Twilight builds a locked compartment like Celestia used to store the Elements of Harmony, but something goes wrong and her horn gets stuck in the wall. Things spiral out of control when her friends try to help...
Twilight Sparkle, impressed with the magical locked compartment that Princess Celestia used to keep the Elements of Harmony, decides to build one herself in the library. Unfortunately, something goes wrong when she is testing it the first time and her horn gets stuck.
Things quickly spiral out of control as her friends try to help. The most well-meaning and innocent intentions...are sometimes easily misunderstood.
Twilight Sparkle stood in her library facing the wall opposite the front door. There was something different about the wall, something she had been working on in secret whenever nopony else was around. The wall she was facing had the bookcase moved to the side and directly behind it was a small panel with a star in the middle with smaller stars surrounding it, and in the middle of the central star was a small hole.
Twilight slowly approached the panel. “Spike out on an errand that will take him all morning? Check. Finishing touches done on secret cabinet with magic lock? Check. Somepony eager to test out the magical lock she's been working on for days? Check.”
Twilight had been fascinated with the security measures that Princess Celestia had used for safekeeping the Elements of Harmony. She came closer to the panel and then stopped when she was just inches away. She slowly traced the designs with he eyes as she inspected the panel one more time. “Everything appears to be in order. The magical lock has been activated as well as the magic-nullifying runes inside of the lock.”
Twilight had realized quite quickly that if she didn't create runes that blocked out all but the specific unlocking spell for the lock, then any unicorn could open it without much effort. Twilight slowly lowered her head and aligned her horn with the hole in the panel. “Ok, let's give this a try and see how well our lock works.” She slowly inserted her horn into the lock and began picturing the lock opening with the arcane commands flowing through her mind. A glow slowly enveloped her horn and flowed into the lock, causing the star on the panel to glow as well.
The star, however, was the only part of the panel that glowed....the light did not reach the smaller stars surrounding the central star. Twilight could sense the state of the lock with her horn and slowly turned her eyes upwards on the panel. “Hmm, it looks like we need to make a minor adjustment to the runes. I'll just go and get,” Twilight said as she tried to pull her head backwards, “hurrm...my...oof...blueprints....ow.” Twilight tried pulling her horn out of the lock, grunting with the effort and stopping when the pulling began to hurt. She looked up at her horn in the lock and blinked a couple times. “Oh, dear.”
*-*-*-*
It was mid-morning on a Saturday and three young fillies were enjoying a morning without school as they walked down the road towards the library. Or rather the earth pony and unicorn were walking and the pegasus was riding her scooter, propelled by her buzzing wings. “Sweetie Bell, I know you're good with lyrics and all,” the pegasus said, “but I don't think getting a cutie mark in poetry will be very exciting. What is the point in getting a cutie mark that looks like we are studying?”
The unicorn replied, “We tried everything you wanted to try last weekend, Scootaloo. Including the horseshoe toss...I'm going to be paying for that window with my allowance for weeks!” The three fillies shared a shudder...they all would be paying from their allowance for a few weeks. “Of all of the places we could have tried that game, with all of the space in Sweet Apple Acres, why did it have to be right next to Apple Bloom's house?”
“Yeah, big sis was none too happy about that,” said the earth pony of the group. “I got to listen to her talk about bein' responsible all through dinner.”
Looking at both of her friends, Sweetie Bell said “I just wanted to try something low-key this time. Something we could enjoy without causing any damage.”
“Ok, we'll try the poetry, but none of that mushy stuff.” Scootaloo slowed her buzzing wings, closed her eyes and hunched over her scooter's handlebars, and then stuck out her tongue. Standing back up on her scooter she said “I'm going to write about something cool that Rainbow Dash would like to read.”
The three fillies, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, approached the library and knocked on the door before opening it and going in. Twilight was standing at the wall, facing away from the door. Her ears perked up as they entered the main room, but she didn't move otherwise. “Mornin', Miss Twilight” Apple Bloom said as she and her friends entered the library.
“Good morning, girls” replied Twilight, not turning around to greet them. Well, this is awkward, Twilight thought to herself. There has to be a good way to explain this one...
Apple Bloom looked at her friends and raised an eyebrow about Twilight standing at the wall, and then shrugged it off as they headed over to the bookshelf containing books on poetry. She, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo each chose a book and went over to the table to read.
Maybe they will just find a book quickly and sign it out, Twilight thought. Things could get out of hoof easily with these three.
“Look!” said Sweetie Bell. “This one has poems written by ponies right here in Ponyville! Let's start with this one.” She opened the book to a random page in the middle of the book.
Still standing over at the wall, Twilight thought to herself, that book sounds familiar...
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked over at Sweetie Bell and then moved over to sit beside her.
“It looks more like a notebook than a book,” said Scootaloo as she leaned her head down onto a propped up hoof, “really exciting.”
I think I've read that one before, thought Twilight as she started to tap her muzzle with her hoof, but then thought better of it and put her hoof back down onto the floor.
"Trotting along the snowbank,
I gaze longingly up at the moon,
The chill of the air will soon be gone,
And springtime will be here soon."
“That's it...there isn't any more of that one and it doesn't say who wrote it. I don't get it.” Sweetie Bell scratched her cheek with her hoof and then turned to another random page.
"With a bang the contest was started,
colts eating their big bowls of beans.
Swiftly the contest did come to a close,
since one of the contestants had "
Sweetie Bell covered her mouth and then started to giggle. Softly at first, and then growing in loudness until she was shaking from mirth. “Rarity would definitely not like this one!” She then began laughing as the other two started laughing as they realized what was funny.
Twilight closed her eyes and frowned. Classy. Really classy. I don't think I'll hear the end of this from Rarity for quite some time.
“Who wrote that one?” asked Apple Bloom as she leaned closer to the book to get a closer look. She didn't get to see the name because Scootaloo grabbed the book and started turning pages.
