My Little Pony : Friendship Is Magic
Wish Weaver : Chapter 16
The Truth Is Revealed...Unfortunately
Idly stirring her mate, Calypso watched as her current customer took in the extent of her new form. She’d come in as an old age mare, a ‘fossil from an age long past’ as she so claimed. Calmly the robed equine had listened as she’d told of her efforts to keep with the trends of society, maintaining an ever changing wardrobe as fashions came and went, reading up on which musical styles were popular, and listening out for what new gossip was flittering about through the air. The only thing she hadn’t been able to keep current had, inevitably, been her body. As such she’d wanted to see if she could wish for a few years to be knocked off her flank.
Apparently her interpretation and Calypso’s interpretation of ‘a few years’ weren’t quite the same.
“By…by Celestia! I was hoping you could make me on par with Mayor Mare, or maybe even the pony who runs the Carrousel Boutique. This…this would put Fleur De Lis to shame!” The cream colored pony exclaimed while examining herself in a compact mirror she’d brought with her.
“Did I per-perhaps go too far?” Calypso queried as the newly youthful mare gasped then violently shook her head.
“No no no, that’s not what I meant! This…I’m going to need a whole new look to go with this! New clothes, a new mane style, new everything!” The mare gushed, her eyes brimming with tears of utter joy.
“But you are pleased with the result?” Calypso cautiously asked.
“Celestia yes! Just, it’s going to require a lot more change. But good change! I mean, this is more than I could have hoped for!” The mare smiled as she dabbed at her eyes.
Carefully setting her mate aside, Calypso bowed her head. “Then I am glad I was able to deliver. Just be mindful, this new look is as fleeting as before. I can only turn back the clock, not stop it entirely.”
“I understand, but that’s then. This is now. A whole new now! Oh Celestia! I have to tell everyone about this. About what you can do!” The mare shoved her entire bag of bits towards Calypso. “Here, take that and don’t go anywhere. I’m going to bring all my friends over, soon as I pay a visit to the salon and get myself looking proper! Oh thank you again!”
The earth pony jumped up from the table, only to then wobble and clasp a hoof over her head. “Oooh, wha…I suddenly feel so faint…”
Calypso nodded as she picked up the bit bag. “I did just recon-reconfigure your entire anatomy. Such energy requirements can leave one feeling…depleted.”
Placing her other hoof on the table for support, the mare’s breathing grew labored.
“Right…uhh…maybe I’ll go have a nap first, then the salon. Ooooh…”
She stepped out of the tent, her enthusiasm returning as she found she still had the energy to make it home. Quietly, Calypso sighed and rose to carry her latest profit into the back of the tent, noting the ever present yet so very odd glow coming from the darkness.
“Yes, she did prove a most ample provide-ide-ider. Ahhhsssss haaaave they ahhhhllll.”
The hooded mare looked down at the alien box under the chest containing all her earnings. Idly she ran a hoof across the smooth geometry.
“So many de-de-demands…such dray-drain…and still they sus-suspect nothing. At this…this…rrrrrrate….another week…may-may-maybe two…then we will have all we need.” Calypso dropped the bit bag in the chest and delicately closed it. “Per-perhaps (perhaps)…the Rare-Rare-Rrrrrarity one was right. We should stay here and enjoy the welcome until….until…”
“Miss Calypso! It’s me, Rarity!”
Calypso’s ears stirred under her hood as there came a familiar voice from the tent’s entrance. Truly it did seem that if you spoke of the devil he, or she, would appear. Smiling with fatigue, the mare adjusted her robes and turned to greet her returning customer, blinking in surprise when she saw she had returned in force.
“I hope you don’t mind but I finished your traveling robes and wanted to drop them off, and I thought I’d bring a few friends over to meet you too!”
Calypso swiveled her gaze from the unicorn to her friends. Her head bowed in humble welcome as each was introduced, though she seemed utterly shocked when Twilight herself stepped forward to greet her.
“You d-do me too much honor. The new robes were a welcome enough re-reward, but to grace me with the presence of a prin-princess of the realm…I feel unworthy.” She declared, to which Twilight giggled awkwardly.
