Alternate Paths

Chapter One: The Aberration

The Sun’s warm rays illuminated a wooden desk stacked full of books, loose papers and writing tools. It slowly rose from behind the horizon, crimson rays turning through shades of orange to the clear yellow that bathed Equestria each day. The bright glow finally rising above a certain tall pile of tomes, it reached the eyes of a busy unicorn scribbling notes on a parchment on the desk. She squinted her bloodshot eyes until she couldn’t see what she was writing anymore. That’s when she finally woke out of her stupor, dumbly staring first at the painful light, then at the clock on the wall.

“Sweet Celestia! Morning?!”

“Morning, Twilight.”

Twilight spun around, finding herself face to face with a surprised Spike.

“Twilight… have you been up all night? It’s past breakfast time! I overslept and thought: ‘Isn’t Twilight sweet, letting me sleep while she goes downstairs to make breakfast…’ but here you are, still studying that weird book!”

“It’s important, Spike! Princess Celestia herself assigned this task to me. I don’t want to disappoint her and be… tardy!”

“What’s so special about it anyway? You’ve had your eyes on it since yesterday, without even taking a lunch break. I had to practically stuff sandwiches down your throat so you wouldn’t start starving!”

“It’s special, Spike.” Twilight started walking in a circle around the room. “It’s the only book in Princess Celestia’s private library neither she nor Princess Luna have never seen before. How could it have been placed there without either of their knowledge when nopony else has access to the private collection? It’s also written in a language nopony, not even the princesses speak! They did find material that could help translate it… and that´s what I’m doing right now. That’s what I should be doing right now!” She used her magic to whip the curtains in front of the window and returned to the desk where a large, ancient book lay open. Twilight glanced at her latest notes beside it.

“But it’s so slow and difficult… I’ve barely transcribed two pages, and I can’t even understand what it means!  I mean, it’s understandable… but it makes no sense!” She stared at the dragon wildly. “I don’t understand this book!”

Spike recoiled a bit at her panicked outburst. “Take it easy Twi! I’m sure you’ll understand it once you translate a bit more… but first, you really need to eat something. And sleep! You’ll get nothing done in that state.”

The unicorn let her head droop. “You’re right, Spike. I’m stressing out too much on this. I’ll continue in a few hours. Maybe I’ll take a warm bath too.” She smiled at the thought of a relaxing bubble bath. “Thank you Spike. This is why you’re my number one assistant.” She rubbed his head affectionately.

“Yeah. I dread to think where you’d end up without me. Propably in a looney bin”, he chuckled. “I’ll make some breakfast now, you go take that bath.”

*Knock knock*

“I’ll go see who that is”, Twilight said, walking to the front door. Please don’t let it be Pinkie Pie. I’m not in the mood to deal with her.

The door opened with a burst of purple magic. “Letter to a Twilight Sparkle”, intoned a gruff voice behind it.

“That’s me. Uh, where’s Derpy? She’s usually the one to deliver post to all of Ponyville.”

“I’m not with the mail service. I was instructed to make sure this letter reaches you.” The way he said it made it obvious it was a well rehearsed line.

Twilight looked curiously at the stranger. He was a large stallion with a dull brown coat and a dark grey mane. The scars on his face spoke of numerous fights and a violent nature. His blank stare betrayed no emotion, and, frankly, no intelligence to speak of, either. He reached into a small saddle bag and procured a blank envelope.

“Er… thank you. May I ask, who is it from? There’s nothing on the envelope.”

But the stallion simply turned and walked away, as if not hearing her. The librarian considered going after him, but decided against it. He’s obviously not going to tell me… if he even knows, himself.

Puzzled, she closed the door and opened the letter.

She felt a magical seal break. It was a powerful and intricate spell that prevented the envelope’s opening by anypony else but the recipient. Twilight was befuddled by the extremity of this precaution. I’ve never seen anything like this!

