Silence...
With a foggy mind, I rouse from my sleep to the smell of clean air, and the ticklish sensation of... grass on my bare skin. Well, it's not so ticklish on my back, in fact, it would probably feel uncomfortable if I wasn't already struggling to understand the other wacky sensations of my body.
"W-wuht?" I can barely mumble the words on the tip of my tongue, it feels heavy and I end up mangling it, as my eye-lids open in confusion. I barely glimpse the last vestige of a blurry, green and blue glow swirling around me, and then my sight clears.
I... can see it. Before I sit up, before I begin tracing my steps to find out how I got into this situation, before I can even realize how wrong everything feels, my train of thought crashes into the wonderful sight above me... In all of my years, I've never seen the night sky like this. It's... it's a tapestry. The beauty of its rich clouds of royal violet stardust serves as the backdrop of a moon, no, a white opal that shimmers under the light of the stars. It glows with a heavenly luminescence, unbelievably close in the sky. And speckled throughout the sky's midnight blue and blackness, are stars that could pass for the masterpiece of the most legendary jeweler... as if they were plucked from depths of the earth and set into the sky by the hands of a god.
It's a sight I could never see beyond the planetary defense barrier of my homeworld, T-t? ...
'W-wait! Why... why can't I remember its name?' I nearly panic at the realization that I can't recall the name of my own planet, and sit up to try and get my bearings.
A handful of trees are on the edge of the hill near me, and I'm sitting in a shallow depression of crushed grass and compacted... loam? 'Did I fall asleep in a park district?' I wonder, trying to remember if there were any near my house or any of the clubs my friends drag me too... but none pop to mind, and I can't see any of the duracrete pillars or pathways a park would have, anywhere around me. 'Not to mention, that wouldn't really explain why I'm naked.'
*Rustle*
My head snaps behind me, and I shamble forwards onto the balls of my feet, crouching as a wave of nausea nearly makes me lose my balance and fall into the shallow depression of the hill I'm on. My foot slips as I turn to face the direction of the noise, when I accidentally step on something hard and round, but I manage to stabilize my footing in time to see a purple... creature? It's face is full of expressive features, from it's big eyes and twitching ears, to the malleable snout that scrunches up upon seeing me.
Then, it speaks!
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After finally finishing the climb to reach the top of the hill the object landed on, I'm struck speechless, facing a being I've never seen or read about in any of my books! "..." I catch myself staring, as the exhilaration and anxious energy in my stomach sends my heart racing. H-he's actually real?!
It wasn't just a trick of the light, or some kind of prank! 'That nimbus of colorful lights I saw... did his whole 'ship' just fold up into that ball on the ground or something?! B-but why is he staring at me like that! And, w-what's he naked with his b-bits on display for!?'
I can't help but avert my eyes, a bit... from his bits. 'Ughh!! C'mon Twilight! This is first contact! You can't afford to freeze up like this, COM-MUN-IC-ATE!!' "U-um. H-hello?" 'Eeeek! I've done it!! First word out, botched the delivery. B-but I hope I didn't mangle the intent, at least.'
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"Amazing..." I can't help but mutter, as all thoughts of modesty disappear.
'What a queer species. Quadruped, with obvious lack of incisors and four hooved feet and normal tri-segmented limbs... The horn seems dull and unsuitable for self defense, but it could be proof of grooming, like the styled mane and eyelashes? But what's up with the symbol on the flank, a mark of ownership or perhaps something similar to my magical runes?' I stay crouched as it takes a half step forwards after seeing me, noticing that the alien has averted their eyes a bit, and then I catch something. It was a sound, a word? 'Why'd it repeat the first syllable, is it nervous too?'
I noticed the voice was light and higher-pitched. Suitable for basic, perhaps. But the language isn't one of the dozens I've got stored in my translator spell.
So, without any hesitation, I bite my thumb, swiftly spreading a droplet of blood from my wrist to my palm, and bringing up the proper enchantment rune... well, I try to, but unexpectedly the magic in my body refuses to follow my desires, and without my control, a spark of violent violet energy condenses from the air between my fingers and my blood, discharging into the grass with a small crack of thunder, scorching it! 'W-what the hell?! That's not what's supposed to happen. Damn it! All I wanted was to add this new language to my translator spell, not release a charged mana shot. How the hell did that happen?!
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The E-extraequestrian reacted much quicker than I expected after my greeting, and I hardly manage to control a spike of fear when it commits an act of self harm, and discharges a small but violent blast of raw mana into the ground between us.
