She slowly opened her eyes. It was her room. Hers, to call her own. So why did she feel like a stranger?
As far as she knew, Cottontooth didn't exist in the days that she could interact with other ponies. That meant she had all day to do whatever she wanted without fear of him trying to muck things up. It was her chance to try all she could to convince Twilight that Cottontooth was not a pony worth her time. If her off-the-wall assumption was correct, Enigma could eventually convince Twilight through her dreams that being Cottontooth's special somepony was a disastrous mistake.
This wasn't a fruitless effort... it couldn't be. Enigma was bound and determined to make sure that this cruel, thoughtless pony wouldn't be allowed to ruin Twilight's life as he'd ruined hers. If she had one reason left to exist, this would be it, and she would do all she could to stop him.
Holding this resolve as her guiding light, she marched straight to the tree house and knocked on the door. Spike opened the door, saying, “Hello, how may... uh, hi.”
Enigma gave him an odd look. “Yes... I'm Enigma, and I'm new in Ponyville. This is the library?”
Spike hesitated, then nodded and opened the door for Enigma. She trotted in, looked around, and didn't see Twilight. Spike asked, “Can I help you with something?”
She hesitated. Was it wise to lie to Spike? Probably not, though he wouldn't remember tomorrow. Still, lying wasn't in her nature. She'd tell him the truth. “Okay, this probably won't make any sense to you... but I need to speak with Twilight Sparkle. I know she's head librarian here, and there's something we need to discuss. Is she around?”
Spike looked at her suspiciously. “What do you need to tell her?”
“It's about a stallion she just met. I'm an acquaintance of his.”
“Um... all right. Wait right here.”
Spike went down the staircase located in the library, emerging after a few moments and saying, “She'll be up soon.”
Enigma nodded affirmation and stayed quiet. After three or four minutes, Spike asked, “So, what's your name?”
“Enigma.”
“That's an odd name. What did they name you that for?”
“Well, when I was born, I disappeared from the hospital I lived in for about 2 hours. Nopony knew what happened to me, not even me. Then, as mysteriously as I'd disappeared, I showed back up again. So, they named me Enigma because I'm a mystery.”
“Huh. Guess that explains the cutie mark.”
“Actually, no. That's because of my special talent. I'm actually very good with riddles and puzzles. Wanna hear one?”
“Um... sure! I like riddles!”
“All right.” Enigma thought for a moment, then grabbed a piece of nearby parchment that was blank and began scribbling notes on it. After a few moments, she said, “Done!” and told Spike her new riddle:
“Spineless, naked, thin,
But simple and sweet all the same,
I only tell you what you need to know,
But have led many to fame.
What am I?”
In retrospect, another “What am I?” riddle was crippling her creative spark, but it didn't seem like Spike would get anything more complicated, so she stuck with what a simpler mind would still appreciate. The dragon, for his part, scratched his head before shrugging. Enigma smiled mischievously, saying, “We'll ask Twilight when she gets up here, then!”
“Is somepony talking about me?” Twilight came up from the basement wearing a lab coat and goggles, adjusting them on her face before scrutinizing Enigma. “Yes, what's so important? I'm in the middle of a pretty big experiment right now, you're lucky I was able to pull myself away to see you!”
“Well, I do have something important to talk to you about, but your assistant seems stuck on a riddle I just gave him--”
“Yes, I'll hear it later, I'm busy now. What's the important thing you have for me?”
“Well... um...” Now that the moment had arrived and Twilight seemed overly impatient, Enigma seemed very out of place and whiny. Was this really such a big deal?
Obviously, it was. Cottontooth was a terrible stallion, and Twilight was a wonderful mare. This was not going to happen on Enigma's watch. “My name is Enigma. Do you remember the stallion you met yesterday? Cottontooth?”
“Cottontooth? Yes, I remember him. A brown stallion with a light-brown mane. What about him? I don't know him very well, if you have questions about him.”
“Well, I've known him since fillihood... did you know he's interested in you?” She decided blunt would be the best way for Twilight to remember this conversation. Hopefully, this would carry over to the next day.
“Well, um...” Twilight seemed somewhat taken aback at this. “I... yes, somewhat. He made it quite obvious, but I didn't return the attentions.”
Good. “Don't. He used to be a very kind and caring stallion, but has since become very mean and bitter. He's not worth your attentions until he changes his ways.”
Twilight looked appraisingly at Enigma. “Why, thank you! I was wondering if he would be by to bother me again today, but I peeked outside the window this morning and didn't see him. Thank you very much for this information. I will make sure to keep him at leg's reach.”
“He won't be back today... but he will be back. Soon. Remember what I've told you, Twilight. He is not a good stallion.” There was a short, awkward pause as Enigma absently kicked the wooden floor of the treehouse, exhibiting a dull thud. “I better let you get back to work. It was... nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Not a problem! Will you be in Ponyville long?” Twilight seemed eager to speak to Enigma more.
“I... well, sort of. If you're asking if I'll be busy, then not really.”
