Chapters An echo across the universe
Chapter 1: Strange Captation
It was during her studies that she had first broached the subject. The waves of magical objects. During her time at Celestia's Gifted Unicorn School, Twilight had learned from her magic lessons that magical artefacts were recognizable by the imprint and waves emitted by each magical object, an indescribable but recognizable sensation that every unicorn who had ever come close to a magical object knew.
Years later, after the great battle against Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow, Twilight began to think again about magical objects and their waves, particularly because of the Grogar Bell.
In truth, she wanted to deepen her knowledge in these fields so as not to be caught out again by misused magical objects, especially by Equestria's enemies.
She had heard of a book that had a peculiarity: when you wrote in it, the words magically appeared in another identical book. Other magical objects in Equestria also possessed this kind of capacity in other areas.
Using her knowledge, Twilight had designed a magic-wave device that would enable her to locate magical objects. She was more of a theoretical than a practical person, but she didn't take fright and set to work.
After months of research, she finally put together a kind of prototype, essential knowledge and experience of magical objects. She was well aware that she couldn't undertake everything on her own, several times withdrawing them to the assistance of Spike and faithful pupil Starlight Glimmer.
After that, it took a few more months to build the prototype. The thing now, according to the theory, was to calibrate it with the various magical artefacts in Twilight's possession, notably at the School of Friendship. The various historic relics belonging to the different creatures who frequented the school.
"Have you finished?"
"No, not really, but it might work. Could you fetch me a cup of tea from the kitchen?" replied Twilight.
"A cup of tea?" surprised Spike.
"Yes, because Trixie turned most kitchen utensils into teacups for spellcasting practice, so we've got quite a few.
"Ah... yes, I remember, but I don't see the point" Spike was confused.
"Well, Spike, although they're teacups, they were created by magic, which means they emit magical waves like any other magical object, so they're a good way of testing the device".
"Ah, I understand," said Spike, his eyes wide open. "And you want to use these teacups because if the waves are too powerful if they break it's not a problem, I get it"
"I didn't think it through that far" thought Twilight, a little annoyed with herself for not having had the idea.
"I'm going" shouted Spike as he left the map room, leaving Twilight and her machine alone.
A moment later Spike returned with a few cups of tea ' made by TrixieTM '.
"Spike" asked Twilight "can you start the machine? thank you".
" Yes Twilight " replied Spike " let's get start the Twilightor Magic Waves Analyser 2000 "
"Very funny Spike" grumbled Twilight in a slightly annoyed tone.
The device started up, a heavy noise was heard, then followed with constant beeping, then shrill whistling, then beeping again but regular and softer.
The device seemed to be working and reacting to the presence of the teacups, but it began to hum horribly, making a piercing static noise.
Twilight immediately decided to adjust the signal to see if the disturbance was only temporary, but the more she adjusted the device, the more audible the disturbance became, until it became the semblance of a voice. A distant, muffled voice, but one that became more understandable as Twilight made further adjustments.
" .................. .... .... ... . . .. . . . . .... .. . order .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. "
Twilight continued to adjust her device until she managed to pick up a slightly clearer and more audible sound
"........... .. . . . . ..... . . . ...... . .. . . . . .. .not respond....... . ...... .. . . . . .... . ... .. ... .."
Various theories raced through her mind, so much so that she didn't know where to start for some semblance of an explanation.
The strangest thing was that the device worked, it worked well in fact, it could detect magical objects, but it could also detect other, as yet unexplained, things.
These voices, Twilight couldn't understand where they came from, who, when, where or why.
All these simple questions were unknown to her and beginning to feel the weight of fatigue she decided to go to sleep but her sleep was very disturbed, simple questions that had no answers.
It's decided: the next day she'll go and see Princess Celestia, her teacher, her mentor and her guide - someone like her, with over a thousand years of existence, can give her answers, or at least the beginning of a clue to an explanation.
Twilight, wanted, answers !
Author's Note
To be continued.
I have the rest in mind but it's not written yet.
English is not my mohertongue so I take any advice for improvement, thank you all.