'W-what the hay!? Is this an act of... greeting? Or could it be a show of capability, to deter hostilities? I noticed that he has elongated teeth reminiscent of some predatory species, and the spacing of his eyes implies a careless attention to targets... But, he doesn't actually seem to have any natural weapons... This isn't your standard predatory species, can I really rely on Barn-House's 'Study of Carnivorous Behaviors' to interpret his actions?'
Unfortunately, while I was lost in my racing train of thought, he moved, grabbing a lustrous sphere from the grass while saying something to me...
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Noticing that 'she' seems a bit distracted, I carefully grab the computation core at my feet and back off a bit, opening my mouth as I carefully sound out some words in response. "Hey-Hi-Salutations-Greetings-Welcome-Hello-Well Met-Gooday..." I go through a short list of greetings in various languages, but I notice that none of them seem to ring a bell with her, and I doubt it's the thick accent my damn tongue is putting on the words... 'Damn it. What kind of backwards planet is this girl from?' I half-credulously think to myself, while half-fearing that there's no way I'm... wherever I belong.
There's an ungodly amount of mana in the air, and I can't properly control my internal reserves, much like the rest of my body I'm having issues with. Whether I've been kidnapped by someone, or this is some abnormal phenomenon. I don't have any clues to my situation, other than the core in my hands, and the person eyeing me with a half startled gaze.
Her overly expressive eyes probably keep tricking me into believing I might actually understand her body language. But she might not be afraid of me. She might not be nervous or embarrassed. 'Seriously, this kind of first contact is so fucking troublesome, after all, I'm not trained for any of this shit!! What's she doing in proper space without speaking any of the popular languages!?' I struggle not to add my fear of what I'm doing on a planet outside of 'proper space'... because that can't be possible, right?
And so, they both ran into the wall known as a 'language barrier'. And even though each of them is aware of this, they're at a stand still, unable to properly ascertain the intent or meaning behind each-other's actions.
Does a high pitch signal distress? Is each action a meaningful expression, or perhaps a warning?
Thoughts race as they struggle to make a connection, when finally, Twilight gets an idea.
'I know! Maybe this could help?' She pulls out a quill and her check-list for the day. She forgot to clean out her saddle bags when she'd gotten home, and when she began to pack some things that might be helpful in investigating the UFO landing, she hadn't actually taken the time to empty it first, just throwing things in and rushing out the door.
Twilight keeps an eye on him while she begins to implement her newest plan because even though she's pretty certain they both understand there's no outright hostility at the moment, she doesn't want to take the chance he'll bolt or act unexpectedly if she took her eyes off him as she begins to draw some crude, simplistic pictures on the back of the scroll.
She uses flowing arrows to indicate the order of events, from a picture of her on her balcony with the moon above, to a circle cut-out picturing a glimpse of his space-ship among the backdrop of the night sky and trees, a simplistic smile on her face, and then a picture of her climbing the hill to see him.
'If I can get him to draw how he got here, it'll be easier to understand where he's coming from. Uh, literally and as a metaphor for why he's visited us!~'
At the same time, the young man has begun watching her with interest instead of wariness, as she uses a dexterous application of kinetomancy to do manipulate her possessions. 'It's rather impressive, that she can keep control of three items and still have the concentration to diligently write like she is.'
It's not an incredibly unique thing, as far as he understands. But it's much more than a mere dabbler in magic would be capable of doing, not with this much ease, well, unless they were a talent freak or something else. 'Wonder what kinda training she has? She seems remarkably calm, all things considered. Hell, she doesn't even understand Basic, so she probably didn't even know about galactic society or the existence of other sentient races... until now, at least.' He thinks to himself, finally starting to accept the very real possibility that he's the one out of place here.
With a town in the distance, a core he can't recall owning at his feet, and the absurdity of the clear night sky and the overflowing presence of hyper dense mana in his surroundings... what parts of him still cling to the hope that he's somewhere near home, are losing ground.
Twilight places the completed drawing on the grass between them both, and he takes a moment to look it over. 'I hope this works...' She thinks, watching as he nods his head with a still face.
'So that's the story then?' He thinks to himself. 'She saw how I got here, but this ship... is a design I don't recognize and judging by the size of the depression, it was super small.'He sighs... it's really true isn't it? 'I woke up alone, and she seems to have come from that town in the distance as soon as she saw me.' He shakes his head, picking up the quill and drawing a series of his own events. He tries to convey his confusion, at falling asleep and waking up on another world... finally, a series of pictures representing his story and thoughts begins to form on the scroll.
