//------------------------------// // The Problems with Curses // Story: The Struggles of Running a Book Store // by arcanica_scripta //------------------------------// “Unbelievable, the one time I get involved in their adventures and I get cursed in the process.” Arcanica stormed through the streets of Ponyville towards the Golden Oaks Library, a black cloak pulled tightly around her body, lest anypony see her mane or tail. She needed to reach Twilight and get her to fix this situation… assuming Twilight wasn’t also under some horrifying effect from Zecora’s curse. As she passed by a bucket of apples, she felt her tail moving towards the barrel and quickly picked up her pace lest anypony see what had happened to her. Once she saw the tree Twilight called her home, she switched to an all-out gallop, running through the door shortly after Fluttershy finished walking in. “Somepony close that door. NOW!” The girls all yelped in shock as a cloaked figure ran in before the others realized who she was. “Arcanica? You too?” Hearing her voice, the mentioned author looked to Twilight, and visibly flinched when she saw her friend’s horn hanging limp and covered in polka dots. She quickly took stock of her friends’ conditions and felt slightly relieved it wasn’t just her. Rainbow Dash, from what she could tell, was unable to control her ability to move, Pinkie Pie’s tongue was swollen to prevent her from speaking and also polka-dotted, Rarity’s coat and mane were frizzy and made her look more like a shaggy dog, and Applejack was now smaller than a bunny rabbit. Apple Bloom and Fluttershy, interestingly, looked completely unaffected. “Unfortunately, so. Although, I feel you girls got lucky compared to how Zecora’s curse impacted me.” She pulled her cloak tighter to herself, trying to preserve some shred of her dignity. “Darling, I honestly doubt that.” Rarity used her hoof to lift up the fur from over her face to have some degree of vision. “Have you seen my coat? I look ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS!” Arcanica cut off her friend’s initial response by pulling her hood down, revealing just what Zecora’s curse did to her. Her mane, normally black and grey and filled with elegant waves, was now a terrifying tangle of inky black tentacles. A few of the tendrils were twitching and undulating, as if waiting to latch on to something… or somepony. As the girls gasped and stared in shock, she pulled her cloak away entirely, revealing her tail was in a similar state only much more active as it was actively moving. She glared at Twilight as she moved a smaller tentacle out of her face. “Still think curses aren’t real, Twilight? Look at us! Zecora cursed us with her people’s voodoo magic, plain and simple.” “Well, Fluttershy seems fine!” She gestured to the butter-yellow pegasus in an effort to defend her position. “Oh yes, there doesn’t seem to be a thing wrong with her!” Rarity drawled in exasperation. “Fluttershy? Are you alright? Is there something wrong with you?” She nodded. “Would you mind telling us what it is?” pressed Twilight, only to get a furious shake of the head. “So, you’re not gonna tell us?” Another nod. “Is that a ‘yes you will’ or a ‘no you won’t’?” “For cryin’ out loud! Out with it, girl!” She shrank in on herself. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied with a voice deeper than any stallion. Arcanica’s face visibly cringed at how the gentle pegasus was affected. Spike, however, had a much different reaction: he burst out into uncontrollable laughter. “Oh, this is hilarious! Look at you all! We’ve got Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple-teenie, Flutterguy, Nightmarica, and…” He trailed off as he pointed at Twilight, despite all of the mares glaring at him. “Yeah, I got nuthin’.” Rainbow untangled herself from her most recent prison and flapped her wings uncontrollably. “We need to get Zecora to un-curse us!” She haphazardly jolted around the room while speaking. “It’s not a curse!” snapped their host as Rainbow Dash slammed into the wall. “Twilight, these aren’t the effects of normal spells on ponies, and she’s no unicorn,” pointed out Arcanica as she smacked one of her tentacles to get it to stop petting Fluttershy’s head. “All of this points to a curse!” “Well I think what we need to do is go to Zecora’s place and force her to lift this curse!” Rainbow’s declaration was slightly undercut by her inability to stay in one place in the air. “Ah agree with Dash!” “I keep telling you all, there’s no such thing as curses!” “Darling, why is a book tangled in your tail?” Arcanica turned her attention to the shaggy Rarity and the book in question, the same black book that she tried consulting for information about curses earlier that morning. Call her a foal, but she couldn’t help but feel that something in it could provide some manner of insight about curses… even if she still felt it had to be fake. Knowing her luck, her tail had grabbed it and refused to let go of it. “I walked by it this morning, and my tail won’t let go of it.” She wasn’t a fan of lying to her friends after deciding to give up on being a habitual liar, but the truth wouldn’t sound helpful in her mind. “For some reason, these damn tentacles are not only keeping me from using my magic but will randomly act on any little thought I have.” “How positively dreadful!” She sounded appalled at the crimson unicorn’s situation, but since Arcanica couldn’t see Rarity’s face, she assumed she was visibly more aghast at her friend’s situation. “It’s time to pony up and confront Zecora! C’mon girls, are ya with me?” demanded Rainbow Dash. Pinkie sputtered out her response. “And I as well,” chimed in Rarity. “Hell yeah! Let’s get that zebra!” cheered Arcanica. “I don’t know,” muttered Fluttershy. “Seems awfully dangerous.