Part I
The Grimoire
MLP: FiM
By: Kestrel
“Cutie Mark Crusaders archeologists!” yelled the three fillies at the edge of the Everfree Forest. At their crusading once again, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom had agreed to go on an expedition into the forest to explore the Castle of the Two Sisters that Scootaloo had heard about from Rainbow Dash. They were trying to find out if their special talents were in the field of archeology, so they wanted to search for artifacts and other cool things in the ruins.
Armed with flashlights, a feather duster and a burlap sack, the three girls ventured into the brush on their adventure. Thanks to Applebloom’s apprenticeship to the zebra Zecora, she knew how to traverse the otherwise dangerous and mysterious wood. The three friends avoided the poison joke patch and bypassed some of the monsters lurking in the shadows.
Soon, the girls came to the rickety old bridge spanning the gap between two cliffs separating them from the side with the castle. As Scootaloo bounded up to the bridge, she cracked a smile and let her wings buzz, lifting her ever so slightly off the ground.
“This is the place!” she gasped. “This is where Rainbow Dash fought the Shadowbolts to help her friends save the kingdom! They tried to turn her over to the dark side, but she was too loyal and awesome!” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.
“We’ve heard this one already. Ya just go on an’ on about Rainbow Dash, you sure ya aren’t overstating it a little?” the earth pony asked. Scootaloo shook her head.
“Nope, I’m not overstating it. Look! The bridge she heroically pulled up all on her own and tied with her amazing strength is right over there,” the Scootaloo pointed out for her friend.
The bridge hung sadly in the air, decrepit from all the years of neglect. It looked unstable, but it was only gently swaying in the wind with nary a creak of wood. Sweetie Belle eyed the bridge cautiously.
“Um… Scoots?” she started in a squeaky voice. “Are you sure this’ll hold us up?”
Scootaloo let out a huff and ran ahead of the other girls. Fearlessly, she ran onto the bridge, the boards buckling slightly under her hooves. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle grimaced at how the bridge lurched.
“Look, it’s alright,” Scootaloo declared, bouncing in place on her spot. “Come on already, or are you guys too scared?”
The two fillies at the edge of the bridge looked back to each other and nodded. They went onto the bridge and met up with Scootaloo, briskly trotting across before testing their fate any further.
“See? We ain’t scared!” Apple Bloom announced as soon as they were back on solid ground. Scootaloo smiled back at them.
“Of course you weren’t,” she snickered, noticing a faint wobble in her friend’s legs. “Anyway, let’s move on, we’ve got a castle to find!”
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom yelled out together.
After about another half hour of trekking through nature, the girls finally came upon their destination. The ancient and crumbling castle stood only a little distance away. The broken glass and deteriorating walls seemed to beckon the girls to come closer and explore. Sweetie Belle found herself being drawn to the castle and started to canter over, her two best friends following closely behind.
As the girls entered a small hole in the side of the castle, they found themselves in a grand hall, coming out at a wall lined with tall pillars and a tattered red carpet leading to a raised platform with two seats. It took little time for the fillies to realize they were in the throne room of the forgotten palace.
Sweetie Belle rushed up to one of the thrones and planted herself upon it, striking a dignified pose and pointing her nose up in the air slightly. Playing along, her friends came up to the edge of the throne and did graceful bows to their ‘ruler.’
“Oh great and powerful Princess Sweetie Belle, what do you want us to do?” asked Scootaloo, barely containing her laughter. Sweetie Belle lifted up a hoof daintily and shooed them away.
“I’m exhausted from ruling over my domain and wish for my treasures to be brought to me,” the ‘queen’ replied. Apple Bloom struck a smart salute.
“As you wish, mah lady!”
Giggling, the three girls rejoined and danced in a circle happily. After their short rejoice, they formed a tighter ring and hashed out their plan.
“Alright girls,” Scootaloo began. “We need to find those treasures and ancient relics here, and then we’ll get our cutie marks for sure! We could even found a museum with all the cool stuff we get!”
The other fillies smiled and nodded along. They were psyched for their adventure. It had rarely ever gone this smoothly before.
“Ah say we split up to cover more ground,” Apple Bloom suggested. Scootaloo flashed a snide smirk to her.
“But if we separate, won’t you get scared?”
“Ah ain’t gonna get scared of the dark! I just don’t like it when my hooves aren’t firmly on the ground is all.” Sweetie Belle interjected to save time and get on their way.
“I think it’s a great idea!” she said in her high-pitched excited voice.
Having agreed on their plan, the three girls split up. Apple Bloom headed upwards toward the higher balconies and towers. Scootaloo busied herself with exploring the main areas and the large library. Sweetie Belle decided she would head into the lower reaches of the castle in hopes of finding a secret passage.
“Let’s all meet back here in about an hour or so!” Sweetie called out before heading down the stairs. Scootaloo threw her a wave of the hoof and a confident smile, up from the balcony, Apple Bloom waved a hoof down at Sweetie Belle with a large smile. With an hour to look on her own and get the glory of finding the coolest thing, the young unicorn descended into the depths of the castle.
