstances in which I was called crazy for my pretenses of seeing things that the others did not perceive; along with my status of incompetent unicorn, those that mocked me although they were around my age coined the nickname Silly Snaily as a stab towards my cutiemark which, as I grew up, looked less and less like a whirl. With each passing year, the star in the middle dimmed and the image of the shell grew thicker. And it went hand-in-hand with the ghost's ... activities. You know when you think you saw something in the corner of your eye, only for the phantasm to disappear as you focus your attention to that particular place? Just as you see dark spots after you stare into the sun and you can't focus on them since they move around with your eyes, this presence kept eluding my eyesight. I shouldn't call it a presence, since I felt nothing when it was around me. Anypony can sometimes feel if someone is watching them, or if someone is nearby although the other pony says nothing or doesn't do anything to alarm the senses; this was different, I always felt alone. And I always was alone when the ghost got me into troubles."
"It started before my parents chose to abandon their home and move as far away from prying eyes as possible. My father once described to me how accident prone I was as a baby. On the surface I was a naturally curious little colt, getting myself in all sorts of weird places; not few were the circumstances when either of my parents were frantically searching for me all over the house, only to find me on top of the bookcase, under the pile of clothes to be washed or hidden inside one of the kitchen cupboards. That's just one of the reasons why my parents did not see my lack of magical ability earlier, they simply assumed that my untamed powers included somehow instant transportation (and the occasional jail-breaking from the crib) and they always laughed it off - after all, such shenanigans were well within the wild domain of baby unicorn mischiefs.
But something happened, an event that lifted the veil that blurred their vision and made them realize the true extent of my disability. As I am sure you must be aware (unless, of course, unicorns have vanished completely from your world by the time you read these words), the magic of a unicorn always begins with the horn and manifests itself through shimmering lights that envelop both the centerpiece of magical power and the object which is being manipulated through the arcane fields. Well, from what I managed to extract from my parents as they were naturally reluctant to admit that I have been the cause of their great embarassment in front of some other important unicorns, I caused quite a scene at my 3rd birthday. And everypony was shocked at the sight of me wreaking havoc without the slightest magic. Even the most level-minded ponies saw something disturbing in my actions, however horryifying a baby smashing plates and squishing a birthday cake might not be.
And as I grew up, the troubles only diversified in scope and size. I was consistently avoided by foals of my age simply because, outside of my possibility to act upon it, their toys got smashed and they were pushed away simply for being in my near vicinity. Looking back on it I must have appeared as being an incredibly obnoxious kid, in spite of my constant pleas for forgiveness; I did not want any of these things to happen but other than my parents no one wanted to give credit to my words. I was singled out as the freak child, the unicorn with unholy powers, especially since there were only a handful unicorns around the area that was much later to become the grand city of Coltrein. And in that state of loneliness, something began to give way in my being. Not only did I abandon any hope of ever achieveing the smallest feat of magic, but I rather began to appreciate my misery. I did not wallow in self-pity nor did I become depressed - but as it happened, I did something even worse: I enjoyed getting into trouble and around the age of 6 I became the black sheep of the town, sort of speaking. Oh, I did not do anything bad myself, but rather I let the ghost do its thing towards people that were mean to me, knowing that I would always have the excuse of not being able to control whatever was going on. It wasn't my fault that an invisible entity messed up the things around me, now was it?"
By the time Twilight reached the final word, she found herself floating in the air, lifted by a strong pair of hooves. She immediately turned towards the hugging assailant, putting her front hooves on Shining Armor's face. Laughing, he gently put her back down, asking:
- Now, what has my little-sister-best-friend-forever found in the realm of books?
- You won't believe it, giggled Twilight in excitement. It's an old story written by a most unusual unicorn, a loooong time ago. The book was under a bookcase and no one ever saw but me well maybe except some other pony that must have read it before me but what matter is that ...
Laughing heartily, Shining Armor cast his spell of levitation, surrounding both Twilight and her book and placed them both on his back. Picking up the leftovers of the green bok in his left hoof and handing them back to Twilight, he exclaimed:
- Oh, Twilight! You know, you should also get out in the sun more often, spend some time with other ponies of your age. I mean the books are fine and all, but you must remember that there are other things that weigh more in the threads of life than the words written by ancestors long past recollection...
Twilight pouted but then immeditaley grinned. "Two can play at this game, brother!". Turning her back against Shining Armor, she said in a mocking upset tone:
- Well, if my BBBFF won't read me any stories at night so I could actually go to bed and sleep, what can I do? At least Philomena helps me from time to time, concluded Twilight while poking out her tongue.
- Ok, ok, sneered Shining Armor back at the filly that kept poking him in the back of his head. I do have a plan for us together this afternoon. What do you say about a walk to the lake, and perhaps a bit of boat rowing?
Twilight's wide open eyes spoke for themselves, and both set out to the lake. While they were still halfway through, she grew incresingly puzzled at the complete disappearance of the words from the pages of the book. As much as she tried, no other letters appeared on the pages; one after another, the blank pieces of paper presented themselves as bare as they must have been before they were bound in the rugged leather cover of the tome. Scratching her head, Twilight was just about to ask her friend if he could do something about it, when the edges of the fence that surrounded the lake started to profile in the distance. Almost forgetting about the book, the little filly jumped off Shining Armor's back and gallopped as fast as she could towards the water. The guards let them both inside smiling, quickly regaining their composure as they caught a glimpse of her Majesty observing the scene from her balcony, but as soon as she went inside they loosened up and resumed the chat they were engaged in before Twilight appeared before their eyes. Meanwhile, the brother and sister hopped in a large enough boat and were on their way to the small outcropping that stood in the middle of the lake.
