//------------------------------// // 2: Secrets and Suspicions // Story: The Invisible Mare // by Thunderhalk89 //------------------------------// It had been nearly another week before any of her friends saw her again. When she walked through the doors of Sugarcube Corner, all they could do was blink as they took in her appearance. Rainbow nearly fell over as she lost control, laughing and holding her sides in agony. Applejack gave her a hard look out of the corner of her eye before turning back to the purple unicorn that had just walked through the door, “Y'all right Twi?” her calming accent seemed to awaken Twilight from her resolve. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had barely registered her surroundings. Applejack’s honest eyes told her that something was wrong and finalized her awakening from her trance. It could also have been the sound of Rarity’s jaw hitting the floor, but she chose to go with the former. “I’ve been great!” she managed with, perhaps, to much enthusiasm, “I just got caught up in my research and lost track of time.” she looked down, afraid that she had disappointed her friends. “It’s fine Twilight,” a small voice seemed to whisper through the air, “We know how distracted you can get sometimes.” “Ya! You remember that time you thought you were going to be tardy and then get sent back to magic-kindergarten and then never get to see us again! But then you did see us again because we told the Princess that it was our fault for not realizing that you were the one with the problem only we didn’t realize it until after you made everypony fall in love with your stuffed toy. You aren’t going to make everypony fall in love with a toy again are you? Cause I think you should make us fall in love with cupcakes this time; although, come to think of it, I already love cupcakes." Just listening to Pinkie made her want to take a breath, but Twilight smiled anyway. Her friend could be… odd at times… but she sure knew how to make a pony smile. “No, I don’t plan on using the Want-it-Need-it spell again,” she paused to process her thoughts again. All that research: I'm so close. She shook her head clear. She knew that if her friends looked concerned then she probably should take a break even from her thoughts. “Why would you think of that anyway?” she added. “Well…,” Rarity had finally picked her jaw up and had recomposed herself… somewhat, “it’s just that you look…” “Yes,” Twilight asked expectedly. “It’s just,” Rarity continued, finally finding the correct words, “When was the last time you brushed your mane?” It figured Rarity would be concerned with her looks. Come to think of it: when was the last time she brushed her hair; or looked at herself in a mirror for that matter? Twilight was at a crossroads: telling Rarity would probably make her faint, but she did not want to lie either. “I don’t remember,” she tried. Smooth Twilight, she thought to herself. That twitch below Rarity’s eye was not a good sign. In an instant, a small mirror appeared in front of her. “For mirror related emergencies,” smiled Pinkie, as she took it in her magic. The pony staring back was most certainly her; but the disheveled mane, unkempt coat, and baggy eyes all pointed toward her current obsession. Her friends might not know what that obsession was, but they knew it was there. If she were not careful, they would find out her secret. It was not that she did not trust them; she just did not want anypony finding out about her research until she felt it was ready to be unveiled. She quickly decided that when it was time, they would be the first to know. She immediately dropped the mirror, her irises becoming pinpricks: something did not feel right. “Come along Fluttershy, you know what this calls for,” a glowing ethereal blue aura had surrounded Rarity’s horn as she walked out the door to the confectionary. “I’m really sorry Twilight.” Fluttershy sadly apologized as she followed Twilight out the door. Followed her?! She realized too late that she had been encased in Rarity’s magic and was being levitated, out onto the streets of Ponyville. “Wait,” A cry erupted from the doorway, “You just got here!” “I am sorry we had to cut this reunion so short, but we really must get Twilight to the spa at once,” Rarity called back without missing a step, “We will be back later, I assure you. This simply cannot wait.” ~~~ After the trip to the spa, the three returned to Sugarcube Corner, just as promised. The spa had been an ordeal for Twilight. Normally she would only go about once a month. Even then, she would only get the basic treatments, or, at the very least, soak in one of the relaxation tubs. Rarity had insisted on one of the higher-end treatments, all while trying to figure out if her appearance was really do to a lack of attention and not something more serious. “So, find out what’s got her so worked up this time?” Rainbow had quickly looked around to make sure Twilight could not hear them before questioning Fluttershy. “No,” she began, looking downtrodden, “She does seem to be a lot better now though,” she paused a moment, “Rarity I mean,” she finished with an ever-so small smile. Rainbow nodded in reply. It was typical for Twilight to become drawn into her work, but she would usually at least mention what it was in passing. Maybe it was still that nonsense about how light worked. She was just about to ask about it when Pinkie beat her to the punch: literally and figuratively. Wait: had Fluttershy just told her a joke? “So what ya been working on? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Pinkie repeatedly bounced up and down in front of the punchbowl. She was, somehow, holding a cup of punch in her hoof and not spilling a drop, despite all the jumping. She was just centimeters inside Twilight’s personal space: not enough to be considered too close, but close enough that it could be considered an invasion. “Well...” Twilight quickly searched through the recesses of her mind for some response as all her friends looked on expectantly. She always shared her research with them. Occasionally they could even bring new insight. She took a deep breath before continuing, “As you know, I’ve been looking into the properties of light,” so far she felt she was doing well. All she had to do was give just enough information that they would understand why she had been hidden away for the past week. She also needed to ensure that it explained her scruffy appearance: they normally only saw her like that when she was being driven mad by some great uncertainty: like when she had tried to understand Pinkie’s “Pinkie Sense”, or had thought that she was never going to see them again. “I think I’m close to discovering why you are able to see through an Ursa, yet you can’t see what it has eaten,” she concluded. That should be good enough. Although, I really should look into that more than I have. What is the point in being invisible if someone could see my breakfast? “Somthin’ I always wondered myself,” Applejack thought aloud, “I mean, when you stopped that rampaging Ursa Minor Ah did think it a might peculiar that his teeth could only be seen once he opened those jaws o' his.” She bristled at the memory. The rest of her friends seemed to accept her slight deviation from the actual truth, and were more than eager to hear all that she knew regarding Ursa Minors and Majors, and all the celestial beasts. She also made sure to express concerns about maybe having to study them up close: hence her appearance. As the day went on though, she could not help but feel two light-blue eyes watching her intently. ~~~ It was long after all her friends had departed and Luna's moon had taken the sun's place in the sky. Pinkie knew that she should be asleep: it was really-late and she would not be able to spread very many smiles if she was over-tired in the morning. Something just kept bugging her; or, maybe it was bugging one of her friends. She quickly deduced using her expert skill of deducing things to deduce that whatever the bugging was, involved Twilight. Pinkie knew that she should have no reason to doubt her friend, and she could tell that she was not lying about anything. Something just did not sit right in her stomach. She knew it could not have been all those cupcakes (or that hot sauce): she had made sure to bounce around enough that everything was equally distributed in her tummy. So then why was it feeling like that? Something not sitting right in my tummy is not on my list of Pinkie Senses, but then my “Shudder” hadn’t been on it either. Pinkie would need to do some more investigating, and maybe even some more deducing; but that could wait until morning. Oh! First, I should go get another slice of key-lime-pie, she jumped out of bed with a smile, careful not to wake anyone, that usually always helps me get to sleep without fail.