//------------------------------// // Be Prepared // Story: Book of Pink // by Homeshine //------------------------------// "Oh, that. I've started stashing an extra book in my saddlebags, in case of book emergency," Twilight Sparkle said. "And what exactly would constitute a 'book emergency'?" Rarity arched one eyebrow quizzically. "You know, if I'm stuck somewhere without anything to read." A real tragedy for Twilight, Rarity was sure. "It's a very odd-looking book, this one," Rarity hoisted the Book of Pink in her magical glow, peering at it from every angle. "Oh, Pinkie gave it to me for my birthday last week." "I can imagine," Rarity snuffed a giggle. "What is it about, Darling?" "Well … It's not really 'about' anything, I guess. But it's the most mysterious book. I can loan it to you after I'm done, if Pinkie's okay with it. I'm almost finished with it." "Well, that sounds-" Rarity was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Ah, a customer. Come in." She started heading towards the front, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every dress is unique, chic, and-" as Rarity went out the front door, the voice suddenly snuffed out. No more words followed. "Rarity?" Twilight called out questioningly as she headed towards the door herself. As she exited Rarity's shop, she was answered only by the WHAM of the Book of Pink suddenly dropping to the ground in front of her, shorn of its supporting glow. Rarity was nowhere to be seen; simply vanished. * * * Thunder crashed through the air as lightning smashed into the castle's battlements. Rivers of the ever-drizzling rain cascaded down the sides in rivulets, and the entire castle grounds were a soggy mess, as the weather ponies had been unable to move the clouds away for weeks. This fortress was the hideaway of the Cult of the Fourth Pony. From what Celestia had told her, they'd mostly kept to themselves until very recently, studying the secret to the Alicorn's immortality, hoping to uncover it for themselves. They'd been years at it, if not decades, if not centuries! Twilight carefully stepped through the castle portcullis, thankful at the momentary break in the rain, which was drenching her to the skin. Little droplets dripped off her, adding to the wetness pooling at her hooves. She pulled the now-sopping ransom note out of her wet saddlebags, thankful she hadn't brought any books with her this time. The note was addressed to Celestia; the Alicorn Amulet had resurfaced, she was to trade it, along with a promise of security, in exchange for Rarity, the Element of Harmony. They were sure that the amulet held the key they'd been searching for all these years. Twilight could sympathize with the desire for research, and yet... the portcullis slowly started groaning open, grinding upwards bit by bit. It had been part of the castle's defenses a thousand years ago, from the wars before Celestia's reign. It desperately needing more oiling, from the sound of it. A rather large stallion stepped out with a coat of fiery dark red magenta, and the fire cutie mark to match. "Ah, Celestia's assistant. Have you come to make the trade?" "Not exactly. I've come to make a counter-proposal. One Element of Harmony for another: me." "And what brings about this bit of charity?" The stallion grinned on one side of his mouth, but not the other, most disconcertingly. "I'm sorry, can I ask you: is your cutie mark a pony ON FIRE?" Twilight pointed one hoof at the offending icon. "That's why my name is Bodivander" the stallion chuckled. "We believe in completing the body so that it is perfect. Our beliefs have frequently been … misunderstood. But you haven't answered my question. You would seem to be a more valuable prize than this one ..." Twilight gaped in awe as she was led though the cult's library, looking in every possible direction, including straight up and down, through to the ever-spiraling-downward bookshelves below and above. Twilight couldn't possibly let Celestia destroy such priceless information. Although, as she passed by the bookshelves, she stopped occasionally; some of their title's ideas seemed strangely familiar. Some of these titles were chapter names taken right from the Book of Pink. She was worried about finishing one Book of Pink. Here was a whole LIBRARY of them. Twilight shook her head, fighting to regain focus on the task at hoof. "We didn't want to invade and destroy this priceless work, although you probably know Celestia could defeat you easily if she really wanted to. You think your research is right where others are wrong. Well, let's prove it. We'll attempt to make, say a spider, immortal and then try to kill it. If your spells work, then the Alicorn amulet will be handed over for further study under my direct supervision. If the spider dies, you give the whole charade up peacefully, and what IS true and correct can actually be made available to the rest of the world." "It sounds as if I win either way." Bodivander mused. "We finish our research or others will." "It also means I win either way," Twilight smiled, "We learn how to get to the bottom of this research. For all of Equestria." "My dear, you have a deal." * * * "Have you … " Bodivander was leading them from the library into some sort of research lab, "ever asked yourself 'Why are some royals immortal when others aren't?' Celestia is; prince Blueblood isn't. Why is that?" Twilight didn't know. "We call them Dualcorns, such as Prince Moron; Unicorn + Earth Pony. No Pegasus. Similarly, you can possibly be an alicorn of Pegasus and Unicorn, but no Earth Pony. This is not a 'true' Alicorn. "There may be hundreds of pegasi or unicorns that may be alicorned with Earth Pony and don't even know it... or with a fourth kind." "Fourth kind?" Twilight asked. "We've been studying the possibility of a 4th type for some time, which is why, we believe, previous experiments have failed." Bodivander explained, as he led Twilight around the lab, pointing Twilight at all the various magical geegaws and assorted apparatus. "Other alicorns might not know if they have the 4th type or not, which might be a factor in their immortality. We need to find a 4th-typed pony for comparison. But again, how to know them? They might easily have their bloodlines mixed with the other three, and so would appear to us as one of the other three kinds. No, what we need most is a pure 4th-type pony. Not a Pegasus concerned with charisma and going for broke, nor an Earth pony concerned with Duty and Honor, nor a Unicorn concerned with reason, but a fourth kind, devoted to … whimsy." Twilight facehoofed, "Oh, no." "You know of such a pony?" Thunder continued booming across the sky as what was now a very shallow lake of marshland splashed under-hoof. Miss Pie looked up at the decrepit weather. "This castle is so gloomy. Wow." She looked from side to side. "What it needs is some Pink!"