A Strange Visitor
Going to sleep on an empty stomach had always given me strange dreams; however this night had been particularly weird. It was one of those dreams you could have sworn you were there. Tonight's dream was in fact far from one, but instead a terrible nightmare. There were so many scenes of pain and suffering, buildings burning and crashing to the ground, and so many hopeless cries for help. I foundd myself standing in the middle of it all. For some strange reason I couldn't move any faster than a casual stroll. I made my way towards a small house with a portion of the roof burning and on the verge of caving in; faint whimpers were barely audible amid the crackling flames. From what I could see from the outside there seemed to be a small animal trapped inside. Try as I might I couldn't move to help it, I could only stand by as it slumped to the ground and out of my view. Many other voices begged for my help, no matter how hard I yelled in response not a sound passed my lips. I could hardly hear myself think in all the commotion, but one thing stood out amongst the rest, a weak pleading voice attempting to speak to me.
“Why did it have to end like this?” The voice cries. “I know you could have done
something, why didn't you? Why?”
Then nothing but white and a piercing scream. As the scream subsides I slowly open my eyes, I'm no longer in my nightmare but back in my room. As I wipe off my moist brow I realize something is amiss, a soft glow emanated from the hallway beyond my door. I lie in my bed pondering what the glow could be. The intensifying glow suddenly flashes white.
“Déjà vu.” I mutter.
A soft yet powerful female voice beckons to me from the hall. “Are you in there Gears? I need to speak with you.”
“What do you mean 'Gears'? Who are you? What's going on?” I ask, my mind racing trying to figure out what was happening. Who is in my house this late?
“Calm down please and listen carefully, when I enter your room I want you to promise that you won't panic or alert anypony of my presence, agreed?”
“Whoa, back up a second, what did you just say?” I ask inquisitively.
“Do not panic.” She repeats.
“No, what did you say after that.”
“Don't alert anypony of my presence.”
“You just said anypony.”
“Yes.” She replies sounding confused.
“I'm sure you meant anybody, right?”
“Does that really matter right now?” She asks impatiently. “I have urgent matters to discuss with you, do you agree to my conditions or not?”
“Um, I guess so.”
The door slowly opens and a hooded figure walks in, she's animal in stature with the frame of a large dog or perhaps a small horse. She's wearing a cloak as black as pitch.
“Promise not to panic?” She asks once more.
“I take it back, I souldn't have asked who you are, I should have asked what are you.” I back up against the headboard, am I being abducted by aliens?
“Hey! That's not cool, I'm just as much a living being as you are.”
“I still think I have the right to panic. You aren't human, so by default your an alien. Unless of course somehow random animals learned how to speak fluent english.”
"... Right, because animals totally can't do that." She slowly reaches up to her hood and pulls it down to reveal silky purple hair with lighter purple and pink highlights. She brushes her bangs out of her eyes and stares at me with a burning intensity. She isn't alien, she's...
“You're a-.” The word catches in my throat.
“Yes I'm a pony, now listen-.”
“How is that even possible? You can't be real. Am I still sleeping?” Maybe I've just gone mad.
“Isn't magic just wonderful?”
“Alright then, I'm sure I've gone crazy. Just say what you need to say.”
“That's not fair, stop treating me like I'm not here.” She looks genuinely insulted.
“I'm sorry, look at it from my perspective. I'm peacfully sleeping when I get awakened by a purple pony invading my house at,” I grab my alarm clock and hold it up to my face. "Three thirty in the morning!
“Huh, guess i didn't think of it like that, but seriously time is of the essence and I really need to talk to you. Are you going to listen to me or not?” She asks. I know the answer she's expecting.
There is a moments pause.
"I'm listening.” I finally say.
“Good,” She smiles. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I come from the future. A terrible disaster is going to destroy my home and only you have the power to stop it.”
I burst into laughter.
"Hey, stop it. I'm not joking. You're the only one who can save my home."
