Twilight Sparkle casually sipped her tea from the comfort of her bedroom, enjoying the soothing herbal blend as her nerves slowly chilled themselves back to normal.
The same could not be said of the rest of the Golden Oaks Library, however.
Books littered the floor and three distinct fillies were buried among the mess, bike parts, beakers, and Sweetie Belles intact. Applebloom sat up and rubbed her head, a small bump raising up under her hoof, likely caused by the tumble the three had taken when the shelf had "suddenly given out" under them. She glared daggers at Scootaloo as the pegasus filly stood up, books falling off her back.
"Why're you looking at me like that, AB?" Scootaloo ran a hoof over her miniscule wings, straightening the loose feathers.
"Because, Ah needed that book on the top shelf! Ah almost had it too, until somepony turned around at the mention of 'Dash.'" Applebloom moved to face Scootaloo, her face contorted in frustration.
"Uhm..girls?" Sweetie piped in quietly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just wasn't going to miss any chance to hang out with Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo moved closer to Applebloom, the two fillies almost head-to-head.
"Girls? Please stop?" Sweetie Belle moved to put her hoof between her friends in an effort to ease the conflict.
"Ah don't care who comes in the door! It coulda been one o' the Princesses, and I STILL WOULDN'T CARE!" Applebloom seethed, pushing Sweetie Belle away from her and reaching for Scootaloo.
"GIIIIIIIIIRRRRLLLLSSS!!!" Sweetie's voice cracked more than just itself as shards of glass from the windows rained down upon the trio.
"WHAT!?" Applebloom and Scootaloo turned to face Sweetie, who had her head in her hooves, the sounds of whimpering echoing through the silence.
"Aw shoot...Scoots, we made Sweetie cry again..." Applebloom walked over to Sweetie, sitting down beside the tearful filly and placing a hoof over her shoulder. "Ah'm sorry, Sweetie...and Scootaloo...Ah don't blame you one bit. Ahd've done the same if Babs had walked through the door."
Scootaloo sighed. "Yeah, Sweetie. I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I let you down, and Applebloom too." she sat down next to Sweetie's open side and draped a hoof over her back as well. The three fillies pulled themselves into a group hug, Sweetie's tears matting their coats down as her sobs lessened.
*Sniff* "It-It's okay...You two know I hate seeing you fight! And over what? So what if we fell over? We aren't covered in sap this time at least..." Sweetie rested her head against her friends' as they huddled together amongst the books and glass shards littering the floor.
The three fillies rose, separating with smiles on their faces once again, turning to see the mess they had created and sighing collectively. They failed to notice the purple flash behind them nor the gasp of surprise a moment later. The library began to shake with a growling hum. The trio of friends turned around and was met with the enraged face of Ponyville's resident ~~Psychopath~~ Librarian.
"Would you three care to explain just why my library is in complete disarray? Or why there's a nasty draft coming through all the windows?" Twilight Sparkle seethed, having taken ten hours the previous day organizing every single book by author, color, and word count respectively. Her hard work was now scattered across the library floor, books open and pages bent at impossible angles, the glass shards among them making the cleanup a literal minefield. Twilight raised a hoof to her chest and inhaled, pushing her hoof away as she exhaled, ridding herself of the stress building up inside. Her feathers ruffled as she paced about the room, avoiding the glass and the fillies at the center.
"We're sorry, Princess Twilight..." came the sorrowful reply from the CMC as they bowed their heads in shame.
"Ah was just trying to reach a book way way up high!" Applebloom protested
"Yeah, and so we made a pony-tower" Sweetie cut in.
"But then I heard somepony say "Dash" and I turned around, and we all fell with the books..." Scootaloo finished the short version of events with a sad smile.
Twilight looked at the fillies, their faces showing sincere regret. She smiled, looking around the library, before stopping again. "Wait...that doesn't explain the glass!" Twilight turned again, face stern with determination.
Sweetie Belle raised her hoof slowly. "That was m-me, Princess.."
"Please, just Twilight. You three know that's only for formal events. But how could you have shattered all my windows?" Twilight looked expectantly at Sweetie, the young unicorn's face glowing red with embarrassment.
"Uhm...I...uh...yelled-at-them-to-stop-and-broke-all-your-windows-and-I'm-sorryyy!" The filly's words mixed together as she blurted out the truth.
"I see." Twilight sighed. "I approve of you trying to help your friends, but next time, keep an ear on that voice of yours, Sweetie, because it holds more power than you think." With a flash of purple, the glass shards disappeared, the windows repairing themselves as Twilight's magic worked the shards back into place. The CMC stood in silent awe at Twilight's skill. The windows sealed themselves up, the cool autumn air retreating from the home as the heat began to return. The purple light faded as the windows showed no signs of having been broken.
