Chapter 4

Slowly I came awake. My eyes were red rimmed and gritty as if I had cried myself to sleep. But that was nothing new. Or was it? The sudden confusion brought me fully awake. How could I not know something as simple as whether or not I often fell asleep crying? I sat up and shook my head trying to clear it. Quickly I looked around when I realized that I wasn’t in my bed at home. For some reason I was in my father’s study, back in Canterlot. Why wasn’t I in my bed in the library in Ponyville? Maybe I had decided to visit my family and see how Shining Armor and Cadence were doing with their marriage. But why hadn’t I gone to sleep in my room? My father hated it when I fell asleep in his study and there is no way he would have let me stay in here. Again I looked around and this time spied the tiara. With that discovery the memories fell into their correct places.

The reason I was in Canterlot is because I was never sent to Ponyville by Celestia. The reason my parents hadn’t moved me into my bed when I fell asleep is because they had died years ago. The reason I had fallen asleep in my father’s study is because I had been sent a message across time from my teacher, a message that revealed the terrible truth, none of this is how it should be. Princess Celestia had given me a mission, a mission to set the world right, to return to the world controlled not by Nightmare Moon the Tyrant but by Celestia and her sister Luna.

Again the weight of everything I had lost crashed down around me and I began to cry. I knew that I should be getting up and trying to find a solution to these problems, but the grief was too much for me. My family, my friends, my teacher, my world, all destroyed in an instant. Now there was nothing left but darkness and …

*Knock Knock Knock*

The sudden sound shook me from my reverie. Quickly I looked around the room. Perhaps the Dark Queen or one of her guards had felt the magic unleashed by the crown and were now coming to take me away. I lifted the crown up with my magic and threw it into one of the drawers of my father’s old desk. Without thinking I put a quick sealing spell on it, so that nopony else could open it. Then I ran downstairs as whoever it was knocked again at my door. As I approached the door, I felt the wave of magic that was still emanating from the chest in closet and wished I had more time to hide that better but stalling now would be a great way to have whoever it was blow my door down.

I opened the door with a jerk, and was almost hit in the face as the pony outside tried to knock again. I realized as I looked at the stallion standing outside my door that I looked extremely suspicious. My eyes were still read from crying and my mane was a mess from not getting a chance to brush it out this morning. Plus I was breathing a little heavy and sweating both from my anxiety and from my mad dash down the stairs.

My thoughts about myself stopped when I got my first good look at the pony standing on my doorstep. He was a tall unicorn stallion with white fur and a sliver mane. He also had silver fetlocks. He looked to be no older than I was. I realized suddenly that he was waiting for me to greet him.

“Oh, Hello”

“Uh, hi. Are you Miss Sparkle?” He asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I gulped.

“Good, I was able to look up your record with the factory, and it said you lived here.”

I took a step back, this wasn’t about the crown, in this was about me losing control yesterday. Of course in this world of nightmares I find out the truth about the world right after betraying myself. The look on my face must have betrayed my fear, for his questioning look suddenly turned to one of concern. Then he smiled.

“You don’t recognize me do you?” he asked.

“No I don’t. Should I?”

“Well probably not. I can barely recognize myself, but perhaps we could discuss this indoors?”

Grudgingly I stepped aside to let him in; it would seem suspicious if I refused. I still couldn’t tell whether or not he was a spy, though I did vaguely recognize him, though couldn’t quite say from what. As he walked past I saw that his cutie mark was a silver hammer smashing a blue magic starburst.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“Actually you already have.” He replied. Then seeing my confusion and no doubt sensing my lingering fear and suspicion he changed his posture. “I work with you at the factory. You helped me yesterday.”

“What do you mean? I didn’t help you. I have never even seen you before! The only pony I helped was that old…”

“The old guard? That’s me.”

“What! But how? You were hurt so bad!”

“Yes, yes I was. But your magic healed me and took years off my body. It even repaired my horn. I think that when you…lost control the surge of magic that you let off super powered up every spell you were working on. That is why there were suddenly so many extra tables and chairs around. And since the spell you were using on me was a non-descript one for just assistance… it gave me assistance in a way I needed it, namely healing me.”

As I thought about it I realized the explanation he gave made a lot of sense. That was certainly what had happened on the previous times I had lost control. Usually whatever I was trying to work on became extremely over powered. I reflected to another time when I had lost control, when in a different world I freed a baby dragon from his shell prison. Thinking about Spike again made me sad, but I was distracted as the unicorn walked further into my parent’s house. He walked past sniffing the air as if there was something in the oven, and he couldn’t quite tell what was cooking. Suddenly his whole body went stiff and whipped around to face me.

“Is there anyone else here?” He demanded.

“What? No! I have lived alone for years!” I replied, shocked at his sudden change of tone.

“I can sense magic power! I can feel a powerful spell is here; don’t deny it! I am also an excellent gauge of skill. In the factory you could barely manage simple levitation spells, yet this spell feels incredibly complex!”

