The Alchemistby HummingbirdsChaptersA minor eventA minor adventureInterloper(s)A minor changeUnnoticedGuilty pleasureSeeds to SproutsA Road AstrayAmbrosiaOf her Majesty's CreationA brief awakeningBrief dream(s)Breeze Through a Window, Come Again GoddessA minor eventIn such a time, there was potential. There was an opportunity, given by the universe itself, and two souls, two sisters, took it. Well, what they wanted. Fame. Power. Peace. A kingdom forged with tedious labor, created from the grounds of the planed they saw fit- earth. Hundreds, thousands, and millions of years passed, and not a single internal conflict took a life. All of the population was in some way, serving the two sisters, maintaining the kingdom, tending the crops, and erecting cities. Massive legions marched through the streets, showered in flowers and cheers. The sisters had everything in pure, undivided harmony. It was perfect, prosperous….and unstoppable. And yet, one little pony, one little insignificant soul, saw something missing. Lead under the tutelage of the very sisters themselves, she led the majority of her early life in bliss, living with power, wisdom, and best of all, friends. And it was perfect But the world, like anything born in the universe, began to change, in ways so insignificant and trivial that to the naked eye, nothing had happened. But something did. One small asteroid, small enough to pass through the atmospheric filter created by the sisters, yet somehow strong enough to withstand entry, landed. In the tree she called home. In truth, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all, and she didn’t. But somebody else did. On a day of his mindless chores, he came across the dull rock. In his glance, he saw nothing more than debris, so he kicked it away towards the center of the room, but as it rolled towards the pile of dust that had been swept there, a faint trail followed it. He watched, bluntly, as a little ghastly trail of the purest darkness followed the rolling pebble. He needed nothing more to be interested. Picking it up, he inspected it carefully. It was almost perfectly round, if not a bit like an oval. It was white, and seemed to have faint lines of red coursing through it. Turning the stone around, walking to his bed, he tripped, and dropped it. The rock hit the ground with a chime, as if it were a bell. Slowly, it rolled, revealing a familiar purple, followed by black. As it completed its course, the dragon found himself unable to breath. In front of him, to his horror, lay a stone in the exact shape and color, of an eye. And that eye, looked to be Twilights. A knock rung through the corridor, shaking him out of his reverie, followed by the joyous chirp of none other than twilight herself. “Spike! I’m home!” Standing there for just another second, staring at the alien object, he slowly backed away, and ran to the door, opening it quickly. “Oh, goodness. I thought you had gone out with Rarity again. I thought I was going to have to find you again. Hey! Did you see that new cake Pinkie made? Weird thing though, It was gone when we went back inside. Pinkie freaked, but I’m sure she ate it agai-“ “Twi.” Snapping out of her recollection, she looked down to see spike. Something was wrong, and she knew it. “What is it?” She asked, just a little cautious. From the look of it, spike was in shock. Slowly, he pointed upstairs, his eyes never leaving hers. She walked up, slowly, with her horn lit just to be safe. As the floor panned out, she sighed in relief. It was maybe one of Pinkies pranks again. As she set her saddlebags down, she noticed the rock… staring at her. Her pupils became the size of pins, and her vision focused on the rock, as it seemed to stare beyond just her eyes. Slowly, tendrils of both darkness and silvery light began to emit from its core, illuminating the stone with a ghastly glow. She had stopped breathing long ago. Spike was still downstairs, staring out the door. Twilight and the stone stared.. and stared.. as her vision slowly went to black. Slowly, her eyes fell shut, as conscious left her mind. She collapsed, eyes half open, still fixed on the rock, before she closed them. And there was a flash. A look...into the eyes of the universe. A minor adventureTwilight awoke in a hazed field. There was grass as far as she could see, with a few scattered, majestic pillars. Standing slowly, she stood, in silence, as the world she knew was so quickly ripped away. Looking up, she saw the moon. No, she saw earth. And another one. And another. It was beautiful. Yet.. impossible. Surely if left to gravity these systems would have collided with one another millennia ago, yet as far as she could see, planets and beautiful systems silently stood in space. Shaking off the ever so confusing thoughts, she looked around her again. Now, with her vision focused, she could make out symbols on the pillars. Walking to the closest one, she saw an engraving upon the stones. Her mark. In awe, she slowly raised a hoof and caressed the engraving. Was she dead? Was this some sort of tomb? As she thought, her eyes suddenly went ablaze, in a fire of the purest white. Her whole life, she could see it all. What seemed like hours in her mind passed in nanoseconds. Quickly recovering from her little exploration, she returned to “reality”. Maybe she really was dead. Slowly, she walked on. She wanted to see if spike was hurt, or worse. As if she knew where she was going, she arrived at another pillar, and touched it. Again, her eyes shifted to a blinding light, and she could see from his eyes. She could feel what he did, hear as if she were there, and she even had his thoughts running through her mind. She shifted around in spikes lifespan at will, but quickly checked the “end” to see if he was alright. She saw herself, laying in a large bed. Wait, princess Celestia was there, and she could see spikes arms. It seemed he was alive, but interestingly, it didn’t look like a funeral of any kind. How strange. Her vision faded back again. She knew all she wanted to know. But then again, if she could see the lives of anypony… and theoretically anything, there could be no harm in seeing Starswirl the Bearded’s studies, right? Walking, then trotting through the endless fields, she passed thousands of pillars. She knew where she was going, and paid no mind to it. Finally, she arrived. Silently admiring the stone pillar, she placed her hoof upon the mark, soon to be engulfed in his lifespan. Checking some interesting times, she learned spells and incantations from the old era that were long forgotten. Some were powerful spells meant to cause dramatic change, and some were simple, like conjuring a lentil seed. In subconscious curiosity, she decided to see if he had loved anypony. It seemed that he did, and just as soon as she started traveling through such times, she learned that his lover- A purple pony named “Dawn”, was quite indulged by him. He seemed to be quite the lover, too, as she guiltily watched them together with a light blush. She watched him go through some more spells of his after that, paying no mind eventually. She felt that it was enough, and that she would forget the details. She hurried back to her stone, and touched it, hurdling back to her true body to greet a worried princess and a traumatized dragon, disregarding the shocked stares of them both. She thought it was a dream. She thought she would forget soon, the spells and knowledge with it. Unbeknownst to her, she would remember.. ..all of it.. ..forever. Interloper(s)An endless portrait of light and its gift, slowly drifted, slowly departed, leaving the abyss of night in its wake. The day had passed under a veil, the guise of scientific analysis and experimentation on the left eye of the bearer. Everything took time, and it would be weeks before absolute safety could be ensured, and the student agreed. Not that it mattered. Celestia knew. She knew it was safe. For now. She needed the time, however. Such power, such knowledge, it was beyond what was meant to be held on this small planet. It was beyond a mortal soul. Then how? Twilight went along with the guards simply. There were many questions, yet no answers. For now, it seemed, she would reiterate the spells she had learned, so some fruit would be born from this event. A small spark of joy burned with her, and followed her through the trials and tests. It was enough. Soon, days had passed, before the weeks neared their end. Twilight was still very focused, checking and re-checking, before checking again, and then moving on to the next experiment. Nothing was different. Nothing was out of place. All that was left was to have her subconscious scanned by the princess herself, to check for psychological cracks and such. After all, such an event were likely to cause mental trauma. The princess, despite her efforts, could think of nothing. Nothing but a warning, nothing but simple, religious fear. And she hated it. She had seen what false religion had done to other civilizations, bearing war, hatred, ignorance.. And death. This was a world the two sisters created. This was a world they perfected. She could not allow conflict to spread after all these years, tearing the unfinished canvas of sentient life asunder. So she waited, a single, silver tear, falling from her eye. Her left eye. And there was a knock. “Come in, please. I believe things went well?” The massive wooden door silently gave under the pressure of a single, purple hoof. “Everything is in check, for now. It seems that nopony can place why there seems to be such a thing just floating about, however. The doctors have looked at it with microscopes, and found no flaw in detail, either. It seems to be more than a pattern or pigment, but an actual system. Furthermore, its structure defies natural formation, as if it were intended to be so.” The student knew what she was supposed to say. Nothing more. Nothing less. Years of studying social interaction left her with keen understanding of explanations. “That’s rather strange, isn’t it? Well, all that’s left is to check for any trauma. Do you feel any different?” Despite her scientifically planned response, the alicorn would rather…she didn’t know. “Everything seems fine. I’ve preformed exercises, and have gotten better times than usual.” And the princesses fears were confirmed. “Alright, then. I’ll just do a quick check to be sure. Close your eyes, please.” She let her horn graze along her students, and cast the spell. Immediately, she saw the inner world of her beloved students mind. It, unsurprisingly, was a library. The shelves were crafted of finely embellished ebony, curly maple, and redwood, with trinkets and devices of brass and silver. Thin, fruit bearing vines ran along the sides of the shelves, and the ground was a river stone path through winter grass. In between the shelves, floating through the library, were clusters of brightly glowing mushrooms surrounded by fire fly’s, as if they were little planets of their own, illuminating the library. Cautiously, she strolled through the vast library, checking certain books occasionally, so she could have something to recall and explain to her student. But she knew where she was going, and soon arrived. Before her, lay the transparent spirits of whom the student had viewed in her brief interlude. Some faint, some more solid. The more of their life she had viewed, or had even been interested in, the more of that person was within her subconscious, at her command. They could not influence her directly, much to the alicorns relief, but if her beloved student should wish, she could connect her mind with theirs, and they would live again, within her, until she was done. She saw spike, going about, cleaning the library of any insignificant blemish, and tending to the plants. She saw Starswirl the Bearded, sitting at a desk sleeping. History failed to record his loving for a nap. And so she was relieved. The spirits were purely intellectual. Her students mind had no blemish at all, and the kingdom could return. She could not imagine the consequence of having any foreign.. emotions.. within the machinations of her students mind, for they were meant to be discovered. She began to walk back to her point of entry, wish a motherly smile planted upon her face. Behind her, the spirit of the professor suddenly shifted.. He was awoken by another, almost invisible spirit. The spirit of his beloved Dawn. And soon, his actions changed. To something more…intimate. A minor changeAs the small student opened her eyes, she saw her mentor, with a content expression. “My beloved, I am pleased to say that no harm has come. You may return to your home, I will send a letter to your friends shortly, explaining to them this new feature of yours. Please be safe, and as always, enjoy yourself. Farewell again, my student.” “Farewell, princess.” And with her words said, she turned, to face the grand doorway, and made her way home. For reasons she could not place, she decided to take her time, and walk. She would be there by nightfall. Rows of houses, erected centuries ago, next to modern estate. Vendors, stalls, fellow workers and ponies passed her by, nobody noticing. Walking down the mountain path, urban sprawl faded to scattered shacks and barns. Fields of wheat and greens painted the landscape around. The sky was clearing, slowly, as the sun followed its masters path yet again. Soon, she neared a simple dirt crossroads, a simple wooden sign stood company. She stopped, and looked up. The sky was darkening, and the stars were clear. She looked, past the nearby galaxies that she had studied. She looked for the same system within her, to no avail. Yet she looked on, called by the stars. The first seeds began to sprout, as she gazed longingly into the sky. And slowly, ever so slowly, they grew. With a small shake of her head, she began to head home. She was greeted by her friends, and enjoyed herself in one of the many parties of a certain pink one. Life, for now, was normal. Exhausted, she pushed the front door of her tree’s library open. Her assistant was as tired as her, and quickly prepared for the night’s rest. She, as well. Climbing into her bed, she began to pull the covers over her