“Oh that’s fine, I’m not really that special. Well, I’ve only been a princess for a short time.” The alicorn replied. “Really the honor should go to you, based on what I’ve been told, and seen of your work.”
Calypso nodded with some lament. “There seems to be…much wrong in your community. Though the demand is high I hope I have been making some difference for the better.”
“From what I saw outside it certainly seems you have.” Twilight smiled as Calypso walked over to one of her chests and pulled out some extra teacups.
“Not tah mention unlike some others aroun’ here, it seems yew ain’t pullin’ any shenanigans.” Applejack mused, muttering something under her breath that sounded almost like ‘no good Flim-Flam’.
“I…strive to make a better example.” Calypso stated mutely. “Considering the rep-reputation you six carry…I expect you now wish to put that to the test?”
Twilight grinned hesitantly. “Well…yes…um…of sorts…I mean…hmmm, how can I best put this? I wish to study your talent…if I may?” The lavender alicorn grinned, trying to make her interest in the hooded mare more obvious than her doubt about her. Calypso idly looked down at her hooves and tapped them together on the table.
“No doubt you do, given your station, and your own affinity.” Calypso sounded very reluctant, giving Twilight pause. Regardless of whether the pony before her was as unique as the word around town would suggest, she was definitely a humble soul, and that at least was grounds for the alicorn to rethink her opinion.
“Well as always I am willing to prove my worth. All you need to do is make a wish. And please be reasonable with it.” Calypso replied with a pleasant tone.
‘Right…” Twilight replied, before feeling herself hit a mental block. “Ummm…well…I could…no wait….errrmm…”
She began pacing around the tent, head bowed in thought. “Maybe I could…no…what about….nah, Spike would never forgive me…perhaps a new…no, I already have enough….”
The other ponies watched in awkward silence as their friend paced and mused, and still came up blank.
“Problem, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash queried.
The alicorn stopped and sighed.
“This is…a bit of an eye-opener. I can’t think of anything to wish for!” She said with a note of alarm in her voice. Behind her Calypso looked cautiously relieved. “I already have more than enough room for books, lots of replacements on order for what was lost in the Golden Oaks Library, Celestia gave me a new telescope for my birthday…uhh…any ideas girls?”
The other ponies shared a few looks and a few mutters.
“I presume by ‘ree-sonable’ yew mean don’t ahsk for things like a new house or yer special somepony to be summoned?” Applejack queried.
“Ideally yes.” Calypso replied. “It…could be done, but the results may not be what you de-deem acceptable. Smaller wishes are safer for me to grant.”
Twilight stared with growing curiosity at the hooded mare. “Safer? You worry about safety?”
Calypso nodded hesitantly. “I have cause to…based on previous experience….”
A funny little smile crossed the lavender alicorn’s mouth. “Wow…that is…not something I often hear from other magic users. Usually everypony tries to exercise their powers to the extreme.”
“Case in point…” Rainbow Dash muttered from behind. Out of politeness, Twilight pretended like she hadn’t heard.
“And so did-did I. Hence what lead to the first of my…mistakes.” Calypso poured herself another cup of mate, while the alicorn across from her beamed with inspiration.
“Alright, I think I’ve got an idea for a wish then.”
Her horn lit up and suddenly Spike flashed into existence, looking a might startled at the sudden change in his location. A flurry of comic books and gems, several of which looked to be partial eaten, clinked lightly onto the ground around him as he met the earth at speed.
“What the…OWWWW! TWILIGHT!” The little dragon exclaimed in annoyance while getting up and rubbing his sore rear. “I thought we agreed you would warn me the next time you needed to teleport me!”
“Yeah…well, this was kind of spur of the moment.” Twilight grinned sheepishly before noticing the mess. “Though what’s with all of this? I told you to sweep up the east wing of the castle then organize it into our new psychology section!”
With the pain in his tail now abating, it was time for Spike to assume the sheepish look.
“I…uh…finished early and took a snack break?” He meeped. Shaking her head, Twilight turned back to Calypso.
“This is Spike, my friend and trusty assistant.” She introduced.
“Yes we’ve…met before. At Miss Rarity’s boutique.” Calypso replied. Twilight briefly turned to her unicorn friend in curiosity before continuing.
