//------------------------------// // Invisible Third Wheel // Story: Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic // by onekface //------------------------------// Chapter 49: Invisible Third Wheel (Canterlot High) “I am very disappointed in you Sunset Shimmer.” Luna said sternly in a very authorizing manner, shaking her head and sighing. “Your presence here in my office is starting to become a habit. What do you have to say for yourself?” The silence in the air was telling. Luna allowed it to linger, just long enough for her to turn to the window in stoic. “I always knew that you had your share of troubles, but your actions this time gives you no excuses.” “Hmm… not bad.” It was Cranky Doodle who spoke. “A little soft on the edges but workable. Don’t shake your head. It makes you look silly with that hair. Put in a mean glare – or better yet, do a scowl.” She made an attempt of a scowl. “Like this?” “No… now you’re just trying too hard. Maybe just do a neutral look. Safer bet that way.” Luna returned to her seat, turning to regard her rather empty office, aside from Cranky who stood there, guiding her on the lessons of sadistic mental torture. The Vice-Principal groaned and pulled her chair forward reaching the warm cup of coffee that was placed on the table. “Don’t you think that’s being a little too hard? I mean… disappointed? That’s a rather strong word. I want to scold her, not lecture her.” “You can’t afford to be soft.” Cranky reasoned slamming his fist on his palm. “That’s how students lose respect of their teachers. Besides, this little lady is a tougher nut to crack than most. She needs a stern talk, not some pat on the back or a slap on the wrist. You have to look mean, commanding, and fierce. Stare her dead in the eye without a single blink. She’ll be squealing like a pig in no time.” “Cranky… is that really necessary?” “Absolutely! You can open with a long silent stare. You know? Give that bad student feel and have her stew on that chair, letting her reflect on her actions.” “Cranky…” “I was thinking maybe two minutes minimum at the very least – or maybe even three if you want to milk that method.” He laughed joyfully, which was pretty rare for a man like him. “I can picture it now. The whole room in complete silence with nothing but the clock ticking the seconds away. If we’re lucky, she’ll even be traumatized by the whole thing.” “Cranky! This is not an interrogation.” “It could be.” He shrugged. “Can I at least fold my arms and scowl at her like some comic book villain? I’ve always wanted to do that in these types of scenarios.” “No.” “Come on. What’s the harm? Just give it a shot.” “No!” “Can I take at least take pictures when she starts to cry?” Luna took a sip from her mug and groaned. She felt a headache coming. “Maybe I should’ve asked Granny Smith for help instead.” Actually scratch that. Granny Smith would probably have just as much methods of torment to children as Cranky did. She didn’t suffer through the ages without learning a few techniques. That old lady can weaponize guilt like it was just wordplay. Anyone that goes against her will be scarred for life. “Vice-Principal Luna?” The buzzer on her table awoke with the voice of the school janitor who doubled as the school’s security guard. “There’s a student here to see you.” “Send her in.” Her eyes glanced up to the clock. At least she was on schedule. “Alright Cranky. I’ll take it from here.” “Aww. Can’t I stay for the opening segment at least? I wanted to try out my new ‘disappointed’ pose.” “No.” Cranky mumbled his way to the door. “Fine. But remember. Stern look, unflappable poise. You need to look intimidating.” “Will you just go already?” The man did so with a big smirk over his face. He seemed to genuinely take pleasure in the misery of his own students. She can’t really tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing just yet. Honestly now. These girls may be trouble but it wasn’t like they could understand the concept of magic either. Their troubles were almost literally out of this world. The best they can do right now is just try to understand them. Get to know what it’s like to be in their shoes. Still… Sunset was a very secretive student. Getting her to open up to anything was harder than cracking a nut with your own fingers. Perhaps Cranky does have a point. A knock on her door signaled the arrival, which triggered her response. “Vice Princip…” Luna rose from her seat, eyes stern. “I am very disappointed in you.” Councilor Neighsay gave her a crooked brow look. “Uh…” Luna balked. “You’re… not… who I was expecting.” “Clearly.” The man responded, his tone dead panned like always. “Wh… what are you doing here, Councilor?” “I’m here to deliver my contact details and official transfer papers.” He smacked down a folder on her table which looked surprisingly well detailed and organized. “You’ll find everything is in order.” Really? Does it also say that you’re a bloodsucking monster whose true purpose was