form, but half way, she stopped. Looking out of her balcony door, she saw the sky again, perfectly clear. Thousands of faint, shimmering lights polluted the sky, some forming systems. Inside the very depths of her subconscious, the seeds continued to grow. She would not notice, not now, but even seedlings, have power. Even seedlings, have roots, set into their soil. She slowly turned her gaze to the silhouette of her assistant. He had been worried, bags formed beneath his still youthful eyes. She decided to give him a little gift, to ease the pains. She walked over, quietly, and gently touched her horn to his head, casting a simple spell. She gave him a dream. She cast a simple spell. And gave him a day with rarity. ..or so she thought. UnnoticedRetiring from her day, our little student went to her bed at last, and let her eyes fall closed yet again, the moonlight shining gently through her balcony window. Slowly, the physical world left her, and she awoke again, in a hazed field of grass and stone. Slowly, she stood, again looking around, seeing the endless sea of planets and stars around her. Encircling her spot of awakening, lay small, wide mushrooms, glowing a low blue, with minute strands of silvery thread hanging from the edges. Walking to a rather large selection of said mushrooms, she leaned down, her eyes closing, and gently inhaled. The luminescent fungus smelled of what could only be described as the purest of air, the crisp night wafting through her. Sleepily noting this, the little pony opened her eyes, only to see the world floating away from her, only to float through nothingness. Soon, she set her feet down on yet another planet, fields of wheat surrounding her. There stood more pillars, erected of stone, and square in shape. These were far and few between, yet stretched miles high, tattered flags hanging from the sides. Around her, wisps of sentient light flowed, danced, in the air, circling her form. The student found herself weightless, and adrift, as the light encompassed her. Floating, the little pony wandered to the top of the nearest pillar, and landed, the wisps breaking off and watching. With a ripple, the world below shifted, warped, and she saw, rather than crisp winter grass, endless plains of wheat. The pillar began to crumble, and as she stood at its peak, the falling stones revealed a figure, the frame of a phoenix. Its wings spread, sending ripples through the wheat, and with Twilight aboard, the colossus took flight, soaring through the feilds. She felt joy, as the massive bird began to ascend, and fly through the space, only to land amongst the standing stones of Twilights original planet. Lowering her head, the bird let twilight down, and the student grazed her hoof along the stone beak of the giant. Unbeknownst to her, the fiery, yet sage spirit of the phoenix became one with hers, another mind to wander her subconscious library. The bird stood, and took off, ascending the stars. Twilight returned to the glowing circle of fungi, and fell to sleep in the center. Her eyes opened again, to be greeted by the sun. Spike was nowhere to be found, likely waking early in his youth and adventuring yet again. With a spark, she appeared again in the foyer, heading to the kitchen, before preparing a salad. Eating it quickly, she decided to go and visit her farmer friend. The weeks of experiments had left her with little exercise, so she felt helping her friend would help her. Trotting gleefuly, she approached the farm, to be greeted by the farmers older brother. He was slowly, dutifully pulling a large wagon full of apples. “Mornin, miss Sparkle. Nice to see y’all round these parts again. What brings ya here?” She liked to hear him speak, enjoying the simplicity of his speech. “I was just coming to see Applejack! I wanted to help around today.” Nodding, he pointed her down the left path, towards the western orchards. “Saw her headin’ thata way.” Offering a thanks, she trotted down the path, to meet her friend. Needless to say, the day went with much work. But Applejack noticed something different. Twilight, the calm, demure student, was competitive. “Now are y’all sure you’re alright? You been actin.. different.” Applejack suddenly asked in the middle of apple harvesting. Twilight shot a burst of magic at a nearby tree, shuddering the trunk, and sending the apples into her auras grasp. “Why do you ask? Is something wrong?” She replied, as Applejack sent a swift kick to her tree, sending the apples into half-cut barrels. And the farmer figured it out. Twilight always picked each apple from the tree with her magic, with precision. Now, she was simply sending a small blast at the tree, knocking them loose. Now normally, this would just be a minor change in style, but Applejack had known twilight long and well. The purple pony would always have the same bright face, cheerily going about and going the safe way, but now she wore an expression similar to the prismatic-maned Rainbow Dash, and was practically running around, as if she was daring applejack to beat her. So, like any prideful farmer, she accepted that challenge, forgetting all else. ..Needless to say, the orchards were clear in Ten. Hours. Flat. (A/N: Notice a change in the mood? Sorry if you enjoyed the eerie parts, but dont worry, those will always be there, and I'm fond of writing those, so there is bound to be more. Otherwise, writing like that is rather.. disturbing. It damages my sanity, which i only recently got control over again, so im going to be taking on other notes throughout. Also, Playoff, by Cyril Morin. If you're going to want to enhance the super creepy aspect of the first few chapters, and when twilight ends up in "That place", it helps. Alot. :D ) Guilty pleasureRarity hummed a familiar tune, trotting about her boutique, picking up the various clutter that was strewn about the floor during her daily dressmaking. Today was one she had been looking forward too all week, and she knew it. Quickly flipping her doors sigh to “closed”, she turned around, and kicked the door shut, heading off toward her kitchen. Approaching her pantry, letting her excitement grow, she opened the door. Inside was a large walk in pantry, stocked with various dry goods and canned fruits. Turning to her left, she pushed aside a small burlap sack of sugar, revealing a trap door. Unlocking the tumblers with her magic, she opened the hatch, to reveal a small rack of various drinks, and more interestingly, assorted glass medicine bottles brimming with colored, luminescent concoctions swirling with the soft glow of infused magic. Turning the circular rack around a little, she reached what she had been looking for- A small, pear shaped bottle with a simple label, a crescent moon encircling a clover symbol. She had been saving this for when she finished her newest line, which she had been working on for over a month. Much to her liking, it had placed first in the Canterlot fashion magazines, and ever since, she had been too busy filling out orders for the new dresses, leaving her no time to enjoy her little guilty pleasure. A soft blue glow emitted from her horn, surrounding the bottle and gingerly removing it from the rack. Closing the hatch, locking it, placing the burlap sack back into its original spot, and finally exiting the pantry, she walked briskly to her bedroom, and closed the door with a light *click*. Her room was, surprisingly, rather strange, with arts from the lands of the zebras, and furnishings, which were rather hard to obtain, from the underwater colonies of the sea-faring unicorn tribes. Lights strewn from the ceiling constructed of bottle shards glued together into ornate orbs, and decorations of tribal pottery and exotic flora were placed here and there. There was a large open area with an exceptionally soft rug, constructed of the fibers that the unicorns collected from shedding sea creatures. A large, top of the line magic-infused stereo sat in the corner of the room, next to what was her favorite feature. A large circular bed, encased in soft corals and sea flora, as a luminescent, ever cool gelatinous orb, glowing a soft blue sat in the center. It was far beyond the softness of quality sheets, as the water-bed like mass was incredibly slippery, almost like you could glide across the surface. To keep from drifting about, she had enchanted some clouds herself, and managed to fabricate a blanket of them. It was almost like heaven, and she knew of two things that made it better. The first, and most common, was her usual red wine. The dizzying sensation of a few glasses made her feel like she was drifting about, but her favorite, a single sip from her little bottle, and when she fell into her bed, it would feel like she was soaring. But that would wait. Walking over to her stereo, she began to play the newest record from none other than DJ P0n3 herself. Nobody would have guessed, but she never was a fan of classical much, although she acquired a taste while on her trips to Canterlot. The music began to hum a simple synth melody, as a hi-hat quietly echoed in the background. She had one minute, and she knew it. Uncorking the bottle, she stole a light whiff of its aroma, immediately feeling the blissful euphoria of its effects kicking in, though weak in comparison to its full potency. She had ordered this one special from none other than Zecora herself, infusing some passion flower and sulphur, the former adding a light romantic effect, while the yellow powder, while poisonous to others, merely elongated the effects of any concoction it should be added too for the species of equestria. In the background, the music began to build, and she could feel the bass humming to life. She had maybe twenty seconds now. She tapped her hoof in time to the beat, and waited. Then, just before the song went to deafening silence, she took a great swig. Her eyes rolled up slightly as a blush spread across her face, just before the bass dropped, sending its low vibrations throughout her body. It was, to her, worth the wait. She lost herself, swinging madly to the music, her mane falling into disarray as she danced furiously, waves of euphoria coursing through her form. Normally, she would die of humiliation if someone saw how she danced, but she had watched Rainbow Dash at their rare outings to clubs, and found the style to do justice to the fast paced music she’d come to love. And so she went on for hours, until she was panting and exhausted, and the record had played through. The effects were still strong, and she noted that the sulphur was now a must, as she might have had to have another swig without it. Collapsing into her bed, she slowly regained her slow, steady breaths. Her body felt like it was flying to and fro, switching directions occasionally. Normally, she would spend this time reading, but she found that literature was almost impossible to read under the effects of this potion. So, instead of her usual soppy romance novels, she simply decided to look through some of her more.. secret magazines. With an unsteady grip, a set of “PlayMare” magazines came floating out from under the bed, and she looked at the cover of her newest issue. She nearly dropped it. With a bead of sweat forming on her forehead, she looked upon the well built red stallion on the cover, wearing a tight dress suit. Come to mention it, Applejack had a few more bits lately, and she remembered Big Macintosh saying he did a few “Side Jobs”, though he quickly changed the subject. She sighed with a shaky breath as she felt the potions effects still coursing through her. Tonight was young, and she was going to enjoy it. She awoke late into the noon the next morning, cool, thanks to her wonderful bed, yet absolutely drenched in sweat.. amongst other things. Walking upon shaky hooves to her bathroom, she failed to notice the opened bedroom door as she made her way out to the main hallway. Taking a left, she entered her more..normal..bathroom, and stepped into the large tub. Quickly turning on the showerhead, the water came out cool, almost frigid, but quickly warmed to a comfortable setting. Showering off, and doing a light wash, she stepped out, and began her usual routine. Walking out, looking more like her usual self, she approached her living room, and saw the front door wide open. And then she remembered her bedroom. Quickly running back to her room, she was relieved a little to find things the way she had left them, with no foreign scent amongst her things, or her bed. However, that did little to relieve her frightened mood. She quickly set off to find one of those new self-locking doors. Seeds to SproutsTwilight sat at her wooden desk, reading a large sheet of parchment. It was a scroll she had received, from none other than Celestia herself. It was a list. Upon it were notes, and lines upon lines of spells, all with references and basic descriptions. The princess had meant it as a little side project for her student, a list of practical spells. Some were simple, like summoning a lesser sentient mind to aid her, and some were complex, like temporarily shifting in and out of certain universal “layers” that lay within her dimension. It, in theory, was simple. It was like becoming a ghost, able to pass walls, appearing as a soft ethereal glow, and walk about free from material obstruction. She took note of that one. Rainbow dash wouldn’t know what hit her. Reading through some more, she found some transmutation spells. Give and take, it seemed. Wish adequate molecular mass to compensate, she could transform things to any structure and composition. Following its references, she soon found the book that described its steps in detail, and began to practice. First, she had to memorize the molecular structure of whatever she was creating, and what she was disassembling. Deciding to try a simple one, she took a small pile of iron dust from her basement, and placed it into a beaker. Now, focusing on her horn, she did a simple test, connecting the local oxygen with the iron, which she noted caused a slight warmth to spread through the metal. Soon, a small pile of red iron oxide lay. Smiling contently, she placed the substance in a small vial and stored it away with her other