//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 - Unexpected Encounters - Twilight 
// Story: With the Help of Magic 
// by xDimitrii 
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"Hang on Rarity!"  Rarity is dangling precariously over the edge of a cliff as I hold on to her hoof with my own. Full stop Twilight Sparkle, why aren't you using magic? I suppress a groan, duhh. "Alright Rarity, I'm going to levitate you up here."

I channel a lot of magic through my horn and gently lift her over the edge of the cliff. 
Was she always this heavy?
"Thank you darling, I guess I should have left that root for Fluttershy, sometimes I miss those wings you gave me." She sighs wistfully then dusts herself off and checks her hair in a small mirror she's brought, after which she turns to me. "I was trying to help you by levitating myself, even if only a little bit." She looks at me nervously, "but I might aswell have been Applejack for all the magic I could muster." Her eyes grow wide. "Do you think that maybe I've lost my magic?" She sounds a bit afraid when she says that.She swoons dramatically and falls down onto a lounge sofa that has appeared out of nowhere.

Come to think of it, I couldn't levitate myself when I was hanging from that cliff when we were here the last time. I was so scared then. Hmmm. That could possibly be the reason, I wonder if the princess knows anything about it.
Note to self: investigate possibility of fear inhibiting the usage of magic, and ways to deal with it.
If conclusive, write a letter to the princess on the debilitating effects of fear and how friendship can help overcome it.
Subnote: Take another look at the Alicorn Alteration Almanac, possible flight is one way to resolve this problem.
Subsubnote: This problem, being: 'falling off cliffs'. While this is a very specific problem, it is one I seem to have a lot.

I look at her completely deadpan. "Rarity, if you've lost your magic, how are you levitating that mirror." She looks at the mirror for a moment before looking at me sheepishly. "Oh right, I hadn't thought of that."
I facehoof. "And exactly where did that lounge bench come from?" I poke her playfully. "Have you been taking lessons from Pinkie?"

She looks at me with a mix of confusion and indignation. "Twilight Sparkle! First of all this is a Chaise Lounge, it is not a bench." She takes a couple of steps forward. "Secondly, what would I taking lessons from Pinkie Pie for?" I back up a little.
I forgot how fierce Rarity can get when she's angry.
"I'm sorry Rarity, I didn't mean anything by it, it's just-" I chuckle nervously. "..you and that bench.." Another glare from her has me stuttering. "..I-I I mean, chaise lounge, are almost as inseparable as Pinkie Pie and her party cannon"
I wonder if this  'Chaise Lounge' does anything other than appear when Rarity has a fainting spell.
I shiver at the implications of sentient furniture.

Rarity is all smiles again. "Don't mention it dear, it is all in the past." She turns around and looks up "Now then, I wonder where Fluttershy has run off to." She sighs. "She's a dear, but she can be such a hoofful at times."

I nod at her. "Yea." I walk over to the end of the rope bridge that leads to the castle of dawn and dusk. It's still swaying slightly from the particularly strong gust of wind that pushed Rarity over the edge.
I wonder how much longer the castle will last now that the Elements of Harmony are no longer stored there.
Note to self: Ask the princess if she has put up any warding spells.

--

Rarity crosses the bridge in a quick canter, before looking back at me. "Coming Twilight?" I shake my head to once again get myself out of my head. "Coming!" I quickly canter after her.- "Gahhh!" -and almost tumble down into the ravine myself as one of the sports of the bridge gives way from under me.

Rarity is at my side almost right away, looking quite frazzled. "Are you alright dear?" I can hear the worry in her voice. "I'll be fine Rarity." I carefully pull my hoof out of the hole and motion for Rarity to take the lead again.

On the other side of the bridge I sit down and finally exhale.
How did I not notice I was holding my breath?
I smile at Rarity as she gives me a puzzled look. "I guess I'm more shaken up by that near-fall than I thought I was."
She smiles and lightly nuzzles me. "We're safe now dear, though somepony should really fix that bridge if we're going to cross it again."
I smile back. "You're right. We should see if there's a way around this part when we go back."
I let Rarity lead the way towards the castle. We don't have to go inside, since there are no plants there, although I wonder what else is in the castle. I didn't get the chance to take a good look around.
I almost run into Rarity again as she's suddenly stopped walking. She snickers. "Twilight, you really need to learn to look where you're going."
I smile back sheepishly "I know, I know, I was just wondering if there was anything interesting in the castle, I didn't really get a chance to look last time we were here."
I suppose dealing with Nightmare Moon trying to ruin the day and all that leaves little time for exploration. I quietly snicker to myself.
Rarity looks amused. "Ever the little scholar aren't you?" She shakes her head, amused smile still on her face. "You'll get a chance for that later, for now let's focus on why we came here."
As we continue on I quickly glance at the bridge one more time. Just in time to see a shadow darting behind one of the trees close to the bridge. Is that Fluttershy? "Fluttershy?! Is that you?! Are you okay?!" I wait several moments for a response.
Guess I must have imagined it.
I shrug and follow Rarity, we have plants to gather after all.