The further she went down into the castle, the colder it got. Sweetie Belle regretted not bringing one of her sister’s chic jackets. She would have been warmer and more stylish. With her senses sharpened by the cold, Sweetie stayed attentive to her surroundings. After wandering the halls for some time, she found a strange organ at the end of a long stretch of walkway.
The organ itself seemed very strange, it was in outstanding condition despite its age, showing no wear or damages caused by time. She walked up to the side of the organ and struck a note on the keys. A sound played out in a loud volume, likely heard by anypony within the castle. But more curiously, the seat in front of the organ meant for the musician to sit in had disappeared within a hole that had opened up and closed rapidly.
Intrigued, Sweetie Belle played a few more notes. The first new one she played let out a sound and rotated the staircase that she had just descended. She now faced a solid wall. Alarmed, she played the key again, hoping it would reverse the action, but she found no such luck. She hit another key and while the sound played, she didn’t see anything happen, perhaps elsewhere in the castle.
On the fourth key she hit, after the deafening blast of the organ, she heard the rumble and creak of stone behind her. A passage had opened behind her. With no other place to go, Sweetie Belle quickly exited the organ’s room and went down the passage at a canter. The passage she just opened led to even more hallways, and after about five minutes of galloping down them, she became lost in the veritable labyrinth of halls.
She was lost! The young filly frantically searched for an exit, but to no avail. Tired out from running around, she took a quick rest, propping herself up against a wall. But out of the corner of her eye, she sighted a figure, masked by the shadow, there was another pony there with her!
Elated by this turn of events, Sweetie Belle got to her hooves and ran to the figure. Once it had sighted her, the figure turned its back to her and ran down the hall away from her.
“Wait! Please wait!” the unicorn yelled out desperately. “I just want to get your help!”
She chased her quarry down the halls, slowly gaining on the obscured figure. As she approached, she called out once more.
“Wait up! I’m lost and I need your help!”
As she had almost caught up with the figure, it turned a corner sharply. Sweetie took some time to slow down and readjust her course. But oddly enough, the path led to a dead end, and the figure was gone!
At the end of the hall, there was nothing but an old picture of Celestia and Luna, who had built the castle aeons ago. Sweetie approached the portrait and knelt down in front of it and tears began to fall from her eyes. She pondered her most recent decisions and wished fervently for her friends to find her so that she could return back to Ponyville safe and sound.
After a solid ten minutes of crying, Sweetie Belle picked herself up and steadied herself upon her hooves and wiped her tears from her eyes. Collecting her thoughts, she tried to look around and start finding her way out. But before she started moving about, something caught her eye, tucked in the corner of the room. A large tome was laying alone in the corner of the hall, obscured by the darkness of the castle. She would have missed it if not for having come so close to the portrait of the two sisters.
The young unicorn picked up the book and was immediately assaulted by the dust of countless ages past. To clear her head and protect her sight, she blew upon the face of the book, clearing the cover of dust. The book was old, weathered, and beaten, with the title illegible. The binding had a metallic sort of theme with veins of silver metal pieces lined with panels of red, green, and purple. Curious about this book, all alone in the lower levels, Sweetie opened the book and leafed through its pages, but the pages were all blank…
Frustrated, Sweetie Belle closed the book and set it back down and began to trot away. Suddenly, she heard a raspy and weak voice within her mind. Startled, she shrunk down and frantically looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. With nopony else around, her eyes fell back to the book. Another wheeze cut through the foggy atmosphere of the castle and reached her consciousness.
“...my voice… help…” the voice called to her in barely audible tone. Sweetie could hardly make out what was being said through all of the weakness in the voice. “Please… I need you…”
More intrigued than frightened, Sweetie reached the book once more and opened it up, and despite feeling like she was crazy, she attempted to make contact with the voice inside her head.
“Hello…?” she asked into the open air. To her surprise, the voice made a noise like a gasp.
“You… can hear… me…” it said with a raspy cough. “Please… save me, and I will relinquish… my secrets to you.”
Sweetie Belle was beyond excited, she was certain that this would be the coolest find of the journey. She made a glance at her flank, hoping that a cutie mark had manifested itself, but she found nothing there. Rather than being disappointed however, she merely hoped that she would have to just show her friends or somepony who would recognize the book’s value before it would come out. Regardlessly, she turned back to the book and listened intently.
“I have lost nearly all of the magic that sustains me,” the book spoke in a tone quieter than a whisper from Fluttershy. “I used the last of it to lead you to me. I need your help. You must save me by taking me out of this castle.”
Sweetie Belle’s enthusiasm faded slightly at his message. She was lost too…
“I’d love to! But I don’t know my way…” she lamented with her face now downcast. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “If I could, I would, but I’m don’t think I’ll be much help.”
The book sensed her unease and whispered to her mind once more.
“If you pass some of your magic into me, I can show you a spell that will help you find your way out of here…” the book reassured her.
“Really!?” the filly exclaimed. “O-okay! I’ll try it!”
With a determined expression set upon her face, she focused the magic she possessed through her horn and passed the raw energy into the book. The book gasped in delight and it seemed to Sweetie almost that the book was… eating her magic.
“Much better…” the book spoke in a slightly louder tone, gaining a bit more of a personality to it. While it still sounded tired, the book had developed a deep tone.
