The next morning, Twilight eagerly resumed using the machine, fueled by both impatience and the lingering excitement from the conversations overheard the day before. To her dismay, however, the only response was deafening white noise reverberating throughout the throne room.

"Twilight? It's barely 6 AM, and you're up already" grumbled Spike, barely awake as he shuffled into the room.

"I couldn't resist! I was too curious to let it wait. But it seems I won't get any answers this morning," Twilight replied, her frustration evident.

"Come have some breakfast first," Starlight said, appearing in the doorway. "You can think more clearly after you eat. We'll have a proper debrief with the others I'm sure everyone has their own theories. Who knows, even Pinkie Pie might have a moment of clarity."

The ponies and Spike made their way to the kitchen for breakfast.

The atmosphere was calm yet tinged with unease. Twilight had buried herself in books as soon as she finished eating, trying to untangle the mystery with a flurry of theories ranging from the absurd to the overly intricate.

From a distance, Starlight observed Twilight through the library door as she passed by. She sighed softly she hadn't seen Twilight this distressed since the return of the Pillars of Equestria. Despite her own growing curiosity, Starlight managed to mask it better. Still, the situation fascinated her deeply.

An hour later, all the ponies gathered in the throne room. Twilight stood at the center, addressing the group.

"I’d like to revisit what we heard yesterday. But first, I want to hear your theories on how this device works and why."

She launched into a rapid explanation of her ideas. "At first, I thought it might be... but then I considered... and maybe it works if..."

"Darling," Rarity interjected after a while, "these theories are fascinating, but honestly, I must admit and I don’t think I’m alone here I’m completely lost."

The other ponies nodded in agreement.

"My head’s spinning! It feels like it's going to explode with all this talk!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, dramatically clutching her forehead.

"Twilight," Applejack said calmly, "sometimes things just don’t have clear explanations. They exist because they exist. Take a look at the others you’ve lost them."

Twilight glanced around the room. Fluttershy was on the verge of a panic attack, overwhelmed by the confusion and fear of the unknown. Rainbow Dash sat slumped over, massaging her temples in a futile attempt to soothe a pounding headache.

Starlight stepped in, her voice steady. "I’m just as curious as you are, Twilight, but instead of chasing every wild idea, we should focus on what we do know. Let’s recap:

• This is a magical device that uses frequencies to pick up unusual signals.
• These signals seem to be some form of communication, implying that the source might be entities located near the machine but outside of our known world.

The most startling part, though, is the implication that we’re not alone that there could be worlds beyond our own, perhaps even outside our universe."

Rainbow Dash groaned, her head now flat on the table. "This is all way too confusing. My brain feels like it’s melting! At least when we know what we’re dealing with, we have a plan but here? Even the map’s not helping us!"

"A game of hide-and-seek, maybe?" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "I love hide-and-seek! First one to find the other universe wins... I don’t know, a balloon? Just don’t go near the mountains; echoes are sneaky if you’re too noisy!"

"Darling, I’m sure Twilight appreciates your enthusiasm, but this isn’t a game," Rarity said gently.

"Pinkie, you’re a genius!" Starlight suddenly exclaimed.

"I am? Yay! I win! Balloon for me!" Pinkie cheered, firing off her confetti cannon. Then, tilting her head, she added, "Uh... wait. Why am I a genius?"

"Like echoes in a mountain, magical or otherwise, waves bounce off obstacles. If the signal is coming from beyond our world, it means it’s traveling quite a distance to reach us. But space isn’t a straight road. I have an idea!" Starlight continued excitedly. "Twilight and I can work on a method to calculate a sound’s origin using its delay and propagation. Meanwhile, you all should head to Canterlot and check the library archives. I recall a book on telepathic spells there bring it back and research anything else related to the subject."

"Exactly!" Twilight added, her demeanor shifting to one of determination as she straightened in her throne. "The device operates through magical waves, and while a wave is a wave, a telepathic spell works similarly. The difference is that the wave propagates, but only those attuned to the frequency can receive the message. So we might not be hearing an actual sound, but rather experiencing a form of long-distance telepathic communication."

"Alright, then. You do that. Me? I’m going back to bed," Spike declared, clutching his pillow. "I was woken up way too early for all this thinking."

With renewed determination, Twilight turned to her friends and declared, "Let’s get to work!"

Later that day, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy had combed through nearly every book available in the Canterlot library archives.

"I haven’t read this much since the last Daring Do book," Rainbow grumbled.

"I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a waste, but we’ve been through hundreds of volumes and found nothing even remotely close to what we’re looking for," Applejack sighed.

"I really hoped we’d find something. I just don’t want Twilight and Starlight to be too disappointed," Fluttershy added softly.

"I may not be an expert in magic," Rarity chimed in, "but even with my limited understanding, this is all well beyond me. None of it makes any sense."

Rarity picked up the book on telepathic spells again. "Even this one doesn’t teach us much more than what Starlight had already hypothesized a frequency that only the intended recipient can detect through magical waves. The book is more of a guide on how to perform the spell and adapt it for different uses, but there’s no deeper explanation or mention of possible variations."

"Looks like we’ve drawn a blank," Applejack said with a sigh.

