//------------------------------// // Her Vision, Verified // Story: U-Harmony // by Ebon Mane //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle rolled out of bed and hit the floor with an unceremonious thud. Her eyes shot open, then narrowed as she took stock of her situation and realized that her room was flooded by a frankly unnecessary level of illumination. She might have cursed the sun, if not for the fact that she held its controller in such high regard. Instead, she took a moment to try to convince herself that the fall was somehow intentional, even clever. It was certainly a more effective way to wake up than her alarm spells; judging by the angle of the sunbeams assaulting her, she’d slept through at least three of those already. She groaned and stretched, but only managed to find a less comfortable position. She’d been having such an interesting dream, too. Then again, that might have been earlier in the night. She frowned. There had been something about falling, and a mare in an extremely distracting costume, and a... money fight? That certainly didn’t make any sense. The details faded even as she tried to recall more, and soon enough she gave up. Twilight had never been one to dwell on dreams, not when there were so many books, which had the distinct advantage of a coherent plot. Well, most of them did. She sighed. The stray thoughts were only keeping her from getting on with her day. She certainly wasn’t going to get any more sleep with her cheek pressed so thoroughly into the floorboard. Twilight had never been one for roughing it, and the wood was nothing if not rough. She’d definitely have to get up soon, so there was no particular reason why she couldn’t rest her eyes for just a moment more. Her lids fell as their weight grew, and soon enough they closed entirely. An hour later, Twilight scrambled to her hooves. Her heart pounded in her chest for a panicked moment before she realized that she didn’t have anywhere to be; her presentation had been the day before. She grimaced at the latent nervous energy that lingered in the wake of the adrenaline rush, but resolved to put it to good use. She walked to her dresser and checked her daily list of things to do. The first item was the same as always: ‘Hygiene And Appearance’. Twilight threw herself into the task with all the energy and enthusiasm of a reanimated corpse. Muscle memory sufficed, though she did at one point catch herself attempting to style her mane with the smooth wooden back of her brush. She was glad that Rarity hadn’t seen that. Rarity already joked on occasion that Twilight didn’t know which end of the brush to use; the last thing she needed was confirmation. By the time Twilight Sparkle was ready for the second item on her list, her mind was nearly as awake as her body. Admittedly, that wasn’t strictly necessary. By now she didn’t need much mental focus to send for a card from U-Harmony. It wasn’t exactly rocket magic. In fact, she suspected that the very act should cast doubt on the intelligence of any sane pony. She was willing to admit, internally at least, that her obsession wasn’t compatible with complete sanity. Alas, the damage had already been done. With a shake of her head, the unicorn turned her attention back to business. A spark of magic disappeared into the aether and a heartbeat later one of U-Harmony’s cards appeared. Twilight scanned it quickly. TIME: 7:00 PM, CST LOCATION: PONY JOE’S DONUT SHOP, CANTERLOT, EQUESTRIA REASON FOR MATCH: HIGH SOCIAL COMPATIBILITY Twilight’s eyes narrowed. There was something about the card that felt too familiar, like she’d read it somewhere before. She just couldn’t place where. She racked her brain for a bit, but she’d never been on any similar dates and hadn’t even been to Pony Joe’s shop since her first Grand Galloping Gala. With a shrug, she did her best to dismiss the thought, though she suspected it would bug her for the rest of the day at least. She continued to the third and final item on her list, ‘Plan Rest of Day.’ “Spike!” she shouted. * * * The first thing that hit Twilight after teleportation was the smell. The mouth-watering scent of fresh doughnuts was as strong in Pony Joe’s as ever, and a wave of nostalgia washed over her as she reveled in the sweet air. Then she blinked. She was sitting at a booth; she didn’t remember there being any booths last time she was there. It threw her off, but not greatly. Pony Joe had probably just scrounged up enough bits to finally remodel the place. The Joe in question was busy wiping down the counter, which was as reassuring as it was familiar; the surface seemed to collect sprinkles as much as Pinkie Pie’s mane. She nodded at him and he waved back. He was the only pony there, other than her. She frowned at the empty seat across from her. Wasn’t she supposed to have a date? Right on cue, a unicorn appeared with a flash of magic. The white-coated mare blinked listlessly, head tilting, and her close-cropped red mane fell over her eyes. Twilight’s mouth twisted with a mix between pity and amusement; the spell hit some ponies like a ton of bricks. There was something familiar about the other mare’s appearance. Twilight felt like they’d met before, but she couldn’t remember when or where. The thought nagged at her for a few heartbeats before she dismissed it. She was certain her date would mention it if they knew each other. That is, the mare would mention it if she ever got over the