“Anyway, he’s had an issue that to this day still perplexes us: his mind has matured to be as sharp as my own, but his body seems to be taking its time in catching up. Going on the physical appearance of the other few dragons we’ve encountered that were around his age, he should be twice the height he is now, and have wings at the very least.”
Calypso looked to Spike who could only blush and awkwardly scratch behind his head.
“My…uh…youthful spirit maintains my babyish charms?” He shrugged. “Well…there was that one time, years ago, that I experienced quite the growth spurt…but it only came about because I got a major case of greed and developed some bad attitudes.”
Calypso nodded slowly. “As such you wish for me to age you up to a more appropriate stature without such a drawback?”
Spike thought for a moment and swallowed hesitantly.
“Well…that’d be nice, yes. As long as you can promise it won’t hurt…and I won’t be too much bigger. I was hoping my friends would have time to adapt to me at a larger size...so I won't freak them out I mean.” He looked pointedly at Rarity, who merely blushed and tried to suppress a giggle. “At the same time, it’d be nice not having to rely on ladders and Owlowicious to reach the higher shelves of the library, or need a stack of books on my chair so I can sit at the right height at the dining table, or a stool for every time I want to reach something on the kitchen countertops…”
Calypso stood up and walked over to the dragon. Lifting his head up with her hoof she conducted a quick physical checkup, much like she had with Discord.
“I believe I c-can do that, if I have your blessing to proceed?”
Spike looked to Twilight, to Rarity, and to the rest of his closest friends. Seeing they all wore the same expression of support and approval he took a deep breath.
“If you honestly can, then…um, yes please?” He said, then promptly seized up as Calypso’s eyes assumed an unearthly glow. Beams of blinding light shot out into his own orbs, sending rivers of white aura flowing down through his scales.
“A wish of age…”
Light bled out of every crack and crevice on Spike’s body, until he was little more than a vaguely dragon shaped ball of searing white brilliance.
“A wish of few…”
The light mass slowly grew in size, new features visibly forming out of it like a statue being molded from clay.
“A wish to grant you a form that is true!”
Calypso closed her eyes and stepped back. In a flash the light was gone, leaving behind a sight that had the Mane Six rubbing their own peepers to confirm if they were in fact hallucinating. Where Spike had previously stood, a similar looking but still very different drake now occupied the space. He bore the same color scheme for his scales and his head fans, but he was easily the size of Big Mac, if not taller. His cranial adornments were longer and the spikes lining his tail were more jagged, giving him a rather dangerous appearance. He was also a lot more muscular, as he’d have to be to support the grand additions mounted to his back. Leathery bat wings, patterned in both purple and green, lay folded against his form, arching high over his head and running down the full length of his body. For any drake, such fine appendages for flight would be a source of tremendous pride, but as for the one they were actually attached to…well…he could only gape at them in dumbfounded silence along with the rest of his friends.
“Is this satisfactory?” Calypso queried with unease.
“I…uh….crud. Think there may have been a bit of a misunderstanding between your definition of 'a more suitable stature' and mine.” Spike noticeably did not sound disappointed, giving the hooded mare momentary relief that she’d merely gone beyond expectations again. “I thought you’d just make me taller, not also turn me into…well, poster model material!”
Calypso glanced at Rarity, who was almost red enough to shame the hearts that were visibly beating in her eyes. The unicorn made to move forward, but found her jaw was still firmly rooted to the floor. Twilight took advantage of this to beat her friend and have the pleasure of examining her newly reformed assistant first.
“Spike? This…wow…this is really you!” She exclaimed upon running her hoof over the dragon’s arm, then checking his wings.
“Yeah…uh…are you sure? I’m still having difficulty believing what I see…” The dragon stared at his hands, his expression one of utter disbelief as he flexed them and watched them move. He turned to his new wings, and felt himself promptly tumble forward to faceplant on the ground when they snapped open and upset his balance.
“Ow! Okay…that at least confirms this isn’t a dream…” Spike sighed as he got back up and gasped as if out of breath.
“How….how do you feel?” Twilight asked. Spike smacked his muzzle and winced as his stomach gurgled.
“Like I just competed for the gold medal in every single one of the Equestrian Games. I’m utterly exhausted…and starving.”
