“Oh darling!” Rarity bemoaned the state of Gem’s dress with enough force for the both of them. “We must get you out of that immediately.”
“I’d rather-“
“And we simply must get that goop off!” Rarity added while levitating the baking pan away from the mare’s face. She felt she had to find Pinkie Pie as soon as she had heard the music and seen Vinyl playing an actual instrument. ’And not a moment too soon!’
Pinkie was on her hind legs, winding up to toss the contents of a bucket on the newcomer.
An intense stare from both Twilight and Rarity stopped her.
The party pony looked at the pair of unicorns, then down at the bucket, then back at them. They began to scowl at her.
She slowly put the bucket down on the ground and, taking the intensifying glares as cues, dipped a washcloth in it and gently wiped off the cake batter from Gemini’s face.
“Nice try dear.” Rarity said. “But she’s going to need a real bath to get it all out of her mane.” The fashionable pony shuddered and tensed at the idea of something grimy anywhere near her perfect coiffure.
“A… bath?” Gemini’s eyes widened, her face sporting a huge smile.
“Oh yes, a hot bath will prevent it from staining your coat.” The fashionista stated matter-of-factly eliciting a whoop of excitement from the cake-covered unicorn.
“Lead the way!” Gemini reared and kicked at the air happily. “I haven’t had one in ages!”
“Oh?” Rarity was taken aback. “You poor dear; you can tell me all about it at my boutique.”
“Mind if I tag along? I have some questions of my own –I mean! That is, if you don’t mind.” Twilight asked in her best Fluttershy impression, folding her ears and finding the ground hold her interest, to which Gem just nodded.
“Well! You heard them!” Pinkie said, pushing the other three mares. “Come on, there’s no time to lose! You must help me if we are to complete Plan Nine!”
“From outer space?” Lyra asked, retrieving her saddlebags with her magic and helping Applejack with hers.
“The same!” Pinkie answered.
“Uh, Pinkie? There haven’t been any shooting stars in a while…” Rainbow Dash pointed out the flaw in the mare’s scheme.
“Darn!” Applejack exclaimed as the three unicorns cantered down the road in the opposite direction.
*****
Dear Princess Celestia:
Please excuse the length of this letter, I know it’s very far from being the lengthiest, but I am aware it’s greater than the usual; I just have so much to tell you! Today I made a wonderful friend by the name of Gemini Prismriver; her past, though difficult, has tempered her ability – as Rarity so poetically expressed it- ‘to find the light in the deepest darkness and listen to unspoken words’. She is from somewhere outside of Equestria, where those with her particular gift are not appreciated; though when asked she merely responded by saying, and I quote, “I’m so far from home I can boast about it.”
Her ability, apparently gained from birth and inherited (I’ll expand on this later, I promise!), is born of chaos and creation magic -mostly parallel to the schools of transmutation and alchemy- and is closely related to her special talent. She said she discovered the later thanks to the mindset that comes from using the former.
This ‘bloodline talent’ being the ability to duplicate most things; used metaphysically on herself to synergize near-effortlessly with another creature regardless of species or magical ability, with a few, mostly pleasant, side-effects; as well as externally to easily duplicate most objects. There are exceptions, particularly items that have had spells cast upon them or can cast them on their own, since they would have to be enchanted separately.
Though her peculiar ability is indeed fascinating in its uses (and, sadly, abuses), I find that the supplementary skills she possesses in order to bring out the true potential of the first are of greater immediate interest – and less likely to be exploited by unscrupulous ponies at her expense.
*****
Gem trotted happily besides Rarity, with Twilight not far behind them.
“What was that about a dragon?” Twilight asked the first thing on her mind. Sure, she could have asked about the whole ‘chaos’ thing, but the dark tone the other mare had used when she said it made her reconsider. Of course, only after the words left her mouth she realized that maybe she wouldn’t want to speak of anything relating to her past, much less something so harsh and savage; that accursed scholarly thirst for knowledge had a pretty good grip on the lavender unicorn’s actions, taking control of her first, second, and even third instinct.