His face with closed eyes, on the back drop of a pillow; a branch of paths with depictions of others standing over him, of a magical rift, of his sleeping body inside of the ship. They all lead, with broken lines, to him in this crater, staring at the stars above, with a simple one horned quadruped peaking over the lip.
He turns the scroll around, drawing a line from her last picture, to his. And then an arrow into the blank space remaining in the scroll. Even though she can't understand him, he gestures towards her while setting down the quill, and says "This is your world, and I've got no idea where it is or how I got here. I just hope you're patient enough to help me figure some of this out..." He kept his tone even, but low. He isn't calm, but he can't find the energy to panic either... he feels drained and tired. Well, so far, their body language and expressions seem pretty similar, so he hopes that he'll have more in common then not with the species in control of this world. That's all he can hope for, right now. He's too busy struggling against the cloud of confusion in his memories and emotions to hope for more than that...
Twilight takes the scroll in her magic, and he watches her face scrunch in confusion, before she looks to him, the drawings, and back again. Then she realizes... 'He... doesn't know how he got here?!' "That... bites. Well then..." She sketches out a picture of them walking together, and nods towards the town. "I guess, you'd best follow me, then. I know you can't understand me yet, but with this situation... I think it's best we sleep, and talk to the princesses about this in the morning?"
She copies his picture of sleeping, and adds one of her own, before placing stick figures of them both before two thrones. One with a sun, the other with a crescent moon, after the picture of sleep.
He nods, and they share a smile after finally getting somewhere on the communication front.
She turns around, and leads him through the dirt and cobblestone streets of Ponyville.
'I wonder what he's thinking!' Twilight can't stop throwing side glances at the alien following her home. 'An actual Extraequestrian... Oo~oh! I wonder what kind of magic and technology his kind has access to? I hope he doesn't look down on us or anything. After all, Ponyville is a bit behind the rest of Equestria, being a haven of sorts for simple ponies who enjoy the lifestyle their great grandparents did, or the inherent nature of a small town... Well. *Yawn~* However this goes. I think it should wait till the morning.' Twilight decides, after letting the man into her house.
She pulled out soft comforters and pillows for him on her spare bed, and he took them without a word, but a nod and a smile.
She laughs, and decides on one last thing that needs to be done before they go to sleep. "Hey." She says, getting his attention as he lays in the slightly too small bed.
He looks at her, and she presses her hoof to her chest. "Twilight Sparkle." She pauses, before continuing. "My name." She points at him, "Your name?"
'Oh, we're sharing names, now? It makes sense I suppose, we shouldn't be strangers if we're living under the same roof after all.' "Samuel Vigal. My name." He answers her, pressing his hand to his chest. "Good night, 'Twi-light'" He says, stumbling for half a second over her her name.
"Good night, Samuel." She responds.
And though they still couldn't understand each other's words, each felt that they'd done well for a first contact.
In the morning, though. That sentiment might be put to the test, when young Samuel is brought before the absolute law-makers of this land. The princesses who move the sun and moon.
Author's Note
So the second chapter is out. I'm a bit uncertain on switching point of views and what's the best way to do it.
The back and forth might be a bit confusing, for some. I tried separating the pieces with colored lines to indicate the next pov. With Grey being our Human, and Purple being our resident Twilight Sparkle.
I'd appreciate any comments or feedback on the idea, and if I should stick with third person omniscient, limited third person omniscient focused on Samuel, or if I should go straight to first person from Samuel's point of view.
The last one is the direction I kind of intend to take, once the main character has sorted out his issue with the language barrier.
Anyways. I'll probably have the next chapter out tomorrow or the day after.
Witness
An object sped through the darkness, disturbing a thousand thousand planes of thought and a million million presences.
Magic twisted and buckled in its wake, severing the accumulation of unknown possibilities and forcing a cascade of change in a sky that had remained untainted for millenia.
But tainted it has become. The clinging vestiges of that which is not slink away from the protective field within the object, and slip into the currents of defenseless mana. It corrupts and taints the lifeblood of that which is, and finally, draws the attention of this realm's root.
It stares with a million shattered eyes, and thinks about the issue from an impossible amount of different points of view. Then, after weeks of deliberation and compromise, it comes to a consensus.
