//------------------------------// // Ringpercussions (Part 2) // Story: LanternFall // by leonidas701 //------------------------------//         I need to tell someone about this, Twilight thought as she walked into Ponyville. She wasn’t even sure what ‘this’ was, specifically, but she knew she had to get it off of her chest. Celestia, of course, she has to know, but she won’t be here for a while. I need to talk to someone. But who? Trixie? Maybe, but- no, no if her lantern is what’s causing Rainbow Dash to act like that, then who knows what the other lanterns are doing. Then again, Applejack and Fluttershy both seemed fine. Maybe I should warn Trixie about it. But what if it’s not the lantern? Rainbow Dash did nearly die, maybe she’s just trying to deal with it. How would she feel if I started telling ponies about what she’s doing? But all of the lantern’s felt weird like that. Maybe it is them? I have to tell someone about this.         Twilight realized that her thoughts were in a loop, and getting foggier by the minute. I need to eat something, she thought, recognizing the effects of low blood sugar from her numerous late-night studying binges. This helped her remember that she still had three lanterns to check out. Twilight stopped drifting aimlessly around town and began heading towards the one place where she could achieve both of her goals. -SugarCube Corner-         “-of triple-double chocolate cookies Button Mash!” Twilight heard as she opened up the door to the bakery. She saw that the tables were almost all packed full with ponies, and the buzz of conversation filled the sweet smelling air of SugarCube Corner. Twilight tried to ignore it and looked towards the counter. She saw Pinkie Pie standing behind the display case, lowering a box to a brown colt. She walked over to Pinkie Pie, bumping into a few tables along the way.         Twilight tried to call out to her. “Hey, Pinki-”         “Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, whipping her head around to face her friend as Button Mash walked off with his cookies. “Can you see this?” Pinkie Pie gestured at the packed room, before grabbing a box from underneath the counter. “I’ve never seen this many ponies in here!” she said as she began to fill the box with cherry buns. “Never ever ever ever! Well, not unless I’m throwing a really big party, but I’m not! I thought about throwing a party after the explosion, but Mr. Cake said that it was “in bad taste”, or something, which I don’t understand, I mean, what better then a party to make ponies feel better after something like that, but he was really serious about,” Pinkie Pie placed the last cherry bun into the box. Her attention immediately shifted from Twilight to a mare standing in the corner. “Roseluck, I’ve got your bun box for you!” Pinkie said as she held the box out and waited for the mare to come and take it.         Twilight seized upon the opportunity to talk. “Pinkie Pie, I need your help with som-”         “Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie Pie said, having given the box to Roseluck.         “Really?” Twilight asked as Pinkie Pie pulled another, smaller box out and began filling it with muffins. “You don’t even know what I need you to do.”         “So?” Twilight was at a loss for words. Pinkie continued, “Oh, but can you please wait until I’m done with my shift? I’m almost done here and then Mrs. Cake is coming to take over. Please?”         “Uhm, yeah. Sure,” Twilight said.         “Thanks! You want a little nibble while you wait?” Pinkie Pie asked, reminding Twilight of her secondary objective.         “Yes. Could I get couple chocolate-strawberry cupcakes with buttercream?” Pinkie Pie used the hoof not busy packing muffins to hoof Twilight her cupcakes. Twilight levitated them and walked towards the only empty single-pony table left, hearing Pinkie call out, “Ditzy!” behind her.         Twilight lowered the cupcakes onto the table and took a seat. Now she had nothing to do but wait. And eat. And think. Guess which one she ended up focusing on.         I guess after this I’ll go talk to Trixie, Twilight thought as she absentmindedly bit into one of her cupcakes. That’ll be fun. I mean, I haven’t really talked to Trixie since the explosion. Or seen her really, other than when we’re rebuilding. I wonder what’s been going on with her. Maybe she’s just tired. I wonder if she’s been practicing her magic. I don’t know why she would be, considering her ring actually works! Twilight realized what path her thoughts were going down and took a deep breath. Getting mad at Trixie because her ring randomly didn’t work was just petty. Twilight was better than that. She bit a particularly syrupy part of the cupcake and tried to force her thoughts into a different lane. I wonder how she’ll act when she sees that I’ve mastered the sound distortion and amplification spell. Twilight had taking to practicing the spell whenever she had nothing to work on during the reconstructive periods. When did she say Card usually let her leave work?         