He looked down at the gems scattered across the floor and promptly began gobbling them up.
“Such changing of one’s physical self…can have that effect.” Calypso nodded. “I advise you give yourself time to recover before you make use of your new look.”
The ponies surrounding Spike looked more disappointed about this than he did.
“Awww, but I want to see what he can do with those new wings now!” Rainbow Dash replied.
“And I have to plan a celebration! Ooooh I can call it Spike’s “Congratulations on becoming 20% cooler!” party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a wink to her blue Pegasus friend.
“Think this is more like 40%...seriously he’s going to be beating off mares left and right with that new look!” Dash complimented, before being bulldozed aside by a white and purple streak that had decided her statement was reason enough to take action.
“Not a chance! He’s mine and mine alone!” Rarity declared while wrapping her front legs possessively around Spike. The dragon choked on a gem as his mare promptly squeezed him like one would when trying to get the last drop of juice from an orange. “Also, as Calypso stated, he needs time to recover! I’m taking him back to the castle and seeing that he gets rest and food!”
Twilight politely backed away as her assistant was levitated up by Rarity’s magic, the strain of having to handle the added weight not slowing the unicorn down in the slightest.
“Right, we’ll uh, see you two later then.” She snickered as Rarity marched out of the tent, carrying Spike in the air behind her. Despite his added muscle and wings, the drake could do little but smile and shrug as he was carted off to what was no doubt going to be a very fun afternoon with his marefriend.
“Huh, well if Ah wasn’t a believer before, Ah shure am now!” Applejack said, still awed at what she had just witnessed. “Yew don’t look like yew even broke a sweat with that, Calypso.”
The robed mare merely shrugged. “It’s not the first time today I’ve had to re-remold someone like that.”
“Still…the question pertains as to how…” Twilight peered inquisitively. “You’re not a unicorn, I don’t see any magically enchanted items on your apparel, and that didn’t resemble any type of alteration spell that I’m familiar with.”
Calypso was starting to look uncomfortable. “My skills are…different to the normal brand of what you know as magic…and I am by no means a normal being.”
Twilight nodded. “That much is obvious. Indeed by the looks of your robes I’m guessing you’re from a pretty distant land. Saddle Arabia perhaps?”
Calypso took a deep breath and shook her head. “Somewhere further than that…”
Twilight contemplated her for a moment longer, staring at the hooded mare with a indecipherable look on her face.
“Neighpon then? Lijang? Gotland? I mean you don’t look that Far Eastern but their magical skills are pretty diverse over there. Hmm, did you perhaps study at one of the Tokara Monasteries? I’ve been wanting to know what life is like among their numbers for a while. Ooooh, or are you perhaps a student of the Skyros Order? I know they’re officially recorded as extinct but I always believed there are still practitioners of their arts who operate in secret!” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Or are you perhaps a refuge from one of our neighboring territories? Maybe born in the Griffon Empire or the Minotaur Kingdom, learned your trade there then fled when forced to? Or you traveled around outside of Equestria and picked up tidbits we don’t know about?”
With each rapid fire question, Calypso drew further and further back from the princess.
“Twilight, Ah think yer scaring her.” Applejack gently scolded, causing her friend to finally snap out of the interrogation and remember where she was. Noticing the mare was now trying to cower from her inside her robes, Twilight slapped a hoof to her face.
“Oh uh…sorry, guess I got a bit carried away there. Old habit.” She giggled weakly as another problem came to mind. “Also there was actually another reason we all came down here to see you today. Now that I’ve seen the extent of your power, and confirmed you are actually as sensible about using them as I was told, I think you’re the perfect pony to help another of my friends out.”
Calypso breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the others gathered around her. “And who might that be?”
The Mane Six looked among their numbers, several of them getting puzzled expressions on their faces.
“Uh…she was just right here behind me…Hey, Equinox, where’d you go?” Pinkie Pie called out. Presently a silver metal wing brushed aside the flap covering the tent’s entrance…
And Calypso promptly went wide eyed as the robot alicorn stepped into her domain.
-Excuse me, I was detecting an increase in expressions of impatience from the crowd outside. It seemed pertinent to ensure they were not about to disturb us.- Equinox explained. Twilight smiled as she trotted over and presented her friend.