“I'll read the next one,” she said as she randomly opened a page and started reading the first poem that her eyes fell upon.
"There once was a pegasus valiant and true,
and rare was the pony that she would not do."
Twilight's eyes snapped open and her mouth hung open a moment. “GIRLS!” Twilight yelled. “PUT DOWN THAT BOOK!”. Oh, dear Celestia, now I remember... I thought we put that book somewhere safe where no fillies would be able to read it....most of the poems in it are harmless, but the ones by Cloud Kicker...
The three fillies jumped at Twilight yelling and then looked over at her...standing at the wall. Scootaloo closed the book on the table and then joined her friends as they started walking towards Twilight.
“Are y'all ok?” asked Apple Bloom.
This could work, thought Twilight, divert their attention and maybe they'll forget about that book...right now I can't take it from them using magic... “Um, well you see...I'm kinda stuck.”
“Yer stuck? I thought it was kinda weird y'all were standin' there starin' at the wall since we came in” said Apple Bloom.
“How did you get stuck?” Sweetie Bell asked as she tilted her head to get a better look at Twilight. “Did you get glue in your mane? I got glue in mine once and it was really hard to wash out the glitter.”
Twilight smiled as she looked down at the fillies with her eye that was facing them. “It's a bit of a long story,” Twilight said, “it started with an experiment that didn't go exactly as I had planned.”
Lowering her head, Scootaloo said “just like some of our recent adventures.”
Twilight and the three fillies were silent for a moment before Scootaloo quickly looked up at her friends with a smile. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell looked at her and grew smiles of their own as they realized what Scootaloo was thinking. The smile left Twilight's mouth as she thought, wait...oh, no...
“Now why again am I covered in sticky tree sap?” Twilight asked after a rapid-fire series of attempts by the three fillies to free her. “And for that matter, where did it come from?”
Apple Bloom looked over at Twilight from where she was sitting over at the table. “Ah'm not too sure, but somehow we get covered in it a surprising number of times when we're out crusading. We've kinda gotten used to it.”
Twilight sighed with a bit of frustration. At least it smells good...buy why is it pine sap? We're in an oak tree...oh, never mind, I probably don't want to know.
The three fillies were sitting at the table as they thought of what to do next. Scootaloo was in fierce concentration, her eyebrows pulled down close to her eyes, and her chin resting on her hoof. Apple Bloom was more relaxed, but still concentrating. Her left eyebrow was raised and she was looking up at the ceiling of the library. Every few moments she would tap her chin a few times and mumble “no, that won't work either.” Sweetie Bell was looking worried. She was resting her head on both hooves at the table and kept glancing over at Twilight.
“I think we should go ask somepony for help,” Sweetie Bell said as she raised her head from her hooves. “We've been at this a while already and I'm sure Twilight is tired of standing over there at the wall.”
Apple Bloom looked over at Sweetie Bell and nodded. “That's a good idea. The longer this goes on, the more tired Twilight is going to get and it will be harder to stay in a position where she isn't in danger of hurting her horn.”
“Yeah, and she'll need to use the bathroom sometime today,” Scootaloo added.
Great, Twilight thought, now I need to make sure to not think about that. At least I don't have to go right now. “That's a good idea, girls. Why don't you go find somepony who can help?” Twilight said as she looked over at them as best she could with one eye. She had tried to be patient with them, but she really didn't want to spend the rest of the day stuck to the wall.
Apple Bloom nodded at Twilight's words and looked at her two friends. “I'll stay here with Twilight in case she needs anything. You two head out and see if you can find help.”
Sweetie Bell smiled and nodded, and Scootaloo stood up and smiled as she gave her friends a mock-salute, saying “Will do.”
The three fillies stood up and shared a three-way hoof-clap and yelled “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RESCUE SQUAD”.
Apple Bloom watched as Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo left the library, each heading a different direction. She walked over to Twilight to ask if she needed anything, and before she could speak she was answered in the form of a loud growl coming from Twilight's stomach.
“Miss Twilight, have you eaten anything this mornin'?”
With a half of a grin Twilight answered, “Well, actually no. I was planning on grabbing some breakfast right after I tested this.”
Apple Bloom looked up at Twilight with some concern. “That was earlier this mornin', and now it's gettin' closer to lunchtime. Big sis and Granny Smith are always sayin' how important it is to eat breakfast, and you haven't had any yet.” She looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen and then back at Twilight. “I'll go see if we can fix that.”
Apple Bloom started to walk towards the kitchen before Twilight said “Wait!”. She stopped and turned around to look at Twilight.
Let's think about this a moment, thought Twilight. Considering all that has happened so far, do we really want an unsupervised filly in our kitchen? Twilight was concerned of not only the mess that could occur, but also that she would be unable to go to Apple Bloom's aid if she got hurt. She really wants to get me something to eat, but we need something that she can do safely.
“Are you ok?” Apple Bloom asked, thinking that something was wrong when Twilight asked with some urgency to wait.
“I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, I didn't mean to startle you.” Twilight said. After a moment Twilight's expression brightened. “I know,” she said, “I think there is some salad mix and hay fries from the other night still in the fridge. Could you bring those to me?” Brilliant! Twilight thought, these don't even need any preparation! She can just take them out of the fridge and bring them over here...no mess, no hazards!
Apple Bloom smiled and headed for the kitchen again, saying “I'll go get 'em right now”. She entered the kitchen and went right to the refrigerator. She opened it and saw the salad greens and hay fries on the bottom shelf.