“Um… if I can ask… who are you?” the unicorn asked the tattered tome. “I’m Sweetie Belle.”
“Mmm… you may call me The Grand Wizard,” he replied. Now that the book had introduced itself, Sweetie noted that it sounded much like a grizzled old stallion. He sounded strict, but firm and intelligent. Just like how she expected Star Swirl the Bearded to sound.
With some strength in it now, the book opened itself of its own volition, startling Sweetie Belle as the pages feverishly flipped through to one of the blank pages. As the book had been before, it was blank. But after a few seconds, the page began to softly glow, and words began to surface, as if being written by the light. As Sweetie read it, it became clear that the words were the instructions to a locator spell. Though unlike all of the books she had read in Twilight’s library trying to learn magic, this one made it extremely easy to understand.
Having read the instructions and been given the blessing of the tome, Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed brightly in a green light and a faint path glowed in the air, directing itself in an almost invisible stream down the hallways. Carrying the book in her magic grip, Sweetie began to follow the green mist. Eventually, after a long trek through the halls, she found a staircase and ascended.
Having reached the top, she realized she was back at the first area she came to after descending the first staircase on her exploration. She knew her way back now. Now that she was safe, she rushed back to her friends, worried that she had missed the rendezvous time with the other crusaders, having lost track of time down in the castle.
The little unicorn galloped into the library, where her other friends had gathered, waiting for her to arrive to share their findings. As she approached, the other two fillies gave her a wave.
“Hiya Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom called out. Scootaloo nodded, but didn’t speak. She looked so giddy that she was bouncing in her seat. Now all together, the fillies congregated around one of the tables of the library. Apple Bloom opened with what she had discovered on her investigation.
“Ah didn’t find much…” she admitted dejectedly. “All I found were a few portraits and fancy banners, but they didn’t look like they’d be worth that much or be important for a museum.”
“That’s okay AB,” Sweetie Belle replied. “It’s a tough job, I actually got lost down there. I hope I didn’t keep you two waiting for too long.”
“Nah, you were actually just barely on time.”
“Okay! Me next!” Scootaloo declared forcefully. “I found something super special awesome!”
The earth pony and unicorn shrugged to each other and followed the little flight-impaired pegasus as she buzzed over to one of the bookcases. Confused as to why she stopped, the other girls began looking around, wondering if they had missed something.
“It’s right here,” Scootaloo said. “Just watch…”
Scootaloo sat down in a chair by the bookshelf and leaned back. To the other fillies’ surprise, the bookcase swung open to reveal a room hidden from the rest of the castle. The three crusaders walked in, awestruck.
“Wow! This is so cool!” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “Princess Twilight would love this place! I know she’s been here a couple times, but I doubt she’s ever found this!”
“I know, right?” Scootaloo replied excitedly. “I don’t really care about the books, but it’s a secret passage! How cool is that?”
The girls wandered around the room exploring for a good little while. Eventually, Apple Bloom perked up, remembering that this was only the second round of discoveries told. She turned to her unicorn friend.
“So Sweetie Belle, what’d you find?” Apple Bloom asked her.
“Oh! I almost forgot! You guys are gonna love this one!” she beamed. “I found a book! Only it’s special.”
“What makes it special?”
“It’s magical and it talks to you! It helped me find the exit from the basement.”
The crusaders crowded around the tome and roughly turned through the pages while asking a multitude of questions. But to Sweetie’s surprise, the text that she had read to learn the locator spell had gone. And the book remained silent, deaf to their inquiries.
“Sweetie Belle… I don’t think that this book is magical. It’s just blank,” Scootaloo said.
“But I was so sure! It talked to me,” the unicorn defended herself.
“Whatever, I guess that means I win! I found the coolest thing here!” Scootaloo smiled, brimming with pride. “It’s okay, Sweetie Belle, I think you’re just tired. Maybe we should head back and get to bed.”
Apple Bloom spoke up to her friends as well.
“Yeah, besides, my Granny Smith says that there might be some dark magic still lurking here while Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon. She says there’s a ‘pony of shadows’ here.”
“Come on, that’s just an old pony’s tale,” Scootaloo replied.
“Better safe than sorry,” Apple Bloom replied with a shrug.
Together, the three crusaders departed the castle and left for Ponyville.
When the girls finally reached the edge of Ponyville, the night had fully set in, the lights at Fluttershy’s house were all put out, and she was likely asleep. The streetlamps were illuminated so that anypony who had found themselves out and about at that hour could find their way home. Happy to have had another adventure together, but upset that nopony got their cutie mark, the crusaders parted ways and headed for their homes.
When Sweetie Belle got home, the lights were off everywhere except for Rarity’s room. Her sister was still awake, and Sweetie prayed to Celestia that she was absorbed in her work. If she caught her out of the house, let alone out of bed at this hour, she’d be livid. The little unicorn stealthily crept into Carousel Boutique and made her way up the stairs.
After a painfully slow creep up the stairs to avoid making noise, Sweetie was relieved to see that her sister’s door was closed and she could hear her fussing over her work.
The filly let out a held breath quietly.
“No, no, no! What was I thinking!? There’s no way I can use this in the show!” Rarity cried. “Rubies? Maybe, but I think emerald would go much better with this hue, don’t you think Opalescence?”