effects of teleportation. Twilight sighed. Best to shock her date out of it, she supposed. “Hi there!” Twilight shouted in as pleasant a tone she could manage while actually shouting, “Not a frequent teleporter?” The other unicorn gave her head a shake, then blinked at Twilight for a few seconds. When she’d collected herself enough for the question to register, she said,“Uh, not exactly. First time, actually.” “Really?” Twilight asked, leaning forward in her seat. “So it’s your first time using U-Harmony, then?” “Yeah.” The mare’s eyes darted from side to side, refusing to meet Twilight’s. She tapped her front hooves together. “You are my date, right?” Twilight blinked. “Oh! Yes.” It briefly occurred to her to wonder whether she had always been this rude, but she pushed the thought aside. Extending a hoof across the table, she introduced herself to the other mare with an enthusiastic, “It’s nice to meet you! My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The other unicorn’s lips twitched upward and she reached out to give Twilight’s hoof a single vigorous shake. “Yeah, you too. I’m Close Counts.” Twilight suppressed an involuntary shudder when she heard the name. She frowned, puzzled by the unexpected sensation. Where had that come from? Was it the name? Close Counts, Close Counts... there was definitely something about it. Where had she heard that before? Something about it just gave her the creeps, though she could not for the life of her say why. It reminded her of a factory, of all things. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the other mare. Close, for her sake, merely leaned away from Twilight and glanced at the door. “Is something wrong?” “Not at all!” Twilight insisted, remembering herself with a start and assuming her best expression of noble innocence. “It’s just that your name seems really familiar. Have we met?” “I don’t think so,” Close Counts replied. Twilight put a hoof to her chin, stroking it as she attacked the problem as she would any line of scientific inquiry. “Ever been to Ponyville?” The other mare merely shook her head. “Written anything I might have read?” Twilight asked, trying her hardest to suppress the hope in her voice. Close snorted, her lips twitching with amusement. “Not unless you’re into reading the training manuals for thaumaturgic grenades.” “No, not yet, but it’s on my list.” Twilight sighed. “I could have sworn I heard your name before, but I guess I was mistaken” She hated being mistaken. It was almost as bad as being wrong. Close Counts shrugged. “It happens to the best of us. I mean, your name sounds a bit familiar too, but it’s probably just similar to someone else I’ve met.” She adopted a flippant tone as she continued, “It’s just a coincidence; it’s not like you’re some famous hero everypony in Equestria should have heard of or anything.” She grinned, looking quite proud of her little joke. Twilight blinked. “...Right. Right!” She forced herself to smile. “It’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Sorry about that.” The other mare flicked a hoof dismissively. “Not a problem.” They sat there staring silently at each other for a few seconds before Twilight recalled that they were on a date and panicked, filling the silence with the first thought that came to mind. “So you’re new to U-Harmony? You should get out while you still can.” To her credit, Close Counts barely missed a beat. “Why, so you can keep all the good mares to yourself?” she asked with a wink. “Ha! Totally.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ll admit that I might be a bit tempted to try if I thought that there were any good mares using U-Harmony. I’m beginning to suspect that there aren’t.” Close snorted. “I’m not sure whether I should be offended.” “You’re already above average, actually,” Twilight insisted. She meant it, even if there was still something off about the mare, something nagging at the back of her mind. “I can only hope you’re not basing that on my obvious physical superiority,” Close replied with a cocky grin, “That would hardly be fair to the others.” Twilight called upon her considerable reserves of sarcasm. “If only they were all as modest as you.” Close snorted, then giggled, and finally burst into laughter; Twilight quickly joined her. When the steam of the shared joke died out and the pair fell silent once again, Close asked, “But honestly, If everypony else is so bad, why do you still use U-Harmony? Why did you start in the first place? It took my boss calling in a favor to get me to even sign up for one date. What got you into it?” Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “I guess this might sound a bit strange, but I’m studying the magical framework; it’s a truly stunning feat of horncraft that’s radically different from most modern persistent interactive spells. Also,” she added, speaking as quickly and quietly as she could justify to herself, “I may have an obsessive vendetta against it.” Close raised an eyebrow. “An obsessive vendetta?” “Just a small one,” Twilight Sparkle replied, holding her hooves just a hair’s breadth apart in demonstration. The other mare grinned. “Is everypony using U-Harmony as crazy as you?” Twilight snorted a dismissal of the jab. “Actually, most are worse. You’re only seeing the crazy that’s managed to rub off on me.” “How bad is worse?” “That...,” Twilight replied, trailing off with a sigh before focusing with a shake of her head. “That