An advanced teleportation spell puts Twilight in a comma after the spell back fired, only sending her mind into a different being in a alternate universe, but leaves her body in Equestria.
Original concept by: WarKing76 and given to me to bring to life. (Halo Crossover) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ While in the Canterlot Castles library, during a visit Luna had requested for star gazing, Twilight found a book she had never seen before. In it, hundreds of spells that she never thought would be possible. A certain spell caught her eye and her curiosity got the better of her.
A.N. If you do not like these types of stories, then go find something you do like. Don't sit here and be a troll.
Twilight trotted through the large marble corridors of Canterlot Castle. It had been a while since she had last visited the large building and the city, and it felt nice to get a little time from Ponyville. She even wrote to her parents about her visit and promised to go and visit them as well. But that's not why she's here. No. Luna had invited the lavender unicorn for star gazing. And of course Twilight couldn't say no, especially with the pony who supposedly created them. With the help of the sun goddess, Twilight hopped on the first train out of town the next morning, arrived at Canterlot, and was given the same room she always got when she visited. Her old room in Canterlot. The tall bookshelves, big lush bed, and a large viewing window with a telescope set up near by for when she used to look into the night sky as a filly.
After getting settled in for the next few days, Twilight went out a trotted through the streets, stopped by her parents for a few hours, and spent some time with Celestia talking about a few of her latest friendship reports. After that she was left to do as she pleased for the next few hours until it was time for Luna to raise the moon and waken the stars to accompany the dull gray sphere that would watch the night sky. And for those few hours she had, she had gone to the dinning hall and grabbed a bite before heading to where she was going now.
Her hooves made a slight 'clop' as she neared her destination. She reached the decorated doors that had a gold lining on the edges along with a brown paint that beautifully matched. With a whiff of her magic, Twilight easily flung the doors open and stepped into the nicely lit Canterlot Library. Inside are rows upon rows of tall bookshelves, each stuffed with books of every color, subject, and thickness. New or old. A smile formed across Twilight's' lips as she quickly bounded into one of the many rows of shelves.
She didn't really have anything in particular in mind, but the thought of reading a book sounded good. Then again, reading always had a special place with her. Twilight made her way down the bottom section of the shelf in search of something that would interest her, but found noting, so she tried the next set. Again she scanned the books titles, and again found nothing. However, the lavender unicorn was determined to find something! Anything!
Twilight furiously scanned through rows and rows of shelves until she reached one where everything seemed uninteresting or she had already read it, but stopped when she came to one that seemed... out of place. A medium sized book with a pale, sand colored spine. Twilight grabbed the book with her magic and slid it from its spot, and took a look at it. The sand color covered the entire book, and its edges were torn and spotted with old age. The title immediately caught the unicorns attention. "Star Swirled the Bearded: Theoretical and failed spells." Twilight quietly read aloud to herself.
In a moment Twilight quickly sped off to one of the large circular wooden tables that sat in the center of the library and quickly opened the book. Twilight began to quietly read to herself now that she had found something that she hadn't read before. "In theory, a talent enhancement spell would be able to enhance a pony's special talent by three fold. After many attempts at trying to create such a spell, I finally came to the conclusion that a pony who has undergone the spell would be needed to cast the spell itself; or an alicorn would be needed to perform the spell for anypony who wishes. Even though I was unable to perform the spell, Celestia had deemed it too dangerous for anypony to use, and has therefore been banned and labeled 'dark magic'." Twilight paused for a moment to ponder what she just read. "Well that's odd. Why would she deem it dark magic?"
After another moment of contemplating, Twilight read on. "Another spell that I created is a spell that will teleport anypony into an parallel universe. In order to cast such a spell, an unicorn must focus all of his or her's attention and concentration on the spell. Any loss in the train of thought may prove disastrous for those who were being teleported. Celestia has deemed the spell safe for only the most powerful of unicorns, and alicorns alike. The spell is cast by fou..."
"Luna, I've told you already! It isn't there!" Twilight heard Celestia's panicked voice from down the hall.
"Tai, perhaps thou has miss placed the book. Surely it couldn't have just disappeared, could it?"
"Lulu, you don't understand the amount of spells that are in that book that nopony should find out about. Theoretical or not, some of those spells could cause the entire nation to go into a rampage should a unicorn powerful enough use them!" Twilight let out a small gasp at the explanation, realizing that she has the book the princesses were talking about. "I'm going to check the library, why don't you wait for Twilight and I'll fix this." After that the sound of hooves hitting against marble got closer and closer.
Twilight quickly closed the book and stuck it in a random spot before hiding behind one of the shelves, not wanting to be found reading the book. A moment later and the sun goddess marched through the door and took a quick glance around the library. With a short sigh, Celestia made her way into the large room and began to scan through the books just as Twilight had done. Twilight quietly sneaked around the shelves, avoiding the princesses gaze. After what seemed like forever, Celestia let out a frustrated sigh before exiting the room defeated.
Once Twilight confirmed that the princess was gone and she could safely take the book elsewhere. She sprinted to the books location and took it in her magic before bolting for her room to read in peace. ________________________________________________________________
Luna and Twilight sat on the balcony of the Canterlot observatory, reading through star charts and changing the angle of the large telescope every now and then to take a look at a distant star or galaxy. Twilight turned to the lunar goddess and pondered about telling her about the book. "Luna?"
"Mhm?" Luna replied without looking at the lavender unicorn.