to drain the life out of children? “I see…” She took a quick glance over the front page and noted that everything was indeed properly written down to the last margin. She had no doubt that there would be any flaws is misspelling in any of them. “These are… extremely detailed.” His lips curled up to what looked like the beginning of a smile. “I pride myself in punctuality. Which is more than I can say for some of your staff. Which reminds me…” Neighsay pulled out a notepad from coat flicking his hair up. “I took the liberty of looking through your present student record and noted the flippant lack of disregard in punishment.” “Punishment?” She jolted back. “Surely that can’t be right.” “I beg differ.” He responded adamantly. “For example: Photo Finish, Violet Blurr and Pixel Pazzaz. Faculty members and students have reported these three to have repeatedly violated personal boundaries, taking incriminating pictures without the consent of others, disrupt classes and club activities, and… grave misuse school equipment.” Ah… yeah that. “She was doing that for the school’s yearbook.” Luna defended. “We just needed a little more… pazzaz.” “And so far all they got in return was a two-day detention.” Neighsay raised an accusing look. “The punishment hardly fits the crime.” “Ok… she might be a little over the top. But her intentions aren’t bad.” She paused. “At least I think so.” “Here’s another one. Trixie Lulamoon. 15 illegal and unsupervised conducts of pyrotechnics, 23 unauthorized uses of smoke bombs, destruction of school property in school grounds, and 116 cases of cafeteria disturbances.” A hundred!? Are you kidding me? Didn’t that wannabe pretend-magician learn her lesson the first three times!? Potatoes are not substitute for smoke bombs! It just doesn’t work! “Uh… yeah. Ms. Lulamoon can be… troubling. But she’s passionate about her work.” “The worst punishment she received was 72 hours of community service.” Ah crud. “If it were my decision, I would’ve expelled her on the spot and recommend her to disciplinary school.” Thankfully it wasn’t your decision. Though granted, it does sound appropriate. “Celestia believes that we shouldn’t hamper our student’s creativity.” “Creativity can be a blessing if it is controlled. Looking through these records, I’m finally able to grasp why this school requires constant repairs. These unregulated students need to be brought into line less they get out of hand.” “I don’t think that’s…” She barely finished when he reached into his coat and produced a thick paperback book. “Which is why I wish to propose a new set of rules and strict regulations to better ensure the safety of this place and its students. I was hoping to run it by you before I present it to Principal Celestia.” “Me?” She balked again. “Why me?” “Because out of all the staff members here, you appear to be the only one who has actually put effort into their work.” She did? “The suspension and community service of several students after misconduct during a field trip. The punishment was fair and the sentencing justified.” Oh she remembered that. That was the trip to the city’s natural history museum. A bunch of students thought about making the trip interesting and decided to tamper with some dinosaur bones. The curator of the museum was livid. Celestia offered an apology but Luna was the one who delivered their sentence. It was not a happy moment for the school. “Th… thanks? I suppose.” “Delivering punishment is thankless work but needed to put these students in their place. Actually that kind of reminds me of one of my regulations here.” That sounds like work. A lot of work. The kind of work that she didn’t really have time for or motivation to do, especially in the holidays. But thankfully her savior came in the form of a knock on the door. “Uh… you wanted to see me Vice-Principal Luna?” Sunset asked sheepishly, cracking her head through the door. “Yes!” She beamed. “Yes Sunset. I did. Sorry Neighsay. But I’m afraid you’ll have to discuss this with Celestia another time. As you can see, my next meeting is here.” She immediately got up and began pushing the man away from her office with his book in tow. “I’m on a tight schedule right now and can’t lose a single minute of it.” If the man felt offended in any way, he didn’t show it. Instead he looked the same as always. Deadpanned and unemotional. “Very well. I shall make an appointment next time.” Please don’t. “But may I request that some of these tardy students be sent to my office later on?” “Yes! Sure. Anything you want. Later!” With a heave, Luna pulled Sunset in and closed the door, locking it for good measure. She let out a sigh, wiping an imaginary sweat off her brow. “So… what’s this about?” The redhead asked. Ugh… so much for getting the initiative. (Canterlot Mall) “Made it!” Midnight rolled her eyes as her host literally limped her way to the door of the mall, panting heavily like she had just gone through a marathon only to win last place. A few