An echo across the universe
Chapter 2: Tomorrow is another day
The next morning, Twilight woke up to find she had a severe headache - after all, last night she hadn't slept well.
She therefore called her friends before going to see Princess Celestia, to report on last night's situation and what had happened.
"What's going on, Twilight? You've been reading all night again, haven't you?" said Rainbow Dash mockingly.
"No, not really, no. The reason I called you was because I made a discovery last night" resumed Twilight.
She explained the situation. Her project, her studies and the creation of her prototype machine for detecting magical objects. She recounted the voices she'd heard through the machine and the strange messages she'd been able to capture.
"Sounds scary," murmured Fluttershy.
"maybe it was ghosts from the past", Rainbow Dash quipped.
"Rainbow!" shouted Applejack "maybe Twilight can explain?"
"Unfortunately no, that's why I called you, because I'm planning to go and see Princess Celestia today to unravel this mystery" resumed Twilight.
The five ponygirls decided to accompany Twilight to Canterlot, knowing full well what can happen when Twilight stresses out and starts having a panic attack over something she can't explain.
The six ponygirls arrived in the throne room of the royal palace and were greeted by Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna.
"I'm sorry Twilight, but despite my knowledge, I can't explain what happened," announced Celestia.
"The same goes for me," added Luna.
"Twilight if I may give you a word of advice, you're smart enough to solve this riddle and if the task seems daunting, your friends are there and even your pupil could help you, I know what I'm talking about" said Celestia with a wink to Twilight.
Twilight thought for a moment, then her face lit up, Starlight Glimmer was not only a magically gifted unicorn, she also knew about magical objects and had a considerable knowledge of magic.
"Thank you, princesses!" exclaimed Twilight before leaving with her friends.
"In the end, as usual, it's up to us to do everything," murmured Rainbow Dash.
Twilight grumbled a little at Rainbow Dash, but in the end each of the ponies knew that Rainbow Dash was right in some way.
"It's time to go home," exclaimed Twilight before boarding the Friendship Express.
"Darling, although I share your enthusiasm, you'd better be in good shape before you start. I suggest we first relax at the Ponyville spa and then rest for the rest of the day, because taking care of yourself is important," suggested Rarity.
All six agreed, even if Rainbow Dash pretended not to like the proposal, secretly waiting for a good excuse to go to the spa. Wonder who really cared about appearances, Rarity or Rainbow Dash.
"Tomorrow is another day" , Twilight said to herself in her head, thinking of recent events, but since then she'd taken a step back and knew that panic wasn't a good solution when faced with misunderstandings or difficulties.
The sun set peacefully over Ponyville.
The noise and light of day had given way to the calm and darkness of night.
All the ponies were asleep.
" .... ... . . . .. ... .. . ....Alarm....... . .. . . .. . ... .. . .. . "
Author's Note
Let's go for the second chapter. This chapter it's a manner to put away Celestia and Luna out of the story my goal is to keep a minimum of character implicated in the story and focus on them.
Hope you liked it.
An echo across the universe
Chapter 3: Situation Report
Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle had been researching for most of the day.
"Argh, although I understand how it works, I don't understand how it's possible to pick up a signal outside our world" sighed Twilight in front of some old books talking about magical artifacts.
"Come on, Twilight, you're the professional here, do you usually have any idea how it works?" replied Starlight.
"No, for once, Starlight, I don't understand at all. How is this possible? I've looked in all the books that describe more or less similar events, but none of them has given me an answer close enough to the current situation" replied Twilight, exasperated by the situation.
"Twilight, Starlight, I think I've figured out how this works!" exclaimed Spike, storming into the throne room of Twilight Castle.
"What?" replied Twilight, looking a little bewildered.
"Think Twilight, let's look at a similar situation in Equestria. When I send messages with dragon fire, the message transforms into smoke before it reaches its destination. And if we draw a parallel with the current situation, let's imagine that the prototype device is me and the magic waves are the message. So the waves are like smoke, they go everywhere, and the more powerful the device is, the greater the chance of receiving messages", explained Spike.
"Indeed, it makes sense. But why are we picking up messages from another world?" replied Starlight.