It was one of the best places to read, in Twilight's opinion. For her, it was a veritable island, the small tree in the middle of it offering more than enough shade for the small pony in the hot summer days. For Shining Armor, it was a patch of grassy dirt with an overgrown bush and he barely had any room to turn around, but he and his little sister managed somehow to find room and lay down on the grass. Closing his eyes, Shining Armor relaxed for a brief moment before his face got flattened by the book dropped off Twilight's small hooves. Picking it up with a quizzical expression, he asked:
- What it is it, Twilie? Do you want me to read it to you? Where were you left? I see no bookmarks on the pages or anything...
In Shining Armor's hooves, the words were once more visible; hurrying to absorb their knowledge, Twilight slithered between the book and her big brother, demanding with the all-persuasive power of the nudges-in-the-ribs that he must immediately commence to read. Adjusting his voice with a deep cough, Shining Armor started:
"Again I find myself in the position where I must congratulate you, and perhaps this time two-fold because it took the other pony (I should mention, the only one so far) quite some time to reach for these words. And as it is with you right now, so it was with that particular other mare. Both of you share (I hope, I have no knowledge of the other's continued existence) a connection with someone else, a bond that I sorely missed when I was around your age. Before I resume my story, I must emphasize the strength that both of you, reading these words, now have in common. Have faith in your connection, for it is stronger than whatever magic may be found in this world. I know that after I'll have finished this book I'll embark in other journeys to explore the depths of the magic that permeate this land, but so far I have yet to encounter something sturdier than this. Well... maybe there is one other, but that's more personal and I must let both of you discover it for yourselves. It's just one of those things that cannot be taught, only experienced. Onwards with the events of my life, then.
I wasn't going to stop being that incredibly annoying any time soon, I must admit that. Their mean looks only fueled my reactions, their fear of even making eye contact with me delivered to my mind a sweet aftertaste to all the bitterness that I spread through my actions - or complete lack thereof. It is realistically conceivable that I might have met an early demise under the hooves of the angry pony folk had there not been that gripping terror of the unseen powers that could have unleashed an unspeakable wrath should anything approach me. Nothing would have changed me if it wasn't for my mother's sudden sickness. She fell ill, partly due to a disease that rampaged the land, and a greater part - I feel - due to the suffering my behaviour caused. You see, in spite of their best efforts, not even their magic was able to reach me. And their words of reprimand fell on deaf ears, and I refused to see the tears rolling down on their faces - not until I saw them closer as my mother was laying on the bed, weak and frail. If anything, my mind went completely blank at that moment, blocking anything and anyone that wasn't related to my mother. Even my own father was unable to separate me from my mother's bedsheets which I gripped as tight as I could.
She spoke to me in soft whispers as I held her hoof in front of my sore eyes. In those precious moments, I had no tears left in me nor any other kind of feeling in my heart other than the simple and horrifyingly beautiful suffering. She wanted me to become better, she wished from the bottom of her heart that I would turn out a good stallion, a unicorn of true value - even if I would have to face a life without any magic powers. I don't remember when I feel asleep beside her, but it was dark outside when I was jolted awake. My mother's calm breathing reassured me that there was nothing to be afraid of, and I rose up as quietly as I could. Taking a glance out the window, I caught the glimpse of a shooting star: right then, under the staryy sky and in the darkness of my mother's chamber, I truly wished (for the first time in my life) that I could get rid of the ghost once and for all. As the trail of the sparkling dot vanished, so did the minuscule star on my flank, and so did I collapse on the bed. I wasn't going to wake up at home the next morning."
Out of the blue, it started to drizzle. Twilight frantically closed the book, keeping the tome as dry as she could as her brother quickly dashed to the boat, taking both of them to the shore. From there, they galloped towards the castle; before they reached the gates, they felt the rain drops ceasing their assault on their already soaked bodies, and as both of them looked up they noticed Philomena flapping her flaming wings above them and turning the drops into a fine cloud of steam. She even accompanied them for a while as they went inside, before taking flight up through the spiraling center of the stairs. A split second before entering, Twilight cast a glance at the two brave guardians that stood watch at the entrance of the palace: the downpour worsened just after she and her brother managed to get inside, but the two wardens were steadfast in front of the elements. Splattering against their impeccable armor, the rain did not move them a single inch, and Twilight knew all too well that once more the royal palace will be safe in their care. Turning towards her brother, Twilight wondered:
- Hey Shining, I think you would look quite nice in one of those armor suits!
He was just about to respond when he witnessed his little sister collapsing on the marble floor. Fearing the worst, Shining Armor yelled out at one the guardians inside to kindly request her Majesty's presence as soon as possible.Picking her up with great care, he rushed towards Twilight's bedroom and placed her under the thick blankets. She was feverish, and amidst her incoherent mumbles, Shining Armor caught a glimpse of something about the book he had been reading from. He looked around him to see if he had dropped that somewhere - in the rush he paid little attention to anything else. At the bottom of the stairs, the manuscript was wide open; as if it knew that its presence was requested, it silently flew over to Twilight's bed, hovering just to the left of the ailing pony's reach. The sound of galloping hooves resounded in the hallway as a group of armor clad pegasi flanked Celestia; profiling the shortest-yet-polite bow possible, Shining Armor rushed towards the princess, but she stopped him, lifting up her right hoof. Staring intently at the floating magical book, she turned towards the concerned brother, addressing him with the most serious tone:
- Is this the same book that she had been reading the other night, the one she found in Star Swirl the Bearded section of the library?
- Yes, your H-Highness, stuttered Shining Armor, shifting its attention from Twilight's bed to her royal presence. Will she be alright? I hope she didn't caught any sort of sickness from being in the rain. Oh, it's my fault for having dragged her outside of the palace, she's always been a little frail when it comes to health, and ...
Celestia's out of place smile stopped him dead in the track of his thoughts. She pointed at the tome: it had ceased its hovering and was now firmly between Twilight's hooves. Shining Armor approached the bed, trying to pry the book from his sister, but before Celestia interjected, he felt Twilight's calm breath on his hooves. Reaching for her forehead, he felt that the fever had subsided just as abruptly as it had started. He backed up, somewhat puzzled; and Celestia soft laughter did not clear his confusion. Putting a hoof behind his right ear, she whispered:
- We must let her rest now. She really has an adventure in front of her, and we mustn't disturb her. After all, she might just be the single one to finish it, ever since I've brought that book in the library.
