The Wrath of Ahuizotl

by MariusIoannesP


Chapter 07: Testing Testing Redux

“Nothing in here,” Twilight said as she closed yet another file. 

Fortuitously enough, the hidden alcove Pinkie Pie found led back up to one of the hallways in the castle. From there, it was not too difficult to find their way out of the castle, out of the Everfree Forest, back into Ponyville, and back to Twilight’s castle. That’s where they were now, poring over the files Celestia had sent Twilight to find some connection between all the professors’ nightmares. These files were very detailed. They contained not only the professors’ history with Celestia’s school, but their entire academic history and pertinent details about the nightmares they’ve been having. 

Twilight looked about the library and saw all her friends and Daring with their own stacks of files. They didn’t seem to be having any luck either.

“Anypony find anything?” Twilight asked. 

Her friends answered with a chorus of “No’s.”

Rainbow Dash was lying on her back, holding an open file over her face. She was still wearing her Daring Do costume but the pith helmet was on a nearby table.  

“Uggh! This is hopeless!” Rainbow slammed the file shut and tossed it onto a messy pile of the files behind her. 

“I’d hate to say it, Twi, but this is starting to seem a might bit like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Applejack said. 

“I mean, what are we supposed to be looking for anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

Twilight stepped away at her place at her table and walked up to her friends. “Anything, anything you can find can be helpful. If one of you guys finds two professors with similar elements in their dreams and another one of you guys finds another professor with the same elements in their dreams, then based on those similar elements, we could figure out what Ahuizotl is searching through their dreams for and find out what he’s up to.” 

“I’m not sure if I could glean anything of use from this… gentlecolt,” Rarity said with a bit of disdain. 

She held up one of her files daintily in her magic by its very corner. On the file’s cover was a photo an unhappy Unicorn stallion with a gray coat and a long, greasy dark gray mane. Rarity’s daintiness was to avoid coming in contact even with an image of this pony’s greasy mane lest that somehow besmirch her.  

Twilight walked up to her and grabbed the file from Rarity fully with her magic. Twilight perused the file. “Professor Bezoar,” Twilight said as she read. “He’s the potions master at Celestia’s School. He’s been troubled by nightmares about a potted lily burning in green flames. Has anypony found anything like that?”

Once again, Twilight received a chorus of “No’s.” 

“My,” Rarity said as she picked up the next file in her stack. On the cover was a photo of a young Unicorn stallion with a skewbald red and white coat. His mane was black and messy, but not in a bad way. It was in more of a devil-may-care kind of way. He wore round, black horned-rim glasses over his deep-blue eyes. “Who’s this handsome colt?”

Twilight glimpsed the file. “Oh, that’s Scarlet Snow. He’s an associate professor of thaumatology. He’s kind of prodigy. He only graduated from Celestia’s School a few years before I did. Usually, it takes a lot longer just to become an associate professor.”

“Hey, lookee here,” Applejack said as she held up a folder. On it was a photo of a Unicorn mare with a beige coat and an umber-colored mane. “This professor’s an Apple!”

“Professor Apple Polish,” Twilight replied. “Is she a relative of yours?”

“Can’t really tell,” Applejack said. “I reckon there ain’t a lot of Unicorns in my family, but hey, you never know.”

“Ooh! I found something!” Pinkie cried. 

Everypony in the library turned to Pinkie in expectation, waiting to hear if what Pinkie found was indeed the clue they were searching for. 

“What is it, Pinkie?” Twilight asked. 

Pinkie held up a file over her head. On the file was a photo of an elderly Unicorn mare with a cornflower coat. Her dark-gray mane was done up in a bun. Her left eye was swollen almost completely shut. 

“She is like the best teacher ever!” Pinkie cried. 

“Professor Inkwell. She’s been known to be a little”--Twilight paused, searching for the right word--“eccentric.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Daring said with impatience. “So, did you actually find anything useful?”

“Nope,” Pinkie replied. “I just want her to be my teacher.”

“Well, Pinkie, you’re not a Unicorn,” Twilight said.

Daring groaned and laid down on her back. “I’m with Dash on this. We’re getting nowhere really fast!”

“We’re doing the best we can, Miss Do,” Fluttershy said.

“Is this really our best?” Daring said. 

Daring pointed at Pinkie. “This one’s looking for her favorite teacher.” 

She pointed at Applejack. “This one’s looking for her relatives.” 

She pointed at Rarity. “And this one is looking for a date!”

“I most certainly am not!” Rarity exclaimed with a harrumph. Rarity then put her head on her hoof and proceeded to stare dreamily at the photo of Professor Scarlet Snow. 

“Look, I know we’re all frustrated,” Twilight said, “but this is the only way we’re going to find out what Ahuizotl is up to. It’s not like any of us could just memorize all these files and then immediately connect-the-dots.” 

Rainbow Dash sat up suddenly. “Actually, one of us can! Pinkie, grab all the files and meet me on the balcony.” 

Rainbow quickly flew out of the room. 

“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie responded. 

Pinkie gathered up her own files, ran to each pony, and gathered each of their files. 

“Wait, what’s happening?” Twilight asked in alarm.