“That one was an evil jerk, so don’t worry about yours.” She answered with such nonchalance that if it weren’t for her witnessing it, Twilight wouldn’t have known it was a problematic issue. Then again, Gem did say she was OK now…
“My… what?” Twilight asked, only now realizing there was something odd with Gem’s reply.
“Your dragon! What else?” Gem answered with a slight hint of annoyance. “He’s much too small to cause much trouble anyways.”
Twilight stopped abruptly. “How do you know about Spike?”
“Smell, d’uh. You always meet a whole family with your nose, instead of just one target like with sight.” Gem’s answer filled Rarity with curiosity, so she stopped to listen intently.
“Besides your own scents, there’s that telltale reptilian musk mixed with the smell of cinders shared by nearly every fire dragon ever, there’s also burnt parchment plus gemstone dust –yes, I can tell- and he smells like a boy.”
She lowered her head and sniffed the ground, then at a rather pleasantly surprised Twilight.
“Sure smells like he comes this way a lot. Can’t be bigger than a pony… yes, he doesn’t reach past your withers…” Her face scrunched up in concentration. “Can’t be problematic if you live together; I can tell because you’re as soaked in draconic energy as one can be without at least being covered in freshly powdered scales.”
“You detect all that with your nose?” Twilight was surprised; if the cherry-haired mare could find out all that so quickly then her living out in the wilderness wouldn’t be so hard to imagine.
“With everything, actually.” Gem corrected.
*****
Did you know she can see energy no matter how small the concentration? Like magesight or scanning spells that can be sustained indefinitely and activated without effort! And not just see it, but by manipulating her own body she can slip into a state of synaesthesia! All with perfect clarity! She claims her body is suffused with magical energy from her horn down to the very tip of her tail, which reacts to external influences and those changes alert her to the outside world. She claims we should be a little like that too, instead of just letting energy pool in a single spot of our bodies… the things I could learn with an outsider’s viewpoint are so exiting I can barely contain it!
Anyways, thanks to that same sort of self-alteration abilities, she can manipulate the sensitivity of her physical senses as well, which she was glad to demonstrate. Apparently, besides my own ‘pony smell’, she can detect the scent of books, ink and parchment, as she can the slight touch of sap and wood from the tree the library is built into; my lavender-scented shampoo and jasmine soap, the fabric softener I use on my towel; as well as everything else I’ve come in contact with, like Spike and my breakfast. My magic and related energies get slightly more abstract to describe, but she was more than happy to demonstrate…
I now realize I’ve been ranting about what she can do, instead of writing about who she is. I apologize for getting carried away like that. I will also strive to keep a chronologic order.
“Well, Twilight is and has always been a curious filly. It isn’t the first time that she has let a mystery or a surprise like that distract her.” Celestia commented, and Luna smiled. “I wonder if Twilight has the skill and the insight to detect magic as well; maybe with help from this new friend…”
Her behavior is, overall, similar to a little filly’s; at least, it is when away from topics thought of as ‘strictly adult’ by our society, like gambling, or something annoys her enough. I am unable to ascertain if that is merely a result of the difficulties she faced while growing up making her compensate for a perceived wasted foalhood, or if that is her true character, or even a sign of some form of actual psychological damage… that last one is by far the least likely, all things considered, but I’m not discarding the possibility just yet.
Many things can be traced back to her parents; for example, during her foalhood they appear to have left her an accessory as a reminder to always be kind…
*****
Turning to the white unicorn, who also sported a look of interest of her own, Gemini gestured towards the path (accidentally flinging some batter). “Shall we?”
“O-of course dear…” Rarity tried fishing for the other mare’s name in her memory, only to discover she hadn’t yet asked for it in her haste. “Uh…”
“Gemini Prismriver.” She nodded quickly, tossing more batter. “Is there something wrong? You’re looking at me like you want to say something.”