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “What about you, Applejack?” When there was no response, she looked at the table where the shrunken pony had been left. “Applejack?” Pinkie Pie sputtered something barely decipherable, while Rarity began panicking. “Ah, somepony must have stepped on her!” They all began frantically checking their hooves and the ground around them while Twilight had a different idea. “Or sat on her!” She began checking her flank and anywhere one of them may have sat down. Fortunately, none of them had apparently crushed them, but Rarity and Arcanica could have done without Rainbow Dash suggesting that Pinkie Pie check their respective manes and tails. As Arcanica smacked Pinkie Pie on the nose with one of her tentacles, Twilight noticed something equally concerning. “Uh, girls? Apple Bloom is gone too!” “Those idiots,” muttered Arcanica. “They probably went after Zecora on their own.” “Well then we’d better go find them.” Twilight started making her way to the door. “C’mon girls, let’s go.” The ensuing chaos left much to be desired as Pinkie kept stepping on Rarity’s hair, Rainbow Dash couldn’t stand up straight, and Arcanica’s tentacles were insistently grabbing onto random things. With Spike staying behind to search for a cure, the six mares ran off in search of their friend. After a couple hours running through the Everfree Forest, highlighted only by Rarity frequently tripping over herself and Arcanica’s tentacles kept grabbing onto tree limbs or the other mares, the group managed to reach a large clearing in the forest. The clearing was dominated by a hollowed-out tree that was decorated in tribal masks and bottles of glowing potions. “Oh my!” yelled Rarity. “I look absolutely hideous!” A couple of them rolled their eyes as Rarity was just obsessing over her coat. Pinkie lifted the hair covering the white Unicorn’s face while trying to say something. “Oh my, that place really does look horrible.” “This whole place reeks like something I’d write about,” muttered Arcanica as the group snuck closer to the tree. Once up close, they looked inside the home and saw more masks and potions everywhere. “Nice decorations, if you like creepy,” scoffed the group’s fashionista. No sooner had she finished complaining than the door to the tree-home opened up for Zecora to enter. As the group of friends watched, Zecora approached a large cauldron filled with some manner of green liquid and added one of the bottles to it. Setting the bottle down, she began chanting something in a strange tongue. Pinkie sputtered loudly trying to tell her friends something. “She stole your song?” translated Rarity. “Uh, Pinkie? It doesn’t sound anything like your song,” pointed out Twilight. The pink mare got right in her face while nodding frantically before dashing over to Fluttershy and hugging her leg. When the yellow Pegasus looked down to her, she was met with Pinkie Pie’s puppy-dog eyes before sighing in absolute resignation. Pinkie quickly detached herself from Fluttershy as she began dancing and Fluttershy sang. “She’s an evil enchantress And she does evil dances, And if you look in her eyes, She will put you in trances. And what would she do? She’ll mix up and evil brew. Then she’ll gobble you up In a big tasty stew. So~ Watch out.” There was an awkward silence following the two ponies’ performance before they turned their attention to Twilight. “Well Twilight?” asked tentacle haired mare. “After seeing all that, still want to tell us we’re wrong?” She nervously started pacing under the window. “Scary-looking masks, confusing incantations, and a great big bubbling cauldron…” From how she was talking, it sounded like she was going over a mental check list. “Everything is pointing to Zecora being… bad.” She brightened up and had an awkward-yet optimistic look on her face. “Or, what if she’s just making soup?” They looked back in through the window as she sampled the brew she was making. She let out a satisfied hum. “The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now where is that Apple Bloom?” Twilight immediately looked sick to her stomach at the implication. “Or maybe she’s making Apple Bloom soup!” The friends all screamed in terror at the thought of the little filly being eaten. Arcanica stomped her hooves angrily. “What are we waiting for? Let’s save Apple Bloom!” As soon as her declaration had been made, somepony decided to act on it in the form of Applejack riding Rainbow Dash like a rodeo