Twilight did not bother to glance up from her book when she heard the knock at the door. Continuing to scan the page before her, Twilight unconsciously used telekinesis to open her apartment door. Completely focused upon the spell she was studying, Twilight promptly forgot what had just happened.
After all, the spell before her was one of the most fascinating and difficult pieces of magic she had ever investigated. The book promised that mastery of this spell could enable a pony to reverse the direction of gravity for herself and for other ponies and objects near her. Performing the spell incorrectly, of course, could cause a pony to fall upward forever and eventually be lost amid the starry sky.
And that was just the sort of challenge Twilight enjoyed. Nopony other than Princess Celestia’s personal protégée would even attempt such a challenging and potentially dangerous spell. But Twilight was determined to learn this spell and prove her worth as Celestia’s star student. After all, what would her esteemed mentor think of somepony who could not even turn the laws of nature upside down? What if Celestia did not let Twilight advance in her studies because she had not learned the spell? What if Twilight was kicked out of school because she was unable to master every type of magic that had ever existed? The mere thought was enough to make Twilight panic.
With these worries bearing down on her, Twilight continued to read with renewed drive. But she seemed stuck on one particularly difficult sentence explaining the localized redirection of a conservative vector field. No matter how many times she read the words, a strange noise in her ears prevented her from grasping the meaning of the text. Puzzled, Twilight turned her attention to the source of this odd disturbance. Only then did Twilight notice that Minuette was shouting in her ear.
“Hey, Twilight!” yelled Minuette cheerfully. “Are you awake in there? Or have you come up with some sort of spell that lets you hide inside your head and not notice what’s going on around you?”
“Oh, hi Minuette.” Twilight turned in mild surprise toward her friend. “No, an alternate reality manifestation incantation could easily be identified by the substantial reduction in the rhythm of recurring respiratory functions and…”
“Then how come you didn’t notice us walk in?” Minuette interrupted, not seeming to care that she had cut Twilight off in the middle of an explanation. “Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and I thought we would stop by and see if you wanted to take a break from studying for once.”
“Yeah, we wanted to hang out and maybe play a game,” piped up Twinkleshine from behind Twilight.
Glancing around, Twilight saw Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts standing in the doorway of her apartment. Both unicorns smiled expectantly at her. Twinkleshine pointed to a small box Lemon Hearts was levitating in front of her. Lemon Hearts rattled the box slightly and glanced at Twilight.
“You know, we weren’t sure what sort of games you might like,” added Minuette. She meandered away from Twilight’s side and began to explore the room. “After all, we’ve never actually visited your apartment, and we had no idea what you liked to do for fun. But Lemon Hearts pointed out that you probably spend all your time reading, so any game we brought would be a new one for you.”
Lemon Hearts’ head drooped slightly at this last comment, but she quickly perked back up and put on a wide smile. “I figured you would enjoy a good strategy game, so I picked out Settlers of the Crystal Empire. Want to give it a try?”
“Well, actually,” Twilight replied hesitantly, “um, I’m kind of in the middle of studying a new spell, and I really can’t afford to be interrupted. According to my schedule, I need to learn this spell by next Wednesday, and I’m already behind because I spent two hours this morning looking for the book I needed. Then Spike found that I had already pulled it off the shelf last night in preparation for today. So you see, I really don’t have time to play a game.”
“Come on, Twilight,” said Minuette in exasperation. “We all know that you can learn new spells in your sleep. Why don’t you take a break and join us for a little bit?”
“No, I really shouldn’t,” Twilight said. “The Princess trusts me to take my studies seriously, and I will not disappoint her.”
“But Twilight,” interjected Twinkleshine. “I’m sure the Princess wouldn’t mind you taking a break to spend time with your friends. Besides, it’ll be fun.”
“I have read through every instruction Princess Celestia has given me dozens of times, and nowhere has she mentioned that I will be graded on my capacity to engage in social activities. Gravity spells, however, are an important component of advanced magical theory, and I really must get back to learning them.”
With this proclamation, Twilight turned back to her book and quickly found where she had left off. But before she could immerse herself in the details of gravitational field reversal, the book rose off of the reading stand and floated across the room. Startled, Twilight spun around to find Minuette levitating the book in front of her and perusing the cover.
“The Manipulation of Gravitational Fields: An Introduction,” read Minuette. “Yes, I can see why you would prefer reading this to spending time with us. Really, Twilight, you never do anything but read. You should join us for a game.” She returned the book and looked at Twilight expectantly.
“It is a great book,” replied Twilight. “I was just getting to the part about how a localized reversal of gravity affects the curl of the surrounding vector field.”
Twinkleshine giggled. “I think Minuette was being sarcastic, Twilight.” Twilight just stared at her blankly.
“I have an idea.” Lemon Hearts spoke up shyly from her place by the door. “You could multi-task. You know, you play the game with us, but practice your spell when it’s not your turn.” The three ponies grinned eagerly at Twilight, waiting to hear her response to this suggestion.
“Oh, alright,” Twilight agreed reluctantly. “As long as I can stay on schedule.”