“These look a little plain,” Apple Bloom said after a moment of looking at the salad greens. “I think I'll add some dressing to the salad.” She looked at the door and saw a nearly empty bottle of cream & pepper dressing. “That won't do...it won't even cover one leaf. I'll just sprinkle pepper on the salad instead.” She took the bowl of salad greens and also the hay fries, and took them over to the kitchen table. To save space she put the hay fries into the bowl, on top of the salad greens. She went over to the spice rack and collected the ground pepper, and then walked back over to the table. Tilting her head to the side she began to shake the pepper jar over top of the salad & hay fries until the top was nearly covered. She set the jar of pepper onto the table and then balanced the bowl of salad and hay fries onto her back before walking back into the other room.
Apple Bloom walked up to Twilight and then realized that with no magic and also being unable to move her head, Twilight would have a very difficult time trying to eat normally. She looked at Twilight and then back at the bowl sitting on her back, and then got an idea.
“Miss Twilight, I'm going to stand underneath of your muzzle so that you can eat,” she said as she crouched and slowly positioned herself between Twilight and the wall. Slowly she stood up so that the bowl was right at Twilight's mouth.
Twilight took a bite and started chewing. “Mmm, this is good,” she said as she finished her first bite and took another.
“Thank you Miss,” Apple Bloom started to say and then sniffed, “Twilight, I hoped you liked the pepper,” sniff, “on top of your....your....your....” she tried to continue before letting loose a loud “ACHOO!”.
One of the unfortunate side effects of pepper is that it can lead to sneezing, Twilight thought as she stopped chewing. And one of the unfortunate side effects of sneezing is that a body moves unintentionally...along with anything it is carrying.
Apple Bloom moved out from between Twilight and the wall to stand beside her again. She looked at the salad greens and hay fries sticking to Twilight, courtesy of the tree sap, and then looked down at the floor. “I'm sorry, Miss Twilight.”
Twilight swallowed the second and last bite of her breakfast and let out a sigh. “It's ok, Apple Bloom. You tried your best.”
Apple Bloom nodded, and then headed back over to the table. “I'll just be over here if you need me,” she said as she sat down at the table again.
*-*-*-*
Twilight heard the library's door open behind her and somepony walk in. Somepony large, by the sound of the hoofsteps making solid contact with the wooden floor. They grew louder until they stopped right beside Twilight. She looked to her left with her eye on that side and saw the form of Apple Bloom's big brother, Big Macintosh.
“You stuck, Miss Twilight?” he said after he had stopped walking.
“Eeyup,” answered Twilight.
Apple Bloom's spirits lifted upon seeing her big brother walk in the library. “Big Macintosh! I think you might be able to help get Twilight free. I need you to gently pull her mane straight back from the wall....just stop pulling when she says so.”
Big Macintosh nodded his head and looked at Twilight. “You wanna give this a try?”
“We haven't tried this particular method yet...let's go for it. Just be careful,” Twilight responded.
Big Macintosh nodded and took hold of Twilight's mane in his mouth. He started turning his head to slowly face the door of the library and pulling her mane.
“Ow!” Twilight exclaimed, “you're pulling at an angle. We need to pull straight back.”
Big Macintosh nodded and adjusted the angle of his head and began pulling again.
“Still no good...you're still pulling at an angle. We have to pull straight back or we'll risk damage to my horn,” Twilight said.
Apple Bloom walked over and looked at the angles involved. “You need to stand behind her and pull her mane straight back to get the right angle,” she said. “Bein' beside her automatic'ly adds a side angle to the pull.”
Big Macintosh nodded and started circling around Twilight. “You ok with me putting my hooves on your back for balance?” he asked through a mouthful of Twilight's mane before continuing.
“That's fine, Big Mac,” Twilight answered. “Thank you for asking.”
Big Macintosh reared up and put his two front hooves on Twilight's back and then started to pull her mane, leaning back into the pull.
“Ow! Ok, stop for a moment. That's the right angle, though,” Twilight said. “Let's try a few more pulls.”
Big Macintosh nodded as he lessened the tension on Twilight's mane. He then started pulling her mane for a few moments and then when it sounded like it was hurting Twilight he would lessen the tension for a few moments before pulling again.
*-*-*-*
Rarity and Fluttershy were leaving the spa when Sweetie Bell had found them. “Rarity, Twilight needs some help,” Sweetie Bell said to her sister. “Could you come over to the library with me?”
“But of course,” Rarity smiled as she answered her sister, “I would be glad to help.”
Sweetie Bell then turned around and began a quick trot towards the library, and both Rarity and Fluttershy followed. As they moved across town they cut through the Saturday market.
“Wow, there's a lot of ponies here today,” said Fluttershy as she looked around the market. “The market is much busier than it usually is.”
“It is quite a lovely morning,” Rarity replied, “and perfect for going to market. I think I might habwahaa....ah..haa....hyaaa....” Rarity's eyes opened wide in surprise and she trotted her two front hooves on the ground. She had gotten closer to the library and could see...movement...inside through the open library door. Her horn quickly glowed as she closed the library door with her magic.
“Eeep!” squeaked Fluttershy before she zoomed across town in the direction of her cottage.
Rarity watched Fluttershy run and tried to process what she had seen. Big Macintosh. Pulling Twilight's mane as he leaned back. Twilight making a sound. Rinse, lather, repeat. She heard the sound of hooves clopping on the cobblestones of the street getting closer but paid them no attention as Sweetie Bell had her attention....and she was also a little distracted at the moment as well.
“Are you ok, Rarity?” Sweetie Bell asked. “You're panicking and looking a little flushed”.
“Oh, am I?” Rarity stalled.
“Yeah, you're acting a little weird. You were just...oh, hey, there's Applejack!” Sweetie Bell said as she looked toward the mare who was approaching the library. “She might be able to help also!”
Sweetie Bell ran towards Applejack and the library. Rarity started to follow but paused a moment as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Rainbow Dash was slowly gliding towards the library, which was unusual since Rainbow Dash normally flies much faster than a casual glide.
Applejack saw Sweetie Bell and waived a hoof. “Mornin', Sweetie Bell. Have y'all seen Apple Bloom? I sent Big Macintosh to find her 'cause we needed a little help with our stand at market. Sales are great today!”
