//------------------------------//
// Seeing Isn't Believing 
// Story: Irreversible 
// by Trick Question 
//------------------------------//

After making some sandwiches for later, Twilight Sparkle returned to sit in the dining room with Moondancer. Her occasionally-blinking twin beacons had dimmed substantially in Twilight's absence.

Twilight sat across the table from her unresponsive friend and tried to read from her Cosmological History and Modern Dimensional Theory book, but she was too distracted to make much progress. It wasn't the eerie eye-beams draining her attention, but the hidden knowledge she knew lay on the other side of those lights that roiled her mind with curiosity.

What could Princess Celestia be hiding from me?

Of course it couldn't be anything personal; but that didn't make Twilight feel any better. She was once Celestia's most faithful student, but now...

Maybe a touch of jealousy was tugging from within, Twilight realized. Things would be so much easier if that brilliant little colt didn't hate me!

Mercifully, Moondancer snapped back to consciousness after just under an hour of staring. She coughed and gasped, blinking several times in quick succession, and Twilight immediately hoofed her a little glass of water.

"Th-thanks," said Moondancer in a rather horse voice. She took a long swig of water and exhaled. "Wow. What a trip."

"I can only imagine," said Twilight. "It's never taken me more than five minutes, I think."

"How—"

"Fifty-two minutes and seventeen seconds," interrupted Twilight, speaking at a rapid pace.

Moondancer chuckled. "Eager much?" she asked.

Twilight blushed. "Sorry, Moonie. I'm still pretty anxious about the thing with Celestia," she said, smiling sheepishly as her hoof tapped against the floor with all the energy of a woodpecker.

"Okay, okay," said Moondancer, taking another large gulp of water. "I'll get to it, if only to save the dining room floor I've been using for the past three months from an unnecessary renovation. Here's the story, minus the parts we both remember..."

Moondancer briefly stared into space and blushed before beginning her tale.



As I said, first I watched all the crazy antics that you and I got up to this morning. I'm not sure how I felt at the time, but it was probably similar to how I feel now: a little embarrassed, but happy to spend time with you. (Ahem.)

Anyway, after all that nonsense, I watched myself heading to the castle, obviously in the hopes I could get a brief meeting with Princess Celestia. I didn't stop anywhere along the way. Once within the castle outskirts, however, I happened to pass by a small colt who reminded me of the the foal you'd described. I was pretty certain it was Amethyst Eclipse, which probably gave me the idea—but I'm getting ahead of myself, that comes later.

I got as far as the outer corridor to the throne room before a guard stopped me.

"I'm Moondancer, a close friend of Twilight Sparkle," I said. "She asked me if I would consider offering my assistance to tutor Amethyst Eclipse, so I wanted to ask Princess Celestia about the possibility."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" said the guard, as if there were multiple Twilight Sparkles to go around—time travel and cloning-pool shenanigans notwithstanding, of course.

"That's the one, yes," I said. "If you want me to prove we're friends, I can throw your body down this hallway before you'll have a chance to react with that spear."

I'm not the best pony at judging facial reactions, but I'm pretty sure there was a mixture of varying degrees of fear, embarrassment, and confusion seated upon his muzzle. I probably noticed the same thing at the time, but the potion simply shows me what happened, as you know. It's a bit unfortunate it didn't give me a window into my own mind at the time, but we're kind of abusing the magic as it is.

"N-no ma'am, that will be fine. But the Princess is currently busy—"

At that moment, the doors way down the hall burst open, sending two other surprised guards (the ones who presently gated them) into a nervous ready stance. I suspect that the doors don't normally open that quickly, which meant the sudden appearance of the Princess was unusual.

"Moondancer," called Princess Celestia, with that weird, unreadable smile of hers, "would you care to come in and chat?"

This was flag number one for Moondancer-the-observer. I mean, there were flags before this which you and I discussed together, but this was the first warning sign I detected from the parts of the flashback that didn't have you in it. There was no reason she should have expected my arrival, unless Amethyst Eclipse passed her my name, and from your description it didn't sound like he was super-enthused about anything you had to tell him so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even remember you'd mentioned me. Either way, the timing was creepy.

