//------------------------------// // Magic, or The Invitation // Story: The Division Bell // by FloydienSlip //------------------------------// Music for this chapter: "Honeybun, are you sure you don't want anymore cupcakes? I know that they're your favorite!" called Mr. Cake from the second floor of Sugarcube Corner. "...No thanks. I'm not hungry..." "Are you sure?" wheedled Mrs. Cake. Pinkamena Diane Pie stood up slowly from the table, hooves by her sides. "Yeah. I think I'll turn in for the night." "Oh, before you do, you got a letter from a friend today." Curious, Pinkie took the letter in her mouth, nodded her appreciation, and trotted upstairs. Taking the envelope in her teeth, she ripped off the top and gazed wordlessly at Twilight's distinct hoofwriting. Her eyes drifted down the page, and suddenly widened in shock as they focused on the last paragraph. At first, Twilight's idea seemed... disturbing, to say the least, but Pinkie began to understand why Twilight would approve of the idea. In fact, it seemed reasonable to Pinkie as she thought about it, and she smiled briefly. She realized what had been the source of her relentless monotony as of late. Twilight. Ever since Twilight had shut herself up in the Golden Oaks Library, things in Ponyville hadn't been quite the same. After Rarity had left, Twilight had become increasingly introverted and nearly as difficult to hold a conversation with as Fluttershy. She and the timid pegasus had one major difference, though: Fluttershy made attempts to speak, no matter how futile they were. Twilight had merely rejected the reality that the Mane Six had split up, and repeatedly denied any help or offers directed towards her. Twilight had, in vain, tried to find love in Ponyville, eventually resigning herself to the fact that, while still a respected mare, she was only the librarian of a town so small that it sometimes went unmarked on maps of Equestria. Twilight Sparkle, the magical mare who had faced the greatest dangers known to ponykind, had become another run-of-the-mill equine who had practically lost her grip on reality. Twilight was the missing link to Pinkie's world, and it saddened her to realize that. She reread Twilight's instructions once more, and began writing out invitations. While she was working, Pinkie thought of the now-disbanded Cutie Mark Crusaders and the day when all three of them (she was unsure about Babs Seed) got their cutie marks at the same time. Reflecting on it now, Pinkie realized that it had been the end of an era, and she sunk lower and lower in her bed, eventually dropping to the floor with a groan. How had she grown so old so quickly? She thought of Spike, and a sudden memory came rushing back. "I'll remember you forever, Spike. I promise." "It's okay, Twilight, really. I'll be fine." "I know that this is as hard for you as it is for me!" "Seriously. I'm fine. I'm a big dragon now, and I can take care of myself." Twilight regarded Spike with a sad look and sighed. "I know that, Spike... I just don't want you to leave and forget about me. When you go join the migration, you're going off to a new life, most likely without ponies. You need to realize that the ponies here care about you very much, and will want you to let them know what you've been up to." Yet Spike, despite his earnest promises to the lavender mare, did forget about them eventually. He would be getting up there in age right now, and had contracted a form of selective amnesia that only furthered his forgetfulness. It's not that he didn't care about his old friends. Spike had just moved on in life. He was ready for a new chapter to unfold. Pinkie reflected on this for a moment, coming to the conclusion that Spike was partially responsible for Twilight's current mental state. Had the purple and green dragon stayed with her, Twilight might have regained some sense of the world around her. Yet... it was not entirely Spike's fault. He was a dragon, after all, and dragons have different customs than ponies. Of course, Twilight might not have degenerated at all, if it were not for a single experiment. Pinkie blinked a few times, redirecting the newly formed tears away from the front of her eyes. She was nearly done with the last invitation. But her thoughts kept returning to Twilight, who had had the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to revolutionize Equestria with one demonstration. A small, simple demonstration... "Now then, show us what you wanted to do, Miss Sparkle." The mare in question nodded. "Of course, Nexus. Everypony, stand back. This is a highly theoretical branch of magic that I'm about to delve into, and I don't want anything to happen to you because of a careless mistake." Needless to say, the crowd hurriedly shuffled backwards. As soon as she was given the signal, Twilight's horn began to glow. The room became brighter and brighter, and sweat began to pour down Twilight's face. At last, something flickered briefly, then went out once. After a moment, it came surging through at full force and was projected into the air. Twilight exhaled loudly. Whatever it was, it was still being projected through her horn. She cleared her throat. "This, everypony, is what is located at the end of the world, something nopony has ever seen before this moment, and most likely will not see ever again. This... is the Obsidian Arsenal!" The room was dead silent. "The what?" "The Obsidian Arsenal!" "Umm... could you perhaps... elaborate on what that is, exactly?" Twilight internally groaned. Of course they wouldn't know! "The Obsidian Arsenal contains, in laypony's terms, the machine that is the world. If something cataclysmic were to happen today, the only way to prevent that would be to travel to the Obsidian Arsenal and activate the machine. Many ponies have tried to venture to it, but none have ever come back. Rumors say that the Arsenal destroys the ponies that come near it." The Obsidian Arsenal in mid-air suddenly changed from a virtual green to a pitch-black. "Fortunately, what