ingredients. Just as she finished so, a young voice echoed down her basement. “Twi, Fluttershy’s here to see ya.” Noting that it was spike, she briefly recalled seeing him with the crusaders, looking a little scared. She had decided to rescue him from their mischeif yesterday, but he had refused to say what was wrong. Boys. But back to matters at hand. The demure Pegasus rarely came to the library for any books, and she usually asked spike to show her to them. Something was a little off about that. “One second! Tell her I’ll be right up.” Taking off her labcoat, she proceeded up the stairway, to be greeted by a soft smile from her friend. “Hey Fluttershy! What brings you here this time?” She chirped in her usual attitude. “You see, um..well.. I was looking for a book..” The Pegasus’s voice downed to a whisper. “Im sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” “Im looking for a book on..um..” She trailed off again. “Um, could you whisper into my ear?” Knowing her, this was probably the best way. Leaning in a little to Twilights ear, she whispered again. “Im looking for a book on…um…dating.” Now that, the student couldn’t have expected. Quickly becoming exited, she let the next question slip out. “Oooh, who is he? Wait, is it Dr. Whooves? No? Braeburn?” The yellow Pegasus let out a small whimper. She figured that her purple friend deserved to know, though. “Um… Big Macintosh..” Twilight looked shocked for a second, but quickly understood. The large colt was simple, yes, but he was also very wise. Kind, too, so she figured they would connect well. She raised an eyebrow in understanding. “Hmm, well, I don’t think we have anything like that here. Nobody really reads up those things anymore, but im sure I can order some right away, and have them here by tomorrow. Just a question though, what would you need help with? I may be a little naïve, but I have a good understanding of some things. I could always offer my advice, if you need.” “Oh thank you, I just don’t really know what to do right now. We usually just spend time sitting together, occasionally talking, and other things.. but we never really..” She hid behind her hair, her face resembling a tomato at this point. Now Twilight understood. “Oh dear, Im afraid we only have books on anatomy and such, but as far as stuff like that goes, I really don’t know. All I’ve heard of were special herbs and such, but nothing from a book. I guess that’s more of a natural thing. Buuut, I do have something that might help. It’s a special blend of tea I have, and its wonderful for before bed when I read. It really helps the mood.” Spike, who was in the kitchen, overheard that. Having seen the collection of books under Twilights bed, he simply nodded. “I..um.. could I perhaps try a little? I mean..if that’s okay..” The demure pony said, slowly coming out from behind her hair. “Of course.” Twilight chuckled. “Let me go get some” Walking upstairs to her bedroom herb closet, she picked up a small burlap sachet. Opening the small door, she went over to her special blend, and dropped two cups in. Then a thought occurred to her, Big Macintosh was rather… large.. not to mention disciplined, and probably very respectful. The tea would need to be strong to affect him, but he'd probably only do anything if Fluttershy asked, and if she knew Fluttershy at all, she definitely would not approach him. It would have to be his decision. Turning a little, she opened a small wooden box. Inside were various vials full of powders and grains. Looking over them, she pondered what would work. The tea already has a long term effect, so sulphur wont do much.. Looking at some white crystals, she pondered adding some potassium. No.. that just accelerates the effects.. And then she saw it. A little beaker full with little pink seeds, her own little species of Hearts Desire that she grew in her secret garden in the everfree forest. Adding a few of these would surely enhance the tea. Pouring a tablespoon in to the sachet, she pulled the little cord shut, and shook the mixture. Closing the box and exiting her little closet, she walked down, and floated the little sack over into Fluttershy’s saddlebags. Offering many thanks, the yellow Pegasus proceeded to walk out, and begin her flight home. “Now, do enjoy yourself.. Im sure you will.” Twilight said as she left, a mischievous grin upon her face. And as the days events went on like universal clockwork, time slowly passed. Seeds planted some time ago began to sprout beyond simple roots, the first visible trace of life beyond life. And as the student finished her day, she went to bed yet again. And the stars above called yet again. A Road AstrayOnce again our little student found herself awoken, greeted by the cool, crisp air of her second home. She had grown used to its effect, now going about her given time with a slightly more active conscious. That, however, did little to resist her deeper wishes. Aside from her first visit, she had never viewed into the minds and lives of any other, and was contempt shortly. With time, the everlasting mortal desire for knowledge came upon her once again, intertwining itself within her mind during her studies of psychopathy. The medical world of Equesria, even aided by magic and otherworldly minds, still understood relatively little about those few who developed, or were born with, an outlier mentality. Her studies most recently were of a slightly more famous, slightly more strange alchemist, whom was known as only Valerian. He lived not long ago, supposedly perishing two years back, and leaving almost none of his works behind. His shop had exploded, presumed to be an experiment gone wrong. There was no body. Such things were rare, and hardly understood. In such a utopian society, it was nearly impossible to meet such a quick, violent death while under the sisters blessing. Almost everyone had passed peacefully, and painlessly, only to live amongst the others in a separate realm. Twilight had read what she could, before the parchment knowledge ran dry. Deciding to end the night, she had a cup of sedative tea, and headed off to bed. Walking plainly, a soft padded thud sounded in rhythm with her movement, following her about the plains. She passed ten, hundreds of pillars, some drawing her attention. One such stone construct had a soft violet glow emitting from a cryptic text written upon its sides. She walked on, regardless, eventually reaching her destination. Unsuprisingly, the stones that constructed this particular pillar were jagged quartz, casting a shimmer around her. In its center, lay his mark- a cracked phial. Without further hesitation, she raised her delicate hoof to graze its features, to be enveloped in a light, and spawned into another life. Quickly deciding to view the moments prior to the blast, and his death, she came to see the alchemist walking from his house at night, to the edge of town, where he turned and watched from a secluded location. Shortly after, there was a brilliant blue flash, and a small crater lie in place of his home. He walked on. He was alive. Panning to his current moments, she found the colt simply watching his alembic boil. Its contents curiously simmered about, while a silver liquid fell from the condenser into a clay bowl, inscribed with a crescent moon on its side. Hello. She mentally jumped, startled by the sudden voice she was hearing. She didn’t feel his jaw moving, however. He knew she was there. Eh, hello? Twilight attempted to voice in her mind. Hi, yes. Welcome, I suppose. Now do you mind telling me just why you are invading my mind? Its quite distracting. His voice was rather syrupy, like a blues singer. A nice change from the raspy and gruff voices of the few men she knew. She barely processed that though, her rapid cognition shot. Basic speech was easily accomplished, albeit with little “filtering”. I just wanted to see how you died. You aren’t dead. Why fake it? Now, that surprised him. He had honestly thought that his mind was going awry again. Focusing a little, he reciprocated his response. Well, aside from the fact that a sentient being is in my head that isn’t of my own creation, I guess I have a tad of explaining. You see, I had grown tired of the locals being so fearful. I decided to give them peace, and some fireworks. Now, I can work in silence. Well, I could. It made a bit of sense. People don’t like having a madman with incredible power in their neighborhood. He probably had some trouble socializing, too. Alright, and sorry about that. I do suppose I should leave. But.. could you first tell me what formula that is? Ive rarely seen that liquor. Actually, I thought only Luna knew about it. Twice today, Valerian was startled. Not only was there a sentient being in his head, but it was curious about his work! This brought great joy to him. Ah! A fellow alchemist, I see? Actually I’m jus- She was cut off shortly. Well, its actually very interesting how I got this ability. Its actually made from arcane ingredients, you see. The reason nopony could make it, is because you need 13 spells to conjure the necessities. Also, as for Luna, she and I are… rather close. She doesn’t call me insane, either. That, and the lass was my teacher. She knew I would be leaving soon, to live in a forest far from my home. Its tedious, but the everfree has many advantages. First off, only one person knows im here. Wait, make that two. But anyway, the both of us are alchemists anyways, and she has a good understanding of me, so im kept secret. I’ve learned quite a few recipes from the zebra, as well. Twilight, being ever so curious, pressed for more, also explaining her situation. Well, I suppose I could teach you. Just think about it, and you’ll know the spells then…I think. Meet me under the harvest moon, however. There lies one special part, and the ingredient only grows near here. Anyhow, I need some rest! See you soon! And with that, the purple pony suddenly awoke in her bed, seemingly ejected. No surprise, considering that the madpony could hear her. Tending to her day, she found herself home again at night. The harvest moon was in two days, leaving her just enough time to prepare plenty of the magically conjured ingredients. In front of her lay 13 large flasks, each with a label. Looking at the first one, labeled ”Foals Joy”, she focused on her horn, suddenly knowing the spell needed. Shortly after, a burst erupted from its tip, and the bottle was filled to the brim with the essence of care-free laughter. Corking it, she went on to the next flask, labeled “Midnight’s Desire”, and again cast a spell. The bottle was soon filled with a deep purple luminescent fluid, flowing slowly of its own accord. And so she went on, in her basement laboratory. The time was ticking. And in the depths of her innermost sanctum, within the towering shelves of her library, a cleanly groomed unicorn sat upon a cluster of glowing mushrooms, merrily humming a horrifically catchy tune. AmbrosiaA star rose on the horizon, gently, brilliantly lighting the sky. A porcelain image sat upon a high tower, overlooking yet another carefully painted day, wings slowly, yet not fully, falling to her sides. In thousands of years, the goddess had much time to learn of the mind, being nothing more than a simple soul at her heart, and few things troubled her... but as the clouds flowed past, a long sealed part of her mind became sentient yet again. She, the goddess of day and warmth, was scared. And she knew it. In the lapse of mortal time, nearly all that could be known, was known. All that she had brought with her to this world, was what remained, as she planted knowledge in others and sealed off the memories for herself, letting time carry on unhindered.. and yet, there was a fault in that. A simple student of hers, (nothing more, she told herself,) had access to virtually every thought, every musing, and every soul in existence. She could know more, and ascend far beyond the reaches of herself, easily surpassing her taken power. She remembered why she dared not bring more of that knowledge with her, truly believing that only good should exist, but painful meditation ensued regardless, bringing to her knowledge that certain things truly must be. This, she learned long ago. A pink maned mare sat at a mahogany table, surrounded by sturdy wooden walls and a warm hearth. Lanterns were strewn about, giving an orange glow to her surroundings. She paid it no attention. Across from her sat a friend, by the name of Ophelia. The umber mare was by all definition, blissful, as she sat, quietly sipping tea with a goddess. Celestia, however, had other things on her mind. Recently, she had taken more interest in psychology, and more blatantly noticing that, regardless of the incredible intelligence and self-awareness of the ponies, they all had one thing in common- They were all happy. Sure, there were foals who cried from bullies, and drunkards who roamed the night in search of fun, but none were depressed. At all. This, of course, made her rather happy as well, knowing that sadness had no place in her beautiful world, but that was short lived. Several years later, again interested in philosophies regarding psychology, she began to feel that, according to what she knew about the world, she could only amplify the joy around her by simply adding one thing- an inverse. It was planned, of course. Once every century, a foal would be chosen by here who possessed the greatest potential, and her sister would guide them along an adverse path, showing them the beauty of other things, showing them new worlds, new feelings, and new power. Celestia had known that those foals would come to value strength and ability over all else, and those were chosen to see the light of darkness, to become creatures of night, the lunar guard. They meditated for years, and trained for decades, slowly bringing their inner, lethargic, calculative, and cold souls to boil, becoming confident, strong, and incredibly powerful in magic, as even the earthen breed learned its ways. Those rare souls could shatter boulders underhoof, raise crops in a day, and, much to their liking, maintain the vague, rather shallow spirit of yin that resided in equestria. Usually, they