I walked down the hallway, and Princess Celestia held the door open for me. In retrospect I was clearly walking into a large, throne-room-shaped trap. I saw my eyes glaze over as I walked inside, and I suspect I was doing complex logarithms in my head—by which I mean logarithms in complex space, not 'complicated' logarithms, but I assume you'd interpret that as the default—so that the anxiety wouldn't show on my face. The throne room was entirely empty except for the two of us.

Well, the three of us, to be completely accurate, but the 'observing-me' didn't really count. Have I mentioned how weird it is to walk around in a fake environment adjacent to yourself and pass through objects as you do? The throne room doors basically closed over me, but at least I was prepared.

Once inside with the doors shut, she led me down to the center of the vaulted room. "Come," she said. Not being a moron, I followed her. She sat down in the middle of the floor, on the red carpet strip, and conjured a tea tray in front of us. She also teleported some pillows in for us to rest on.

I smiled as non-fakely as I could. "You... want to speak with me?" I asked, as she poured me a cup of tea. She hadn't cast a heating spell or anything, so I wasn't sure how she managed to brew the tea. I started thinking that maybe she had it in stasis, or more likely she had a cook prepare it in advance and I happened to show up at teatime—but my train (our trains?) of thought was (were) interrupted when she spoke.

"Yes. I heard you outside, so I assume you may have business with me as well," said Celestia, pouring us each a glass. "Have you met my new personal student?"

"Sparkler's kid, right?" I said. "Not yet, but I've heard about him."

"Did Twilight Sparkle speak with you about him?" she continued, slowly stirring her tea without magic. (I assume this was a sign of informality, given what you and I talked about earlier today. About 'unicorn elitism', I mean.)

I paused a moment, undoubtedly to strategize. "Actually, that's why I'm here," I said. "Twilight mentioned you were mentoring Sparkler's colt, and said I might want to offer him my services as a tutor. Gratis, just to pay things forward. I'd probably learn as much from him as he'd learn from me, anyway."

Celestia nodded gently while her mane did that weird rippling thing in the air behind her, and she took a sip of tea. "I see. Now, this next question is very important, so please think carefully. Has Twilight provided any other information to you, or spoken with you, over the past five days?"

I'm sure my face was a window, but it was a weird question so the look of concern and disbelief undoubtedly populating my muzzle was apt enough for the situation. "Um, no. She sent me a note mentioning—what was his name, Amethyst Eclipse, I think—and asked me to ask you if I could offer tutoring assistance. That's literally it," I said. "I can bring you the note if you want. Is Twilight in some sort of trouble?"

Then she smiled and exhaled, and I could sense the tension leaving her. "Not at all. I apologize for concerning you, Moondancer. Eclipse is indeed a talented foal, and he also has a very active imagination," she said. "He is the youngest student I have ever taken on, and I believe he is nervous around Twilight due to her reputation as a princess."

I saw this as a good opening, and apparently I had seen it that way as well, because I took it and ran with it. "If he's the foal I think he is, I'd certainly agree," I said. "Violet curly mane and tail, pinkish-mauve coat? Tiny thing?"

Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed a little. "You've met him already?"

I shook my head. "No, but Twilight described him more generally than that, and today I passed by a colt matching that precise description. He was staring off into space and mumbling something to himself about, what was it... 'key fonz', or something. I don't think he even noticed I was there, and I didn't think it was appropriate to introduce myself until I'd spoken to you."

I stopped. This gave me (us, probably) a moment to judge Celestia's reaction. Her face was an emotionless mask, but I noticed a telltale drop of sweat forming on her temple.

"Anything else?" asked Celestia.

My legs shifted where I sat on a pillow. "I don't think so. Is this 'key fonz' thing something I should know about? I don't think I've ever heard it before."

Then she sighed and rubbed her forehead with the front of a greave. "I'm sorry about this, Moondancer, I really am. But my primary responsibility is for the safety of all Equestria and beyond, and I can't afford to take any chances."

"Um, maybe I should come back later," I said, scrambling to my hooves with a sheepish grin. (Actual 'me' planted a hoof over my nonexistent face. Smooth one, Moondork.)

There was an amber flash of light, and I saw myself whine, then collapse on the carpet. Granted, if that's where the flashbacks had stopped, I wouldn't be telling you a protracted story about them. I'd be getting you the Tartarus out of Dodge City and send this information to you by mail. But there was more to come, because apparently this was only the first time she blanked my memories during our conversation.