tourists gave the girl a worried glance but mostly steered clear away from her. “I made it… ha!” The apparition couldn’t resist giving her a slow sarcastic clap in return. “Congratulation. You made it – with… a whole minute to spare. I’m sure someone here will be giving you a prize.” “Hey! Considering the traffic, this should be considered an accomplishment.” “You would’ve been early if you hadn’t spent half an hour in the bathroom.” “I needed to freshen up. And that mess was totally Shining Armor’s fault.” “And you spent a whole two hours picking out your clothes.” “I needed to look good!” So she claims which Midnight rolled her eyes again in response. The girl spent an absorbent amount of time in front of the mirror trying out everything from the frilliest dresses, to the punkest of rock. Thankfully she decided upon a blend of puffy and elegance. It was amazing how people like her can spend much of their limited life appeasing their own twisted sense of beauty. “This is a special occasion. I’m going to the very restaurant I’ve always wanted to visit. Besides, Flash didn’t say if the place had a black-tie or casual dress code. Better to be prepared for all eventualities.” “Or maybe you’re merely doing this to attract someone’s attention?” “Timber? I’m not meeting him until later.” Oh for the love of…… whatever-deity-this-world-worships. How stupid can you possibly be? Midnight let out a tormented groan, never thinking she could wish for an alien invasion to come soon enough. Twilight was supposed to be the smart one, the nerd of the group, the one that had the highest odds of discovering cold-fusion technology! There was no way in hell she would be this oblivious to her own desires! “I’d strangle you right now if I knew it wouldn’t work.” “Oh pipe down.” Twilight waved her off and trotted through the mall, fixing her hair unconsciously. A moment later she spotted her mark waiting by the fountain. “There’s Flash.” She paused and turned to her alter-ego. “How do I look?” “Do I really need to answer that?” “Come on. If we’re gonna be roped together, you might as well help me out.” She had a point. It’s not like she could just go back to the dark corners of her mind. Not that she really want to. “Fine. You look d-… oh! You got something hideous on your cheeks.” Her host panicked. “What? What is it? Is it leftover from breakfast?” “Oh wait. No. It’s just your dumb face.” Twilight pouted. “Ugh. Real mature.” Girl, you don’t even want to try me. I have ways of making your life hell in this ethereal realm. “Ugh. Whatever. You’re just making this day worse. Just don’t bother me for the rest of the day and we’ll be fine. So… be gone. Or however I can get rid of you.” You couldn’t, even if you tried. But Midnight humored her and made herself completely invisible. With one last touch of her hair, Twilight giddily made her way to the boy who immediately noticed her. “Hey.” The girl opened first, unconsciously patting the wrinkles off her clothes. “Sorry I’m late. It took a while for me to find the right look.” “I can see that.” He responded with a chuckle. “You look different.” “Really? You think so?” She turned to look at herself. “You think I put on too much? I wasn’t sure if it was casual or black tie.” “No. I meant you look great.” He corrected quickly enough, reaching out for her hand. “You don’t have to overthink things like that.” “R… right.” Oh god. Her adorable blush was faint but it was there. Girl. You really need to get yourself a therapist. Someone who can sort your feelings at least. “Sorry. The only kind of experience I have with this are with my friends, family and… Timber. And those go about as well you’d expect in this day and age.” “Well… I’m no Timber but I think I can still give you a good time.” Ooooh. Nice comeback. It’s clear he had experience with this kind of meeting. His confidence was impressive. “Anyone who goes out with Flash Sentry is guaranteed to have a great time or their money back.” Twilight cocked a brow in his direction. “It should, considering you’re paying for all this.” “Oh you know what I mean.” She laughed at his attempt to be cool. “Anyway. Let me send a text to my friends just so they don’t have to worry.” “Another monster attack?” He asked sounding genuinely worried. Twilight blinked. “What? No no no. Just… regular stuff. Not everything we do is related to magic and monsters. Though I’d understand if you think that.” Of course everyone would think that, you idiot, considering how much of a mayhem you girls go through in one semester. It’s actually a miracle that you were able to get through two years of all that chaos without losing a limb or two. “Shall we?” “Please. Allow me.” The boy offered, which Twilight naturally accepted. Midnight trailed them. Not like she had much of a choice seeing how she was pretty much tethered to her host like a gosh-darn pet on a leash. If there was ever a feeling of being a third wheel in a date, this would probably be it. God I hope they don’t