As Rainbow Dash glided closer, Rarity could see the reason why she was not moving faster. Rainbow Dash was carrying Scootaloo on her back and couldn't risk anything much faster with the young filly with her.
Applejack pushed open the library's door and jumped back a step as she exclaimed “Whoa, Nelly!” She pushed Sweetie Bell away from the door, and then looked back to grab the door handle to shut it...then recognized the stallion in front of her. “BIG MACINTOSH! WHAT IN TARNATION DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOIN'!”
“Oh, dear,” Rarity said as she started running towards the library again.
Rainbow Dash banked from her glide and then landed at the side of the library. Scootaloo hopped of of her back as they stopped, and then they both headed around the outside of the tree towards the library's door.
Big Macintosh stopped pulling Twilight's mane and looked back towards Applejack as she entered the library. “I was just” he started to say through a mouthful of Twilight's mane.
“AH KNOW what you 'were just' doin'!” Applejack yelled. “I send you to go get Apple Bloom and here I find you...”
Big Macintosh froze, trying to figure out what the commotion was about.
“Calm down , AJ,” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the library. “Hehe, um, stay outside a minute, Scoots.”
“Yes, calm down darling,” Rarity added as she joined them in the library.
“CALM DOWN?” Applejack yelled. “Calm down? I needed help and sent him away from our stand to go and get Apple Bloom, and he leaves me there alone to handle the crowd while he goes and..”
“He wasn't plowin' the garden!” Apple Bloom yelled from the corner.
The library became eerily quiet as everypony stopped talking and became still.
“Is that what this looks like?” Twilight asked softly as tried to look at Big Macintosh.
Big Macintosh turned his head this way and that as he looked at both himself and Twilight. His eyes opened wide in dawning comprehension as his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Very softly he replied with embarrassment, “eeyup.”
Can things get any worse? Twilight thought as she closed her eyes.
“Apple Bloom, where did you hear such language?” Applejack loudly asked as she looked over at the filly at the table.
“Earlier this mornin' we were crusading and found a book of poems” Apple Bloom answered her sister.
“That's just lovely,” Applejack said as she turned around towards Twilight. “Big Macintosh, how long are you gonna stand there like that?”
Big Macintosh realized that he was still standing like earlier when he was trying to help Twilight and tried to move away. He tried to spit out Twilight's mane and pull his hooves away from her back, but they wouldn't move.
“Ow!” said Twilight as Big Macintosh's tried to remove his hooves from her back.
Big Macintosh tried two more times but could not move away.
“You stuck, Big Macintosh?” Twilight asked with a frown as she remembered the tree sap.
“So let me get this straight,” said Applejack. “Y'all build a secret box and cast a spell on it that prevents all magic except for the opening spell.”
Applejack moved closer to Twilight and leaned close to get a good look at the place in the wall where Twilight's horn has been stuck for the morning. She lifted a hoof and began scratching her chin in thought. “Did you ever test if your horn fits properly before activating the anti-magic spell?”
“Twilight, my dear,” Rarity said with a concerned look on her face. “You really shouldn't go sticking your horn into places where...”
“Yes, I know,” Twilight interrupted. “The thought has crossed my mind a few times while I've been standing here all morning.” Twilight sighed audibly and then tried to look over at Rarity. “I'm sorry, Rarity. I'm getting a little tired and...” Twilight's stomach growled again, “...hungry.”
Rarity nodded and said, “That's quite alright, darling, I understand.”
Applejack stopped scratching her chin and then walked around Twilight and Big Macintosh to get a good look at the wall. She tapped her chin with her hoof twice and then looked over at Twilight. “Y'all are probably not gonna like this, but we can't get you unstuck like this.”
Applejack walked back around Twilight to walk over to the table where Apple Bloom was sitting. Applejack looked down at her little sister and said, “Apple Bloom, Ah need ya to go get my toolbox and saw.”
Apple Bloom nodded and walked towards the door.
Twilight's eyes opened wide as she yelled, “WHAT?! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!” Twilight lifted her left foreleg and put it on the wall by her horn and began breathing quickly. “YOU CAN'T JUST GO AND CUT OFF...”
Rainbow Dash quickly landed between Twilight and Applejack from where she was hovering near the ceiling. She faced Applejack and sat down, raising an eyebrow while crossing her two forelegs.
“Whoa there, calm down now, the both of ya. That's not what I meant...look who's jumping to conclusions now!” Applejack said as she turned around to face Twilight and Rainbow Dash again. “We can't get Twilight free as things are right now...there just isn't enough room to move around. Twilight, the door you're stuck to is protected by magic, right?”
“Yeah,” Twilight slowly answered. She wasn't sure where Applejack was going with this, but she was a little less nervous now.
Applejack pointed to the door in which Twilight's horn was stuck. “Well, I reckon we can cut around the door and then pull it away from the wall.”
“Ohhh,” Twilight slowly responded as she realized what Applejack was planning. “Sorry...” Twilight paused and then thought, I didn't think of that when designing this, but thank Celestia I hadn't! The door might be protected from tampering, but the area around it is not.
Rarity raised her right foreleg and wiped her forehead. “We may want to be more careful on what we say for a little while. Tensions were mounting rapidly there for a moment. And earlier as well, when Sweetie Bell and her friends had mounted a rescue for Twilight we all jumped to conclusions when we got to the library. I'm quite sure if we keep our calm, then this problem can be surmounted.”
“Miss Rarity,” Big Macintosh sheepishly interjected through a mouthful of Twilight's mane, “do you really need to keep saying 'mounted'?”
Rainbow Dash quickly covered her muzzle but it was a poor attempt to silence her snickering.
*-*-*-*
Apple Bloom walked outside of the library and met with her fellow crusaders who had been waiting just beyond the door. “We're going to need some more of that sap remover. Scootaloo, could you see if you can find Zecora? She should be at market today.”