Twilight hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I heard you and Celestia talking about that book, and I... here." Twilight used her magic and lifted the book out of her saddlebag and Luna now watched with an ammused expression. "I didn't realize it was something Celestia wanted hidden until I heard you two talking, but I really wanted to read it, so I hid it so I could read it before this."
Luna smiled down and the mare as she went on and explained. "Twilight, I'm sure Tai would've let you borrow the book if you had just asked. You didn't try any of the spells, did you?" Twilight shook her head while keeping eye contact with the princess. "As long as you didn't, you should be fine. Guard, please retrieve Celestia for me. Tell her it's urgent." The guard salluted before rushing off to find the sun goddess. Luna turned to Twilight with another heartwarming smile. "I'm sure Tai is up at this time."
Twilight had a look of worry painted on her face while she looked around her as if looking for a way to escape. "Are you sure she wont get mad at me? I did hide the book from her."
"I think she will understand, Twilight." Luna replied before returning to the telescope and Twilight soon joined the lunar goddess.
As the two continued to discus about the different constellations and galaxies, a very grogy and aggitated Celestia marched into the observatory a few minutes later. "Lulu, what is so important that you needed to wake me up three hours before I raise the sun?" Celestia demanded as she came closer to the two.
Twilight froze where she was at the sound of an agitated sun goddess. "I believe Twilight here has something of yours." Luna replied, extending a wing in the mares direction.
Twilight turned to face Celestia and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat before taking a shaky breath. "I'm sorry princess, I didn't mean to hide it from you. I saw it was written by Star Swirl the Bearded and I really wanted to read it! I didn't attempt any of the spells I swear!" Twilight explained as she bowed to the sun goddess in shame while at the same time levitating the book in front of her.
Celestia looked down at the lavender mare, a headache starting to form. It's too late at night to be dealing with this. Luna owes me after this. Celestia smiled at Twilight before speaking. "It's alright, Twilight, so long as you didn't try any. Now if you will excuse me, I'd like to get the last of the nights rest." With that Celestia took the book in her magic and trotted out the observatory doors.
Twilight got up from her bow before collecting her stuff in her saddlebag. "I should probably get some sleep too. Same time tomorrow?" Luna nodded to allow Twilight her leave. ____________________________________________________________
Twilight quietly closed the door to her room and rushed to the large bed that had thick comforters and under that, soft silky sheets. The pillows were equally lush and comfortable. Twilight lifted one of the pillows with her magic and under it a single piece of paper. She quickly took the paper and made her way to the center of the circular room, and read over the paper a few times before tossing it.
Twilight's horn glowed and grew in intensity as she continued the spell. Not too long after she could feel the amount of energy being used and began to feel light headed but kept at the spell. A light breeze began to pick up in the room, and along with it her light headedness increased until she lost her concentration causing her spell to fizzle and back fired. Twilight was flung back into a wall, her head smacking against it with a loud 'crack' and her limp body fell to the floor. Everything went quiet. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Celestia trotted down the tall archways of the castle she spent her daily life in towards the dinning room. Luna would already be there and Twilight should be joining soon after. A few guard passed by and Celestia nodded with a smile, and they saluted in return. With that out of the way, Celestia continued down the marble hallway. Her hooves making soft 'clop' sounds as they made contact with the floor.
Within a few minutes, Celestia came within view of the large double doors that led into the dinning hall. The doors were highly decorated with pictures of the sun and moon in the center and swirls going down the door, and on the edge a gold lining. Two guards stood at the door waiting to greet the princess as she approached.
"Good morning princess." The guard on the right said with the slightest hint of a smile.
"Good morning Lighting. Has Twilight arrived yet?"
"No ma'am. Would you like me to get her for you?" Lighting asked, extending his wings, ready to take flight.
Celestia smiled at the offer. "That would be wonderful, but no need to rush sergeant."
Lighting was about to take off but relaxed. "Alright, She should be down here in a few minutes, princess." With that Lighting trotted off down the hall.
Celestia took a moment before entering the dinning hall where Luna sat at the far end of the rectangular table. In front of the goddess sat a large plate of pancakes and a bottle of pure maple syrup. And surprisingly enough, Velvet and Nightlight were there as well. "Mister and Misses Sparkle, what a pleasant surprise."
Velvet and Nightlight looked up from their food and at the princess. "Hello, princess. Luna had invited us to breakfast yesterday and it had been a while since we last visited the castle. I believe it was when Twilight got her cutie mark." Velvet replied.
"Oh? Well it's nice to have some old friends to pass by. Luna, I hope your morning has been pleasant." Celestia said while she made her way over to a chair next to her sister.
Luna finished chewing her bite and greeted her sister. "Morning Tia, and yes my morning has been swell. I hope you don't mind me inviting Twilight's family."
"Of course not. The Sparkles are always welcome to the castle. And I see the cooks made us pancakes today!" Celestia took a stack of the golden-brown circles and placed it on the plate in front of her. She also took the bottle of syrup in her magic and poured a generous amount. "So, Nightlight, how have thing been down at the magic Academy?"
Nightlight looked up from his plate to answer the princess. "Things have been good. Students are working harder than ever, though I don't think any of them could beat our Twilight in a magic duel."
"Well that's good to hear. Twilight should be joining us here in a few minu..."
Celestia was cut off by the sound of door being slammed open. "Princess, it's Twilight!"