He ran towards the closet where I had hidden the chest. With a flash of his horn the door was almost wrenched off its hinges. There now in plain view was the chest that the crown upstairs had come in. He turned and shot me a glare before redirecting his attention to the chest. With a flick of his horn the chest cracked open and out came a deafening roar. The white unicorn was thrown across the room by a blast of magic that left the rest of the room mostly unaffected. He tried to stand as wave after wave of golden colored magic pushed him to the wall. His horn was shining brightly, but whatever magic he was trying to summon was being dwarfed by the power emanating from the chest. Suddenly his eyes opened wide and he cried out, “Wait, Princess-”

He never finished whatever he was going to say because at that moment a massive shock of power flew from the chest lifting him into the air and blasting him through the wall into the adjoining room. At that moment I was able to get to chest and slam the lid closed. Immediately the waves of magic stopped. I quickly stood behind the chest and put my hooves on the lid. If he was going to cause problems I was going to make sure that he regretted it. Slowly he picked himself up from the rubble of the wall and made his way shakily to the hole he had created. When I saw him raise his head, I got ready to open the chest again, but stopped when he put a hoof up.

“Whoa, whoa! Don’t open that thing again! I am not going to hurt you.”

I don’t think that I am the one in danger of being hurt right now, but now is probably not the best time to argue the point.

“I have felt that magic before!” He continued. “That is the magic of the true ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia!”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Obviously it was the power of the sun princess. Not even Luna the moon princess could embed ordinary objects with enough power to blast another pony through a solid wall. Certainly not across time like Celestia had, though he didn’t know that part. I was still struggling with that part myself.

“How is that you have an object of such power from the princess? Why has she chosen now to send it? Who were you to the princess that she should send something like this to you?”

“You have a lot of questions. I don’t have a lot of answers. The last one I am sure that I can answer. In this world, I am nothing to the princess, just another citizen, not gifted with any special magical talent, just a lot of it. I failed the test to get into her academy when I was a foal. Here there is no special connection between me and… anypony.”

Even that statement, though true, still hurt to say. Could it really be true? Is there really nopony in this world that I can call family, or even friend?

“Well if that’s true then why… Wait, why did you say this world?”

“The world is not as it should be. Nightmare Moon ruling Canterlot. Equestria at war with Discord, the Lord of Chaos. This is not the world I remember, the world that Celestia has reminded me of.”

“Of course the world is not how it should be! The psychotic moon tyrant had over thrown Equestria’s rightful Princess. And Discord was always evil if the legends are true.”

“You don’t understand! Where I come from Nightmare Moon was defeated to leave Celestia’s sister Luna. And Discord was defeated once and then reformed using the magic of friendship. Somehow Celestia sent me this chest from the correct world and it reminded me of what how the world should be.”

“If that is true then how did she send it to you? And why would she send it to someone with no magical talent, to someone she had never met?”

“In this world, we have never met, and I have little magical talent, as you saw in the factory. But in the world I came from I am her most trusted student, and I earned that role by learning everything I could of Unicorn Magic. And she has reminded me of all of that, all that knowledge.”

To demonstrate I used my horn to lift him free of the rubble that used to be my wall, then with a little concentration set the wall to repairing itself. Soon the wall looked as if it had never been damaged. Then I created a purple bubble force field then set him on the ground in the bubble. I wasn’t going to let him just wander around my house. I don’t know why I was telling him as much as I was, but I felt like I could trust him for some reason. My time in Ponyville, in my past life, taught me to trust these instincts. The unicorn touches the shield he was in with hoof. There was a sad look on his face.

“You may be lying now. Or you may have been lying at the factory about your lack of power. But this spell I know. I know it is not a spell that is easily cast. In fact I know of only one other pony that could cast a shield like this. Also I know that you could not have cast this if what you say were not true. So I will trust you. So the princess was able to communicate with you with that chest?”

“The spells are slightly more complicated than that,” I said, thinking of the crown still locked in my father’s study. “However, I would love to discuss it some more but I think one of us should introduce themself. You already know my name.”

“Ah, yes my apologies. Twilight Sparkle, my name is Silver Hammer. I was a member of the guard before the Sun fell. And my special talent is…”

With a flash of his horn a silver hammer suddenly floats in the air above him, turning idly. A mage hammer! The weapon was pure magic. No wonder he decided to join the guard. Mage weapons are extremely effective against creatures of magic and those who rely heavily upon it. Many wild creatures such as Ursa Minors, Timberwolves, and Dragons were vulnerable to mage weapons. So were Unicorns, even an Alicorn could be hurt with a mage weapon; though it would take a lot more than that to kill one. Plus they were some of the most difficult of magics, at the top of my power and skill I might be able to summon a mage dagger, but I had never studied destructive magics like that.