"Holy Stars above," breathed Twilight Sparkle. "This... this... I don't even know what to think. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though, it would be the best way to extract the maximum amount of data..."

Moondancer stared blankly at Twilight. "May I continue?"

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded, leaning back. "Sorry. Please, do go on."



The scene in front of me shifted. Now Celestia was seated on her throne, and no tea set or pillows lay with me on the floor. My body had been shifted to a more comfortable recumbent position, but my hooves were turned inward which fortunately hid the message. I suppose it's possible in the interim that she saw the message, though, because apparently I'm not allowed to see things that happened to my body when my mind was completely unconscious. I slowly stirred, looking around, then I stood upright on shaky legs.

"Where... Princess?" I said, shaking my head. "Ugh. Where am I?"

"You're in the throne room—"

"I know that," I interrupted in a rather insolent tone of voice. "It was rhetorical. Why am I waking up here?" I rubbed my head as though I had a headache.

I have no idea what I was thinking at that moment. Did I remember anything? Was I suspicious, or just grouchy? There's no basis for me to estimate. It's hard to put yourself into a situation you've never been in before (to your best recollection, I mean, and here I had none).

"Allow me," said Celestia, without moving from her throne. "Take this, it should help with that headache." A small cup of what looked like water teleported in front of me, and I imbibed without thinking. Curiously enough, I was able to smell the ethanol that formed the base for Celestia's concoction, but the amount in the cup was small, and the odd sensations from drinking it (more on that soon) did not persist for more than a minute or two. Even though I undoubtedly knew I was drinking something noxious, were I suspicious, it didn't seem to show. It definitely helped ease the pain, however.

It was clear from my angle that I had seen the writing on my left hoof while tossing back the tincture. After Celestia teleported the cup away, I stared at the hoof for a moment, then placed it against the base of my horn which made it look like I'd simply been distracted by pain. As best I can tell, she bought it.

"I'm sorry for the rudeness," I said. "What happened?"

Celestia smiled, but remained on her throne. This looked awkward because she was addressing me from an unfriendly speaking distance. It was like I was petitioning her for something, even though the throne room was otherwise empty. For whatever reason, I decided to stay pat and she didn't ask me to advance.

"It's fine, Moondancer. I realize you must have quite a headache after that spell, not to mention the confusion. The medicine I just gave you should abate it shortly. There was a magical mishap of sorts that triggered when you came into my throne room to speak with me, and it knocked you unconscious," she said. "I'll help you to recover your memories, but I need to ask you some questions first for safety."

"Um, okay," I said. "Fire away." I seemed just a little unsteady on my hooves. (I have a theory here, but you're probably thinking the same thing. I'll withhold speculation until after the exposition.)

"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked.

"Going to sleep in... in bed," I said. Seems clear I was trying to avoid telling her about being in your house, without outright lying. I'm not a politician but I know a non-denial when I hear one. Maybe I have an ego for saying this, but it's fun watching me be clever.

(Pfft. Stop smiling at me, dork.)

Celestia's face showed no signs of emotion, and I have to assume she knew that would be my answer because she had just cast the spell and undoubtedly she knew what the temporal area of effect would be. "When is the last time you spoke with Twilight Sparkle?"

"Wait, is Twilight in some kind of trouble?" came my immediate response. I noticed tension in my left forehoof as my ankle flexed, pressing the hoof with the hidden message more tightly against the carpet. Of course, my frog wasn't coming into contact with the carpet, but I could tell I was worried about revealing the message. At this point I knew something questionable was ahoof, I'm certain of it.

The princess shook her head gently enough that it hardly sent a ripple through that magical mantle of hers. "She hasn't done anything wrong, no, but she might be in danger. That's why this is very important."

It took me a moment to respond. "I, um... I don't know. I mean, it's been a couple of months since she's visited," I said. "We correspond by mail, though. She sends me letters once or twice per week. Last time I heard from her was about a week ago, which is a little overly long."

I noticed my words were starting to slur a little.

"And you're certain she didn't contact you any more recently than this, perhaps indirectly?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm sh-uh, I'm sure. I feel a little dizzy," I complained. "I want to h-help Twilight, can I, um... can..."