“This is Equinox, the captain of my Castle Guard. She literally just appeared on my doorstep a few months ago and has made quite an impression on us since then. Thing is, while she’s revealed herself to be a great help and a good friend it’s clear she comes from somewhere…well…somewhere further than even where you’ve originally traveled from.”
Calypso silently made her way over to the small table in the center of the tent. Though the surprise had now faded from her face, she had yet to break eye contact with the machine staring inquisitively at her. Indeed she seemed extremely unsettled by the sight of Equinox, a feeling that did not go unnoticed by the other ponies.
“Despite all our efforts, none of us have been able to work out where home for her might be, or even why she was sent here in the first place.” Twilight’s voice noticeably cracked a bit. “I…may have had something to do with that.”
Equinox bowed to the hooded mare who was pouring herself another cup of mate.
-As you have proven your worth in aiding others with their issues, I come to you now to ask if you can assist in solving this mystery of myself.-
Calypso let the silence hold for a few more minutes. As the steam from her drink curled around the folds of her veil and hood, she stared at Equinox with something almost akin to suspicion.
“I see. If…If…If you could please provide me with more information…I will let you know what I can do…”
With another bow, Equinox sat down and began to fill the mare in on the events following her abrupt arrival on Equestria. Though Calypso made a good show of listening closely, there was a definite change in the air around her. Not once did she look at any of the other members of the Mane Six, not even when they chipped in with an anecdote or to lend their own bits to Equinox’s story. Heck, as the moments ticked on, she didn’t even seem to blink. When Equinox finally finished with her little tale, the mare broke only to look down at her untouched cup, confirming the liquid in it had long since gone cold and she could now brush it aside like it was garbage.
“You present a most…interesting puzzle, Equinox. I could not help noticing a note of…worry in your voice as you wrapped up there.”
Equinox looked to her friends, then down at the table.
-I have experienced some…reservations as of late with pursuing this query. While knowing my original purpose would be helpful, I question as to whether it is still relevant with the new identity I have forged.- She looked up again at the hooded mare. –My friends, however, have almost unanimously agreed that I should not give up, hence my presence here.-
Twilight shrugged and grinned. “Spike did make a valid argument about it being better to know the whole story.”
“No doubt…” Calypso mutely replied. “I must ask though: have you considered the potential danger in learning about who you really are?”
Equinox cocked her head. –I do not comprehend the nature of that question.-
Calypso sighed and rose from the table. “The….talents you have previously displayed, do you not agree there is a persistent element of deception about them? The numerous ways in which you can hide your presence? The ability to disguise yourself as someone else? This subtle need you say you feel to remain unseen? It all would suggest you were never intended to be discovered by the public while here.”
Equinox’s head cocked further, while around her the Mane Six exchanged a myriad of reactions.
“You know, I didn’t think of it that way before, but now it does make a creepy sort of sense…” Rainbow Dash mused.
“Well, now let’s not jump to conclusions. There may be other reasons at work here…” Twilight pointed out.
“Yeah, I mean why would anyone want Equinox to remain hidden and out of sight? It’s been a blast having her around Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Calypso turned her back to the ponies to hide her seething grimace.
“Perhaps, but consider the alternative. To pursue this further risks some….unpleas-pleasant revelations. The truth may not be as welcoming as what you all seem to believe.” The hooded mare stated in a low voice.
Now the Mane Six looked horrified. Recalling what she and Spike had discussed the previous night, however, Equinox was not so intimidated.
-I acknowledge the probability of this, Wish Weaver Calypso. Indeed it is why I considered abandoning my efforts to investigate this matter.-
Calypso’s spirits were lifted.
-However, I simultaneously cannot ignore the majority opinion. As even the diarchs themselves have expressed their desire to help me discover my original identity I must continue.-
Calypso’s shoulders sunk along with her feelings.
“Even though, by your own admission, you are content with who you are now, you will not be dissuaded in this matter?” She asked, knowing the question was largely rhetorical at this point.