---------------------------------------------

An hour or two later, Rarity looks less like a fashion diva, and more like a forest dwelling pony.
A forest dwelling pony with a very strange fashion sense. I suppress a giggle at the bewildered look on her face.
She turns to me with an annoyed huff. “I think we're done in this area, Twilight”

I look around the area once more, before turning to face her again “I think you're right.” I tilt my head. “I'm still wondering where Fluttershy could have gone.” I can practically see Rarity change from 'wronged diva' into concerned friend she looks very worried all of a sudden. “Do you think she's alright? I thought we would have found her by now.”

I move forward and gentle nuzzle her. “I'm sure she's alright, you know Fluttershy, she's a scaredy pony but she can be strong when she needs to be.” Rarity calms down visibly as she thinks about my words.
She shakes herself, a few twigs and dirt falling out of her mane. “You're right, Fluttershy can take care of herself.”
I nod my head sagely. “she even used her Stare to free me from that cockatrice remember? Out of all of us, she probably has the least to worry about in this forest.”


“Oh! Twilight! Rarity! I'm so glad I found you.” I look up to see Fluttershy flying towards us in her own sedate pace.
It's amazing how graceful Fluttershy's flying is compared to Rainbow's.

Fluttershy doesn't stop flying however and crashes into me. “Oh, um, oh dear, I'm sorry Twilight.” She meeps and hides behind her mane once again. “A-are you alright?”
I shake my head, trying to get the ground to stop moving. “I'm fine Fluttershy. Don't worry about it.”
I shake my head one last time and smile at her. “So where were you? One moment you were right behind me and the next Rarity was holding on for dear life and you were gone.”

Fluttershy meeps again and curls up trying to make herself smaller. “I-I'm so very sorry Rarity.”
Rarity trots over to her and with a hoof pokes her in the side. “Come now dear, none of that.” She sighs deeply and smiles at Fluttershy who is peeking out from under her mane. “As you can see I am perfectly fine.”

Fluttershy stands up, gingerly stretching her legs, though she still keeps her gaze locked on the ground.
I nudge her. “So ?” she looks up at me questioningly. “Where have you been?”

She looks to Rarity, who gives her an encouraging smile and then looks at the ground again.
“W-well um,-” she swallows “-after we got separated I hid in a bush for a little bit, but after a while I saw something really big! Like twice as big as anypony I've ever seen except for big Macintosh maybe.” She blushes. Why is she blushing? “And I got worried, I thought you two might be in trouble so I flew around for a bit before I found the bridge, and saw that there was a hole in one of the boards, so I figured you girls had to have crossed it. But after that I didn't know where to go so I flew higher-“ I wonder how she's able to talk at length like that, she must have an amazing lung capacity.  -”..And then, it ran away again. I don't think it saw me, but I was still really scared!”
Her monologue finally finished she hangs her head and pants softly.

I sit down on my haunches and put a hoof to the side of my head. “Now that you mention it, I think something's been following us for quite a while now. I thought it was you at first, but now I'm not so sure. Feeling watched once again I quickly looked at my surroundings.
There's something here, I can feel it.

“Fluttershy.” She looks at me expectantly. “Do you remember anything else?”
She looks pensive for a few seconds. “Well it mostly hid in the trees really well, so I couldn't really see anything else.  Um, sorry”
I give her a reassuring smile “It's alright, although, the creature that was following us was hiding behind the trees and not in them, are you sure it was in the trees?”

“Oh yes, I'm really sure!.. I think” She sighs “Okay I’m not really sure.” She looks at the ground again. “I'm sorry.” So it must have been pretty stealthy then, unlike the creature that was following us. “It's okay. The creature that was following us wasn't very doing a very good job at hiding itself, I've seen it dive behind trees at least three times. So they're probably not the same.”

Rarity who had been quiet up till now spoke up. “Don't worry about it Fluttershy, we're as good as done anyway.” she looks at me. “We managed to get all the plants we needed, did we not?”
I quickly check and then double check my checklist. “Well, there's one plant we haven't found yet.”
I put the checklist into my saddlebags, “but I think we can leave that for another time.”


Rarity claps her hooves. “Marvelous, I can't wait to go home and soak in a nice hot bath.” She looks at her back with disgust “All this muck and gunk is just terrible for my complexion.”

“Oh, um, yes, a warm bath sounds wonderful” Fluttershy flutters a few feet into the air.
I guess the thought of washing off all the dirt and the filth would make me happy aswell if I looked as bad as she does. I wonder if she was actually attacked by one of the bushes she was hiding in.

“You go ahead girls, I want to check out the castle while I’m here.” I grin. “After all, you never know when old knowledge might come in handy!”
And maybe I can find out how the princess cast those warding spells! Ohhh she's going to be so proud of me.