“Mrrowr!”
Sweetie Belle let out the breath she had been holding since she got home. Safe and in the clear, she made her way into her own room and closed the door and prepared for bed. As she turned off the lights, she took one of the scented candles her sister had given her and lit it. Taking out the book, she began to leaf through the pages. Confused at why the book had lost its words earlier, she contemplated whether she was going crazy from the desperation and just imagined it all when she heard the voice.
“Who would dare attempt to pry my secrets from me?” the voice pressed. Sweetie Belle once again felt that voice piercing into her mind. She knew she hadn’t imagined it! But… why did the words that she had read disappear?
“It’s me, Sweetie Belle,” the filly replied in a whisper so as not to alert Rarity. She flipped through the pages and when she got to the page she learned the locator spell on, she was stunned to see the words there once more, just sitting there on the page like nothing ever happened.
“What the!” Sweetie exclaimed quietly as she stared in disbelief. “Mister Wizard. Why did the spell I learned disappear when I showed my friends, and why did you stay quiet?” she squeaked. “My friends probably thought I was crazy!”
The book slowly mused in his thoughts before answering.
“The answer is simple. Those two were not meant to see the wondrous power of my tome. They are not unicorns, therefore they are not worthy of witnessing my power or hearing my lessons,” the book explained.
“Well… that seems a bit offensive,” Sweetie Belle complained. “But is it true that you won’t share your words with non-unicorns?”
“Indeed,” he answered shortly. “The other ponies would simply not be able to comprehend the content of this tome.”
Sweetie Belle gasped in awe. This book made her feel special, like she had a power that no other possessed. She wasn’t trying to put herself above her friends, but she liked the attention she was getting. It really boosted her confidence. Then the filly came up with an idea.
“Mister Wizard, can you teach me more magic? I’ve been having trouble learning for a long time, but when your book showed me that locator spell, I picked it up easily.”
Once more, the book seemed to be mulling over his thoughts before answering in a tone much like a wise teacher, though a very harsh teacher.
“My lessons are not for the weak-minded, or the weak-willed. If you are not worthy, then I will not teach you. For each spell learned carries a price.”
“Well…” Sweetie hesitated. “What kind of price are you talking about? I have plenty of bits, or do you want something tasty, like a banana?”
“Fool! I require no such material possessions, I merely want for magic. I will not, and in some cases, cannot teach you what you desire unless you feed me more magic.”
Slightly taken aback by the book’s sudden hostility, she figured that this wizard had once been very powerful, and very egotistical. But she had the thirst to learn and the desire to prove her worth now that he had brought it into question. She wanted to prove herself as a capable unicorn. She had been made fun of at school for being the only unicorn without rudimentary skill over her magical power. But this opportunity shined like gold for Sweetie Belle. A personal teacher from a bygone age? One who could teach her so easily as well? There wasn’t even a question. Sweetie needed this to happen for her.
“Okay! Then I’ll give you what you want, and in return, you’ll be my magic teacher,” the filly stated to the book. Figuring he wasn’t in much of an option to decline such an offer, especially after telling her earlier that it fed off of magic, she funneled more of her power into the book. The book once again sounded delighted, relishing in the power.
Sweetie noticed that the book was now slightly less beaten up than before, like as if the magic had actively repaired the binding. Once more, the book took matters into its own hooves, or… pages, and flipped itself to a new page, the light returning once more to scribe a new spell.
“Sweetie Belle, you will be my pupil and will follow my tutelage. Learn well and heed my commands, and you will find yourself growing stronger than you could imagine in such a short time. I promise you that you will gain respect and admiration for your newfound abilities. Now… let us begin…”
When Sweetie Belle awoke the next day, it was already past noon, and she made her way down to the kitchen groggily to fetch herself some breakfast. Levitating her cereal and spoon, she poured herself a glass of the apple juice that Apple Bloom had given her recently as an advertisement for her family. She sat down and began to munch loudly on her food when Rarity steamed into the room, her face flushed with a tint of red.
“Good morning Sweetie Belle!” she shouted through gritted teeth. “May I ask as to why you were awake the whole night!? You’re a growing filly, you need your sleep!”
Sweetie Belle had thought she had gotten off free from last night, but how had her sister figured out that she stayed up too late? She was about to open her mouth to explain herself, but Rarity continued to lecture her.
“It’s not proper for a lady to sleep so long into the day! Your friends came by earlier and I had to turn them away because you weren’t up and moving. Do you realize how impolite it is to have to do that?”
Rarity took a breath and then expectantly stared at her little sister with a harsh gaze. Sweetie figured that was her cue to start talking.
“Well, you see… I was out with my friends last night and we got home a little late, but that was because I had gotten sick from a… uh… zucchini I ate,” she finished with a smile. Rarity was not pleased.
“You hate zucchini.”
“Well, that’s why I got sick!” she answered back quickly. “And that’s why I had to sleep so long, I’m perfectly fine now!”
After finishing her half-baked excuse to Rarity, her sister relented.
