//------------------------------// // Clueless // Story: Little Keys // by Skijarama //------------------------------// “Another dead end…” Twilight thought, barely able to contain a growl of frustration as yet another thick book slammed shut on her desk. She might have wondered about how many books this made, but she just didn’t have it in her to keep track after the fifth. With a snort, she shunted it off to one side so it could join the rest of the wastes-of-time in their ever-growing towers of parchment and leather. The spire swayed uneasily from the book’s forceful landing, but it thankfully did not fall. Twilight was sitting alone in the loft of the library, beams of midday sunlight streaming in through the window. Motes of dust danced aimlessly in the rays of light while hastily scribbled scrolls, diagrams, charts, and reference tables were scattered along the floors and walls. Stacks of books as tall as Celestia were tucked haphazardly into the corners of the room, each one less orderly than the last; a clear visual indication of Twilight’s waning patience. She had been at this for hours. From the time she had gotten up, she worked tirelessly to try and find some reference to the Tree of Harmony and that chest it had grown after turning her back to normal. It’d been maybe a week since that incident—and since Twilight had regained her memories, too—but so far she hadn’t made any progress whatsoever in opening the chest.  No clues had presented themselves up to now. No Flashes or cryptic visions. Not even a vague feeling to guide her. She was left well and truly without a direction to go in. In a situation like this, with not even a clear starting point, what else was she to do but what she did best? Lose herself in a pile of books and hope it leads to something. The tomes she had scanned through so far had been interesting, but none were helpful. There were a few scattered references to the Elements of Harmony, but only ever in the vaguest and most cryptic of terms; a result of the near-mythical status the old artifacts had gained over the thousand years since Nightmare Moon was banished. Sadly, none of those references had been of any help, so Twilight moved on to more books. Rainbow helped her at first, but the pegasus had eventually needed to take off. She may have been the Princess of the Skies, but she still insisted on volunteering to assist the Weather Bureau. Admirable, indeed, but it meant Twilight was down a pair of eyes and a mind that wasn’t attacking itself at every misstep. Spike had been helping, too, but Twilight eventually sent him off to tend to some errands around town. In truth, those errands were just a thinly veiled excuse to get Spike out of the library and away from her. Twilight didn’t want to lash out at him when he had done nothing wrong. She just didn’t want to lash out at him, period. The drake had been one of her greatest friends during her time with amnesia, helping her just as much as Rainbow. She couldn’t repay that kindness with angry shouts and long-winded rants. As a result of her concern and desire to remove Spike from her growing frustration, she was forced to do her work all on her own. This was both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because it meant she had no cause to hold herself back when she needed to vent her anger. She could shout and snarl whenever she needed without worrying about anypony poking at her about it. The curse was almost enough to counteract the benefits. Between her nightmare and general anxiety, Twilight had not slept well the previous night at all. Combine that with a burning in the base of her skull that became worse and worse with every dead end or red herring, and she was beginning to wish she had kept the drake around to reign her in and pull her back down. That thought was summarily put down as a memory from her youth resurfaced. “Twilight, you’re scaring me… I really think you should take a break-” Twilight turned her glare to Spike once more. For a moment, she trembled before opening her mouth. “Take a break? Spike, did you hear me the last time? Or the time before that?!” her voice rose from a cold growl to a harsh yell. “I don’t need to take a break! I’m fine and I just wish you’d stop bugging me so I can concentrate!” “But -” “BUT NOTHING!” Twilight all but screamed before turning her eyes back to her desk. “Just leave me alone!” Twilight grimaced at the memory. She had been extremely young at the time. Only ten years old. A short temper was to be expected, but that had not made the ordeal any easier on her conscience. She had been guilt-ridden for several days after Rainbow and Fluttershy tore into her about it, and she had gone out of her way to make up for it. With a deep breath, Twilight turned away from the desk and scanned the shelves, looking for another book to try and give herself a lead. The shelves in her room had been all but cleaned at this point, but there were still a few scattered about. She took the titles in, hoping for something related. Once or twice, she pulled one out to check the subtitle or read the description