45 minutes later, as they trotted through town-
"So...Pinkie's sadly not at Sugarcube Corner anymore," Rarity murmured, obvious concern in her eyes. "And, if she's not at Sugarcube Corner, and she's not galavanting around town, then I don't know where might be!"
"..." Rainbow just sighed. "Rarity? I know this may not be too obvious for you, but- She's probably at the library, especially if she has Velvet in her this time."
"...You're right, that should have been obvious. Of course, I don't know what that wish actually did. If Velvet has somehow been merged into Pinkie's consciousness- ...OHhhhhhh dear."
"What? What's wrong?!" Twilight asked, her voice suddenly sounding both urgently terrified and concerned.
"W-well, I don't think Pinkie would hurt her, but...You can never be too certain. Perhaps, my dears-" She was avoiding using the word 'darlings', for some reason... "-we should simply head to the library. We don't seem to have much choice in the matter."
Rainbow raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by tha-? Oh." She saw the posters Pinkie had put up for 'NEW LIBRARIAN SPECIAL SURPRISE PARTY AT LIBRARY', and her voice had become deadpan. "I should have realized that was still going to happen...Well, guess we don't need to get AJ, then."
Twilight just sighed, tempted to roll her eyes at how run of the mill they were acting like some of this stuff was to them- ...But, then, she wondered something. "Hmmmmm...Does what your stand will be like have to do with your cutie marks?"
"For ponies...Kind of," Rarity admitted. "But, for other living entities, its difficult to say. I suppose if you look at a certain way, my ability to see inside other ponies...is not exactly all that different from sniffing out other gems."
"Ponies and other creatures often use butterflies as a metaphor for various sorts of feelings," Fluttershy said with a nod.
"And...Clouds are kind of obviously a space sort of deal," Rainbow admitted with a grunt. "Also, I guess since you're a bookworm, with lots of magical talent- ...Wait a minute." She suddenly stared right at Twilight. "Are you basically controlling us like metafictional characters when you do that?" she asked with suspicion.
"...I-I guess? Huh...I guess it is a bit of a powerful ability...Not that it seems to work all the time."
"Stands do have their limits," Rarity admitted. "You can't expect them to be perfect all the time. ...By the way, we should probably teach Twilight how to fully summon her stand, as well as teach her more about stands."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Fiiiiiiineee." Getting in a pose that looked like she was very slightly exerting herself, Rainbow-
...Made Surprise appear again. Said Pegasus, looking much friendlier than before, smiled and waved at Twilight. "Hello~!"
"..." Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Rainbow's Stand is Surpri-?"
Rarity sighed heavily and shook her head. "No, sadly...It seems to take the form of various pegasi ancestors of hers'. ...Though, if Surprise was out last time, not only does it explain why Spike's missing, but why Rainbow forgot about this aspect of her stand in the first place."
"I didn't forget! ...Wait, explains what?"
"When Surprise appears, it often means that there's a twist that there may or may not have been befo- ...Rainbow? Unsummon her."
Rainbow grunted. "I-I can't for some reason!"
"...Joy." Rarity sighed. "There appears to be an enemy stand somewhere around here. ...This can only be the work, of Derpy's dreaded 'Wall Eyes'."
Twilight blinked. "Wha-?"
"She crosses her eyes, and suddenly various stand users lose the ability to bring their stands back," Rainbow explains. "Not a permanent effect. ...Although, this is Surprise-"
Rarity groaned. "Okay, remember, be careful! When Wall Eyes is actually summoned, its no piece of cake, no matter how it might look."
"DON'T PUN!", Rainbow warned her. "With Surprise around- ...Wall eyes could be even more dangerous than before."
"Is Surprise's real ability just plot twists?", Twilight asked all of a sudden.
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Basically, yes."
"...I cannot deny this," Rainbow murmured.
Twilight blinked a bit, looking around and- "...Is it just eyes she can stick on walls?"
All three of the others sort of jolted into straight standing poses, and began looking around themselves.
"Yeah," Rainbow admitted. "...Also, its not just stand summoning, Wall Eyes' general ability is to cause confusion. And, in a place like this version of Ponyville, that can...be dangerous."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Rarity sighed. "Well, first, Wall Eyes cause loss of Depth Perception, and- OW!" Rarity into something.