Behind the closed eyelids, Twilight's eyes admired an unknown scenery. She could not put her hoof on where she had seen a very similar landscape, and while pondering the strange trees and the harsh grass that was sparsely spread on the ground, the thought occurred to her that she did not have the faintest idea how she got here. She turned around but for what appeared to be miles and miles of the same type of terrain the vegetation kept the monotonous - and spiky - appearance, and for all that she could tell there was nopony else around. After her mind ceased its attempts to pinpoint her exact location, Twilight was struck mercilessly by the searing sun that glazed the sky with its golden orb. She knew all too well the dangers of dehydration (all the books she read about pony anatomy seemed to finally yield some reward), so it seemed natural to seek the nearest source of shadow. She hurried as fast as she could, her hooves biting into the dried soil, but the nearest clump of trees seemed just as far as it had been a few seconds back when she sprinted for the relative safety of their shadow. Looking down at her hooves, she noticed that she wasn't moving at all: a field of flowing golden magic kept her in place as her hooves kept on digging ever deeper grooves in the ground. And a voice behind her revealed the source of the spell:
- I am most delighted to meet you in person. You are quite gifted, little one. And you are the first one to have reached me at this level! Truly amazing, my fellow unicorn.
The pony - speaking in the most flamboyant style Twilight had ever heard to the day - was dressed even stranger than the arid plains in which neither of them seemed to belong. Professing himself as a most generously bearded wise pony adorned with a rather ridiculous looking wizard hat trimmed with small bells and wearing on his back a multicolored cape depicting known and unknown constellations, stars and moons, the unicorn was currently engaged in a most courteous bow. In spite of its length, the beard had not lost the deep mahogany color that it shared with the mane, and its remarkably malachite-like hide was not in the least tarnished by the surrounding dust that emerged from underneath Twilight's hooves. Raising his head and facing her with a stern gaze perpetrated through the fixtures of his eyes tinted in green, he subsided his spell slowly, allowing Twilight some time to cease the furious motion of her hooves. As she touched the ground, she charged towards the odd fellow, knocking him on the ground in a surprise reversal of roles. Looking down on the now laughing unicorn, Twilight spoke in a barely contained burst:
- Who are you? Why have you brought me here? I demand that you take me back to Celestia's castle! I'm not afraid of you, you know, even if you are my elder. Hey, what are you doing?
She was picked up by a cloud of magic force and kept at a pony's height above the apparent wizard which was now dusting off his outfit. After she ceased her adequately voiced protesting, he looked up at her grinning:
- Hmpf, I see that the ponies of your times have grown much bolder than they had been back in my days. You don't seem to recognize my image. Hmmm... then perhaps an introduction would be recommended. But first, let's get to that tree over there, you see?
Twilight never got a chance to actually catch a glimpse of the particular tree the wizard was pointing at before they were both transported to that spot. She felt the most welcome drop in temperature as they were both in the shadow of the tree that unicorn mentioned. Pointing at an oddly shaped shadow that was leaning against the white trunk of the arbor, the unicorn spoke:
- Our name is Star Swirl, and I am the one that wrote the book you are currently in.
A rogue gust of wind scattered the tree's branches for a second, letting through a thin beam of sunlight that illuminated the face of a third unicorn that was sleeping on the ground. It shared the same shades of brown and dark green as the odd looking wizard standing beside him, only the body being reduced at the proper size of a young colt.
- Don't worry, he won't be awake for quite a while. And before you ask, yes, you're in a dream. Of sorts. You are a sleeping in your world, that much is a given, but what you are currently seeing and feeling is not a dream. You are being a passive witness to the one memory that I stored in greater detail in this book. It was planned for you or anyone else that could manage to get this far to experience this particular portion of my story in person. There is only so much I can convey through words alone, and this segment of my life was the one that got imprinted the best in my mind. Now, if you have any questions, I might answer them.
Twilight took a closer look at her surroundings, and a vague idea of her whereabouts started to coalesce. It was about half an year before this incident that she found a pair of interesting books about the voyages of adventurous ponies in far-away lands, the second book in particular dealing with the adventures of the writer in the land of the distant land of ponies' cousins, the gazelles and the zebras. And what that particular explorer described matched to a tee what she was seeing all around her. Intrigued by the possibility, she replied:
- Is this area actually real? As in, does the native land of the zebras looks like this in the real world? I always thought those descriptions to be a bit ... over-dramatized, to be honest.
Browsing its surroundings, the wizard remarked:
- Now that you mention it, it isn't exactly as I remember it. But then again that's because your mind already had a preconceived idea of what this land must have looked like, way before you landed in this page of my memories. You helped in adding quite a great deal of detail to it, and I am quite excited at the prospect of seeing what you'll make of the rest that follows. I did not design this memory or the world inside of it to be rigid, and I hope you won't take it as an offense but I am relieved to see that the shape of your mind was not dull as to keep the background as plain as it was originally designed. Remember, this serves just as a preview for the real adventure that will be initiated just as the edge of that will reach my younger self.
Twilight followed the invisible trail that started from Star Swirl's lifted hoof up to the horizon where a gathering of storm clouds made its appearance. They were still pretty far away, but the winds started to pick up. In the distance, the storm made its presence heard through the brief flashes of thunders, followed moments after by the rolling sounds of echoing thunder. The wizard laughed:
- I still think that I have somewhat retained a grievance towards the moisture of the rain. I was awakened rather rudely by it, if I am to consider the clouds and their pouring waters as sentient beings. But at least I now know that the natives had a much better understanding of their nature, of which I was soon to be aware. But let's not dawdle: there comes the river!
Beyond the edge of the shadow, the once dry riverbed was once more swollen with the water descended from the sky above. And a scared young pony had just awakened from his slumber.