Scootaloo nodded and then started to turn around, but then stopped and turned back to face Apple Bloom. “So why did we have to wait out here?”
“Well, it's a bit of a long story,” Apple Bloom said as she looked at her friends. “I'll tell y'all about it later. Right now we need to help our friends. This will be tricky, though, since it isn't us this time who are stuck with the sap.”
Sweetie Belle shook her head and said, “Yeah, poor Twilight. She got covered with it...even more than we normally do.”
“And it's not just Twilight who will need the sap remover...Big Macintosh will need some also.”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom with confused looks on their faces. “Big Macintosh?” they asked.
“Yeah...he kinda got stuck to Twilight,” Apple Bloom answered, “and we'll just leave it at that until we have our Crusader meeting later this afternoon.”
“Twilight AND Big Macintosh?” Sweetie Belle asked. “They're not going to fit in the tub we usually use to get rid of the sap.”
Scootaloo thought for a moment and then buzzed her wings. “What about the large hot tub at the spa? That one worked great for the poison joke cure.”
“Good idea, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said. “Sweetie Belle, could you head over to the spa and ask the twins if we could use it? I need to head back to Sweet Apple Acres and get some things for Applejack so she can get Twilight away from the wall.”
The three friends smiled and nodded, and then shared a three-way hoofbump. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RESCUE SQUAD!”
*-*-*-*
Turning her head away from the door, Applejack looked back at Twilight and Big Macintosh. “Well, that's actually not a bad idea.” She and the others inside the library had overheard the plans made by the Cutie Mark Crusaders since Apple Bloom forgot to shut the door behind her. “If we can get you two separated it will make freeing Twilight much easier.” Applejack paused a moment while looking at her brother. “We won't have to worry about getting stuck to her either.”
Rarity put her hoof to her mouth as a surprised look appeared on her face. “Oh my, that would be dreadfully inconvenient...and borderline scandalous.” Rarity moved her hoof from her mouth to across her forehead in a dramatic pose. “We wouldn't be able walk around town without cover.” She quickly closed the library door again with her magic.
Twilight gave a nervous chuckle, “Eh heh heh, walking...”
Big Macintosh became a slightly darker shade of red and added, “Across town...”
“Yeah, like that's not going to turn any heads.” Rainbow Dash added.
Applejack raised an eyebrow for a moment. “Ah reckon ya have a good point there Rarity.” Applejack walked over to her brother's side and looked up at him. “Do we still have that covered wagon in the back of the barn?”
Big Macintosh looked up for a moment and thought a moment before nodding his head as best as he could and answering, “Eeyup.”
“All right then.” Applejack adjusted her hat and started walking towards the door. “I'll be right back. That old covered wagon might just be what we need. Just hold tight for a few moments.” She started opening the door and heard her brother groan behind her. Applejack sighed and said, “Y'all know what I mean. Just be patient for a few moments and Ah'll be right back.”
After Applejack had left and closed the door behind her, Rarity walked over to Twilight. “Would you like something to eat while we're waiting? Lately I've really been enjoying wraps for lunch. I could make you a hay roll if you would like.”
“That would be great,” Twilight said as she looked over at Rarity, “thank you.”
Rainbow Dash started snickering and looked over at Rarity. “Rollin' the hay?” she asked with grin.”
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash with confusion. “Well, yes, that's generally how you make a hay wrap.”
Rainbow Dash moved from snickering to laughing. “Ah, ha ha ha ha. Rollin' the hay!”
“I don't get why this is...so....funny...” Rarity trailed off as she noticed Big Macintosh getting slightly more red. A look of minor irritation appeared on her face as she quickly face-hoofed. “Dash, now is not the time for crude jokes.” Rarity then continued into the kitchen.
Applejack walked quickly down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. Once she arrived at the farm, she saw that Apple Bloom was walking out of the barn with the tools that she had requested. “Hey, Apple Bloom!” yelled Applejack in greeting. “Ah need to get the covered wagon from the barn. Ah can give y’all a ride back to the library if you wait a few minutes. If Ah’d known we needed that wagon I wouldn’t have sent ya to get the tools.” Applejack scratched the back of her head. “Sorry about sendin’ y’all out here for nothin’.”
Apple Bloom put the toolbox down onto the ground and smiled. “No problem...besides, we can help Twilight a little faster now since you won’t have to look for the tools.”
Applejack smiled and nodded at her sister, and then walked into the barn. She walked around the various equipment and made her way to the back. She found the covered wagon in the far back corner, unseen from the front of the barn. The wagon was a little old, but it was still strong. The canvas that served as the covering was a little tattered around the edges, but that normally wasn’t much of a problem.
Applejack hitched the wagon up to herself and began carefully navigating around the equipment in the barn. After a few minutes she exited the barn without any incident. She stopped to allow Apple Bloom to climb up into the back of the wagon. Applejack looked back at the wagon. “Y’all settled in there, Apple Bloom?” she asked.
A slightly muffled voice came from inside of the wagon, “All set!”
Applejack smiled and said, “All right then. Let’s go and get this settled.”
“Um, Applejack?” asked Apple Bloom after a sudden thought hit her. “Who is watching our stand at Market?”
Applejack closed her eyes for a moment before replying. “Well...Ah had to let Pinkie Pie take care of things while Ah went to look for you and Big Macintosh.”
*-*-*-*
“Thank you Rarity, that was delicious!” said Twilight after she had finished the last bite of her hay wrap that Rarity was levitating for her to eat.
“You’re welcome,” said Rarity as she smiled at Twilight, “it was no trouble at all.” Rarity looked over at Big Macintosh. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?”
“Thanks, but eenope,” answered Big Macintosh. “At least until I can let go of Miss Twilight’s mane, that is.”