before putting it back when she deduced it had nothing to do with what she was trying to figure out. It slowly dawned on her that there was nothing else in the library that could be related to what she was looking for. “But if there’s nothing else in the library, then… I’m flying blind,” she thought. Her eyes slowly widened, a chilly sensation seeping into her veins. If she couldn’t find a clue about that chest or how to open it, then... The ice in her veins melted into fire. Her lips curled back into an ugly snarl as magic gathered on her horn. “You… you’ve got to be KIDDING me!” she seethed, her eye twitching. With a frustrated scream of rage and a stomp of her forehooves, she threw her head back, allowing a pulse of raw, uncontrolled magic to shoot out of her horn and rapidly spread throughout the room. A gust of intense wind was kicked up by the force, throwing books and parchment flying all over to scatter along the floor. A moment later, everything was still again. Twilight looked on at the mess she had created, her rage forgotten and replaced with mortified shock. “W… w-what?” she breathed, her hoof wandering up to her chest. “...Why did I do that?” “Why am I acting like this?!” she thought, a pearl of unease forming in her gut. She had just thrown the equivalent of a temper tantrum, like a spoiled child stamping his hooves and screaming bloody murder because he didn’t get what he wanted. Children had an excuse. Many of them got upset over the smallest things, and others flippantly threw blame around to avoid taking responsibility for their own mistakes. That was just how foals were. They didn’t know any better. But Twilight wasn’t a child. “I do know better,” she thought, letting her face fall onto her desk and covering her head with her hooves. “I’m a grown mare, for pony’s sake! I shouldn’t be getting this angry this easily… ugh. What in Equestria is wrong with me?!” A gentle knock came to the door. With a start, Twilight turned and looked to see Spike poking his head in, a nervous look on his face. “Uh… h-hey,” he greeted quietly. His eyes fell to the mess, widening with shock. “You, uh… y-you okay?” Twilight sighed and nodded. “I… yes, Spike, I’m okay. Sorry, I just…” She lit her horn and carefully put everything back where she had found it. She winced at the sight of a few torn pages and bent covers. “I’m just stressed out… if I can’t open that chest, I can’t go to Canterlot and see my family… What are you doing back so soon? I would have thought those errands would take longer.” Spike stepped all the way into the room, tapping his claws together over his chest. “Er… you sent me away two hours ago. I’ve been downstairs for thirty minutes, and Rainbow’s due to come home any minute.” Twilight blinked and turned to look at a nearby clock. Surely it hadn’t been that long already, had it? Sure enough, she realized that she had sent Spike out at ten, and it was now noon. “...Oh.” Spike stepped up to her side and held something up. Curious, Twilight looked and found a scroll clutched in his claws. He shuffled on his feet. “I just got this a little bit ago… I was coming up to give it to you when I, uh, heard the commotion.” “Who’s it from?” Twilight asked, taking the scroll in her magic and opening it up. “Your parents.” Twilight froze at those words. Her throat constricted, and her wings twitched anxiously on her back. Her parents had sent her a letter. Were they upset with her about what happened? Had she hurt them when she was running around as Midnight? She swallowed heavily, unsure if she wanted to read the contents.  But she had to know what they thought. She took a deep breath and opened the scroll all the way before looking at the contents. Dear Twilight. We heard about what happened to you last week. We had heard the commotion from our house, but your father and I had no idea that it was you. Princess Celestia came by to talk to us and tell us what had happened. We’re so sorry to hear about what happened, and we hope we can come to see you soon to give you all the love and support we can. We know you’re not a bad mare, Twilight, and we want you to know, right now, that we don’t think any less of you for what happened. You were able to turn things around and give back everything you stole. But we are worried about you… really worried. First amnesia, now a Fall? It’s incredible that you are able to bear that weight on your shoulders as well as you do. If you ever need somepony to talk to, you can always send us a letter, and we’d love to come to visit whenever possible if you need an extra shoulder or two to cry on. We know you’re all grown up now, but you will always be our little girl, and we will always be here for you if you need us.  