//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: Becoming Twilight // by RandomGreymane //------------------------------// Becoming Twilight - Chapter 18                by RandomGreymane (Mike Hebel)         The next morning, during breakfast, Rainbow Dash again complained about the distances involved.  This prompted a reconsideration from Twilight.         “Okay Dash why don’t you do what you do best then?” she said as she put down her toast.         “What do you have in mind?” asked Rainbow Dash around a mouth full of pancakes.         “I mean why don’t you do an aerial sweep of the city before we get started.” Twilight continued.  “We nixed it before but at this point anything helps. We will probably get some noise and some false leads but it should pick out the largest hot spots on the island.”         “That sounds like an AWESOME idea!” exclaimed Dash. “It’ll take me no time at all to fly across the whole city!”         “Except that you will have to fly slower than usual Dash.” Twilight said while refilling her coffee cup. “I’m not a magickal recorder you know.  And you’ll have to stop when I tell you.  It won’t mean a thing if we can’t keep it all straight.”         “You mean slow as in normal Pegasus speed right?” asked Dash.         “I mean slow as in Fluttershy speed.” Twilight replied.  “No offense Fluttershy.”         “Oh...none taken Twilight!” Fluttershy said quickly.  “I like flying slow!”         “Ugh. Fiiiine.” Rainbow Dash grunted.  Hanging her head in defeat, Dash concentrated on finishing her meal.         “Also,” Twilight continued “I want you to do the flyover at night.  Manehatten may never sleep but a lot of the ponies in it do.  We may not be able to get a perfectly quiet scan but it should give us a bit of an edge.”         Rainbow Dash’s only response was a nod as she finished her meal.         “And since that means waiting until this evening I suggest one of the more common experiences for mares visiting Manehatten - shopping!” Twilight said with a smile on her face.         “I have a meeting with the mayor this morning but would it be acceptable to join you afterwards?” Celestia asked as she set down her teacup.         A chorus of assent rose from the group, and with that breakfast was completed. =============================================================         It took Rarity a surprisingly long time, even for her, to choose an outfit to go shopping in.  This left the rest of her companions waiting in the galley with time to talk.  Subjects ranged from gardening advice to combat flight techniques while they could hear a smattering of the fashion pony talking to herself from her cabin.  “No...too heavy.  Not the right color.  Why do I even OWN this?”  The sound of trunks opening and closing obscured the full conversation.         Applejack and Rainbow Dash made a bet on the number of outfits Rarity would go through before emerging.  Twilight just shook her head and rolled her eyes.         In time they moved up on deck to wait.  From time to time ponies on the dock would wave at the group.  This would cause a flurry of hoof waving and greetings that would setting down a few moments afterwards.         Eventually Rarity emerged from below decks.  She was clad in a simple scarf and an enormous sun hat.  Closer inspection revealed that she was also wearing her pendant and matching earrings.  Rainbow Dash silently handed over a 5-bit piece to Applejack while trying to hide the expression on her face.         “That was what we waited so long for?” said Rainbow Dash to Applejack.  Applejack just shrugged in reply.         “Now I am ready to take on the city!” Rarity exclaimed.         “Oookaaay...” said Twilight. “Shall we get going girls?”         Rarity smiled, and with a nod she led everypony off the Wind Walker and onto the docks that led into the edge of the city. ===========================================================         As expected, the friends stuck together for the most part.  When they stopped at a small restaurant for lunch, Applejack took delight in pointing out that Rarity had something stuck to the bottom of her hoof.  After several attempts to dislodge it, Rarity waved away the issue saying that she would just get a hooficure later and have it removed then.         Celestia joined them at the restaurant and they resumed their shopping expedition.  Twilight was pleased because this meant their itinerary changed to include things like book stores and of all things a surplus magick item shop.  Near the end of the day Rarity left separately to get the aforementioned hooficure.         It was several hours later when Rarity returned to the Wind Walker with a clear look of distress on her face.         “Twiliiiight!!!” she called as she emerged into the galley. The others looked up from comparing the purchases they had made.         “Rarity what’s wrong?” Celestia said as she hastily put down the dark blue sweater she had bought for her sister.         “It’s the worst...” Rarity started to say before Twilight cut her off.         “Just tell us what’s wrong.” Twilight said.         Mutely, Rarity turned over her hoof to show the bottom of it to everypony.  There, as they had seen earlier in the day, was the small rock that had become firmly attached to her hoof.         “I thought you said you were going to get a hooficure to remove it?” asked Applejack.         “The hooficurest broke three tools trying to remove it.  Then he..he said...he said to get my...ugly hoof out of there!” Rarity concluded as tears began to flow from her eyes.         “Twilight.” said Celestia. “Something’s wrong.  Can you feel it?”         “No.” replied Twilight. “And that’s what bothers me.  It’s obviously magick but I can’t sense anything from it.”         “Hmm...everyone check their hooves please.” Celestia said. “Once you’ve done that then check each other’s hooves.”         Unsurprisingly they all found a similar ‘rock’ attached to the back of their rear hooves.  Only Rarity had it attached where it was easily visible.         When Twilight reached out to each of her friends she found that she couldn’t detect the pebbles.  Nor could she easily detect anything magickal beyond them.  Their presence muted her senses a few feet beyond her own body.         “Well...” said Twilight “that is a pretty good indicator that someone doesn’t want us to scan the city.”         “Agreed.” said Celestia as she found one on her rear hoof as well.  Pushing at the stone with her magick, Celestia found that it slid off as if the stone was greased.  “And someone with no small knowledge in spells.”         “Unfortunately we have to deal with these things first before we can find who put them there.” Twilight said as she carefully probed the small pool of emptiness on her hind hoof.  “It’s going to take me a little time to get a bead on this.  Fortunately it appears that these are designed only to prevent scanning and not much else.  We should be safe so long as we stay out of the city for now.”         With assent, and no small amount of grumbling, the rest of the ponies in the room took their purchases and went back to their cabins.  Only Celestia and Twilight remained.         “With Manehatten so large it could be anyone.” said Twilight as she continued her magickal examination of the charm stuck to her rear hoof.         “Indeed.” said Celestia.  The tone of her voice indicated that she was conducting her own experiments on the item at hoof.  “And with so many enemies we’ve made over the years it certainly does nothing to narrow down the choices.”         Probing in a particular frequency, Twilight got a sudden bitter taste in her mouth.  “Dark illusion.” she said with a frown. “These are made of dark magick specifically formulated towards illusions.”         Twilight pushed a little at the object with a frequency of magick opposite of the band in question.  With some effort she was able to separate the spell from her hoof.  What looked like a tiny eight-legged insect fell onto the deck and quickly dissolved into smoke.  The odor it left was so horrible it made even Celestia gag and gasp for air.         Coughing herself, Twilight opened a pair of portholes and magickally forced a breeze to clear the air.         “Now it’s your turn.” Twilight said as she faced Celestia.  To her surprise the princess held aloft an intact spider in her magickal grip.         “Nice to know I still know some things that you don’t.” Celestia said with a grin on her face.         Peering at the spider, Twilight noticed that she couldn’t quite focus on it.  It was as if the surface shifted continuously.  “Why is it like that?” she asked her mentor.         “It’s a Smoke Spider.” Celestia replied.  She continued as she stared at the insect, “They are usually found in the mountains but I haven’t seen one in ages...”         “Well what the buck is it doing here?” asked Twilight carefully taking hold of the creature. “I know all sorts of things live in the city but this seems to be a bit odd.  You’d think someone would have reported them by this time.”         “Well in general I’d say life goes where the food is.” said Celestia thoughtfully.  “But in this case this had to be deliberate.  After the initial panic I scanned the rest of the crew,  Only our sisters and ourselves were targeted.”         “All right then.  If they want to play it that way then so will we!” said Twilight.  The slightly crooked smile on her face spoke volumes.  “First though let’s get these off of everypony.”         “I do believe that I can safely do that from here and alert everyone to the issue.” said Celestia as she reached out with her magick.         “Wait!” said Twilight before realizing it was too late.  Dark smoke and a disgusting smell seeped from the area of the cabins.  Almost immediately Twilight’s friends came rushing out the doors into the clear air of the galley.         Twilight looked back at Celestia just in time to see her hide a grin behind her best impression of royalty. =========================================================================         “So it looks like somepony or something doesn’t want us scanning the city.” Twilight said as the last of the smoke was exchanged for clear air.  Closing the portholes Twilight continued, “That means we need to be a little sneakier than before.”  Placing her hoof to her forehead she also said “No Pinkie you won’t need your sneaking outfit.”         With reluctance the pink pony pushed a pile of black clothing and some goggles off to the side.         “What we do need are some illusions of our own.” Celestia continued.  “Together Twilight and I can put together a trigger-able invisibility spell that will hide you from almost anything.”         “Whoever sent these spiders won’t know what hit them!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.         “Well there goes my plan to whip up a stunning magickal investigator’s outfit.” said Rarity. “I mean what’s the point of utter style if no one can see it?”  Rarity shuddered slightly.         “No surprise there you bein’ all worried about fashion when we gots some creepy as buck spiders on our trail.” said Applejack.  Grinning, she poked Rarity in the shoulder to show it was all in good fun.  Rarity made a disapproving noise and lifted her chin pointedly.  The corners of her eyes crinkled a bit though, like she was holding back her mirth.         “Okay girls gather ‘round so we can get you properly outfitted.” Twilight said.         “The spell won’t work on an item and cover you completely so we have to apply the magick directly to your bodies.” continued Celestia. “It won’t be pretty and it won’t be comfortable.  But it should protect all of you.”         Before anyone could ask any further questions, Celestia and Twilight gathered their friends between the two of them and stood facing each other.  Slowly, wisps of silver magick accumulated like a fog until nopony could see the other.  The fog became thicker and thicker.  Eventually to all within the cloud it felt as if an uncomfortable and clingy paste was sticking to them.           Over the next few moments the fog sank into each pony until no trace of it remained in the air.  With little ado almost every pony began savagely scratching at their bodies.         “Itchy!” said Rainbow Dash and she flew around room rubbing her back against things. “Itchy! Itchy! Itchy!”         Rubbing one hind leg against the other, Fluttershy began rummaging in her bag for lotion while Twilight scratched furiously.  Rarity stood stock still as she attempted to out-wait the sensation.  Pinkie promptly poured a nearby teapot over herself before sighing in contentment.  Even the princess was affected.  The only pony who  appeared unaffected was Applejack, who promptly helped her sisters scratch themselves as best as she could.         “Applejack?” asked Twilight. “Why the hay aren’t you scratching?”         “You’ve obviously never burned a patch a’ Poison Ivy and gotten caught in the smoke.” Applejack replied with a smile as she captured and calmed Rainbow Dash.         When all the initial itching had subsided, Twilight had them test the spell.  This time it was Rainbow Dash who went first.  “It better be worth it.” she said still scratching a bit.         With some concentration she abruptly vanished.  Without hesitation Pinkie did the same.  Eventually Twilight and Celestia activated the spell.  Once invisible they could see each of their friends there clearly, if a bit fuzzy around the edges.         “Oh good!” said Twilight. “I was concerned that we would have to do the whole bumping into each other while invisible thing.”         “Now let us hunt some spiders.” Celestia said with a determined look on her face.         The rest of the ponies in the circle stood very still and looked at the princess.         Celestia sighed.  “I’ve been alive for thousands of years, many of them without battling anyone, can you forgive me for wanting a bit of conflict?”         Twilight broke the silence. “No, we are just a bit surprised.  This is not a side of you we normally see. But then we did agree that we were all sisters and open with each other.”         “We’ll get used to it.” said Rarity “After all one does have to let one’s crown down every so often correct?”         “Agreed.” said Twilight.  “Shall we get going girls?”         With nods, and still under the cloak of their invisibility, the seven of them carefully made their way down the ramp and onto the sidewalk of the city.  Once around the corner from the docks Twilight stopped the group to organize the hunt.  As they began to gather together, Twilight and the others noticed several of the small Shadow Spiders passing them by as if they did not exist.         “Well that’s good ta see.” said Applejack.  As she spoke, one of the spiders paused as if it had heard her.  Wisely she did not speak further until the spider had traveled some distance down the sidewalk.         “Applejack just showed a very good example of something.” Twilight said when she was sure there were no more spiders nearby. “We are invisible not inaudible.  People can still hear us.  Tia and I included a muffling spell on our hooves but anything else we couldn’t add without making the spell painful rather than just itchy.”         “You mean it could have been WORSE?” said Rainbow Dash loud enough that a pony halfway down the block turned it’s head.  Seeing this, Rainbow quickly closed her mouth.         “Yes my sisters.  It could have been much much worse.” Celestia said. “Fortunately we found a good balance.  Twilight?  What is the plan?”         “We’ll start with our original idea.” Twilight replied.  “Dash will do an aerial flyover to identify hot spots.  We’ll go from there and investigate the strongest ones.”         “I’m on it!” said Rainbow Dash as she launched herself.  “Meet you at Central Park!” her fading voice said.         “Wait!  