bull. “Ah’m comin’, Apple Bloom!” Against all logic, she was able to steer the pegasus through the wall of the tree house. The sudden crashing and the destruction the two mares were causing startled the zebra from her brewing and to begin yelling in her foreign tongue. The element of surprise now lost, the remaining five ponies charged through the door. Twilight took charge as the group entered the strange hut. “What’ve you done with Apple Bloom?!” she demanded of the zebra. Unsurprisingly, her demands went unanswered as Zecora was busy yelling at Rainbow Dash as she and Applejack destroyed her shack. Ultimately, the farmer jumped off her pegasus friend and threw her trusty lasso at Zecora. Given her current size, however, all she managed to do was tie up the zebra’s ear. “Ponies! What is this-” She was cut off in shock when Rainbow Dash managed to slam into the large cauldron and spill its mystery contents all over the floor. “No! You know not what you do! You’ve gone and spilled my precious brew!” Twilight stamped her hoof in defiance. “We’re onto you, Zecora. I didn’t want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming.” Her anger was apparent on her face as she stood up for all of her dear friends. “You made me look ridiculous!” “You made me sound ridiculous!” Pinkie sputtered loudly only. “You turned me into a monster!” yelled Arcanica. “And you ruined my horn!” “How dare you!” snapped the now furious zebra. “You destroy my home, destroy my work, then accuse me of being a jerk?!” Rainbow Dash destroyed another set of bottles as she ricocheted off the nearby wall. “You put a curse on us, and now you’re gonna uncurse us!” The zebra stomped her own hooves as she stormed towards Twilight. “It is not wise to travel down this road. Your actions will make my anger explode.” Twilight slammed her own head against Zecora’s. “WHERE IS APPLE BLOOM?!” “Zecora, Ah’m back!” Everypony stopped what they were doing and looked at the door as a familiar yellow filly walked in. “Ah think Ah got all the ingredients ya asked for!” She opened her eyes and took stock of the chaos that now filled the house. “What in Ponyville is going on here?” As the ponies all stared at the confused filly, something told Arcanica she was going to have a headache in the near future. “Oh, thank Celestia my mane is back!” Arcanica cheered as she ran a hoof through her now restored mane. “You and me both, darling,” agreed Rarity. The gathered friends were all in the Ponyville Spa soaking in the potion Zecora had been trying to brew for them earlier. Pinkie Pie was currently babbling a mile a minute, but other than that they were all happy to no longer be afflicted by the Poison Joke. “Who would have thought there was a plant that could do something so bizarre?” asked Fluttershy as she paddled over to the two unicorns. “I would have never imagined something so unnatural would exist in Equestria.” “You’re telling me,” chuckled Arcanica. “Not even I would have thought of something like that, not even for my books.” She sighed as she sank deeper into the large pool. “Although, this whole ordeal is sort of worth it if relaxing in the spa is part of it.” “Well if you find this soak relaxing, you should really join us for our next spa day, darling,” Rarity said with a chuckle. “Don’t you agree, Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus nodded with a small smile. “Absolutely. There’s nothing quite like a relaxing day at the spa.” Arcanica hummed in thought. “I might take you girls up on that.” She snorted a little as she kept thinking it over. “I might have to hire some extra help around the shop, though.” She let out a loud yelp of fright as she felt something pull on her tail before Pinkie Pie popped up in front of her wearing snorkeling equipment. “So Arcanica, what did you think?” The red unicorn raised an eyebrow at the question, expecting Pinkie to continue her thought. Receiving none, she motioned with her hoof. “About?” “You’re first adventure with us!” she said in a matter-of-fact tone as if it were obvious. “This was the first time we’ve brought you along for one of our friendship adventures, so I wanted to know what you thought about being part of the group!” “Ummm, can we even call Arcanica part of the group?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I mean, we’re the Elements of Harmony, and not to sound rude, but she’s not an Element of Harmony.” “Ooh, maybe there’s a secret seventh Element that we learn about in a secrety-secret magic cave by a lake!” They all looked at Pinkie Pie with mixed reactions at her suggestion. “Uh, Pinkie? Ah don’t think that’s how the Elements work,” pointed out Applejack. “Ah mean, what the hay would she even represent?” Pinkie Pie hummed as she put a hoof under her jaw in thought, her snorkeling mask now gone for reasons unknown. “Ooh! What about Empathy? Oh, or maybe she’s a backup Element of Magic if something happens to Twilight! Or maybe, she’s meant to represent Balance or something!” Arcanica face-hoofed at the pink pony’s thought process. “Pinkie, from what Twilight told me, I doubt there's an element Princess Celestia didn't know about. Also, I