//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Saving the Day Through Friendship and Trickery (but mostly Trickery) // Story: The Lost Spell Book // by ASGeek2012 //------------------------------// "Twilight!" Spike said in a hushed voice as his widening eyes fell upon the human girl. "She recognized you. She called you an alicorn!" Twilight shook her head. "No, Spike, it has to be a coincidence." Spike gave her an odd look. The ponies and the human beyond the transport circle also exchanged similar looks. "Wait, what? She's a human, just like in the mirror." "Then why is she so ... plain-colored? Why doesn't she have the same vibrant hues of the humans at Canterlot High?" "But I know I heard--" Twilight shook her head. "No, this is obviously a different universe than the one beyond the mirror, and the chance of a common language is very slim. It's more likely she said some other word or phrase -- maybe 'hello' or 'who are you' -- that just happened to sound like 'alicorn' in our language." Spike raised an eyebrow. "And her other words?" "Same thing. Coincidence." "Uh, Twilight? I know the word 'shit' when I hear it." Twilight gasped. "Spike! Please! Your language!" "What? I only said 'shit' because she said 'shit' first!" Twilight frowned. "Regardless, do you really want one of the first things they hear from an otherworldly emissary to be our curse words?" Spike frowned and folded his arms. "Well, shit," he muttered. Twilight sighed, her horn glowing. "Now, be quiet, and let me concentrate so I can craft a translation spell. All I need is for them to speak and--" "Um, I don't think that will be necessary," said the human girl with a small smile. Twilight blinked. "W-wait, you can understand me?" "Yes." "Then you understood every word I said since I got here?" The woman smirked. "Yes, this plain-colored human understood everything." Twilight's eyes shifted to the side. "Well, this is awkward." Spike's gaze drifted over the room and fell upon the floor near the sofa. His eyes widened, and he pointed. "Twilight, look!" Twilight turned her head and smiled. "Ah-ha! Exactly what we came here for. This will be easier than I thought." Her horn glowed, and so did the transformation book. All three creatures in the room gasped as it lifted itself slowly from the floor. "No!" the young woman cried, wrapping her arms around the book and hugging it to her chest. "You can't have the book!" "I'm sorry, but that book is too dangerous for you to keep," said Twilight, her face becoming strained as the glow from her horn brightened. "And it's not yours to begin with!" The young woman's arms tightened around the book, and she dug in her heels on the carpet. "You're not taking this book from me!" "Twilight, what's happening?!" Spike said. "Erk ... I-I don't know!" Twilight said, her eyes squeezed shut, her horn almost blinding bright. "S-something's wrong. It's like I can't get enough power to pull the book from her! Oh, dear, I have to stop!" The glow from her horn died, and she panted hard. The young woman giggled. "I'll tell you what's wrong. I've already become too strong for you. I am, after all, the Great and Powerful Amy!" "Urgh, not this again," Twilight muttered. "Do you think she's right?" Spike asked. "More likely this is some limitation of the portal where I can't project my magic far enough into their world." The Great and Powerful Amy smiled smugly. "And besides, you already had your turn at it." Twilight tilted her head. "I beg your pardon?" "Well, look at you. You're an alicorn. You've already used this book to achieve your glorious plans." "I did what now?" "You've already created your own civilization based on pony magic," said Amy as she caressed the book. "You already have countess adoring pony subjects at your beck and call, willing to do whatever you want." Twilight's pupils abruptly shrank. "I-I don't have anypony at my beck and call!" Spike smirked. "Definitely not. She was lucky Mayor Mare didn't cite her for raising the Castle of Friendship without a building permit." Amy hugged the book tighter. "All I am asking for is the same chance to build my own pony empire!" The earth pony stallion suddenly trotted forward. "That's what you intend to do?!" he cried in a horrified voice. "Are you freaking insane?!" "O-kay, I officially have no fucking idea what is going on," the pegasus mare said. The stallion turned his head towards her. "Amy wants to change everyone into ponies so she can play at being some kind of queen over them. Over us! It's the same kind of insanity that got Mom committed. She even started calling herself the Great and