Once she had all the files, Pinkie Pie ran out of the room, following after Rainbow Dash. 

“Pinkie Pie! Come back here with those files!” Twilight cried in anger as she chased after Pinkie. 


Rainbow Dash was in the air hovering before the castle balcony when Twilight arrived. Pinkie Pie was standing close to the edge with the stack of files next to her. Daring, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy subsequently assembled on the balcony as well, curious to see what Rainbow had in mind. 

“Alright, Pinkie, you know what to do when I give you the signal,” Rainbow said. 

Pinkie saluted her. “Aye, aye, Captain!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Twilight asked. 

“Okay, pull!” Rainbow cried. 

Pinkie threw one of the files into the air, turned, and then bucked the file over the balcony railing, causing the pages within to scatter through the air. Rainbow then proceeded to fly through the sheets of paper as if it were a the obstacle course at the Wonderbolts Academy. 

“Pinkie, what are you doing?!” Twilight screamed. “That’s from Princess Celestia!”

Twilight immediately teleported herself to the ground below the balcony, where the pages and file folder were gently wafting down. She quickly gathered the pages with her magic and neatly placed them back into the folder. Twilight growled in annoyance as she noticed the folder was marred with Pinkie’s hoofprints. 

“Pull!” Rainbow cried again. 

Pinkie once more tossed a file and bucked it over the railing. Rainbow repeated her maneuver. 

On the ground, Twilight looked up when she noticed there were more pages wafting through the air. 

“Pinkie! You stop this, right now!” Twilight cried, but her cries fell on deaf ears. 

“Pull!” 

Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight repeated their actions until Pinkie had bucked all the files over the balcony and Twilight had gathered them off the ground. 

Rainbow alighted onto the balcony next to Pinkie Pie. Twilight then teleported herself onto the balcony along with the files, stacked neatly at her side. She wasted no time. 

“Can you tell me what that was all about?!” Twilight asked, aggravated. She floated a couple of files in Rainbow and Pinkie’s faces. “These files came directly from Princess Celestia! You better have a hay of a good reason for defiling them like you did!”

“Chillax, Twi,” Rainbow answered. “You know how you helped me study for the Wonderbolts history exam by finding out that I memorize everything I see while I’m flying.”

“What does that have to do with this?” Twilight asked, irritated. 

“I merely applied that same principle,” Rainbow said. “I had Pinkie throw these files into the air, I flew through them, and now, I remember everything that was in the files. All those files”--Rainbow pointed at the stack--”are now right here.” She then pointed at her head.  

“Wait, you memorized everything in those files?” Daring asked Rainbow. 

“Yep,” Rainbow answered while walking up to Twilight and throwing a foreleg around her withers. “Twilight was the one who helped me figure out I could do that.”

“You’re a mare of many talents, Dash,” Daring said with a proud smile. 

Twilight turned to Rainbow. “You’re telling you memorized everything these files said just by flying through them.”

“Why are you so surprised?” Rainbow asked. “You’re the one who found out I could do this.”

“Yeah,” Twilight began to say, “but we yelled things at you from the ground with flashcards and costumes. These are pages. With words. A lot of them.”

“Well, feel free to test me if you need to be sure,” Rainbow said. 

“Alright, I will,” Twilight replied. 

Twilight walked back to the stack of files and floated one out at random. She opened the file and perused through it.

“Where did Professor Gingersnap do her Master’s Degree, and what was it in?” Twilight asked. 

“Mythica University. And it was a degree in Magical Studies,” Rainbow answered. 

Twilight chose another file from the stack. “What course has Professor Inkwell taught the longest?”

“Defense Against Chaos Magic,” Rainbow answered. “Next.”

Twilight chose a third file from the stack. “Where did Professor Giddilee do her teaching study?” 

“Canterlot Academy,” Rainbow answered. “Are you going to make this hard for me, or what?”

“Okay then,” Twilight responded while returning the file to the stack. 

Twilight took a few steps forward with her back to Rainbow Dash. 

“Name the professors who presided over my entrance exam,” Twilight said. 

“Hmm,” Rainbow hummed as she tapped her chin in thought. “That’s a tough one. I think they were… Apple Polish, Top Marks, Crystal Clear, and Arpeggio Melody.”

Twilight turned around suddenly to face Rainbow, her eyes widened. 

She really did memorize everything in the files! Twilight thought. 

“They really didn’t think much of you when you first came in,” Rainbow said. “According to her notes, Apple Polish didn’t think you had what it took to be a student there…”

“Yeah, I think you made your point, Dash,” Applejack said, interrupting Rainbow. 

“She’s right,” Daring said. “What’s important now is we can figure out what Ahuizotl is after.”

“Right,” Twilight said. “So, Rainbow, what’s the most common nightmare the professors at Celestia’s school have been having?”

Rainbow thought for a moment. Her eyes shifted back and forth as if she was reading an invisible sheet of paper. 

“The most common nightmare is seeing a black moon reflected in a black well,” Rainbow answered.  

“Do the professors who’ve had this dream have anything in common?” Twilight asked further. 

Rainbow read her invisible paper again. 

Pegasus,” Rainbow answered. 

