Stargem

Star Swirl the Bearded was known across Equestria as one of the greatest and most powerful unicorns in history. He wielded unparalleled magical skill, using it to help solve problems across the land. When Star Swirl wasn't out saving Equestria, though, he spent his time in the catacombs of the mountain that would soon hold the jewel of Equestria--Canterlot.

In his time, Canterlot hadn't quite been finished yet. The mountain city was still under construction, though everypony knew that it would be a sight to behold. The catacombs in the mountain the city would rest on had been there for centuries, worn away by time and the elements. They were a perfect place to practice magic; quiet and concealed, away from anypony that might want to steal the magician's ideas or could get hurt.

Star Swirl was known for teaching other gifted magicians. His most famous and successful protégé was Princess Celestia. She was the only pony that anypony could remember Star Swirl teaching. But the Unicorn had other apprentices, those kept quiet for security, or because they didn't want to be mobbed by ponies wanting to be taught by Star Swirl, or because they were downright dangerous.

One such dangerous pony was named Spark.

Spark was one of the most gifted Unicorns Star Swirl had ever met. He had been teaching himself complex spells and actually doing them correctly since he was a tiny colt. Star Swirl took Spark to be his newest student, and together, he grew more and more powerful.

But, you know what they say: absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Spark had found absolute power, and he was proving the saying right.

"Star Swirl! Come quick! I must show you!" Spark shouted gleefully into the catacombs of the mountain. "My magnum opus! It's complete!"

Star Swirl looked up from the book he had been reading. He was rather tired of Spark insisting that his "multiverse navigator" was in working order, since every time he had said it was before had been false. But, Star Swirl had to admit, he was still rather curious to see if his project would work. From what Spark had told him, it would be much more practical than his mirrors, and fifteen times as powerful. So, setting the book down and slipping on his trademark hat, Star Swirl trotted down into the mountain's tunnels, towards the hollow where Spark had set up his work.

The hollow in the catacombs was full of strange technologies and books. Papers were piled on tables and taped to the cave walls. Beakers were filled with elixirs and gases of all colors, some bubbling, some sparkling, and still others were hissing or making noises. Spark himself was scurrying around the hollow, probably searching for a piece of paper that hadn't already been written on. Star Swirl cautiously peeked in the crowded cavern, a little scared that he might get hit in the face with something if he went in any further.

"You needed me, Spark?" the Unicorn wizard asked nervously, ducking as a roll of parchment was thrown toward his face.

"Ah, yes! Do come in, Star Swirl! I must show you my masterpiece!" Spark once again flew across the cave, heading for a table holding something that glowed brightly, enough to be seen from under the thick cloth that was covering it.

"Behold!" the Unicorn student said dramatically, ripping the cloth away to reveal the shining object. Star Swirl wasn't able to hold back his gasp of astonishment.

The object was a small, milky-white stone, about the shape of the bottom of a hoof. A golden star of light pulsated in the center of the stone, with veins of the same color stretching across the surface until they eventually faded at the edges. A powerful magic radiated from the stone, so strong that Star Swirl could feel it washing through him, filling him up from the bottom of his hooves to the very tip of his horn. Excitement rushed through him, as did the belief that it might actually be complete this time. But, Star Swirl was also wary of the stone. he knew the costs of having that much power, and Spark had already become so distant and somewhat unreasonable...

"So explain to me one more time how it works," Star Swirl asked his apprentice.

"It's rather simple, as I hope for anypony to be able to use them." Spark said pridefully. "You see--"

"What do you mean, 'them'?" Star Swirl asked warily.

"Oh, I made duplicates of the stone. That way my research will have an extremely high chance of not getting destroyed." Spark replied, as if it were obvious. The older Unicorn looked at his student with a worried expression as he continued.

"As I said before, working the stone is not a complicated task. All one has to do is hold it in their hooves, like so--" Spark paused to demonstrate, making a v-shaped trench with his hooves and placing the stone in it--"think of where they want to go, and say these magic words: Oogie boogie boo!"