“How would you know? I've never been to wherever it is you came from. I hardly ever leave the edge of town.”
“A lot of things happen between now and my time.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask confused.
“Follow me and I'll show you.” Twilight says motioning to the door.
“Right, what could go wrong?” I ask sarcastically. “Why would what you just told me ever convince me to go?”
“Good point...” She says disappionted. "Why don't you just take a leap of faith then? The fate of my world rests squarely on your shoulders."
"So what your telling me is that between my time and yours I somehow develop superpowers and save your home from certain doom? Not only that but I'm the ONLY one who can save it. Tell me how that makes sense at all."
"When you put it that way it makes me sound crazy."
"I'm sure you can understand why."
"I understand." She pauses for a moment and then looks back at me. "This is where you need to decide, either stay here and continue on with your uneventful life as it is or you could choose to go with me and save an entire civilization and be the hero you're destined to be. You have about two minutes to decide."
"That's a bit of a tight timeframe don't you think?"
"If you don't hurry the tear will close and we'll both be trapped here, I'm sure you dont want that."
"Not really." I say scratching my head. I can barely keep the house stable by myself, the last thing I need is permanent company. "You know what? I give, I will go with you okay? Just give me a moment to put my pants on."
She bounces up and down giggling exitedly.
"I knew you would come around, I'll be waiting out there." She dashes out the door and shuts it quietly behing her.
"That was a little bit much." I mumble to myself. I contemplate the events that had just occurred, that dream, the visit from an otherworldly pony, and getting told that I need to save her world's future. Was that dream somehow connected? Also I'm pretty sure she called me Gears, I wonder what that could have meant. This was just too much to take in all at once. There's a light knocking at the door.
“Are you ready yet?” Twilight asks quietly.
“Yeah, hold on. Just so you know, you don't need to whisper. I'm the only one that lives here.”
“Really?” She asks surprised. “You have this whole house to yourself?”
“Just me,” I sigh. “It gets pretty boring around here.”
“That's too bad. I don't mean to sound pushy but if you're ready to go, the sooner the better.”
“Sorry.” I say, quickly straightening the clothes I had thrown on. I exit my room and immediately stumble back at the sight. Instead of my hallway there was a cavernous library in its place. Twilight who was patiently sitting by the door catches me before I hit the ground. How did she do that? She wasn't anywhere near close enough to catch me.
"Oh good, you're ready. We better get going, the tear is about to close."
I inspect the room. There aren't any doors except the one I had just exited from; there weren't any windows either for that matter. Nothing more than crammed bookcases and beautifully rendered paintings of stars and galaxies on the walls, along with an intricately carved platform sitting in the middle of the room. The bookcases branch off of the platform in every direction ending at the walls. It almost seemed to symbolize something of importance that I can't quite put my finger on.
“Where are we going exactly?”
“Equestria of course.” She said with a concerned smile, like she had expected me know the answer.
“Alright then, but this room looks like a dead end to me.” I point out.
“Now that’s where you're wrong.” Twilight smirks; she bows her head towards the platform. A small glow begins to emanate from the top of her head, she isn't a pony but a unicorn. That makes a ton more sense. The room darkens and her horn that is now clearly visible glows more intense, the light casting shadows across the room and her form as well. Her body is now well defined through her thin cloak; she is lean and curvy with a star shaped symbol on her flank. Her tail is the same colors as her mane, highlights and all. She is posed as if she's being pushed back with great force. I stand back and realize what a truly beautiful and majestic creature she is. After a few moments Twilight notices my stare, my eyes immediately dart off in a different direction that completely gives me away. She simply smiles and continues to concentrate on the platform. Was that a blush I just saw? The glow grows evermore intense, almost to the point where I can't see anything except her silhouette.
“Almost there,” She says though gritted teeth. “Just a little more.”