you see in front of us is merely a holographic projection of the Arsenal, and not the real thing." The projection began to flash. "The reason I'm showing you this, everypony, is because we may eventually need to harness the Arsenal's power in case of emergency, which can be done, if one is prepared properly. However, in order for that to be attempted, every unicorn involved will need to see the Obsidian Arsenal in order to use the spell, since you can't use magic on something if you have no idea what it looks like. Any questions?" "Miss Sparkle?" "Yes?" "Is it normal for your projections to... ah... flash?" "F-flash? No, why?" She turned to her hologram, which had begun to flash faster and make whirring sounds. "Oh, buck me in the-" SCRRROOOOOOMMM The Obsidian Arsenal manifested itself in Twilight's horn, sucking her life force greedily. "AAAAAAAAAUGH!" "Make it stop! Somepony make it stop!" "Twilight! Hold on-" CRACKOWWWW-BOOM Twilight was suddenly lying on the ground, semi-conscious and covered in burn marks. "Somepony get Nurse Redheart in here!" That was the last thing Twilight heard before she blacked out. ***** "...rgle... Mysp... Miss Sparkle, are you awake?" Slowly, Twilight opened her eyes. Everything appeared blurry, as if she had just had one too many of Applejack's ciders. She could barely make out the shapes of what appeared to be her friends before she started closing her eyes again. Then she sneezed. "Oh, good, you're awake!" "Ugh... B-barely..." She sat all the way up this time, gazing around the room. It seemed that she was currently residing in a hospital room, which was confirmed as she was able to hear a quiet beeping sound from a machine next to her. Twilight glanced up and saw a jagged green line spike up and go down, then repeat over and over. A green line... Green... Instantly, Twilight flew into a panic. "What happened to me? The Obsidian Arsenal? Where is it? Is it gone? Did they get rid of it? Oh please oh please-" "Everything has been attended to, Twilight. There is no need for such outbursts, dear," said Rarity calmly. Twilight jerked her head around. "Th-then how? How did you...?" "She didn't. It just... disappeared all by itself. Though, now that you mention it, it did look... familiar..." Rainbow Dash pondered this revelation for a few moments before shrugging and began to fly around the room. "Ah... Sugarcube, there's somethin' that Ah reckon you'd like to take a look at," murmured Applejack. Pinkie and Fluttershy were standing in front of Twilight, their mouths hanging agape as they stood stock-still. The doctor had been watching her from across the room, and rose suddenly. "Miss Applejack, considering the state she's in, I do not think that that is a good idea, at the moment. What Miss Sparkle needs-" "What Twilight needs is the truth!" exclaimed Applejack hotly. "She's gonna find out sooner or later, but if y'all reckon that lyin' would work for the time bein', then by all means go ahead!" Twilight shook her head. "What is it, doctor?" He bit his lip and flared his nostrils. "Really, Miss Sparkle, I'm not sure that you are in any condition to handle this." "I want to know." The doctor internally debated. After a while, he quietly said, "Fetch a mirror, Nurse." "Of course, sir." The doctor sat down beside Twilight's bed. "Now, you may go into shock at first, but I assure you, you will get used to it after some time. It's... rather unfortunate for you, given the circumstances, but I know that your friends will guide you through this... rehabilitation." Nurse Redheart returned with a mirror on her back. "Right, then. Bring that mirror in front of Miss Sparkle, nurse." The nurse complied, carefully propping the large object against the wall. She turned and went back to her desk, muttering something about "saying please." Meanwhile, Twilight's eyes were closed. The doctor, hesitating for a split second, said gently, "It's alright, Miss Sparkle. You can look now." Twilight ever so slowly did. Her first reaction was not of shock, nor of anger, and not even of sadness. Twilight's initial reaction can be defined as complete confusion. "What?" asked Twilight. "What's the problem? I don't see why you're so worked up over me. Nothing looks out of place." Squirming in his seat, the doctor said, "Look harder, Miss Sparkle." Twilight, still confused, nodded. Leaning forwards, she scrutinized her reflection, mentally ticking off points of interest. Hooves look fine, cutie mark still present, mane... slightly different, but nothing out of the ordinary. She magicked the mirror closer to her. Or, at least, she tried to. The mirror stayed exactly where it was. Concentrating harder, she tightly shut her eyes and willed the mirror towards her. Nothing happened. "Why isn't my magic strong enough to do this!?" she shrieked in frustration. Pinkie nervously glanced at Fluttershy, who nodded and motioned towards Twilight. "Twilight," began Pinkie in an unusually serious tone. "Your horn... it's... how should I put this... it's gone, Twilight." Twilight's heart stopped cold. That was physically impossible.... wasn't it? After all, a fair amount of time is needed to detach a unicorn's horn. Trembling, she ran a hoof through her mane. It felt perfectly smooth, with not a rough spot to be found. "You'll be in here for a few months," sympathized Fluttershy. "We'd love to visit you, but... the doctor has ordered that you remain in the ICU for the time being. He informed us that it might be possible for the horn to regrow, though, and I'll bet anything that it will. Twilight? Twilight, are you feeling okay?" Twilight fainted. Pinkie sent the invitations and hugged herself tightly. I'm the reason for her mental state. I'm the spark. As her mane sadly deflated, she began to do what she hadn't done in a very long time. She cried. There was a ragged band that Followed in our footsteps Running before time took Our dreams away Leaving the myriad small creatures Trying to tie us to the ground To a life consumed by slow decay