It took Celestia a second to register what had just happened. "Lighting is everything alright?" All she got for a reply was a him shaking his head furiously. A sudden wave of urgency took over Celestia and she stood from her chair and made her way to the door, leaving the others in confusion. "What happened?"
"I-I don't know. I knocked and she didn't answer so I let myself in... and... everything was thrown against the walls, and Twilight. I had to call the medical staff!" Twilight's parents gasped as Lighting explained. "It was... bad."
Celestia's expression quickly turned serious. "Take the Sparkles to the medical wing to wait for Twilight. Luna and I will check on the room." Celestia took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Luna, come with me." _________________________________________________________________________________________________
By the time Celestia and Luna arrived at the door that led into Twilight's room, most of the medical staff had been cleared out. Celestia stopped in front of the door. Sure what she was about to see may not be the worst thing she's ever witnessed, not by a long shot, but still this was somepony she had taken under her wing. Practically family.
With a moment of hesitation, Celestia and Luna cautiously stepped into the room and what they saw would make Discord proud. The once beautiful bed now lay broken, peices of wood strewn across the floor and the sheets were torn. Numerous book shelves had falled over, spilling their contents onto the floor. Even the small indoor balcony, where some of the larger bookshelves were, was broken in a few places. In one corner a large pool of blood stained a large rug and peices of wood that used to be a desk.
"What did you do, Twilight?" Celestia muttered to herself.
In the center of the room, about thirty feet from the broken desk, was a large black spot that looked like an explosion happened. Luna slowly moved in the direction of the spot. When she stepped in it a small cloud of the black soot rose up before gently falling back down. Luna was about to join her sister until she noticed something out of place. "What's this?" Luna took the object in her magic, shaking the soot off it. "Tai." Luna floated the small piece of paper to her sister.
Celestia took it and quickly read over it before looking at her sister. "Why don't you join the Sparkles? I need to get something." She commanded. In a second the room was filled with a bright light, then a wave of disiness took over until she found herself planted on solid ground again. Celestia opened her eyes and found herself in front of the doors to her room, tow huards standing at each side. The guards looked surprised to see the princess all of a sudden but quickly regained their stance.
"P-Pincess! Aren't you supposed to be having breakfast with your sister?" One of them asked, shaking slightly.
"There has been a change of plans. Twilight is hurt and is under medical care. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get something of mine." Celestia replied before rushing into her room, slamming the door behind her. ==========================
Both the guards flinched as the door slammed shut, and exchanged glances. "What was that about? You don't think Twilight is... dead?" The chocolate brown stallion whipsered.
The other guard, a pure white stallion replied. "I don't know, but I think we should just act cool. You know, just... natural."
Both guards jumpped at the sound of a muffled yell and a loud 'crack' following close behind. The chocolate brown guard tried to go in and see what was wrong but the white stallion stopped him, shaking his head. ============
Celestia took a relaxed breath now that all the anger was out of her system. She turned to look at the wall and was surprised to see two hoof indentions with large cracks sprouting from them like spider webs. Celestia gave the wall a disappointed look before turning to her bed, and with a flick of magic a book slid out from under it. The same book Twilight had returned to her the night before. She opened the cover and read over the paper Luna had found, soon finding the page with the same spell casting instructions.
Celestia continued to read down the page until she found what she was looking for. In the event that the casting should fail or back fire, one of three things can happen to the caster. One: Instant death will be brought to the caster. This is the most likely to happen. Two: The caster will be teleported to an alternate universe. Chances of ever coming back are next to none. Three: the caster will be put into a coma and their mind and thoughts are teleported into a different being in an alternate universe. The only way for the caster to return is to die in the alternate universe. If the caster dies in the world where they originally casted the spell, he/she will also die in the alternate world.
With that knowledge, Celestia teleported herself into the medical wing. Waiting for her a nurse quickly came to her side and motioned for Celestia to follow. It didn't take all but two minutes to reach the room where Twilight was being held. Inside, Twilight's parents sat by the bed side and Luna sat in the back corner watching with sad eyes. Twilight laid on the bed with bandages wrapped around her head, taking larger breaths now that she got medical care.
"Where are you Twilight?" Celestia whispered, but the other heard and looked at her in confusion. _______________________ _______________________ Where are you Twilight?
A figure stirred at the sound of a voice it recognized, but couldn't put a finger on it. It sounded distant, but close at the same time. The figure pushed harder for memories but they clouded and fogged.
"Hey, you ready for the debrief?" A male voice asked. The figure looked up and smiled.
"Yeah." She replied, standing from where she sat, and the two walked down the iron hallways.
Both figures walked down the hallway, their combat boots touching softly with the deck floor beneath them. The male, a tall, big build guy with a few freckles on cheeks and a smile that showed courage. His hair was cut short and had a sandy color to it, and his eyes were an apple green.
The female was slightly shorter than him, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. Her purple eyes looked at the other up and down, examining him. His form seemed familiar, but at the same time strange. A sudden memory began to tug at the back of her mind, the word Mac popped in her head for some reason. It just felt right. "Hey, Mac."
The guy looked over at the other in confusion. "Mah name ain't Mac. It's Johnathan. But yeah need somethin'?"
"Oh, sorry. You just remind me of someone I think I knew. His name was Big Mac."
Johnathan smiled. "It's alright. What's yer name?"
She thought for a moment, more memories fighting for dominance and her attention. One name seemed to try and break free screaming 'hey, I'm your name!' at her. "Uh, Twilight?"