go all lovey dovey on one another. There’s only so much dopiness an evil apparition like her can handle in one day. She’d much prefer if everything here were on fire. That way she could revel in other people’s suffering and torment. But alas, this land was far too peaceful for its own good. The restaurant they came to was something that had been lingering at the back of Twilight’s mind for quite some time now. It was an exotic place that had built quite a reputation here in the city. So much so that there was a short line of patrons casually hanging outside believing that the food here was worth the wait. Thankfully they didn’t have to join the common plebeians standing outside. The lady by the door somehow recognized Flash and kindly ushered them in with a wave of her hand ahead of the line. They earned a few displeasing stares but none of them even noticed it. Upon entering, the first thing Midnight noticed was the heavy spice aroma lingering in the air. It flew from the kitchen, dousing the whole room with a smell that would make your mouth water and your stomach churning. She quietly took a mental note to spare this place once she dominates the world as its new queen. They were led deep into the restaurant to a corner booth with a view of the fountain. It was mildly impressive. “This. Is. Amazing.” Her host chimed almost giddily that she was bouncing off the seat. “I can’t believe I’m actually here. I’ve been dreaming of coming to this place since… forever.” With her supposed boyfriend apparently. But hey… details. “You think they have those little berry things like they had in the poster?” Flash let out a laugh. “We’ll find out soon enough. Though I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Reality often disappoints.” “Oh come on. Like you’ve dined in better places.” She paused for a moment before smacking her head in realization while her date gave a cocky looking grin. “Right. I forgot who I was talking to. The secretly rich kid. You must’ve had all kinds of food.” He shrugged. “Eh… let’s just say that I’ve developed a healthy palate.” Thankfully they were interrupted by the waitress. “Allo and welcome to da Tasty Treat.” The woman who led them in greeted with a heavily accented voiced. “Can I interest you in our special? We’re having a premium on our spices today.” “Oooh. Yes please.” Twilight cooed, opening the menu. “What would you recommend for appetizers?” “Ah. I have just the thing. A delicacy from my homeland of Saddle Arabia.” Sounds delicious. “Pickled Eggs.” Their faces went pale as they held a hurl inside. The memories of that desert village came rushing onto their stomachs. “Uh… we’re kind of… allergic to pickles.” Flash muttered which the woman accepted. “We’ll just have the special on offer.” The waitress shrugged and quickly jotted down their order and went on her way, much to their relief. “Thanks. I don’t think I’m in the mood for anything pickled any time soon.” That was something they all agreed. “Kind of makes you miss that old place.” Twilight gave him a look. “You actually miss the food back in that desert?” “Ok… the culinary options there were pretty limited but it was kind of interesting too.” He casually added thought his date didn’t seem to agree. “Come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t have a little fun after that festival. We also met a friend. Autumn.” Ah… right. The crackpot hermit. “She was… ok. But the rest of it was pretty meh. I mean other than getting trapped on the other side of the world, away from all your friends, sleeping in a haystack and getting knocked out my magic.” Don’t forget the glorious rebirth of the future ruler of the world! Don’t forget that part! That’s literally the most important part! “And you and I got to hang out. That’s a win too.” “Pfft… ok.” Ugh… that slight blush was despicable. “You were the one thing that kept me grounded. I don’t think I would’ve lasted a whole week there on my own. How’s the leg by the way?” “All better.” He tapped the cast that was hidden under his pants. “It’ll be a while before I can remove it and I still have to walk with a cane. But other than that, it’s all good. Unless… you wouldn’t happen to know a spell that can heal it right up.” “Sunset taught us a small healing spell. But that’s pretty much just for bumps and bruises. Nothing major like yours. Oh! And speaking of magic. I got you something too.” Twilight reached into her bag and produced a package wrapped around in newspaper. “Tada! It’s the cup. The… arts and craft project that you brought.” His eyes snapped open in realization. It was the cup that was shattered a long while ago. He completely forgot about it. Removing it from the wrap, the boy found it to be in rather pristine condition. You can hardly make out the cracks at all. “Sorry it took so long. Gluing together thousands of pieces from scratch is a log harder than it sounds.” It didn’t sound easy to begin with. Honestly, assembling something like that should be considered