"Just give up."
Twilight suddenly stopped walking, her eyes widening in shock. Her friends kept on as if she were still there, even continuing to address her and acting as if she had replied. She was about to call out to them, but before she could, a vaguely familiar yellow fog blanketed her vision, obscuring the group completely.
"Hello?" Twilight called. She looked around frantically for the usual landmarks--Filthy's gingerbread house, Lotus's spa, the crater that was once Fluttershy's arena...but she saw nothing through the fog.
"You'll never find the answers you seek."
Suddenly, a much more familiar eye opened in front of Twilight. Despite the fog all around her, she could see the eye clearly, and she instantly recognized it as the eye of Shadow Pinkie. She planted her hooves and glared. "You!"
"Don't act tough, Twilight. You're not very intimidating." The eye circled Twilight slowly, sizing her up. "You can look as much as you want, but there is no way you will find your answer."
A large tortoise with a run-down castle for a shell appeared, its eyes almost jovial. "Y'all're never gonna make Ponyville a safe place again...there just ain't enough to work with."
An adolescent dragon in a chariot pulled by invisible horses showed up next. "It would be better off if you just left. Go somewhere far away, whether in body or in mind..."
After that, a Sphinx statue with Fluttershy's face and a large cobra on its back materialized. "Now you've seen the dark side of this society. There's no escape from it...no reprieve from it."
A white-skinned humanoid in flowing black robes appeared next. "The culprit will always be hidden behind a veil, using you as his entertainment!"
A bird with human legs and bladed wings was the next to arrive. "It was fun while it lasted...but face it. Your little journey is as good as done."
By this point, Twilight was visibly shaking. The Shadows of her friends separated a little bit, and Twilight's own Shadow walked between them, making itself known through the fog. "Somepony as weak and meaningless as you can never make a difference. You were foalish to ever think otherwise."
Twilight wanted to scream. She wanted to defy the Shadows, to say that she would overcome the obstacles ahead and solve the case at any cost. But though she knew exactly what she wanted to say, her mouth simply wouldn't respond.
The Shadows started walking closer, each one murmuring what they had said previously under their breath. Twilight fell onto her stomach, then curled into a ball as the monsters surrounded her. The yellow fog became darker and darker until it was pitch black as the Shadows kept creeping closer. Twilight cowered in fear, waiting for them to attack her.
When she opened her eyes again, Twilight was lying in her bed. She propped herself up on her headboard and looked around, making sure that she wasn't in the other world. Making sure she was safe. Though she could've sworn she still heard remnants of the Shadows' voices around her, they were nowhere to be seen, and were even now fading into the back of her mind.
"Oh good, you're awake," Spike said as he came upstairs with a bowl of scrambled eggs. "You were tossing and turning and...talking a little bit in your sleep."
"I was talking?" Twilight asked groggily. She felt awful, and she guessed that she must have slept in--after all, Spike was already up and about.
"Yeah. Couldn't make out what you were saying." Spike put the bowl down on Twilight's desk. "I tried waking you up, but what with how much you were flailing around, I couldn't get close to you without you decking me in the face...so I made you breakfast in bed. I know you must've been having a pretty bad nightmare."
Twilight smiled as warmly as she could given her mental state. She picked Spike up with her magic and hugged him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Spike."
"Likewise." The dragon returned Twilight's affection, and after he was on solid ground again, he scratched his head. "So...what were you dreaming about, anyway?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned over. I'll be all right now." Twilight floated a hoof mirror and hairbrush over to her bed and started fixing the mess she had made of her mane overnight. "Soon as I'm done eating, I'll go walk it off."
"That's good to hear." Spike took off his apron and folded it over his arm. "I need to go clean up. Do you need anything else?"
Twilight was about to just dismiss Spike to avoid troubling him further, but she realized then how dry her throat was. It felt dusty, even. "A glass of milk would be nice."
"Coming right up!" Spike hurried down the stairs as fast as his short legs would carry him.
True to her word, Twilight left the library after she ate, leaving Spike alone to tend to it. He would have gone with her happily, but she said she wanted some time to think. Because of this, Spike took it upon himself to make sure everything was in order when she got back--he re-shelved books, dusted the furniture, even re-positioned some books that Twilight had put in the wrong place thanks to her mind being occupied on other things. He was in the process of the latter when he heard a rough but quiet knock on the door.
"Just a second!" Spike called as he jumped down from the ladder he was so accustomed to falling off of. That ladder wasn't getting the best of him today, no sirree. He walked over to and opened the door to find three extremely familiar fillies.
"Howdy, Spike!" Apple Bloom said jovially. "It's Twilight Time! Is she around?"
"Oh, wow, is it Wednesday already?" Spike shifted his weight sheepishly. "Sorry, she went for a long walk to clear her head. She'll probably be back before too long. Do you want to come in?"
"You bet!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "It's so hot out here I can actually smell something burning!"
Spike opened the door, and the rambunctious trio charged into the library--without wiping their hooves, naturally. Spike hadn't swept the floor yet, though, so it was only a minor inconvenience. "Don't go making a mess, now. I'll make you some lunch."