Now begins the interesting part. Try not to panic, I can assure you that you are safe. I have the utmost confidence in my spells, and I don't say this from a conceited point of view. Let's watch together what happens, and from time to time I think I'll provide some pieces of commentary.
Twilight noticed how her field of vision was altered to the point where she could no longer see her body. Her heart was racing but she kept a lid on her reaction; after all, the unique nature of the experience excited her and the very possibility of directly sharing a memory with what seemed to be a most powerful spell-maker of the history was more than she had ever dreamed for. Seconds passed as she struggled to bring order to her erratic heartbeat, breathing in deeply the air filled with moisture. The wind carried unknown incenses, and as she felt the streams of rain passing through her being, she accepted that she was part of the scenery now, an invisible witness to a moving painting that was now unfolding at an accelerated pace. In her immediate vicinity, the young unicorn that was awakened by the unleashed nature was now troubled by his unknown whereabouts. From the blurry surroundings that lined the border of her vision, Twilight heard the clear voice of Star Swirl:
I had absolutely no idea how I got here. And I made no connection between my current predicament and the shooting star: after all, these are only tales of pony folklore, the tales of times when there were earth pony knights in shining armor battling fierce dragons and rescuing pretty alicorn damsels in distress. They always seem to rely on the fate reserved to them by the stars above, don't they? No, I can assure you that however wild this may seem, this was all my own doing; as far-fetched as this sounds, if I had not made that wish nothing would have happened and I would not live to see the roles reversed. I find it incredibly hilarious now, looking at this scene. Look how miserable I looked!
The young pony was crying, laying on the ground near the bank of the ever expanding torrents of water. It made no motion to move away from the wet tendrils that began to bite in the ground underneath and around him, and soon enough he was surrounded by water from all sides, the unintended king of a diminishing island. A larger wave ended the struggle between the land and the river, sweeping both the patch of dirt and the unicorn, and they disappeared from Twilight's sight. She cried in fear of what was going on, wishing that she had arms to reach for the helpless little colt. Unexpectedly, she began to move along the flowing river, passing through the trees that were welcoming the end of the dry air and dust by sprouting out tiny leaf buds that quickly started to grow in abundance, transforming the barren landscape in a green land. As the turbulent waters advanced in front of Twilight's eyes, life sprung from every crack and every burrow in the earth; as the grass draw in the life giving waters, so did a confusingly large number of animals that appeared almost out of nowhere, feasting on the succulent herbs. They were much wilder than anything Twilight had seen before, lacking the civilized poise of the city ponies as all the hoofed distant cousins of the ponies she knew all too well were rejoicing in spite of the bellowing thunders produced by the powerful lightnings that ignited the racing clouds. Her amazement grew after noticing one of them standing out of the crowd.
In the tumult of antelopes, wildebeests and gazelles, there was a zebra. Well, in fact there were hundreds of zebras in the middle of the frantic crowd, but this particular zebra set herself apart from the herd, looking intently at the ground, digging here and there for roots and various herbs that she meticulously packed in her saddle bag. The vision carried Twilight closer to the unusual striped horse as she in turn approached the river - something caught her attention and as the attention of several other hoof-beasts was directed towards the river, its focus was getting defined as a small body flowing inertly on the ebbs of the unruly waters. The unnamed zebra yelled something at some of her fellow equines that quickly jumped in the water, reaching for the body of the young pony and picking him up. Just as they dropped the limp body on the solid ground, the image turned pitch black. Twilight could not longer see anything, and Star Swirl's voice was not present to give away any hints as to why that was. The darkness did not last, for the warm light of a cozy fire illuminated a different scene, very much like the changing set of a play at a theater Twilight used to go from time to time. And now the action had moved inside a small hut: outside, the storm had long since ceased, and the first rays of moonlight challenged the feeble reign of the hearth's fire over the ebony night.
I had been sleeping for two days straight, it seemed. Star Swirl's tone betrayed a faint nuance of melancholy. They did not attempt to wake me up, for she forbade them to intervene in any manner. I never got her name until I returned to this place, a great number of years later, and by then she was much older than I was. Yet she knew who I was, and she remembered my stay. Look, there she is now; I think I am about to wake up. Let's observe, shall we?
The zebra carried inside a bubbling pot, swelling with strange and potent aromas. Laying it beside the sleeping pony, she gently started to blow against the steam that emerged from the pot; flaring his nostrils, the unicorn slowly regained his consciousness. Rubbing the back of his head, he rose to an upright position, looking at the zebra with a curious tilt of his neck. In turn, she revealed her heavily adorned ankles as she bowed in front of him, confessing in a most peculiar accent:
- It truly is the first time I see before my eyes a most cute unicorn pony. I understand that for you, my little one, the sight of a zebra must be quite fun! But do not burden your mind with fears that you will never find; have a little of my special stew, and let me have a better look at you.
The young pony was quite famished as he gulped down the mixture in the pot with great haste. Only after having finished with the last crumbs and placing the hoof-made vessel on the ground, the unicorn noticed the zebra's petrified stare, her deep purple eyes adamant on observing something that occurred right above the foal's head. She did not move an inch but nothing in her posture hinted at her being afraid: more like being shocked by what she had seen, she muttered something beyond either Twilight's or the young Star Swirl's hearing. Minutes passed by as the truly frightened malachite unicorn was trying his best to pry the zebra out of her prostration. Oddly enough, she seemed to nod ever so slightly from time to time or occasionally shaking her head and closing her eyes as if she was thinking about something. All the while keeping her eyes fixed on the very same spot, and while the frantic unicorn's attempts of distracting her attention failed one after another. Twilight saw him trying to push her out of the way, trying to block her line of sight with anything that he could pick up from the floor or around the hut, jumping in front of her and on top of her; everything he tried was in vain.