Rainbow!  Oh ponyfeathers.” Twilight said in irritation.  “I need to focus to pick up what she is flying over.”         Without a by-your-leave, Celestia levitated Twilight onto her still invisible back.  “Relax there and concentrate.  I can carry you to the park.”         Nodding, Twilight immediately relaxed and focused.  Reaching out she could feel Rainbow Dash speeding over the city.         As the group walked to the park they could see the shifting movement of Shadow Spiders of various size.  Most were small but some were the size of dogs.  One was large enough that it caused Applejack to compare it to some of the cattle she knew back in Ponyville.         Rainbow Dash made several passes over the city in a grid pattern.  By the time she completed the last pass the group had reached Central Park and were resting comfortably beneath an out of the way tree.  A bright street lamp illuminated the area where they sat.         Upon Rainbow Dash landing, Twilight opened her eyes.  The look on her face was confused.         “Twilight?” Celestia asked softly.         “I think...we have a bigger problem than we thought...” Twilight said with fear in her voice.         “What is it dear?” Rarity asked “More spiders?”         “You...could say that.” said Twilight as she trembled.  “Spiders.  Big ones.  And they are headed this way. Big spiders.”  Twilight began to tremble uncontrollably until Celestia put her wing around her to calm her.         “Umm...shouldn’t we get out of here then?” asked Fluttershy.         “No.” said Applejack.  “A’hm not runnin’ from no spider.  No way. No how.”         “Ahem.  Excuse me?” said a tiny voice from the park path.  “Could you ghosts kind of go away?”         All the ponies turned to see a tiny filly standing in front of a crowd of other ponies. “Could you please just go away?  You’re scaring us.” she said.         “How the buck...” started Applejack before she looked back at her friends and noticed that the strong light was causing them to cast shadows of an odd color onto the surrounding area.         “Truthlights.” Celestia said with a surprised tone in her voice.  “Buck me I forgot about those.  We had them installed in Manehatten after a series of incidents with a group of smugglers.  In fact I do believe that’s where I got this spell from.”         “Back everypony!  Back up!” came a voice form behind the crowd.  Two uniformed ponies emerged in front of the mass and began directing ponies elsewhere.         “Police officers.”  Twilight said.  “We can’t let them get hurt when the spiders get here!”  Let alone everypony else. she thought.         A third policepony emerged from the crowd to stand in front of them. “Now I don’t know what you are all doing here, and invisible, but the laws in Manehatten are very strict about invisibility spells.  So why don’t you all just show yourselves okay and explain what the hay is going on here?”         Twilight concentrated for a moment and turned off her invisibility.  The policepony was startled and took a step back as she appeared.  “Princess Twilight?” he asked.         “Yes officer it’s me.” Twilight replied. “And right now everypony in this park is in terrible danger.”         “Now wait a minute.  The only danger I see here is several invisible ponies and one who claims to be the Patchwork Princess.  For all I know you could be a batch of changelings!” the office said.  “Why don’t we step over here to where my cart is waiting and we can talk all about this.”         “My apologies officer.” Twilight said.         “For what?” he said.         “This.” Twilight replied as she reached for her magick.  Grabbing the officers, and as many ponies in the park as she could hold, she teleported them all to the only place she knew well enough at the time - the docks.  With the park almost empty, Twilight once again activated her invisibility and returned to her friends.         They decided to take up separate positions around the park.  Each would warn the others when a spider appeared.  “Remember girls don’t take on the spiders by yourselves.  Celestia and I will have a distance hearing spell in place.  Shout and we’ll all come running!”         A slightly chilled breeze swept through the park as each of them took up positions and waited. =========================================================================         A very bored Rainbow Dash took to scuffing designs in the dirt.  Between one scuff and the next something lifted her off the ground.           Struggling, Rainbow Dash tried to shout but her muzzle was wrapped shut with sticky webbing.  In almost an instant, the webbing completely covered her body with the exception of her nostrils.  Several moments later she was hanging upside down from a nearby tree.  Her cocoon rocked with her struggles.           Her nose caught a whiff of the spider’s scent and she began to tremble as she swung back and forth.         Squeezing her eyes shut, Rainbow Dash was assaulted by visions - the spider tearing her wings off, Celestia saying “I’m sorry dear but we can’t regrow them.”, herself sitting in a crowd as she watched the Wonderbolts fly over.         The webbing silently absorbed Rainbow Dash’s screams. =========================================================================         In another corner of the park Pinkie Pie made balloon animals for some of the remaining ponies.  