Rarity blushed and tapped her hoof on the ground.
“W-well, if you insist. It might not be as interesting as Twilight’s question, but… uh…” Thanks to the batter, there was a small detail popping up that was bothering her, but it wasn’t something she wanted to call attention to; she settled for asking something else. “I wonder why you would… wear that badge.”
“It’s all that is physically left of where I… I… m-my parents gave…” She started to reply, but her voice faded by the end. Twilight gave her a small nuzzle and seemed to re-energize her spirit, even if she did get a dab of batter on her nose.
Rarity covered her mouth, which hung open in shock, and began to tear up herself.
“They had no choice but to part ways… I seriously doubt they could have taken care of me like that.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “So I’m alone. I don’t even know if they are alive. I take the smile as a reminder to be nice to others… I like it when others smile.”
“Like Pinkie.” Twilight said absent-mindedly.
“Oh no, she’s special.” At this she began tear up; the pony whose personality could be best described as ‘pink’ was really something else. “She cared. Her… her everything started to sparkle and ripple and-and then, when she began to sing, it just poured! No huge explosion, no great crash… her energy and liveliness just expanded and touched everything, and did it just because she wanted to make others happy. If I’m reading my parents’ message correctly, I want to be a part of that too."
“So, what was your real question?” Gem turned to Rarity, but before the white mare could make an excuse, she continued. “Please, I have beggared better poker-faces than that.”
Rarity folded her ears and rubbed her forelegs together, biting her lips; she quietly whispered something to her ears so that Twilight wouldn’t hear.
“That?” Now Gem was blushing, shrinking away from them. “I… well… it-it makes me feel pretty… was it wrong?”
“Of course not!” Rarity replied instantly, turning her head to make her hair sway in a dramatic fashion. “We are mares! It’s is our right to feel our best at all times! To look absolutely ravishing if we so desire!”
“I, Rarity, rising star of the world of fashion, am going to help you achieve said goals.” She finished with a final twist of her head, standing firm for added flair and dignity.
The messy unicorn could not get out any words, merely nodding and smiling in appreciation. The force of the white mare’s spirit was imposing, regal, and bright in all of its magnificence, just like that of nobility; Rarity felt like the kind of mare that would be hard to persuade once an idea got inside her head.
They reached Carousel Boutique not long after, Gemini pausing momentarily to admire the exterior.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” Rarity said while going off to prepare the bath.
Twilight looked around before her eyes fell back on Gem and- whoa, wait a second.
“Gemini?”
“Yus?” She asked through the smiley button badge held gently in her mouth.
“You’re clean.” She stated. Gem wasn’t just clean – she was spotless; her mane and coat looked as neat as Rarity liked hers. She was no longer wearing the dress, making Twilight realize Gem might have gotten rid of it the same way she had done with the duplicates of Lyra’s lyre and Applejack’s hat.
“Uh-huh. Se’f-ta’geted magik. Kinda.” She spoke through the button again, taking a good look inside Rarity’s home and place of business. Going from one jewel-encrusted saddle to a stallion’s tux then to a gorgeous ball gown, the red-eyed mare took in every beautiful detail with the awed look of a foal seeing her birthday presents.
*****
…She as a ‘monster’ had been forced to live far out of towns repeatedly, so that would make her desire to wear clothes and accessories of every possible design a normal reaction; her preference for her sundress stems from a need for practicality. This would also serve to explain her habit of eating staggering amounts of food –preferably bread and sweets- on each meal, but she claims it to be a cultural thing and unrelated to her situation outside of causing her to feel happiness, intense gratitude and relief. If she makes use of her abilities in order to find food in the wilderness, that might very well be true; eating massive quantities of food at a party is not as important to her as the fact that she’s been given said food at a party in her honor.
A white unicorn mare lowered the letter she had been reading, and a dark blue unicorn stallion nuzzled her.
“There, there.” He cooed. “If that is so, then she could not have chosen a better place to end up than Ponyville, and no better pony to meet than our daughter.” He paused a moment before smirking. “Except maybe you.”