is a long story.” She stroked her chin with a hoof, considering. “Then again, it’s at least entertaining. Why don’t I grab us some doughnuts and tell you what I’ve learned about crazy in the last couple months?” Close Counts reclined in her seat and hooked her front hooves behind her head before nodding at Twilight. “Sounds like a plan.” * * * “...And even after that, there was a bouquet of flowers on my doorstep every morning until I was able to convince the judge to enforce the restraining order with magic!” Twilight shouted, throwing her hooves into the air to emphasize her point. This only served to make Close Counts laugh even harder. She’d long ago collapsed forward, leaning heavily on the table as she pounded it with one arm, gasping for breath that immediately escaped as more mirth. “At least someone finds my distress amusing,” Twilight observed. Her voice was cold but the subtle smirk on her face dulled its venom. She crossed her front hooves in front of her and snapped at a hovering donut, tearing off a generous section. Putting on the best pout she could muster, she made a valiant effort to bludgeon the decidedly inanimate pastry to death with her teeth. “Now that’s dedication,” Close said, slowly catching her breath. After a moment and a few silent shakes of her shoulders, she shook her head in disbelief. “You know, I’m almost jealous; I can’t get even one mare to develop a crazy obsession with me.” “Trust me,” Twilight insisted, “it’s a lot more trouble than it’s worth.” “I don’t know,” Close Counts said as a mischievous grin spread across her face. “I mean, if I were you, I’d get them both in the same room and watch them duke it out over me. That would would be worth more than its share of trouble. Especially if you could get your hooves on a large enough supply of jell-o.” “That’s the worst part!” Twilight huffed. “I actually did get a chance to see them in the same room just yesterday, and that’s not how it went at all. You see, I was invited to give a presentation on light refraction magic as a guest lecturer at Canterlot University; I had a new dress made for the occasion and everything. It was going to be perfect, but what did I see when I walked into the lecture hall?” Her voice fell to a growl. “None other than Trixie and Moondancer, holding hooves in the back row.” Close put a hoof to her face, shaking her head back and forth slowly. “How does something like that even happen?” “U-Harmony makes it happen,” Twilight replied in the same sort of voice she might have used to tell the other mare something like ‘the sky is blue’ or ‘books are cool.’ “I’ve studied the spell enough to sense the connection that returns ponies home when the date is over. I could feel it on them. I just wish I’d been close enough to snap it and get rid of them, but I didn’t want to cause a scene, though they certainly did.” “I’m almost afraid to ask,” Close said, but the eager light of curiosity in her eyes and vibrant relish in her voice told a very different story. “Oh, it could have been worse, I suppose. They weren’t actively disruptive. Still, it was more than a little difficult to retain a scholarly tone and calmly discuss arcane theory with two creepy fanfillies in the back row staring at me pointedly as they made out. They were really going at it! It was...,” Twilight bit her lip and squirmed in her chair, trying to find the right word. “Distracting.” “Distracting?” Close Counts waggled her eyebrows and grinned. “I bet.” “Not like that!” Twilight huffed. “I totally believe you.” “Fine, maybe a little like that.” She fell silent as she thought back to the sight of the two stalkers practically sharing a seat, their lips locked as each mare ran her hooves over the other’s body. Was it just her, or was the doughnut shop beginning to feel a bit warm? Close Counts pounded the table with a hoof and Twilight shook her head, shocked out of the recollection. “Yeah,” Twilight conceded, “Definitely like that. Still, venomous snakes can be beautiful but I know better than to go anywhere near one of them.” “How about two venomous snakes making out?” Close asked. “Would you go near that?” Twilight just rolled her eyes. “Well, I think we’ve all had enough stalking for one night,” Close Counts said. “How about a less creepy topic? Is light magic your special talent?” Shaking her head, Twilight replied, “No, that’s just a bit of a hobby.” “Then what is your talent?” “All magic, actually.” Twilight paused. “Though I do specialize in the magic of friendship.” Close Counts sat silently for a few seconds, staring blankly at Twilight. Then, with the suddenness of a dam bursting, she let loose a deafening peal of laughter. Slightly offended by her date’s reaction, Twilight crossed her arms and scowled at the other mare. “Don’t laugh; it works!” Wiping a tear of mirth from her eye, Close put on a conciliatory smile. “Friendship is good as far as it goes, but I guess I just have too much of a martial perspective to appreciate magic for it. I mean, of the two, light sounds more threatening.” The opinions of the uninformed often drew Twilight ire, but in this case she found the irony a bit amusing. She grinned despite a lingering annoyance. “Ah yes, I find that most of my opponents think that way, and it’s precisely what I want them to believe,” she said, leaning forward and dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “They see me as harmless until I have them right where I want