//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Force of Dreams // by Deathscar //------------------------------// Twilight raced around her library. Her eyes darted up and down every shelf, scanning the spines of the books. Rolls of parchment lay strewn all over the floor as she added more and more books to the large circular table that dominated the floorspace. “Not this one. Not this one either... Not this one too!” Twilight whispered to herself as she opened book after book, flipping through all the pages in a matter of seconds before tossing it into a random area of the library. The knocking on the door went unheard as Twilight continued to dash through the various rooms, reading any and every tome, bit of parchment or scroll that she could lay her hooves on. The knocks grew impatient. Soon they were loud, slamming bucks of sturdy hooves. Twilight, who was nose-deep in An Almanac of Ausneighlian Animals, jerked her head in surprise. “The door’s open!” she shouted. The hinges gave a tired squeak as a cyan pegasus took a few tentative steps in. A loud slamming noise erupted from the floor above, making her jump. “T-Twilight... you alright up there?” Rainbow asked, slightly concerned. Ascending the steps, Rainbow came upon the mess that was present at the main floor of the library. Purple flashes of magical light dazzled her as Twilight teleported around. Each step Rainbow took was accompanied by the crunch of paper. She made sure to watch her step, not wanting to stub her hoof on any of the large tomes lying hidden among the sea of paper. Twilight came to rest some way away, at the other side of her room, her nose stuffed in a book. “Heya, Twi. What’s going on?” Rainbow inquired, swishing her way over to the purple unicorn. "You’re not looking for a way to understand Pinkie again, are you?” “No! This is so much worse!” Twilight hadn’t glanced at Rainbow once since she entered, continuing to pour over her books. “Princess Celestia sent me a scroll with a couple of riddles and I can’t find the answer to them!” “Right,” Rainbow replied in her sarcastic tone, knowing her unicorn friend all too well. “Is there a due date to that riddle?” “No. I was sure she told me to only respond to her once, but I need to show her I can deliver an answer within a day!” Rainbow looked completely stumped. “Why? I mean, when I get assignments during Flight Academy, I always leave it until the night before. To have an assignment with no deadline, that’s like, the best thing ever!” Twilight didn’t seem to hear Rainbow’s rant as a few seconds of silence fell over the two, only the sound of the intense flipping of the pages could be heard. “So,” Rainbow spoke. “Do you need help with whatever it is you’re doing?” Not a second had passed before a tall pile of books thudded onto the table in front of her. Rainbow stared at the pile with her mouth hung open. “This pile is twice the height of me!” “Then you better get started!” Twilight rebutted. Rainbow flew up and snatched the first book from the top of the pile. “Forces of the Universe,” Rainbow read the title to herself aloud. “...For dummies!?” “I figured the advanced book 2000 pages thick would have been too much,” Twilight answered, not even looking up. Rainbow grumbled several words under her breath before opening the book. “Wait.” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she lowered the book down from her face. “What am I even looking for?” Her words fell on deaf ears as Twilight continued to scan through several scrolls. “Twilight?” Rainbow inquired. Twilight did not look up. “Twilight,” she repeated once more, slightly louder, but Twilight was still absorbed in her reading. “Twilight!” Twilight yelped in surprise, dropping the book she was reading. “What is it, Rainbow!? In fact, what are you even doing here this time of night!?” she growled, slightly agitated. Rainbow glanced out the window to see the sparkling stars outside, she took a deep breath in before flying forward and lowering the scroll from Twilight’s face. “Umm, Twi... It’s Daring Do night.” Twilight’s eyes grew wide as she dropped the scroll. “T-That’s... tonight!?” Rainbow nodded, which caused Twilight to immediately teleport across the room with a ‘pop!’. Twilight stared up at the calendar she had hung there, horrified.. “The 5th. It’s a Wednesday! Oh, pony!” Twilight closed her eyes shut and concentrated as hard as she could, lifting up all the papers, books and all, present in the library and placing them neatly back onto the shelves they belonged to. Rainbow sat at the spot which Twilight had just shot up from, her face showing an unsurprised look as Twilight burst into the kitchen. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow!” Twilight apologized, her voice resonating from the small room across Rainbow. “It’s no problem, Twi.” “I’ll get the treats ready as soon as I can!” Sounds of plates banging and cupboards opening and slamming shut could all be heard clearly from where Rainbow sat. “Really, Twi, it’s no problem!” Rainbow shouted back, looking over at the only scroll left sitting on the circular table of the library. “Hmm...” Rainbow unrolled the piece of rolled-up paper laying on the table, reading the beautiful handwriting of the scroll, a handwriting all too familiar to the pegasus. “Let’s see what the Princess wrote. ‘Dear Twilight, we all know that ponies are held to the ground due to the force called gravity. However, there are many other forces in the world, some scientific, others not so. I would like you to find the answer to the two riddles I have included in this letter. Please take your time, I do not expect a quick reply. May it take weeks or years, I only wish for you to send an answer to me when you are sure the answers are correct.'" "'Riddle #1: Everypony sees themselves in me, but I don’t reflect. Everypony chases me, yet few are able to catch me. Everypony has me, yet most ponies lose me. What am I? Riddle #2: I am the force that drags two ponies together, yet my bond strengthens when they are further apart. Everypony seeks to find me, but I have been found by only a few. I can make a pony question his or her life, yet I am also able to give a pony a reason to live. What am I? Hint: Both answers don’t go well with each other, most of the times, ponies would have to choose one or the other.’ ” Rainbow chuckled softly upon reading the paper. “Twilight, you’re such an egghead,” she giggled. The unicorn in question appeared once again in the room, this time hovering two cups sitting on a tray down in front of Rainbow. “Here.” “Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow said, looking up at Twilight, but she was immediately cut off. “Oh no!” Twilight immediately smacked her hoof to her forehead. “I forgot the crackers, didn’t I? Be right back!” She zoomed back into the kitchen. “Wait! It’s not... that.” Rainbow couldn’t help but smile while rolling her eyes at Twilight’s distressed movements. It wasn’t long before Twilight returned, this time levitating two plates, each filled with a small hill of biscuits. “Hey, Twilight, I think I-” “I’m so sorry, Rainbow!” she blurted out before setting the biscuits down next to the two cups of cocoa. “It’s fine, Twi. Just relax and let’s get started!” “Right! We’re starting on a new book, correct?” “Yup! Daring Do and the Feather of Dreams!” “Got it!” Twilight acknowledged before her horn glowed a bright purple as she brought a book from the highest shelf down in front of them. The cover was colorful and vibrant, like the other books in the series. It was a still frame of Daring Do leaping up towards the cover from a cloud below, her left hoof extending higher than the others, towards the top of the book where the words ‘Daring Do and the’ was written. In her left hoof gripped a small blue feather, glowing a bright purple glow and turned sideways, with the rest of the title, ‘Feather of Dreams’, written on it. Further down below Daring stood Ahuizotl and his minions, ferocious looks on their faces as they stared up at the sand-colored pegasus. “Let’s get started already!” Rainbow impatiently said with a huge grin on her face. Twilight giggled upon hearing Rainbow’s enthusiasm as both of them moved to a small pile of cushions near the window, a small candle near them. “Umm, Twi... do you wanna turn off the lights? Maybe light the candle near us?” Rainbow suggested, turning her head away from Twilight. Twilight took a look around the room, the lights around the library made the place clear and bright. “Why would I wanna do that?” she questioned, her eyebrows arching together Rainbow dismissed the question quickly. “N-nothing. Let’s get started.” Twilight shrugged and flipped open to the first page, reading out the words she saw. “Chapter 1: Starting Anew. Daring Do had just finished her most recent adventure, one that challenged who she trusted and who she could let go. She sat in her apartment, ready for the next task at hand because she finally had a new accomplice to take on the world’s challenge with her! She was too absorbed into her thoughts to hear the knocking at the door...” Twilight sat the book on the table, looking at Rainbow, whose eyes had begun to close, a smile on her face. “Tired, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, standing up and stretching her hooves. Rainbow merely replied with a soft nod of her head. “Well then, I think that’s the end of tonight’s Daring Do night.” Rainbow laughed a little before standing up herself and approached the balcony. “Oh pony...” Twilight whispered to herself, her eyes darting to areas near her. “What’s wrong?” “I think I used up the last of my bookmarks. Now I have no way of marking where we stopped,” Twilight sighed. “Hmm... .” Rainbow lifted her hoof to her chin. Her eyes widened as she gave a smile. “I got it!” she exclaimed before turning her head around to her wing and plucking a light-blue father. “Here.” Rainbow passed the feather to Twilight, who stood with her mouth agape. “A-are you sure? Doesn't that hurt!?” “Please, if this hurts me, I’ll have no chance with the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow reasoned. Twilight merely giggled as she slid the feather in the middle of the two pages where they had stopped. “Heya, Twi?” “Hmm?” “You’ll be there, right?” Twilight gave a confused stare towards Rainbow. “I’ll be there for...?” Rainbow lowered her head a little, hiding a small frown. “The Wonderbolts audition happening in 3 days.” Twilight gave a horrified look for a split-second before quickly changing it to a calm expression. “Of-of course I’ll be there! I just thought it was obvious!” Rainbow smirked a little, staring at the lying Twilight. “Thanks, Twi. See you when I see ya!” Twilight gave a nod at Rainbow’s goodbye phase, the phase she had always said at the end of Daring Do night. “See you, Rainbow.” Rainbow trotted out on the balcony, spreading her wings and taking into the night skies. Twilight stood at the door to her balcony, her eyes focused on the pegasus taking off. “I’ll miss you,” Twilight whispered when she was sure Rainbow was out of earshot. She turned around, levitating several books off her shelf to continue her search for the answer to the riddles. Proofreading done by: writer and J.Xayph