There was a whimpering sound that sounded like Fluttershy's. "I-it's even scarier than before! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!"
Rainbow grumbled. "You girls are lucky, I have these weird lightning bolt shaped filters in my eyes now."
"...Really? I can see just fine," Twilight told them.
"! ..." The other three looked hopeful...But, then-
"Twilight, what does the nearest sign read?", Rarity asked.
"Heh, that's easy. 'Safos & Slliuq', why do you- ...Oh." Suddenly, Twilight was feeling a bit nervous.
"THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS ONES OF ALL!", Rainbow told them. "...Well, I mean, the most annoying, at least. ...But, now? I realize something. Twilight? Boop the nearest wall eye."
Twilight blinked. "Boo-? ...Okay." She went over to a red brick wall, and..gently booped the ey-?
"OWSIES!"
Suddenly, all the eyes disappeared.
Sighing with relief, Rainbow quickly unsummoned her stand, before looking around, and spotting a nearby gray pegasus sniffling.
"I-I just wanted to know when they were going to get the new Quesadillas in!" Sniffle sniffle, her right eye bloodshot. "You're all meanies!" She bawled, and quickly flew away.
"...Well, lets hope we don't have to worry about that too much in the future," Rarity told the others with a sigh. "Come on, Girls, to the library."
----------------------
Ten minutes of walking later...
"So...Besides Rainbow Dash, what do the other two look like?" Twilight asked, seeming curious again
Rarity grinned. "I'm glad you asked, Darling~" She proceeded to summon forth a- ...Honestly, in comparison to Rainbow's-which had appeared as Surprise both times she saw it, so, eh?-this one looked a bit more alien. The stand looked like a white, purple and green mare...But, with odd yellow eyes, that seemed to have these odd vertical black lines in them. She was covered in gem encrusted ribbons, and, instead of a regular mane and tail, she had these odd, thin ribbons in their places, covered in full on gems. Oh, and, she was a unicorn, of course. "Twilight, this is my stand, Truly Outrageous~!"
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Darling~!", Truly exclaimed
...Rainbow walked toward the nearest wall, and-
"NO!", Rarity yelled. "Bad Rainbow! Stop having that reaction to that word!"
"ITS HARD! IT REMINDS ME OF BETTER TIMES!"
"...Better for you, maybe," Rarity mumbled. "Anyway, um, Fluttershy? You want to show off yours', or-?"
"A-alright..." The yellow pegasus sighed, but summoned forth what was- ...Huh. So this was the typical look for stands. A yellow, orange, and green mare, wearing an intricate light brown cloak, practically covered in symbols and icons indicative of Romany(i) heritage, floated in the air. Huh. Truly Outrageous was also floating. And, Fluttershy's stand didn't seem to have wings either. Was this how most stands were...? And, yet, while the texture of the stand's body didn't seem to the same as a normal pony's, the eyes were normal, yet purple. "H-hey, uh...Mind introducing yourself to Twilight?"
"..." The stand grumbled slightly, before sighing, her eyes changing to look more friendly. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle, I am The Gypsy Rover~ ...Its just a name, really. I'm probably not going to say it again too much after this."
Twilight raised an eyebrow at first...But then sighed. "Yeah, I get it...I'll just call you TGR for now. So, what does Lyra's look like?"
"...Its bizarre," Rarity mumbled. "Apparently, 'Humanness' is actually so human-like, that its a humanoid stand. N-not that thats a bad thing, its simply...odd. Anyway...We'll simply have to hope Lyra's at the party as well. Otherwise, Pinkie might kidnap us herself, and- ...There is utterly no telling how that will turn out." She was shuddering for some reason. "Neon green with Neon Strawberry...The horror."
------------
"BY MYSELF?!", Twilight exclaimed as they reached the door. "Are you crazy?! There's no telling what'll happen if I go in there by myself!"
"This is what we get for telling her too much...", Rainbow mumbled.
Rarity sighed, before smiling. "Relax, Twilight~ If your mother is truly in there somehow, Pinkie has no reason to hurt you~! ...Infact, it'll be like old days all over again, but better~ Just...Just trust me on this."
Twilight sighed, but proceeded to enter the tree building...Alone.