I involuntarily reach out a hand to assist but pull it back, how could I help her? This was magic and I have no idea about anything on the subject whatsoever. All I can do is watch her struggle. I turn away. Suddenly the air begins to crackle with electricity, I give a cautious glance. Sparks are now shooting from her horn. A portal, or at least what I guess is a portal begins to materialize. An image of a gloomy meadow is displayed; it's slightly distorted from the movement of the portal. I stumble back once more, awestruck by what I'm seeing.
“That's unbelievable!” I stammer.
“You better believe it.” Twilight says with a smile. She's swaying back and forth precariously, clearly exhausted after what she had just done. I rush to her side as she looses her balance and falls. I'm able to catch her head milliseconds before it makes contact with the tile floor. She's out cold.
Her breathing becomes fast and erratic, she’s also beginning to sweat profusely. I hold the back of my hand to her forehead, it's burning. What do I do now? I'm no doctor and she needs help. I rest my hand on her side and to my surprise she begins to relax somewhat, then something begins to happen. My hand beginsto heat up and glow. I quickly retreat my hand and the glow fades, did I just do that? I cautiously bring my hand back to her side; sure enough it begins to glow once more and she begins breathing normally. She starts to shuffle as she regains consciousness. What just happened? Why did that just happen? Was everything she said true?
“What's going on? How long was I out?” Twilight asks interrupting my train of thought. She begins to shakily get up to her feet.
“Be careful!” I warn.
“No.” She says politely refusing my help. “I'm fine, I'm just a little wiped out. It's weird I was able to recover so fast actually, this is really strange. I feel good as new.” She rubs her face and then holds her hooves out in front of her to examine them. I withhold the comment I was about to make about my hands glowing and bringing her back to life, so to speak.
A metallic object on the floor catches my eye; I lean in for a closer look. Twilight is too preoccupied waking herself up to notice. Upon further inspection I find that it's a gold bracelet with a heart shaped locket on it, also gold. I'm tempted to open it but decided against it. From what I could tell the latch had bent when she passed out and it just fell off. I gently bend the latch back into place and dangle it in front of Twilight.
“Is this yours?” I ask jokingly.
“Yes!” she exclaims snatching it away from me. “You didn't see it did you?” She looks embarrassed.
“Don't worry,” I say reassuringly. “I didn't see anything.”
“Okay,” She says relieved. “It's just that a very special somepony gave it to me and it's very important to me, thank you for finding it.” The sincerity in her voice makes me realize just how important it is to her.
“No problem.” I say blushing a bit at the praise. What was that? Why am I feeling like this? This just is too weird. I begin to question once again whether I'm even awake or not.
“Alright then,” Twilight says sounding much more upbeat. “We should probably stop stalling, the portal might close otherwise.”
“Good idea,” I agree. “But is it dangerous?”
“There's absolutely nothing to worry about,” She notices that I still look hesitant. “Would it make you feel better if we went together?”
“I just need to think for a second.” I stammer.
“Sorry to burst your bubble but time is running out.” Twilight says with an edge of urgency and tapping an invisible watch on her wrist.
“This is crazy.” I mutter under my breath. I begin to progress toward the center of the room with Twilight nearly hugging my side. I politely clear my throat, she seems to have gotten the message and moves away.
“Are you ready?” She asks, as if I had a choice at this point.
“No, but let's just go.”
“I promise you won't regret it.” Says Twilight trying to lift my spirit. “Just so you're prepared, when you enter the portal you're going to experience a slight... Tingling sensation. Don't worry, it's normal.”
“Alright?” I say uneasily. “Jump on three?” I'm still not sure whether I want to go along with this whole thing.
“One...” Twilight starts.
“Two...” I continue. No going back now.
“Three!”