“I’m sorry Sweetie Belle,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve just been so busy with these last few orders on such a short schedule that I guess I’ve been a bit harsh. Now go run along and play with your friends. Just make sure to come home at a decent time. I don’t want to have to explain to Mom and Dad if you get hurt from staying out too late and end up falling down or something…”
“Okay, thanks big sister! I love you!” Sweetie Belle said genuinely with a smile and a hug. Rarity’s anger dissipated as she and her sister hugged it out. Within moments, Sweetie Belle had run back upstairs, grabbed her saddlebags and had bolted out the door on her way to meet her fellow crusaders at the clubhouse. As she faded into the distance, Rarity just smiled, shook her head and sighed.
“Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to have that much time again. Sweetie Belle, what am I going to do with you?”
The trot to the clubhouse was a difficult experience for Sweetie, as she had been reading out of the book the whole way, not paying attention to where she was going. A few ponies remarked that she could have been Twilight if she was a bit bigger. Regardless, once she got the the clubhouse, she stowed the book and ascended the ladder into the old treehouse.
Inside were already Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. When Sweetie Belle walked in, Apple Bloom’s face lit up. It seemed as though she had been close to tears, her eyes were watery. Sweetie suspected something was up, so she sat down and listened to what her friends had to say.
“Where have you been?” asked Scootaloo. “It’s not like you to be late to club meetings.”
“Sorry, I got a bit busy with Rarity and couldn’t get here earlier. Anyway, what’d I miss?”
Apple Bloom stood up and started explain her morning.
“Well, you missed a lot. Mah family’s farm’s been getting attacked by those vampire fruit bats again. The only problem is that they’re not like the ones we encountered before. These critters aren’t willing to back down and they don’t seem to even care about eating the apples! They’re just taking them away and throwing them into the Everfree Forest! We’ve been fending them off all day,” Apple Bloom finished, out of breath.
“That’s terrible!” Sweetie Belle replied. She was upset because her friend was, and she wanted to do what she could to help.
“I was actually just about to go out and help with her, I just got back from asking for Rainbow Dash’s help with this too. Fluttershy’s apparently been trying to reason with the bats, but they even got hostile toward her,” Scootaloo explained. “These guys are mean.”
Apple Bloom embraced both of her friends in a vigorous hug, happy that her friends were willing to help her.
“Ah’m so glad you two are helping us out. I was worried we mighta lost a lot of business because of those no good varmints!” she thanked the other fillies.
The three girls left the clubhouse quickly to rush to the aid of the Apple family. As the crusaders approached the fields, they saw Applejack and Big Mac working hard to drive off the swarm of bats. They were everywhere! Applejack and Winona were busy herding the larger group of bats with a cargo net and pushing them off the bounds of the farm, while Big Mac was busy with a net all on his own, using naught but his own strength to restrain the bats he’d caught and send them packing.
As the girls convened with the Apple family siblings, Applejack hashed out a plan of attack.
“Ah good, you’re back AB, and ya brought your friends with ya too! We’re gonna need all the help we can get,” she admitted. “Ah don’t like it, but I know that this isn’t natural. I’d like you fillies to take the butterfly nets we’ve got in the barn and start catching these pests and sending them outta here.”
The three crusaders stood at attention and threw a sharp salute to their current commander. Each filly ran to the barn to acquire their weapon of choice for this chore. However, Scootaloo had to deliver her message to Applejack.
“Hey, AJ, I called in Rainbow Dash when I heard about all of this from Apple Bloom, she’ll be here to help soon too!” she called out.
“Okay, thank ya both!” Applejack responded, inwardly sighing. She didn’t want to let Rainbow see how deep in trouble their farm was, but she did need her friend’s help. She wouldn’t complain or let her pride get the best of her now.
After looking around in the barn for a short while, the girls found their nets and went to their task, netting up all the bats they could grab. Apple Bloom was a natural while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle floundered, not getting the desired results with their nets. Sweetie became disillusioned with her net, opting to try to use her magic to assist her.
Lighting up her horn, she managed to conjure a small cage to contain some of the bats, and she led them out of the farm’s boundaries and sent them on their way off to Everfree Forest. As she returned, she saw a rainbow streak in the sky and then witnessed the light shattering Sonic Rainboom as Rainbow Dash descended upon the scene.
“Hot stuff, coming through!” she called out as Sweetie Belle came back into sight of the others. She had to hold herself down to prevent the wind off of Rainbow’s wings from blowing her over. “Sorry ‘bout that, Sweetie Belle, but I gotta job to do!”
Rainbow Dash was collecting the bats at a blinding speed, putting them into a sack and flying them out of the farm at an astonishing rate.
With all six of the ponies and Winona working together, the bats were soon cleared out of the orchards, and the ponies rejoiced in their victory. But as they were celebrating, the ponies all looked out to the edge of the forest and witnessed the swarm, regrouped and heading for the orchard once more. Fed up with the determination of the pests, Rainbow flew out to meet the swarm head-on.
“Hey you guys!” she yelled out to the group of bats. “Try this one on for size!”
Rainbow began to fly in a small circle at blinding speeds, whipping up a miniature cyclone, as it expanded, she moved outward to continue to contain and keep the wind together. The cyclone began to suck up the bats, but it wasn’t nearly big enough to capture the entire hoard.