The library door opened and Rainbow Dash rushed inside. “Guys, they’re back!”
Rarity looked towards the door and smiled as she saw a covered wagon backing up towards the library. She looked at Twilight and said, “We’ll have you free in no time.”
Hearing hoofsteps at the door, Rarity looked back in that direction and saw the two Apple sisters walking into the library. Applejack walked in first, and then Apple Bloom brought in the toolbox. Apple Bloom carried the tools over to the table and set down the toolbox.
Applejack stopped in the middle of the room. “Ah backed the wagon up as close to the library as Ah could. Also, we’re going to need a ramp to get the both of ya’ into the back of the wagon. Do y’all have any boards or planks we could use to make one?”
“What about the stepladder in the wagon?” asked Big Macintosh.
“Um, yeah, about that…” said Apple Bloom as she looked at the floor. “We sorta needed a ladder a few weekends ago when we were cleanin’ up the clubhouse.”
“I have a step ladder over in the side room.” Twilight said. “Spike usually uses it on reshelving day.”
Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash walked over into the side room. She looked to her left and saw the ladder propped up against the section for rocks and minerals. “Heh, yep...Spike must have been using this,” she said after noticing that a book on gems was only partially pushed back on to the shelf with the other books. She collected it with her two front hooves and flew with it back into the main room and set it up in the doorway next to the wagon. “Will this work ok?” she asked.
“That will be just perfect,” answered Applejack. “It looks sturdy and is just the right height to step up into the back of the wagon.” She walked over to the table and reached into the toolbox. She moved some tools around until she smiled and said “There you are!” She then pulled out a hoof-powered drill. She set it down on the table and then reached back into the toolbox, quickly pulling out two pairs of safety gobbles. Applejack looked over at Rarity. “Could you help Twilight put these on? Ah’m goin’ to be careful, but better safe than sorry.”
Rarity nodded and collected the goggles with her magic and carefully levitated them onto Twilight’s head. She then carefully stretched the strap around Twilight’s head to make sure they are secure. Rarity looked back at Applejack and saw that she had quickly donned her set of goggles and was walking closer to them with the drill and the saw.
*-*-*-*
Twenty minutes later of careful drilling and sawing, Applejack had cut a four-inch path around the door to the hidden cabinet. She put down her tools and looked at Rarity. “Ok, Rarity, we’re going to need you to levitate the door for us so that it doesn’t fall down to the ground and hurt Twilight. You can’t use magic on the door, so focus on the wood around the door that we cut.”
Rarity nodded and then enveloped the wood buffer around the locked door with her magic.
Applejack looked at Twilight and Big Macintosh. “You two need to move slowly and back up a little bit.”
Big Macintosh nodded and Twilight said “Ok.” They slowly and awkwardly started walking backwards. They started pulling the door out from the wall as it was held in Rarity’s magic. Soon Twilight was able to step away from the wall the first time since early that morning.
Applejack nodded. “That’s it. Now, Twilight, slowly turn around using Big Macintosh as a pivot point so that you are facing the wagon. Rarity, I need you to stay at Twilight’s head. You will need to be up in front of her in the Wagon so that y’all have a good view of the door she’s stuck to.”
Twilight turned, and they slowly walked up into the back of the covered wagon. Applejack lifted up the back gate of the wagon to close it and then picked up the step ladder. She walked outside and in front of the wagon, and put the ladder onto the front seat. “Apple Bloom - I need you to sit up front and hold the ladder for me so that it doesn’t fall off.”
“Got it!” replied Apple Bloom as she jumped up onto the front of the wagon.
Applejack began moving slowly towards the spa the most direct route she knew of - one that goes through the market in the town square.
*-*-*-*
“It’s been a long morning,” Twilight said, “but we’re almost in the clear.” They had been riding for about ten minutes and could hear the crowd of the market outside of the covered wagon. Twilight smiled as she thought about being able to move her head around without a door attached to the end of it.
“Twilight, dear, don’t say things like that!” hissed Rarity. “You’ll tempt fate!”
Twilight continued smiling and blinked twice. “Tempt fate? Rarity, what could possibly go wrong now?”
“Twilight, you never know...,” Rarity started to say.
“Applejack! Thank goodness you’re here!” shouted a familiar loud and high-pitched voice.
*-*-*-*
Applejack looked over at Pinkie Pie as she rapidly approached the covered wagon. “Pinkie Pie, is everything ok? Are the sales doing well?”
“Doing well? Applejack, we RAN OUT of apples! How did you know we needed more?” Pinkie Pie said as she continued her approach.
“Uh, what do you mean?” asked Applejack. “Ah didn’t know that we…”
“Good ponies of Ponyville!” announced Pinkie Pie in a loud voice. “You will not lack apples anymore, for Applejack has gone to get more!” In a grand flourish, Pinkie Pie stood up on her two rear legs and grabbed the canvas of the covered wagon. She pulled it and spun towards the crowd at market as a loud ripping sound came from behind her. “Tadaa!”
The market suddenly became very quiet. After the tinkling of a fallen pin was heard, murmurs began circling throughout the crowd. Somewhere in the middle of the crowd there was a sound of POOMF, followed by an irked exclamation of “Oh, honestly!” Some of the crowd started backing away, while a small group to the side started stomping towards the mayor’s office.
“Aw, geez, Twilight! Is this why you sent me out with a to-do list this morning?” said Spike loudly from the crowd as he shielded his his eyes.
Pinkie Pie blinked and said quietly to herself, “Not quite the reaction I was expecting,” as she scratched the side of her head. She turned around and saw the inside of the no-longer-covered wagon. In a louder voice she said, “Huh...that’s one way to get more Apples….but that wasn’t quite what I was talking about.”
Twilight began to turn slightly red as her smile was slowly exchanged with a sheepish grin, and Big Macintosh...could now be mistaken as being a member of the Beet family.