Then I blinked a few times in rapid succession, and she cast the spell again. It was the same spell, as far as I can tell. I stumbled in place, but didn't appear to black out completely like before. I'm not sure how I got the small rock into my hoof because I didn't ever see it. Maybe it was there the whole time and I didn't get a good visual? Anyway, she cast another spell while I was still woozy, and that's when the vision ended.



"That's it? You mean, you remember what happened afterwards?" said Twilight.

"Pretty much, Twi," said Moondancer. "I basically told you the rest already. She repeated the same spiel about you being in danger and told me you might be possessed or something, but this time didn't black me out afterwards. The drunken sensation wore off within a minute or two."

"She must have drugged you with some kind of truth serum or something, to pry information from you," said Twilight. "I can't believe any of this, but that must be what you experienced."

"That's my theory as well. Her 'remedy' did help the pain, but that alcoholic elixir was undoubtedly intended for the primary purpose of loosening my tongue. Serendipitously, I didn't know anything more at that point than I'd already told her," said Moondancer. "Except for the hoof, of course, and fortunately she never asked about that. This points to a miscalculation on her part. She should have given me the drug after she realized I'd heard of Quifons, but before wiping my memory of today's earlier events. I think Princess Celestia made a critical error, Twilight. Do you realize what this implies?"

Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment as the obvious truth began to latch into place. "If Princess Celestia is making mistakes, then she must be really worried," she said, her voice a whisper. "What should we do?"

"Hypothesizing should come only after an analysis of what little data we have," asserted Moondancer. "There are a few things about my vision I don't fully understand. First off, I may have taken an undue risk by mentioning Amethyst Eclipse. Could she have seen through my gambit?"

"You said Celestia reacted by sweating. She probably wouldn't have done that if she knew you were lying," said Twilight. "She'd have used the tincture on you immediately. Besides, you had to confirm the description, so it fit your narrative perfectly."

"I got lucky, yeah. He was just milling about outside the castle, apparently lost in thought. It almost looked like he was playing with imaginary friends or something, but I didn't stop to check because it might have seemed suspicious and there were guards nearby," said Moondancer. "Anyway, if you have any ideas on how the magic she used on me works, that might help to know."

"She probably used a spell that blanks everything since the last time you were unconscious," speculated Twilight. "That would explain why the second casting wasn't as overwhelming, because it would only need to have affected your short-term memory. That's not nearly as invasive."

"The third spell she cast must have been the trap spell, in that case," said Moondancer. "Otherwise you would have been able to safely recover the short-term memories. You suggested they'd all been locked, so I assume she couldn't have cast it while I was unconscious the first time."

Twilight nodded slowly, then paused for a moment in thought. "Moondancer, do you have any idea why you didn't approach Princess Celestia to speak at a normal distance after you woke up the first time?" she asked. "You and I think a lot alike, and we both have this quality, but you're a bit more, um..."

"Obnoxious?" said Moondancer, raising one thick reddish eyebrow.

Twilight blinked slowly. "What? No!" she said. "I mean... you don't actually see yourself like that, do you?"

Moondancer shrugged, and looked off to the side.

"I was going to say 'direct', which is something I like about you. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are the same way. They don't pull punches, and you know you're always getting the raw, unvarnished viewpoint," she responded. Then Twilight scooted her chair to the side of the table and took Moondancer's chin in her hoof, tilting it toward her. "There's value to being different, Moonie. You like your friends for their similarities and good qualities, but you love them for their differences and flaws."

Moondancer rolled her eyes and pushed Twilight's hoof away, but Twilight could see a touch of blush fluttering in her cheeks. "Sheesh, put it on a poster, already."

"I mean it, Moonie."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" said Moondancer, clearly frustrated.

Twilight bit at her lower lip. "Y-you said it was okay?"

"Yes, but why do you WANT to call me by a pet name?"

"Well... it's fewer syllables, so it's easier..."

"Well, 'Moon' is only one syllable," she pointed out. "Why not that? Why something as silly as 'Moonie' when silliness is suboptimal?"

"Do you want me to call you 'Moon'?" asked Twilight.