I had no doubt that the ghost had cast some sort of spell on her, and it was the last thing I wished for. By now, it was clear to me that the ghost wished only bad things to happen to me. It had taken me from my mother's bedside when she was in her most dire need of my presence and instead placed me in an unknown land, jinxing everyone that went in contact with me. You might have wondered why I did not try to swim when the currents had taken me; for a moment there, I truly believed that by getting rid of myself I would help the others. I genuinely believed that my demise would actually bring some good to ponykind. The thoughts of a young pony can be so simple yet so disturbing at the same time... Either way, I had given up fighting before the real combat had even started; seeing this zebra having to suffer from the curse of my birth was too much, and I was infuriated to the brink of exploding. Guess I should have been thankful that I still had no magic because I'm certain I could have caused more harm. Much, much more harm.
The paralysis subsided as if by magic, the zebra regaining her composure. Grabbing the distraught pony's hooves, she spoke to him:
- You have no longer need to be afraid my young friend, for your pain and suffering I now understand. A few nights ago, I saw a shooting star in the sky; why did it chose to fall that very moment, I now know why. And I have some words I wish to share as our time together is little to spare. My young pony, one precious thing you must understand before you will proceed on your journey and go from this land. Things in life are not like my stripes of white and dark, and your actions will often differ from either color's mark. You'll find that the further you go into your quest, the harder your decisions will be to digest: there will be an ever thinner line between what feels wrong and what seems fine and before you step into the unknown look back and see where your hoof prints are shown. I will give you this flask of remedy, to use when you'll become a true unicorn pony.
Kissing him on the forehead, the zebra pressed a small flask into his hooves: afterwards, with the brightest of flashes, the scene quickly faded into darkness. And Twilight opened her eyes into the crimson light of the dawn. She recognized the patterns of the delicately grooved sculptures decorating the chandelier of her own chamber. Turning her head to the right, she noticed Shining Armor sleeping in an armchair right beside her. She smiled, lifting an unkempt lock of hair that partly covered her big brother's eyes. He twitched a bit, but was in a deep slumber. He must be worn for keeping a watchful eye over me, thought Twilight, and so she carefully picked up her blanket, covering him as she got out of bed as stealthily as she managed. The silhouette of a pegasus guardian at the door almost made her jump as she tried to sneak her way out of the room; with the book floating beside her at its own volition, Twilight looked closer at the big stallion that must have been appointed by Celestia to keep an eye on her while she was sleeping: he too was taking a healthy nap, propped up against his hefty spear. She covered her mouth with a hoof to keep her laughter from alarming the guard and dashed out in the courtyard, in the warm sun of the morning. And there, on the first steps that lead to the interior of the castle she opened the book, reading the first words she encountered:
- I hope that you saw a very interesting detail, one that slipped out of my mind until the very end. Right before I disappeared from the hut, a change occurred on my flanks. Once again, the tiny star was visible in the center of the snail's shell.
"This second time I was being magically transported against my will, I arrived fully aware and awake. And I don't think that I am adequately prepared to describe to you what I was seeing before my eyes. If your world was all of a sudden turned upside down, LITERALLY, all while rain clouds made out of popped corn kernels dropped rainbow flavored water that flew upwards, groups of ponies gathered together in large pony boulders that rolled across the plain, the sun was the darkest spot on the sky and the stars changed their places and formed grotesque shapes, it would still be a little too naive a description. The best word that I can come up with is chaos, pure and simple chaos. I honestly think that I laughed my hind off as I thought that this must be the residential quarter of my ghost, because no other place must have felt more like home for a malevolent entity that was bent of causing mayhem for myself and those around me. I was standing on top of a grassy cliff, looking down on the outrageous events that occurred in the small seaside town below, when I heard small hooves pacing behind me. I turned to see a group of young ponies displaying a most sincere curiosity towards my presence. And I have to say that they were the weirdest of all things that I saw around, as they seemed completely normal."
Philomena's high-pitched twitter rose with the sun that just breached through a layer of clouds. And with Philomena, the whole castle awakened, ponies rushing in every direction to reach their dutiful spots. Twilight watched as in their hurry few of them had time to groom their manes or put all four shoes on, not to mention the proper clothes; not few were the drowsy unicorns that were still yawning as they emerged from their homes still dressed in their nightwear; she was quite amused to see pony folk that were so serious and adult-like during the regular hours of the day look so silly and unkempt. But for all Twilight could tell, they had a more than adequate excuse: the sun dial pointed to their having overslept, and they must have been more than aware of that. A phoenix feather descended on top of Twilight's head, and as she picked it she waved at those few that managed to notice her presence and crop up the most brief of smiles. Finally, as she landed once more on top of the purple filly's head, Philomena greeted the whole courtyard with her crystalline call. And the whole castle was officially back in the daily business. Using the feather as a bookmark, Twilight entered the castle, headed for her room.
The guard was a bit puzzled seeing her greeting him, but regained his disciplined posture after she put her small hooves on his knee guards, smiling at him and assuring him that she wouldn't tell Celestia a single thing about his minor slip-up. Shining Armor had just woken up as well, and he too was more than surprised to see his little sister up and about. Caressing her rather unruly mane, he smiled and posed a question:
- How are you feeling, Twilie?
- I am more than fine, sleepy head. No need to worry, Star Swirl took care of me. I have to take this book to her Majesty and discuss about it. I think I am being part of something incredible, and it might have a big impact on magic everywhere. She must know about it, and...
Shining Armor interrupted her, taking her fore hooves in his own.
- She most definitely knows about it, and she even said that you, my dear sister, might be the first one to be able to read it through and through. Just promise you won't wander off where I can't find you, alright? If you still need to talk to her Majesty, I am sure she will be more than happy to welcome you in her tower. Have fun!
- And what are you going to do, brother? wondered Twilight. Aren't you going to read it to me some more?
- Maybe later tonight, sister. I have a new spell I want to practice and I'll be the whole day on the training grounds just outside the castle's domain. Now go and do what you do best, laughed the young unicorn, releasing his little sister and setting her on her own way.