“Look at her flounder about,” the voice of the spellbook pierced through to Sweetie Belle’s mind. “She’ll not have the power to do this task herself. Show her the true strength of my magic. Show her your superiority!”
She took another look at the strong winds that Rainbow had whipped up. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Grand Wizard was right. Once she realized that the pegasus’ efforts would be futile, Sweetie quickly pulled out her book and passed off some of her magical power to it, asking for a spell to help her with the situation.
She put the book away and began to focus her thoughts into the spell she had just learned. The green glow came to life upon her horn and the cyclone became stronger. All the ponies standing by who had been cheering on Rainbow Dash realized that Sweetie Belle was straining to focus on something. Then they saw a faint green outline upon the collection of gale winds that Rainbow was controlling. It began to move faster and became more efficient in capturing the bats.
The wind picked up to incredible strengths and had no trouble pulling in the bats, and also succeeding in sucking up the attention of the other ponies by her. They stood in awe as they realized that Sweetie was helping Rainbow Dash, judging from the glow from her horn.
With the combined efforts of Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle, they succeeded in driving off the bats once more. But this time, they didn’t return, likely because of air sickness from all the spinning. As Rainbow returned to the rest of them, they all let out a cheer.
“Wow guys, did you see that? I’ve never made a cyclone that big before on my own!” Rainbow exclaimed. Applejack shook her head and pointed to Sweetie Belle.
“Sorry, Dash, but I think you had a little help from our little friend here,” she explained. “She used her magic to help us out.”
“Really? I thought it got easier somehow…” Rainbow mused. “Well, thanks for the assist. Normally I’d be kinda upset, but I guess it was good that you helped. Nicely done, Sweetie Belle!” Rainbow finished with a wink.
“Yaaay! We did it!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders shouted in unison.
“Excellent job, my pupil,” the voice of the wizard sounded in Sweetie’s mind. “You have progressed farther than I expected, perhaps you will be ready to learn my special spell soon enough…”
Pleased by her teacher’s approval, Sweetie broke into a goofy smile, which the other ponies around her laughed at.
“Aww, looks like somepony’s being a bit modest!” said Applejack. Sweetie’s mind snapped back to reality and she struggled to reply to the comment she didn’t hear from Applejack. Thankfully for her, her friends provided her with an easy way out.
“Let’s go get some ice cream to celebrate!” Apple Bloom suggested to the other fillies. At the promise of ice cream, all other thoughts left the young ponies’ minds and they left at a canter to go and conquer Sugarcube Corner.
Applejack and Rainbow stood together watching their little friends scurry off into town.
“Sheesh…” Rainbow sighed. “I’ll have to admit, that was actually kinda exhausting. I’m glad it’s over.”
Applejack sat down on her haunches, took off her hat, and wiped her brow with a hoof.
“Ah hear ya, sister,” she answered. “What ah’m really wonderin’ is how those bats were that nasty. I know they’re pests at the best of times, but those ones just didn’t seem natural.”
“Yeah, I know!” Rainbow replied. “When Fluttershy was talking to them, they didn’t even listen to her, they only even stopped and obeyed the power of the stare when she was doing it. As soon as she stopped, they went right back to what they were doing.”
“It’s a mite troubling for certain. I wonder what could have caused that kinda behavior in those critters.”
“I don’t know…”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack continued to cool off from their struggle against the bats while pondering the cause of their actions. There had never been an outright attack on Sweet Apple Acres like this before.
When the crusaders came into Sugarcube Corner, they swarmed the front counter, clambering to get their orders taken. After a chaotic session of ordering, they paid the Cakes and sat at their preferred table.
The girls looked around, but noticed a lack of random action going on in the place. Pinkie Pie wasn’t there, or else she’d have shown herself by now.
When Mr. Cake came out to deliver the fillies their ice cream, he was bombarded with questions.
“Mister Cake, where’s Pinkie?”
“Yeah, where’d she go?”
“Is she throwing a party we weren’t invited to?”
Mr. Cake let his ears flop down as he patiently passed out the bowls of ice cream to each little filly. He gave them a short answer to keep the conversation with the three girls to a minimum since they had a tendency to be… inquisitive.
“She’s out of town visiting her sister,” he said. “She’ll be back sometime next week.”
“Awwwww,” came the collective moan from the crusaders. They were disappointed that one of their friends wouldn’t be there to have fun with them, but they went down to enjoying their ice cream anyway.
Since nopony was talking to her, Sweetie Belle whipped out her book and resumed her studying, learning simple spells, lighting up her horn to feed the book magic and practice what she learned. The other two ponies gave her quizzical looks.
“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom called to her. “That book is blank… why do you still have it?”
“Because I like it a lot and I’m using it,” she gave a short answer, slightly irritated that she had been interrupted. Her friends were taken by surprise by the sudden sharpness of Sweetie’s voice. Realizing her tone, Sweetie shook her head out and stowed the book once more.
“Sorry girls… I’m not sure what came over me,” she apologized. The other girls seemed to not be too upset over it, but it still seemed strange to them that Sweetie Belle was mean to them, even for a second.
Soon enough, the girls finished their ice cream and exited the store. When they got outside, they noticed that it was already getting dark.
