//------------------------------// // γ // Story: The Tragic Story of Twilight Sparkle, or Twilight // by A Fistful of Apples //------------------------------// γ A Prometheus Born Twilight got out of bed. She felt gross, sweaty and smelly. Her muscles were sore from disuse. At the same time, she felt better than she had ever felt in her life. Powerful. Invincible. The entire cosmos had been opened to her. Nothing was unknown. She could do anything, be anything. "Twilight!" shouted Spike. He ran up to her and hugged her tight. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight patted his head with her hoof. She heard him sniffle slightly. He was crying. She smiled down at him, then looked up at her friends. They all looked pretty much just as Spike did. Unbelievably happy. Her smile brightened. Then she saw the princess. "My most faithful student, I'm so happy you're alright," she began. "But don't you think you should rest? It was only a moment ago that you were sick." Spike finally let go. Twilight leaned forward and gave him one last nuzzle before looking back up at the princess. "I'm fine Princess. I've never felt better. Though, I think I need a bath." "Coming right up!" said Spike, and he eagerly ran towards the bathroom. The sound of the water running could be heard moments later. "Princess, I have so much to tell you!" said Twilight. "But not right now. I'll send letters!" Without waiting for reply she rushed to the bathroom and shut the door. "I'm sorry Princess!" said Rarity. "I'm sure Twilight didn't mean any disrespect, running from us like that. She must not be quite herself, she - " The princess raised a hoof and waved her off. "It's fine," she said smiling. "Twilight appears healthy now, and that's all that matters. Though I am curious what happened to her to put her in such a state in the first place." The others nodded. "I suppose now that the danger has passed, I should leave. Tell Twilight I am pleased she's recovered, and I look forward to her future reports on friendship." Twilight lay in the bath, Spike outside the tub keeping her company. Ideas formed in her mind like the thousands of bubbles in the tub. It was a long road ahead of her, but it'd be worth it. For now, she was content to simply soak in the warm water and let her mind cloud. "I'm so glad you're alright," said Spike. He was just sitting on a stool, still. He looked to be thinking. "I was so afraid you were going to... die." Twilight frowned. "I know Spike, and I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm okay now though. You don't have to worry anymore." She turned around and rose slowly. She got out of the tub. "Spike, go out and tell the girls they can go home. We have a lot of work to do. Also, clean up those decorations. I'm awake now, we won't need them." Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Mephistopheles step forward. "I suspect Pinkie will want to throw a party to your recovery." Twilight mentally nodded. "Tell Pinkie she can throw a party later, but not now. After that, sharpen the quills and bring out several inkwells and sheets of parchment. And bring out a book of directories. There's a lot of work to be done Spike, we best get started now." "I could tell you what you need to know," said Mephistopheles. "You do not need a directory." "I would prefer to do some things myself," said Twilight mentally. "It's not too much extra work." "Well uh... okay Twilight," said Spike, oblivious to the conversation between Twilight and the spirit. "Whatever you say." He left the bathroom. Twilight's horn glowed, and a towel lifted up and began to dry her. She smiled in wonder. She knew how that worked. She took her time, drying her coat, brushing her mane and tail, making sure to get the strands behind her ears nice and smooth, before she took a file to her hooves. Nopony had filed her hooves while she was asleep, so they were getting unshapely. Her horn as well, needed filing. As time passed and she felt herself clean and neat, she left the bathroom and saw that Spike had done as she told. Her friends weren't there anymore, and there were no unruly decorations or flowers littering her bedroom. Down in the main room, Spike worked, setting down ink wells from the stockroom. "Almost done Twilight," said Spike. Twilight nodded, and waited patiently for the dragon to finish his work. No sooner than he finished setting everything, Twilight lifted a quill with her magic, along with a sheet of parchment, and began writing. Quickly, she jotted down a list of things for Spike to do. She needed time to work on other things, so she couldn't hound him all day giving him orders. He had to do it himself if she was to get anywhere. Finally she finished and shoved the list of chores to Spike, who looked at it and began reading. Twilight then picked up another bit of parchment and walked over to one of the free drafting tables and set to work designing a new place to live.  