doubt I would represent Empathy, my talent isn’t magic, and I fail to see how I represent balance when I spent years lying about my identity and running around to stay hidden.” “But you’ve got to be something! You’re supposed to be hanging out with us for some reason and a certain someone won’t write it down!” The mares all stared at her as if she were going crazy… well, more so than usual. Arcanica shook her head as she brushed her mane aside. “Well, this ordeal was… interesting. I’ll admit, I never thought I’d be going on adventures like that, if you can even call it that. But I’ll admit, a part of me did enjoy being able to be with my friends for it.” She had a smile on her face as she reflected on the events of the past day. “Also, I did actually feel like a part of the group for once.” “Well then I suppose that’s what counts.” Twilight was beaming at the other unicorn, happy that she was able to make a friend outside of the Elements. Eventually, the mares all left the comfort of the gigantic tub and dried themselves off. As Arcanica toweled herself off, overjoyed at having magic again, Zecora approached her with a particular book in her mouth. “Oh! You found my book. I was… wondering where that old thing went.” Taking it with her magic, she quickly wiped it off with a towel. “Thanks… I guess.” “Young author, please listen to me. I have a warning you must heed.” She sighed before looking at the zebra with a raised eyebrow. “Of that book, you must never lose track. The secrets within it are of no innocent fact.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t speak your dialect,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “The spells contained within are good in a pinch, but changes not that they are quite eldritch. Should they fall into hooves unkind, then Equestria is doomed to Gods of a different kind.” She looked ever so slightly amused when Arcanica’s eyes widened at her warning. “I know not what the pages within may carry, but if I were you, I’d be most wary.” “Look, zebra. I don’t know who told you about this, but there’s nothing unusual about this book. The things I write about aren’t real,” she stated in frustration. “The outer planes, the Outer Beings, none of it! Got that?” Zecora chuckled at her denial. “Of your books, I have neither said nor read. Although I must say, what occurred to make you jump to defend?” “Nothing! Nothing happened!” Quickly turning, she stormed out of the spa and quickly made her way home. “Honestly, I should just burn this stupid book. It’s not even real, so it won’t matter if I do.” A while later, she was sitting at her kitchen table, the book opposite her as she debated her next course of action. On one hoof, it would be easy to just toss it in a fire and never think of it again. On the other, she could just lock it in its box and hide it somewhere nopony would ever find it. So then, why did she not want to get rid of it? Pulling it closer, she opened it up to where she left off from the other night. The chicken scratches that shouldn't look like any known language were still almost as clear as regular old common Equestrian. "If you're supposed to be a real spellbook of ancient, unholy magic, why can I understand you?" Zecora's statements implied she had tried reading it but failed to. To her knowledge, there wasn't a widely-used or easy spell to keep most ponies from reading a certain book. As she flipped through more of its pages, she found more of that impossible script. Not that it was impossible to her. It still looked the same, but she just knew what each bizarre, non-Euclopian character meant. Eventually, she found what she was looking for to prove it's validity: spells. After all, if it's a real spell book, then any spells in it have to also be real. Quickly skimming through the available spells, she decided to settle on the least threatening: a spell called Binding Chains . According to the book, it creates a series of chains whose usual function was to capture a target. After reading through it a couple times and figuring out the spell matrix, she went to the nearest window. Fortunately for her, there was a bird sitting in a nearby tree; a perfect target. Taking a deep breath, Arcanica began the casting process. Take your time, no need to rush with a new spell. Once she felt the spell fall into place, she allowed it to manifest and opened her eyes. She almost lost the spell when she saw a circular array of magical symbols appear in front of her in the air. A sharp gasp escaped her muzzle when two black chains adorned with large claws shot out of the circle before ensnaring the unsuspecting bird. Although, it wasn't the magic circle or even the chains that truly shocked her. It was her horn. Her magical aura was black. Ending the spell and dispelling the chains, she slowly backed away from the window in fright. "That's not possible..." She snatched the book from the table, her magic now red once more. She stared at its pages in shock. "This thing... is real..." She closed it before hesitantly taking a seat at the table. It was real. The book was real! More importantly, if this book was real... What else was?