“That’s weird,” Scootaloo stated. “Is it an eclipse? Cause it’s way too early for it to be getting dark. Or did we really spend that long fighting those bats?” The other girls merely shrugged to each other.
“Well, if it’s already getting dark, I have to get back home,” said Sweetie Belle. “Rarity got on me last night for being out late, and I don’t want to get in trouble again.”
The girls bid their farewells to one another, had a group hug, and all dispersed into the early nighttime. Sweetie Bell took a route that took her by Golden Oaks Library. She didn’t stop to visit since she already had the only book she’d need for quite some time. Twilight stood at the observation deck of her home, staring out at the stars with a preoccupied expression. Sweetie Belle paid no mind to Twilight’s worried appearance since she had to get back and study once more. She was learning so much and it already proved to be helpful to her friends. She wanted to learn more so she could help even more ponies.
“Twiligiiiiht!” Spike called out to the pony on the roof. “You’ve been up there for the past hour! The stars haven’t moved since then.”
The young dragon tapped his foot impatiently on the balcony, his claws making a racket upon the old wooden boards. After nearly ten minutes of constant beckoning and calling by her number one assistant, Twilight’s concentration finally broke. She took her eyes away from her telescope and quickly reviewed her astrological charts, confirming her observations before turning back to Spike.
“Sorry about that, Spike. There’s just been something strange going on…” she began. “The night fell far too quickly today than it should have, and I heard a report about a flock of bats with bad intentions attacking Sweet Apple Acres. Things like this aren’t that common without something being wrong.”
Spike took a glance up at the stars hanging in the night sky. He wondered if this was really such a big deal. It seemed like no matter where they were, he and all of his friends found trouble, or maybe it just followed them.
“Well, are you sure you’re not just imagining things this time, Twi?” the purple scaled dragon asked. “Cause I’m tired, and I’m gonna head to bed pretty soon,” he said with a yawn.
As he headed back down the stars bidding goodnight to his friend, Twilight teleported from her place at the telescope in front of Spike. Startled, he fell back onto his tail.
“You have GOT to stop doing that to me!” he complained.
“Sorry Spike, but I’m gonna need you for just a second. Go grab a quill and some parchment.”
As Spike scurried off, Twilight pondered her worries in her head, and when Spike returned in a haste, she was lost in her thoughts. The dragon patiently waited for the next five minutes as Twilight mumbled under her breath to herself and thought through her preoccupations. Eventually, Twilight snapped back to reality and noticed Spike ready for action.
“Okay Spike, take a letter,” she said. Having known in advance that was what she wanted, the baby dragon just set down to work. “Dear Princess Celestia, today in Ponyville, the moon rose up unexpectedly and much earlier than anticipated, is there— “
Twilight abruptly cut off her reciting her letter for Spike as green flames burst from his mouth with a resounding burping noise. A lone letter tumbled to the floor, bound in a scroll identical to the ones she got from Celestia. She must have already wanted to talk with Twilight. Spike unfurled the scroll and started to read aloud.
“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am afraid I bring bad tidings…”
“The moon has begun to surge with energy, and it hath casted a darkness upon thy beauteous land of Equestria. Though it is a sight to behold, We have not willed it to be so. There is something foul in the air, and We can sense it. The powers of darkness are at work in our fair land. We fear that some terrible fate may befall Equestria if nothing is done. Our sister has fallen ill. Mayhaps that is the reason the sun hath set so early on this day. We wrote this letter for you posthaste upon her illness. We beseech you to find the answer to this imminent peril. Equestria is counting on you, Twilight Sparkle.
Sincerely,
Princess Luna”
As Spike finished reading the letter, Twilight’s sense of unease had not been abated, but rather intensified. She had received this letter from Luna, and not Celestia. She was right. There was something going on, something that could spell doom for her friends and people if she didn’t get to the bottom of it.
“Okay Spike, thank you,” Twilight told her assistant. “I am now addressed of the situation, and I’ll get to work on it tomorrow, there’s little I can do tonight, everypony is already back inside their homes. I’ll study what I’ll need to tonight and then get to work on this investigation tomorrow bright and early,” she promised.
“Alright Twilight, just don’t wake me up too early, please. Equestria-wide doom can probably wait a few extra hours so I can get some decent sleep,” Spike declared before heading off to his bed.
Twilight cracked a smile in his direction as he retreated down the stairs to his bed. Leave it to Spike to bring some light-heartedness to a situation. Twilight steeled herself for her late-night study session and made her way down to the main library of her home. If there was anything that could help her find the problem, it would be in her trove of books.
The next morning came late. The clock read eleven, and yet the sun was only just rising. Twilight woke from her haze within her newly constructed book fort with groggy eyes to the greeting of Spike holding out a warm muffin for her breakfast, coupled with a glass of orange juice.
“Wakey, wakey!” Spike called out cheerfully. “You’re gonna need your strength for your world-saving adventure!”
Warmed by Spike’s pleasant demeanor and helpfulness, Twilight gingerly accepted the tray of food that Spike had brought her and ate quickly.