Star Swirl was going to give his apprentice a look that said something like, "Really, those are the magic words?", but he didn't have the chance.

Spark was gone.

Spark opened his eyes. Travelling across the multiverse was more painful than he thought it would be, but he was only slightly sore. Looking around, he drank up his surroundings.

He was sitting on a wooden porch in front of a house carved directly into a hill. A rocking chair across from him swayed in the faint breeze. The door to the house was short and circular, with a solitary window near its top. Several homes similar to the one Spark was by dotted the landscape, which was hilly and green. Gardens were by nearly every house, and tiny little bipeds shuffled about on the streets below, attending to daily business. Spark held in a squeal of delight. His Multiverse Navigator worked!

The Unicorn sat for a while, taking in the spectacular view, wondering when he should leave, and where he should go next. The time came for Spark to go when one of the tiny bipeds came from the house he was in front of. It looked surprised to see him, quickly going back inside and locking the door. Spark made his departure right as the biped peeked out its door again, having convinced itself that he had been hallucinating.

Now Spark found himself in a tiny room. It appeared to be moving up, making the unicorn think of the dumbwaiters that Equestria had. However, this one moved on its own. The doors even moved automatically, revealing to Spark a bigger room. In the room were various machines, with buttons and multicolored lights. Bipeds also lived here, although they were larger than the ones Spark had seen previously. They sat by the machines, obviously working them. Most wore bright yellow, blue, or red garments on there tops with black pants, although one wore a blue dress-like item. They all seemed alarmed to see the pony, making their ways behind furniture and holding up little machines. Based on his research, Spark assumed that these creatures were humans, and the things they were holding were guns. He quickly teleported out of there, disappearing just as they started firing on him.

Spark found himself back in his cave in Equestria, with Star Swirl looking dazed. He couldn't hide his pride; he had managed to impress the great Star Swirl the Bearded, something he had hoped to do with the invention of his Multiverse Navigator. "So, what do you want me to do with my duplicates?" Spark asked.

Star Swirl mumbled his answer, still fazed from what he had seen.

"Sorry, I didn't quite--"

"I said, destroy them."

Spark stepped backwards in shock and disgust. "You want me to destroy my life's dream? My magnum opus? You want me to wipe everything I've worked so hard at from existence?"

"Yes."

Spark couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No! I won't do it!" He yelled, holding his own stone close to his body.

"You must," Star Swirl insisted, becoming agitated and angry. "Messing with the multiverse is a dangerous thing! I only allowed you to pursue this path because I thought you were responsible enough! But it appears that I was wrong."

"No, you weren't. I can be responsible. I won't use the stones very often, and I'll only share their existence with ponies I could trust my life with. I don't have to destroy--"

"But you do!" Star Swirl was shouting now, a few of the lighter beakers shaking as he spoke. "I know firsthand the consequences of messing with alternate realities. The multiverse is just as dangerous!"

"But it's not!" Spark retaliated. "The multiverse and different realities are two different things! Travelling through the multiverse might have no side effects at all!"

"That's not a chance I'm willing to take." Star Swirl said grimly. "Where are your duplicates?"

"You--you're not going to..."

"If you won't get rid of the stones, then I will." Star Swirl's horn lit up, and he left the room, calmly walking through the catacombs towards Spark's cache of the stone's copies.

He wouldn't let them all be destroyed. They were his life's work. His foalhood dream come true.

Spark really only needed one stone. He looked down at his hooves, suddenly remembering the milky rock in his possession.

The Unicorn threw on his cloak and raced through the catacombs, heading to the secret exit he had found months ago that led straight to the frozen north. He could use his stone to hide, to stay safe. To keep it safe.

Spark activated the stone, leaving Equestria permanently.

"So, Princess, why exactly did you call us here?"

