A haven for Twilight
In the rarified air high above an edge of the Northern Wasteland, a crack of displaced air announced the arrival of Marevel and Lantern. That had agreed that they should arrive as quickly and quietly as possible with the hope that they could approach Twilight without spooking her. Star Swirl had warned them that Twilight's senses were now hypersensitive, so they took advantage of the thin air to muffle the sound of their teleportation.
From their high perch, they scanned along the bearing that the pointer from Lantern's ring indicated. Lantern then used his ring to create a pair of binoculars while Marevel relied on her super vision. Pristine white seemed to stretch forever -- until they saw it far in the distance. The natural shapes had been broken or melted. Dark rocks were scattered where there should only have been white.
Marevel said, "I guess she's somewhere out that way."
Lantern replied, "Let's go, but not too fast; we don't want her to think we're attacking."
With that, the two began a gentle glide down to a more normal pegasus altitude.
After a half hour of monotonous arctic landscape, they could see an upheaval in the ground. Great chunks of ice had been uprooted and strewn about. Impact craters the size of a house revealed dark rock. Most telling, however, were the molten gouges that went through both ice and rock.
Lantern called out, '"Twilight!"
A muffled voice replied, "Go away!"
Marevel and Lantern looked at each other and nodded. At a walking pace, the flew in the direction that the voice had come. They stopped over a crater that was a quarter kilometer deep. It was ringed by displaced ice soil, and rock. At the bottom, they saw a lavender ball. It was Twilight Sparkle, crying.
“Twilight! I’m so glad you’re okay!” said Spike.
Twilight looked at them over her shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m okay? I’M OKAY?!”
She then glared at them. Hastily, Lantern threw up a shield just in time to deflect the two beams of concentrated heat. Marvel tensed, ready to charge, but she felt a hand on her withers. She looked over to Lantern, who shook his head slowly. Picking up his cue, she relaxed.
“Twilight, it’s okay! We know what is happening to you! We can help!”
Twilight flew out of the crater, looking Spike to the eye, floating above the ground without even moving her wings.
“Don’t you get it Spike? I am the Element of Magic! What Celestia did to me took away everything that I'm supposed to be. Without magic, I am nothing. Don’t you see it? NOTHING!”
She landed and punched the ground one more time, creating a shockwave that moved the ground like a ripple in a pond.
Again, Marevel tensed. Again, Spike placed a calming hand on her withers. He said, "We know, but we can fix it. We just need to locate your magic. Your body expelled it, and once we find it, we can get everything back to normal."
Marevel nodded. "That much powerful magic can't just vanish. The League and the princesses are all working to get it back, to get you back."
"I promise we're doing everything we can," added Spike. "I'm not going to let any pony or any being hurt my big sister."
Twilight smiled at her little brother. "Spike, I could just hug you, but with the way I am now, I'm afraid I'd squash you like a bug."
"It's good to see you smile, Twilight," replied Lantern.
"I wish I could say the same, Spike. I can't even see your skin; you look like one of those visible dragon models where you can see everything that's on the inside."
Lantern said, "We will get your magic back."
Marevel added, "That's a promise from all of us."
Twilight smiled at both of them. "Thanks, but I'm not going back; the noise is just too much. I can barely stand it out here."
Lantern said, "We can't just let you stay out here in the open."
"Why not?" asked Twilight. "The cold doesn't bother me anymore." She raised a forehoof and tensed. "I'm a freak!" She sighed and gently lowered it. "I'm a freak."
Showing the wisdom of Saddlemon, Marevel said, "We can help you to build something that will shelter you, something to protect you from the elements, something to block out the noise. Think about it; we could call it . . ."
“Fortress of Solitude?” suggested Lantern.
“How? Without my magic I can do nothing,” said Twilight
Marevel and Lantern looked at each other and then turned their heads in opposite directions to survey the devastation.
"Nothing?" asked Marevel. Sweeping a foreleg, she asked, "What do you call all this?"
Lantern added, "Think about it, Twilight. This is a chance to learn how to control your new abilities. You can see you can already use them to destroy. You can now use them to create."
Twilight sighed. "I guess you're right." She brightened. "This is perfect research for a scientific study!"
Smiling, Lantern replied, "That's the spirit!"
Watchtower:
Eagerly, the League listened to the incoming transmission. Lantern's voice came over the speakers. "Twilight's going to be staying up here for now. You guys have to find her magic. Marevel and I will join you as soon as we're finished building her Fortress of Solitude."
The rest of the League turned their attention to the Watchtower's Cutie Map. Arrow asked, "Does anypony know pure magic is supposed to look like?"
Doctor shook his head. "You're not going to see it by itself. Unless it's been captured in a storage crystal, it will bond with a living organism."
Canary replied, "Every being in Equus has some magic. How will we recognize Twilight's?
"We have her magical signature," replied Doctor. "We'll scan for that while we look for magical anomalies."
"We'll take turns monitoring the map," said Batmare. "Whatever happens, we'll be ready."
Elsewhere:
Tirek snarled at the purple alicorn. "Princess Twilight!" he shouted. "Prepare for your doom!"
The centaur charged. The alicorn shot forward. Tirek lowered his shoulder. Twilight sailed over him, twisting before she wrapped her forelegs around his barrel and cradling as if he were a foal."
"Huh?" said the centaur.
"You don't have to be evil," she said. "All you need in friendship."
“What? NO! GIVE ME YOUR MAGIC!”
As he moved to absorb her magic, the horror began. She began to sing in a voice that would be a balm to any child. She sang of friendship and caring. She sang of the joy of being. It sickened Tirek to the core of his being.