"I don’t know why you’re talking about blank spaces in a library," Pinkie Pie shouted from further away, "but all this reading about portals—and especially that one book on interdimensional travel has made me crave cream puffs! Oh, and cabbage rolls too!"

Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie, stunned. "A book on dimensional portals? Pinkie Pie, why didn’t you mention that sooner? That might be exactly what we need!"

"Wait, I thought we were focusing on waves and telepathy?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.

"We are," Applejack explained, "but even the most powerful telepathy spell wouldn’t reach beyond Equestria, let alone across universes. Now imagine if those magical waves traveled through a portal instead—that would bypass the distance entirely. The wave would simply pass through the portal and continue on its way."

"Exactly," Rarity added. "That would explain how the signal could travel so far if it’s coming from outside our world. It suggests there might be a physical portal—or at least a magical fissure—linking our worlds. If we locate the breach, we can trace the messages back to their source."

Armed with this new theory, the four friends set off for Ponyville.

At Ponyville:

"Our calculations are accurate, yet we still can’t pinpoint the signal’s origin," Twilight grumbled, frustrated.

"Maybe it was too simple an idea to work," Starlight replied. "We must be missing a crucial piece of information... something like..."

"A portal acting as a bridge?" Rarity called out as she entered the castle’s chamber.

"Exactly! Welcome back," Twilight exclaimed. "You must have found something useful—at least you accomplished more than we did."

"Well, we’ve been thinking," Rarity began. "A book on dimensional portals suggests the magical signal could be traveling through one. Without such a portal, there’s no way a signal could be powerful enough to reach so far."

"That would clear up a lot of inconsistencies in our localization formulas," Starlight said thoughtfully. "But if I remember correctly, portals or even fissures between worlds are purely theoretical. No significant breach between two worlds has ever been proven possible."

"Exactly," Twilight agreed. "It’s more theory than practice. The level of control, power, and sheer magic required to even attempt such a thing is far beyond any pony’s capabilities even the strongest among us."

"But what about Discord?" Fluttershy interjected.

"Discord’s case is different," Twilight explained. "He connects to a sort of annexed dimension a neighbor to ours, like two houses sharing a thin wall. The barrier is weak but crossable. What we’re talking about here is bridging two entirely separate universes. That’s an entirely different level of magic."

"Rather than debating, isn’t it strange that the device is acting like that?" Spike asked.

The machine emitted odd, rhythmic crackling sounds, flashing intermittently.

"It looks like the signal is reestablishing itself," Starlight observed.

The ponies gathered around the device.

"....... .. . .. . . . . . .I ... .. . .. . . . .. ...... Status report . . . . . ......... . ........ . .. Over! . . .. . ....... ."

"The frequency isn’t clear anymore it’s changed," Starlight noted.

"Maybe it’s a different frequency, close but distinct from the one we were picking up earlier. I’ll adjust it," Twilight said, tweaking the receiver to better capture the transmission.

"Requesting status report! Enemy breakthrough reported in Nachtheim sector, coordinates 756 and 164. Over!"

"This is Major Krüger... Orders clear... Push back the Republicans and hold your positions... Over!"

"The voices sound different," Starlight remarked.

"And how am I supposed to do that? The enemy’s deployed multiple armored units in the sector! I need air or artillery support! Over!"

"Do your duty, Colonel! Push them back—or die for the glory of the Empire! Gloria Imperium!"

"I’m telling you, I need resources! Hello? Hello?! They cut me off, those command bastards!"
"Dammit, what am I supposed to do now? Retreat is the only option. I won’t sacrifice my men against destructive weapons just to please those aristocratic idiots."
"Everything’s falling apart everywhere, and we can’t let those Revolutionary Republic fanatics gain ground. I just hope these ‘new kinds of weapons’ will actually turn the tide of this war."

"Oh dear... This is terrifying," Fluttershy whispered, her voice trembling.

"We’re missing a lot of context, but it’s clear things aren’t going well for them," Twilight said gravely.

"If we connect this to the information we got earlier, it seems like we’re now picking up transmissions from their enemies," Starlight observed.

"So... we’re basically spying?" Rainbow Dash quipped.

"Rainbow, this is serious. What’s happening over there isn’t a joke," Starlight snapped.

"I’ll try amplifying the signal with my magic to pick up more than just this transmission," Twilight said, her horn glowing as she sent a burst of energy into the receiver. The machine flared brightly.

"Uh... I’m not sure this is a good idea," Spike muttered, hiding behind Twilight.

"Have some courage, Spike! The machine’s actually responding pretty well."

Suddenly, a voice shouted through the device.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!"
"I can hear you! You’re on a military frequency!"

The ponies froze, stunned.

"Is he... talking to us?" Starlight asked, bewildered.

"Yes, I’m talking to you! State your identity and nationality you’re on an Imperial military frequency!"

In a panic, Twilight immediately shut off the device.

"Maybe... maybe amplifying the magic turned the receiver into a transmitter," Twilight said, shocked.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Spike muttered.

Author's Note

Hello everypony,
After a year, I'm continuing this story.

Chapter 4 complete and now communication can happen, so what can happen next ? We will see.

Let me know what you think of the story. I’m open to any advice, thank you!