The mare couldn’t help but chuckle.
*****
Twilight had a chance to look at Gemini’s cutie mark… it was elaborate. A sky-blue wisp of wind going in one direction, with another one below it –sparkly and in a deeper shade of blue- upside-down and going in the other direction (mirrored both ways, now that she thought about it); two black lines connected the wisps, which made Twilight realize that the wisps representing physical and magical energy respectively also formed part of the symbol for the constellation of Gemini.
‘Neat.’ Twilight added in her mind, noting that the symbol itself worked as a frame for a mirror at the center of it all.
Gem pawed at the frills of a dress, inspecting it closely; Twilight deducted that she was once more seeing beyond sight. Something besides the dresses seemed to have caught her attention, for she looked around to places that had nothing of interest. She placed her button gently on a table, before giving the place another quick glance.
“This… Spike seems to be fond of this place.” She inhaled deeply, looking at Twilight and her nod of confirmation. “This place is full of draconic essence; the good kind, the one that has its priorities straight.”
“Go on.” Twilight pushed; after all, the incident during the migration made her curious about dragons… any sort of knowledge was a treasure. “What do you know about dragons?”
“Dragon magic is not quite what many think it is. Dragons make huge hoards because they have the power to protect them.” She paused and winced. “If greed wins out, they become a twisted mockery of their selves.”
Twilight felt a stab of pain hearing that, which didn’t go unnoticed.
“Draconic power is… you might call me a little crazy, but for all of their destructive force is protection. Their breath destroys threats, their scales deflect blows, and their blood is rich in life; all so they can guard that which is important for them.”
“Ah! Given their longevity, and the perceived value of money, their misgivings lead them to amass large amounts of wealth!” Twilight said, having received a burst of insight. “Their fortune grows, and that makes them need more power to guard it, then they grow larger and stronger, but they just use their new-found strength to steal more treasure! It’s a vicious cycle!”
Gem looked at her strangely. “They grow with their hoard?”
“Well if they aren’t old enough to be that big naturally… it seems young dragons can’t quite control their instincts.” She let the words hang in the air as she recalled the grief in Spike’s face each time he saw the giant prints he left on the ground, or even the reconstruction efforts. She sighed and looked down at the floor. “He’s still a baby dragon.”
Twilight found herself on the receiving end of the very same pony hug Dash had, only she did not hesitate to return it. “If he has friends like you… all of you, then I can see he’s going to grow up into a kind, noble dragon.”
Twilight noted, with her new perspective, that Spike’s great desire to help rebuild the town could have been his ‘true’ nature shining forth, wishing to atone for having damaged something he held dear. Her memory recovering moment after moment of Spike going an extra mile, and then pushing himself another mile, each time he helped her or the others.
The only thing that had stopped him from going with her to find the Elements of Harmony was his body simply giving up and forcing him to fall sleep.
When Rarity had been abducted by Diamond Dogs, he hadn’t even hesitated to have a go at them; he had even disregarded the size difference and the greater numbers, but hadn’t just rushed blindly.
And when he had written checklists to the point he got cramps, he still wrote to her mentor in worry.
This and many other examples made the mare smile softly as she spoke.
“You know what? He already is.”
*****
Then I noticed –and told her- that he is.
“Knowledgeable little friend she made there.” Luna smiled as she heard Celestia speak the words on the letter. The Solar princess was looking thoughtfully at it, smiling as she remembered all of her own experiences while taking care of the little hatchling.
“That kind of insight is rare… perhaps ‘insight’ or ‘reflection’ is the meaning of her mirror cutie mark.” Celestia said, still pensive. “Mirror, mirror…”
“On the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Luna added, managing to get a dainty chuckle out of her sister.
Then, the white princess had a small revelation of her own. “That’s it! After all, if you want to look at yourself to get a new point of view…”
“You use a mirror; clever deduction, dear sister.” The midnight-blue pony completed the thought once more.