//------------------------------// // Act 1: Neigh York, city of love. // Story: A Tale of two Fillies // by Skyeheart //------------------------------// In the basement of her private study, Twilight poured over her research notes and cross referenced with the textbook on the side of her experimenting table as she dripped several vials of varying color over a central flask she had levitated in front of her. Once all contents were properly distributed into the larger container, she gave a few through shakes to mix it, stopping only when a small poof erupted from the top. She then hovered it over another beaker of liquid. "Okay...just one- no, two drops..." Pink and red swirled together to create a purplish neon glow. Her face brightened. "Exactly as hypothesized! Five whole years of experimentation, and it's actually almost done!" There was just one more ingredient she had to add before placing her new potion into her cooling unit. "Spike, can you fetch me the MacGuffinium extract?" After hearing no response, vocal or otherwise, Twilight looked over her shoulder to find the floorspace behind her devoid of anything minus her lab equipment. "Spike? Spike! Spiiiiiike!" Twilight's voice trailed upwards as she ascended the stairs to the public area of the Manehattan Library, nearly finished potion still in her magical grip. Poking her head out, she took a look around the foyer and saw no sign of the little dragon's presence. "Spike?" It was then she heard a faint strumming of classical music coming from the bedroom upstairs. Trotting up the steps to her room, Twilight opened the door. No sign of the source of the music, but it was definitely closer. Hunting the sound down, she made her way to the broom closet. It was there at the very back of it past the mop and chimney sweeper she found a foldaway curtain that never caught her sight before. She peeled it away, and just stared at the scene before her. A bed of roses adorned the floor along some fragrant lit candles, right in front of a large portrait of her cello playing friend Octavia. A small record player stood in the corner left of her, playing what Twilight now recognized as one of her more popular choices of performance. And there, among the circle of petals, with the broom as his dance partner, waltzed Spike, dressed in his finest ensemble, complete with red bow tie. His eyes were closed in blissful ignorance as he spun around, his humming mimicking the record's melody. With the novelty of the sight having worn off, Twilight sped a hoof to her mouth to stem the oncoming giggle that approached. She was a second too late. "Huh? What?" The little dragon's eyes popped open as quickly registered he now had a standing audience in Twilight. In a swift scramble, he attempted to cease his dancing, stop the record player, cover the hidden shrine, and push his guardian out of his hideaway all at the same time. The result was predictable. With arms and legs colliding with each other, he slipped on a patch of petals, tripped over his broom's handle, and tumbled into the player, knocking it over and halting the music. The record itself landed square on his head. This only let loose another giggle from Twilight, uninhibited this time. "Maybe you should have let her lead..." My Little Pony, My Little Pony Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh… (My Little Pony) I used to wonder what friendship could be (My Little Pony) Until you all shared its magic with me Great discoveries! Tricks galore! A rich slice of life, And a heartfelt score. Budding courage, It's an easy feat And magic makes it all complete! You have my little ponies Do you know you're all my very best friends? "A little privacy and me-time every once in a while is all I ask for," Spike grumbled as he emptied the last of the rose petals from his dustbin into the wastebasket. "Is that really too much?" "I'm sorry I intruded on you," Twilight said with every ounce of sincerity as she could. "But you did agree to help me with my potion making this morning." "You mean sit and watch you make potions," Spike retorted. "You stood over that apothecary table for over an hour without so much as a peep. You didn't even hear my five attempts to ask if I could leave yet or even notice me get up and go well over fifteen minutes ago." Twilight fought off a sheepish grin. "Okay, maybe I was little engrossed in my studies..." "Like always." She fought back a roll of the eyes. "But I've been working on this potion since magic kindergarten, and it's just about complete! Think of all the possibilities this one vial can accomplish if I validate it to work like it should!" As she proceeded back into her lab, she reached out and levitated the last component from the top shelf and dropped a drop into the mix. A deafening burst sounded off as huge could of magical smoke violently erupted from the glass container, right before it collapsed and seeped back into purple liquid and settled. "So what's this thing do again?" Spike asked. "Will it turn you into a monster?" "No." "Does it make you invisible?" "No." "Does it transform you into a zombie?!" "Technically, that's a monster, so no." "...Is it a love potion?" "No! It's none of those things!" "Well, that's all the mad scientist potion ideas I know of. So what does it do?" "This is supposed to be a talent enhancer potion," Twilight explained. "Anything a pony can do, this potion can increase their capabilities to do it tenfold. For example, if I were to drink it, my already advanced magic would become extremely powerful, like moving celestial bodies powerful." "Aw, sweet! A potion that gives you superpowers. That is awesome!" Twilight groaned at Spike. "No! Not superpowers! Talent enhancement! Not everything can be a reference to your comic books, Spike!" Spike wanted to argue on that point, as he and Cutup often had deep philosophical discussions on just about everything over the latest issue of Power Ponies*, but he knew better than that. Instead, he just picked up the potion to give it a discerning inspection. "So, it's complete right? Now what?" "Stage two of the experiment, testing and observation." Twilight moved over to the other side of the room to fetch her clipboard and a fresh quill. Spike shrugged. And here's where the lab assistant comes in, he'd watched enough sci-fi flicks to know that much. "Okay then, bottoms up." Twilight abruptly turned, eyes wide to the little dragon who was beginning to lift the beaker's edge to his lips. "SPIKE, NO!!!" She nearly tackled him to the ground in her dash to cup her hoof over his mouth. "Don't drink it! That's the absolute last thing