It’s amazing, really, just how much you’ve accomplished since moving to Ponyville. You just keep finding ways to amaze and astound us. Even with what’s going on now, you’re still fighting on, as brave as ever. I don’t think either of us can ever truly express just how proud we are of you, Twilight. When I gave birth to you, I could never have imagined we’d have such a beautiful, strong, and gifted mare as you for our daughter. No matter what mistakes you’ve made, or what struggles you’ll face in the future, we have every confidence that you’ll face it with courage and come out on top like you always have before! We love you with all of our hearts, Twilight! And we’re cheering for you! Love, Mom and Dad. Twilight stared at the page for several seconds, her heart fluttering in her chest. She took a deep breath and held the parchment over her heart, a subtle warmth flowing through her veins from the page. It didn’t help her find the keys to that chest, but it sure made her feel better. At least for the moment. “Well, looks like that’s working,” Spike commented, a small smile creeping onto his face. Twilight nodded and set the letter down on her desk. “Yeah… heh. Those two… I don’t know what I was thinking, assuming they’d be mad at me,” she muttered. “They’re your parents,” Spike pointed out. “Angry? No. Worried? Absolutely, just like the rest of us.” Twilight winced. Of course, everypony was worried. “I don’t know why I would expect any different…” Before she could open her mouth about it, a brief tremor shot through the home, followed by the voice of Rainbow Dash calling from downstairs. “Hey! I’m back! Any luck?!” “Does a Twilight meltdown count as luck?!” Spike called back over his shoulder, eliciting an undignified squawk from Twilight. “Spike!” she hissed, glaring at him. “Why?!” “Because you need some good old fashioned Sprainbow Therapy,” Spike stated without missing a beat, shooting her a cheeky sideways glare. “How is chucking me under the chariot like that therapeutic?!” “Because it makes us happy,” Rainbow answered as she sauntered casually into the room. Her mane was swept back from her time in the air, and a thin layer of sweat had built up in her fur, but she otherwise seemed fine. “And when we’re happy, so are you.” Twilight glared at Rainbow indignantly. She thrust her nose up into the air and gave a loud, haughty huff. “...Jerks,” she mumbled, puffing up her cheeks. Rainbow laughed at that, coming up Twilight’s side and draping a wing over her. “Aw, c’mon. Y’know you love it,” she said quietly, nuzzling into the alicorn’s cheek affectionately. Twilight huffed again before lightly reciprocating the gesture. “...Yeah, I guess I do,” she admitted quietly. “Victory,” Spike declared with an enthusiastic pump of his fist and a victorious grin. “Excellent!” “You hush!” Twilight shot at him before turning back to her desk. A few seconds passed before Rainbow got a more serious look on her face. “So… what was Spike going on about a meltdown?” Twilight’s smile faded, and she leaned down to rest her chin on the surface of her desk. “Ugh… Not one of the books in this library has anything to tell me about the Tree of Harmony, or that chest, or anything about any keys to open it…” she mumbled, covering her head with her hooves. Rainbow’s wing squeezed her closer to the pegasus, while one of her hooves rested on Twilight’s shoulder. “Hey…” “I don’t know what I’m doing, you two,” Twilight continued, deciding to just bite the bullet and spill her frustration to them. It wouldn’t do her any good to bottle it up, after all. The mess Spike had walked in on was evidence enough of that. “I feel like I’m lost! I have to figure out to open that stupid chest, but I don’t even know how to start looking for the keys!”  “Twi…” “Have they always existed, or are they things that have just magically appeared to go along with the chest?! I don’t know! And if I can’t figure it out, then I won’t be able to go back to Canterlot and see my family, or visit the library, or see Princess Celestia, or any of my old friends! I’ll be-” “Twilight!” Twilight’s head jerked up in surprise from the force in Rainbow’s voice. She turned to look and saw the pegasus’ deep pink eyes staring intensely into her own. A few seconds passed before Rainbow’s lips curled up into a devilish smirk, and she darted in to steal a kiss. Like a woodpecker, she was in and out before Twilight had a chance to react, leaving her flustered and confused with a healthy red blush on her cheeks. “W-wha?! B-but, I…” “You, Twilight Killjoy Sparkle, worry too much,” Rainbow said lightly. Twilight snorted. “We’ll figure it out,” Spike added with an encouraging smile. He placed a claw on her hoof for emphasis and beamed up at her. “And ya know, if you’re stressing yourself out over this chest thing so much, why not send a letter to Princess Celestia? I’m sure she’d be willing to offer you some advice.” Twilight blinked, her heart skipping a beat. “W-wha…? Send a letter to… Celestia?” she echoed. The idea hadn’t occurred to her up until now, and it seemed kind of obvious in retrospect. But at the same time, Celestia was one of the two beings who had delivered this sentence onto her in the first place, and she hadn’t done anything to reign Luna in before she slapped an exile sentence on top of opening the chest. “And after how badly I hurt her daughter… stealing her memories like I did…” Twilight thought, her hoof drifting up to her chest as her mind wandered back