The Mane 6 and Spike followed both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna down the halls of Canterlot castle. The sun was now exactly overhead in the sky, signaling the change from morning to afternoon. The ponies had been called to come early that morning, saying that the situation at hand was urgent, but nothing else.

Twilight was her usual curious self. She had tried to ask the question in some more roundabout ways, until she finally got tired of getting no response and became very up front about the matter.

Princess Celestia, however, didn't want to discuss the situation in the castle, even if this was one of the more secluded areas. "I'll tell you when we get there." she responded.

The Princesses led the Mane 6 and their dragon companion to a familiar set of double doors that led into the catacombs of the mountain, as well as Star Swirl's study.

"Will you two be coming with us?" Twilight asked.

"No, not this time," Princess Celestia said, her sister nodding in agreement. "However, there is already somepony in there to help you."

The Mane 6 exchanged glances before walking through the doors, Spike trailing behind. Twilight easily navigated through the tunnels using the signs posted everywhere, and the rest of the group was not quite as lost as they were last time they had come.

"So who do you think is in here?" Rainbow asked, her voice echoing in the quiet catacombs.

"Ooh, I bet they got a new hydra!" Pinkie trilled, obviously joking, although Fluttershy became noticeably more nervous.

"Pinkie, th' Princesses wouldn't've sent us down here alone with a live hydra on th' lose." Applejack retorted. "Ah think it's gonna be somepony we know."

"Maybe one of our Canterlot friends?" Rarity suggested. "Maybe Sunset has returned from Earth!"

"I hope they have food," Spike grumbled. "I packed everything except breakfast."

"While all of your guesses--well, most of them--" Twilight eyed Pinkie Pie, fighting the urge to question her--"made a little sense. But I think the pony waiting for us is none other than--"

As the group rounded the corner into the hollow known as Star Swirl's study, they recognized the old Unicorn stallion standing in the middle of it.

"Star Swirl!" the group gasped.

"It is good to see you all again," the sorcerer smiled sadly. "I just wished it were under better circumstances."

"What's the problem?" Twilight asked.

"Well... it's a story, so get ready..." Star Swirl said, digging into his memories...

After hearing the tale of Spark and his stone, Star Swirl told the group what the problem was.

"I do believe that there is one more stone in these catacombs," he said, pointing to four separate tunnels branching from his study. "My magic is still a little weaker than it used to be, but I can still search for it. I would like your aid in finding this last stone, so that it may be destroyed, and we can end this terrible business."

"Alright then, girls!" Twilight said, taking the lead. "Rarity, Fluttershy, go down that tunnel. Pinkie, Rainbow, you'll take that one. A.J., come with me." The Mane 6 divided into their groups and headed off into the caverns, with Star Swirl taking his own. They all ran off so quickly that Spike was left in the dust, unsure where anypony was. He went down a tunnel to his left, hoping it would be the one Rarity or Twilight was in.

It was the tunnel Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were exploring. While Spike was a little disheartened, he knew it could be worse.

"So, how are we supposed to find this Multiverse doohickey if we don't have any magic to track it down?" Rainbow asked, floating through the tunnels.

"We just look for a shiny white rock in the middle of all this grey rock! Duh!" Pinkie replied, bouncing down the tunnels. Rainbow smacked her forehead, not wanting to show Pinkie that she was a little upset that she didn't think of that first.

"It's okay," Spike tried to comfort the Pegasus, which just made her jump.

"When did you get here!?" Rainbow yelled.

"You didn't know that he followed us?" Pinkie turned around to see the scene.

"I thought I was being loud enough for you to hear me," the dragon apologized.

"Well--you weren't!" Rainbow huffed, trying to cover up her startled fear with annoyance. "Just--just don't do that again."

"Aye-aye, Captain Rainbow Dash!" Spike joked, saluting her. Pinkie giggled.

Rainbow decided to play along. "Onward, my daring crew!" she said, flying past the other two and taking the lead.