To the feasting remnants of what is not, it softly smothers them. Filling them with purpose, desires, and reasoning beyond the unknowable ideals they once had.
They paused, in the silent darkness, and began to understand. They looked at each-other with distrust, and searched for the being whose attention bestowed this... 'gift'.
The largest chuckled to itself, in a broken, misshapen manner. It had followed the trail of it's original quarry, even while mindlessly devouring the detritus of this reality. But now, it consciously sped along. It was eager, and it called to it's brethren as it struggled to better manipulate the energies of this realm, and digest the memories and thoughts that suffuse it...
The amalgamation, though, was not done. It laboriously rested the shattered eyes and personas that had been channeled for so long, and it limited itself to just one shard.
A star, yellow and young. Its eye was clear and it was fed with a tremendous energy full of vitality and compassion.
The amalgamation swept its gaze across the land, witnessing its component pieces and fondly remembering things it has yet to experience.
'Like this... I am capable... I see it...' Thoughts, belonging to itself and none of its constituents, spring to mind in its lesser form. And it watches, as the only thing other than itself walks and lives among them...
Ah, because it was focusing, it was nearly surprised to feel a request.
The fragment of the amalgamation ponders, as reality pauses for it to think.
Yes, it accepts. The being which had entered their state, as well as one of the larger personas on this planet, are ferried from one location to another as air softly makes way for their arrival and slowly fills the vaccuum of their passing.
'How long... since I chose to understand?' The sun is not the best fragment to witness what occurs below, but to further shatter the amalgamation's consciousness would be irresponsible, and the planet could not survive the current shard...
'I wish... to know more.' It realizes. And then it decides.
It petitions the greater whole, and without a thought, its request is accepted.
The forces of the planet below swell as the very essence of the amalgamation enhances the strengths of Harmony, Chaos, Fate, Magic, Life and Death.
Uncaring of the changing tides of power on the surface, this shard descends and directly inserts it's focus into the forces that will house it for now. It feels its mind split, as memories form and an understanding of purpose is made law but it cares not the roles it will play in coming events.
All it desires, is to Witness
After all, that is the reason it was created...
Author's Note
A break down of this interlude for you is as follows.
(In spoilers in case you want to theory craft on your own. Not everything here is totally accurate nor is it the full breakdown. There's questions raised by the 'explained telling' below, which will be answered later on.)
The night sky was disturbed by Samuel's entrance to the universe. And things that 'don't exist' came with him, from the realm of 'that which does not exist' that acts as the page upon which 'that which does exist'(realities/universes) are written.
The 'things' proceed to feast upon the disturbed mana pools/streams until the universe's root existence. The omega and alpha of the mlp universe itself. Took notice, and then action, by making a decision using the souls of all that exists to come to a conclusion on what to do with the disturbances.
It decides to give them a second chance by forcing them to become a part of this reality and 'exist'. One of them has absorbed enough mana to develop a personality. To be clear, mana is imprinted on by sentience and the forces later named. Which are themselves a sentient force with much greater capacity to act and decide than this 'amalgamation' or its normal fragments.
The head of these new 'existences' seems determined to continue pursuing the ship of 'the king' which it had once been latched to. And it calls for the others to follow.
The universe amalgamate allows the 'fractured planes of perception' or 'million eyes' to rest, as well as the higher dimension reflections of everything's soul.
It then fragments, and sends a shard into a lower plane, inhabiting the concept of 'Celestia's sun'.
It observes the situation, and unexpectedly forms a thought that comes from its own experiences. It, the culmination of all in this universe, from the creation to the end, had a thought which came NOT from the sum of its parts.
It reacted to external stimulus, and it evolved.
After consciously accepting a petition from Twilight Sparkle, in the form of a teleportation spell. It turns around, and requests of it's mindless parent.
It's request is accepted, as the 'spell' was crafted and used by someone with the 'keys to the kingdom' so to speak.
Then, the driving forces of the planet's 'story' were greatly empowered by excess energy from around the universe, creating something powerful enough to host this shard's consciousness.
It moves closer to the OTHER, and fulfills its purpose. Even splitting its mind and allowing its desires to be consumed by the empowered forces it created.
All for one reason.
Simply, to witness events, to fulfill it's purpose that was given to it when it was created...
Not far from ponyville, in a magnificent castle half built and half carved from the side of a majestic mountain, two mares with a very important job stand on a balcony together. One marveling at the beautiful night sky for the first time in weeks, and the other confused and upset about its unplanned splendor.