"Was that a question or an answer?"
"I uh, an answer. Sorry I'm just really out of it." Twilight quickly replied.
Jonathan waved a dismissing hand. "Don't worry 'bout it, we all have those days." The two walked in silence for a few more minutes until they reached a door. "Here we are. You and your squad have some fun." With that Jonathan left.
Twilight waited until she could no longer hear the sound of his boots before she entered. The two inch iron door slid open with a small 'hiss' and inside were six others. Five of them female and one male. "Ah, nice of you to join us Twilight. Now that we're all here, lets begin." The male figure said. He looked to be in his fifty's, wrinkles covering his face, and he also wore a different uniform from the rest. On it were numerous small rectangular pieces of metal with different colors on them.
"In thirty minutes we will be deploying you to scout the planet Equis, to determine whether or not it is suitable for colonization. On another note, you will be taking in equipment and two experimental AI's. These are called sister AI or sibling AI. Everyone I'd like you to meet Cel and Lu." The man explained, and in an instant two holopads lit up revealing separate AIs.
On the right a tall women in a white dress and a golden tiara atop her head. She had long hair that had a few greens, golds, and blues in them that matched perfectly. She seemed to have a glow around her, like she was the higher power. The name Celestia popped into Twilight's head at the sight of the artificial intelligence.
However, the one on the left was slightly smaller and she wore the same dress except it was a mixture of blacks and blues with sparkles on it. She had light blue eyes and wore a pitch black tiara on her head. Her hair was a deep night sky blue that matched with her dress, and in it a small pin with a crested moon kept her hair in place. The name Luna popped into Twilight's mind and it seemed to fit.
"Now," the man continued, "These two AI are designed to watch and care for each other, much like we do everyday. Not only that, but they should also be here for a long time. ONI says that sibling AI can live up to twenty years before plunging into rampancy due to the 'emotional connections' they share."
"A-Are they nice?" One of the other asked, her voice barely audible.
The one, Cel, smiled at her. "I don't see why we wouldn't be. Lu and I are the nicest AI you will find, aside from Cortana."
Twilight noticed the one that acted shy was slightly skinny and her hair was a sun bright yellow with a strand of pink going through it. She also wore the same gray body armor as the rest of them. "That's... good." she squeaked in reply.
Ah just can't believe this happened...
Twilight looked around the room for the voice. Again it sounded familiar but who?
I know it's hard, Applejack, but remember she's a strong mare. She'll find a way back.
Applejack? Where is she? Celestia? Twilight continued to scan the room, the man talking again but she didn't bother to listen.
But what about her birthday? You know Pinkie has been planin' it for months now. Ah hate to see her so down.
We can only wait, my little pony. Why don't we go get some dinner?
"Hey!" Twilight snapped out of her trance and looked at the person in front of her. She was tall and had an athletic build, her eyes were a deep blue. Her hair was il kept and seemed to be all over the place. "I asked you a question, egghead!"
It took twilight a second to formulate a response for them. "I'm sorry, could you repeat it?"
"I said are you ready to get going? We need to get down to the pelican bay and we're waiting on you!" The woman complained, her tone more childish than she would've thought.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow, I didn't rea..."
"Did you just call me Rainbow?" Twilight shrunk back slightly and nodded. "Where on earth did you get that name?" The female yelled throwing her arms in the air.
Twilight opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. Now all five of them were watching this unknown chew her out. "I-I don't know. I'm just... confused. Something about all of this doesn't feel right."
"You feeling alright?" The woman asked, slightly backing up. Twilight shook her head and the woman let out a sigh. "Alright, you stay here and Erica will take care of you."
"No! I want Celestia to stay. Please." Twilight blurted but got the deer in the headlights look after she realized what she said. "I mean... Cel..."
The woman stared at Twilight in confusion but backed up more to give her space. "Cel, you don't mind if you stay, do you?"
"I believe it may be best." ________________________ ________________________
"Do you mind going through everything you just said again?" Cel kindly asked Twilight.
Twilight stopped her pacing and sat down with a sigh. "Everything is just confusing. That guy, Jonathan, I don't know why but he reminded me of someone else i know who looked exactly like except he also didn't."
Cel stood on her holopad, listening carefully along with Erica. "So does this happen often?" Cel asked curiously.
Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure. Past memories are cloudy and the more I try to remember them the cloudier they become."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, I also hear voices, in my head. I recognize them but I don't really know who or what they belong to, and they talk about me." Twilight replied with slight hesitation.
A moment passed where no one said anything, making Twilight feel uncomfortable. "Yep, she's crazy."
"I am not!" Twilight shot back.
"Then how else do you explain the voices?"
Twilight glared at Erika's hologram, then faced Cel's. "Anything you want to add?"
"I have a theory." Cel began. "You may have a case of multiple personality disorder. The voices you're hearing could just be the personality fragments."
"I still think she's crazy."
"I am not crazy! And I don't have MPD!" Twilight yelled, both AI went quiet. "All those voices are from people I've met before, not some fragment of my mind." Twilight stood up and stretched her back. "I'm going for a walk around the ship." Twilight left the small room in the medical bay and into the hallways.
As she marched down the short path and took a right. Twilight found herself on the ground and rubbing the back of her head along with someone else. "S-sorry about tha- Big Ma- I mean, Jonathan! I'm so sorry about that!"