played simple pranks, like planting a spider in sheets, or simply casting illusions of fleeting shadows where one thought they were alone. And for the time, for thousands of years to come, these century old beings roamed free, carefully stabilizing the residence of the land. -- Of course, after a tragic event where Luna's philosophical teachings, in her attempt to better understand the notions, essentially trained herself, but without mortal bindings. Her darkness grew, and soon with it, her anger. Needless to say, such thoughts, for mere safety, were agreed upon to not be had yet again, and the sisters cast the memories and knowledge into exile. However, the true affects of her simply maintaining happiness and playful jeer had shown, as short, chaotic events occurred more often, and natural oddities took place of forged. With a cringe, she remembered the most recent events... A small shack on the edge of a lake housing a fisherpony just dissapeared, and left a tree in its wake, growing a single fruit each year at the turn of spring. That, however, wasn't it. Its fruit were eaten once, by a strange foal of which nobody knew, and ever since, the pony had developed delusions of rusted, gargantuan fishhooks hanging from chains upon ceilings, branches, or any perch. But in truth, it was minor. Albeit being the first case of permanent dementia, it was easily cured with a yearly spell from a doctor, and all was well. Still a porcelain figure sat, watching the now risen sun. The universe wanted balance again, and it was telling her. Aside from her fear of Twilight's ability, she knew that such a thing was entrusted to the very element of magic for a reason. And with her final musing, she walked down to her court. -- Somewhere, on the edge of a lake, a tree shuddered, and burst into flames. Of her Majesty's CreationA blazing star sat in the distance, slowly diminishing as it fell. Afar, another formation rose, revealing a rusted moon. The time was right. Our little pony had a small enchanted set of vials orbiting her, their third scrutiny of the past hour, before they fell behind and simply followed, the mare walking out the wooden door. There was plenty of light to see for her, having near perfect vision in the dark ever so recently. Of course, a little galaxies worth of light was available to her. Going along, she passed a few straggling shop owners, carrying out tasks left undone for too long, before she turned to the dirt path of the Everfree. Now, as she recalled, Valerians hut lay in a patch of trees along here, looking just like any boulder with vines, but with a crescent moon etched into it. To others, it was a mere piece of spirited graffiti, but it was code to her- haven. Used in the times of old, where occasional, paranormal creatures wandered, these symbols represented places magically enchanted to ward off the cockatrice or worse, representing the cover of shadows in the lee of moonlight. But then again, nopony knew that anymore. Walking to its other side, she knocked three times, as a rumble echoed around. Dust fell, and the rock revealed a small cloth door, where a path led downwards into his abode. "Ah, I see you've made it! Now I'll be honest, I haven't had a guest in what..ten? no..thirteen years.. so the place may be a bit of a mess, you see..." "Its fine." "Alright then, well, i see you have plenty of the ingredients," He continued, noticing the large vials dancing around behind her. "Well, Ill show you the stillery setup, then show you the little garden i have for the last ingredient. Anyways, just.. order those things to stay there. Its a bit distracting to have glass flying around." A simple command later, she and her new friend were walking through cloth curtains to new rooms, some filled with furniture and decor, others equipment and storage. Soon, she was standing in front of a little array of glass tubing and flasks. She also noted some lenses focusing a shimmering light, flowing like a weightless liquid, down into one of the glass containers. "You see, this is nothing more than sand, and, ironically, alcohol. Just a few spells to turn the sand to glass and shape it into the array you see here on this paper," He went on, floating a scroll over to her, " And alcohol of 90 percent, no less, is the fuel. Also, for these lenses, you need to have no less than an inch in diameter of collection lenses to gather the moonlight. I know its not much, but I use about two feet, perched atop the rock and hidden with an enchantment. Anyways, you must filter that light to here, the final chamber where the distilled liquid goes." Resisting the urge to take ludicrous amounts of notes and simply directing his words to memory, she nodded. "Well then, thats about it for now! Lets go to the garden now, shall we?" He stated in a mock British accent, ever so exited to finally pass the recipe on. Following along, Twilight exited the cave to follow a small path, to find a small patch of trees, which she noticed were Elderberry trees. However, the fruits upon the branches were glowing, a soft blue haze around them. Noticing her interest in the oddity, he explained. "These trees were grown from the seeds of the Elderberry tree in Lunas private garden, you see. Celestia blessed the tree, granting it the power to absorb the sunlight in a more magically oriented way than photosynthesis. At day, they simply absorb light, using only a fraction for itself, and at night, the berries are so potent that they glow with life." Picking off a cluster, roughly one or two pounds, they went back to the hut, bringing all of the ingredients to the disstillery. He showed her the portions, and showed her the way they were mixed in a wooden bowl, before pouring the juice into the main flask. "Would you do the honor?" He asked. Nodding excitedly, Twilight lit her horn, tossing a few sparks onto the wick below the boiler, setting a blue flame, and stepping back to the nearby couch to wait for the process to begin. Joining her, Valerian and Twilight discussed different topics, occasionally bordering on scientific gossip, on how diamagnetism was such a simple thing that somehow eluded the more religious folks, and, among other things, Twilights little situation. They were both interrupted by a soft rumble from the distillery. Walking over, the purple mare watched in awe, Valerian wearing an amused face, as the liquid in the flask boiled for no less than ten seconds, before vaporizing completely, and flowing through the tubing into a smaller flask at the end, where the moonlight was shining. As the wisps poured into the light, they glowed a brilliant blue, before condensing and settling at the bottom as a shimmering, almost metallic liquid. That took about a minute. Ignoring the lack of physical logic behind the speed of the process, she simply assumed magic was at work again and aided him in pouring some of the luminescent liquid into two gourds, before corking one off, and handing the other to Valerian. "Now, would you like a taste? Valerian stated, pouring the liquid into two sake glasses, oddly fitting to the liquor. Nodding happily, she transferred one of the cups to her magic, and levitated it over to her a foot, before they clinked the glasses together and both took a sip. It tasted like... a cool liquid silver with mint and of course, the slight burn of alcohol. However, its effects were instant. Eyelids dropping slightly, she stumbled a bit, before suddenly coming to consciousness yet again, yet with a stark self awareness, and the noting that everything was just a tad slower. "Interesting, no? Valerian chuckled, explaining how Luna's moonshine actually had effects similar to clover, in terms of mental, and the typical freedom of mind that any alcohol brought. Going on, he also explained that the liquor would boost the confidence of anypony for about a week, removing some reservations and having the mental effects of moonlight. So, essentially, she would feel the cool night breeze, and its unique mindset, for a week. "So, i don't have to worry about being drunk?" She asked, rather naive to alcohol anyways. Valerian chuckled yet again. "Not unless you drink too much. Then, you might just go a little crazy and..well.. lets just say that you wont have any reservations whatsoever. Not a good thing for someone of your status." Oh. And so they finished off their glasses, and gladly shared another hour of night, before twilight said her thanks and goodbyes, and was given a satchet full of seeds. She decided to teleport home, now knowing the homes exact locations, and disappeared after a final goodbye, landing in her own home, and staring at the shelves for a moment, admiring the colors for no reason. Snapping out, she walked to her bed, and tried to sleep. She couldn't. She reached under her bed, and pulled out a little novel, a single pink heart on the cover. If she couldn't sleep, she could read to exhaust her mind.. .. among other things. A brief awakening“My dearest student, what…is that?!” Celestia inquired, still staring straight into her beloved students eyes. Shaking off the awkwardness of seeing her mentor in such a disheveled state, she replied. “If is alright, what are you talking about? Am I different? Did I come back to life? Am I a ghost?!” She began to rabble on in worry, before Celestia spoke once more. “None of such, you appear just fine, but, my dear.. your eye” She stated in nothing more than a low whisper, slowly hovering an antiqued mirror over to her student, where Twilight looked. At her left eye. More precisely, into it, as a faint swirl of what appeared to be a galaxy, slowly spun in her pupil. “I…I.. how..” She stammered, jaw agape. Then it hit her. She, just moments ago, was lost in some otherworldly universe, and now, it was displayed, albeit from a distance, in her eye. Despite the little students confusion and revelations, the eldest sister was more than shocked. She was terrified. And she knew exactly why, as before her, lie what she had seen eons ago. The very same galaxy she was born under, and the very same place she had left in her foal hood, never to return. Before her, in her students eye, was knowledge in itself. Not just what she had taken, to provide a kingdom with pure happiness and prosperity, but anything.. and everything. From the musings of interdimensional beings, to the sketches of great artists, there was great wisdom. And its opposite. She remembered now, why she recognized that galaxy. Moreso, she remembered its name. Quivalere. The galaxy of yin, and yang. Brief dream(s)The small dragon lay. A usual night, spent counting endless, precious gems. Alongside him, as usual, sat a certain white designer, accompanying him through his conquest and offering endless praise. The mountaintop lair sat above hillside rice paddies, workers milling about, a morning fog resting amongst the farmers. In his lair, lined with ornate trees and bamboo, with the warm glow of the lanterns, everything was peaceful. The village was safe under his rule, and he was contempt. At that moment, a small, unnoticed ripple scattered through his world. Rarity shifted, looking spike in the eyes with an expression that the youngling could not yet place. “You know, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time..” she trailed off, steadily approaching the incoherent dragon. “Uh, Rarity, are you oka-“ He was silenced as she pressed her lips to his, before quickly drawing back, a pleased smile adorning her features. And then the scene played out. Again. And again. And again. Spike awoke with a start, horridly red faced and head spinning. It was almost dawn. And again. He stood up, quietly, silently, making his way down the stairs. And again. He swiftly exited, walking, to a certain carousel. And again. Approaching its entrance, almost instinctually, he found the spare key and unlocked the door, wandering inside. And again. He silently walked forward, finally approaching her door, opening it ever so slowly, revealing a sleeping Rarity inside. And again. He approached her silhouetted form, a single claw reaching out. And he woke up. Again. And he stood there, mouth agape, confused and startled as to how he had ended up here. He quickly left, running off towards the wooden clubhouse he knew as sanctuary. Something was wrong. Breeze Through a Window, Come Again GoddessAlabaster. A pristine image perched upon her roost, savior of the below lands. A god. Ever patient. Ever present. Ever the same, perfect image ingrained into the sleeping forms she had raised, a mother to the world itself. There was nothing but offer, gift, from the queen, as she sewn the lands with bits and pieces of her very self, and yet as she watched her beloved grow, still more seeds were needed. So she gave. Slowly freed of a perky, energetic youth, and bestowed with maternal lethargia. Slowly, almost not at all, she faded, and none would see it. Her very creations were slowly gaining, growing, becoming free, and while a gods image was all they thought of the princess, no less. Simply, she didn't see herself at all. After all, when one spent millennial seasons upon a crop, you simply join it. A mother tending to her children, dripping into their hearts till she was no more, a youthful face in shadow, proceeding light, preceding shadow. She was no different. And by the time she realized this, it seemed to her as if half of her life passed, to a mere suns lap. Her student, her daughter, the first of them all, to breach, surface, and breath independent, straining the umbilical she and all others never knew. And she slowly picked others from the branches, as if a massive reaction had occured. It would not end. Her children had grown. Her winter had finally come. An alabaster mare stood, her glass doors left open. A scroll written in a years time, left to her daughter. Her true daughter. An embrace with nights maiden shared. A song in no language. A voice shared, angelic, as beauty itself wept. A song of herself,and all she was of, the few seeds left in alabaster, scattered. As younger turned to eldest, to watch and reap the old, and sleep herself at the end. The brightening eyes of thousands, young and of joy. Children too young to understand. Mother is gone.