“Spike, how is tomorrow looking?” Spike ran over to a drawer, opened it, then pulled his head out and shook it. “Book something for tomorrow: Tea with Enigma at noon. Does that sound acceptable to you, Enigma? Sorry we can't speak more today, but I'm busy, as you can see.” Twilight tossed her head back toward the staircase before excusing herself, leaving a speedily scribbling Spike and a very surprised Enigma. “It was nice to meet you, Enigma!”
Enigma glanced around awkwardly before looking at an expectant Spike. “So... tomorrow at noon, I guess?”
Spike nodded. “But you can't hang around here all day. Twilight's busy, and I have a lot of work to do. Sorry, but that's just how it is. See you tomorrow, I guess?”
Enigma nodded happily and said goodbye before exiting the tree house. Well, that was her work for the day done.
She couldn't decide on what else to do with her day. She should hunt that Big Mac stallion down to see if he could remember her, but she had no idea where he lived. That option was eliminated until she could find out more about him, unless she coincidentally ran into him in town. It seemed unlikely he would be in town often, and, if he did come into town, that it would be for very long. So, she wandered the streets of Ponyville once again, looking for somepony to relieve her boredom.
It wasn't long until her boredom was relieved. A pink blur blew out of nowhere, bowling her over and sprawling her out in the street, a tangle of legs and pony bodies rolling over and over, before she managed to stop the rolling and extricate herself from the dazed Pinkie Pie. “Um... that's some way to welcome me, isn't it?”
“Oh, sorry! I was just in such a hurry to see my friend Twilight and I didn't see you there and HEY! I've never seen you before! Are you new in Ponyville? I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm friends with everypony in Ponyville and I mean everypony, but then I saw you and--”
“Let me stop you right there. I know you were about to plan a surprise party for me; trust me, I just know. I'll tell you right now that I wouldn't like one, but I would love to be friends.”
Pinkie Pie gasped very loudly before jumping on Enigma in a wild hug, dragging her back to the ground. “I'm friends with a telepath! This is the best day of my life!”
Enigma laughed. “I'm not a telepath, I'm just really good at telling things about ponies... especially you, Pinkie. I have a bigger problem on my hands than knowing what other ponies are thinking right now, though. You said you know Twilight?”
“Um, yeah! She's just one of my very best friends in Ponyville! I mean, you have to be really new if you don't know how great of friends Twilight and I are! I thought everypony knew that, and I mean everypony, and if I don't know you, that means you must be new here, and if you're new here, that must mean you don't have any friends, and if you don't have any friends, that must--” She then gasped and attempted to bolt before being tackled by Enigma.
“I said I don't want any surprise parties! I still need to talk to you, though!” Enigma grunted at Pinkie.
“Oh, sorry! I just get so carried away sometimes... what is it you need to talk about?”
“It's about... Twilight.” Enigma sighed. “She's been meeting with a stallion named Cottontooth, and he's not a good stallion.”
Pinkie Pie seemed confused. “Cottontooth? I know Cottontooth and he's not a bad stallion.”
Right. Pinkie Pie of all ponies would know who he is. She probably even threw him a welcome party. “I've... known him since fillihood. Trust me, he used to be a very kind and nice stallion, but now he's just mean and rude on the inside. I'm trying to help him, but he doesn't deserve Twilight's attentions right now.”
“Um... how well do you know Twilight?” Pinkie Pie scrutinized Enigma before continuing. “Because you seem to think you know her awfully well...”
“Well, to be honest, I've known her a couple days, but it would be really difficult to explain. I can say that I'm certain Twilight doesn't deserve such a rotten stallion as Cottontooth, though.” Enigma tried her best to seem adamant about what she was saying. This entire situation just felt... awkward.
Pinkie Pie nodded, unsure of how to react. “Okey dokey lokey...” She immediately brightened up. “So whatcha doin' for the rest of today? Want a welcome party? I guess it's not much of a surprise if you know it's going to happen, but we can still have a great party!”
“Um... how about we just spend some time together today?”
“Sure! Where do ya wanna go?”
“Just a walk.” She set off in a random direction, beckoning Pinkie Pie to follow. Pinkie Pie began hopping next to Enigma, spouting off random conversation topics and taking Enigma's mind off the things which were frustrating her so greatly right now. Enigma could feel herself growing off of the random conversation with a pony she barely knew but already considered her a friend.
All too soon, however, the sun began to set. Pinkie Pie looked around as things began to dim, exclaiming, “Ooh, I need to get back! I promised the Cakes I would help them clean up Sugarcube Corner! I'll see you again soon, all right? It was great meeting you, Enigma!”
Enigma called a farewell to a rapidly hopping away Pinkie Pie before sighing. Alone. Time to sleep and give in to the loneliness again. There was no helping it.
She woke up in Twilight's guest bed, immediately jumping up and walking outside. As expected, she found a muted brown stallion sleeping just outside the tree house in some bushes. He was well-hidden, so ponies casually walking by would never know he was there. It was only Enigma, expecting to find him here, who would know just how creepy he was being.
She bent down right next to his ear and yelled as loudly as she could, “GET UP, YOU STALKER!”