Twilight suddenly realized there was one pony whom she hadn’t seen at all since the explosion. Oh Celestia, what about Card! He lives in the Everfree Forest, I wonder how he’s been doing! Twilight’s mind flashbacked to the state she had seen the forest in after the explosion. Trees ripped out by the roots and tossed around like playing cards and every single blade of grass bent over in the direction of the shockwave. Twilight briefly wondered if Card had been hurt, before dismissing the notion outright. It seemed impossible, Card being injured in something as mundane as an explosion caused by seven rings and color-coordinated lanterns falling from space. He must be really busy fixing it all up. I’ll have to ask Trixie how he’s been, she’ll know.         “Okie-dokie, I’m all done!” Pinkie said as she came up to Twilight’s table, startling the unicorn into almost choking. “So, what do you need me to do?”         Twilight swallowed and finished off her last bit of cupcake before standing up. “Can I see your lantern?” she asked.         “Mm-hm. Follow me!” Pinkie said as she grabbed Twilight and dragged her through the door that lead to the residential part of the bakery.         While she was being led through the kitchen, the living room, and up the stairs to Pinkie Pie’s bedroom, Twilight noticed something strange. “Where’s your ring?” she asked Pinkie Pie.         “Oh, it’s somewhere in my room. I think it’s still where I left it, but I don’t wanna assume.” Pinkie Pie opened up the door to her bedroom, making Twilight flinch a little from the evening light streaming in through Pinkie’s windows. “Oh look, there it is!” she said, dropping Twilight’s hoof and pointing at the small green ring on her bedside table, right in front of a small blue mirror. “Gimme a sec!” Pinkie Pie dashed over to her closet and began rooting around in it, leaving a confused mare at the doorway.         “Why don’t you wear it?” Twilight asked.         “Mmh mm, mmhhm,” Pinkie said from inside her closet, her voice obstructed by costumes and toys.         “What?”         Pinkie Pie’s head popped out of the cabinet, her hooves still rooting about inside of it. “I do, sometimes.”         “Why only sometimes?” Twilight asked. “Why don’t you always wear it? Imagine how much help it would be in the shop. You’d be able to give everypony their orders all at once. You wouldn’t even have to stand behind the counter, you could just sit in a chair.”         Pinkie Pie went back to rummaging through her closet, taking care to keep her mouth unblocked. “I tried doing that once, it was no fun at all! I was too far away to talk to anypony, and I wasn’t close enough to see how happy all the ponies were when they got their food. I was sooooooo bored!”         “Okay, so then why don’t you just stay behind the counter and use the ring? You’d still be able to talk and see ponies smile.”         “If I’m already going to be close enough to do that, then why would I use the ring? Besides, it’s more fun to do it by hoof.” Twilight was still confused, but decided that it was up to Pinkie Pie. Besides, the pink mare had just pulled out the green lantern from her closet.         Twilight walked over to the lantern and braced herself against the possibility of a repeat of the red lantern. She closed her eyes, leaned against Pinkie’s bed, cast the spell and found… nothing.         Well, that wasn’t quite right. There was the same mind-blowing energy that she had felt in every lantern, the same sense of insignificance next to the sheer size of it all, but other then that, nothing. Not even her own lantern, which felt like the power inside was sitting around and waiting, felt like this. It didn’t even feel dead, it just felt lifeless. Like she was staring up at a mountain where the peak was beyond her sight. Impressive, but clinical.         Twilight tilted her head at the oddity, but shook it off. She still had two more to go after all, and she felt silly being amazed that a battery actually felt like an inanimate object. “Thanks, Pinkie.”         “No problemo!” Pinkie Pie waved goodbye at Twilight as the unicorn turned to leave. However, out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Pinkie hesitate.         “What is it?” Twilight asked.         “Well,” Pinkie Pie hesitated again. “I was wondering if you knew where Card was?”         Why does Pinkie want to know where Card is? Twilight thought, unaware of the fact that Pinkie Pie was Card’s patient. “I haven’t seen him since the incident,” she said. “I think he’s fixing the forest. I was actually going to go look for him tomorrow.”         “Can I come?!” Pinkie asked. “Please?!”         “Uh, sure.” Twilight’s eyebrow lifted at Pinkie Pie’s intensity. “We can meet up at the road to the forest once tomorrow’s clean up is done, okay?”         “Okay!” Pinkie waved goodbye to Twilight. “Thank you! Bye-bye-bye!”         “Yeah, bye.” Twilight finally left SugarCube Corner. What was going on there? Twilight shook her head. I’m sure it doesn’t concern me. Right now, I have to get to Trixie. Twilight smiled as she turned down the road that lead to her best friend’s apartment building. -At Trixie’s Apartment-         416, 414, 412! Twilight stopped in front of the door. She knocked on the door. Ten seconds passed, with no response. Twilight knocked again, a little louder this time. Ten more seconds, still nothing. That’s weird. Twilight frowned. Trixie never takes this long to answer her door. Maybe she’s not home? The unicorn stood awkwardly in the hallway as she tried to figure out what to do. She lightly kicked her hoof against the ugly, mottled blue-green carpet that covered the floor as she thought, her eyes roaming the undecorated beige walls. I’ll try knocking one more time, she decided. If she doesn’t answer, then I’ll come back later. Twilight knocked a third time, louder than ever, using the spell she had learned to make the sound travel farther.         She was rewarded for her efforts with the sound of movement from behind the door. She breathed a small sigh of relief. The sound of hoofsteps got louder until it was obviously coming from right behind the door. Twilight opened her mouth, ready to greet her friend, but the door didn’t open. An eye appeared from behind the door’s peephole. When she noticed it, Twilight waved. That’s new, she thought as the door swung open.         “Hey, Twilight!” Trixie said, her yellow ring obvious and splendid on her blue hoof. The unicorns embraced. “Sorry I didn’t notice you earlier, I was practicing.”         Twilight let go of the hug and waved Trixie’s comment off. “Should I be jealous?” Twilight asked. “I thought you said I was the only one who visited you.”         “Well, when you’re as famous and renowned as The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie said as she puffed her chest out and placed a hoof over her heart, hamming it up as much as possible, “You can never be too careful.”         Twilight laughed at her friends antics, Trixie briefly playing at being offended before smirking herself. She suddenly seemed to realize where they were. “Oh, what are you still doing out here? Come in, come in.” Trixie waved Twilight into her apartment. Twilight stepped in, hearing Trixie lock the door behind them. Twilight looked around the small area with kitchenette attachment that served as Trixie’s living room. She walked across the wood paneled floor to the old brown couch that she usually sat on whenever she came to visit Trixie.         “You want anything? Tea?” Trixie asked, looking over the small wall that separated the kitchenette from the living room proper.         “Thanks,” Twilight said. Trixie created some yellow ropes, moving them like snakes to pick up the kettle, cups, sugar, and lemon juice, having them carry it all to the small circular table in the middle of the room. While Trixie was setting up the tea, Twilight looked around the room. She immediately noticed something missing. “What happened to your TV?” she asked, looking at the corner TV stand without any TV on it.         “Fell over in the shockwave,” Trixie said as she sat down in her brown recliner near the couch.         “Yikes.” Twilight felt bad for her friend; that TV was the first thing she had bought for the apartment.         “Yeah.” Trixie sighed. “Oh well. How have you been?” she asked as she picked up a teacup. “Your ring work yet?”         Twilight growled as she remembered the frustration that useless hunk of blue metal had caused her.         “I guess not,” Trixie said as she gave Twilight a cup. “Anything else?”         “No, not really. Just helping out with the reconstruction and keeping Princess Celestia up to date on what the rings can do.” Twilight took a sip. “Speaking of, that’s why I’m here.”         “And here I was thinking, you just wanted to visit,” Trixie said, mostly in jest, hiding the small amount of pain she felt at Twilight’s words with the skill of a seasoned entertainer.         Twilight smiled at her friend through the steam coming from her cup. “Celestia showed me how to check the energy levels in an object, so I could go around checking to make sure we weren’t going to run out of power for the rings.”         Trixie’s head shot up from her cup. “What? You think that could happen?” She leaned forward in her seat.         Twilight was taken aback by her sudden reaction. “No…” she said carefully. “I don’t think so, not anymore at least. I’ve checked some of the other lanterns and they all seem bottomless.”         