Powerful Queen of the World or some shit like that." "Great," Spike muttered. "This world has two people as nutters as Trixie." "Unlike Trixie, Amy just may have the power to do what she has planned," Twilight whispered. "It's imperative we get that book from her somehow. We can't let this continue." "But if you can't project your magic enough--" "I may be able to find a way to work around that, but I need time." The stallion suddenly galloped over to them. "Please! Whoever you are, can you change us back?" he cried as the pegasus trotted over behind him. "Then we'll do whatever you want. We'll get the book back from Amy for you!" "Don't you dare cross me, Brad," Amy declared. "Or you, either, Heather. The Great and Powerful Amy will not be thwarted!" "To answer your question," said Twilight to the stallion Brad. "It's been a short enough time since your transformation that your bodies still contain the morphic resonance from your original bio-thaumic auras that will allow your physical manifestations to be re-transmogrified into their original non-equinoid state." The others simply stared at her. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can change you back." "And I will just transform you into ponies again," Amy declared with a sly smile. "I can cast the spell faster now." "Sh-she's right, Brad," said Heather. "She took maybe all of a few seconds to read that spell when she did this to me." Brad sighed and lowered his head. "Well, shit." "They seem to like that word in this universe," Spike said with a smirk. "All right, everypony," said Twilight. "And, um, everyhuman, we obviously got off on the wrong hoof. If you would all please give me your attention for just a few moments." Brad turned more fully towards her, his tail swishing once. Behind him, Heather's gaze was drawn to the movement, and her eyes widened. "Thank you," said Twilight. "Let me begin with some introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant Spike. While I am technically a Princess, I am most definitely not the ruler of my world, simply an emissary. Now, Amy, if we--" "The Great and Powerful Amy!" Amy corrected. Spike rolled his eyes. Twilight forced a smile. "Yes, my apologies. Great and Powerful Amy, if perhaps we could discuss this matter in a calm and rational fashion, I am sure we can come to an understanding. Otherwise, I fear we will remain at this impasse indefinitely." Amy sighed. "Oh, very well, but not with these two ponies present." "Hey, wait a minute!" Brad protested. "It's okay," said Twilight. "Brad, was it? And Heather?" Heather blinked and jerked her head up. "Huh, what?? I wasn't staring at his ... er ..." Twilight tilted her head questioningly. Heather swallowed. "Never mind. What is it?" "Would you and Brad kindly leave the room so that I can discuss this matter with, um, the Great and Powerful Amy?" Brad turned to Heather. "I don't think we have much choice." "Brad, take her into the office," said Amy. "Don't come out until I tell you." She turned her gaze to Twilight and smiled. "Not until Princess Night Sparkly and I have had our little chat." "That's Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight as the two ponies left. She leaned over to Spike. "Now I have my chance to do what I do best." Spike smiled. "You gonna cast some amazing spell at her? Oh, I know! You're gonna trick her into entering the transport circle, take her back to Equestria, and duel her!" Twilight smiled. "Better. I'm going to lecture her!" Spike's smile faded. "Oh, yeah. That always works ..." "I'm really sorry about this, Heather," said Brad as he trotted into the office. Heather tore her gaze away from Brad's hindquarters. "Oh, um, yeah, no problem." Brad turned to face her. "Look, we'll get out of this mess somehow. That purple pony said she can change us back. She just needs to talk some sense into Amy." He sighed. "I hope." "I'm sure it will turn out fine." Brad raised an eyebrow. "What's with you?" "Huh?" "Why aren't you as upset about this as you were before?" Heather rolled her eyes. "What's the point in getting all worked up about it now?" Brad stared. "You sure that spell of hers didn't affect your brain?