"You don't have to do that, Spike," Sweetie Belle said. "We can wait until we go home."
"A few hours from now, you mean?" Spike started walking into the kitchen. "Yeah, no. You can't learn on an empty stomach anyway."
"Thanks!" Scootaloo said as Spike started his work. He hoped that the three fillies could keep themselves busy somehow so that they wouldn't undo his housework, but even if they did, staying mad at them would take a lot more willpower than he had.
"So...what d'y'all think we should do?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah don't wanna risk blowin' up the library with ma potions unless Twilight's here to tell me if Ah did somethin' wrong."
"Yeah, you can't start a lesson without a teacher," Sweetie Belle added. "If you try, the classroom just gets covered with spitballs and paper airplanes made from the remains of last night's homework."
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle strangely. "How did you come up with that analogy?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh, it's not important." Sweetie Belle used her magic to open her saddlebags and take out a list. "Maybe we should see if there's any crusading we can do without making a mess."
"Well, we already tried speed-readers...and Ah certainly don't wanna summon another demon," Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes.
"Ooh! How about acting?" Scootaloo asked. "We could read something from one of the fiction books and then act it out! So long as we don't get too physical, we should be fine!"
"Worth a shot, I guess!" Sweetie Belle replied with a smile. "So, um...what book should we choose?"
"It HAS to be one of the Daring Do books!" Scootaloo flew into the air about two feet, adopting a sense of leadership that she didn't actually possess. "One of us plays the daring adventurer, going headfirst into the thick of danger and getting tons of experience points!"
"Experience points?"
"One of us plays the damsel in distress! Whether she simply waits for her hero or tries to talk her way out of the situation on her own, there can be no doubt that her role is important!"
"Does Daring Do even have a role like--"
"And the last of us plays the wicked Auhizotl, stealing ancient artifacts and scheming to take over the world by any means necessary! Not it, by the way."
"Not it!"
"Not--oh, pony feathers," Apple Bloom grumbled.
Scootaloo landed on the floor in front of her friends, her eyes full of excitement and her smile full of pride. "We'll be sure to get our cutie marks if that's the kind of act we put on!"
"Okay, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Sweetie Belle went over to the Fiction shelves. "But which book should we do it on? There are so many of them to choose from!"
"Well, it's our first act, so how 'bout Sapphire Statue?" Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, it is the first book in the series."
"It's not the first chronologically, though," Scootaloo pointed out. "She hurt her wing in Wayward Wonderbolt while she was trapped in that harpy nest, and that's what caused her rough landing!"
"Wasn't that a different injury?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Her wings get hurt a lot somehow."
"No, it wasn't. When she was asked about it during an interview, she said it was the same one."
"So are we doin' Wayward Wonderbolt or Sapphire Statue, then?" Apple Bloom asked, becoming slightly impatient.
"Hmm...there's a good reason to do both," Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should find some way other than compromise to settle this."
Scootaloo smiled innocently. "Hoof-wrestling?"
"NOT IN MY HOUSE!" Spike bellowed from the other room.
After recovering from their shock at Spike's outburst, they thought some more about it. All three fillies wished they were under that hanging light in their clubhouse that almost seemed to stimulate their thought process, but it was halfway across town.
"Oh, I have an idea!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "What we do is this..."
About fifteen minutes later, Spike finished making a casserole for his three rambunctious little guests. He regarded his handiwork proudly, picking up a towel to put the scorching-hot dish on. As he carefully handled the delicious mixture and walked into the other room, he stopped suddenly.
"Scootaloo, stop flapping your wings! That's cheating!"
"It's not my fault you two don't have them!"
"How can y'all stay concentrated when yer shoutin' at each other like that?!"
A very strange scene was playing out before Spike. Even though the ladder was on the other side of the room, the fillies had somehow managed to climb up to the top of one of the bookshelves and were now standing very precariously with their front hooves peeking over the edge. As Spike looked on, the three fillies noticed him there. A long period of awkward silence followed.
"Uhh...we can explain?" Sweetie Belle said, smiling sheepishly.
"GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Spike yelled. "You're going to get hurt, and then your sisters are gonna blame me!"
"Aww, but how else will we decide which Daring Do book to act out?" Scootaloo asked.
"Do the fifth one. There, no more contest. Get down." Spike put the casserole down on the table. "And I'll make sure Twilight hears about why there are hoofprints on the bookshelf."
A dangerous look entered Scootaloo's eyes. "Oh, really?"
Spike was confused again at that statement. "...Yes. Really."
"Well, we can't let THAT happen, now can we?!" Scootaloo spread her wings imposingly as she grabbed her two friends and jumped down to the floor. "Here's our chance for an all-out attack!"
"Wait, what?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Just follow my lead." Scootaloo suddenly charged at Spike. "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!"
Taking a walk around town did wonders for Twilight's energy. She didn't feel entirely rested after her ordeal this morning, but the uplifting atmosphere of the town she called home was more than enough to lift her spirits. It was like going to the spa, but on a lesser scale.