Trixie relaxed back into her chair. “Oh. Good. Sorry about that.”         “No problem,” Twilight said.         The two mares sipped their teas in silence for a little while, both waiting for the other to speak first.         “You know what this reminds me of?” Trixie said. “That spell Celestia was having us learn when the rings fell.”         “Oh, yeah,” Twilight said. “That reminds me, I’ve actually got it down.”         “Wow, really?” Trixie asked. Twilight nodded. “Huh. I guess the score’s nineteen to twelve now.”         “You haven’t been practicing?”         “No, but speaking of magic, I have learned one thing.”         “What?”         “Here, let me show you. Uhh, put your cup down first, though,” Trixie said as she placed her own cup down onto the table. Twilight followed suit and watched Trixie.         The blue unicorn’s eyes closed in concentration an a yellow beam stretched from her ring to her horn. A yellowish-reddish aura surrounded everything in the room not nailed down other than the table that held their drinks. Soon, Twilight felt herself rising as all the objects were lifted into the air. When they were three feet off the floor, Trixie’s eyes opened.         “Well, what do you think?”         “That’s amazing!” Twilight said, her head whipping around to see all the floating furniture. “How are you doing that?”         “The ring can give me more magic power than I’ve ever felt before in my life,” Trixie said, awestruck. “I don’t know how, but it’s like I’ve been super-charged.” Trixie put them down.         “Wow,” Twilight said as she finished her tea.         “I know, right!” Trixie said. She downed the rest of her drink as well. “Come on,” she said as she stood up. “You said you need to check my lantern right?”         Twilight got up and followed Trixie into her bedroom, relinquishing the cup to a yellow tendril that placed it into the sink. Trixie stood next to her twin bed and used her magic, aided by the ring, of course, to pull a safe out from underneath the bed. As she bent down to open it, she looked at Twilight. “Uh, Twilight, would you mind,” she said as she twirled her hoof around.         “Oh! Uh, no, not at all.” Twilight twirled around. “I didn’t know you had a safe.”         “I bought it a couple days ago. You know, just in case,” Trixie said as she finished dialing in the combination. “You can turn back around now.”         Twilight turned and saw the yellow lantern sitting on top of the now-opened safe. She came up to it, not noticing Trixie’s nervous fidgeting, and braced herself as she began to cast the spell.         “Wait!” Trixie said, breaking Twilight’s concentration. “You’re sure this isn’t going to damage it, right?”         Twilight smiled reassuringly. “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry.” Twilight cast the spell, this time without interruptions.         It was an odd sensation, feeling infinity try and make itself seem bigger. It didn’t even seem possible, but that was what Twilight felt like the swirling vortex of energy within the lantern was doing. It was vast, and powerful, and desperately waiting for her to leave. It was strange. Twilight almost wanted to keep the spell going a while longer to observe it, but the longer she kept it up, the guiltier it made her feel. Twilight severed the connection.         “Well?” Trixie asked, already placing the lantern back into the safe and slamming it closed.         “It’s fine,” Twilight said. “Use it as much as you want. Thanks for the tea.” Twilight started to leave, but a strange tingling went up her spine. She began to feel anxious. When she tried to pinpoint the cause of the feeling, all she could come with was the search for Card. “Hey, before I forget, have you seen Card anywhere?”         Trixie slumped against the safe, worry coming up in her eyes. “No. Not since the incident. He hasn’t been coming to the office, I’ve had to spend most of my time dealing with upset ponies whose appointments he didn’t show up for. I’m really worried about him. I’ve been thinking about going to look for him, but… the Everfree…” Trixie trailed off.         Twilight understood her. The Everfree Forest was a scary place, even at the best of times. Who knew what it would be like after being torn apart like it was. “Me and Pinkie were thinking the same thing. We were planning to go look for him after tomorrow’s clean up, you want to come with us?”         Trixie’s eyes bounced around the room as she bit her lower lip and twisted her ring around her hoof.         “It’s okay if you don’t want to-”         “No.” Trixie stopped fidgeting and looked straight at Twilight. “No, I should come. I mean, after the shit he’s made me go through covering for him, I deserve a raise and the sooner I get it the better,” Trixie said through an obviously fake smile.         “Thanks,” Twilight said. “I guess I’ll see you then?”         “Yeah. Bye,” Trixie said with a wave of her hoof.         Twilight left the apartment, the strange wave of anxiety still on her. Ugh, what is that? she thought as she rode the elevator down. I- I’ll deal with that later, right now I need to focus on getting to Rarity. Maybe it’ll go away on its own, she hoped as she started the long walk across town to the Carousel Boutique. -Near the Carousel Boutique-         Thirty minutes and twenty-three blocks later, the last vestiges of daylight had disappeared, surrendering to the night. The light of the sun had been replaced with the moon and streetlamps but the anxiety still persisted, nagging at Twilight like the buzz of a mosquito just out of sight. Twilight had attempted to figure it out, but to no avail. It just seemed to exist. A reprieve came when she noticed that she was around the corner from the Carousel Boutique. Happy that she was near her destination, she sped up, eager to finish up her task and go to bed. After writing a letter to the Princess, of course.         All those thoughts were blown out of her mind when she rounded the corner. The street outside of Rarity’s shop was littered with ponies sitting at sewing machines that seemed to be made out of blue light. Twilight stood there, scratching her head until the novelty wore off. She had a job to do, and she planned to do it. She walked up the block, looking at the ponies working by the light of their machines. Something about them made her feel uncomfortable, and the anxiety was not helping.  The closer she got to them, the faster and more rigidly she walked. When she got to the very edge of the group, the pony nearest her spoke.         “Hello,” he said, as he turned to face her. “Have you come to help?” he asked with a big smile on his face.         Twilight was a little creeped out. “N- no, sorry. I ha-”         “That’s a shame,” he said as he turned back to his sewing. “Nothing feels better than helping ponies who need it.”         “Yes, well,” Twilight cleared her throat. “Uh, bye!” she said as she scurried away from him, closer to the entrance of the boutique, taking care not to make eye contact with any of the ponies working at their machines. When she reached the center of the group, the dull indigo light of the constructs was replaced with a far more radiant light emanating from the indigo lantern. The lantern was sitting on the ground next to an actual sewing machine, not a construct, at which sat Rarity.         Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was pushed to the side by an excited pony running up to Rarity and brandishing a set of trousers at her. Rarity nodded and the pony carefully folded the trousers and placed them onto a stack of clothing, one of the many arranged in a row on the table that also held up Rarity’s sewing machine. The excited pony grabbed some fabric from a basket on the ground and rushed back to their sewing machine, leaving a very disturbed Twilight in their wake.         “Rarity!” Twilight said, somewhat nervously.         “Twilight!” the white unicorn said brightly, pushing her sewing glasses back to the bridge of her nose. “What brings you here, darling? Is it time for Spike to go home already?”         “No, uh, yes, but no,” Twilight began fidgeting. “Listen, could we talk about this inside?”         “Darling, do calm down, you’re going to give yourself wrinkles,” Rarity said. “Here, this should help.” Rarity lifted her hoof and a small indigo light came out of her ring. As it washed over, Twilight she felt all of her anxiety slip away.         “Thanks, Rarity,” Twilight said. She looked around again. There was nothing creepy around, it was just a group of ponies sitting around sewing, helping Rarity with… “So, what’s going on here?”         Rarity face brightened to the point where it seemed the street would have been illuminated even without the lantern. “It was the most marvelous thing! After the explosion, my shop became positively flooded with ponies coming in who had lost some, or most, or all of their clothing as a result of the explosion. Now, I would never be able to live with myself if I had charged my normal prices from these ponies who had already lost so much, but I could hardly give away my standard work for free. Why, I would have put myself out of business.         “So, I got to work making some simple, cheap clothes that would serve until those who had lost everything had regained enough to afford my regular wares. Spike,” Rarity gestured at the small dragon working at a construct sewing machine next to her, “bless his little heart, saw me working and offered to help me, so I made him one of those lovely little machines you see there. Then a pony came along, saw us working, and offered his services to our cause. Then another. And another! There were so many of these lovely, selfless ponies who wished to help that we couldn’t all fit in the boutique!” As Rarity finished speaking, she gazed at the assembled ponies with a smile of Pinkie Pie proportions. “Have you ever seen anything like it? Oh, and look at me. So busy congratulating others I quite forgot to do my part, what am I thinking?” she muttered as she turned her attention back to the shirt she was stitching together.         “Really?” Twilight looked around, impressed. “Wow.” Twilight turned her attention back to Rarity. “Uh, listen, I need to take a look at your lantern.” Twilight explained the situation to Rarity.         “Oh, of course, darling,” Rarity said with a gesture towards the lantern. “By all means.”         Twilight braced herself against the table and cast the spell.         “...”         “...”         “...”         “..l..ht.”         “Twi..ght.”         “Twilight!” Rarity shouted.         Twilight recoiled like she had just been punched in the gut. “Huh? What?”         “You’ve been standing there for the last minute with staring off into space. Darling, is there something wrong?”         “Huh?” Twilight looked at Rarity as her senses reactivated. “...Oh! No, no, your lantern’s fine. It’s just as infinite as every other one. I-” Twilight yawned “-I guess I’m just tired. It’s been a long day, and your lantern felt so nice, I guess I just fell asleep for a while.” It really did feel nice. Twilight felt like she was being wrapped up in a big, heavy, security blanket.         “Are you sure darling?” Rarity said very carefully.         “Yeah, positive. Speaking of which, I should get home. Come on, Spike,” Twilight said with a nod at her dragon.         “No,” he said.         “Ugh, come on Spike,” Twilight said irritably. “I don’t have time for this. We have to leave now!         “No. Don’t want to leave. Want to stay and help!” Spike said with a pout.         “That’s very sweet of you darling,” Rarity said, bending down to the dragon’s level. “But you need to sleep. You’ll still be able to help me tomorrow.”         “Promise?”         “I promise.” Spike looked over Rarity before nodding to himself. “Fine. Come on, Twilight. Let’s go home.”         Twilight rolled her eyes and the two of them began heading for the library, maneuvering around the crowd of ponies as they walked. “Good night, Rarity,” Twilight called.         “Good night, you two! Sleep well,” Rarity cried until the pair rounded the corner.          Once the two of them were out of sight, Rarity looked at her lantern with concern. “I think it’s time for us to adjourn for the night, darlings!” she said. Her voice rose above the roar of the crowd as they claimed that, no, really, it was no problem, they could keep going. “I insist darlings! You must watch for your health, after all. Please, we can continue this tomorrow! Now,” raising her voice again as the din grew louder, she constructed an indigo basket and sent it floating around the group, “if you could please place your unfinished work in here.” -At the Library-         “I can’t believe you made me look bad in front of Rarity,” Spike said as he entered the library.         “Go to sleep, Spike,” Twilight said as she closed the door behind them, ignoring the dragon.         “I could totally have kept wor- wor-.” Spike yawned as he said, “Working.”         “Go to sleep, Spike.”         “Why? You’re not going to sleep! Why can’t I do what you’re going to be doing?”         “You know what, fine. I’m going to be studying the telepathic underwater drinking habits of amphibious cicadas,” Twilight said, pulling some random terms out of her ass, “and you are welcome to join me.”         Spike’s face contorted like he had just smelt something foul. “Ugh, no thanks. Even if I were completely awake, which I totally am, by the way, that sounds like it would put me straight to bed. You enjoy your studying, I’ll go wait for tomorrow.” Spike went up the stairs to his bedroom. Twilight watched him go to bed and, sure enough, he was out like rubber neckties the instant his head hit the pillow.         Feeling certain that her charge was fully asleep, Twilight noticed that she wasn’t exactly at full capacity either. But, of course, she wasn’t quite done with her job yet. So, she went down to the kitchen, poured herself a large glass of ice water, and dumped it over her head.         Her faculties thus injected with renewed vigor, she toweled off and went to her bedroom, pausing only to glare at her lantern. She sat at her desk, got a sheet of paper, lit up a dragonflame candle, inked her quill, and began to, very diligently, glare at each of these things in turn as she struggled to summarize her discoveries for the Princess.