"No, I just... ugh!" Moondancer placed her face in both hooves for a moment and drew in a deep breath. Then she looked directly into Twilight Sparkle's eyes. "Twi, listen up. You said you actually liked that I was 'direct'. I want to know if you really, truly mean that, and think about your answer very carefully before you respond because I do not want us to screw this one up."

Twilight Sparkle held back tears and swallowed hard. "Of course I do, Moon...dancer," she said.

"Good," replied Moondancer, telekinetically pulling Twilight Sparkle up through the air and onto her chair. Legs atremble, she held her friend close to her barrel and kissed her firmly on the lips. Twilight's eyes widened as far as they could go without falling out of their sockets. Both ponies' lips were dry, so Moondancer wet her own lips with her tongue and kissed her friend anew, much softer and gentler this time.

Twilight's mouth parted slightly and she vibrated a little in Moondancer's lap before nearly falling backwards, sending both ponies toppling onto the floor. Moondancer carefully cradled the back of Twilight's head to protect it from the floor, but the landing was rough. Twilight took a chin to the cheek, and Moondancer took a horn to the ear.

"Ow," said Moondancer. "Twi, if I wanted my ears pierced I'd see a professional," she said, as she stood up and gently helped her friend to her hooves.

Twilight Sparkle pulled her chair closer to Moondancer's and sat down. She blushed and rubbed at her sore cheek with a hoof. "S-sorry," she whispered, her voice croaking.

Moondancer sighed and bowed her head. "Horsecrap. No, I'm sorry," she said, sitting back down in her chair. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I... I'm still so mad about losing my memories, and now I'm taking stupid risks with our friendship."

"It's okay..."

"No, it isn't."

"Why not? I'm okay with it, really. Granted, It's weird, but..."

"It isn't fair is what it is!" said Moondancer, lifting her glasses to wipe her runny eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm sick of this. Celestia had no right to take these memories from me!"

Twilight looked away. "Well, we both know she's trying to save us from something bad. I'm not defending her, but at least you have your memories back! The recent ones, anyway."

Moondancer frowned angrily. "No, I don't."

"Didn't you see everything from the potion?"

"Seeing is not remembering, Twilight."

"Okay, but..."

"I saw myself wake up in your legs," said Moondancer.

"I... I don't understand," said Twilight.

Moondancer reached for some paper napkins on the table with her magic, and began to sob into them.

Twilight took in a deep breath and reached out with a hoof, then froze.

How can I help if I'm afraid the problem might be... me?

She fought the impulse to withdraw, and instead placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. Feeling no resistance, she slowly leaned forward and began to stroke her back. Eventually the sobbing sound subsided. Moondancer blew her nose and wiped her eyes with several napkins, then looked up to Twilight, adjusting her glasses.

Twilight was certain her own face showed as much fear as it did concern, but she did her best not to add to the drama with tears of her own. Then, Moondancer finally spoke.

"I mean I don't remember waking up in your legs," she said.

Twilight nodded.

"And I want to," continued Moondancer.

"We'll get your memories back when we've solved this, Moonie. I promise."

Moondancer shook her head. "That's not..." she began, then stood up and sighed. Before Twilight could say anything, her friend cantered into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Twilight could hear the lock clicking, and she winced. At least there was no sobbing sound from the other side.

She just needs time to compose herself, I guess.

It was uncomfortable to think about the weird emotions crawling over her pelt, so Twilight Sparkle blocked them out as well as she could and retreated to the one thing she knew best.





Many minutes later, Moondancer emerged from the bathroom, looking tired but otherwise stable. The blinds had been drawn throughout the house, and Twilight Sparkle was in the center of the living area. All over the floor lay astronomical charts, books filled with tab-marked pages, and a copious array of notes on scrolls and notepads. A small path or two through the mess remained for careful hoofsteps.

"Are... you okay?" asked Twilight.

Moondancer nodded. "I will be. Sorry about the drama, I just... have a lot going on."

Twilight nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

"It's fine, Twi. I see you've already started, to put it mildly..." said Moondancer.

"Yes! I know just what to look for, the moment Twilight hits," her friend replied.

Moondancer chuckled. "Yeah, me too."

"Hmm?" said Twilight Sparkle.

"Nevermind. Let's do this," said Moondancer, twisting her neck hard to one side to a satisfying 'pop' sound.