Once she had finished her breakfast, she picked up the book that she had found to be most helpful to her last night. Glossing over a passage she had marked, she cast the spell she had been looking for. The spell granted her a mental tracking ability to large sources of magic. If anything had the ability to mess with Luna’s control over the moon and was strong enough to make Celestia ill, then it had to be something very powerful, and likely magical. With this reasoning, Twilight had searched all night to find this spell.
As her horn flashed with its violet glow, she felt drawn toward a particular force of magical energy. She had not anticipated it would feel so close… it felt very close.
Twilight took a step out of her home and hit the town, following her horn to the source of the powerful magic.
As she walked, she felt the pull of the source she was searching for strengthen. Her journey was taking her toward the center of Ponyville, and past the town hall. She kept going, stopping outside of… Carousel Boutique? That was odd… perhaps it was being attracted to the Element of Harmony of Generosity, being Rarity?
She invited herself in, knowing Rarity wouldn’t mind. But when she got inside, Rarity wasn’t home, and there was no activity to suggest otherwise. Still being pulled by the spell she had cast, she made her way upstairs, stopping outside of Sweetie Belle’s room. Twilight began to question the accuracy of the spell she had chosen. Sweetie Belle? Last she had known, Sweetie Belle was having trouble casting even basic spells.
Twilight knocked on the door.
“Sweetie Belle, are you in there?” she asked. “I’m going to come in now.” She was being a bit intrusive, but she had Equestria to think about. It was her duty as a friend to all in Ponyville, an Element of Harmony, and a royal princess, and something simply had to take precedence over others.
As she walked inside, she found Sweetie Belle passed out over a large tome, chock full of information. It seemed to be a grand spellbook. It was in pristine condition despite its antique style, and the spells listed in it ranged from the mundane to the incredible. What was she doing with a book like this?
As she stepped closer, Twilight felt a buzzing sensation in her horn. The spell seemed to think that she had reached her mark. Figuring that the spell had probably steered her wrong, she severed her connection to it and scattered her active magic into the æther. She gently shook Sweetie Belle awake.
The young filly yawned and stretched herself out, exhausted from last night’s study binge. When she realized who had awoken her, she flinched at Twilight’s presence.
“What are you reading there, Sweetie?” Twilight asked politely. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and she looked nervous.
“Nothing, just a little bit of magic. It’s just a regular spellbook. I borrowed it from school a few days ago,” she lied. Twilight gave her a quizzical look. The filly was hiding something, and she wasn’t doing a good job of doing it.
“Can I take a look at it, Sweetie Belle? I’m very interested in this book, it looks absolutely incredible!” she asked with some genuine interest and an ulterior motive.
“No!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed and snatched the tome from the desk. Twilight was bewildered by Sweetie Belle’s defensive actions. It wasn’t like Sweetie to hide something from her.
“Come on, just for a minute?” she asked again with an even lighter tone. Sweetie Belle just shook her head vigorously and shifted toward the door.
“Sorry! I just remembered I have a crusader meeting today! I have to go,” the filly said to excuse herself.
Taking the book with her, the little unicorn darted from the room and was out the door in a flash. Twilight was certainly concerned now. Maybe the spell hadn’t worked as she thought it would, but she definitely had something worth paying attention to. Perhaps Sweetie Belle knew something that would help her out. And maybe it was within that book of hers.
Having found a possible lead, who was defensive at that, Twilight made her way back home to find her sneaking suit. She had a stakeout to do. She had to find out about why Sweetie was acting like this, and she wasn’t going to get the truth from talking.
“Phew…” Sweetie Belle sighed. “That was too close. I thought she was going to try to take you away,” she said to the tome in her saddlebag.
“Do not fear, little one,” it spoke in a deep tone. “Even if she had succeeded in taking me, I would not have spoken to her, and I would not reveal my secrets to her either. She is not my student. Only you have shown me the power and strength of will to be my student.”
Stirred on by her teacher’s encouragement, she beamed to nopony in particular, puffing out her chest with pride. She had learned so much from the wizard over the past few days. Now the tome stood proudly, its colors showing vibrantly and royally, like as if it were a tome out of the royal palace itself. The binding of the book was strong and sturdy once more. It had received enough magic from Sweetie Belle to be heard by her clearly.
The book’s voice was now deep and powerful. It brought a weight of authority that Sweetie felt she dared not disobey, like a strict father. She felt an admiration for her teacher, but also had some irrational fear toward him, despite him being a book.
“You are ready now,” the tome suddenly said to her. “I can now teach you my final spell. It must be performed in the Everfree Forest. I will teach you what you need to know once you have brought me there tonight.”
Though Sweetie Belle didn’t relish the idea of being out late to maybe be caught by Rarity this time, she agreed to her teacher and made a plan to go to the forest late at night when nopony could stop her and punish her for being out too late.
The filly spent the rest of the day practicing what she had learned from her teacher, all manners of spells. She executed each one with nearly no flaws at all. It seemed that the promises the tome had made to her on that day in the ancient castle were not just bluster. She felt the results in her body. Her magic was stronger than it had ever been before.
Tonight she would be ready. She’d complete her teacher’s secret spell and pass his expectations. He’d have taught her all he knew and she would become one of the greatest spellcasters in all of Equestria! She’d have no trouble finding a cutie mark then!