The contents only left her more confused. It was Princess Celestia’s handwriting! And yet… there was something odd about it.

My faithful student

Yesterday, I sent you the old tome found within my library. I’m sure you’ve been studying it keenly since then. What I ask of you now may seem strange, but I beg of you to trust me. I couldn’t send this letter through our usual channel for the same reasons as why I’m asking you this.

Study the book no further. Wait until tonight, then bring the book to the Old Castle within Everfree Forest. I will meet you there. Tell no soul about this, and stay unseen as you travel.

Princess Celestia

Twilight’s tired mind was reeling with questions. What could it mean? Why these precautions? Why couldn’t she continue studying the book? She grew dizzy from the intense brainwork.

“Who was it?” came a question from the kitchen.

I can’t let him know of the letter. I can’t tell anyone, not even him.

“It... was… Derpy!”

“Oh. Anything for me?”

“No!”

“Anything interesting?”

“No!”

Spike peeked his head from the kitchen, looking confused: “You all right?”

“Yes!” She hid the letter behind her back. “I’ll, er, go take the bath now!”

Before Spike could inquire any further, the student had disappeared into the bathroom.

“She really needs some sleep”.

***

As the night fell, Twilight pretended to go to sleep. She had taken a nap earlier, as difficult as it was to sleep, her mind constantly questioning the situation. She was still left tired from finding excuses not to study the old tome and running around the town doing everything else but studying, trying not to raise Spike’s suspicions. It wasn’t going well, but she knew she had succeeded when she retired to bed early, claiming she would continue her work tomorrow.

When a couple of hours later she heard Spike crawl to bed and his peaceful snore begin, the unicorn snuck out of bed and tiptoed to her desk. There she lifted the heavy book into her saddlebag and tried to position it so she wouldn’t tumble on every step. Sneaking around the house, she packed some food and supplies to the bag on her other flank, balancing the weight she was carrying.

The pale moonlight offered some visibility outside as Twilight took the back alleys out of Ponyville, heading to the dark forest. It was dangerous enough in bright daylight, but Twilight remembered the way to the crumbling castle, using her horn as a torch and jumping at every strange sound from the depths of the woods. With a few cuts and bruises from spiked bushes and unseen holes on the ground, she finally reached the Old Castle safely. It was shrouded in fog, like a dragon’s lair with smoke emanating from within. The unsteady bridge was still intact from her last visit with the other girls. Twilight felt a pang of loneliness remembering her friends, but she knew she’d find her mentor inside.

Bracing herself, she crossed the bridge, careful not to look down, and entered the castle. She knew where to go; the Princess would surely wait for her in the room where they had vanguished Nightmare Moon and saved Princess Luna.

Something was not right. A low reverberating feeling pulsated in the rocks around Twilight as she climbed the stairs towards her destination. Magic… but not like any I’ve felt before.

As muted as the magical echoing seemed, the student of magic recognized it was intensely powerful and only barely contained. She felt her hairs stand up and sweat start to trickle down her face. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to come here after all… but she was summoned by the Princess herself. Loyalty and curiosity overcame fear as Twilight took her last steps of ascent and entered the room.

This was the source, the centre of it… yet she saw nothing and nopony. The unicorn took a few careful steps forward, now feeling the pulsating sensation in her horn. It was accelerating.

Welcome.

That was not Princess Celestia.

You come, as summoned. You bring the means.

Something turned, no, twisted in the centre of the room, coming visible from some other state of being. It was not a living thing, but a hole; a portal of undescribable shape. The echoless voice seeped from inside it. Twilight couldn’t imagine anything that could have such a voice.

I bear the meaning.

She tried running away, but was transfixed in place, hypnotized by the strangeness in front of her.

Enter

All colour faded from the world as Twilight felt herself being drawn forward without moving, gliding to the portal without touching the floor. Her mind was streched, the magical pulsing intensifying. It struck through her horn and a light blurred her vision.

She was lost.