“I love you; you love me. We’re a happy family, with a great big hug and kiss form me to you, won’t you say you love me too?”
Tirek screamed in frustration as he broke free of her grasp. The sickening sound now seemed to come from all directions. Looking around, he found that the alicorn had duplicated herself and was now surrounding him, singing as one.
He was still screaming when he opened his eyes. There was no alicorn. He was in his bed. He was in his room. He grumbled as the poured himself out of bed. "Damn you, Twilight Sparkle."
He shook his head confused. “Why on Equus did I have to dream about her and her stupid friendship?”
Grogar was conspicuously absent when Tirek stumbled into the dining room, grumbling. The centaur didn't even bother to look at the corner where he knew there would be a lonely flowerpot hosting an immortal disguised as a caterpillar. Mastermind gave him an evil grin as he munched on a leaf.
In the kitchen, Tirek found a plate with three magic storage crystals waiting for him. Greedily, he stuffed them into his mouth.
Sombra entered the kitchen. He stifled a yawn and said, "Morning."
Tirek mumbled incoherently through a full mouth. He moved to the coffee pot. He needed something to wash his breakfast down.
"Hey!" called Sombra.
Tirek swallowed. "What?"
Pointing, Sombra said, "The other end of the mug holds more."
Tirek looked down at the mess he had made trying to fill an upside-down mug. With a groan, he used a bit of magic to vanish the mess. Carefully turning his mug over, he filled it to the brim with hot coffee and reached for a loaf of bread.
A moment later, Chrysalis entered. She sat at the table and stared at Tirek. "What?" asked the centaur.
"The knife woks better when you use the blade."
The centaur looked down. He had been trying to spread butter with the handle. He groaned, "I can tell this is going to be one of those days."
The others shrugged and continued with their breakfasts.
Ponyville, the next day:
Despite his membership in the Corps, Spike was still the number one assistant in the Castle of Friendship. As such, he still had his duties. With practiced efficiency, he cleaned the castle and made breakfast for two. He transferred Twilight's share to a magical container that would keep it fresh and warm.
Once he had finished eating, he continued packing for this upcoming trip. The fortress was going to be Twilight's home for a while, so he began gathering things to make her more comfortable. He gathered Twilight's favorite books and a few prized possessions and deposited them in her enchanted saddlebags; their magic would protect the contents from the climate of the Northern Wasteland.
Satisfied that he had everything he needed, he went to the teleportation array and set the destination to the Watchtower.
Watchtower:
Arrow scanned the monitors while Canary studied the Cutie Map. In the meantime, Dash was crisscrossing the planet at super speed, scanning for Twilight's magic with the sensors that Doctor had provided. Spike walked in and said, "Wow, you guys look terrible. You should let the next shift take over."
"Sweetie Borg and Batmare need their rest," replied Canary, yawning. "They wanted to take first shift, but that's not healthy for them. I don't care if they're metaponies; they're still growing fillies."
Arrow nodded. "Batmare puts way too much pressure on herself. We can give them a couple more hours."
Spike smiled in gratitude. "They'll never admit it, but they really appreciate your help." With that, he shimmered with a green light as his ring dressed him in his uniform. "I'm off to make a delivery to Twilight." With that, he headed for the teleportation array.
Fortress of Solitude:
Just a day before, the site had borne mute witness to the destruction that Twilight Sparkle had wrought. Now, it held a giant castle made of ice on a foundation of rock. It was a refuge from the chaos of the world, the only place that Twilight found to be truly quiet.
Lantern stopped at the door. He had almost knocked before he realized how loud that would sound to Twilight. Sheepishly, he set the delivery down and waved before he flew away.
From inside, Twilight smiled as she watched from her view port; she had used the ice to form lenses and mirrors to provide a view of her surroundings. She waved back, even though she knew that Spike would not be able to see her.
Once Lantern had left, Twilight went to the door and brought in the delivery. The smaller container held her breakfast -- oats, coffee, juice, and toast. They froze almost instantly when she set them on the table. She signed as she returned them to the container and moved to a subterranean chamber. She then looked through the contents of her saddlebags. She smiled as she withdrew Star Swirl's autobiography, the first three volumes of the Daring Do series, and the unabridged Encyclopedia of Equestrian History.
She set her breakfast on a stone table and used her heat vision to warm it. Sweetie Belle would have been proud of her toast. Concentrating, she managed to warm the coffee and evaporate only three quarters of it. The orange juice was piping hot, and the oats were singed. She smiled. "I can actually control this." She then turned her attention to the stone walls and heated them up to something that would be comfortable for a normal pony.
As she started eating, she leafed through the first Daring Do book. A comic book slipped out. She picked it up. "Spike must have picked this up by accident." She stared at the cover. It had an earth pony mare wearing a blue union suit and a red cape. Both were emblazoned with a stylized "U" on top of a stylized "M".
"Ultra Mega Mare? I wonder what sort of silliness that could be."
Digging further into the saddlebag, she found parchment, quill, ink, and a scroll. There was also a pony ragdoll with mismatched button eyes. She gave the doll a quick hug before setting it aside. She then opened the scroll and read. "Dear Twilight, please write down what you need on the enclosed parchment and put the list in the saddlebag. I will be by in the evening to pick up the bag."
She smiled as she jotted down a list of supplies. She said, "I know I can control this. I just need to experiment. Then, when I get my magic back, I'll be twice as efficient."
Triumphantly, she said, "Get set, Miss Smarty Pants! It's time for science!"as time to get back to normal.