Twilight decided it would be in her best interest that she shared her newly acquired knowledge with her Majesty before doing anything else, but the book had other plans it seemed. As she climbed the first few steps that spiraled up towards the Princess' room, the tome ceased to follow her, dropping inertly on the first step. Twilight came down and tried to pick up the book and carry it herself up the stairs, but the worn out manuscript refused to budge even under her best attempts at levitation spells. But as soon as she turned her back to the staircase and went in the opposite direction, the book lifted itself from the ground and floated behind her as innocuously as before. Twilight nodded maliciously in response to one of her own inner thoughts, grinning as she thought about pushing the book up the steps as it floated; the plan failed as the book sensed her intention and once more completely refused to cooperate with her. Opening the tome at the pages between which the phoenix feather resided, she read the few words that were visible:
"I would very much like it to finish the story before discussing it with anypony else, even your friend that you shared it with for a while."
- Why are you being so secretive about it? whispered Twilight within the yellowed pages. It struck her as a bit odd to actually talk to the book, but what had seemed strange a night before no longer weighed in her mind and she felt honored to participate in a most talented wizard's experiment. The book replied:
"You will read about things that I deign to be most dangerous, little one. I can only suspect that in your time this level of knowledge is considered as perilous as I know it is right now. But you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed that... oh hay seeds! Never mind what I said before, I guess you want to get on with that story, don't you. Well, I mentioned those young ponies before, haven't I?
In a land where donkeys dance with bears dressed in pink polka-dotted ballet-skirts and clouds chased pegasi flying backwards and bunny rabbits dressed in costumes speaking in tongues to a captive audience of leaves and berries, a small group of seemingly all-right-in-the-noggin fillies and foals will strike as odd in no time. I backed away carefully, trying to avoid the edge of the hill. They approached me at a steady pace, with the creepiest smiles I have ever seen. Magenta and teal, lime and cinnamon, coal and peach: young ponies of all colors were closing in on my position, some even climbing from the valley behind me and up the nearly vertical wall of rock on top of which I was facing down my possible doom. In a few minutes, as the creepy herd had no intention to rush things, I had no place left to go: everywhere I looked, even above me, I was flanked by ponies with disturbing smiles. They all stopped at about twenty hooves away from me, and the first to speak was a lavender coated unicorn pony with aquamarine eyes:
- Fish.
A second earth filly continued:
- Top-hat.
A third pegasus colt picked up the pace:
- And a baseball bat with wheels.
Simultaneously, all the other ponies started to yell at me from the top of their lungs, screaming and kicking around as none of their words made sense to my suffering ears. I cowered in pain as the ... attackers pursued their venture of vociferating in the most incoherent fashion. At some point, their voice lowered and all the ponies in front of me began to merge in coherent rows, slowly coalescing into an orderly fashion. A row was left empty, and in the middle of it appeared out of thin air the very personified image of the words spoken by the three ponies.A rather large fish-shaped creature, wielding a baseball bat decked with wheels, and wearing a most elegant top-hat. It looked at me with its gelatinous eyes, scrutinizing my appearance from head to hooves; it gargled quite horribly as it attempted to speak to me, but I somehow managed to keep myself from throwing up:
- I see we have two visitors this day, one rather more fetching that the other. Why are both of you here?
I picked myself up from the ground and challenged his deranged stare. It would be an understatement to say that I was pissed off at my current predicament, and I was not going to waste any more time with this parade of insanity. In my mind, I was entitled to some answers, some morsels of truth that could cast my unfortunate circumstances into a clearer light. So I yelled back at him:
- What do you want with me? And why am I here?
The creature laughed in the most disturbing fashion - not disturbing enough for the other ponies around it seemed, as they joined the insane merriment, for all appearances joyous at my unlucky state of being. They all closed their mouths instantly as the creature waved at them with the peculiar looking bat. It then turned towards me, slowly lurching its unsightly body. It ceased its wobbling motion at a distance that allowed him to poke me with his wooden stick, which he did before he spoke once more:
- To answer both of your questions, ask yourself. We, denizens of Discordia, do not bother ourselves with issues such as yours. The delicious insanity of his Chaoticness is our daily bread and butterfingers, and I'm sorry to say but you are quite sane. You don't belong here more than apple-making apple trees do in this beautiful landscape of ours. We will personally see to it that you either remain with us in one or more pieces or do not remain at all. And please stop your companion from fidgeting as much as he does, he unnerves me.
I saw nopony I knew besides me, and it struck me as rather odd that he was able to see someone that was... And then something finally clicked. I immediately jumped at the fish-thing, grabbing his scaly skin and shaking his surprisingly light body from side to side:
- Can you see my ghost? Can you? Please, please tell him to go away, tell him to leave me alone. I am tired, I don't want to play his games any longer! Tell him to take a hike and go back in the swirling star cloud that brought him here! Please, can you do that?
The creature slithered away from my clutch and bent over to the ground, picking something up which it then placed in my hooves. It was the potion given to me by the zebra of unknown name; in the strange scenario I was in, I hadn't even noticed that it slipped out of my grasp. I wished to thank it for the kind gesture, but my words never left the throat as the ground shook and all the ponies scattered in the four winds. The fish creature itself was trying to run away as best as it could, but it only limped across the grass. Without thinking too much, I rushed towards him and picked him up on my back; running downhill, opposing the sea, I turned my head to see what were we running from: on the horizon, a large sphere of crackling magic kept expanding towards the little village, encompassing the entire ocean that stood between it and the twisted houses, its stranger denizens and myself. And the fishy thing, of course. I was starting to run out of breath, and my rider was restless on my back, pulling my mane in its feeble attempts to stop me. It then whispered in my left ear:
- There is little point in running, my normal friend. Before we part, I do have something important to tell you: at your peak of insanity you will find the peace you'll need to make sense of yourself. I wish I could join you in what I see that lies ahead for you, but that would be barking mad, and I know madness when I see it. I am the creation of unleashed, unstable minds. I do not belong in the world that lies behind that wall of magic that's encroaching on our plains of the insane, and part of you does not either since you can see and talk to me. You'll lose this core full of crazy, and maybe you think now that you'll be better off without it. But hear my words: exactly because you will be changed as much as I must be when that gigantic spell will collapse on top of us, you will lose the only thing you can possibly rely on when your reason will abandon your senses, and your senses will be out of reach for your mind to collect. Trust your hooves, my friend: they did carry you up to this moment, and they will still do in your time ahead. Be ...
