The Sparkle Revival

by Plistry

Knights of the Fancy Table

---[Log 0, Expedition 1]---

And so my adventure with Applejack continues as we go on a visit to my mother. That entry on page 168 was strange enough for me. I need answers, and nothing will stop me to from getting it. But do I really want the answers? And who is that Doctor Aeftrot Foshwerl? What happened to my pancakes?

---[The Friendship Express]---

“Thanks, Twilight. Ya know, for going all this way to help me and my family,” Applejack thanked me. That genuine look in her eyes struck right to my heart. What determination that comes in them.

“It’s alright. It will do my best, for Applebloom.”

She smiled, showing just how strong she was.

“So, we’re visiting your mother?”

“Yes. I believe that she may have worked with the spell that’s infecting Applebloom.”

All of a sudden, the engines started and a whistle was heard.

“All aboard who’s coming aboard!” the conductor repeatedly wailed.

“The train’s leaving,” I informed Applejack. Her head shot straight up to our destination: Canterlot.

I wish she knew what we were dealing with.

---[Canterlot]---

I felt the same feeling every time I set hoof in my home town: comfort.

Yes, I felt very comfortable here in this place, considering that this is the place where I grew up.

But there was still that tinge of fear. Fear of the new knowledge I would learn from my mother. She has always supported me in my feats of magic. Heck, she was the one who taught me the technique on how to levitate that page of paper on the book when I was a little filly.

But why do I fear the knowledge? All my life I’ve dedicated it for the search of knowledge! Oh, the irony of life.

“Um, Twilight, we better get a move on,” Applejack reminded me.

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. Let’s go.”

The air sure was warm that day.

---[Sparkle Residence]---

The librarian and the farm pony were standing in front of a door.

I am that librarian. I felt the need of using a third-person view of our state. Okay, it’s best if I ditch the idea.

Back to the situation. It took me time to actually start knocking on the door.

We waited. It seemed like a year for me waiting for any response.

“Don’t be tense, Twilight,” Applejack comforted. “It’s just another family visit.”

Say that to yourself.

I mean, when was the last time I talked to them? I barely said a single word to them at my brother’s wedding. Other than that, I have never seen them again.

And still she says that it’s just another family visit.

Without a warning, the door opened and revealed my mother.

“Oh Twilight! How nice it is for you to visit. Come in!” She then went inside with excitement and called up dad.

“Are you ready, Applejack?” I whispered to her silently. She nodded her in approval.

We were now both in as I completely shut the door close.

------

“Would you want some more tea?” my father offered Applejack.

“Nah, I’m good.”

So where were we? Oh yes, gathered together on a fancy table inside my parent’s house. Dad was busy with his newspapers, while mom was busy analyzing us.

I had that gut feeling she already knew why I’m here.

“How are your studies there at Ponyville? Princess Celestia has been telling us that you are doing a great job there.” She then gracefully sipped her tea.

Think, Twilight. THINK!

“Yes, um, they’re fine. I’m learning a lot from my friends.” I looked at Applejack. “Right?”

“Um, yeah. We’re learnin’ all those friendship stuff from each other.”

My mother smiled, contented of what she just heard.

The tension rose as my father started talking.

“Sorry Twi if I have to go at this time. I have some work at the university, so I can’t chat any longer.”

What? Oh yes, dad is actually a professor at the Canterlot University. Why did I forget that.

“It’s okay, dad. Maybe next time.”

“Thank you so much for understanding.”

And with that he left the three of us on the fancy table.

On the fancy table.

My mother started the conversation. “So Twilight dear, what brings you and your friend here?”

I couldn’t say if my mother was actually that stupid or she was just being sarcastic. Either way it was scary.

Applejack nudged me, short for, “Start talkin’ about that book!”

A gulp.

“Actually mother,” saying “mother” to increase the formality of my speech, “We are here to inquire about something you knew.”

Another gulp.

Silence filled the place, engulfing us all in a sea of questions.

Okay, maybe it’s only me engulfed in that sea of question.

“Oh, that’s nice. And what is that?” Another sip from that tea of hers.

I wished that tea of hers would be gone in an instant so she could stop adding up the tension building inside of me.

Can’t turn away right now, Twilight Sparkle. I concentrated some magic into my horn, levitating the big purple book from my bag to the table.

“Isn’t that...”

“The family book,” I finished. “You gave it to me before I left to Ponyville.”

The book landed with a thud.

She gave me that smile she used to me when I was a kid: Enchanting but deadly. Her bangs, which have a huge similarity with my own, feel much more uncomfortable now. Beads of sweat were starting to accumulate on my forehead.

“And?” she asked.

Applejack stared at both of us, unknowledgeable of the pressure I’m in. She tried to be helpful by smiling at my mother, but I knew that would never work for her.

“My friend’s sister needs your help. I believe she is under a spell that you have worked before.” I flipped the pages of the book until I reached page 168.

She read it. I may no know how many times, but she read it. The expression from her face has turned from happy to downright fear. I knew this would happen, and that’s what I feared the most.

She turned to Applejack. “I’m sorry, but I am of no help to your quest. I have long abandoned the research, and I daresay no one else did. I’m truly sorry.”

Those words just snapped Applejack like a twig.

“What!? I came all over here just to be said sorry? Sorry ma’am, but I know you’re lying to us. I can see it in your eyes.”

She stared deep down in my mother’s eyes, trying to express to her what she really means. I wanted to stop her, but I had no right to do so.

Mom sighed deeply. I never knew Applejack could be such a good lie detector.

“Yes, I know how to save your sister. But it will require effort.”

“Anything,” my friend said with determination.

“First, we need to break in to the Canterlot Archives to steal the first part of the research…”

That was my cue to stop her.

“Whoa, you mean BREAK in to the Canterlot Archives? Couldn’t we just, I don’t know, walk to it?”

My mother shook her head.

“The book is kept in a secure area of the archives. Only the princesses can go there.”

Yeah, break in to the archives. I’m good with that.

“Second, we retrieve the spell from a friend, Aeftrot.”

“Aeftrot? As in Aeftrot Foshwerl? The pony from your entry?”

“We will need the spell to trigger a reversal for it.”

Applejack was taking this all a bit too much. Although not as much as me.

“So ya mean we’ve gotta break the rules?”

My mother gave her the famous smile.

“Will you do it for your dear sister?”

She couldn’t do anything but nod. I looked at mother’s face, looking for a sign that she knows what she’s talking about.

“Just don’t tell your father or your brother about this.”

Like I have a choice.