//------------------------------//
// Let the Studying Begin! 
// Story: Elements of Harmony: Black Ops 
// by Outcast4Ever 
//------------------------------//

I threw the door open with my magic, leaving Spike far behind in my haste to get to the library. Seconds after rocketing through the doorway, I was beside my desk with the two tomes from nearly a week ago suspended before me. I pulled out the copies I had made of the notes from that night. Thank Celestia I had decided to rewrite the notes a few nights ago! If I had tried to use what I had written when deprived of sleep it would have been a disaster. As it was it had taken me an entire day just to figure out what the notes said.

The small pile of parchment suspended before me was the second copy I had made of my notes. These ones were far more organized than the originals and were much easier to read and understand as well. The reason these were the second copy? Well, the first copy had been as unorganized as the original notes; merely a way for me to read what I had written without difficulty.  No, this second copy was much easier to understand. 

Opening the tomes to roughly the same pages they had been on when the portal had opened, I sat down beside my desk and went straight to work. The note-filled parchment was floating around me in clouds of my raspberry magic, the two tomes and a quill floating alongside it. Comparing the open tomes to the notes around me, I flipped a few pages in each until I was at the exact places I had been that one night. My eyes drifted across the pages quickly as I read and re-read everything I had before the portal opened. 

I went from page to page, comparing the valuable information stored in the tomes with my personal notes. As I re-read a page for about the tenth time that morning, Spike came through the door out of breath. The sound of claws scratching against the wooden floor grasped my attention and I turned my head away from my research to look at my assistant. "Was... studying... really... that..... important?" he asked, gasping for breath in between words.

"Oh, Spike. I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" I asked, lowering the tomes and notes to the table in the center of the library.

"I'll be... fine."

After inhaling another gulp of air, Spike finally caught his breath and came over to stand beside me. A burst of emerald flame erupted from his mouth with a burp. As the flames dissipated, a scroll appeared with a small shower of sparks. I grasped the scroll with my magic and unrolled it, wondering what Princess Celestia wished to speak to me about now. Spike stood beside me patiently, waiting for me to read the letter aloud like I always did. I took a deep breath and started to read the princess' delicate writing.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

My most faithful student, it has been quite a while since I've heard from you and I'm beginning to wonder how your studies are going. I am also wondering if you knew anything about a strange burst of magical energy about a week or so ago either in or near Ponyville. As I'm writing this however, I get a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about and are studying it right now. I should probably also tell you that if you and your friends plan to go anywhere in the near or somewhat distant future you must have your Elements on at all times.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your fellow Princess,

Princess Celestia

I place the letter on the table beside the open tomes and just look at a shelf on the other side of the library. A veil of silence has fallen over the library, with Spike standing next to me in shock and confusion as I stare. I feel as if I'm in another world, lost in time and space. How had she known about the, as she put it, 'burst of magical energy'? It was better not to question Celestia, a fact anyone knew if they had spent a fraction of the time with her that I had, but I couldn't help it. It was almost as if she was in my head, trying her best to read my cryptic thoughts like a book.

"Twilight?" Spike's voice seemed distant, a lone point in another world that I could barely reach. "Twilight, what's going on?"

I shook my head to get rid of the distant feeling and to clear away my wandering thoughts. I blinked and turned to Spike. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Spike."

Spike picked up the letter and read it over again and again until he got the basic idea behind it. "Does this have anything to do with what you went to see Rarity about?"

I sigh and turn back to the tomes. "Yes, it does, but it doesn't matter. Just, promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"Of course, Twilight. What you and the princess discuss is between the two of you, nopony else."

"Thanks."

"No problem. So, do you want me to re-shelve the library while you study?"

"That would be great, Spike."

As Spike climbed the ladder laid against one of the many shelves, I levitated one of the open tomes from the table. I read through a few pages over and over again, trying to pull up any information I might have missed. With a quick glance from the pages I noticed Spike had pulled down nearly half of the library's stock of books. He was getting faster and faster at re-shelving, now that we were in a smaller library and I asked him to re-shelve the library at least twice a month. I swear he's devised a system so that as he pulls down the books they get organized either by genre or by title in one way or another. Most ponies just don't realize how smart that little dragon is.

Placing the one tome one the table, I picked up the second with my magic. There had to be something I was missing, there just had to. I repeated the process of reading and re-reading from the two tomes so many times, I lost complete track of time. When I looked up from my work again Spike was standing next to me with a daisy sandwich and a glass of apple cider. "I thought you might be hungry, so I made you lunch."

He smiled and my stomach rumbled at the smell of food. "Thanks, Spike. Without you around, I'd study like a maniac." I said, grasping both the cider and sandwich in my magic.

"You still do, sometimes, but your welcome."

He turned and walked off back to the kitchen, either to make his lunch or clean up from it. I set down the tome I still held in my magic and took a bite of my sandwich. It was delicious, like always. The daisy petals were delicate, but flavorful and the bread was lightly toasted to give it a slight crispiness. 