Their laughter and smiles lit up the night.         Between one second and the next their faces filled with horror and they scattered.           Puzzled, Pinkie stared at her balloon animal.  “Maybe I shouldn’t have made a spider.” she pondered.  A leg with razor sharp spines reached over her shoulder and popped the balloons.         Thinking quickly the pink pony turned invisible and jumped into a nearby bush.  Crawling through the brush quietly she exited a bush further down the path, only to be immediately covered in sticky webbing and dragged off to the side.         Soon she too was cocooned in webbing and encased in nightmares. =========================================================================         A scent assaulted Applejack’s nose and instinctively she bucked her hind legs.  They connected to the spider behind her with a very satisfying thud and Applejack took that golden moment to run.           Before she had gone three paces her hind legs became stuck together.  She yelled but it was immediately cut off.  Her powerful hooves made grooves in the ground as the spider dragged her backwards, coating her with web at the same time.         Once in the webbing, Applejack was confronted with visions of her family.  They aged and died while Applejack lived on, forgetting them as they left her.  In the end she remembered nothing but herself.         Gritting her teeth, Applejack continued to struggle against her bonds. =========================================================================         Fluttershy was hiding.           She could smell the spider.           The smell sent goosbumps down her back.         The leaves of the bush around her shivered slightly in time with the shaking of her body.  I can’t let it find me but I have to warn the others! she thought.           No matter how hard she tried to shout, her voice failed her.  Time and time again she opened her mouth, only to close it in fear almost immediately.         Curling upon herself she trembled and compressed her body to make herself as small as possible.           The spider waited. =========================================================================         Rarity was admiring the architecture of a nearby building.  So many interesting lines. she thought.  Turning back towards the park, her view filled with the blurry countenance of an enormous spider.  She immediately screamed.  The spider reached out with a leg and attempted to grab her but snagged itself and ripped her scarf.         “That! Was! A! Gift!” Rarity yelled.  “I don’t usually work with steel you monster but I think I can make an exception!”   Reaching with her magick, Rarity grabbed a nearby set of steel walkway chains and promptly tied two of the spider’s legs together.         The spider struggled against the steel as if it was made of acid.  While it was distracted Rarity began fashioning bindings out of the nearby steel fence.           I have to protect my friends! she thought.  She yelled once more to Twilight as she continued bending metal.  Four legs down. she thought. Each piece of bent steel she twisted sapped her of some of her strength.  She was quickly becoming exhausted.  Only four more to go!         The spider shot a web at her and caught her hoof.  Oh dear. she thought. =========================================================================         Celestia and Twilight heard Rarity yell and immediately ran her direction.  They were stopped in their tracks by the biggest spider Twilight, and indeed Celestia, had ever seen.         “You...are huuuge.” stammered Twilight.  Celestia looked at the spider but said nothing as she was, for one of the few times in her life, completely surprised.         “Ovvv course veeee arrrg.” the spider said. “Itttsssssssss my pleasssssure to velcommme youuuu to ourrrr nesssst!”         “Your nest?” Celestia replied.  “You mean our city!”         “Ponieeessss arvv fooodd not sssspidersssss.” the spider continued.           “But how did you see...oh. Duh Twilight.” Twilight said as she answered her own question. “Shadow Spiders, masters of illusion, versus an invisibility spell.  What made me think that would work??”         “Analyze later dear.”  Celestia said. “Run now.”         “Running!” Twilight replied as she hit the spider with a magickal burst from her horn.  The blast delayed the spider enough to allow them to get past it.  As they ran, Twilight dropped her invisibility spell.  No sense in wasting energy on that when it’s not working. she thought Why hasn’t Tia dropped hers?         Hearing her unspoken thought, Celestia replied “In a moment dear.  Concentrating on plan B.”         Plan B?  What the buck is Plan B? thought Twilight We never discussed any Plan B!  I mean I had a Plan B personally but never told anypony about it!  What could she possibly be talking about??         “This is far enough.” Celestia said as she stopped and reappeared. “Twilight stand behind me please.”         “Okay...?” said Twilight.  She was more than a little confused.  She stopped as instructed and took up a stance behind her sister.         “Shadow Spiders!” Celestia said as she invoked the Canterlot Voice spell. “You have grown in the thousand years since I was last here but now it is time for you to leave and be no more a threat to these ponies or Equestria!  