Rarity shot me a worried look. “Are you sure dear? We wouldn't want you to have to sleep out here all alone.” She points at the orange sky. “It's going to be dark soon, and you know how dangerous this place can be when it's dark.” I see Fluttershy nod in agreement.

I smile at them reassuringly. “I'll be fine girls! Ever since we've used the Elements, I can teleport pretty much anywhere anyway.” Fluttershy gives me a look of pure disbelief, while Rarity just shakes her head. “Okay Twilight.” She suddenly glares at me, “but if we have to come back here to get you I swear that I will make you a dress so tight that you won't be able to move for at least a week!” Fluttershy shoots me a good natured smile. “Just come back safely okay?” she quickly nuzzles me and takes off in the direction of Ponyville, Rarity following on hoof.

I wave at them. “I will girls, see you later!”
I take off in the direction of the castle, but not before looking around again.
I wonder if that creature is still around.

–

I wonder if the library in this place was as large as the one in Canterlot Castle
I open another side door with my magic, layers of dust blowing away on the wind the open door creates.
Hmmm. Nice tapestry, I wonder why the princess didn't take this one with her when she moved to Canterlot.
I saunter across the marble floors the clip-clopping of my hooves sounding as eerie as I remember while I  look for any sign of the wards and enchantments that have kept this place intact for so long.
Did the princess even place those wards? What if it was the Elements that kept the place intact?
If that's the case, I wonder if I can replicate those enchantments if I study the Elements themselves.
Now that I think about it.... why haven't I studied the Elements before? They're sure to be an invaluable artifact for magical studies.
Note to self: send a letter to the princess asking for permission to study my Element of Magic.

My face almost has an unfortunate meeting with the floor as I trip over a piece of marble.
Oh wow, deep indentation in the floor, radiating outwards.
I move towards the center of the room. It's like somepony put his or her hoof down. I gulp. And broke most of the floor in this room. I look around for other signs of destruction.
Hmm. Long gash along the left wall. Usually indicative of battle magic of some sort, not sure which kind of magic though.
Another note to self: Research battle magic and the extent of force that can be applied to it without hurting the caster.


I walk back up the stairs towards the holding room, where we activated the Elements of Harmony for the first time in a thousand years.
Hmm. The pedestal of the Elements doesn't look like much when it's not holding them.
I move away from the pedestal and towards the windows.
Amazing! Here is the stained glass mural of Princess Celestia and Luna defeating Discord for the first time.
I sigh. “Can't stay here much longer, they'll start to worry about me if I don't go back soon.”
I should definitely come back here though, there's so much left to learn!

I should probably go outside before I teleport home, you never know how ancient wards might mess with teleportation spells after all.
I take one last look around before cantering outside.
Such a shame that none of the books in the library survived, it would have been amazing to read things from that era.
I hear something in the distance, I turn my ears in the direction of the noise.

Suddenly I'm no longer standing on my own four hooves but instead sailing through the air.
What's happening!? I land rather heavily on my side. Ofcourse it's that creature that was following us! No time to feel pain Twilight! You'll have to defend yourself. I get up shakily and look back at the spot I was standing just moments ago.

I can't believe my eyes. There's a creature I've never seen before, getting munched on by a timberwolf. Did it just scream my name? I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Guess I'll have to figure that out later. Gathering a fair bit of magic in my horn I levitate the timberwolf off the poor creature, since it obviously has a hard time defending itself, and fling it away with a fair deal of power behind my levitation magic.

I huff. That was more excitement than I bargained for today, I wonder if having an Element of Harmony attracts trouble.
I look at the other creature with confusion, anger for having shoved me and a bit of fear.
It yelled out my name. What manner of creature can do that?

It talks to me again. “Umm, hi there?” it weakly chuckles.
Better not take any chances, if it knows my name it must have at least some rudimentary mental magic.
I envelop it in magic and lift it off the ground. Making sure to add a magic dampening charm to my levitation spell.
“How do you know my name?! The creature looks scared. Relax Twilight, the situation is under control, no need to yell.
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Exchanging my confused angry look for a concerned one.
“How do you know my name?” I arch an eyebrow at it. “What are you?” I poke it with a hoof. “And why did you push me out of the way?”

It doesn't respond.
I step back and take good look at it.
It's eyes are closed, One of it's forehooves appear to be bloodied, and it's fur appears to be torn to shreds in several places.
I almost panic again. “Okay, it probably didn't intend to kill me, that timberwolf would have gotten me if it hadn't pushed me out of the way” In which case I can't leave it here.
I sigh again. That looks bad, I should... oh ofcourse, Fluttershy will know what to do!
I gingerly lower the creature on my back. It isn't too heavy, good.
Hmm. Spike came out singed last time I tried anything like this, I hope this time will be better.
I gather a good amount of magic in my horn and teleport both myself and my passenger out of the forest.

I wonder why I've never seen a creature like this before...
Will I ever have a normal day?