As I swallowed that first bite, my eyes drifted to where the letter lay on the table. I had set it aside so as not to be distracted by it while studying, but I felt that maybe I should at least reply to it. It felt weird not answering a letter from the princess, almost like I was ignoring her. I took another bite of my lunch and picked up the letter to read it again. 

One sentence stuck out and practically implanted itself in my mind. 'I am also wondering if you knew anything about a strange burst of magical energy about a week or so ago either in or near Ponyville.' The fact that the princess had felt the pulse of magic a week ago was not uncommon. These things happened often when I had been a filly learning from her, and I was certain that was the reason she showed up at my entrance exam. That and the fact that Spike had grown so tall from my 'outburst' that he had blown a hole in the roof.

It's just, the way it was written. It was unnerving to think that I had done something that required enough magic a princess in Canterlot could feel it. She had said it was strange. Did that mean she had never felt a burst of magic like that, even during the sonic rainboom that caused me to lose control? That's what it had to mean, yet I couldn't believe it. What happened a week ago was far less powerful than other things I had done thus far, so either it hadn't been done in a very long time, or it had only been a theory that I had just proven.

The mental overload was too much to bear. The thought of me proving something that was quite possibly never even considered possible sent my brain into overdrive and I all but shut down. My heart rate increased slightly and my breathing became slightly ragged, almost as if it was difficult to take any air into my lungs. The effect was similar to a panic attack. My wings stiffened against my sides as my breathing became heavier and more ragged with every intake of oxygen and my pupils became pinpricks in a sea of violet. 

My right eye was twitching nervously, as were my ears. Every sound ensued a frightened twitch from my entire being, and by the time Spike emerged from the kitchen I was shaking. The claw he placed on my shoulder did little to help calm me. It was barely enough to stop the shaking and help me gain a tiny bit of control over my breathing. "Twilight, you need to calm down. I'm sure everything is going to be fine, you just need to relax and maybe take a day off from studying. You've been working really hard lately and I think a break would be good for you."

"A break? A break!" My voice was sharp and full of panic and pent-up stress. "I can't take a break, not when I might have proven something deemed impossible by every scholar, every magical prodigy before me. You want me to take a break? How can you expect me to take a break?!?"

Spike lifted his claw off my shoulder and I heard his retreating footsteps. "I-I'll be back in just a little bit, Twilight. I've just got to... um... get some uh... parchment. Yeah, that's it. I need to run out and get some more parchment. We're almost out, and I uh, want to make sure we have enough for your weekly schedule."


* * * * * * * * * * * *


I ran as fast as I could towards Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight needed someone who could calm her down, and I couldn't think of anypony better than Fluttershy at the moment. My mind was in a jumble. Twilight had gone from calm and relaxed to full-out panic in less than ten minutes and it was weird. Sure, she could launch herself into a panic over something as simple as not writing a letter she had promised to write, but there was always a reason for her panic, not matter how inane it seemed to everypony else.

Distracted, I almost ran right into the door. I skidded to a stop right on her doorstep and struggled to catch my breath from my sprint here. I knocked on the door while still trying to catch my breath, knowing that if Twilight wasn't calmed down soon enough it could mean trouble. And I had just re-shelved the entire library.

"Coming." said a soft voice from inside, no doubt belonging to Fluttershy.

The door opened to reveal the buttercream mare with a small white bunny beside her. Her long pink mane almost hid the bunny from view, with only about half of him visible from where I was standing."Hi... Fluttershy. Hi... Angel." I said between breaths, lifting a claw to wave at the hidden pet.

"Hello, Spike. Is something wrong? I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Twilight... panic... ran from... library." I took another deep, gasping breath and slowly gained control over my breathing once again.

"Well, um, do you want to come in and explain it a little more? You look tired."

"Thanks, Fluttershy."

The pegasus stepped aside and I walked into the living room of the cottage. Birdhouses and feeders hung from the ceiling and the birds perched at them chirped in greeting as I made my way to the couch. I sat down and took a couple more deep breaths before my breathing returned to normal.

"So, what's this about Twilight and a panic?" asked Fluttershy, coming over to sit in front of me on the floor.

"I took Twilight her lunch and then went back into the kitchen to eat my own. When I came out, Twilight was breathing heavily and her wings were clamped against her sides. Her eyes were wild-looking, almost like she was scared, and her pupils had pretty much vanished they were so small. When I told her she needed to calm down an relax, she said something about proving the impossible. What she was referring to, I have no idea. I figured if anypony could help me get her to relax, it would be you, so I ran here from the library. Can you help?"

We both sat silent for a couple of minutes, me waiting for an answer and Fluttershy thinking. I folded my claws in my lap and waited patiently for the shy mare to speak, hoping she would at least come and try to calm Twilight down. If we didn't hurry, though, the library could be in a state of chaos by the time we reached it. 

"I'll go with you to try and calm Twilight down, but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to help." She finally replied, her voice soft.

"Thanks. Now, let's go."