I give you this moment to choose your destiny!  We can find you another place to live and thrive or you shall be dealt with here and now!”         What the buck did she mean ‘thousand years since I was last here’? Twilight puzzled to herself.  Before she could come to the logical conclusion Princess Luna stood before her rather than her solar sister. “Celestia’s beard!” Twilight said.         “Veeee villlsss notsss submmit!” the spider said before taking a step forward.  Luna’s horn ignited, and the spider stopped as if it was rooted to the ground.         “Shadow Spiders you are, and shadows are my domain!” said Luna.  “If you will not submit then so be it!”  With those words the silver light from Luna’s horn grew incredibly bright.         Sister! Twilight could hear Luna project I will need all thy strength and the strength of our friends to unmake these foes!         Without hesitation, Twilight reached out to her friends through her connection and pulled.  As each of her friends felt her touch they gave willingly.  The sheer power Twilight received surprised her even before she triggered the switching of the pendants and the Elements.           Carefully, and precisely, she directed that power into the spell framework that Luna provided.  A network of bright silver appeared above the entire city.  Slowly the network descended until it reached the ground.  As it touched the spiders it encased them each into a soft silver-white ball of light.         Even with all the power that was being used against them, the spiders fought and struggled.  Their cries echoed through the city.  Twilight could feel them push against their restraints and she was hard pressed to keep the power flow strong enough to hold them all.         Twilight watched as each of the balls of light shrunk, and with them, the spiders inside.  Eventually the balls of light were the size of the spiders that had attached themselves to their hooves earlier.  Luna released the spell at that point and stomped both front hooves on the ground.  “Scatter!” she yelled.  The spiders obeyed without question.         “Come.” Luna said with a grimace still on her lips. “Let us free your friends.”         Continuing their original direction they were surprised to find a very dejected Rarity sitting next to a pile of bent steel.         “Rarity?  Are you okay?” asked Twilight.         “Oh Twilight.” said Rarity softly.  “I beat the spider but no one will ever know!” =========================================================================         After rescuing the others, it took quite some time to coax Fluttershy out of her hiding place, they all walked back to the Wind Walker and assembled in the galley.         Each of the ponies sat around the table.  Their heads down for the most part, and any glances were quickly averted to avoid eye contact.  Fluttershy shivered in her seat.         Without a word, Luna floated an entire tray of hot chocolate out of the kitchen.  Carefully and solemnly she placed a large mug before each pony.         “Drink.” she said. “In time the fear will leave you.”  Sipping from her own mug, Luna closed her eyes and savored the taste on her tongue and the aroma in the air.         For almost an hour’s time, and several mugs of chocolate, nopony spoke.  Each of them reliving the experiences of the evening.  Eventually Princess Luna broke the silence again.         “I apologize.” she said.  “I should have not tricked you so.  Celestia and I felt that I would be better suited to help you in the scanning endeavor.  And in truth her injuries are still causing her some discomfort.”         “You knew.” Twilight said suddenly. “You both knew.”         “Yes my dear sister.  We knew that the spiders had taken over Manehatten.” said Luna as she looked into the bottom of her mug. “We knew and we sent you here anyways.”         “A’hll buy that, us bein’ the Defenders of Equestria an all, but why not tell us?” said Applejack.  She locked her eyes on Luna as if demanding an answer.         “We could not.” said Luna as she met Applejack’s stare before Applejack broke eye contact. “The truth is that the spiders required a certain...flavor...of magick to be rid of them.  The spell involved...required magick born of desperation.  Without it the spell would not function.”         “The fear.” said Twilight in realization.  “The fear had to be woven into the web so it could bond with them and change them.”         “Just so sister.” Luna confirmed. “Just so.”         “So...” started Rarity as she raised her eyes to Luna’s face. “was it always you?”         “Not always.” Luna admitted.  “In truth my sister and I both doth require to ‘let our crowns’ down from time to time.  And believe me when I tell you that thou art all our sisters.  I will not ask for your forgiveness for what occurred this night as t’was necessary.  I will only...hope...that we shall all remain as close as we were before these events.”         Nopony spoke further as the group broke up and went to their separate beds.  Twilight looked at Luna with an expression that Luna couldn’t read, then headed off to bed herself.         Last to leave was once again Pinkie Pie.           “Something troubles you dear one?” Luna asked.         “I couldn’t make anyone happy.” Pinkie said.  “In the cocoon I mean.  I couldn’t make anyone laugh or smile or anything really.”         “The webbing brings out our greatest fears.” replied Luna. “Tis no wonder that would be the fear of the most mirthful of ponies.”  Luna smiled warmly at Pinkie.  “Fear not my sister for it was just a nightmare and will be gone in the morning.”         Pinkie smiled in return and headed off to bed.         Luna, though exhausted from the evening’s events, reached out with her magick and wove a protection around the entire ship.  Silver dream-catchers appeared silently above the head of each bunk before soaking into the wood so as to be hidden from prying eyes.         With a yawn, Luna set about her evening work. =========================================================================         Rarity awoke to bright sunlight shining through her porthole.  Dust motes separated the light into a thousand moving things.  She could hear the sound of gulls outside the ship making squabbling noises as pedestrians ignored the “Do Not Feed” signs just outside the edge of the docks.         Stretching, the white unicorn carefully sat up and got out of the bunk.  Running a cleaning and hair straightening spell over her coat she looked at herself in the cabin mirror.         “Rarity.  Spider Killer.” she said to herself. “Hmph.”         Her basic cleaning complete, Rarity left her cabin to find her friends in the galley.  Observing them as she approached, on the surface all seemed as it had been previous to the night before.  But looking closer Rarity noticed changes.  A twitch here, a hesitation to a laugh there, Rainbow Dash jerking back as the tablecloth brushed one of her legs.         The nightmare may be over but the fear remains. though Rarity.  She walked up and whispered in Twilight’s ear.  “Could you please come with me to my cabin for a moment.  I think I have an idea.”         Rarity quickly and loudly complained about the state of Twilight’s mane and proceeded to drag her back to her cabin for an application of ‘the bare essentials’.         Once they reached her cabin Rarity told Twilight her plan.  Twilight smiled immediately and carefully cast the spell as Rarity closed her eyes.         The two of them immediately went back to the cabin where Twilight announced that Rarity had a gift for everyone.  “But she needs my help to give it to you.  Could you all gather ‘round please?”         Looks of confusion passed between the other ponies but they did as requested and gathered in a circle around Twilight and Rarity.         “Now close your eyes.” Twilight bid them as her horn began to glow.         Once again they did as they were told.         Starting at one point and going around the circle to all, Twilight first touched her horn to Rarity’s forehead and then to one of the others.  With each touch the eyes of the pony in question sprang open.  Once Twilight was done, Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.         “Rarity...you told us but I didn’t really believe...” she said.  Without warning Rainbow hugged Rarity tightly and didn’t let go immediately.         “You all now have a copy of the memory of my battle with the spider.” Rarity told them.  “I just couldn’t let you stand there and be afraid!”         “A marvelous gift.” said Princess Celstia as she emerged from the kitchen end of the galley.  At the same time Princess Celestia also emerged from the cabin end.         “Ahem.” said one Celestia. “It appears we seem to have worn the same outfit to the party.”         “Indeed.” said the other.  “You change first.”         “Me??” said the Celestia that had come from the cabins. “Why should I change?  You’re obviously the impostor here.”         “Okay that’s enough of that you two!” Rarity ordered. “Your proper forms this instant!”         “Spoilsport!” said the one Celestia.  The other only stuck her tongue out at Rarity.  The tongue suddenly became attached to a blue face and a darker blue princess.         This exchange caused enough laughter that one of the kitchen crew poked his head in the door to find out what all of the fuss was about.         “If it is not too much to ask...” Luna requested of Rarity. “Could I also have a copy of the memory please?”         “I am the Bearer of the Element of Generosity after all!” Rarity answered with a smile.  “Celestia may have it as well if she so desires.”           “I do desire my sister.” said Celestia while bowing in Rarity’s direction.         Twilight quickly transferred the memory to the both of them to complete the gift.         “Thank you.” said Luna.         “I thank you as well.” said Celestia as Rarity went back to the table to join her friends for the remainder of breakfast.         Frowning slightly as she poured over the fresh event in her head, Celestia projected at Luna.  Sister.  You missed one.         I know. replied Luna.         Think we should we tell them. Celestia asked.         Not just yet. projected Twilight who overheard the conversation. Give them time to recover.         As you wish Princess Twilight. both Celestia and Luna said in unison.         With smiling faces the three sisters joined the others in mirth and sunlight.  The fears of the night having evaporated like smoke.