A minor eventIn such a time, there was potential. There was an opportunity, given by the universe itself, and two souls, two sisters, took it. Well, what they wanted. Fame. Power. Peace. A kingdom forged with tedious labor, created from the grounds of the planed they saw fit- earth. Hundreds, thousands, and millions of years passed, and not a single internal conflict took a life. All of the population was in some way, serving the two sisters, maintaining the kingdom, tending the crops, and erecting cities. Massive legions marched through the streets, showered in flowers and cheers. The sisters had everything in pure, undivided harmony. It was perfect, prosperous….and unstoppable. And yet, one little pony, one little insignificant soul, saw something missing. Lead under the tutelage of the very sisters themselves, she led the majority of her early life in bliss, living with power, wisdom, and best of all, friends. And it was perfect But the world, like anything born in the universe, began to change, in ways so insignificant and trivial that to the naked eye, nothing had happened. But something did. One small asteroid, small enough to pass through the atmospheric filter created by the sisters, yet somehow strong enough to withstand entry, landed. In the tree she called home. In truth, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all, and she didn’t. But somebody else did. On a day of his mindless chores, he came across the dull rock. In his glance, he saw nothing more than debris, so he kicked it away towards the center of the room, but as it rolled towards the pile of dust that had been swept there, a faint trail followed it. He watched, bluntly, as a little ghastly trail of the purest darkness followed the rolling pebble. He needed nothing more to be interested. Picking it up, he inspected it carefully. It was almost perfectly round, if not a bit like an oval. It was white, and seemed to have faint lines of red coursing through it. Turning the stone around, walking to his bed, he tripped, and dropped it. The rock hit the ground with a chime, as if it were a bell. Slowly, it rolled, revealing a familiar purple, followed by black. As it completed its course, the dragon found himself unable to breath. In front of him, to his horror, lay a stone in the exact shape and color, of an eye. And that eye, looked to be Twilights. A knock rung through the corridor, shaking him out of his reverie, followed by the joyous chirp of none other than twilight herself. “Spike! I’m home!” Standing there for just another second, staring at the alien object, he slowly backed away, and ran to the door, opening it quickly. “Oh, goodness. I thought you had gone out with Rarity again. I thought I was going to have to find you again. Hey! Did you see that new cake Pinkie made? Weird thing though, It was gone when we went back inside. Pinkie freaked, but I’m sure she ate it agai-“ “Twi.” Snapping out of her recollection, she looked down to see spike. Something was wrong, and she knew it. “What is it?” She asked, just a little cautious. From the look of it, spike was in shock. Slowly, he pointed upstairs, his eyes never leaving hers. She walked up, slowly, with her horn lit just to be safe. As the floor panned out, she sighed in relief. It was maybe one of Pinkies pranks again. As she set her saddlebags down, she noticed the rock… staring at her. Her pupils became the size of pins, and her vision focused on the rock, as it seemed to stare beyond just her eyes. Slowly, tendrils of both darkness and silvery light began to emit from its core, illuminating the stone with a ghastly glow. She had stopped breathing long ago. Spike was still downstairs, staring out the door. Twilight and the stone stared.. and stared.. as her vision slowly went to black. Slowly, her eyes fell shut, as conscious left her mind. She collapsed, eyes half open, still fixed on the rock, before she closed them. And there was a flash. A look...into the eyes of the universe.
A minor adventureTwilight awoke in a hazed field. There was grass as far as she could see, with a few scattered, majestic pillars. Standing slowly, she stood, in silence, as the world she knew was so quickly ripped away. Looking up, she saw the moon. No, she saw earth. And another one. And another. It was beautiful. Yet.. impossible. Surely if left to gravity these systems would have collided with one another millennia ago, yet as far as she could see, planets and beautiful systems silently stood in space. Shaking off the ever so confusing thoughts, she looked around her again. Now, with her vision focused, she could make out symbols on the pillars. Walking to the closest one, she saw an engraving upon the stones. Her mark. In awe, she slowly raised a hoof and caressed the engraving. Was she dead? Was this some sort of tomb? As she thought, her eyes suddenly went ablaze, in a fire of the purest white. Her whole life, she could see it all. What seemed like hours in her mind passed in nanoseconds. Quickly recovering from her little exploration, she returned to “reality”. Maybe she really was dead. Slowly, she walked on. She wanted to see if spike was hurt, or worse. As if she knew where she was going, she arrived at another pillar, and touched it. Again, her eyes shifted to a blinding light, and she could see from his eyes. She could feel what he did, hear as if she were there, and she even had his thoughts running through her mind. She shifted around in spikes lifespan at will, but quickly checked the “end” to see if he was alright. She saw herself, laying in a large bed. Wait, princess Celestia was there, and she could see spikes arms. It seemed he was alive, but interestingly, it didn’t look like a funeral of any kind. How strange. Her vision faded back again. She knew all she wanted to know. But then again, if she could see the lives of anypony… and theoretically anything, there could be no harm in seeing Starswirl the Bearded’s studies, right? Walking, then trotting through the endless fields, she passed thousands of pillars. She knew where she was going, and paid no mind to it. Finally, she arrived. Silently admiring the stone pillar, she placed her hoof upon the mark, soon to be engulfed in his lifespan. Checking some interesting times, she learned spells and incantations from the old era that were long forgotten. Some were powerful spells meant to cause dramatic change, and some were simple, like conjuring a lentil seed. In subconscious curiosity, she decided to see if he had loved anypony. It seemed that he did, and just as soon as she started traveling through such times, she learned that his lover- A purple pony named “Dawn”, was quite indulged by him. He seemed to be quite the lover, too, as she guiltily watched them together with a light blush. She watched him go through some more spells of his after that, paying no mind eventually. She felt that it was enough, and that she would forget the details. She hurried back to her stone, and touched it, hurdling back to her true body to greet a worried princess and a traumatized dragon, disregarding the shocked stares of them both. She thought it was a dream. She thought she would forget soon, the spells and knowledge with it. Unbeknownst to her, she would remember.. ..all of it.. ..forever.
Interloper(s)An endless portrait of light and its gift, slowly drifted, slowly departed, leaving the abyss of night in its wake. The day had passed under a veil, the guise of scientific analysis and experimentation on the left eye of the bearer. Everything took time, and it would be weeks before absolute safety could be ensured, and the student agreed. Not that it mattered. Celestia knew. She knew it was safe. For now. She needed the time, however. Such power, such knowledge, it was beyond what was meant to be held on this small planet. It was beyond a mortal soul. Then how? Twilight went along with the guards simply. There were many questions, yet no answers. For now, it seemed, she would reiterate the spells she had learned, so some fruit would be born from this event. A small spark of joy burned with her, and followed her through the trials and tests. It was enough. Soon, days had passed, before the weeks neared their end. Twilight was still very focused, checking and re-checking, before checking again, and then moving on to the next experiment. Nothing was different. Nothing was out of place. All that was left was to have her subconscious scanned by the princess herself, to check for psychological cracks and such. After all, such an event were likely to cause mental trauma. The princess, despite her efforts, could think of nothing. Nothing but a warning, nothing but simple, religious fear. And she hated it. She had seen what false religion had done to other civilizations, bearing war, hatred, ignorance.. And death. This was a world the two sisters created. This was a world they perfected. She could not allow conflict to spread after all these years, tearing the unfinished canvas of sentient life asunder. So she waited, a single, silver tear, falling from her eye. Her left eye. And there was a knock. “Come in, please. I believe things went well?” The massive wooden door silently gave under the pressure of a single, purple hoof. “Everything is in check, for now. It seems that nopony can place why there seems to be such a thing just floating about, however. The doctors have looked at it with microscopes, and found no flaw in detail, either. It seems to be more than a pattern or pigment, but an actual system. Furthermore, its structure defies natural formation, as if it were intended to be so.” The student knew what she was supposed to say. Nothing more. Nothing less. Years of studying social interaction left her with keen understanding of explanations. “That’s rather strange, isn’t it? Well, all that’s left is to check for any trauma. Do you feel any different?” Despite her scientifically planned response, the alicorn would rather…she didn’t know. “Everything seems fine. I’ve preformed exercises, and have gotten better times than usual.” And the princesses fears were confirmed. “Alright, then. I’ll just do a quick check to be sure. Close your eyes, please.” She let her horn graze along her students, and cast the spell. Immediately, she saw the inner world of her beloved students mind. It, unsurprisingly, was a library. The shelves were crafted of finely embellished ebony, curly maple, and redwood, with trinkets and devices of brass and silver. Thin, fruit bearing vines ran along the sides of the shelves, and the ground was a river stone path through winter grass. In between the shelves, floating through the library, were clusters of brightly glowing mushrooms surrounded by fire fly’s, as if they were little planets of their own, illuminating the library. Cautiously, she strolled through the vast library, checking certain books occasionally, so she could have something to recall and explain to her student. But she knew where she was going, and soon arrived. Before her, lay the transparent spirits of whom the student had viewed in her brief interlude. Some faint, some more solid. The more of their life she had viewed, or had even been interested in, the more of that person was within her subconscious, at her command. They could not influence her directly, much to the alicorns relief, but if her beloved student should wish, she could connect her mind with theirs, and they would live again, within her, until she was done. She saw spike, going about, cleaning the library of any insignificant blemish, and tending to the plants. She saw Starswirl the Bearded, sitting at a desk sleeping. History failed to record his loving for a nap. And so she was relieved. The spirits were purely intellectual. Her students mind had no blemish at all, and the kingdom could return. She could not imagine the consequence of having any foreign.. emotions.. within the machinations of her students mind, for they were meant to be discovered. She began to walk back to her point of entry, wish a motherly smile planted upon her face. Behind her, the spirit of the professor suddenly shifted.. He was awoken by another, almost invisible spirit. The spirit of his beloved Dawn. And soon, his actions changed. To something more…intimate.
A minor changeAs the small student opened her eyes, she saw her mentor, with a content expression. “My beloved, I am pleased to say that no harm has come. You may return to your home, I will send a letter to your friends shortly, explaining to them this new feature of yours. Please be safe, and as always, enjoy yourself. Farewell again, my student.” “Farewell, princess.” And with her words said, she turned, to face the grand doorway, and made her way home. For reasons she could not place, she decided to take her time, and walk. She would be there by nightfall. Rows of houses, erected centuries ago, next to modern estate. Vendors, stalls, fellow workers and ponies passed her by, nobody noticing. Walking down the mountain path, urban sprawl faded to scattered shacks and barns. Fields of wheat and greens painted the landscape around. The sky was clearing, slowly, as the sun followed its masters path yet again. Soon, she neared a simple dirt crossroads, a simple wooden sign stood company. She stopped, and looked up. The sky was darkening, and the stars were clear. She looked, past the nearby galaxies that she had studied. She looked for the same system within her, to no avail. Yet she looked on, called by the stars. The first seeds began to sprout, as she gazed longingly into the sky. And slowly, ever so slowly, they grew. With a small shake of her head, she began to head home. She was greeted by her friends, and enjoyed herself in one of the many parties of a certain pink one. Life, for now, was normal. Exhausted, she pushed the front door of her tree’s library open. Her assistant was as tired as her, and quickly prepared for the night’s rest. She, as well. Climbing into her bed, she began to pull the covers over her form, but half way, she stopped. Looking out of her balcony door, she saw the sky again, perfectly clear. Thousands of faint, shimmering lights polluted the sky, some forming systems. Inside the very depths of her subconscious, the seeds continued to grow. She would not notice, not now, but even seedlings, have power. Even seedlings, have roots, set into their soil. She slowly turned her gaze to the silhouette of her assistant. He had been worried, bags formed beneath his still youthful eyes. She decided to give him a little gift, to ease the pains. She walked over, quietly, and gently touched her horn to his head, casting a simple spell. She gave him a dream. She cast a simple spell. And gave him a day with rarity. ..or so she thought.