As I thought these things to myself, Silver Hammer swung his name sake at the walls of his magic prison. The walls immediately shattered, collapsing in shards to the ground before disintegrating into nothing. The resulting magical backlash took me off my hooves. I quickly sprang back up and grabbed the chest just in case he decided to try something. But the unicorn just stood there, his hammer idly spinning above his head again.

“You see I joined the guard because I was an expert magic breaker. It is my special talent to be able to smell out and destroy magics. I used to think that I was powerful enough to even challenge an Alicorn! But history has proven the folly of the action.”

He cringed in memory of past pain, though all the scars on his body had been erased by my magical healing yesterday.

“And it seems that I can’t even stand against an object blessed by the power of an alicorn.”

A smile threatened to creep across my face, but I thought it would be rude to make fun of his earlier plight. Instead I stepped around the chest and started to lift the lid.

“Don’t open that thing! Do you want to send me flying through the wall again?”

“Oh please. I am pretty sure it only did that because it thought I was in danger. Do you really think that Celestia would make a magic chest that only blasted whoever opened it? It is more likely that she thought that I might find myself in danger shortly after receiving her gift, I have no doubt it has other interesting powers waiting. Besides, she said that there were other things that would be useful to me in the chest. And I already opened it once.”

“Well when you put it like that I guess you can open it.”

Like I need his permission. Despite my brave words when I opened the box I braced myself for another wave of power. But there was none. Instead when I opened the chest the first thing to greet me was a piece of parchment. I could see that it had been sitting underneath the crown, but last night I had been more focused on my Element then on what else was in the box. On the parchment I recognized the princess’s elegant writing. Quietly I read it aloud. Silver Hammer had to strain to hear me read.

My dearest Twilight.

Whatever magical calamity you are facing know that I am with you. And know that with your friends by your side you can overcome any adversity. I have given you several items that will assist you in whatever quest you must perform. First off the chest everything came in. It has powerful protective magic in it. Anything you place in it can only be removed by yourself and those whom you give permission to. Also if you are ever threatened then the chest can unleash a powerful offensive spell to give you time to escape. Be careful using this power as it is very draining. If you ever need to recharge the stored energy, simply let the chest sit in the light, preferably direct sunlight.

“See I told you, it was just protecting me.”

“Yeah great, good luck charging it though.”

Also in the chest is a copy of Elements of Harmony, A Reference Guide. I have included this in case you need to refresh yourself on the Elements and their properties.

Without looking at it I levitate the book out of the chest. I have read this book a dozen times, many right before, during, or after some other crisis. I had most of it memorized. But the refresher would be nice. Plus I loved books. Behind me I could feel Silver Hammer’s magic trying to take a hold of the book. Without thinking I passed it from my power to his.

Lastly is the Omnicanicron. This magical device will hopefully help you on your quest. It has many powers and abilities that can assist you in various situations. Only use it when a situation is most dire. Trust instead in your own abilities and in the Magic of Friendship. Some things to know though: it will flash when somepony who can’t be trusted is near. Also it is closely linked to the chest. But while the chest is a battering ram the omnicanicron is lock pick. Both open a door, but the difference is all in how the door is opened.

I lifted this strange device from the chest and held it up to Silver Hammer. It appeared to be made like any other hoof bracelet. The only difference was the thick flat gemstone set in the center of the gold band. The device gave no sign to indicate anything, so I used my magic to place it on my left forehoof. Once on the color changed to simple gray and the gem turned the same purple color as my coat. To blend in I guess.

“So I guess I can be trusted? What was that thing called again?”

“It is called the Omnicanicron. Omni meaning multi, many or all, cani likely coming from arcane, meaning magic, and cron, which many powerful magical devices have attached to their name. So simply put it is a device capable of multiple powerful magics.”

“That was simply put? And that name is such a mouthful. Why don’t we call it the OC or something? Or why not just call it a magical multi-tool? If you don’t know what tool to bring, why not bring the whole tool box.”

“Yes I think that is kind of the point of it isn’t it? As to what to call it, you may call it whatever you want. My teacher called it the Omnicanicron and so will I.”

“Alright. Though I admit it is strange hearing you call Princess Celestia your teacher. But she apparently trusts you, and you trust me, and I don’t not trust you, so we are practically a functioning family. And she has given you the mission to complete, so where do we start?”

“I think it would be best start in Ponyville. Celestia said that I should find my friends and I met them in Ponyville when she sent me there in Equestria Proper, which is what I will refer to the correct world as. Since you seem to like acronyms you may say EP, if you desire.”

“Oh I desire alright. But Ponyville? That little town just to the south?”

“Yes my friends will be there. And just as importantly Nightmare Moon will not. Also I have other reasons why I want to go to home to Ponyville, though I am not currently inclined to share all of them with you. Not yet at least.”

“Well Ponyville it is then.”

* * *

Author's Note

Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I was dealing with end of the semester stuff. The next chapter should be a week from today.