them, and then bam! I fill them with the power of friendship and they end up redeemed and repentant. Or turned to stone. I’m not an expert; there are still a few kinks to work out.” Close snorted, clearly not believing a word of it. “I can see how that approach would be advantageous.” “So what about you? Is your special talent... what was it?” Twilight thought back. Manuals for something, something military, if she remembered. “Grenades?” “Nope, it’s actually all kinds of throwing. Watch.” Close’s horn glowed as she flipped a dougnut upward and caught it with her mouth. She turned toward Pony Joe, who was still busy with his eternal battle against the counter. She squinted at the oblivious stallion, then snapped her head forward in a move too quick for Twilight to follow. The doughnut flew across the room in an unerring line toward its intended target. Pony Joe cried out in horror, then again in confusion as he reached up and found that the impact he’d felt was a doughnut, which now hung from his horn by the hole. Twilight clapped her hooves together in applause and Pony Joe joined in shortly after, as he realized what had happened. “Well done,” Twilight said. “So you don’t use magic for that?” Shaking her head, Close replied, “I can, but they don’t allow it in the professional horseshoes leagues, so I learned to do it the normal way.” Twilight scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah,” Close agreed, “but what are you gonna do? Fair’s fair, I guess.” “So you’re a pro horseshoes player?” Twilight asked. “Not anymore. Turns out it’s easier to get a steady paycheck as a contractor for the Canterlot Guard.” Close Counts shrugged. “I’m following in my father’s hoofsteps, I suppose.” “He did the same thing?” “Thank you for setting up my bad joke for the night,” Close said, rubbing her hooves together as a grin of sadistic anticipation grew on her face. “My father was a grenadier. My mother was a pro horseshoes player. My name was the only thing they ever agreed on.” The attempt at humor was painful enough that Twilight didn’t even feel the impact of her hoof striking her face. “Nothing?” Close asked with a pout, “Not even a pity chuckle?” “Your delivery could use some work,” Twilight replied, her voice flat. “Anyway,” Close Counts continued, “horseshoes will always have a special place in my heart, and two special places on my flanks, see?” She half-stood on the booth’s seat, turning to show her cutie mark over the table. It didn’t look much like a horseshoe; if Twilight hadn’t been told, she wouldn’t have guessed. To her, it looked like a stylized ‘U’, and she recognized it immediately. Her eyes widened as memories of her dream returned in a rush of sights and sounds and horror. She remembered the waiting room, and the tour, and its guide. Most of all, she remembered the Screw-Ball pony reaching into a pair of hats and predicting the very date she was on. She racked her brain, trying to recall everything she knew about the magic of prophecies and dreams. Her vision blurred as she stared into the distance, eyes unfocused. “You okay there?” Close asked. “Hello? Did a horseshoe kill your parents or something? Am I just that hot?” She waved a hoof in Twilight’s line of sight. The reply spilled out in a panicked rush as Twilight Sparkle returned to reality. “I’m really sorry to do this but I have to go. Now.” With that, she disappeared in a purple flash of magic. * * * The bell on the door of Pony Joe’s shop rang as Shining Armor walked in. He greeted the proprietor with a courteous nod and made his way to the only occupied both, settling into the seat so recently vacated by his sister. Across from him, Close Counts rolled her eyes. “My date disappears and the stallion who convinced me to get into this mess shows up. Why don’t I think this is a coincidence?” “So suspicious!” Shining Armor replied with a grin. “I assure you I had no intention of ruining your date. How was that going, by the way?” Close shrugged. “I thought I managed to avoid screwing up too badly, but she’s gone now so maybe I was wrong.” She sounded more than a little disappointed by the fact. “That might not be your fault, actually. It could be that I’m a terrible spy and she noticed me.” With a long, slow roll of her eyes, Close Counts replied, “Maybe you’d be better without all the loud, shiny, cumbersome armor?” “Maybe,” Shining Armor said before leaning forward to add in a faux-conspiratorial whisper, “but then I wouldn’t have a good excuse for being a terrible spy.” “Why were you spying in the first place?” Close asked. “I happened to see you chatting with a familiar mare, remembered that tonight was the night for that favor I called in, and put two and two together.” Shining Armor’s tone had a forced casualness to it that set Close Counts on edge. “Familiar? How do you know her?” Shining Armor rubbed at the back of his head with a hoof. “Well... here’s the thing: she’s my sister.” Close Counts raised an eyebrow. “You set me up with your sister?” “I didn’t know about that... particular detail until just now.” He frowned. “I was simply following orders, and that information was not related to me in the briefing.” He muttered a few dark words under his breath, but Close didn’t catch them. “Orders from who?” she asked. “From the only pony I’m afraid to even consider disobeying.” Shining shuddered. Close leaned forward in her seat. “Celestia?” Shining Armor shook his head. “Worse. My wife.”