Signal

“If you can hear me, please wake up.”

The mare in question managed to roll over from the slight verbal disturbance, yet remained blissfully unaware of the request, snuggling deeper into the sheets.

“Twilight, please, wake up.”

She stirred, consciousness finally returning her to the realm of reality. Picking herself up from the warm embrace of the covers, she scanned the loft of the library. The room was flooded by moonlight, accompanied by the myriad of stars stretching across the clear night sky. Noting that the basket next to her was lacking a certain purple dragon, she relinquished her sheets, and found the floor beneath her hooves.

“Hello? Spike? Where are you?” Twilight called out, searching around for her number one assistant.

“It’s good to see you’ve found yourself.”

Twilight jumped at the sudden intrusion of a familiar, yet out of place voice, quickly turning to the balcony to locate its owner. The silhouette of an alicorn was cast from the moon above, with galaxies flowing through her mane.

“Princess Luna? What are you doing here? Where’s Spike?”

“Spike is alright Twilight. You need not worry about him for now. We however, are here for you.”

“But why? What’s going on?” Twilight quipped, answers still eluding her.

Luna stepped through the threshold of the balcony, passing by as if she ceased to exist. Watching as she traversed the room, Twilight noticed a pale aura surrounding the princess, almost as if she was the embodiment of moon herself, casting a glow around the whole of the loft. Only after reaching the top of the descending staircase was the silence broken, turning her head to gaze upon the purple unicorn.

“You need to listen carefully Twilight. You won’t understand everything right now, but I need you to follow closely. We have little time.”

Before Twilight was able to respond, Princess Luna vanished in a flash of light, the scent of ozone pungent.

“Stay close,” came from the bottom of the stairwell, the night sky dimly lighting the way. Following the voice, Twilight descended the stairs, looking around cautiously for the lunar princess. Princess Luna wasn’t a stranger to some peculiar quirks, but Luna’s actions tonight only make her head spin. And the thoughts of Spike missing did little to quell her skepticism.

Reaching the base of the stairwell, Luna was nowhere to be found. The only trace of the goddess was the striking rays of moonlight illuminating the library from the windows. Taking in the scenery of the moon drenched library, something seemed off. Small details of the library seemed out of place to her, shifted by a lapse of memory or rearrangement. The occasional space in the bookshelves, a rearranged tome here and there, candles littered around the room, and the overwhelming sense that something was missing. Before she could get close enough to investigate these details further, the sound of hooves across wood drew her attention to the entrance to the kitchen.

“Good. Very good,” came from the Princess, stepping into the main room of the library, an aura of moonlight almost radiating off her very figure.

“Princess, something’s wrong here. The library feels different somehow.”

“Very astute Twilight. My sister was always praising your perceptiveness,” praising the librarian, Luna continued. “Now, a test of assessment. Can you tell me how this scenario came to be? You should know the events that led us here.”

“It’s really fuzzy. All of this almost feels like a dream,” she muttered, still unsure of the situation as a whole.

Peering around, Twilight started noting prominent details scattered around the library. Disrupted chalk markings lined the edges of the library, and multiple tomes were littered across the center of the library, some exhibiting magical runes and their properties. “This happened earlier tonight, didn’t it?”

The princess was not able to stop a gentle smile come across her face. “Clever as always. Now, I need you to walk me through what happened. Every detail is critical,” her tone shifting to a more rigid nature. It was very rare that Luna spoke with such seriousness on a situation before, and the circumstances only continued to fuel the fires of turmoil inside of her.

Looking around at the scene placed before her, she began to slowly recall the scenario. “Well, I was researching some of Starswirl’s theoretical methodologies on advanced teleportation and magical ley lines for the past few weeks, so I think that is a good place to start,” Twilight started, though slightly unsure due to the haze that surrounded her mind.

“That is one detail I can confirm. Please, continue,” the lunar princess stated, the stoic nature in her voice continuing.

Feeling a small bout of confidence from assurance, Twilight was able to continue. “I started noticing connections between his studies of teleportation with his theorems of the mana pool that inhabits the planet.”

Taking a pause to further solidify her thoughts, Twilight had noticed that Luna’s demeanor had begun to change. The once calm nature now looked haunted. “Princess, are you alright?” she murmured, taking a few steps toward the alicorn.

Regaining her composure, the calm serenity quickly swept over the princess. “I am alright Twilight, but please, do not let me interrupt you. It’s very important that we see this story through,” Luna said, a veil of urgency lining her voice.

Picking up her train of thought, she continued on. “His studies of the ley lines was something that caught my interest. They exist within the general mana pool, feeding off of the magical properties of the pool. These lines are also responsible for the distribution of mana all around Equestria. However, in every area I could reference, they have always been described as separate and mutually exclusive. Now, the basics of any teleportation spell relies on the use of ley lines. However, when reading further into his research about teleportation involving the mana pool, it almost seems to cut off completely. But it didn’t make any…”

“What did you do Twilight?” Luna interrupted, a sharp sternness quickly taking over.

“I...I was…” Twilight stammered, not expecting the sudden change that swept over the lunar alicorn. “I was curious. I needed to know what happened when the ley lines weren’t used as teleportation guides. I ran through every book in the library searching for what happened when you crossed from the ley line to the mana pool. Not even a single footnote on it.”

Luna’s façade had faltered once again, returning to the haunted features that plagued the princess earlier. A sigh of resignation came across her lips as she closed her eyes. “You attempted to enter the mana pool?”

“I…I don’t think I did. The last thing I remember was you waking me up.” Twilight mumbled, visibly drooping as the words left her mouth.

Opening her eyes again, Luna closed the little distance between her and Twilight, lowering her head to be face to face with the young unicorn. “You succeeded,” Luna whispered, a pained smile across her face.

A single tear streaked down the face of the goddess. “Please Twilight. Please wake up.”

Twilight slowly felt her mind contort as panic took hold of her, tears starting to stream down the mare’s face as she backed away from the alicorn. “Princess... what’s going on!?”

Turning away from the purple unicorn, Princess Luna headed for the door of the Golden Oaks Library, tremors in her step. The runes around the library had begun to emit a light almost replicating Luna’s aura, causing the library to be engulfed in the glow. Opening the entranceway, she stopped, twisting her head once more to view the panic stricken pony, who remained frozen in place.

The alicorn turned back around, and stepped though the doorway, keeping a steady pace down the road. Twilight pushed herself to follow, sprinting to the door, only to run into an invisible barrier barring her path. Trapped, all she could do was watch in horror, as fear and adrenaline surged through her every fiber. Luna turned around as the barrier was touched, her gaze transfixed at the now broken form of Twilight. Tears ran silently down the face of the goddess, but no attempt was made to contain them.

“We’re waiting for you.” Horn glowing, the alicorn vanished in a blinding flash, and the night was extinguished.

Author's Note:

A thank you to RobCakeran53 for an edit.

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