an achievement of some kind. She was practically putting together a jigsaw puzzle with no edges or corners. “Thanks. At least now I can finally put this back in our vault.” “I’m surprised your dad hasn’t caught on.” “He’s been kind of busy with other businesses.” Flash shrugged as he stuffed the cup in his jacket. “Speaking of which. What are you guys planning to do with Hoity? Last I heard, he disappeared.” “After what happened on Freefall Island? I’m not surprised. We did put him in a corner.” “Don’t forget: Beating him to a pulp.” Midnight mentioned pulling a motion of swinging a bat as context though no one could really see or hear her. “You… you think he’ll come back?” It seems like the boy had the same thought as the rest of the girls back home. He was hoping that the fighting would end the moment they took down Hoity, but that didn’t seem to be the case. And if that fallen fashion legend followed the trope of every villain in the world, he’ll definitely return with a vengeance. “Honestly… yeah. I do.” He looked visibly disheartened. “What do you plan to do when he does?” “We… haven’t really thought that far ahead yet. But like you said before: So long as my friends and I stick together, nothing’s impossible.” “Not even slightly scared?” She took on a confident pose, sticking her chest out proudly. “Not even remotely. I got six friends with more magic than I know what to do with, powerful artifacts, a talking dog, and some private connections with the magical world of Equestria. I’m sure we’ll come up with something. And if that doesn’t work, I still have a millionaire friend as my failsafe backup plan.” The blue boy shifted, visibly amused. “Glad I can contribute. But I gotta be honest. Sitting around and waiting for this secret organization to strike back doesn’t sit well with me. I wished we had a lead to follow.” Unfortunately all the leads they had went up in smoke… almost literally in fact. Even Hoity’s store branch in Uptown closed down after the sudden disappearance of their benefactor. It was like the workers packed up everything when everything went downhill. “Well… there is one lead.” Twilight cooed, before producing a thick book from her bag. “Is that…?” “Captain Hoofbeard’s personal journal.” She confirmed with a cheesy smile, tracing her fingers carefully along the book’s spine. “I spent all night cramming through its pages. There’s a whole wealth of knowledge hidden inside. If there’s any information about this Order of the Black Stone, I guarantee we’ll find it in here.” Flash bobbed his head, partly in agreement and partly intrigued. “Sounds like it’s worth a shot. What did you find?” “Well… not much.” Her smile visibly waned as she opened it to a random page. “Hoofbeard was around during the old colonial – and their language was very different from what we’re used to. Not to mention that a lot of the ink has faded over the centuries. Luckily, yours truly, was able to translate a few of them.” “The journal wouldn’t happen to mention a place marked with an X, would it?” Twilight gave a preened expression though she seemed to have expected it. “No. Mostly just places he’s visited. It’s been hard translating all of it on my own.” “Aren’t the others helping out?” “Ha! I wished. They’re all doing their own thing, planning for the holidays. And Sunset’s no help either. She’s busy chatting with her friends from Equestria.” Flash gave her a complimentary chuckle. “Sounds like you have it rough. So what did you find, exactly?” “I’m glad you asked.” And like magic, her eyes gleamed with intrigue as she shifted through the pages revealing a section with a drawing. “I decided to comb through the mid-section of the journal instead of going through the whole thing. According to what I can make out of his ramblings, it seems like Hoofbeard wasn’t originally a member of the Order.” “He wasn’t?” “No. He was recruited. Just like how Professor Cinch was.” A logical standpoint seeing how humans can’t exactly live forever. The Order would’ve eventually had a change in members over the generations. “And he wasn’t the only one either. Apparently this Order recruited a number of folks like Hoofbeard, promising them riches and power. He wasn’t just a pirate, but an explorer. They’d hire ships and send them out into the world searching for magic. Hoofbeard was a special case though. And you’ll never guess why.” “Untold riches and power?” “Nope.” Though she’d understand why those would come to mind. “It was because… of her.” She flip the page again, this time coming to a full blown drawing of a familiar woman with surprisingly exotic features. You could tell from a glance that the artist took painstaking time to put in every little detail, cherishing every brushstroke on her face, every wrinkle on her clothes, and even the shimmer on her hair. “Whoa… nice. Who is she?” “That… is Jewel.” Twilight explained. “According to what Hoofbeard wrote, she’s a high ranking member of the organization. She was the one who recruited him. And get this… I think he was totally in love with her.” “Really?” His eyes sparked with interest. “How can you tell?” “Trust me. The next few pages pretty much has all his feelings written all over it. He was head over heels over her. He had pickup lines, poetry, even gift options. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.” Ironic, considering you’re the one here who is clearly blinded from it. “But here comes the interesting part.” “More interesting than a pirate in love?” “Way more interesting.” Twilight winked, flipping to another page of another drawing. Not a person, but rather an object of sorts. “You see. The Order was scouring the world looking for magical artifacts. And to help these sailors find them, they provided them with these magical compasses.” She flipped the page to another drawing of a circular device. “A magical compass?” That sounded so cliché. Like something out of a pirate movie. “Yup. And from what I gathered, it supposedly led them to other magical items around the world. Kind of like my magic tracking device but portable. Can you imagine what kind of magical construct needed to design such a thing? If we had something like it, I could enhance my equipment and find all traces of magic throughout the country. It would be… phenomenal.” But the girl immediately stopped when she realized that Flash had gone quiet, sitting there looking at her with a curling smile. “Wh… what?” “Do you know that every time you’re excited about something, you have this light in your eye?” He let out a laugh before pointing towards the restaurant itself where a few patrons were giving them their amused look. Twilight turned a shade of pink when she realized how loud and nerdy she must’ve sounded. She quietly sunk back into her seat, embarrassed. “Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t be talking about this during our date.” “Eh… I won’t pretend to understand magic. But it’s never boring, I can tell you that.” “Tell me about it.” She grumbled in agreement. “I could never talk about this with Timber. He doesn’t really have that big of an interest in magic.” “Really? That’s surprising. Considering how much you two have in common. I figured he’d like magic.” “I think he hates it because of how much time it takes from me. Ever since this whole magical fiasco started, we’ve been seeing each other less and less. I even promised to give the whole apartment thing a trial run. But that went out the window ever since I moved in to Sunset’s place.” She groaned. “Looks like you two have a rough patch ahead.” “No kidding. I just hope he understands that I’m doing this for him too. I mean… he doesn’t get it. But there’s a good chance we might get attacked by more shadow monsters or worse. I don’t want to put him in unnecessary danger.” “Heh… now you’re starting to sound like Sunset.” She jerked back. “How so?” “Every time I try to help her out in some way, or try to get involve in her life… she pushes me away.” He let out a pained breath, eyes cast down on the table. “She says that she’s trying to protect me and keep me from harm, but I feel like there’s more to it. It’s… kind of like she doesn’t want me there for some reason.” “I…… oh…” Twilight knew the reason. She discussed it excessively with Sunset plenty of times before that they almost had a fight over it. It was because Sunset had an unbearable guilt towards him. She blames herself for deceiving Flash which led to their eventual breakup. And while things between them have mellowed down over the year, you can still feel some lingering tension – or at least she could. “I guess we all have the same problems, eh?” “More so than we realize.” They shared a genuine laugh together which instantly removed all the sourness in their moods. Midnight decided to tune them out and lingered in silence, watching the interaction go by without so much as a raised brow. By the time their order arrived, the date went into full swing. And while Twilight was either oblivious to the whole thing or just plain ignorant, Midnight could feel all her emotions and thoughts like they were very much her own. She was smitten. It was plain to see. The way her eyes sparkle whenever they talk, her smile, her laugh. They were more expressive, livelier than normal. Heck, even her heart was beating a few pace faster than normal. And honestly, the fallen angel couldn’t really blame her. Flash was a bombshell. A big fish in an ocean, the golden goose of relationships. While his personality could use some fine tuning, she had to admit that he was decently good looking. And if her host’s friends were telling the truth, the guy’s family would be loaded. Getting in good with him would set anyone for life. And those were just his obvious qualities. But Midnight also had a quaint interest with the boy as well. Her eyes lingered on him – or more precisely, his bandaged hand. (Equestria) (Canterlot Library) (Starswirl section) “Remind me again why we’re spending our free