We both dive. The slight tingling sensation she mentioned was an understatement, big time. It felt more like hugging an electrical fence on the bear setting. I look over at Twilight who seems to be handling herself just fine. After a few agonizing moments the sensation subsided. I crumple to my hands and knees from the shock, by the time I regain my composure we are in a completely different place. The meadow looked exactly like it did though the portal, I stand up to get a better view. From what I could tell it was sometime around midnight, the crickets noisily chirp away. I look over at Twilight, who seems unphased by the experience. Something is very wrong, I'm standing straight and yet I'm only eye level with her, my mind begins reeling in confusion.
“How do you feel?” Twilight asks concerned.
“Shorter,” I state bluntly. “What's going on?”
“Would you like a mirror?” She offers.
“What happened?” I ask sternly.
The soft glow once again emanates from her horn. A small hand mirror materializes in front of her.
“What you are about to see may be difficult to understand, just try not to worry too much, for my sake.”
“More difficult to understand than this whole night? I find that hard to believe.”
“You have no idea,” Twilight mutters. “Brace yourself.”
She flinches a little as she rotates the mirror towards me. My heart almost stops as my face comes into view.
A gasp is about the only sound I can muster. I can't exactly say I didn't expect something along these lines; nonetheless I stumble back for a third time. This time I successfully fall over with my backside making an audible thud as I hit the grass. I don't look anything like I did the afternoon before, but I still look like me, just different. Instead of my normal look I find that my mouth and nose are now elongated into a snout, my ears now rest on top of my head rather than on the sides, and my green eyes are much bigger and shinier then they were before. Those are just some minor differences compared to what struck me most, the silver horn placed in between the part in my hair, or mane as it's now called.
“Am I what I think I am?” I ask nervously.
“Probably not.” Twilight answers with a knowing smile.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just look behind you.”
I cautiously do as she instructs and I'm stunned at what I see. Folded at my sides is a pair of pale gray wings. I'm absolutely ecstatic and utterly confused at the same time, the feeling is indescribable. I stretch my new wings out wide, they are about the same length as my body is long and the feathers seem to glisten in the moonlight. I begin to flap weakly and my connection with the ground diminishes. They feel incredibly natural, like having a second pair of feathered arms, almost. I begin to flap vigorously letting my adrenaline take over, I begin to experiment with my new appendages by seeing how tight I could turn or how many flips I could do at once. I've never felt freedom like this before and it is amazing. I make a dive for the ground and at the last second I pull up for a soft landing in front of Twilight. I let the dust settle for a moment before approaching her.
“Wow,” Twilight says astonished. “You are an amazing flier for not having any training whatsoever, I'm really impressed.”
“Thanks.” I say looking down sheepishly.
“Well, I guess I should start explaining stuff now huh?” Twilight suggests.
“If you wouldn't mind.” I say not trying to sound too eager to learn what this craziness was all about.
“As you already know we are in Equestria, it is a place ruled by Princess Celestia where everypony strives towards the common goal of peace and harmony throughout all the land. We are currently in the Everfree Meadow; these woods don't get many visitors so it is probably one of the most secluded areas in all of Equestria. The last thing we need is to get spotted and jeopardize the whole mission.”
“What exactly is 'The Mission'?” I interrupt.
“That's an easy one,” Twilight beams. “All you have to do is make friends and teach them the values of friendship, ultimately saving the world.”
“How is that going to work?” I ask disbelievingly.
“I'm sorry, but if I reveal any events that take place in the future I might just cause a rift in the fabric of space and time. You will have to figure out that one on your own.”
“That's helpful,” I say sarcastically. “So where are you sending me off to?”
“Ponyville, everypony there is very nice and you should fit in just fine granted you hide either one of those.” She says motioning to my wings and horn.
“Why would I need to hide one or the other? Didn't you just say I should be able to fit in?”
“Well yes, the thing is, you are a very rare type of pony, an Alicorn to be exact. They are technically speaking one the most powerful beings in the entire realm.” She says in a rushed manner.
“So you're telling me that I'm like a powerful super pony?"
“That’s one way of interpreting it, yes.” Twilight admits.