“...what could happen,” deadpanned Rarity as she began to massage her forehead.
Applejack stomped her hoof. “Consarn it, this isn’t what it looks like!”
“It isn’t?” said an unexpectedly disappointed elderly voice. “The foals would have been cute as a button.”
“No, it isn’t,” Applejack answered as she looked at Granny Smith and then gave her, as well as the rest of the crowd, the short version of what was going on.
“Aw, fiddlesticks...we could have had a Sparkling Apple Cider in the family,” said Granny Smith as she started walking away from the crowd.
Rainbow Dash glided down and helped put the canvas back onto the wagon, and then they continued moving towards the spa.
*-*-*-*
Lotus Blossom was standing behind the counter in the entrance to the spa when she heard a wagon approach and then stop outside of the spa. She smiled and looked over at Sweetie Belle, who had been sitting on one of the couches close to the counter. “It sounds like our guests have arrived. Would you mind going into the back room to let everypony know to get ready?” She pulled out a couple of bits from under the counter and handed them to Sweetie Belle. “Afterwards, why don’t you and your two friends go and get some ice cream?”
Sweetie Belle smiled and shook her head as she accepted the bits. “Thanks, that sounds really good!” She headed towards the back room and quickly returned with Scootaloo. They walked outside, and saw Apple Bloom sitting in front of the wagon. “Hey, Apple Bloom! We’re going to go get ice cream! Want to come along?”
Apple Bloom smiled and hopped down from the wagon’s front seat, landing beside Applejack as she was unhitching the wagon. “Do y’all need any more help?” she asked as she looked at Applejack.
Applejack smiled at her sister. “We can take it from here, sugar cube. Go get some ice cream.”
The three fillies quickly headed down the road towards the ice cream stand.
*-*-*-*
Zecora was checking the temperature of the tub containing the large batch of sap-removing potion when she heard hoofsteps coming through the doorway. She finished her preparations and turned around to see the group that was standing by the tub in various degrees of awkwardness. She smiled, walked over to Twilight, and stood for a moment as she looked at Twilight’s horn stuck in the floating door. “Rarity, my dear, please help if you will. Hold this over her horn with your magical skill.” Zecora produced a jar containing a dark liquid. She opened the jar lid and held it up for Rarity.
Rarity levitated the jar over to Twilight’s horn, and in a quick motion, tipped it over and held it so that the mouth of the jar was pinned against the door with Twilight’s horn inside of the jar and potion.
Zecora looked over at Big Macintosh. “And now Big Macintosh, it’s your turn you see...pull back on her mane and her horn will be free.”
Big Macintosh nodded and said, “You ready, Miss Twilight?”
“Yes, let’s give this another try,” answered Twilight.
Big Macintosh slowly began pulling Twilight’s mane straight back, and as he began to lean into the pull there was a small pop, and then there was no longer any resistance as he pulled.
Twilight felt her head pulling back and heard the pop. She looked up, and seeing that her horn was no longer stuck, she breathed a sigh of relief as her friends cheered.
“And now, my two friends, to restore freedom of motion...come sit in the tub and soak in the potion,” Zecora said as she pointed towards the tub of sap-remover that she had prepared.
Twilight and Big Macintosh carefully got into the tub. As soon as they stepped in, the sap made contact with the solution and they were surrounded by bubbles frothing from the tub. In three short minutes, Big Macintosh was able pull his hooves off of Twilight and release her mane. He stepped out of the tub, followed by Twilight a moment later. Twilight was no longer stuck to the stallion, safety goggles, salad, hay fries, and that accursed door.
Twilight sat down for the first time since she had gotten stuck and looked at her friends. “Thank you, everypony. I can’t describe how good it feels to not be stuck anymore.” She moved her head around this way and that in order to relieve the stiffness in her neck. “We’ll need to go visit Fluttershy and explain what happened today...Rarity let me know that she may have misunderstood a few things. But first, could somepony let Spike in? I need to send a letter…”
Spike raised the rolled up message in his claw as he took a deep breath. When the scroll reached eye level, he blew a quick spurt of flame to surround the message and watched as it magically disintegrated, following the flame as it curled and streamed out through the window. He smiled and brushed his claws off and said to himself, “Well, Spike, another job well done.”
Twilight smiled at her number one assistant and said, “Thank you Spike. That should help explain a few things to the Princess...she’s probably getting an earful about this whole ordeal.” She looked at her other friends and said, “Also, again, thank you everypony for all of your help.” Twilight rolled her head around one more time with her newfound freedom and scratched the back of her neck. “I think now might be a good time to go over for a visit with Fluttershy so that we can clear up some misunderstandings.”
Rarity slowly nodded. “Yes, that would probably be for the best...the sooner this is cleared up, the better.”
“Eeyup,” added Big Macintosh as he seconded the notion.
The group of friends walked out towards the front door of the spa. Rarity stopped by the counter and handed over a few bits. “That was a brilliant idea to divert the attention of my sister and her friends,” she said to Lotus Blossom behind the counter. “Could you put today on my tab, and put these into my emergency fund?”
Lotus Blossom smiled and accepted the bits, putting them into a small box marked Rarity that sat on a shelf underneath the counter.
*-*-*-*
Fluttershy was walking towards the fridge when she heard a knock at her front door. She changed directions and headed towards her door and opened it a crack. Peering out of the crack in the door, she nervously greeted her visitors, “H-hello?”
Rarity stood in at the head of the group on front of Fluttershy’s cottage. “Hello, darling,” she greeted her friend with a smile.
Fluttershy smiled as she saw her friend. “Hi, Rarity!” She opened the door and saw the others in the group, blinked, and took two steps back into her cottage. “Hello...everypony…”
“Hi, Fluttershy,” answered Twilight. “May we come in? We need to explain a few things…” Twilight said as she scratched the back of her head and flashed a sheepish grin.