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "This isn't like you. When you get upset about something, you whine about it constantly until it's fixed or something else distracts you." Heather frowned. "I was not distracted! It's just ... well ..." "Well, what?" Heather giggled softly. "I, um, kinda got a look at, well, your ..." "My what?" "Your bits." "What bits??" "You know perfectly well what bits I'm talking about." Brad just stared dumbly back. Heather smirked. "Your stalliony bits." Brad gulped. "N-never mind my bits! We have to think about how we're gonna get out of this mess if that Twilight pony can't convince Amy to give up the book!" He eyed her. "You do want to change back, right?" "Of course!" Heather said. "I want to be human again just like you do." "Well, good." "You think I want to have to deal with grooming this much hair for the rest of my life? And feathers on top of it?" Brad glanced at her lovely wings. "A-all right, fine, then." Heather slowly grinned. "But, um ... if they're going to take awhile, maybe ... maybe we should have a little fun while we wait." "Huh?" Brad said. "What the hell are you talking about?" Heather giggled. "What did I come over here for in the first place?" Brad's pupils shrank to near dots. "Y-you can't be serious!" Heather stepped towards him, fluttering her eyelashes. "Here I thought you were the one who wanted to be kinky." "Heather, there's kinky, and there's just plain fucking sail-off-the-edge-of-the-earth weird! Guess which one this is!" Heather sighed and frowned. "Fine, suit yourself." Brad turned away, at least until he heard a soft fluttering sound. "Wh-what are you doing?" "Oh, nothing." "You're ... you're moving your wings." "So?" "Well, stop it!" Heather smirked and fully extended her wings. "Nnng ..." "Ha! You do too have a wing fetish!" Heather said. "I didn't until Amy screwed with us!" Brad cried. "And we are still so not doing this!" Heather frowned and snapped her wings closed. "You know what? You totally suck as a pony, no matter how impressive your bits are." "Given that I don't want to be a pony in the first place, I ... um ... wait ... did you just say my bits were impressive?" Amy yawned as she sat with her arm on the back of the sofa propping up her head, her other arm curled tightly around the transformation spell book. "... and furthermore," droned Twilight. "The existence of ponies in Equestria is a natural adaptation to the world in which they evolved. The balance of the environment is intricately tied to the magic of its denizens. You cannot impose such structure on another world which developed under different principles. For example, the introduction of pegasi and their weather-controlling abilities could wreak havoc simply due to the fact that the climatological model of your world is based on self-regulation and would react adversely to being manipulated by the very ponies that you seek to create." Amy sighed and flicked her gaze down to Spike. "Does she always go on like this?" Spike sighed. "Unfortunately, yes." "So was this all a plan to bore me to sleep so you can take the book?" "I think she's on to us, Twilight," Spike whispered. Twilight frowned and stomped a hoof. "No, that's not what this is about! This is all very important! I'm trying to show you how disastrous it would be to convert your world into some sort of Equestria Mark Two!" Amy stood. "Look, Princess Sparkle-Butt--" "Twilight Sparkle!" Spike snickered. "Whatever. I am not giving up this book, no matter what you say. Why don't you just head back where you came from and enjoy the adulations of your pony subjects?" Twilight face-hoofed. "Ugh! I do not command some sort of empire! I don't even co-rule Equestria. My full title is the Princess of Friendship." Amy snorted. "Seriously? That's your title?" "Why, yes, it is." "So why aren't you casting some sort of friendship spell at me?" "That's not how the magic of friendship works," said Twilight. "It's not instantaneous." Spike nodded. "Yeah, it usually takes about a half hour." "Oh, so it's more like a slow-acting friendship poison?" said Amy. "Yes ... No!" Twilight cried. "Spike, you're not helping!" "What?" Spike said. "I'm trying to make her see reason. I'm trying to prevent a potential disaster. She doesn't understand the power she wields." Spike raised an eyebrow and glanced over to Amy for a moment. "Um, I think she fully understands her power, Twilight," he whispered. "Yes, she knows full well how to channel her power, Spike," Twilight whispered back. "But not how to properly apply ..." She trailed off. "Hmm." "You have an idea?" "I just might." Twilight lifted her head and turned her gaze upon Amy. "Great and Powerful Amy, I've been conferring with my assistant, and it is our opinion that you don't even need the book." Amy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do tell, now?" "Yes. The very fact that you were able to so easily cast the spells from the book shows you already can tap into the natural thaumic field of your world. You don't need what you call 