“Don’t be silly, Dashie,” Pinkie said. “They’re Unicorns, not Pegasi.”

“No, I think Dash means the University of Equexeter’s journal Pegasus...” Daring’s eyes suddenly widened and her mouth gaped. “Oh my gosh! I know what Ahuizotl’s after!”  

Rainbow walked up to Daring. “What, what is it?” she said in concern. 

“You know how when the Crystal Empire returned, there was a lot of interest in the history and lore and pretty much everything to do with it.” 

“Well, naturally,” Rarity said. “Why a few years ago, there was that trend of putting crystals in your gardens instead of rocks.”

“Don’t I know it,” Pinkie said.

“Anyway,” Daring continued to say, “I’ve written for Pegasus as A.K. Yearling before. So around that time, the editor reaches out to me and says that they want me to write an article about the Crystal Empire. I happened to have been doing my own research on it at the time. So, I took my notes, wrote up a quick article, and sent it to them.”

“What was it about?” Twilight asked. 

“A legendary artifact that belonged to King Sombra,” Daring answered. “The Book of Horrors!”

“Not the Book of Horrors!” Pinkie cried.

She then leaned over to Fluttershy and whispered loudly, “I don’t actually know what that is.”

“Of course, very few ponies have ever heard of it,” Daring said. “The legend goes that King Sombra possessed a spellbook, within which he kept the darkest and most secret of spells. One of these spells is supposed to be able to open the gates of Tartarus itself!” 

Twilight and her friends gasped. 

“Thankfully enough, this spell can only be cast during a full lunar eclipse at the Crystal Palace in the Crystal Empire,” Daring said. 

“A full lunar eclipse. Just like the one that’s supposed to happen in less than a week,” Twilight said worriedly. 

“He needs the Blue Moon Medallion to open it, too,” Daring said. “Sombra would often lock things with nightmare magic. 

“Don’t I know it,” Twilight said, mostly to herself. She shivered, remembering the nightmare door she encountered in the Crystal Empire. 

“The dream magic inside the Blue Moon Medallion should be enough to jimmy it open. That’s why Ahuizotl is looking for the Book of Horrors now,” Daring said. “He’s got the Medallion to unlock the book. He’s got the eclipse coming up to make the spell work. Soon, he expects to have the Book itself. On the night of the eclipse, Ahuizotl intends to use the Book of Horrors to open the gates of Tartarus!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?! Let’s find that Book of Horrors before Ahuizotl does!” Rainbow cried with determination.

“That’s not going that easy,” Daring said. “The Book of Horrors disappeared sometime before the Crystal Empire did. It hasn’t been seen since. Nopony knows where it is. Many doubt it even exists.”

“Maybe it doesn’t exist, and Ahuizotl is just wasting his time.” Fluttershy suggested. 

“Ahuizotl doesn’t waste his time,” Daring replied. “If he’s looking for it, he knows it’s out there somewhere.” 

“Well, how the hay are we supposed to find something when nopony knows where it is?” Applejack asked.

Daring tapped her chin in thought. “I know somepony who might be able to point us in the right direction. My old friend Professor Ravenhoof.” 

“Professor Ravenhoof!” Rainbow cried in excitement. “The pony who guided you to the Dark Tower so you could find the Radiant Shield of Razdon in Book Four Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Terror.” 

Daring nodded. “The very same. He still owes me a favor. I think I’ll call it in.”

“Great, we have a lead,” Twilight said. “So, where can we find Professor Ravenhoof?”

“He tends to move around a lot. Last I heard, he was in some place beyond the southern reaches of Equestria called Klugetown,” Daring replied. 

“Klugetown! We’ve totally been there!” Pinkie exclaimed. 

Twilight addressed her friends, “Alright girls, if we’re going to stop Ahuizotl, we’re going to need to find Professor Ravenhoof before Ahuizotl gets to him somehow. We’ve all been to Klugetown before so we all know what it entails. Everypony go home and get ready.” She looked at Applejack and Rarity. “Make any arrangements with your families if you have to. Everypony is to be ready at the outskirts of Ponyville at the crack of dawn. Time is of the essence, so don’t be late. The fate of Equestria is once more in our hooves.” Twilight turned to Daring. “Daring, you can spend the night here again.”

Daring nodded in response.

Twilight continued, “We’ll have to look at some maps and discuss the best route to take.” She turned to her friends once more. “As for everypony else, I’ll see you in the morning.” 

While the rest of her friends said their goodbyes and walked off the balcony to exit the castle, Rainbow Dash walked up to Daring Do. 

“Don’t worry, Daring, I won’t let you down,” Rainbow said. 

“I’m sure you and your friends won’t,” Daring replied. 

“Yeah, we won’t, but especially not me,” Rainbow said as she threw her foreleg around Daring’s withers. “I’m going to make you proud.”

“I’m… I’m sure you will,” Daring said with apprehension. She smiled with a hint of awkwardness. 

As Rainbow Dash took off from the balcony, Twilight made her way to Daring, having noticed her apprehension. 

“Is everything alright, Daring?” Twilight asked. 

“Yeah,” Daring answered though she lacked confidence. “Everything is going to be just fine.”