It tingled a bit when the magical surge cascaded through my body. I dropped to my knees as the fish creature was split apart and disintegrated into nothingness. I tried to shield the potion with my body, keeping it tight to my chest, and felt it heating up and bubbling. Those were the moments where I've been the most afraid, and I could do little but to hope that it would not shatter under the pressure of the boiling gases that were building up inside. I do not remember exactly what drove me to swallow it, as I felt it burning down my throat and my stomach. I was twisting in pain on the ground, long after the magic wall had passed though the land and the burning sensation only swelled up, more and more as I felt my entire body in flames.
And flames they were indeed, flames of magic that enveloped me completely. Amidst the ever-changing fires, my mind heard a distant echo. If I can compare it to anything, it would be like a deaf foal hearing his mother's voice for the very first time after years spent in silence; it felt like a blind colt seeing the deep blue sky when all his life up to that moment was darkness sprinkled with sounds. I saw the magic within me and outside of me, and it overwhelmed me. My mind was going number by the second as I could not control my outbursts of magic; I think I saw something approaching me, a carriage profiling in the horizon; I could not see who was in it, for after unleashing a terrible shout, I lost all senses to what was going on outside. The last second before losing consciousness, I saw my first spell being cast into the sky. That spell carried me in a place darker than the farthest depths I could have imagined. And I was not alone."
It was noon already when Twilight closed the book. Time does fly faster when you're engaged in a good reading, she thought as her hooves carried her towards Pony Joe's doughnut shop. The streets were busy as usual, crowded with fancy dressed mares and gentlecolts that browsed the numerous boutiques. At her age, Twilight had little concerns of what adults considered to be statements of fashion and elegance but she sometimes admired the poise and the delicate nature of several unicorn ladies that passed her by. In turn, she was most of the time invisible for these high-fare ponies, they barely noticed her presence - and that's precisely how she liked things to be. More time for studies implied less time smiling politely and sharing compliments with strangers that bore no significant importance to her. As she opened the door to the shop, she was greeted by the forever jolly baker:
- Welcome Twilight, what can I get for you today?
- Just the usual, Joe. And a quiet table for reading.
The doughnut shop was not a highly solicited parlor in the castle, but it had the best confectionery she sampled up to that moment. And its grape juice was to die for, especially in pretty hot summer days. Picking an isolated table towards the back of the shop, Joe helped Twilight to sit comfortably on the rather rugged chairs by fetching a pillow from underneath the counter. It was the very same pillow that she gave to Joe on his birthday last year, and ever since then it became Twilight's official pillow in the shop. Placing the tome on the table, and biting a morsel out of the doughnut brought by Joe, she resumed reading:
"Ever since I gained control over my magical powers, I stopped noticing the ghost's presence. For all that I knew then it was gone for good, and I felt a small amount of relief at the prospect of having dealt with it. But as I was floating in the pitch black nothingness, sadness crept up upon me. And loneliness joined soon enough bringing in a particular kind of solitude, that of being the only spot of silence in a dark ocean of whispers. That's why I said I was not alone: as my body grew accustomed with its expanding magical powers, I started to experiment with my abilities and some of my creations lingered beside me in the darkness. I was simultaneously horrified and amazed as to what I was able to summon and consequently banish - the only problem was that a rather large number of my creations were smart enough to escape my expulsion magic; the once silent darkness became populated with sounds, murmurs and cracks, shuffles and crawls.
I brought them to life in the void, lives of uncertain scope and purpose, and they resented this as much as they were thankful for their existence. Not few where the moments when I went out into the nothingness of my location, carried by the power of my magic and searching for them. Sometimes I was successful and I ended their turmoil, and I was happy for them as my loneliness grew after being fed with their disappearance. Other times I failed to reach them and their avoidance gave me hope of seeing them some other time. I was as much their captor as their captive.
Who knows how much time I had spent inside that endless bubble? Long enough to grow a beard of the likeness you saw me wear when we met inside the memory. I was neither hungry, nor sleepy. Never tired of going nowhere, never bored for having the possibility to create pictures of the ponies I used to know was more than enough for me; even the fish creature held a spot in my endless canvas. I spent ages staring at minuscule dots on the magic painting, wishing them into different colors, I tasted my palette of colors and sang new ones into being. The lack of any feeling seemed too small an issue to change my actions, and I was casting myself further adrift on that domain of tranquil forgetfulness. And then there was the wall.
I could not breach it with all the might of my magical force. I unleashed torrents of fire and lightning against it, I ordered armies of summoned minions to bash against its invisible surface; I bumped into at accidental times and regardless of the direction I was currently facing I inadvertently reached it after a while of wandering. And each time my fury incremented at my inability to break through it; I grew disillusioned as to why I regained my powers in the first place; was my destiny to roam that unknowable dimension for all time or until my bones would become the play-things of the "pets" I had summoned inside? I think i even spent some good years trying to reach the end of it. Heh, an attempt as futile as my previous magical lash-outs had been. I floated away and burrowed inside my mind, replaying my memories. And the words of advice that I sought to ignore begged for my attention. And something occurred, beyond my scope of action. It started with a point of light that diffused itself a thousandfold into the darkness. My summons gathered around me scared, and I betrayed their trust by banishing them all in an instant. I wanted out of the comfort of my personal oblivion, and launched myself straight through the brightest region of the now permeable wall.