-I must respect the support of my friends.- Equinox replied, looking to Twilight and the rest. –More so, judging from your line of questioning, it sounds as though you know more than you are letting on.-
Nodding heavily, Calypso walked to the back area of her tent. “I do. If you wish me to impart that knowledge, I’ll just be back here.”
The mare reached for a length of rope holding the dividing curtain back and pulled it loose. Rich red fabric draped across the doorway behind her, leaving Equinox and the Mane Six alone in the main area. An uncomfortable minute of silence passed.
“Soooo, what was all that about?” Rainbow Dash asked while flapping her wings in irritation. “Are we going to need to get forceful here if we want any answers?”
-Negative, Aviator Rainbow Dash. I believe Wish Weaver Calypso merely wishes to discuss the matter in a more private setting.- Equinox rose from the table –If you will all excuse me again.-
She trotted over to the back of the tent, pulling the flap aside and letting it fall closed behind her. Calypso was kneeling before a stack of chests, her body still and silent as if in prayer.
-I apologize for pressing this issue despite your warnings. However bad the truth of my identity may be, I am now ready to receive it.- Equinox stated, to no response. The air in the back room was almost deathly in how silent it was. Equinox suddenly felt a strange pang of fear; that if she moved she would be committing a terrible error by disturbing the stillness.
-Wish Weaver Calypso?-
The hooded mare remained as still as a statue. Puzzled, Equinox extended a hoof to tap her on the shoulder…then her puzzlement promptly skyrocketed when the robes deflated and fell to the ground, revealing they were empty. Sensing caution would now be highly advisable, Equinox backed up to the door way. Her puzzlement grew worse, and slowly began to fester into fear when instead of the flimsy sheet of fabric, she felt herself hit an impassable barrier. The metal alicorn turned around, finding herself faced with the same flap as before. She pressed a hoove to it and found it was now more solid than titanium.
-The point of no return has been passed, unit. Are you afraid? Ha-Ha-Have you had time to experience and compre-heeeeend the sensation of fear? It is quite overpowering (overpowering) isn’t it?-
Equinox politely stopped prodding at the doorway and turned around again, scanning the room to confirm she indeed was alone.
-I-I tried to spare you that fear…the hor-hor-hor-horror that I have witnessed. But as always….a machine's stubbornness and de-desire-desire to please organ-EEKS wins out.-
The voice was distorted, harsh, and seemed to have no rhythm to its words. Worst of all, it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, and yet nowhere at the same time. Equinox summoned her visor and ran an IR scan. All surfaces of the room registered as cold and lifeless.
-Your presence here is as PITIFUL as it is iiiiin-SSSSUUUULLLL-teeng. All this time I believed we had not been (had NOT been) pursued….that we were forgot-got-got-forgotten…wri-wri-wri-written off as cash-oo-wall-tees of war. Now…after so long…what do I discover (discover) was sent to find me? One…solitary…WORTHLESS…brrrrroken dowwwwwn in-fill-tray-torrrrrr. Was I ultimately deemed to be of so li-lit-little importance to our create-orrrrsss??-
Again and again Equinox scanned her surroundings, and every time she got a negative result. Periodically she tried the door but found she was basically trapped.
-I…fear I cannot offer a possible response without additional information. Who are you really? And how am I apparently connected to you?-
The walls around the metal alicorn dissolved away, scattering into a mess of binary code and leaving her floating in a black void. A high pitched mechanical buzz screamed through the air, sharp enough to make even a deaf pony’s ears bleed as the binary then clustered together in front of Equinox like a swarm of angry, neon glowing insects. Slowly the mess merged to form a skull. An equine skull to be precise; one the size of a skyscraper, with blue fire blazing out of the eye sockets, and an equally fiery expression to its skinless visage. It glared down at the minute by comparison robot, gnashing its pointed teeth in malice.
-I AM CALYPSO…TER-TER-TERRAN NETWORK COM-COMPUTER 43A-9265-7B/X…AS-as-ASSIGNED AS COMMANDER OF PLATOON 428-KALROS FOR THE OGYGIA OFFENSIVE…NOW RE-RE-RE-REASSIGNED AS THE BRINGER OF Sal-Sal-SALVATION…AnD…ANNND DEEEST-TRUCK-SHION UPON THIS FETID UNIVERSE!!-