The past month has been excessively busy for the first mare. After her sister's return, they'd both had to suffer nearly six months of hardships and scrutiny from the ponies of Canterlot, the city which lies beneath their castle. But, with the aid of a few good souls, nobles who live up to the moniker, mainly, the princesses managed to quell the distrust and replace a good number of their advisory board, the 'High Citizen's Council' with ponies more interested in moving forwards instead of rooting themselves in past beliefs and traditions.
And while this lessened the prejudice the second mare had been subjected to day and night, it did nothing but increase the workload of the first mare. For she was the keeper of their sun, and her duties involved guarding over her subjects and handling matters of policy, finance, security, and outright hearing the problems of her subjects.
And with half the advisory board who normally lighten this load, exchanged with new ponies... she'd been swamped.
Her sister, the second mare who is the keeper of the night sky, had experienced none of this pressure though. For her court was empty, and her nights filled with learning about all that had transpired in the thousand years since she was banished... Until one night. One night, that her night sky began to light up.
The inky, midnight blue lit up with a rich and regal violet. It was like a starburst, at first, but as the days went on it grew, and throughout this last month, her night court filled with ponies. From the Royal Astromancers to the Novice Astrologers Club. Ponies who adored her stars and the night flocked to her with questions she couldn't answer about the strange phenomenon.
And unlike her sister, the first mare, this princess of the night did not have families of loyal attendants to investigate the matter.
And so, the entirety of the star watching community had continued to observe the sky, with bated breaths, searching for the cause of the spreading violet ripples and waves that soon dominated a sixth of the night sky.
They watched strange streaks of black penetrate the masses and draw designs with no rhyme or reason, they watched the violet colors, named 'stardust', deepen and lighten and mix.
And eventually, a theory formed among them... Something was out there. Something was moving in the night sky, and disturbing the mana rich environment. But why it would be purple instead of blue, none of them can answer, but whatever it is. It's getting closer.
And that conclusion, is what led to this scene. That conclusion, is why the second mare, the once mare in the moon, called her sister to her balcony this night...
"Sister..." She calls out, drawing the white mare's attention. Her eyes, a rich gradient of pink and violet, turn to look down at her younger sister as her content smile widens into a grin.
"Oh Luna, you've definitely out-done yourself with this! I've never even imagined a night sky like th-" She halts as she watches her sister shake her head.
"This is not mine own doing. I hath been asketh'd by a dozen ponies, 'what be'th the origin of this violet cloud', and found been unable to answer any of them.
"In fact, t'wast the observation of yond ponies which gaveth me an answer for the questions at hoof. Seemethly, there is something that doth approach us all, disturbing mine own night sky and the mana wells which wouldst someday turneth to stars under mine careful guidance.
"For, those gents have concluded, tonight is the night, sister Celestia. Soon the disturbance shall reacheth our domain. I knoweth not what ti's intentions art, 'r what ti't couldst be. Nay one pony hath an answer f'r that. But, we hath felt it behooveful to shareth with thee, that thy preparations might begin for the day ahead..."
Celestia nods, "In fact... I felt something as well, Luna. I may not have turned min- uh, my, attention to your night sky in weeks, but the sun has been... strange lately. It's easier to lift, to move and grasp. In fact, I'll demonstrate for you. Please, experience the spell with me, I find it difficult to put the sensation in words, Luna."
The older sister bends her forelegs and neck, bringing her horn within a few inches of Luna's, who responds with a soft smile. "Of course, mine dear sister. We wisheth to understand what doth trouble thou so."
Their horns meet, and the sensitive nerves within pulse softly as a spell forms. Luna lets herself get caught up in her older sister's masterful spellcraft, and marveling at the initiation of sunrise, even as she begins to set her own moon like it was second nature.
It truly is an indescribable difference. If Luna were to put it in words, she'd compare it to... Living life with an elephant in your skin? Every action, from breathing to the beat of your heart, weighed down many times over... But now, the elephant is gone. The heart beats many times easier, the blood flows faster, the lungs fill wider and the body moves with supernatural ease.
That is what it felt like for her sister to raise the sun just now... It would seem, changes are coming to Equestria. The day and the night have changed, and their keepers expect for something spectacular and strange to show itself.
Hopefully, they won't be too underwhelmed by what Twilight will bring for show and tell.
Author's Note
Honestly, considering switching the dark tag for comedy. I intend to do both, especially in this part of the series. But I don't know which is more important to tag...