time at the library instead of somewhere more… interesting?” Trixie groaned as she covered her snout keeping herself from inhaling the dust in the air. “The library is an interesting place.” Starlight defended earning an eye roll from her best friend. “Come on now. This is a center of knowledge and wisdom. It’s not just some building like the rest of the city, but a monument. It’s the first ever grand library in all of Equestria. Where else can you find a gathering of knowledge in one place?” “We work in a school.” “Ah… yeah… good point.” She blushed in embarrassment. “You do realize that we spent the last few days preparing for Twilight’s coronation. And this is our first ever time off from this whole… inter-worldly-dimensional mission. I know that Twilight assigned this whole thing to you but I was hoping we’d have a change in scenery. Someplace without… books.” “We will.” Starlight promised. “It’s just that I wanted to check up with Sunburst first. Last I heard, he and Starswirl were searching for the origins of this mysterious magic. I’ve been trying to call him through our two way music box spell but he hasn’t been answering. I’m actually kind of worried.” “Well considering that he’s spending his time with Starswirl the Bearded, I bet he’s having a swell time.” Trixie brushed her mane cockily as if to prove a point. And she wasn’t wrong there. Starswirl was one of Sunburst’s biggest role model. The guy literally wrote one of the first books on magic. And anyone remotely associated with magic are kind of like heroes and celebrities in his eyes. It wouldn’t surprise her if Sunburst had one or two questions to ask. “I hope so. Twilight’s been so busy preparing to become the next ruler of Equestria. This last few week she’s been going on diplomatic missions and goodwill assignments. The last thing we need are more problems to add to her list. She gave me this task and I don’t want to mess it up.” “Oh please. You’re practically her top student. She trusts you completely. If anyone can deal with a problem as complex as traveling to another world, it’ll be you.” Trixie gave a smirky look before finally reaching the secret entrance of Starswirl’s study. “I’m sure you’ll have this whole thing solved before Twilight even hears about it.” “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” “A vote that is well earned. Now let’s hurry and find your friend so we can enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I hear that a new bakery opened in Restaurant Row and their bear claw is simply to die for.” “I promise. After this is done. That’ll be the next place we visit.” “I’ll hold you to that.” And thankfully they didn’t have to go far. As they entered the secret chambers, they immediately found Sunburst at the center of the room leaning on the stone table grumbling. “Sunburst?” Starlight approached and upon closer inspection discovered that her old friend was not grumbling but rather snoring lowly to himself. There were dark bags under his eyes and drooling spilling from his mouth. There was even a cartoony bubble floating atop his snout which threatened to burst at any second. “Sunburst? Hello?” “Bwah? Huh?” The young orange unicorn popped from his slumber looking rather dazed for a moment before noticing the two mares. “Oh~~ I know you~. Starxie and Trixlight.” “It’s… Starlight and Trixie.” “Yeah? What did I say? Ooff!” He wobbled weakly before slamming onto a pile of books. “Are you ok?” “Of course I am.” He said groggily like someone who was only half asleep and half awake. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Fit as a grown stallion. Totally completely and absoplicitly fine. Beyond fine actually. Did I mention I was fine?” He certainly didn’t look fine. In all honesty he looked like he barely had any sleep at all. “Hmm… incoherent thoughts, uncoordinated walk, baggy eyes, making up random words.” Trixie deduced imitating that of a detective. “From my professional perspective and wide array of knowledge: I can safely assume that you, Sunburst, are suffering an All-Nighter Syndrome.” “Is that a thing?” “Trust me. As a fellow all-nighter. I can tell.” Sunburst didn’t respond, but instead crashed onto the floor and dozed off. “Yup. I’m a hundred percent sure.” A raspy laugh followed after from the doorway. “That was perhaps the best research study I’ve had in centuries.” “Starswirl?” Starlight noted the old unicorn popping out looking equally exhausted. “What happened?” “Just a bit of a competition between two great minds.” He chuckled humorously followed by a long drawn yawn. “Forgive me. It’s been a while since I’ve had an All-Nighter Syndrome.” Trixie gave a snarky elbow blow. “Told ya.” “Sunburst and I spent the last few days using all of our magical knowledge to find the source of the otherworldly magic. And as a good sport, I must say that your friend here beat me to it.” The Headmare’s eyes lit up. “Wait… do you mean…?” “We found out where the magic in the human world came from.”