Jonathan grunted as he pushed himself back up, wincing slightly. "It's alright. Ya'll didn't see me. Here, lemme help you up." Jonathan extended a hand in Twilight's direction.
Twilight took his hand and was on her feet in a second. "Thanks, Mac."
"Jonathan."
Twilight's cheeks turned a slight crimson with embarrassment. "Right, sorry."
Jonathan looked at her confused. "Is everything alright, Twi?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. I had a small talk with Erika and Cel about some problems. I keep thinking some people are others, and I have a cloudy memory, and Erika thinks I'm insane and Cel thinks I have MPD. Not only that but I keep hearing voices in my head and... it hurts my head thinking about it."
"You know, you could just be stressed out." Jonathan replied with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Twilight gave him a look of confusion. "Ah know a few people who had t' same problem, an turned out to just be stress." Jonathan paused, racking his brain. "Aint y'all supposed to be with mah sister and the other four?"
Twilight smiled sheepishly at the question. "That's kind of what put me in the insane category. I called one of them Rainbow Dash and they decided I should stay here."
"You hungry?"
"Huh?"
"I was headin' down to get somethin' to eat. Want to come?"
"Sure." Twilight replied with a smile, and the two made their way down the hall.
"I can't! Too much turbulence! Lu, where's a clear spot to level out?"
"Calculating... you should have a clearing right about... now."
The pelican stopped shaking and gradually leveled out until the sound of the engines filed the cabin.
"Haha! Turbulence isn't any match for the best pilot in the UNSC!"
"Oh keep it down Jessie. If Lu wern't here you would've missed that spot."
Jessie waved a dismive hand at her co-pilot. "Whatever Rachel, just don't get dirty."
"You know some of us ladies have class and style!" Rachel replied while holding her head high.
"Hehe, keep telling yourself that."
A few minutes passed by where no one said anything and the air outside the glass canoppy was beginning to fog.
"Turning on thermal scans." Jessie announced to no one in particular. A screen to her left tirned on and it filled with a mixtures of blues and purples. "Things are going to be cold. I'm getting cold signatures all over the place. Lu, wheres a good place to touch down?"
Lu appeared on a holopad and smiled. "Certainly. There is a clearing half a click from here."
"Got it."
The pelican raced forward towards its destination. About three minutes later Jessie landed the pelican in a small clearing just big enough for the bulky bird. Every one unstrapped and piled out of the pelican, scanning the thick foliage around them. They were surrounded by trees that stood about as tall as a three story building, and their leave about the size of a human. They have a dark muddy-green color to them.
"Eww, just look at this place! Absolutely filthy!" Rachel complained, shaking off some "forest goo", as she called it, from her boot.
The thick clump of moss landed next to Jessie and she looked up at Rachel. "If you're so afraid of getting dirty then why did you join the marines?"
"I didn't join, my parents forced me into it."
"Oh that's terrible!" the quiet girl exclaimed as she looked over at the two. Her blond and pink her is bond into a ponytail and it stuck out slightly from her helmet. Her eyes had a soft worry to them as Rachel made eye contact.
"It's quiet alright, darling. But Penny, you know I do enjoy the job. Those brutes are ruining everything and I enjoy watching them fall before my boot!" she replied in a harsh whisper.
All four of the looked at Rachel with concern. She gave them a sheepish smile before turning back to scanning the forest. "Ugh, when are going to go? I'm tired of sitting in this... goo."
"Umm, Rachel?" Penny called in a small whisper. "That's not goo. It's moss."
Rachel looked down at it couriously before turning back to Penny. "Then why is it all mushy?"
"I think it rained." Penny replied kindly.
Rachel nodded before looking over at one of the others who was kneeling with an assault rifle in there hands. "Samantha, darling, you've been quiet."
"Yeah. You haven't said a thing since we left." said a woman who had Auburn stamped on her helmet. You couldn't see her sand colored hair under the helmet or most of her dark tan. Her accent had a southern color to it.
Samantha didn't look up or even glance their way. "Sorry, something just feels off about this mission. If they wanted to find out if the planet is suitable they should have just scanned an area and set up one of those research facilities."
"Samantha's right. We should probably get going." Jessie suggested as she stood up and peered into the forest."Everyone on me!"
Everyone stood and filled behind Jessie before trudging their way into the thick overgrowth. They slowly made their way through until Jessie stopped them. "Something's moving."
No one moved but watched the motion trackers in the bottom left of their tatical eye piece. A red dot moved around at the edge of the trackers before it began to move closer. Jessie held up a fist and no one moved. Thy waited for what seemed like forever until the dot stopped at the five meter line before disappearing.
Jessie held her fist up for another thirty sconds before pulling it down and took a step forward. Instantly the red dot reappeared and Jessie turned to face a mass of brown striking her down. A deep roar sent chills down her back as she frantically searched for her rifle. Jessie felt herself getting hit in the chest and sent flying another three feet. A moment later the sound of assault rifles going off pierced the air and the sound of an animal in pain.
"Jessie! Are you alright darling?"
Jessie got back to her feet with a grunt. "Yeah... I'm alright."
The others quickly rushed to her side and made sure she was okay. "Darling you're a mess! Look at how dirty your armor is!"
"Glrad to see you too Rachel!" Jessie said taking Rachel in a hug getting mud all over her.
"Ahh! My armor!"
Jessie chuckled to herself and took the assault rifle Penny offered her. "Thanks Penny. Damn wildlife hates me!" Jessie took a step forward and felt the ground give way. The dirt crumbled and rolled downward taking Jessie with it. The slide lasted five seconds before she stopped.