"WOW! Twilight, how'd you do that?!" Sweetie Belle called out after the alicorn finished the repairs.
Twilight gave the three a knowing smirk. "When you live around a pegasus with window-homing senses, you learn a few tricks here and there..." she winked, leaving the three to guess the real reason. "Now, since you've interrupted your "Twilight Time" with this little scrap, how's about a short break? Grab a snack, or ask Spike to make you girls some of his famous nachos. There's juice in the fridge, and cider too. Help yourselves!" Twilight smiled, turning to face the basement door when another rumble shook the treehouse, books shaking from the shelves once more.
"TWIIIIILIIIIIGHT! There's an earthquake!" Applebloom shouted as she ran into the main foyer, Sweetie and Scootaloo trailing behind her.
"That's not-" Twilight looked around frantically, the windows rattling as the ground rumbled. "There's no major fault lines or anything near here! Well, there's Ghastly Gorge, but that area hasn't seen seismic activity in millenia..." Twilight rambled off, losing her audience's attention at 'Fault lines'. The library continued to shake, the fillies' hooves bouncing off the floor as they shook in place. A dark pink glare emitted beneath the basement door, followed by a flash of red as the rumbling died down.
"What...What was that?" Applebloom poked her head up, looking toward the door.
"I...I don't know..." Twilight said, a hint of fear in her voice.
A low, guttural growl rumbled through the library, followed by an almost mechanical laugh. "Knowledge through..." A deep voice boomed under the ponies' hooves. "...Disintegration..." the voice finished, the three fillies' eyes wide with fear.
"T...T....TWIIIIIIIILIIIIIGHT!!!" came a raspy child's voice as Spike erupted from the basement door, running faster than his little legs should have carried him. "There's a...a...A MONSTER!" Spike ran behind Twilight, holding onto her tail in a death-grip.
"Okay Spike, tell me what you saw..." Twilight began, before a great writhing shadow overtook her figure.
"Why don't you...a-ask h-him?"Spike pointed above Twilight, where an Eldritch abomination floated mere inches off the ground.
The 'monster' was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen, three long purple tentacles extending from a body that consisted of a solitary, huge eye, the 'eye' surrounded by golden armor plates. The ends of the tentacles sparked with pink electrical bolts, jumping from tentacle to floor and back again. The creature turned to face Twilight, its lone eye wide and pink with a slitted iris. She could see herself and the fillies reflected within its globular eye, electrical sparks jumping from the eye as well. The tentacles writhed in the air, flowing back and forth as though swimming in midair, one on each side and one jutting from the backside of the monster. It opened its eye wide and energy crackled through the air. Twilight reacted in a split second, teleporting the group behind the monster as a bright beam of energy engulfed the area where they were just standing. A small burnt circle of ash fell through to the basement as the laser burned through the floor. Twilight's mouth hung agape. Just what was this thing?
"What...What are...you?" Twilight stammered, the creature turning about effortlessly in the air to face them once again.
"Curious..." It spoke with its guttural growl once more, shaking the library. "Life forms show ability to 'Flash', yet readings show this is not the Rift...curious..." The creature spoke to itself, the voice sounding weary, and yet filled with anticipation. "Must...learn more..." The eye crackled with energy again, Twilight teleporting the group once more as another beam of energy melted the 'Romance' section of books to ash.
"Interesting...you call yourselves...ponies...who is this...Celestia of which you write?" The tentacled monster voiced its concerns to a shocked Twilight. 'The monster hadn't actually read anything! And yet, it knew basic facts and the name of the Princess! What is this thing's purpose?' her thought process was interrupted by a hearty laugh from the beast as it crossed its tentacles as she had seen Spike do with his arms when not amused. "Yesss...this world has much knowledge...knowledge for me to learn..." the beast spoke once more, Twilight's eyes lighting up at the mention of 'knowledge'. She had knowledge! Maybe she could aid this...thing in its quest?
"Who...or what...are you? And what knowledge do you seek?" Twilight smiled, facing the beast as it glanced around the room, analyzing its surroundings.
"I...am Vel'Koz...I am the Eye of the Void...I come in search of the...ultimate knowledge..." The beast known as Vel'Koz blinked, before turning to face the scarred interior of the library once again. "I have come to analyze and learn...to find the ultimate power in the ultimate knowledge...I have glimpsed the truth...and I must have it..." Vel'Koz said, his guttural tone droning on.
"The...ultimate knowledge? What did you see? Why do you try to melt us?!" Twilight let her anger into her tone, relaxing a bit once she noticed the slightly closed eyelid before her. "Eheheh..sorry."