It needed to be next to a river, for it needed not only a supply of water for purification, but for cooling and power. It'd be nice to be near the Everfree Forest as well. It had very strong Xi flows all over it which would be useful for experimentation. Silently she worked. "Uh, Twilight," said Spike. Twilight didn't bother to look up or stop what she was doing. "Yes Spike?" she said. "You want me to buy all these things? Six pounds of cinnabar, fifty pounds of gold and silver...you have dozens of different plants and woods and stuff. How are you supposed to afford this? All this will cost a fortune!" "Go to the bank, take out a loan. I'm sure they'll approve it. I'm well regarded after all. Also, get an extra one hundred and fifty thousand bits." Twilight could hear the dragon cough and sputter. "One hundred fifty thousand!? There's no way!" Twilight sighed and turned around. The quill she was using continued to hover in the air. "If there's a problem, remind them that I'm the Princess's most loyal and faithful student. I'm good for it." Silently, she asked Mephistopheles if there was anything else she could do to get the bank to accept. The spirit-pony stood behind the drafting table, shifting his tail from left to right. "The owner of the bank is particularly fond of gems. She also enjoys music and dancing. She would also prefer nopony find out that she's involved in underground gambling." Twilight couldn't stop herself from audibly sneering. "I won't resort to blackmail," she said inwardly. Mephistopheles shrugged. "It's up to you. I just give you information." Twilight focused back on Spike. "If the bank refuses even after all that, tell me and I'll go over there myself." Spike nodded dumbly. "Hurry Spike!" said Twilight, and without hesitation Spike bolted out of the library and hopefully, towards the bank. Spike turned back to her work. There would have to be at least two levels to this house, as well as a basement level. It would need to be well insulated and ventilated. It needed to be large. She would fill it with hundreds of instruments and tools, and it needed room to accommodate them all. She'd need help in construction. Absentmindedly she levitated another quill, and it jotted down several of her friend's names and the duties she'd  need them to perform to help with this project. She was sure they'd agree to it. At the bank, Spike held his list of items and the calculations for the amount of money it'd all cost, plus the extra one hundred and fifty thousand. He presented it to the clerk he was speaking with. She looked at it and rolled her eyes. "This is a lot of money," she said. She was a pretty unicorn, wearing glasses and clip in her blue mane. But her eyes were sharp and Spike could see already he wasn't going to be able to settle this loan. "Why does Twilight need all this?" Spike merely shrugged. "She didn't say. She just told me to remind you that she's the most loyal and faithful of all of the Princess's students and she's good for the money." The clerk nodded. "I don't doubt that, but we can't just loan vast sums of money to all of the princess's students. If they were that loyal and faithful, and in that much need, surely the princess herself would give them the money?" She passed the note back. "I'm afraid that without a very good reason, there's no way this bank could accept such a loan." Spike nodded, disappointed. He hoped Twilight wouldn't be too mad.  Of course, he wouldn't mind too much even if she was. It was only a few hours ago that she was lying in bed, him worrying for her life. He still wasn't quite over the fact that she was alive and healthy again. When Spike returned, Twilight has just finished the finishing touches on her house plan. rolling it up and filing it away, she proceeded to grab another sheet of parchment, throwing away her spent ink well and fetching a new one. Spike saw there was already a small pile of empty ink wells. "Should I go buy more ink?" he asked. "Yes," said Twilight. "I see things didn't go well at the bank." Mephistopheles had reported so after it happened. Spike dropped his list of items on a table and shuffled his feet. "Sorry Twilight, they dismissed it out of hoof." Twilight wasn't nearly so annoyed as she thought she'd be. "It doesn't matter, I'll go tomorrow myself. In the meantime, make those orders out anyway. I suspect that we can still get everything on credit." Spike nodded, and set to work. "Wait!" said Twilight. Spike jumped up in shock. "First, get the ink! Bring a sandwich back after that! I'm starving! Get something for yourself too. Buy more parchment, oh, and a cupcake for dessert! Don't stop by Sugarcube Corner though, Pinkie's already planning a party and if she sees you she'll assume it's okay to throw it, and we're much too busy for that!" Her commands were a jumble, and Spike had to think hard to reorder them in his mind into something that made sense. He did what she said, only to come back to see half a dozen quills floating upon half a dozen sheets of parchment, all writing different things. He didn't think such fine magical control was possible. Spike was suddenly worried. Twilight was different somehow. He wondered if she had come out of that coma all right after all. "Spike, there you are!" she said, taking the sandwich from him and shoving a stack of parchment in front of his face. "Send those to Princess Celestia!" Spike looked at the first page. On it was an incomprehensible