"I don't know for sure that this other world also uses magic, but I suppose the frequency of the magic waves and the waves they send out are, by chance, on the same sort of frequency ?" resumed Spike.
"It's true that this would explain a lot of things, but the best thing would be to improve the device in order to better capture these strange messages, and maybe even decipher them" exclaimed Twilight.
"I suppose we'll be working on this all the rest of the day?" said Starlight with a sigh.
"Isn't it exciting?" replied Twilight, unable to hide her excitement.
A good part of the day went by, and the two ponies and the dragon set to work together on the construction of a capturing device, far more powerful than the original one.
"How's it going?" said Applejack, who had just entered the throne room with a basket full of apples on his back. "How about a little break?"
The two ponies and the dragon nodded in agreement; indeed, they had spent most of the day working and hadn't had time to take a break - their other friends joined them later.
After a well-deserved break, the eight of them found themselves in the throne room next to the device, waiting feverishly for the machine to be activated, while Twilight made the final adjustments, adding her signal amplifier to the device.
"Just a few more connections and it should work," announced Twilight.
Twilight switched on the machine, which made only white noise, always the same crackling sound, but this time she had thought to keep all magical objects away, so as not to create any more disturbance than necessary.
Almost!" exclaimed Twilight, "that should do it".
the parasite noises had practically disappeared - they could still be heard, but very faintly. however, there was no sound to the message for a long time.
"Maybe there is no one?" said Fluttershy.
However, Fluttershy had spoken a little too quickly, and noise began to be heard, nothing like voices but more like the sound of movement in a room like footsteps and many other noises.
All of a sudden, sizzling sounds could be heard, as if someone had just plugged a device into the frequency like the sounds that made a microphone when you plug it in.
"The connection still not established?" shouted a foreign deep voice into the microphone. "No, Colonel, the 731st Division doesn't answer." It was a lower, more delicate voice that had just replied to the first voice.
The ponies present were transfixed by this exchange: not only were they picking up something, but it didn't seem to be coming from Equestria. Everything suggested that it was a conversation between two living beings.
"Sir, here's the report you asked, Sir" a third voice was heard. "Thank you, Corporal" replied the first voice.
Suddenly, the first voice seemed to be speaking to the second.
"Pass it on to campaign HQ" said the first voice in an insistent tone. "Everything's in place to transmit the report," replied the second voice.
"Brumaire 24, year 150 of the revolutionary calendar, the 34th imperial division has just crossed the front line, the 231st and 49th revolutionary regiments are routed. The Imperial advance has just been halted by the 16th support artillery battalion. Global status report from the front. Our initiative is broken. Now transmit all this to campaign HQ and clear the frequency"
"Aye, sir."
Then there were no more messages. As the protagonists of these exchanges had just said, there was radio silence.
After careful consideration, they deduced that these exchanges seemed to have taken place during a war or conflict, which only confirmed Twilight's theory that this was indeed another world. After all, there was no major conflict going on in Equestria. But above all, the year was not a good one.
After so much effort in trying to unravel the mystery, it's getting thicker all the time. However, a few elements were added to the current situation.
"It was, how shall I say, short, but intense" said Twilight Sparkle, who had previously asked Spike to take notes.
"It looks like terrible things are happening" murmured Fluttershy.
"they look like they're in big trouble" exclaimed Rarity.
"Yeah," agreed Applejack.
"But the real question here is who are the bad guys and who are the good guys?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"As in every conflict, I don't think everything is black and white. We've just gotten involved in a situation that seems to be completely beyond us, and from where we stand, we have no control over events. I think the least we can hope for is that the creatures we've just heard are safe," Twilight replied.
The ponies understood that there would be no new messages for the day. This would give them time to take a breather and absorb what had just happened.
Author's Note
Hello, first clear voice coming from the device. And yes, the Alt. universe doesn't concern only Equestria but also "Earth".
This story was my first project here and I don't know if I continue this because I really don't where it goes. I will try to find the end to complete this story but I prefer to stay focus on my other two stories. Maybe I will continue this one later after.
An echo across the universe
Chapter 4 : Things seem differents
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,
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!