"I have glimpsed immortality...I have seen that...which grants eternal power. I have seen...Celestia." Vel'Koz said, a hint of excitement leaking into his speech. "My destructive ways...are a necessary means of gathering knowledge...I deconstruct and learn by the base components...observe..." Vel'Koz pointed his eye toward a bluebird perched on the branch outside Twilight's window. He jerked back, before sending out a bolt of plasma, which, upon connecting with the bird, split off at a perpendicular. A small breeze carried away the ash cloud that had once been a bird as Vel'Koz grumbled in satisfaction. "Bluebird. A species native to these lands, travels south in cold, breeds through egg fertilization...fascinating..." Vel'Koz turned to face the ponies once more.
"That...was just a harmless bird! And now...now...now it's goooone!" Sweetie Belle cried out in fear as Vel'Koz turned to face her.
"I came to find knowledge, young one...I attain it through destruction. And by proxy, I learn to destroy better..." Vel'Koz chuckled once more, setting his sights on the quartet of ponies and the dragon behind them. His eye settled on Spike. "Ah, a whelpling...I defeated your mother on the Rift, the gold was well worth the effort."
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, followed by a curious mailmare's face, her eyes facing different directions. "Mail call! Letters for a...Sparkle Twilight?" she shuffled inside, unaware as to the glare from Vel'Koz she was receiving.
"Your ocular nerves...Are they...damaged?" Vel'Koz spoke to Derpy in wonderment. "I...must learn more..." His eye crackled with energy and his tentacles moved to form a tripod of sorts in front of him. The electricity channeled through Vel'Koz's eye and through the tentacles to unleash a solid beam of energy at the mailmare.
Derpy cooed, laughing. "Heeheee...That tickles!"
The energy beam faded, and in Derpy's place, a small pile of pink goo remained. Twilight moved to the side, careful not to step in what remained of Derpy as she glared at Vel'Koz. "What in the hay was that for?! You just melted Derpy!" Twilight seethed, upset at the loss of a friend. "That is NOT how we treat guests or friends!" She stomped around Vel, her hooves leaving small dents in the floor.
"Friends...You consider us...friends?" Vel'Koz asked, curious as to the pony's word choice. "I do not know you...yet...I am a friend?"
"Well, as the Princess of Magic and Friendship, it is my duty to welcome any and all sapient beings to Equestria...but it appears you do not come on peaceful terms..." Twilight informed Vel, her rage receding slightly.
"Interesting...This pony possessed wings...but the flight knowledge was skewed...I have discovered a...cure for the eye condition, as well...Mmm...banana nut...my favorite as well..." Vel'Koz grumbled appreciatively, before using a tentacle to burn a list of ingredients onto Twilight's floor. "Gather...these components...create a salve...the eyes shall re-align overnight..." Vel'Koz floated to the side so Twilight could glance at the list. She had most of these right in her library!
"Wow...you learned all that just by melting a pony?! COOOL!" Scootaloo piped in, her curiosity for awesome getting in front of her fear. "Do it again! PLEEEEASEEEE!?" Scootaloo gave Vel'Koz her best pouty lip, but the floating beast turned away from her, shaking his body side to side.
"I...cannot. I wish to remain here and learn...But I cannot learn if it endangers my presence here." Vel'Koz slid his tentacle across the floor, opening a dark rift in the wood. Unearthly wails and sounds breached the world of the sane as the Void opened right before their eyes. "I must...return to the Void...I miss the darkness..." Vel turned to face the void and started forward, only to find his movement impaired. He turned to see Sweetie Belle holding onto his rear tentacle with both hooves, tears running down her face.
"Please don't go, mister Vel'Koz, sir! We just want you to be our friend!" Sweetie pleaded with the Eye of the Void, Applebloom and Scootaloo joining her in the tug of war against Vel.
"Yeah, please stay?" Scootaloo's eyes brightened.
"Ah'll let you study me!" Applebloom smiled up at Vel'Koz, his eye closing in concentration.
"Hmmm...I wish to have the ultimate knowledge...and I will need my 'friends' to help me along the way..." Vel'koz closed the rift to the Void with a *PWAHHH*, turning to face the ponies once more. "Teach me more...about this...Equestria..."
The brightened look on the fillies' faces clued Twilight in to the coming storm, and she covered her ears as an earth-shattering cry rang through the library.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN TEACHERS YAY!"
Author's Note
So, I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while, and now I've gotten the inspiration I needed to get it off the ground. And now it's here! Join Twilight, Sweetie, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Spike as they introduce Vel'Koz to the rest of Equestria. Chapter 2 coming next week!
Be sure to pack plenty of health pots and wards xD
~Dash The Stampede