"Jessie?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright. You gals should see this!" Jessie called back. A moment later the other slid down one at a time and stared at what they saw. "Heh, so much for scouting."
"I can't believe this! Fuck! You! ONI!" Jessie yelled sticking her middle finger at the research base.
Off in the distance is a two story bunker made of Titanium-A armor the UNSC loved to use so much. There are pipes coming in and out of it and at the entrance are two auto-sentries. The building is a mixture of dull gray and bronze colors with no windows in it. The foliage hid the building fairly well and Jessie was surprised that the scanners hadn't detected it.
"Son of bitch!" Jessie yelled again throwing her rifle on the ground.
"Umm, Jessie, could you not be so loud?" Penny asked quietly, hiding slightly behind Rachel.
Jessie let out a long sigh to calm herself. "Yeah, sorry. I just can't believe that they would send us to a place that's already being studied. It doesn't make sense to me!"
"Perhaps they forgot." Penny suggested.
Jessie shook her head. "They don't just forget." She paused to think for a second. "Lu. Hail the ship for me." _________________
Twilight sat at the table with a tray in front of her. On it are an assortment of fruits and veggies. Johnathan watched from across the table with a tray of his own, mashed potatoes, green beans and chick fried steak which was perfectly cooked. He was surprised to see her eat as much as she was seeing that she was on her second tray.
"So yer sayin' that they're calling you insane?"
Twilight glanced up from her food and gave Jonathan a quizzical look. "I thought we already went over that."
"Yeah, I guess we did didn't we?" He replied before taking a bite of his food. He sat for a while chewing and thinking. Johnathan glanced at Twilight to see her holding her head and looking down at the table. "You feelin' alright there Twilight?"
She shook her head frantically. "No. These voices won't go away. They keep talking about me and I feel like I'm in two places at once. I almost feel like I'm not really here but at the same time I am."
Johnathan thought over this for a moment. The fact that she could be insane is a possibility but she seems mentally stable. It confused him a little but it wasn't his job to think about that kind of stuff. No. What she doesn't know is that he had been asigned to keep an eye on her. Make sure she isn't a risk to the whole crew and herself. Only once they have proven she isn't a risk will they officially allow her to be apart of any military missions. So until then the most she can do is stay on top of technician stuff.
"Oh, well try to keep it down. We don't want the crew to think of you as some sort of phycopath."
Twilight let out a short chuckle. "I'm anything but." Her head hurt slightly from the growing headache she was getting, trying fish out names for all the voices only to come up with incomprehensible speach in her head. Her thoughts can't be that jumbled up, can they?
Twilight stood up and stretched her arms out. "I think I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see you around."
Jonathan nodded as she walked away. Luckily for her the sleeping quarters aren't that far away and Twilight reached her room in minutes. She swiftly opened the door and slipped inside, closing the door behind her and she threw herself onto the bed smothering her face with the pillow as she screamed into it. The pillow muffled the scream but did little to ease the fact that she was in fact insane. At least that's what she thought.
Every few minutes she can hear those damned voices talking about her. What did they want with her? She hadn't done anything wrong! She didn't deserve this! She needed sleep. She needed to sleep forever. She can't deal with this! Twilight got up and frantically looked around for something, anything she could use. When she opened a drawer she found exactly what she was looking for. Something to end all of this.
Twilight looks at the white bottle in front of her. She reaches for it but stops. Should I? She keeps her hand hovered over the bottle, contemplating the consequences. Would she even be able to do it? She hesitated to even so much as grab the bottle. With a shaky sigh she closed the drawer and moved over to the bed. She sat on it and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She then began to concentrate on the voices. ___________________________ ___________________________
Luna sat in a chair across from the hospital bed Twilight lays in. This was the first time in a week she had time to come and visit the poor lavender mare, and she couldn't help but feel it was her fault. This wouldn't have happened had she not invited her to come star gazing. No. She would not be where she is. With a small sigh Luna scoots the chair forward until she is right next to the lavender mare.
She checked the machines which beeped and gave readings that she didn't understand. With another sigh she looks at Twilight with sad eyes. "T..... Twilight." Luna said trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She tried to think of something to say but nothing came to mind. Luna felt a hoof on her shoulder and she craned her head to find the orange farm pony. A small smile grew across Luna's muzzle and took a deep breath, returning to Twilight.
"Twilight, I know it's a little late but, happy birthday." Luna said, the pain obvious in her voice. Tears began to well up in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. "We all miss you." Luna had to stop to swallow the lump in her throat. "I brought you this. It's a star map. I thought you might like it." she said while placing a rolled up piece of paper that was almost the length of the bed next to Twilight. "Celly says we have to just wait, but I'll be da... you need to come back soon."
Applejack could see the princess was taking this hard and rested another reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "There, there princess. Y'all just need to take it easy." Applejack cooed.
Luna turned to the farm pony, a few tears running down her cheek. "It's my fault. If I wasn't so foolish as to invite her to the castle none of this would have happened!"
"You didn't know this would happen, princess."
"I-I know..."
The sound of hooves entering the room draws the attention of both ponies, and they turn to face whoever came in. They find Celestia who stopped just at the foot of the bed. A look of worry took over the sun goddess's expression at the sight of her sister. "Good evening Applejack."
Applejack does a slight bow to the princess. "Howdy, princess."