UnnoticedRetiring from her day, our little student went to her bed at last, and let her eyes fall closed yet again, the moonlight shining gently through her balcony window. Slowly, the physical world left her, and she awoke again, in a hazed field of grass and stone. Slowly, she stood, again looking around, seeing the endless sea of planets and stars around her. Encircling her spot of awakening, lay small, wide mushrooms, glowing a low blue, with minute strands of silvery thread hanging from the edges. Walking to a rather large selection of said mushrooms, she leaned down, her eyes closing, and gently inhaled. The luminescent fungus smelled of what could only be described as the purest of air, the crisp night wafting through her. Sleepily noting this, the little pony opened her eyes, only to see the world floating away from her, only to float through nothingness. Soon, she set her feet down on yet another planet, fields of wheat surrounding her. There stood more pillars, erected of stone, and square in shape. These were far and few between, yet stretched miles high, tattered flags hanging from the sides. Around her, wisps of sentient light flowed, danced, in the air, circling her form. The student found herself weightless, and adrift, as the light encompassed her. Floating, the little pony wandered to the top of the nearest pillar, and landed, the wisps breaking off and watching. With a ripple, the world below shifted, warped, and she saw, rather than crisp winter grass, endless plains of wheat. The pillar began to crumble, and as she stood at its peak, the falling stones revealed a figure, the frame of a phoenix. Its wings spread, sending ripples through the wheat, and with Twilight aboard, the colossus took flight, soaring through the feilds. She felt joy, as the massive bird began to ascend, and fly through the space, only to land amongst the standing stones of Twilights original planet. Lowering her head, the bird let twilight down, and the student grazed her hoof along the stone beak of the giant. Unbeknownst to her, the fiery, yet sage spirit of the phoenix became one with hers, another mind to wander her subconscious library. The bird stood, and took off, ascending the stars. Twilight returned to the glowing circle of fungi, and fell to sleep in the center. Her eyes opened again, to be greeted by the sun. Spike was nowhere to be found, likely waking early in his youth and adventuring yet again. With a spark, she appeared again in the foyer, heading to the kitchen, before preparing a salad. Eating it quickly, she decided to go and visit her farmer friend. The weeks of experiments had left her with little exercise, so she felt helping her friend would help her. Trotting gleefuly, she approached the farm, to be greeted by the farmers older brother. He was slowly, dutifully pulling a large wagon full of apples. “Mornin, miss Sparkle. Nice to see y’all round these parts again. What brings ya here?” She liked to hear him speak, enjoying the simplicity of his speech. “I was just coming to see Applejack! I wanted to help around today.” Nodding, he pointed her down the left path, towards the western orchards. “Saw her headin’ thata way.” Offering a thanks, she trotted down the path, to meet her friend. Needless to say, the day went with much work. But Applejack noticed something different. Twilight, the calm, demure student, was competitive. “Now are y’all sure you’re alright? You been actin.. different.” Applejack suddenly asked in the middle of apple harvesting. Twilight shot a burst of magic at a nearby tree, shuddering the trunk, and sending the apples into her auras grasp. “Why do you ask? Is something wrong?” She replied, as Applejack sent a swift kick to her tree, sending the apples into half-cut barrels. And the farmer figured it out. Twilight always picked each apple from the tree with her magic, with precision. Now, she was simply sending a small blast at the tree, knocking them loose. Now normally, this would just be a minor change in style, but Applejack had known twilight long and well. The purple pony would always have the same bright face, cheerily going about and going the safe way, but now she wore an expression similar to the prismatic-maned Rainbow Dash, and was practically running around, as if she was daring applejack to beat her. So, like any prideful farmer, she accepted that challenge, forgetting all else. ..Needless to say, the orchards were clear in Ten. Hours. Flat. (A/N: Notice a change in the mood? Sorry if you enjoyed the eerie parts, but dont worry, those will always be there, and I'm fond of writing those, so there is bound to be more. Otherwise, writing like that is rather.. disturbing. It damages my sanity, which i only recently got control over again, so im going to be taking on other notes throughout. Also, Playoff, by Cyril Morin. If you're going to want to enhance the super creepy aspect of the first few chapters, and when twilight ends up in "That place", it helps. Alot. :D )
Guilty pleasureRarity hummed a familiar tune, trotting about her boutique, picking up the various clutter that was strewn about the floor during her daily dressmaking. Today was one she had been looking forward too all week, and she knew it. Quickly flipping her doors sigh to “closed”, she turned around, and kicked the door shut, heading off toward her kitchen. Approaching her pantry, letting her excitement grow, she opened the door. Inside was a large walk in pantry, stocked with various dry goods and canned fruits. Turning to her left, she pushed aside a small burlap sack of sugar, revealing a trap door. Unlocking the tumblers with her magic, she opened the hatch, to reveal a small rack of various drinks, and more interestingly, assorted glass medicine bottles brimming with colored, luminescent concoctions swirling with the soft glow of infused magic. Turning the circular rack around a little, she reached what she had been looking for- A small, pear shaped bottle with a simple label, a crescent moon encircling a clover symbol. She had been saving this for when she finished her newest line, which she had been working on for over a month. Much to her liking, it had placed first in the Canterlot fashion magazines, and ever since, she had been too busy filling out orders for the new dresses, leaving her no time to enjoy her little guilty pleasure. A soft blue glow emitted from her horn, surrounding the bottle and gingerly removing it from the rack. Closing the hatch, locking it, placing the burlap sack back into its original spot, and finally exiting the pantry, she walked briskly to her bedroom, and closed the door with a light *click*. Her room was, surprisingly, rather strange, with arts from the lands of the zebras, and furnishings, which were rather hard to obtain, from the underwater colonies of the sea-faring unicorn tribes. Lights strewn from the ceiling constructed of bottle shards glued together into ornate orbs, and decorations of tribal pottery and exotic flora were placed here and there. There was a large open area with an exceptionally soft rug, constructed of the fibers that the unicorns collected from shedding sea creatures. A large, top of the line magic-infused stereo sat in the corner of the room, next to what was her favorite feature. A large circular bed, encased in soft corals and sea flora, as a luminescent, ever cool gelatinous orb, glowing a soft blue sat in the center. It was far beyond the softness of quality sheets, as the water-bed like mass was incredibly slippery, almost like you could glide across the surface. To keep from drifting about, she had enchanted some clouds herself, and managed to fabricate a blanket of them. It was almost like heaven, and she knew of two things that made it better. The first, and most common, was her usual red wine. The dizzying sensation of a few glasses made her feel like she was drifting about, but her favorite, a single sip from her little bottle, and when she fell into her bed, it would feel like she was soaring. But that would wait. Walking over to her stereo, she began to play the newest record from none other than DJ P0n3 herself. Nobody would have guessed, but she never was a fan of classical much, although she acquired a taste while on her trips to Canterlot. The music began to hum a simple synth melody, as a hi-hat quietly echoed in the background. She had one minute, and she knew it. Uncorking the bottle, she stole a light whiff of its aroma, immediately feeling the blissful euphoria of its effects kicking in, though weak in comparison to its full potency. She had ordered this one special from none other than Zecora herself, infusing some passion flower and sulphur, the former adding a light romantic effect, while the yellow powder, while poisonous to others, merely elongated the effects of any concoction it should be added too for the species of equestria. In the background, the music began to build, and she could feel the bass humming to life. She had maybe twenty seconds now. She tapped her hoof in time to the beat, and waited. Then, just before the song went to deafening silence, she took a great swig. Her eyes rolled up slightly as a blush spread across her face, just before the bass dropped, sending its low vibrations throughout her body. It was, to her, worth the wait. She lost herself, swinging madly to the music, her mane falling into disarray as she danced furiously, waves of euphoria coursing through her form. Normally, she would die of humiliation if someone saw how she danced, but she had watched Rainbow Dash at their rare outings to clubs, and found the style to do justice to the fast paced music she’d come to love. And so she went on for hours, until she was panting and exhausted, and the record had played through. The effects were still strong, and she noted that the sulphur was now a must, as she might have had to have another swig without it. Collapsing into her bed, she slowly regained her slow, steady breaths. Her body felt like it was flying to and fro, switching directions occasionally. Normally, she would spend this time reading, but she found that literature was almost impossible to read under the effects of this potion. So, instead of her usual soppy romance novels, she simply decided to look through some of her more.. secret magazines. With an unsteady grip, a set of “PlayMare” magazines came floating out from under the bed, and she looked at the cover of her newest issue. She nearly dropped it. With a bead of sweat forming on her forehead, she looked upon the well built red stallion on the cover, wearing a tight dress suit. Come to mention it, Applejack had a few more bits lately, and she remembered Big Macintosh saying he did a few “Side Jobs”, though he quickly changed the subject. She sighed with a shaky breath as she felt the potions effects still coursing through her. Tonight was young, and she was going to enjoy it. She awoke late into the noon the next morning, cool, thanks to her wonderful bed, yet absolutely drenched in sweat.. amongst other things. Walking upon shaky hooves to her bathroom, she failed to notice the opened bedroom door as she made her way out to the main hallway. Taking a left, she entered her more..normal..bathroom, and stepped into the large tub. Quickly turning on the showerhead, the water came out cool, almost frigid, but quickly warmed to a comfortable setting. Showering off, and doing a light wash, she stepped out, and began her usual routine. Walking out, looking more like her usual self, she approached her living room, and saw the front door wide open. And then she remembered her bedroom. Quickly running back to her room, she was relieved a little to find things the way she had left them, with no foreign scent amongst her things, or her bed. However, that did little to relieve her frightened mood. She quickly set off to find one of those new self-locking doors.