That said, her nightmare still wasn't completely forgotten. Though she didn't see the Shadows when she closed her eyes any more, she still heard their voices nagging at her in the back of her mind. Not only that, but her dreamless sleep reminded her of a problem that, without meaning to, she had a hoof in causing. With this in mind, she ignored her misgivings and tried to remember where Diamond Tiara's house was. The only directions she had gotten for it were to follow the road she had been walking on at the time and looking for--
A large, wrought iron gate made itself known in Twilight's peripheral view. She turned towards it, confirming that it was, in fact, the gate to Diamond Tiara's home. "That was easy," she said to herself. She walked over to the brick post on the left side of the gate and pushed the button that was there. After a few seconds, the gate opened, and Twilight walked up the driveway to knock on the door.
Inside the house, Twilight thought she heard something crashing to the floor, followed by clicking that sounded almost like hoofsteps. She then heard actual hoofsteps as Diamond Tiara opened the door. As soon as she saw who it was, she smiled. "Hi, Twilight! Come on in!"
Twilight complied as Diamond Tiara made way for her, making sure to wipe her hooves. The inside of the house was just as it had been last time, save for one thing--in front of the couch, there was a spindle and a pile of wooden blocks. "What's going on there?"
"Aunt Ruby says I'll fall asleep easier if I have something to focus on during the day." Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "I can fall asleep just fine these days, but she insists."
"Does it help at all?"
"...A little, I guess. I don't think I need it, though."
"Why a spindle, anyway?"
Diamond Tiara just shrugged.
"Wouldn't it make more sense if you were to read a book, or watch some of those silent movies?"
"She thinks that if I get captivated, it'll be harder to fall asleep."
Ruby walked into the room just then. "That's because it would be! You wouldn't want to abandon what you're doing for rest." She nodded to Twilight. "Hello, your Highness. What brings you here today?"
"I wanted to check on you two," Twilight replied. "I've been pretty busy lately, but I haven't forgotten what happened last time we saw each other. I wanted to know if you...well..."
Ruby raised her hoof to stop Twilight, a knowing smile on her face. "Say no more, Princess. You have nothing to fear. Families never stay angry at each other forever--I'm sure you know that as well as I do."
"Actually...I've barely had conflicts with my family period."
Diamond Tiara suddenly looked at Twilight as if she were an alien. "WHAT?!"
"Is that...strange?"
"Diamond, just because you and your father weren't on the best of terms doesn't mean that everypony is in the same situation," Ruby said with a frown.
"No, I get that...but for it to NEVER happen? If you're around someone for that long, you're bound to argue with them! I've even fought with Silver Spoon a couple of times!"
"Well, I actually fought with my brother relatively recently." Twilight frowned as the stinging memories of Shining Armor reprimanding her like he would one of his cadets resurfaced. "It...wasn't pretty...and it took quite a feat to patch things up again."
"Ah, that makes sense. If that's your only experience with family issues...well, I must say, you're quite the lucky mare in that regard," Ruby said, a gentle smile on her face.
Twilight fought back a shudder as she tried to push the bad memories down. "I certainly don't feel that way." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm glad to see that you two are okay now!"
"And I appreciate your concern." Ruby walked closer and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "And if you ever need to talk about what happened with your family, I'm here to listen. I've had my share of family feuds in the past, and I know how painful they can be."
"...Thank you. I...might take you up on that sometime."
That oh-so-familiar shattering sound played in Twilight's mind as she saw images of Heirophant and Hanged Man cards appear before her. The same deep voice from last time rumbled to life as well. "You have created bonds that cannot be broken...these everlasting bonds shall be your eyes to see the truth. We bestow upon you the ability to harness the power of the Hanged Man and Heirophant Arcana."
"Is everything all right, Twilight?" Diamond Tiara asked.
Twilight shook off the images and turned towards the filly. "Yeah, I'm fine...let me guess, I spaced out for a second?"
Diamond Tiara nodded. "Does this happen a lot?"
A smile crept onto Twilight's muzzle. "More than you know."
After a short while, Twilight decided it was time to go home. She had gotten what she came for--reassurance and a clear mind to spend the rest of her day with. She had also forgotten that today was the day she was supposed to teach the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so she kept up a brisk trot all the way to the library. Not that she didn't like the Crusaders, but she didn't want to leave Spike alone with them for too long.
When she got to the library, Twilight heard voices on the other side of the door. Curious and more than a little bit wary, she leaned in to listen. There was a rhythmic thumping that was only just audible over the voices.
"We have defeated the mighty dragon and claimed his treasure!"
"Yeah, yeah, you can have it. Just get off of me!"
"That'll teach y'all to mess with the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
"...Can I stop swinging around this broom now?"
Twilight decided that was a good a time as any to open the door. Everyone in the room turned to look at her as she entered. Scootaloo was quite literally standing on a very bemused Spike's back. Apple Bloom assisted in this by holding his arms with a lasso made of her own bow. Sweetie Belle was holding Twilight's broom in her magic, standing just beside a plate with a piece of casserole and a fork on it. The four of them just kept staring at Twilight, an exceedingly awkward silence overtaking the room.
"Sooooo, uhh...can we start the lesson now?" Scootaloo asked, trying to sound as casual as she could.
Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes the way she always did when the Crusaders got themselves into mischief. "You know what? Sure."