'pony magic' because you already have your own." "You'll forgive me if I don't believe you." "Then allow me to prove it to you." Amy narrowed her eyes. "How?" "Allow me to help expand your thaumic channels." Amy rolled her eyes. "And all I have to do is walk over there, right? Nice try, Princess Sparkly-Bits." "Twilight. Sparkle," Twilight said through clenched teeth. "And no, you can stay where you are. In fact, feel free to put the spell book out of reach of my magic." Amy hesitated. Spike grinned. "Of course, if you're scared, we understand." Amy blinked. "What?" "Eh, it's okay. We understand if you're afraid you're not as magical as you think you are." "You can't insult me like that!" "Um, actually, I can, since I'm over here and you're over there." Spike snorted. "Oh Great and Powerful Aimless." "Amy!" "Whatever." Amy snorted. "Fine! The Great and Powerful Amy will allow this." She turned towards the end of the sofa furthest from the transport circle. She dropped the book to the floor, then with a grunt she hoisted the leg of the sofa far enough to kick the book under it. "Good work, Spike," Twilight whispered as Amy turned towards them and took up her previous position. "Ready?" "Ready," said Amy. Twilight smiled, and her horn began to glow. Amy, likewise, was suffused by the same glow. "Wait, what are you doing?" Amy said in alarm. "Relax, it's fine," said Spike. "How do I know this is not some friendship spell or poison or whatnot?" "Because she would've used it by now if she could?" "Oh. Good point." Twilight's horn glowed brighter. "Amy, this is a spell to help augment your natural thaumic channels and allow you to better tap this world's pool of magical energy. It doesn't take much power, which is why I can cast it well enough into your world to have an effect." Amy nodded slowly. "Um, okay. So what do you want me to do?" "Try a simple levitation spell," said Twilight. She glanced at the coffee table. "There's some sort of rectangular object on that table." "You mean my cell phone?" "Yes, try lifting it with your magic." Amy gave Twilight a dubious look, but she turned her gaze towards her phone and concentrated. After a few seconds, the object was suffused by a weak glow. Amy's eyes widened. "That's it," said Twilight. Her eyes flicked to the side and narrowed slightly. Behind Amy, the far corner of the sofa glowed. "Now just lift." "O-okay," Amy said. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She uttered a gasp when the cell phone began to rise. "Very good!" Twilight said. Her horn brightened. The corner of the sofa lifted. "Oh, wow," Amy murmured. "Lift it higher." Amy smiled and nodded. Slowly, the cell phone rose until it was level with her eyes. Behind her, the book slid out from under the sofa leg and rose. "Excellent, Amy!" Twilight said. "Just one more thing to do. Pull it towards you. Give it a good yank!" The cell phone and transformation spell book both suddenly zipped through the air. "Ow!" Amy cried when the cell phone impacted with her forehead. "Oof!" Spike cried when the book impacted with his gut. Amy blinked rapidly as the glow around her body faded. Her eyes widened as she beheld the book in Spike's claws. "Wh-what did you just ..." She whipped her gaze behind her. "You ... h-how did ...?!" "Ugh, you could've warned me," Spike groaned. "I almost tossed my breakfast." "Sorry, Spike," said Twilight. "But I didn't want to risk Amy catching on." "Just what did you do?" "Simple," said Twilight with a smile. "I couldn't project my magic very far beyond the portal circle, but by using Amy as a conduit and tapping her own magical abilities, I was able to augment my own magic and grab the book." Spike's eyes widened. "Wow, and you even used words I understood in explaining it!" "You tricked me!" Amy screamed. "What the hell kind of Princess of Friendship are you?!" "The not-dumb kind?" Spike suggested. "I'm sorry I had to do that," said Twilight. "But I really had to get this book back." "Then everything you said about not needing the book was a lie!" Amy cried. "Actually, it wasn't." "It wasn't?" Spike raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't?" Twilight smiled. "I wouldn't have been able to pull off that trick if you weren't already inherently magical, Amy. You really do have the ability to practice magic. You just need to develop it. You could be this world's very first true mage." "But ... but the book ... the pony magic ... how can I turn people into ponies without it?" "You don't need it. You can develop your own magic." Amy gave Twilight a forlorn look. "But ... I like ponies ... they're just