diagram consisting of dozens of circles, some labelled with names and strange symbols, most not, with all sorts of odd numbers and calculations on them. "What am I looking at?" asked Spike. He noticed she didn't even look up from what she was doing before answering. "It's a diagram of the celestial bodies and their motions, the calculations used to arrive at this motion, planetary compositions, and so on and so forth. I'm sure the princess will have particular interest in it." She smiled, but it faded almost as quickly as it began. "Their... motion?" Spike asked. He knew the Sun and Moon's motion were at the whim of the Princesses, but he never paused to think about what moved the other planets. He looked at the diagram again. His eyes widened. "Twilight, there's more than five planets here!" he said. Twilight again didn't look up. Her faced scrunched up in concentration, the way she usually did when she was working on something particularly difficult. Spike couldn't even guess what was occupying her mind so, she was obviously doing so many things at once. His brain hurt just thinking about it. "The chart counts the Sun and Moon, as well as the sphere of fixed stars. Further, I have discovered two more planets past Saturn. I call them Uranus and Neptune." "What?" said Spike, not understanding. "What's the sphere of fixed stars? Where did you come up with these names? How did you even have time to discover any new planets?! You've been in bed for the past week!" "Don't worry about it Spike. It's all just a matter of... inspiration. The conclusions follow from the observations." "I don't know what you're talking about." Spike did as commanded however, and with one great breath he sent the stack of unrolled parchments to the Princess. After a few minutes, there wasn't a reply. They worked late into the night. Spike sent several more stacks of parchments to the Princess. He cleaned up after Twilight's work. He made her dinner, and snacks when she got hungry, brought her things to drink, and cleaned away the empty plates and cups when she was done. She smiled and nodded at his diligence, but it was clear she wasn't paying attention to him. Spike had seen her like this before, back in Canterlot. When she was studying for exams or otherwise completely caught up in something. It wasn't good for her. He hoped she'd set some time for her friends later. Twilight worked as long as she could. She watched Spike collapse a few hours past nightfall. She was surprised he had lasted as long as he had. Owlowicious rose and took over his duties. He wasn't as good. She needed Mephistopheles to translate his sounds into something she could understand. He couldn't send letters to Luna, who was the one up now. He couldn't run errands, even if there were many ponies up now. All he could do was clean up around her, or maybe cook her something. "You are fatigued," said Mephistopheles. "Your work is suffering." He had his simulacrum appear as if resting, though Twilight knew it was just for her benefit. He had no physical body, he was not composed of the same stuff she was. "Fatigue is just one's Xi frequency lowering slightly. My body will produce the appropriate humours to keep me going. I must work." "You know that is a temporary measure. You will suffer if you are awake for too long. The body can't produce enough, and if it could, there would be side effects. You know this." Twilight sighed. She finished her sentence and put the quill down. She was running out of ink again anyway. And she knew he was right. "Very well." She went to sleep. In her dreams, she walked along the streets of Ponyville. It was a different Ponyville, one shaped by her knowledge. The streets were paved, the town a city, the city covered in a dome woven from Air-Silver threads which filtered out unwanted weather and kept the temperature at a steady and comfortable 72'F. There was a local train station which didn't need to be pulled by muscular male ponies, but which ran automatically, having an engine which took fire from the light, heating the impure water and removing the air from it, which rose to its natural place, turning pistons and levers which charged the rails. The front was covered with Fire-Gold, the rails Fire-Gold as well, with uniformly spaced golden pins with cinnabar paint, strengthening the Xi flows along the rail and rarefying the air below the train. A pony could travel the circumference of the world in little over an hour on such a device. Ponies of all types flew over her head, and she knew that far above, Celestial Ships carved from the planets travelled the spheres. Nopony was hungry, for food could be produced without plants. Everypony was happy. It was a dream showing a world of her making, and she hoped she would never wake from it. But she did. It was nearly noon, and she silently cursed herself for sleeping so long. Spike was already up, in the kitchen. She could hear him cooking, and her mouth watered at the prospects of eating. She was very hungry. "Morning Twilight," said Spike as she trotted downstairs. "I let you sleep in. I don't know how long you stayed up, but when I went to wake you, you looked beat." "I appreciate the concern Spike," said