Seeds to SproutsTwilight sat at her wooden desk, reading a large sheet of parchment. It was a scroll she had received, from none other than Celestia herself. It was a list. Upon it were notes, and lines upon lines of spells, all with references and basic descriptions. The princess had meant it as a little side project for her student, a list of practical spells. Some were simple, like summoning a lesser sentient mind to aid her, and some were complex, like temporarily shifting in and out of certain universal “layers” that lay within her dimension. It, in theory, was simple. It was like becoming a ghost, able to pass walls, appearing as a soft ethereal glow, and walk about free from material obstruction. She took note of that one. Rainbow dash wouldn’t know what hit her. Reading through some more, she found some transmutation spells. Give and take, it seemed. Wish adequate molecular mass to compensate, she could transform things to any structure and composition. Following its references, she soon found the book that described its steps in detail, and began to practice. First, she had to memorize the molecular structure of whatever she was creating, and what she was disassembling. Deciding to try a simple one, she took a small pile of iron dust from her basement, and placed it into a beaker. Now, focusing on her horn, she did a simple test, connecting the local oxygen with the iron, which she noted caused a slight warmth to spread through the metal. Soon, a small pile of red iron oxide lay. Smiling contently, she placed the substance in a small vial and stored it away with her other ingredients. Just as she finished so, a young voice echoed down her basement. “Twi, Fluttershy’s here to see ya.” Noting that it was spike, she briefly recalled seeing him with the crusaders, looking a little scared. She had decided to rescue him from their mischeif yesterday, but he had refused to say what was wrong. Boys. But back to matters at hand. The demure Pegasus rarely came to the library for any books, and she usually asked spike to show her to them. Something was a little off about that. “One second! Tell her I’ll be right up.” Taking off her labcoat, she proceeded up the stairway, to be greeted by a soft smile from her friend. “Hey Fluttershy! What brings you here this time?” She chirped in her usual attitude. “You see, um..well.. I was looking for a book..” The Pegasus’s voice downed to a whisper. “Im sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” “Im looking for a book on..um..” She trailed off again. “Um, could you whisper into my ear?” Knowing her, this was probably the best way. Leaning in a little to Twilights ear, she whispered again. “Im looking for a book on…um…dating.” Now that, the student couldn’t have expected. Quickly becoming exited, she let the next question slip out. “Oooh, who is he? Wait, is it Dr. Whooves? No? Braeburn?” The yellow Pegasus let out a small whimper. She figured that her purple friend deserved to know, though. “Um… Big Macintosh..” Twilight looked shocked for a second, but quickly understood. The large colt was simple, yes, but he was also very wise. Kind, too, so she figured they would connect well. She raised an eyebrow in understanding. “Hmm, well, I don’t think we have anything like that here. Nobody really reads up those things anymore, but im sure I can order some right away, and have them here by tomorrow. Just a question though, what would you need help with? I may be a little naïve, but I have a good understanding of some things. I could always offer my advice, if you need.” “Oh thank you, I just don’t really know what to do right now. We usually just spend time sitting together, occasionally talking, and other things.. but we never really..” She hid behind her hair, her face resembling a tomato at this point. Now Twilight understood. “Oh dear, Im afraid we only have books on anatomy and such, but as far as stuff like that goes, I really don’t know. All I’ve heard of were special herbs and such, but nothing from a book. I guess that’s more of a natural thing. Buuut, I do have something that might help. It’s a special blend of tea I have, and its wonderful for before bed when I read. It really helps the mood.” Spike, who was in the kitchen, overheard that. Having seen the collection of books under Twilights bed, he simply nodded. “I..um.. could I perhaps try a little? I mean..if that’s okay..” The demure pony said, slowly coming out from behind her hair. “Of course.” Twilight chuckled. “Let me go get some” Walking upstairs to her bedroom herb closet, she picked up a small burlap sachet. Opening the small door, she went over to her special blend, and dropped two cups in. Then a thought occurred to her, Big Macintosh was rather… large.. not to mention disciplined, and probably very respectful. The tea would need to be strong to affect him, but he'd probably only do anything if Fluttershy asked, and if she knew Fluttershy at all, she definitely would not approach him. It would have to be his decision. Turning a little, she opened a small wooden box. Inside were various vials full of powders and grains. Looking over them, she pondered what would work. The tea already has a long term effect, so sulphur wont do much.. Looking at some white crystals, she pondered adding some potassium. No.. that just accelerates the effects.. And then she saw it. A little beaker full with little pink seeds, her own little species of Hearts Desire that she grew in her secret garden in the everfree forest. Adding a few of these would surely enhance the tea. Pouring a tablespoon in to the sachet, she pulled the little cord shut, and shook the mixture. Closing the box and exiting her little closet, she walked down, and floated the little sack over into Fluttershy’s saddlebags. Offering many thanks, the yellow Pegasus proceeded to walk out, and begin her flight home. “Now, do enjoy yourself.. Im sure you will.” Twilight said as she left, a mischievous grin upon her face. And as the days events went on like universal clockwork, time slowly passed. Seeds planted some time ago began to sprout beyond simple roots, the first visible trace of life beyond life. And as the student finished her day, she went to bed yet again. And the stars above called yet again.
A Road AstrayOnce again our little student found herself awoken, greeted by the cool, crisp air of her second home. She had grown used to its effect, now going about her given time with a slightly more active conscious. That, however, did little to resist her deeper wishes. Aside from her first visit, she had never viewed into the minds and lives of any other, and was contempt shortly. With time, the everlasting mortal desire for knowledge came upon her once again, intertwining itself within her mind during her studies of psychopathy. The medical world of Equesria, even aided by magic and otherworldly minds, still understood relatively little about those few who developed, or were born with, an outlier mentality. Her studies most recently were of a slightly more famous, slightly more strange alchemist, whom was known as only Valerian. He lived not long ago, supposedly perishing two years back, and leaving almost none of his works behind. His shop had exploded, presumed to be an experiment gone wrong. There was no body. Such things were rare, and hardly understood. In such a utopian society, it was nearly impossible to meet such a quick, violent death while under the sisters blessing. Almost everyone had passed peacefully, and painlessly, only to live amongst the others in a separate realm. Twilight had read what she could, before the parchment knowledge ran dry. Deciding to end the night, she had a cup of sedative tea, and headed off to bed. Walking plainly, a soft padded thud sounded in rhythm with her movement, following her about the plains. She passed ten, hundreds of pillars, some drawing her attention. One such stone construct had a soft violet glow emitting from a cryptic text written upon its sides. She walked on, regardless, eventually reaching her destination. Unsuprisingly, the stones that constructed this particular pillar were jagged quartz, casting a shimmer around her. In its center, lay his mark- a cracked phial. Without further hesitation, she raised her delicate hoof to graze its features, to be enveloped in a light, and spawned into another life. Quickly deciding to view the moments prior to the blast, and his death, she came to see the alchemist walking from his house at night, to the edge of town, where he turned and watched from a secluded location. Shortly after, there was a brilliant blue flash, and a small crater lie in place of his home. He walked on. He was alive. Panning to his current moments, she found the colt simply watching his alembic boil. Its contents curiously simmered about, while a silver liquid fell from the condenser into a clay bowl, inscribed with a crescent moon on its side. Hello. She mentally jumped, startled by the sudden voice she was hearing. She didn’t feel his jaw moving, however. He knew she was there. Eh, hello? Twilight attempted to voice in her mind. Hi, yes. Welcome, I suppose. Now do you mind telling me just why you are invading my mind? Its quite distracting. His voice was rather syrupy, like a blues singer. A nice change from the raspy and gruff voices of the few men she knew. She barely processed that though, her rapid cognition shot. Basic speech was easily accomplished, albeit with little “filtering”. I just wanted to see how you died. You aren’t dead. Why fake it? Now, that surprised him. He had honestly thought that his mind was going awry again. Focusing a little, he reciprocated his response. Well, aside from the fact that a sentient being is in my head that isn’t of my own creation, I guess I have a tad of explaining. You see, I had grown tired of the locals being so fearful. I decided to give them peace, and some fireworks. Now, I can work in silence. Well, I could. It made a bit of sense. People don’t like having a madman with incredible power in their neighborhood. He probably had some trouble socializing, too. Alright, and sorry about that. I do suppose I should leave. But.. could you first tell me what formula that is? Ive rarely seen that liquor. Actually, I thought only Luna knew about it. Twice today, Valerian was startled. Not only was there a sentient being in his head, but it was curious about his work! This brought great joy to him. Ah! A fellow alchemist, I see? Actually I’m jus- She was cut off shortly. Well, its actually very interesting how I got this ability. Its actually made from arcane ingredients, you see. The reason nopony could make it, is because you need 13 spells to conjure the necessities. Also, as for Luna, she and I are… rather close. She doesn’t call me insane, either. That, and the lass was my teacher. She knew I would be leaving soon, to live in a forest far from my home. Its tedious, but the everfree has many advantages. First off, only one person knows im here. Wait, make that two. But anyway, the both of us are alchemists anyways, and she has a good understanding of me, so im kept secret. I’ve learned quite a few recipes from the zebra, as well. Twilight, being ever so curious, pressed for more, also explaining her situation. Well, I suppose I could teach you. Just think about it, and you’ll know the spells then…I think. Meet me under the harvest moon, however. There lies one special part, and the ingredient only grows near here. Anyhow, I need some rest! See you soon! And with that, the purple pony suddenly awoke in her bed, seemingly ejected. No surprise, considering that the madpony could hear her. Tending to her day, she found herself home again at night. The harvest moon was in two days, leaving her just enough time to prepare plenty of the magically conjured ingredients. In front of her lay 13 large flasks, each with a label. Looking at the first one, labeled ”Foals Joy”, she focused on her horn, suddenly knowing the spell needed. Shortly after, a burst erupted from its tip, and the bottle was filled to the brim with the essence of care-free laughter. Corking it, she went on to the next flask, labeled “Midnight’s Desire”, and again cast a spell. The bottle was soon filled with a deep purple luminescent fluid, flowing slowly of its own accord. And so she went on, in her basement laboratory. The time was ticking. And in the depths of her innermost sanctum, within the towering shelves of her library, a cleanly groomed unicorn sat upon a cluster of glowing mushrooms, merrily humming a horrifically catchy tune.
AmbrosiaA star rose on the horizon, gently, brilliantly lighting the sky. A porcelain image sat upon a high tower, overlooking yet another carefully painted day, wings slowly, yet not fully, falling to her sides. In thousands of years, the goddess had much time to learn of the mind, being nothing more than a simple soul at her heart, and few things troubled her... but as the clouds flowed past, a long sealed part of her mind became sentient yet again. She, the goddess of day and warmth, was scared. And she knew it. In the lapse of mortal time, nearly all that could be known, was known. All that she had brought with her to this world, was what remained, as she planted knowledge in others and sealed off the memories for herself, letting time carry on unhindered.. and yet, there was a fault in that. A simple student of hers, (nothing more, she told herself,) had access to virtually every thought, every musing, and every soul in existence. She could know more, and ascend far beyond the reaches of herself, easily surpassing her taken power. She remembered why she dared not bring more of that knowledge with her, truly believing that only good should exist, but painful meditation ensued regardless, bringing to her knowledge that certain things truly must be. This, she learned long ago. A pink maned mare sat at a mahogany table, surrounded by sturdy wooden walls and a warm hearth. Lanterns were strewn about, giving an orange glow to her surroundings. She paid it no attention. Across from her sat a friend, by the name of Ophelia. The umber mare was by all definition, blissful, as she sat, quietly sipping tea with a goddess. Celestia, however, had other things on her mind. Recently, she had taken more interest in psychology, and more blatantly noticing that, regardless of the incredible intelligence and self-awareness of the ponies, they all had one thing in common- They were all happy. Sure, there were foals who cried from bullies, and drunkards who roamed the night in search of fun, but none were depressed. At all. This, of course, made her rather happy as well, knowing that sadness had no place in her beautiful world, but that was short lived. Several years later, again interested in philosophies regarding psychology, she began to feel that, according to what she knew about the world, she could only amplify the joy around her by simply adding one thing- an inverse. It was planned, of course. Once every century, a foal would be chosen by here who possessed the greatest potential, and her sister would guide them along an adverse path, showing them the beauty of other things, showing them new worlds, new feelings, and new power. Celestia had known that those foals would come to value strength and ability over all else, and those were chosen to see the light of darkness, to become creatures of night, the lunar guard. They meditated for years, and trained for decades, slowly bringing their inner, lethargic, calculative, and cold souls to boil, becoming confident, strong, and incredibly powerful in magic, as even the earthen breed learned its ways. Those rare souls could shatter boulders underhoof, raise crops in a day, and, much to their liking, maintain the vague, rather shallow spirit of yin that resided in equestria. Usually, they played simple pranks, like planting a spider in sheets, or simply casting illusions of fleeting shadows where one thought they were alone. And for the time, for thousands of years to come, these century old beings roamed free, carefully stabilizing the residence of the land. -- Of course, after a tragic event where Luna's philosophical teachings, in her attempt to better understand the notions, essentially trained herself, but without mortal bindings. Her darkness grew, and soon with it, her anger. Needless to say, such thoughts, for mere safety, were agreed upon to not be had yet again, and the sisters cast the memories and knowledge into exile. However, the true affects of her simply maintaining happiness and playful jeer had shown, as short, chaotic events occurred more often, and natural oddities took place of forged. With a cringe, she remembered the most recent events... A small shack on the edge of a lake housing a fisherpony just dissapeared, and left a tree in its wake, growing a single fruit each year at the turn of spring. That, however, wasn't it. Its fruit were eaten once, by a strange foal of which nobody knew, and ever since, the pony had developed delusions of rusted, gargantuan fishhooks hanging from chains upon ceilings, branches, or any perch. But in truth, it was minor. Albeit being the first case of permanent dementia, it was easily cured with a yearly spell from a doctor, and all was well. Still a porcelain figure sat, watching the now risen sun. The universe wanted balance again, and it was telling her. Aside from her fear of Twilight's ability, she knew that such a thing was entrusted to the very element of magic for a reason. And with her final musing, she walked down to her court. -- Somewhere, on the edge of a lake, a tree shuddered, and burst into flames.