Fluttershy rubbed the back of one of her forelegs with the other. “O-Ok. Please come in.” She led the group of her friends - Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, and Big Macintosh - into her kitchen and as they sat at her kitchen table, she offered, “I just made some iced tea this morning...would anypony like a glass?”
“That would be lovely, darling.”
“Oh, yeah! Fluttershy makes the best iced tea!”
“Yes, please.”
“Ah could sure use a glass.”
“Eeyup.”
Fluttershy’s iced tea being quite popular among her friends, seven glasses were soon poured and served...one for each of her friends at the table and one for herself.
Rarity took a sip of her tea and looked towards Fluttershy. “So, Fluttershy, about what we saw earlier this morning…”
“It was totally not what it looked like,” added Rainbow Dash, “and I know what it looked like, if you know what I mean.” Dash grinned and winked in a failed attempt at being subtle.
Fluttershy’s face became slightly more red as she looked at Dash. “Yes, I know what it, um, looked like.” She became very focused on her tea for a few moments.
“It did end up looking bad, but it was nothing like what it looked like.” Twilight took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You see, I was trying an experiment…” Twilight started but was cut off by Dash snickering. Twilight rolled her eyes and started again. “Ok, let me rephrase that. Remember how Princess Celestia had the Elements locked up at the castle?” Fluttershy nodded as Twilight started to explain. “Well, I wanted to see if I could build something like that. I built the cabinet in the wall, and was working on the magical lock. This morning I activated the spell and runes to test it, but I never tested...if my horn fit in the hole first.”
“Oh….my…..” Fluttershy said as she put her hoof over her mouth.
“Yeah, Twilight here got her horn stuck in the wall,” added Rainbow Dash.
“And with the security spells in place, she couldn’t use her magic to free herself,” said Rarity as she took another sip of her tea.
“And then my sister and her friends showed up and tried to help,” added Applejack as the group collectively shuddered. “Not to mention my brother.”
Seeing Fluttershy about to flee again, Twilight quickly added, “Wait, it wasn’t what it looked like!” She quickly explained the rest to Fluttershy so that she would calm down.
“Oh...dear...that was, um, quite a morning,” said Fluttershy after hearing about the rest of her friends’ story.
“Ah’m mighty sorry for causing ya this misunderstanding,” Big Macintosh added as he looked at Fluttershy. “Ah would like to make it up to ya...is there anything I can do for, or help ya with?”
Fluttershy blinked and smiled. “I’m, uh, not sure, but I appreciate it though.” Her attention was captured as she looked out through the kitchen window and saw a white rabbit dancing around and waving a bag of carrot seeds while he pointed towards the ground. Fluttershy’s face lit up as she turned around and faced Big Macintosh. “I know! You could help me plow my garden!”
Rainbow Dash had just taken a big gulp of iced tea, which was rapidly sprayed all over the pony who sat across the table from her. Unfortunately, this was Rarity.
“Ewww, Dash!” started Rarity until she looked down at her coat. “Oh, no! Tea stains on a white coat! TEA STAINS ON A WHITE COAT!” Rarity frantically began wiping herself off before running into the bathroom to get to soap and water.
Twilight face-hoofed, while Big Macintosh was stuck saying “Uhhhh…..” like a scratched record.
Applejack joined Twilight in a facehoof for a moment before walking over to Fluttershy. She lifted her hoof in front of her mouth as she leaned over closer to Fluttershy’s ear, whispering something for a few seconds. Fluttershy’s eyes became larger as she squeaked, “EEP! That’s not, um, what I meant!” Sinking to the floor, Fluttershy covered her head with her hooves and mumbled to herself.
Twilight sighed and massaged her forehead. “Well, at least this is all over now...things can’t possibly get any more awkward.”
“Twilight, darling, what did I tell you about tempting fate?” Rarity said as she walked out into the kitchen, once again spotless.
Twilight looked over at Rarity as she was entering the kitchen. “Don’t worry Rarity, nothing more can happen...it’s all over now.” Twilight looked at her friends and brightened. “How about we all go to lunch tomorrow? I would like to thank everypony for their help and thought this might be a good idea.”
*-*-*-*
The next day, Twilight and friends were sitting around a table at their favorite cafe for lunch. The meal had gone smoothly, and everypony was enjoying themselves.
Rarity finished her sandwich and looked over at Twilight. “Twilight, dear, I know you aren’t superstitious, but it is not good to keep tempting fate. Think of it like you would think about Pinkie Sense...just trust me on this.”
Twilight sighed and looked over at Rarity. “No this again...I told you that saying things like that doesn’t cause bad things to happen. Watch…” Twilight stood up and took a deep breath.
Rarity’s eyes opened widely as she gasped. “Twilight, no!”
“We’re completely done with this incident. What could possibly go wrong now?” announced Twilight as she smiled at Rarity, trying to prove her wrong.
*BURP* Twilight looked to her right-hoof side and saw Spike holding a message that he had just received. Taking it in her magic, Twilight slowly unrolled the scroll and started reading it out loud.
“My faithful student,
Thank you for sending me this message. Unfortunately, due to a flurry of activity, I wasn’t able to read it until this morning. The next time you visit we can take a look at your blueprints and find what may have gone wrong (although I suspect it may be the dimensions of the hole). Your letter also cleared up some confusion for me. This morning at breakfast, my sister told me that last night there was much excitement. It seems that there is a new thing called the ‘Twilight Position’ that is now all the rage. At the time I didn’t understand why she was giggling madly as she told me this, but now I think I know why.”
Blushing furiously, Twilight dropped the letter and put her head down onto the table. There was a thunk further down the table as Big Macintosh did the same.
“Oh, geez Twilight, you should be happy!” Rainbow Dash said between snickers. “They will probably be making an update to a certain book with a section for you!” Snickering again, she lifted her eyebrows twice and then winked before all-out laughing.