to that terrible moment. She could still feel how much it had hurt when Rainbow had opened her eyes, only to look back up at her with no idea who she was… Rainbow didn’t seem to share Twilight’s concerns. She pointed briefly at Spike with a sharp nod before giving Twilight a little shake. “Spike’s got a point, Twi. Mom’d probably be the best pony to talk to about this.” Twilight didn’t say anything for a few moments, battling with the idea in her mind. Some small worm of bitterness and resentment snarled at her, commanding her to discard the idea and press on without Celestia’s help. “Celestia let this happen to you in the first place! Why should you humiliate yourself any further by begging for help from her?!” her voice snarled at her from somewhere inside her skull. Twilight screwed her eyes shut, a subtle spike of pain worming through her skull. She immediately put a hoof to her chest and took a series of deep breaths, going through the motions Cadance had taught her, and Rainbow had re-taught her. In and out, in and out… Her sudden need for that exercise did not go unnoticed, and she felt the claw and hooves on her giving her comforting squeezes. A few seconds went by before she finally calmed down enough and opened her eyes again. Spike and Rainbow were looking back at her with concern written all over their faces. “...Twi? Are you feeling okay?” Rainbow asked, lifting a hoof to feel at Twilight’s forehead. “That looked kinda intense…” Twilight shakily nodded. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just… just a headache,” she half-lied, lightly brushing the hoof away and turning back to her desk. “It’s not humiliating. She’s my teacher. Asking her questions is what I’m supposed to do. So I can learn!” The voice between her ears had no rebuttal. Twilight took a deep breath before pulling forth a blank sheet of parchment and her writing quill with her magic. Without much thought, she began to write. Dear Princess Celestia, Over the last several days, I have gone through every single book in my library that I think might have some sort of connection to the chest presented to me by the Tree of Harmony. Since I have to open that chest to regain entry to Canterlot, I am devoting every ounce of energy I have to this task. Unfortunately, there is nothing in my library that’s of any help. Not even a reference to get me started. I’m fumbling in the dark with no idea what to do or where to go for answers. Without some clue, I can’t hope to ever open the chest and make up for what I did as Midnight. Twilight’s head twinged as she wrote that name, but she pressed on, ignoring it. It’s beyond stressful. I’m getting more and more frustrated with every passing day, and I’m getting scared that I might never be able to make things right and go back to Canterlot. It’s eating me up inside, to the point that I just got done having a small ‘Twilight Meltdown,’ as Spike and Rainbow so affectionately put it. That’s why I am writing to you now. If it isn’t too much trouble, I would be grateful for any guidance or advice you could give me. Anything would be a huge help here. I look forward to your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She looked the sheet over one more time to ensure it said everything she wanted. Then, with a nod, she turned and drifted it over to Spike. “Alright, to Princess Celestia, Spike,” she instructed simply. Spike took the letter with a sharp nod. “Aye aye, Twilight!” he said. He breathed in and unleashed a gout of green flames over the letter, transforming it into a cloud of smoke and sparks. The cloud drifted over to the nearby window, which Rainbow saw fit to trot over to and open up so it could pass through unhindered. “Okay, it’s on its way!” Spike proclaimed, sticking his chest out. “Now we just need to wait for her to write back!” “Yeah, guess so…” Twilight nodded, looking ahead at the wall behind her desk. A few seconds passed in silence before she felt a hoof on her back, and Rainbow spoke up. “Hey, why don’t we head outside for a little while?” she suggested quietly, guiding Twilight from her seat and for the door. “Ya know, get some fresh air, clear your head, get ya away from all these books.” Twilight thought it over for a second. Outside, huh? She shrugged. “Hm. Sure? Why not?” Rainbow put on a comforting smile. Without another word, Twilight allowed the pegasus and the dragon to escort her out of the loft and out of the library. Ponyville had seen better days, that much was certain. Twilight winced as she looked out over the town. It had only been a few weeks since the Plundervines rampaged across the region. Several homes had been torn to practical shreds, leaving a large number of ponies displaced or forcing them to room up with their neighbors until repairs could be completed. Repairs which were well underway, and would probably be more or less done in just a few months. For as much damage as the town had suffered, Twilight knew that damage wasn’t exactly anything new to Ponyville. The town had rebuilt itself a few times already in the time she and Rainbow had called it home. It always took a bit of time, but in the end, everypony pulled together and put things back the way they were meant to be. That didn’t stop her from frowning at the signs of damage, though. The library had been spared the worst of the carnage, thankfully, but the buildings surrounding it had not been so fortunate. In every direction she saw shattered windows and holes in walls, and she even spotted the broken legs of a dismantled furniture set puncturing the ground like a series of poorly aimed javelins.  