Cottontooth gave a loud shout and jumped up, immediately attempting to buck at Enigma. She dodged his clumsy assault easily, stepping around to the side and pushing him over. She was liking Cottontooth less and less.
“What can you hope to solve by stalking this mare? Why do you think this behavior is acceptable? This is wrong, Cottontooth. You know it. I don't need to tell you how incredibly creepy you're being. Now stop this nonsense.”
Cottontooth looked incredulously at Enigma. “You're kidding, right?” He laughed and looked back towards the tree house. “Commitment and creepiness are two very different things. You of all ponies ought to know the difference, at least where I'm concerned.”
“Whether you think it's creepy or not doesn't make it right. Imagine if Twilight knew you were out here. Do you think she would still think the same of you?”
“You mean...” Cottontooth looked abashed. “You mean, she thinks well of me?”
“No!” Enigma yelled. He couldn't be this incredibly stupid. “She doesn't like you, and she doesn't want to be with you! Why are you so bloody stubborn? It's obvious she doesn't care, Cottontooth! Now just give up and go home!”
Cottontooth pointedly ignored her and continued watching the tree house. There was movement inside, Twilight and Spike doing their daily chores. Enigma didn't feel like arguing with anypony anymore, anyway. She left Cottontooth to watch from the bushes and re-entered Twilight's home.
“--just plain creepy, Spike. Can't you go out there and tell him to go home?” Twilight appeared to be as unhappy with Cottontooth's stalking as Enigma was.
“Oh, c'mon, Twilight! It's kinda flattering, don't you think? I mean, he could send you flowers or something and not be so creepy, but...”
“Yes, just tell him that or something. Anything to get him away from my house. Go!”
Spike grumbled a little bit at Twilight ordering him around, but went outside and told Cottontooth that Twilight thought he was being creepy by being around, and that he should just send her flowers or something to show how much he cares instead of sticking around and creeping her out, despite Spike's understanding of the gesture. Cottontooth thanked him and departed, Enigma opting to see what happened between Twilight and Spike next instead of following Cottontooth.
Spike re-entered the tree house, and Twilight sighed happily. “Finally, I can get to work! Remember, no interruptions unless somepony is dying, Spike!”
“Yes sir! Er, ma'am!” Spike giggled at his own silly joke and proceeded to begin cleaning up the library. Twilight went into the basement to begin her experiments. The moment the door to the basement closed, Spike stopped working and began playing with some dolls he'd hidden behind a few of the books. Typical behavior of an ill-behaved filly, but you couldn't blame him. Books could be pretty boring... if it wasn't Twilight reading them to you.
Curiosity got the better of her, and Enigma went downstairs to watch Twilight experiment on whatever it was she was experimenting on today. She closed her eyes and walked through the door to the basement.
The library's basement was a full-fledged laboratory. As much as she tried to look around, Enigma would spot something new every time her eyes skimmed the room. There were potions of every shade of every color in vials of every shape and size, machines that buzzed and clicked and blinked lights of green and red and amber as they fed sheet after sheet of paper that contained information which would put the greatest physicist pony to shame, and Twilight was in the middle of it all, hustling, bustling, trying to keep on top of all the work being produced for her every second before she froze, holding a sheet of paper, and suddenly cried, “Aha!”
Enigma walked up and looked over Twilight's shoulder; this seemed interesting. However, upon seeing the paper that Twilight held up, there was nothing but several lines of strange characters that Enigma hadn't even seen before. Twilight was a genius far beyond Enigma's expectations, and that only made her an even better pony than before. She watched with rapt interest as Twilight dashed to and fro, from station to station, jotting down hasty notes and muttering small scientific facts to herself.
After several long minutes of Twilight dashing hastily to and fro and a bemused Enigma spectating, Twilight made another exclamation before dashing to a piece of paper a few feet away from her. Enigma looked at what Twilight was writing on.
She blinked and looked again, closer.
It was now Enigma's turn to let out an exclamation. She stared incredulously at the piece of paper that Twilight had just drawn a proud A on. It was the paper she'd given Twilight on the first day they'd met! She still had it, somehow, and had made a very small amount of headway on it. It currently read:
_ _ i _ i _ _ _ _ _ a _ _ _ _ i _ _ _ _ _ i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i _ _ a
Enigma smiled as she recalled how quickly she'd created this puzzle that had Twilight performing crazy scientific experiments far beyond what she needed. Twilight had just written in the first A in the second word. In retrospect, it would probably be difficult to solve this if the pony solving it forgot all of their progress from the previous day. After all, this paper only existed half the time, and only when she--
Wait, wait, wait. If that were true, Twilight would be screaming at her to get out of her laboratory. She wasn't there right now?
Enigma looked at her surroundings, suddenly scared. Why couldn't she remember what had happened that day?
She felt dizzy and fell down on the floor of the lab, a triumphant Twilight still celebrating over a paper that shouldn't exist right now. Enigma lost all thought, her reality careening around her as fast as a merry-go-round as she completely blacked out and darkness overtook her.
First time posting from a mobile phone. Hope you guys like how difficult this all was.
I meant to leave the riddle unanswered so I could answer it here! It's an
essay.
--Scootareader