Of her Majesty's CreationA blazing star sat in the distance, slowly diminishing as it fell. Afar, another formation rose, revealing a rusted moon. The time was right. Our little pony had a small enchanted set of vials orbiting her, their third scrutiny of the past hour, before they fell behind and simply followed, the mare walking out the wooden door. There was plenty of light to see for her, having near perfect vision in the dark ever so recently. Of course, a little galaxies worth of light was available to her. Going along, she passed a few straggling shop owners, carrying out tasks left undone for too long, before she turned to the dirt path of the Everfree. Now, as she recalled, Valerians hut lay in a patch of trees along here, looking just like any boulder with vines, but with a crescent moon etched into it. To others, it was a mere piece of spirited graffiti, but it was code to her- haven. Used in the times of old, where occasional, paranormal creatures wandered, these symbols represented places magically enchanted to ward off the cockatrice or worse, representing the cover of shadows in the lee of moonlight. But then again, nopony knew that anymore. Walking to its other side, she knocked three times, as a rumble echoed around. Dust fell, and the rock revealed a small cloth door, where a path led downwards into his abode. "Ah, I see you've made it! Now I'll be honest, I haven't had a guest in what..ten? no..thirteen years.. so the place may be a bit of a mess, you see..." "Its fine." "Alright then, well, i see you have plenty of the ingredients," He continued, noticing the large vials dancing around behind her. "Well, Ill show you the stillery setup, then show you the little garden i have for the last ingredient. Anyways, just.. order those things to stay there. Its a bit distracting to have glass flying around." A simple command later, she and her new friend were walking through cloth curtains to new rooms, some filled with furniture and decor, others equipment and storage. Soon, she was standing in front of a little array of glass tubing and flasks. She also noted some lenses focusing a shimmering light, flowing like a weightless liquid, down into one of the glass containers. "You see, this is nothing more than sand, and, ironically, alcohol. Just a few spells to turn the sand to glass and shape it into the array you see here on this paper," He went on, floating a scroll over to her, " And alcohol of 90 percent, no less, is the fuel. Also, for these lenses, you need to have no less than an inch in diameter of collection lenses to gather the moonlight. I know its not much, but I use about two feet, perched atop the rock and hidden with an enchantment. Anyways, you must filter that light to here, the final chamber where the distilled liquid goes." Resisting the urge to take ludicrous amounts of notes and simply directing his words to memory, she nodded. "Well then, thats about it for now! Lets go to the garden now, shall we?" He stated in a mock British accent, ever so exited to finally pass the recipe on. Following along, Twilight exited the cave to follow a small path, to find a small patch of trees, which she noticed were Elderberry trees. However, the fruits upon the branches were glowing, a soft blue haze around them. Noticing her interest in the oddity, he explained. "These trees were grown from the seeds of the Elderberry tree in Lunas private garden, you see. Celestia blessed the tree, granting it the power to absorb the sunlight in a more magically oriented way than photosynthesis. At day, they simply absorb light, using only a fraction for itself, and at night, the berries are so potent that they glow with life." Picking off a cluster, roughly one or two pounds, they went back to the hut, bringing all of the ingredients to the disstillery. He showed her the portions, and showed her the way they were mixed in a wooden bowl, before pouring the juice into the main flask. "Would you do the honor?" He asked. Nodding excitedly, Twilight lit her horn, tossing a few sparks onto the wick below the boiler, setting a blue flame, and stepping back to the nearby couch to wait for the process to begin. Joining her, Valerian and Twilight discussed different topics, occasionally bordering on scientific gossip, on how diamagnetism was such a simple thing that somehow eluded the more religious folks, and, among other things, Twilights little situation. They were both interrupted by a soft rumble from the distillery. Walking over, the purple mare watched in awe, Valerian wearing an amused face, as the liquid in the flask boiled for no less than ten seconds, before vaporizing completely, and flowing through the tubing into a smaller flask at the end, where the moonlight was shining. As the wisps poured into the light, they glowed a brilliant blue, before condensing and settling at the bottom as a shimmering, almost metallic liquid. That took about a minute. Ignoring the lack of physical logic behind the speed of the process, she simply assumed magic was at work again and aided him in pouring some of the luminescent liquid into two gourds, before corking one off, and handing the other to Valerian. "Now, would you like a taste? Valerian stated, pouring the liquid into two sake glasses, oddly fitting to the liquor. Nodding happily, she transferred one of the cups to her magic, and levitated it over to her a foot, before they clinked the glasses together and both took a sip. It tasted like... a cool liquid silver with mint and of course, the slight burn of alcohol. However, its effects were instant. Eyelids dropping slightly, she stumbled a bit, before suddenly coming to consciousness yet again, yet with a stark self awareness, and the noting that everything was just a tad slower. "Interesting, no? Valerian chuckled, explaining how Luna's moonshine actually had effects similar to clover, in terms of mental, and the typical freedom of mind that any alcohol brought. Going on, he also explained that the liquor would boost the confidence of anypony for about a week, removing some reservations and having the mental effects of moonlight. So, essentially, she would feel the cool night breeze, and its unique mindset, for a week. "So, i don't have to worry about being drunk?" She asked, rather naive to alcohol anyways. Valerian chuckled yet again. "Not unless you drink too much. Then, you might just go a little crazy and..well.. lets just say that you wont have any reservations whatsoever. Not a good thing for someone of your status." Oh. And so they finished off their glasses, and gladly shared another hour of night, before twilight said her thanks and goodbyes, and was given a satchet full of seeds. She decided to teleport home, now knowing the homes exact locations, and disappeared after a final goodbye, landing in her own home, and staring at the shelves for a moment, admiring the colors for no reason. Snapping out, she walked to her bed, and tried to sleep. She couldn't. She reached under her bed, and pulled out a little novel, a single pink heart on the cover. If she couldn't sleep, she could read to exhaust her mind.. .. among other things.
A brief awakening“My dearest student, what…is that?!” Celestia inquired, still staring straight into her beloved students eyes. Shaking off the awkwardness of seeing her mentor in such a disheveled state, she replied. “If is alright, what are you talking about? Am I different? Did I come back to life? Am I a ghost?!” She began to rabble on in worry, before Celestia spoke once more. “None of such, you appear just fine, but, my dear.. your eye” She stated in nothing more than a low whisper, slowly hovering an antiqued mirror over to her student, where Twilight looked. At her left eye. More precisely, into it, as a faint swirl of what appeared to be a galaxy, slowly spun in her pupil. “I…I.. how..” She stammered, jaw agape. Then it hit her. She, just moments ago, was lost in some otherworldly universe, and now, it was displayed, albeit from a distance, in her eye. Despite the little students confusion and revelations, the eldest sister was more than shocked. She was terrified. And she knew exactly why, as before her, lie what she had seen eons ago. The very same galaxy she was born under, and the very same place she had left in her foal hood, never to return. Before her, in her students eye, was knowledge in itself. Not just what she had taken, to provide a kingdom with pure happiness and prosperity, but anything.. and everything. From the musings of interdimensional beings, to the sketches of great artists, there was great wisdom. And its opposite. She remembered now, why she recognized that galaxy. Moreso, she remembered its name. Quivalere. The galaxy of yin, and yang.
Brief dream(s)The small dragon lay. A usual night, spent counting endless, precious gems. Alongside him, as usual, sat a certain white designer, accompanying him through his conquest and offering endless praise. The mountaintop lair sat above hillside rice paddies, workers milling about, a morning fog resting amongst the farmers. In his lair, lined with ornate trees and bamboo, with the warm glow of the lanterns, everything was peaceful. The village was safe under his rule, and he was contempt. At that moment, a small, unnoticed ripple scattered through his world. Rarity shifted, looking spike in the eyes with an expression that the youngling could not yet place. “You know, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time..” she trailed off, steadily approaching the incoherent dragon. “Uh, Rarity, are you oka-“ He was silenced as she pressed her lips to his, before quickly drawing back, a pleased smile adorning her features. And then the scene played out. Again. And again. And again. Spike awoke with a start, horridly red faced and head spinning. It was almost dawn. And again. He stood up, quietly, silently, making his way down the stairs. And again. He swiftly exited, walking, to a certain carousel. And again. Approaching its entrance, almost instinctually, he found the spare key and unlocked the door, wandering inside. And again. He silently walked forward, finally approaching her door, opening it ever so slowly, revealing a sleeping Rarity inside. And again. He approached her silhouetted form, a single claw reaching out. And he woke up. Again. And he stood there, mouth agape, confused and startled as to how he had ended up here. He quickly left, running off towards the wooden clubhouse he knew as sanctuary. Something was wrong.
Breeze Through a Window, Come Again GoddessAlabaster. A pristine image perched upon her roost, savior of the below lands. A god. Ever patient. Ever present. Ever the same, perfect image ingrained into the sleeping forms she had raised, a mother to the world itself. There was nothing but offer, gift, from the queen, as she sewn the lands with bits and pieces of her very self, and yet as she watched her beloved grow, still more seeds were needed. So she gave. Slowly freed of a perky, energetic youth, and bestowed with maternal lethargia. Slowly, almost not at all, she faded, and none would see it. Her very creations were slowly gaining, growing, becoming free, and while a gods image was all they thought of the princess, no less. Simply, she didn't see herself at all. After all, when one spent millennial seasons upon a crop, you simply join it. A mother tending to her children, dripping into their hearts till she was no more, a youthful face in shadow, proceeding light, preceding shadow. She was no different. And by the time she realized this, it seemed to her as if half of her life passed, to a mere suns lap. Her student, her daughter, the first of them all, to breach, surface, and breath independent, straining the umbilical she and all others never knew. And she slowly picked others from the branches, as if a massive reaction had occured. It would not end. Her children had grown. Her winter had finally come. An alabaster mare stood, her glass doors left open. A scroll written in a years time, left to her daughter. Her true daughter. An embrace with nights maiden shared. A song in no language. A voice shared, angelic, as beauty itself wept. A song of herself,and all she was of, the few seeds left in alabaster, scattered. As younger turned to eldest, to watch and reap the old, and sleep herself at the end. The brightening eyes of thousands, young and of joy. Children too young to understand. Mother is gone.