"...Sure is dark in here," She mumbled. Infact, she could barely see anything. Its like the room was designed, so light was only shining on people and ponies dead center in the middle of the room. "Where the heck's the ligh-?"
"SURPRISE!" Suddenly, for some reason, the lights turned on, and inside the main library room, there were lots of multicolored ponies, and party decorations! ...And books, but, they were blocked by all the various ponies in the room.
"...Huh. Honestly, was expecting thi-"
"I KNOW YOU WERE, AYE-AYE! I ALSO KNEW YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE YOUR MOTHER, TWILIGHT VELVET, AT THE HELM, BUT IT WAS REALLY I, PINKAMIO, THIS WHOLE TIME~!" ...Pinkie was wearing a ridiculous gold and black suit, with a green headband that had a heart on it, and talking in a dramatic, boisterous voice. ...She also had a spiky golden wig ontop of her head. "AND, NOW, TWILIGHT SPARKLE! FIESTA WARUDO!"
...The room dramatically changed from a normal party room, to a fiesta party room. As the mariachi band played, 'Pinkamio' grinned in triumph!
...But Twilight was kind of just staring at her.
Pinkamio sweated. "W-what? What's the problem? COME ON, AYE-AYE, IN ORDER TO TELL ME YOUR GRIEVANCES, YOU HAVE TO GET CLOSER TO ME~!"
...The pink Earth Pony was levitating five, multicolored sporks in the air.
"...S-seriously, Aye-Aye, pull out your stand!"
"I-I'm not sure how to!"
"And, yet, you can use that thing's powers without directly summoning it out?! ...I mean, not completely unusual, but, still- BRING IT OUT, AYE-AYE SPARKLE WARKLE! OR THESE PONIES GET IT!"
"...You're going to kill everypony in the room, with five multicolored sporks?"
"...Touche, Aye-Aye. You have called my bluff. But-"
Suddenly, Spike's right next to Pinkamio. As he looked around, he grunted, and- "...T-twilight! Y-you shouldn't be here! Run!"
"IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT, SPI-IKE! SHE IS NOW IN A ROOM, NOT ONLY FILLED WITH STAND USERS...BUT CLONES OF STAND USERS! Seriously, there's at least two Lyras."
"Twilight, seriously, get out of here! Your mom's gone!"
"Gone? Gone? HA! I don't believe that for a minute~" ...Twilight was speaking oddly confidently. "You think you may have already won, Pinkamio, but, my new friends and I will stop you! AS WILL READING RAINBOW!"
"HA! YOU THINK I'M AFRAID OF YOUR BOOK STAND, AYE-AYE?! I digest book information for breakfast...IT IS ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I DO NOW, WITH YOUR MOTHER IN MY HEAD!"
"AH! BUT YOU FORGET, Pinkamio! Your name has two 'I's in it as well~"
"...THAT THEME'S STUPID! ITS NEVER GOING TO STOP BEING STUPID! YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET YOUR OWN STUPID THEME, AYE-AYE!"
"Ah, correction...You will regret facing me in a crowded room, Pinkamio~"
"..." The pink earth pony grinned nervously. "W-what are you implying, Aye-Ay-?"
Twilight's horn glowed. "ATTACK PINKAMIO!"
"..." 'Pinkamio' squeaked. "BAD PLAN!" As she dodged a reflective eye laser, that had come Blossomforth, and deflected from one of Wall Eyes'- ...Eyes, she started screaming. "BAD PLAAAAAAAANNNNNN!" She began running straight out of the library, various other ponies behind her, leaving only Twilight and Spike.
"...Well, that was impressive," Spike admitted via mumble, scratching a fin on his head. "How did you-?"
"I don't know...Just seemed kind of obvious, honestly. But, its more likely that she'll either send assassins one by one next time, or, simply try to, um...Poison me." Twilight's eyes got wide as plates at that realization.
"...Yeah, with your mom in her, don't think you've got to worry about the latter. Also...Not sure if that strategy's going to work all the time. Clearly, you had time to rest it, but, I predict we'll both need naps before the thing later."
"...What are you talking abou-?" Annndddd, that's when Twilight fell onto the floor, unconscious.
"..." Spike merely sighed, moving to grab her, and haul her to the nearest bed with his freakish strength. "Well, this isn't exactly what I expected...Still, not all bad," he admitted with a smile.