you want to do!" Spike blinked as he pulled Twilight's hoof down. "Wait, this potion is supposed to work if you drink it, right?" "Yes." "And you don't want anyone to drink it." "Yes." "But you do want to test it." "Yes." He threw his arms up in the air at Twilight's logic. "That makes no sense! How do you test a potion if you don't drink it?!" "By running a series of magical simulations to determine the resulting effects of each dose," Twilight explained. "Multiple times to verify the predicted result. Physical sampling groups with placebos can begin after we've gathered more data." "And that's easier than just drinking it?" Twilight's ears turned downward in annoyance at her assistant. "Spike, you have to understand, the scientific process of evaluating a new discovery is designed to have safety as the number one priority, not the result! This potion is theoretically a talent enhancer, but in actuality I can't be sure exactly what it does. For all we know, it could be very dangerous if consumed." Spike thought about it for a moment. "So it could turn you into a monster!" Twilight shut her eyes as she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. "Yes, Spike. It could turn you into monster," she relented. "Though I am highly sure that is not one of the more probable outcomes in this case." "Okay, okay. So much longer until we're done with this childhood project of yours?" Twilight was already scribbling down a checklist and schedule for herself. "Full scale analysis should take at least a week, but if we're lucky you could be helping me write down my thesis for Princess Celestia by this Saturday." "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold your horses, Twilight! Pardon my expression. But you're gonna have to be writing that thesis by yourself if it's on Saturday. Cause I've got plans for Saturday, BIG plans!" "Plans? What kind of big plans?" Twilight asked out of pure curiosity. "Have you forgotten what this Saturday is?" Spike asked back incredulously. "Of course not, Saturday is Hearts and Hooves-oh..." Twilight suddenly had a big grasp on what Spike's big plans were, and who they were with. "Sorry Spike. I guess that is pretty important to you." "You bet it is," Spike stated smugly. "And you know, maybe you should make an effort to find a date for yourself this year." Twilight shook her head with a chuckle. "I wouldn't exactly call just sitting in Octavia's apartment to listen to her newest solo she's practicing for the Grand Galloping Gala a date." "It is what it is," Spike said, claws on his hips. "And what it is, is quality time between me and my cello paragon with nopony else for the very first time! Won't be surprised if we're exchanging cute nicknames by the end of the day." "Oh, I'm pretty sure she already has a cute nickname for you, casanova," Twilight teased. "Speaking of which, we should be heading out to meet up with her and the others soon at Auntie's place. Apparently Auntie's made arrangements for our fitting for this year's gala." "Yeah, it's lucky she decided to call in a professional when she saw your idea for a perfect gala dress." "Hello Twilight. Hi Spike," Honey greeted the pair as they strode in through the revolting doors of Orange Hotel. "Hi girls," Twilight greeted back. "Has the designer arrived yet?" "Auntie just left to escort her from the train station ten minutes ago," said Blossomforth. "Should be here very soon. This is so exciting, I've never been custom fitted for a dress before." "I've never worn a dress period," Honey topped. "So anyways," Twilight continued the topic of discussion, "anypony here know anything about the clothesmaker Auntie hired for us?" "Not much," Honey admitted. "All we can tell is that she's a friend of Auntie's niece in Ponyville who was recommended to her immediately after she wrote to her about how we were all going to the Grand Galloping Gala this year. Apparently she's done quality orders for the event every year since she started." "Well it's only natural this dressmaker has at least that much experience under her belt," Trixie figured. "Ponies such as the Great and Powerful Trixie deserve only the most skilled and qualified tailors to be able to match her own unattainable charisma." "Didn't you say your mentor got you your hat and cape at a Fillydelphia swap meet?" Blossomforth asked. "It was a bazaar of the utmost and amazing quality!" Trixie defended. "Besides, Trixie was his dearest protégé. He was allowed to give her gifts like that." Spike meanwhile took the liberty of courting his kind and lovely musician fair, while Twilight was busy talking it up with the others. "Hey, Octavia. How's the song coming along?" "Inspiration is a trait obtained through luck, not skill," Octavia warned. "But my luck so far has been fortunate this week. I'll have the finishing touches to the coda by tonight. I trust you are still looking forward to attending my rehearsal?" "Wouldn't miss it for the world," Spike answered. "What kind of dragon would I be if I ignored the request of a lady as lovely as yourself?" Octavia just smiled and gave him a kind stroke over the frills on his head. "Considering the belligerent nature of almost all dragons outside of Equestria, still better than most. In all honesty though, I am glad to have someone take time out of their schedule to help critique me this year." "Well, that's what friends like me are for," Spike shot her a shoot and wink. But really, what's to critique about a mare as perfect as Octavia? She's kind, she's polite, she's well groomed and talented, and so modest! She really is the kind of pony who- Spike stopped as his gaze drifted towards the entrance and caught something out of the corner of his vision. who- His pupils locked on to a pair of long fluttering eyelashes. who- A pristine, soft white coat and a trio of diamond cut jewels filled his vision. w-who-wh-wh-who... Purple, silky hair with ribbon-like curls bounced with each step closer to him. "Who...is that?" he whispered. The picture of beauty stopped before the group as an older and more familiar figure walked up next to them. "Ah, hello darlings," Orange Sherbet greeted. "Glad to see you're all here." "You as well Auntie," Twilight replied. "Is this the designer you hired for us?" "Most certainly," Sherbet gave a welcoming gesture to the new pony among them. "Would like to introduce yourself?" "I would be most delighted to," the fair unicorn accepted. She batted her eyelashes once as she gave a small clearing of her throat before putting on her most winning smile. "My name is Rarity, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."