so cute and adorable and ..." Spike frowned. "Is it me, or is this getting kinda creepy?" "Let's not dwell on it too much," said Twilight. She turned to Amy. "Could you call the two ponies, please, so I can change them back?" "I don't have much choice, now, do I?" Amy said bitterly. "Thanks to you." "You mean you're not going to become the Great and Apologetic Amy?" Spike asked. "Huh?" "Eh, never mind." Amy frowned. "Brad! Heather! Get in here!" "What, you mean now?!" came Heather's breathless voice. "Yes, right now!" "Give us ten more minutes!" Spike raised an eyebrow. "We might not have that much time," Twilight called out. "The transport circle energies are waning." "Get in here now!" Amy bellowed. Two sets of hooves clopped down the hallway. Both ponies appeared, their manes and tails disheveled, the feathers of Heather's wings ruffled. Twilight's eyes widened. Amy tilted her head. "What the hell were you two doing back there?" The two ponies exchanged a glance. Heather giggled. "Well, if you must know, we--" "I don't want to know!" Twilight cried, blushing. "Keep it to yourself, please!" "Especially since this was supposed to be rated 'teen','" Spike muttered. "Now, please, trot over here so I can change you two back." "Wait, Twilight, what about the other spells in the book?" asked Spike. Twilight's blush deepened. "Spike, this is not the time to bring this up!" "But don't you need to reverse those first if they were used?" "Urgh," Twilight muttered. "Um, okay, Brad, did Amy use any other spells on you from the book?" "No, she didn't," Brad said. "She wouldn't even tell me what they did." "Good." Twilight's horn glowed. "So let's get this done." "Wait, what other spells?" Heather asked. "We don't have time to--" "Just some stuff that does things to stallions," said Spike. Heather's eyes widened. "What kind of things?" "Does something to their bits, I think." Brad blinked. "Huh??" Heather giggled. "Oo, this sounds interesting. Can we maybe try that first before we--" Brad frowned. "What? I thought you said my bits were already impressive!" "Well, yes, but you can never have too much of a good thing. I mean, we don't have to go bananas with it." Spike chuckled. "That's it, I'm transforming you back now!" Twilight shouted, and her horn blazed. A flash of magic later, and two humans stood where two ponies once were. Brad immediately raised what had been a hoof and breathed a sigh of relief to find that it was a hand. "Yes! Thank you! I never want to be a pony again." He glanced down at Twilight. "Um, no offense." Twilight smiled. "None taken." She glanced at Amy for a moment, who was giggling. "Ah, you two may want to excuse yourselves for a bit." "Huh?" "You're naked, dude," said Spike. "I mean, we don't care, but obviously you humans--" "Gaah!!" Brad yelled and bolted up the stairs and slammed the door to his bedroom in his wake. Amy burst out laughing. Heather frowned and quickly gathered her discarded clothing, draping them over her body as best she could before turning towards Twilight. "You sure she can't pull this shit again?" "If you mean can she turn you into a pony again, no, not without the book," said Twilight. "Like you were all that upset about being a pony just now," Amy said with a smirk. "Hey, I got handed lemons, so I made lemonade," said Heather. Spike snickered. "More like being handed a banana and--" "Spike!" Twilight cried. "What? I was just going to make an analogy to an ice cream desert." "Oh." "With two scoops," Spike murmured. "What?" "Nothing!" Heather rolled her eyes and ducked into the downstairs bathroom. The circle of runes on the floor began to flicker. "We better get back, Spike," said Twilight. She looked up at Amy. "I am sorry if you're still angry with me. I wish I had time to get to know you better, and, well, maybe make a new friend." Twilight smiled. "I would have loved to talk about magic with you." "So you really think I can be a mage without the book?" Amy asked with a small smile. "Definitely! You have the potential, you just need to apply it. It may take awhile, but I'm confident you can do it." Amy's smile widened. "Thanks. Maybe we'll see each other again some time?" "I would love to visit you and see how you've developed your abilities." The energy around her and Spike crackled. "I have to go! Please take care, Great and Powerful Amy!" "You, too, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Bright light enveloped pony and dragon, and they and the summoning circle disappeared in a flash of magic. Amy narrowed her eyes. "Yes. We will meet again, Princess," she said in a low voice. "Count on it."