Twilight. She looked down as Spike set a plate in front of her. Eggs, carrots, some toast with butter, daffodils. She dove in. It tasted wonderful, and it only improved her mood even further. She didn't dawdle on it though, and was finished with her breakfast before Spike had even had a chance to eat his own. "First thing I'm going to do is go to the bank. I need to get this loan. Those orders you sent should have gone out by now, so while I'm gone, make room for it all somewhere. Maybe down in the lab. Move all the junk in a corner or something." "Sure thing Twilight," said Spike. He saluted her. She took a deep breath and stepped out into town. The sun was bright above her. It hurt her eyes. She hadn't been outside in over a week. She had forgotten. As she kept her eyes down to keep the pain away, she noticed the happy faces giving her greeting and well-wishes. It seemed everybody was glad she was finally okay. She smiled and waved her hoof at them as they walked passed. Arriving at the bank, she wasted no time in entering. It wasn't a very large bank. Ponyville was a small town after all. "Which one was the one Spike spoke with?" she asked Mephistopheles. The spirit trotted behind her. "That one," he pointed. She nodded absent-mindedly, and made her way to the offending clerk. She didn't smile as Twilight approached. "What can I do for you?" she asked. "Does she know why I'm here?" asked Twilight silently to Mephistopheles. "Yes," he said. "You know why I'm here," said Twilight. "And I'm pretty sure you're not going to give me what I want. So I want to talk to the owner. Where is she?" "Glittery Gold is in her office on the second floor. I'm sure she wouldn't mind speaking with you, but I doubt her opinion will be different from mine. You are free to try to convince her, however." Twilight nodded curtly. "Thank you." On the second floor, Glittery Gold's was the largest and most adorned office. Clearly, this was a pony who valued wealth. Twilight filed that away along with the other things she knew about the pony. "What is she doing now?" asked Twilight. "She is looking over financial reports from a farm adjacent to your friend Applejack's farm. She is not terribly interested and will certainly accept a distraction." Twilight took that as an invitation to just open the door and walk in without knocking. The pony named Glittery Gold looked up from her reports. Her eyes grew interested as Twilight walked up to her desk. From the inside, the office was lavishly furnished. Paintings, photos, and various trophies adorned the walls. There were lots of comfortable looking places to rest for visitors. There were jewels embedded in the walls. Small, unassuming ones, but they were there anyway. On one side there was a cabinet. Twilight asked what was in it, and Mephistopheles replied "Alcohol." He elaborated on the specific kinds, but she didn't really care about that. It was unusual enough for a pony to have it at all. Ponies looked down upon drinking. "I'd like a loan," said Twilight, when she got close. The pony smiled. "One of the clerks downstairs will be happy to help you with that." Twilight shook her head. "Already tried that. You see, I'd like a large loan." Glittery Gold's smile faded slightly. "How large." "Around the order of two hundred thousand bits." Her smile faded completely. "That is indeed a large loan. Why do you need it?" "Does it matter? I need it. I am Princess Celestia's prized pupil, her most loyal and faithful student. I'm good for any loan." Glittery Gold brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "I don't think that'd be enough. Even loyal and faithful ponies make mistakes. What if, through no fault of your own, you're unable to pay it back? Why not just go straight to the princess, if you are so loyal and faithful?" "I would prefer to not bother the princess with such base requests. Besides, wouldn't you prefer I give you the chance to make a decent profit off the interest?" Glittery Gold's eyes narrowed. "Is there anything she really wants?" asked Twilight to Mephistopheles. "Nothing you can currently offer," he replied. "What about diamonds or other gems? Rarity is good at finding them." "She can already get as many as she wants. I'm certain she would not accept such an offer. The risk is still too much for her." "I don't think I can help you," Glittery Gold said finally. "It's too risky. I can't do it." Twilight was beginning to get annoyed. "I would think somebody with your type of hobbies would be attracted to such risk." Glittery Gold's complexion drained. Her previously shiny yellow coat suddenly seemed very pale. "What is she thinking?" Twilight asked the knowledge spirit. "She's trying to decide if you actually know anything, or if what you said is just a coincidence. She fears you know more than you should. She worries you'll start talking around town. Her thoughts are now on her own financial ruin. She's worried what would happen to her foals, for her husband is dead." That snapped Twilight back to sense. She couldn't believe she had said that. Before she could try and say something else, Glittery Gold spoke. "Very well then," she growled out. "I'll give you the loan. But I