“Great!” cheered Minuette. “Ok, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine, start setting up the board. I’ll explain the rules to Twilight. So the premise of this game is that…”
While Minuette chattered excitedly about how to trade crystals and build palaces, Twilight focused on her book. While a standard telekinesis spell could easily overcome gravity and lift the book into the air, reversing the gravitational pull itself was much harder. Twilight strained in concentration, visualizing the field lines passing through the book and willing them to flip directions. With a burst of magic, the book suddenly flew upward, landing on the ceiling several stories above.
“…and I’ll explain more once we get started,” Minuette finished. “Did you get all that, Twilight? Twilight?”
Minuette poked Twilight in the side to get her attention. Startled by the sudden contact, Twilight lost control of her spell, and the book went crashing to the floor, right on top of the game board that Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine had just set up. Pieces and cards flew everywhere, while the two ponies gazed exasperatedly at Twilight.
“Heh, heh. Sorry about that,” Twilight said sheepishly. “Let me fix that for you.”
A quick burst of magic brought the scattered game pieces flying back to the center of the room. Twilight quickly organized them by color, shape, and size; she then glanced triumphantly at her friends. They did not appear as thrilled by her success as she was.
“Um, Twilight.” Twinkleshine spoke up hesitantly. “The board sections are supposed to be spread out, not organized into piles.”
“Sorry. Well, um, if I just, um…” Twilight frantically tried to assemble the board the way she had seen Lemon Hearts set it up earlier. The resulting board arrangement proved to be a very fine example of abstract art.
Minuette grinned. “Maybe you should let us do that. Just sit there and try not to send any more books crashing down on the Crystal Empire.”
The other three unicorns quickly set the game up again and rolled to see who would start. In short order, the game was underway, with the ponies excitedly trading cards, throwing dice, and chuckling when they ruined the others’ plans. Minuette quickly snagged an early lead, but Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine took notice and worked together to keep their friend from getting too far ahead.
Twilight, meanwhile, divided her attention between the game in front of her and the book behind her. She couldn’t keep the gravity spell going for very long, and often she was unable to catch the book before it slammed into the ground, rattling the board and forcing everypony to adjust her pieces. The fourth time this happened, Twinkleshine spoke up.
“You really should pay attention when it’s not your turn. You haven’t made a trade all game, and it’s causing you to fall behind.”
“Well,” replied Twilight, “I don’t want to unintentionally provide anypony else with an advantage. Not trading with anypony else is just good strategy.”
“Not if it keeps you from getting the cards you need to develop,” countered Minuette. “The point of a trade is to benefit both ponies. Sometimes you just can’t get the right cards on your own.”
“No,” responded Twilight firmly, “I have carefully placed my pieces for the optimal attainment of resources. It would be pointless to make trades that would disrupt my perfectly balanced setup.”
With that, Twilight reached for the dice with her magic. The dice promptly fell toward the ceiling. Twilight blushed sheepishly as she terminated her accidental gravity spell and brought the dice back down with telekinesis.
After a little while longer of playing, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine were all one point away from winning. Twilight, noticing that she was several points behind the others, began to panic. How could she be losing with her exact analysis and meticulous strategy? What was wrong with her? If she couldn’t even win a simple game with friends, how could Princess Celestia expect her to master the most difficult spells ever invented?
As Twilight’s alarm grew, she unconsciously prepared to cast a spell. Her attention completely on the game for once, Twilight failed to notice the soft glow from her horn. Various strategies vainly competed in her mind as that light grew brighter and brighter. Then, as Twilight was mentally calculating the probability that each of her plans would succeed, a sudden spark from her horn abruptly eliminated all thoughts of winning.
In an instant, Twilight found herself flying toward the ceiling. Around her, three startled ponies flailed as they also lifted into the air. The board, pieces, and cards all followed a moment later.
“What?” Twilight had time to exclaim just before hitting on her ceiling. Her three friends smacked down next to her, their confused expressions lighting up with shock as they landed. Cards and pieces calmly fluttered down around them.
Then a book landed on Twilight’s head. Glancing toward the floor, Twilight gasped as her many piles of books began to fall. Bookshelves tipped over and spilled their contents upward. Even the large hourglass on the floor lifted up and hurtled toward the startled ponies.
Automatically, Twilight conjured a barrier to protect herself and her three friends. They all stared down in amazement as countless books, scrolls, and parchments bounced off of the shield. The hourglass shattered against the protective bubble with a loud crash, scattering sand everywhere. Former piles of notecards fell in flurries. Furniture and decorations went cascading up around them, until at last the entire contents of Twilight’s apartment lay strewn across the ceiling.
Cautiously, as one last quill twirled upward, Twilight lowered the barrier. She looked around at the mess, and at the shocked expressions on her friends’ faces. Lemon Hearts’ mouth hung open, Twinkleshine had her hoofs over her eyes, and even Minuette was speechless. All three slowly turned their gazes upon Twilight.
“Well, I guess that means the game is over. It’s been fun, but I really need to get back to my studying. So, um, if you’ll, well, I mean…”
Then gravity reverted to normal, sending the four ponies tumbling back toward the floor.