The texture of magic once more surrounded me as it felt like swimming through a thick layer of bee honey. My realm of darkness was replaced by one of shadows, albeit somewhat colored ones. The wall was reluctant to give me away and it dropped unto a group of smoky shapes that I felt were watching my struggle with some degree of interest. One of my hooves unwillingly touched the undefined edges of one of the smoking sprites, and I felt an unbearable pain lashing through it, ascending upwards my spine and towards my skull with a fierce power. I almost blacked out from the pain, giving way to the wall's powers to drag me back into my domain. But the wall never regained its integrity, allowing me to observe the shadowy creatures from afar. I had no will to touch them ever again, but in my heart the seed of hate had been planted; I was going to cause them just as much suffering as they did to me, and within the safety of my realm I planned out my vicious attacks.
Every once in a while, I pierced the veil between our worlds and cast my magic at their almost incorporeal nature. My first attempts were pretty weak against them, and they barely paid any attention to my works. I thought that my gravely unkempt appearance was not making the necessary impact, so I devised the first prototype clothing, similar to the outfit you saw me wearing. They were not impressed, and so I tried to cause some more chaos, with feeble success. Each time I went back and revised my plan of attack, I cursed that wretched land where I could see no distinction between land and air, between dark and night, between one creature and another; all the colors were there but faded and blended into the general murky and oily shadowy landscape. I wished for a clear target from which I could extract the information I would need to get back home. I was getting reacquainted with the feelings of pain and remorse towards the parents I had left behind, and my aching heart made things worse. It blurred my purpose, made me forget why I was doing these cruel acts - if I had not been sure that my magic managed somehow to hurt them, I would not have stepped up the game with each incursion. And to my twisted satisfaction, I reached the point where the shadows scattered at my very sight, avoiding the reach of my spells. I felt their fear, disgust and most of all suffering, and their lack of response amplified my wrathful self-esteem.
I was as blind as ever to my surroundings on my final moments spent among the country of shadows. I came out of my domain and in my mind I had prepared a vast array of new spells that I wanted to try. The very first one was specifically aimed at making these insufferable creatures more solid, I wished to be able to see them breaking apart as I unleashed my magic upon them. I was in one of their dwellings, and only two of them were in my immediate vicinity; neither of them noticed my presence, and I began preparations for my spell. I picked the smaller target and channeled all my anger and frustration through the beam of magic surging from my horn; my spell hit the shadow and its smoke contours began to turn opaque as the spell bounced off and ignited the other surrounding shadows. One by one, familiar shapes began to form, and with each object that I recognized a feeling of dread inside me increased; by the time the two creatures in the room were completely formed, I had dropped to the ground, covering my weeping eyes. Through my moist vision, I recognized myself looking much younger and gazing out of a window, as a shooting star grazed the night sky.
As all my past events were unwound before my weeping eyes, the words of the zebra and the strange creature finally made sense. Never before had my pain been stronger than then, but with it it came a clarity of purpose I never achieved again to this very day. Step by step, my path was being illuminated within my mind, and the knowledge of how to achieve it consolidated my plans. I was never again going to use my magic so irresponsibly, and my very first spell had my most sincere thanks and well-wishes embedded in its flowing colors. I gently touched my sleeping mother with it, and felt her condition improving significantly. I then looked down on my younger self who was deeply asleep; as I gently grabbed him and pulled him up through the wall of my domain, I smiled - the fish creature had approved the final iteration of my clothes. I also grew fond of the hat in the last days, as I also cherished the young magic-less unicorn under my supervision. And I made sure that he faced all the needed circumstances required for me to turn out alright. We went on our separate portions of our journey when the wall of magic in the land of the crazy ponies had hit me as well, sending me back to my mother's room. Least to say she was surprised to see, as she opened her eyes in the morning, a fully grown and bearded unicorn smiling awkwardly at her."
Up, from the window in her tower, Celestia looked down on the young filly that had just finished reading her book. It was one of those rare occasions when she actually saw that knowledge-thirsty unicorn spending some time in the sun, out of her own volition. Her zealous pursuit for the wisdom of those that left their mark in the history of Equestria was to be commendable but she was also a young pony that was yet to grow into its full form; there were, in the land filled with promises of adventures and lessons, so many more other forces that surpassed that of magic. Surely, if it weren't for magic Celestia wouldn't have even been here and she was thankful for her gifts that allowed her to rule in peace and prosperity, raising the sun and the moon each day. But that wasn't what clouded her Majesty's mind as she turned her back to the window.
She remembered her younger sister, and the time they had spent together. She also had a vivid memory of a time when they were both younger and perhaps more eager to seek out the fragments of knowledge that were then spread across the land. Luna had always been the youngest, and she was the first to have found that peculiar book written by one of the most eccentric wizards of the ages past. They spent nights on row trying to unlock its secrets, and the tome was as stubborn as its creator must have been while he was alive. But some breakthroughs were made, and Celestia felt that Luna could have learned much more from and and perhaps share her experience with the world, had that Nightmare Moon incident not occurred. Ever since that horrid night, Celestia gathered as many books as she could get, seeking answers on how to reveal the locked up secrets of the ancient tome but unfortunately the book refused to give in so she had it stored away, far from anypony's reach, waiting for the day somepony else would rise to the challenge.
As for the other works of literature, Celestia decided to establish a special section dedicated solely to the mysterious wizard, where she would comprise a most thorough collection of the most brilliant minds' scholarly works. And a number of those manuscripts held precious information indeed. Some of the researchers that spent their entire lives gathering valuable stories about Star Swirl the Bearded's achievements in the field of magic argued that he had not really passed away as normal pony folk do but instead retreated into its greatest creation, the Amniomorphic spell - few had lived to see it performed by the great unicorn. and even fewer had the privilege to enter its encompassing domain. However, if there was a point regarding Star Swirl's most obscure past that most scholars agreed upon was the fact that the wizard's mark looked nothing like a shell: the star was clearly dominating the white spiral that had subdued to the point of becoming a part of the star's outline, swirling to the exterior as a cloud of magic: thus, all stories of it having looked once like a snail shell were thoroughly discredited - after all, who would ever believe that cutiemarks can change their form?