“So that's what you meant by having powers, cool.” I chuckle at the mental images of me flying around and saving people, in my imagination I also have lazer vision. “Don't you think I need some sort of back story just in case anybody, excuse me, anypony gets suspicious?”
“Yeah good point...” Twilight says trailing off into deep thought.
An awkward silence follows.
“Well,” She says cheerfully having reached her conclusion a few moments later. “Looks like your going to have to figure that one out on your own as well.”
“Oh great.” I sigh.
“Don't worry,” Twilight says placing a supportive hoof on my back. “I'm sure you'll think of something.”
“Yeah thanks,” I mutter. “So where do I start?”
“I'm glad you asked,” Says Twilight her horn beginning to glow once again. A spark shoots off and a pair of saddlebags appears in front of her. “Anything you might need you will find in here. There is a detailed map book of all of Equestria including Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and even inside the royal castle. There is also three days worth of food and water in this pouch.” She says holding up a tiny pouch. She loosens the strap and shows off its contents. From the outside it looks like a small pouch for holding grains and other things of that nature but on the inside it was more like a large storage crate with a large assortment of food and beverages neatly stacked inside.
“How is that even physically possible?” I ask astonished. “No wait, don't answer that, I already know the answer.”
“Magic,” Twilight says anyways with a smirk. “I also put seven hundred bits in there for shopping
when you need to, and if you notice here,” She says motioning to an inner pocket. “Inside here my personal spell book, it has every single spell I have ever learned as of my time period in the future. It is extremely valuable and should be handled with the highest possible care. I have a repelling spell placed on it so only you can access it. Please be careful with it.”
“Why would you give something of such importance away?” I ask confused.
“Because I trust that you will be able to use it much better than I ever could, am I wrong?”
“I don’t know how to use magic, not even a little.”
“Don’t worry, I have quite an in detail instruction section just for you.”
“Thanks,” I say with an unsure smile. “Anything else I need to know about?”
“I also added a few odds and ends that might help you in a sticky situation.” She moves back to the bags and pulls out various items as she lists the off. “Things like a compass, some fire starting tools, and one of my favorite books just in case you get bored or want to read.”
“That is really nice of you to go out of you way for me like this. Just one more question, how in the world am I going to carry all of that?” The question earns a small giggle.
“I enchanted the bags with a weightlessness spell,” Twilight begins to explain. “Everything inside becomes as light as air for easy transport.”
“You really have thought of everything haven't you? Well, besides the back story and the whole save the world part but that's okay I guess.” This also earns another giggle. Her expression suddenly grows serious.
“There is one more thing I need to cover before I go, it is extremely important that no matter what happens I need you to promise that you wont tell anypony where you came from or that brought you here, understood?”
“Of course, I'll keep it a secret.” I promise.
“Then unfortunately this is what I must bid you farewell, I hope for the best in your ventures.” She draws me in for a hug.
“What?” I manage to ask. I'm completely frozen and can't move after her as she gallops off into an opening in the trees. She pauses for a moment and turns to look back at me.
“Just so you know,” Twilight called. “The town is that way.” Pointing to her left. She turns back to leave.
"Wait!" I call out. "Do we ever... you know... become freinds?"
"That's completely up to you." She says with a comforting smile. "Goodbye, for now."
I stand there motionless for many seconds after she disappears. Everything moved too fast for me to keep up. I try to shake my head and clear my thoughts but to no avail. She's just gone. What do I do now? I get the idea to scan though my bags for some sort of hint, after a few minutes of searching I find absolutely nothing and throw the bags down angrily. Upon hitting the ground the contents scatter.
"Oh great." I let out a long sigh and then begin picking up the contents. After everthing is back in place I pull out the spell book and begin flipping though it. I have some difficultly handling it with hooves but I manage. On no particular page a note falls out of the book and floats down in front of me. I pick it up and read it.
"One, twenty two, seven." I read aloud. "What could that mean?"