"If you wouldn't mind I came to have a word with my sister."
Applejack glanced over at Luna before nodding and trotting out the door. Celestia moved over to her sister's side and sitting next to her. She could see where the tears rolled down her sister's cheek from the matter fur. "If you would like I can take care of night court for you tonight."
Luna sniffled a few times and nodded her head. "Yes, thank you."
"It's not a problem." Celestia replied with a smile. "She's a smart mare you know. She will find her way back."
"I certainly hope so."
Celestia noticed the large roll of paper and instantly recognized it. "Interesting choice of a present don't you think?"
Luna looked at her sister with a confused expression. "I wanted her to have it."
Celestia nodded with approval. "I think mother would be happy to know her star map is going into good hooves."
Luna let a small smile cross her lips, then turned to Twilight. "I think I'm going to stay here for a while."
Celestia faintly smiled before standing. "Of course. Take as much time as you need." Luna smiled and wrapped her sister in a hug that lasted longer than was necessary. Once Luna let go, Celestia began to trot out the room but stop just in the door. "And, Lulu. Please don't beat yourself up over this." She then went off to attend to the night court. ________________ ________________
"Are you getting this, sir?" A very frustrated female voice said over the radio.
The ship's commander looked over the shoulder of one of the lower ranking men manning the stations. On the screen is a video feed of the bunker Jessie had encountered. The commander pondered over this for a moment. "Yeah, I see it. It explains the choppy message we received back at Anchor seventeen."
"Choppy message?"
"Did anyone else notice Jessie's bipolar reaction to the base?" Rachel's voice comes over the radio.
Jessie lets out a groan. "Shut up Rachel! Now isn't the time."
"Oh dear. Umm, could you two not fight please? If it's not too much trouble..." the quiet voice tried to force itself in.
"I'm just saying, darling."
"And I'm saying to shut u-"
"Quiet!" the commander yells through the mic to end the small squabble. Both parties go quiet at the commanders sudden outburst. "You will let me handle this and I want you all to be quiet while I do so!" No one said anything after that and the commander let out a satisfied sigh.
"Sir, we're being hailed."
"Patch it through."
A few moments pass where no one said anything until the sound of static came through the radio. "Commander, good to see you made it." a male voice came through.
"Yes, we have. Could you explain why we are here mister?"
"Doctor. Dorctor Alexander." he replied. "And the irders you recieved should have given you all the details."
"The orders we were given were only partially provided, doctor."
There was a pause for a moment before Alexander replied. "That happens sometimes. The atmosphere here is a little thick and the messages have hard time getting through sometimes. The sensors decet your squad is present outside. I should let them in, the wildlife here tends to get nasty around here."
"Finally!" Jessie yelled over the radio. "It's fucking cold out here too!"
"Right, about that..."
"Alexander, I would like those full mission details."
"So here is the kitchen, we make coffee every morning so help yourselves to it." Alexander said as he showed the five marines around the research base. "Down the hall and to the right are the barracks and weapon lockers. We'll get you set up there in just of few. And if you come across any doors that say authorized personnel only, then you stay out. Clear?"
Alexander glances over the group, his dark brown eyes taking in the group of four in front of him. He wore the purest of white lab coats and black framed glasses. His hair is a messy black mass of tangles and his pants are a deep navy blue. His skin has a bit of a dark tan to it.
Jessie looked around the place giving it a skeptical eye. "So much for the 'residential area', there's nothing here except for a sofa and a TV with some lame ass movies!"
"And the decor! It's horrendous! It simply will not do!" Rachel chimed in.
Penny, who had been hiding behind the group most of time decided to peek out from behind them to look around. Her gaze shifted around the room taking in the thick Titanium-A walls and their grey color. Whenever another person would walk by she tried the make herself as small as possible and huddle up next the Samantha. Any time Alexander tried to strike a conversation with Penny it would usually result in her cowering behind her friends of replying so quietly that Alexander would decide that it wasn't worth the trouble of trying to get a response he could hear.
Samantha looked around as well. "Ah don't see nothin' wrong with it. Y'all are just whining."
Jessie scoffed at Samantha's remark. "Whatever, this place sucks. Hey, has anyone seen Abby?"
Everyone shook their head and Penny seemed to have peeked out a little more to look for her friend. The pink haired marine always seemed to disappear and reappear in random places, leaving a majority of others confused as to how she slips away so easily. Their commander has concluded that she somehow breaks physics and that there is no reason to try and figure out exactly how she does it. Not to mention how she stays in shape despite the amount of sweet pastries she eats on a daily basis. It's almost considered 'healthy' for her by most of the medical staff.
She also tends to work in the kitchen though she mostly bakes the small amount of deserts the rest of the marines and crew are allowed to eat aboard the ship due to risk of getting out of shape. Abby also had this thing that allowed her to sense when things were going to happen and it has saved her and her friends numerous times in the heat of battle.
Alexander seemed to be the most confused of the group and glanced around for this Abby. "Uhh, who is Abby?"
"Ya know, 'bout this tall, pink hair?" Samantha said with the hand gestures to show her friends height.
Alexander looked completely baffled by this point. "You four were the only ones here...."
The group looks at Alexander just as baffled as he is. Surely they couldn't have left Abby outside in the cold where the woodland creature could easily get to her. But then again they didn't worry much as she had a tendency to do this from time to time where she would be here then there in a matter of seconds.