Eventually the group came to a hollow. It was mostly empty, except for the bookshelves lining the walls. Rainbow floated in, Pinkie bouncing right behind her. Spike took a quick look around, coughing at the sheer amount of dust in the air.

"Jeez, whoever worked here was after Twilight's own heart," Rainbow said, peering at the hundreds of books squeezed together on the shelves.

"I don't know, it seems pretty unlikely that she would read some of these." Spike noted as he scanned the spines of the books. They had very odd titles.

"Ooh, this one looks like a page-turner!" Pinkie bounced up to the top of one shelf, floated long enough to pull a book off of it, and landed back on the ground. The book was titled Sweets of Equestria.

"What's it about?" Spike said, rushing over.

"Well, let's--" Pinkie opened the book, expecting to see pages full of words.

Instead, the paper had been carved into, and a rock sat in the cut out space.

A white, glowing rock.

"Woah!" Spike exclaimed, grabbing the rock before anypony could stop him. His pupils had dilated, and his tongue was hanging from his mouth.

"Hey!" Rainbow shouted, attempting to take the stone from Spike, who only held it closer. "We're supposed to take it to Star Swirl so he can destroy it!"

"But, I'm so hungry!" Spike whined. "And if I eat it, it will technically be destroyed!"

"Technically, shmecnically!" Rainbow retorted. "Who knows? Maybe eating a magic rock will mess you up!"

"How?"

"Well--somehow! I don't know!" Rainbow sputtered. "Just don't eat it!"

Spike whimpered, but gave up the rock to Pinkie. She cupped it in her hooves.

"Man, Spike's got a point about eating," Pinkie said, her stomach suddenly grumbling. "I could sure go for a batch of cupcakes!"

The stone in Pinkie's hooves began to glow. It emitted a white light, filling the room.

"What's--" Rainbow began her question in the hollow.

"--happening?" she finished it in Sugarcube Corner.

The Pegasus rubbed her eyes to make sure they were still working. Sure enough, she, Pinkie, and Spike were all standing in the kitchen Ponyville's sweet shop. Rainbow looked at her friends, her mouth open in disbelief. Spike shared her surprise, but Pinkie just smiled.

"How about those cupcakes?" she asked as if nothing had just happened.

"But... how... we were just... but... I don't..." Rainbow was too shocked for coherent sentences. Spike just didn't even try to speak.

"Why are you guys so surprised? The rock is a teleportation device," Pinkie said, gathering ingredients for cupcakes.

"Yeah, but... but it's a multiverse teleporter-thingy!" Rainbow cried. "I'm no Twilight, but I'm pretty sure that Sugarcube Corner is not considered another universe!"

Pinkie simply shrugged and put her cupcakes in the oven.

"Well, maybe it's broken," Spike suggested as he picked up the stone and observed it. "Or low on power."

"How would we prove that?" Rainbow asked.

"Um, we could, try to go to another universe? And see if it works?"

"Ooh! I wanna try that!" Pinkie zoomed over and snatched the stone from Spike. "I want to go to Earth... but not the one we know! One that's got... lots of weird technology!"

"Doesn't that also describe the Earth Twilight went to?" Rainbow asked Spike, who replied with a shrug as they were once again swallowed by a blinding white light.

The three friends found themselves on a ramp in a room they didn't recognize. Behind them stood a large ring decorated with orange lights and runic symbols and filled with some kind of glowing water. In front of them were lots of--humans, Pinkie called them--with guns in their hands, aiming straight for the ponies and dragon. Spike cowered behind Pinkie, who nervously waved a "hello". Rainbow floated in a defensive position above her friends. "Pinkie, take us back!" she shouted.

"Okee dokee lokee!" the Earthpony said, nervously bringing her hand down to hold the stone firmly. "I want to go to Equestria!"

Nothing happened. The Equestrians were still on the ramp. The guns were still aimed on them.

"This is not going to be quite the adventure," Pinkie said, glancing warily at the guns before her.