don't want to see you here again." Twilight wanted to apologise... but she didn't. Glittery Gold took out a piece of parchment and wrote something on it. She passed it to Twilight. "Give that to one of the secretaries downstairs, they'll open an account here for you with the money inside. Now leave my office." Twilight did so. Back at the library, Spike was busy making lunch. She'd been at the bank longer than she had thought. "Everything's taken care of with the loan," Twilight said. "When everything starts pouring in tomorrow, we'll be able to send cheques. In the meantime, I have these." She levitated a few envelopes and gave them to Spike. "Deliver these please. One's for Applejack, one's for Rarity, one's for Rainbow Dash. Try to avoid Pinkie Pie. After that drop these off to the post office." This time it was a large stack of orders, requests, and other miscellanea. Spike glanced at what they were for. "Jeez Twilight, what could we possibly need all this for? Are we building a house?" "Yes," said Twilight. Spike didn't know how to reply, so he merely nodded before walking out of the library on his duties. "Um...." said Twilight. "What's Glittery Gold doing right now?" "Drinking," replied Mephistopheles. Twilights ears lowered. She didn't mean to do that. She just really needed that loan. It was all for a good cause. Everything was going to be fine for the poor bank owner. The next day supplies started pouring in just like Twilight had predicted. Twilight's three friends, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had come over. Applejack had brought Apple Bloom along as requested. "No what's all this about Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I must say I'm very confused as well," said Rarity. "It wasn't too long ago that we were worried sick about you, and now you want us all to come help you with some big project? It's all very sudden." "Where's Pinkie and Fluttershy?" asked Applejack. "And why'd I bring Apple Bloom here?" "Because I'm a big pony," said Apple Bloom, puffing out her chest. "Girls, please," said Twilight. "I need your help with making something. I need to build a new house. This library's too small, and is too much of a fire hazard. I didn't ask Pinkie or Fluttershy to come because I didn't think they were suited to this task. I asked you to bring Apple Bloom because I heard she was quite the handy pony. I'm lucky it's summer so she can help all day." Apple Bloom smiled at the praise. "Build a house?" asked Rarity. "But dear, why? You live in such a lovely place already." "As I said," said Twilight. "It's too small for my future needs. And burns too easily. Too many books." Rainbow Dash laughed. "I didn't think I'd ever hear those words come out of your mouth Twilight. Haha, 'too many books.'" Twilight was nonplussed. "I've read them all anyway. I don't need them. So anyway, will you all help?" "Well, if you need it, of course we'll help," said Applejack. "We're at your service," said Rarity. "I guess," said Rainbow Dash. "Alright then!" said Twilight, pulling out several large sheets of parchment. She knocked a bunch of stuff off the table in the middle of the room and laid the parchment down so everypony could see it. Rarity only took a quick glance at it before speaking. "This is... quite a house," she said. "This will take a lot of work. A lot of space as well. Where do you plan to build this?" "I bought a plot of land on the river next to Applejack's farm. It's near the Everfree Forrest." "What about the supplies?" asked Applejack. "Lot a lumber gonna go into this." "It's all taken care of. I'm having things delivered to the site as we speak.   "Where did you get the money?" asked Rarity. "What's with the thousand questions?" asked Twilight, more forcefully than she intended. Rarity shrank from her words, and Twilight suddenly felt terrible. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to shout. I'm just really eager to get started. Just trust me, everything's been taken care of. We just need to get to work." "Well all right then," said Applejack. "Let's get to it." The plot Twilight has selected was around one hundred by one hundred acres, a very large amount of land. It was mostly level, sturdy but infertile soil, rocky and difficult to work. The rocks it did grow weren't even useful. Which is why nopony had bought it. But it was perfect for Twilight. It was backbreaking work. Despite Twilight's wishes, Fluttershy and Pinkie would come by often to help as well. Pinkie mostly just tried to keep up morale, while Fluttershy did the little things. Together, Twilight supposed they helped a little, but it wasn't a big boost in productivity. It wasn't long before Twilight had to hire specialists. She needed metalworkers to set up the boilers and the forge. She stressed the importance of following her plans exactly, and the workers indeed followed her instructions without too much fuss. After it was too dark to work, Twilight would go back to the Library and write more to Celestia or Luna. After a month, and half way through her new house's completion, she finally got a reply. It was from Celestia, and it said only a few words. I would like to see you as soon as possible.