A sudden idea strikes me. I immediatly flip to the glossary and start scanning though. Chapter one... Page twenty two... Line seven.
"Bingo! An incognito spell huh?" Facinated by what this could mean I quickly find the spell loaction and read though the description.
~~~
Used for masking unicorn magic by storing the magic inside the body rather than in the horn. Effects are as followed: Invisible horn until the spell is broken, No magic use until the spell is broken, Perfect disguise if coupled with tranformation spell (See 2, 35, 11).
To use spell: Channel all magical energy into horn, instead of casting the magic out reverse its direction and cast into body. If executed properly the horn should fade into nothing.
To break spell: Summon magic from within back into horn.
(NOTES: For personal use only, DON'T try on others, effects might be fatal.)
~~~
After reading through the description a couple of times I notice a side note messily scribbled into the margin.
~~~
Dear Gears, in order to channel your energy all you have to do is concentrate on making that effect happen. Use the spell to avoid suspicion from other ponies. (PS: If you break concentration the spell will most likely blow up in your face.) -Twilight
~~~
"That's reassuring." I mumble. "Might as well get it over with."
I firmly plant my hooves in the ground preparing to pushed back like Twilight was earlier. Now concentrate on channeling energy into my horn. I clamp my eyes shut and concentrate intensely. A feeling like water moving though my body begins, the liquid moves forward up my spine, up my neck, into my head, and finally all of it pours into my horn. The point where the liquid-like sensation ended with the last drops filtering into my horn I start to feel extremely lightheaded. My horn now glows with a powerful green energy. I immediately try to move the energy back inside; the energy begins to move back down. It's now compacted into a tight sphere. As it moves the glowing follows, eventually slowing to a stop in my chest and fading until it gave off no more light. The heat burns in my chest, similar to hearburn. Eventually the heat fades the same way the glowing did. Was that it?
I loosen my stance. That wasn't too bad. I reach up to check to see if my horn is gone. Its still there. Is there something I did wrong? It suddenly begins to sizzle.
"That's not good is it?" I ask. The question is immediately followed by my horn going silent. "Maybe that's just what it does before it fades away." I say half-heartedly.
My horn explodes. The shock throws me into a nearby bush. If that didnt just wake up everyone within a fifty mile radius I don't know what would. I lie there for a few moments to regain my composure. What just happened? I reach up to check if my horn is still there, it's not. What ever happened, it worked. I hop out of the bushes and brush off the leaves and twigs that clung to me.
“Hello?” A female voice calls from above the trees behind me. “Are you alright?”
Startled by anypony other than myself here my instincts take over and I fly off, away from whoever saw me, and almost forgetting the bags in the process. I can't be discoved, not yet.
“What? Wait!” She calls, obviously surprised at my reaction, her surprise fades quickly as she wastes no time to give pursuit.
From what I could tell she is an experienced flier because she's gaining at an alarming rate no matter the obstacles I put between us. I glanced over my shoulder to see how close she is. I then kicked it into overdrive when I see she's only about a bodies length away. Beginners luck had gotten me this far and I had a feeling my luck was about to run out. I risk another peek, she's almost right on top of me, she could have reached out and grabbed me but she doesn't. Instead she pulls back sharply and begins yelling something at me. I can't hear her though; the wind in my ears is too loud. The look on her face was no longer malicious but full of concern, that is the last thing I see before...
CRACK!
Distracted by who was following me I crash head first into a large tree going nearly full speed. The world begins to spin and everything fades to black.
(AUTHORS NOTE: I you notice any mistakes which I guarantee I made, please don't hesitate to point them out. I am the only that has worked on this story; writing, editing and revising and revising and revising, oh so much revising. If you cant tell how much I dislike revising then I will tell you, I don't like it. This is a very time consuming project and any input is greatly appreciated. (PS: I fixed the whole Mary Sue thing. ^-^ ))