"I'm sure she'll pop up somewhere. She always does." Jessie reassured them, and everyone seemed to visibly relax. Everyone but Alexander.
"You so sure?"
"So sure about what?" a overly excited, high pitched voice came from behind the scientist, causing him to jump and fall before turning to face the person in question with a look of fear on his face. "Ohhhh, what's that over there?!" she exclaimed before disappearing and reappearing over next to an unmarked door.
Alexander stood up again, still a little shaken. "wh-... wait... what?"
"Don't ask." Jessie replied with smirk and nudging Alexander with her elbow.
"This doesn't make sense!"
"We know..."
"But..."
"Seriously, don't ask. We don't know and we don't want to know. It's Abby and we leave it at that." Jessie explained, still leaving an extremely confused scientist who's whole life revolved around logic, only to be broken by this one person.
Abby once again seemed to have moved on to other parts of the research facility and in minutes there were numerous guards and marines running around trying to find her and get her to stay in one place as she continued to explore the building on her own without a problem. The four friends watched amused and Penny even came out from hiding behind Rachel to watch as well, a small smile crossing her lips.
Once again Abby appeared in front of Alexander, her face scrunched up as she studied him before giving him her renowned smile that said 'I've never seen you before so I'm going to throw you a party'. "So where's the food? Is there any cake?" Alexander just looked at her like she was crazy which cause the pink haired marine to do an exaggerated gasp. "I have to make some!" With that she was in the kitchen in seconds.
Once Alexander's brain processed what happened he turned towards the kitchen and went after her. "Wait! You can't just come in here and start baking. We don't even have...." he stopped at the open refrigerator door and watched as Abby pulled out supplies to make a cake big enough to feed an army. Literally.
"You know we use that stuff to cook actual food, right?"
Again an exaggerated gasp came from the marine. "You're right! I should be making cupcakes!"
"Wh- no! That's not what I meant!"
Abby stopped in her tracks and gave Alexander a confused look. "Soooo... Muffins?"
Alexander glared at Abby, obviously trying to keep himself from exploding. "No. I mean we can't be wasting supplies." Abby just stared at Alexander, still awfully confused. "That means no cake, cupcakes or muffins."
Abby looked at the scientist with disbelief before slowly putting away the items she got from the fridge. She silently vowed herself that she will make this person smile by morning.
Once Abby had returned the items to their places Alexander turned to the rest of the group who had been watching with smirks on their faces. "It's getting late. I suggest you all get to bed." He said sternly before pushing past them.
Jessie strolled over to Abby and wrapped an arm around her neck. "Don't worry Abby, tomorrow, we make them the best breakfast they ever had!"
Twilight laid on her bunk, staring up and the one above her. Everyone there was already asleep but she couldn't. She didn't feel tired or fatigue. Matter of fact she felt rejuvenated, full of energy, and happy. For the past few hours she had simply been listening to the voices in her head and was surprised at how much they cared for her. Or at least that's what it sounds like. Sometimes they would disappear for a few minutes and then coming back again.
These few hours had been a moral boost for her, and the though of suicide no longer plagued her mind. Not that it had been there for very long but still, she didn't think she would be attempting it any time soon. Twilight rolled onto her side and pulled out a small book from under her pillow. Strange... that wasn't there before was it? But for some reason she felt like it had always been there, like she had put it there herself.
Twilight tried to read the title but she could hardly see. Again she reached under her pillow and pulled out a small flashlight. The same feeling of familiarity came to her and she clicked the small button on the back and the flashlight turned on, basking the book in a dim light. It wasn't so dim she couldn't read the letters but it wasn't so bright it hurt her eyes either. Obviously she had done this more than once... right?
On the cover of the book it said "Basic & Advanced Engineering and Electronics". The title sounds so familiar, but she hasn't read it has she? Twilight cautiously opens the first page and finds a directory of the different chapters. She already knows all of this stuff but for some reason the urge to read it all over again was nagging at the back of her mind. She quickly flipped through all the pages, looking at the various notes written in spots where there was space. Each note written by her... or, it felt that way.
Suddenly the thought of 'who am I' went through her head. Obviously she is Twilight Sparkle. Who else would she be? But suddenly she felt like she was two people at once. Two conflicting minds that are practically identical in every way. The way she talks, moved, engages in activities. But something else is there, in her mind! Is it even her mind?
Calm yourself Twilight... she thought to herself. Wait, that wasn't her voice. She suddenly became aware of her increased heart rate and began to breathe in and out slowly until her heart rate went back to normal.
"Heart rate is back to normal. Princess, I'm not sure how you know that spell has worked."
"I'm more interested in something else, doctor."
"I... don't see anything interesting about this situation. Your student is laying in a coma she can't possibly come out of."
"I have a theory. Twilight, can you hear me?"
Twilight blinked. Who are these people? Who's Twilight? I'm most certainly not Twilight. She looked at the book in her hands, flipping to the last page. On it was her name written in pen.
"Twilight, if you can hear me, you must kill yourself. I know it sounds crazy but you must trust me."
Yes, I can hear you!
Who are you?
Twilight...
I am Twilight Sparkle.... I think...
I am... Twilight...
am I?
With one last desperate look at the book, she finally remembered. "No. I am Sofia," she said quietly to herself, careful not to wake the rest of the sleeping crew. With that settled out, Sofia turned off the flashlight and closed the book, sliding both under her pillow. She rested her head down and closed her eyes. "and I always have been." __________ __________