It got worse the further she looked towards the Everfree. Many homes had been outright obliterated, one of which she knew to be Fluttershy’s cottage. Repairs were due to start on that building any day, as she understood it, but given it had basically been broken into rubble, a full rebuild was probably in order… She gave off a quiet sigh and looked ahead. It was still hard for her to believe that all of that damage had come about as a result of Discord not being around to hold the vines in check like he had in the original timeline. If the scattered Flashes her friends had experienced were anything to go by, the vines had been almost docile in the original version of events. They had spread and broken things, to be sure, but they hadn’t been so violent or hostile… Her train of thought was broken by a series of coughs and gags from her right. Curious, she turned to see Spike sitting by her side, a claw held up to his lips as his cheeks bulged out.  Rainbow, who had been sitting on Twilight’s other side, leaned over to look past Twilight. “Aw, sweet! Getting a reply, huh?” “Uh- ulp- huh!” Spike gagged before his mouth opened wide. Twilight shied back as a comically unattractive belch tore out of his open maw, unleashing a torrent of green flames. The flames coalesced and gathered into one space before a scroll popped into existence, bound with the royal seal. Twilight snatched it out of the air with her magic in a heartbeat and tore it open, equal parts anxious and excited to see what her teacher had to say. My dearest student, Twilight, I am sorry to hear that you have been having such a hard time with your task. In hindsight, it would have been prudent of my sister and I to try and render some more guidance before we left you. Alas, I fear that the exhaustion of the night’s events, not to mention my own emotionally unstable state after what I witnessed, led me to excuse myself. It is an old flaw of mine, one Rainbow Dash knows only all too well. I will make up for it as best as I can right now, however. It makes sense that there wouldn’t be anything in your library that could give you answers, as even I am not sure what resides in that chest, nor do I have any ideas on how to open it. I fear that this is a test you will be taking at all times, rather than one you will actively have to study for. A trial of character rather than a trial of intellect. After all, you are attempting to regain access to your Element of Harmony. If I had to speculate, I would imagine that to do so would require that you prove to the Tree that you are still worthy of wielding its power. As the centerpiece of the Elements, I have no doubts that this will be a very difficult trial to overcome. I must caution you, however, against haste or recklessness. As true as it is that you are exiled from Canterlot until further notice, the fact remains that there is no further level to your punishment, and no time limit on the objectives laid out before you. I strongly encourage you to take your time and not stress yourself over it. Take some time to enjoy life and be with Rainbow Dash. With your memories restored, so too is your relationship, as I understand it. On that note, there is one thing I must request: I need Rainbow Dash to come up to Canterlot as soon as possible. As she is the one appointed to oversee your progress, I need to go over the finer details with her, and I would rather do it in person. Rest assured, I will not devour much of her time. A day or two at the very most. If you still insist on finding reading material to help you, however, I recommend you pay a visit to the library in the castle that Luna and I once lived in, deep in the Everfree Forest. I believe that there may be a book hidden somewhere in those ancient shelves that may be of some use to you. I hope you find what you are looking for, and I want you to know, Twilight, that no matter what you did, I am ever hopeful that you will succeed, and that you may always reach out to me if you need guidance, or even just an ear to vent to. Sincerely, Princess Celestia. Twilight set the letter down once she was done reading it, her brow furrowed. “A book in the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters…?” she wondered, thinking back to their previous expeditions to that place to see if she recalled anything helpful. “Makes sense,” Spike pointed out. “Luna and Celestia did basically live on top of the Tree for a really long time. Decades, at least. There’s bound to be something that at least talks about it in there.” “Yeah, probably,” Twilight acknowledged. She rolled the scroll up and teleported it inside before turning to Rainbow. The pegasus grinned, puffing out her chest. “Okay, then let’s go! We can fly there and get a start right now! I don’t have anything else going on today!” “Um, actually…” Twilight muttered, her ears drooping. “Princess Celestia said that she wants you to go and see her in Canterlot as soon as possible…” Rainbow’s posture deflated. “W-what? Why? I mean, I’m real happy to go and see her whenever, but uh, I don’t think this is a social call.” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not. She wants to talk to you about how you’re… overseeing my progress,” she said, her brow furrowing. A small spider of fire crawled along the base of her skull at the idea, but she was quick to banish it. Rainbow opened her mouth to object, then gave off a quiet sigh of frustration. “Oh, yeah… that. Man, this stinks,” she grumbled, looking up at Canterlot. “Ugh. Guess our trip to the castle’s delayed till I get back, huh?” “Yeah, probably…” Twilight replied, rubbing a hoof along her shoulder. She couldn’t keep a small drop of venom from dripping into what she said next. “...At least you get to spend some time with your family.” She could feel the stares on her the moment she said that, and she immediately regretted it. She looked down at the grass beneath her hooves and clamped her mouth shut, her ears folding back. A few seconds passed before Spike cleared his throat. “Actually, Rainbow, I think Twi and I can manage the trip to the castle while you’re in Canterlot.” Twilight blinked. “Huh?” Rainbow mirrored that remark. Spike shrugged. “Well, I mean, it’s the most practical way to do things, isn’t it? You’re gonna be busy for a few days, probably, and searching through the whole castle’s probably gonna take a few days, too. Why do them one at a time when we can do both?” “W-well, yeah, but…” Rainbow began before her words died. She looked at Twilight, her ears drooping. “Going back there so soon after everything we just got done going through…” Twilight actually managed to put on a smile at that. She reached out with a wing to pull Rainbow into a side-hug. “I actually like this plan, Rainbow. It’s better than letting me sit around here on my rump with nothing to do but wait for you to come home. It’ll give me something to do, take my mind off things.” “But-” “And don’t worry, I’ll be safe. Spike and I can bring some of our friends with us to help keep us safe. We won’t be in any danger that we won’t be able to handle.” “Especially if we bring Fluttershy,” Spike pointed out. “Her ability to deal with animals and stare them into submission will basically make the whole trip a cakewalk.” “And with her house still due to be rebuilt, she’s between things right now, too,” Twilight finished with a short nod. “So as long as she’s alright with coming with us, I’m sure it’ll all turn out fine, and we can meet back here when we’re done.” Rainbow stared at the two of them for a few seconds, mouthing uselessly like a fish. She eventually nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. “Heh, fair points across the board,” she acknowledged. Her smile faded, and she looked down. “Sorry, Twi. I don’t wanna baby you or anything, but… well, I’m just worried, that’s all.” Twilight hummed and leaned over, giving Rainbow an affectionate nuzzle. “I know you are. And it means a lot to me. But I’d rather be on my hooves trying to be productive than sitting around doing nothing while you’re gone.” Rainbow nodded in understanding. “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Just be careful, alright? It’s still the Everfree you’re gonna be running through. Place isn’t exactly friendly.” “Trust me, I remember,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “We’ll be careful, don’t worry.” Rainbow stared at her for a few seconds, looking into her eyes as if to search for something. Whatever it was, she must have found it, as she finally relented and pulled back from Twilight’s wing-hug. “Alright. I’ll try not to,” she said while ruffling her wings. “So… we splitting up now, or do we wanna get some lunch first?” “Definitely lunch,” Spike decided for Twilight, scampering over to Rainbow’s side. “Can we hit that hayburger joint farther into town?” Twilight wanted to protest the idea at first, but the moment Spike mentioned hayburgers, a monstrous roar from her stomach silenced her words in her throat. Wow, she was hungrier than she realized. That, or hayburgers were just an easy cheat button for these two. One or the other.  Whatever the case, she stood up and walked over to join her two grinning roommates with a tiny blush and a roll of her eyes. “Eheh, sure. I could go for some calories right about now.” “Just make sure you burn em off later,” Rainbow jabbed as they set off down the street. “I run all over Ponyville with you every morning.” “Twi, it’s hayburgers.” “So? What’s your point?” “Well-” “Don’t answer that.” As the trio bantered back and forth, their voices faded into the distance as they left the Golden Oaks Library behind and ventured forth into Ponyville. Their destination: lunch.