For Whom the Bell Tolls
Chapter II An Awesome Nerd
Sunlight streamed through the window of Twilight and Sunset’s room, finally prompting the hypnotized Twilight to wake up. She sat up and stretched. The blue and teal spirals in her eyes faded away as she came out of her trance.
Wow, I feel great. That was one of the best night’s sleeps I’ve ever had, she thought.
“Oh hey, you’re up,” Sunset said, stepping out of the bathroom, “You were dead to the world a few minutes ago.”
“Good morning,” Twilight said, “Yeah, I was pretty out of it I guess. I actually had trouble falling asleep last night; I guess that walk I took helped.”
“Well I’ll let you get changed, and then we can head to breakfast, “Sunset said.
“Sounds good to me, I’m starving,” Twilight said.
Sunset gave her some privacy while she changed back into her winter outfit.
These goggles are growing on me, Twilight thought, looking in the mirror at the ski goggles that were pushed up on her forehead, But then again, they’re almost like bigger, cooler, less protective lab goggles, and I’ve always loved a good pair of lab goggles.
She joined up with Sunset and the two of them made their way down to the lodge’s restaurant. Once there, they joined up with the others and Twilight began digging into an enormous omelet.
“I’ll be hitting the slopes early,” Sunset said, “But then I’ll come back to the lodge so we can spend some time together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Twilight said smiling at her.
The sound of a knife tinkling on the side of a glass caused them all to turn towards its origin.
Mr. Sardo was standing at the side of the restaurant, flanked by two chefs and some carts with skillets on them.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Dragon Scale Lodge prides itself on its weekly bellside breakfast special. Which is why I’m proud to announce today’s special will be: crepes,” he said.
Mmmmm crepes, that sounds delicious, Twilight thought.
“That being said, let the crepe-ing commence,” Mr. Sardo said, as he pressed a desk service bell on one of the carts.
Maybe I’ll get blueberry filling…I…I…I will obey Mistress Sonata, Twilight thought, as the bell activated her trigger, Whenever I hear a bell I will become someone who loves skiing, snowboarding, and having fun in the snow.
Her eyes turned back into blue and teal spirals, but she quickly concealed them by pulling down the ski goggles.
“Forget about the crepes,” she said, “From what I observed from the storm last night, it should’ve delivered three inches of fresh powder to the slopes and I want to take advantage of that as soon as possible.”
“You want to go skiing?” Sunset said in confusion, “I thought you said you didn’t want to.”
“Well, I guess sleeping on it helped,” Twilight said, “So let’s hit the slopes.”
“Uhhh, sure,” Sunset said, still slightly baffled.
“When you guys are up for a real challenge, drop by the snowboarding area,” Rainbow Dash called after them.
“Don’t worry we will,” Twilight called back to her.
Fortunately Aria was not on duty at the gift shop/rental shop that morning, and the much more helpful clerk was able to get them their equipment quickly. They then made their way out to the ski lifts.
“I just love this scenery,” Twilight said, as they road up to the top of the mountain.
“I’m really glad you had a change of heart,” Sunset said, “Now we can spend even more time together.”
“Exactly, having fun in the snow and with my friends is what this weekend is all about.”
They got off the ski lift and showed the attendant their lift tickets. As they walked by the attendant’s shack, they noticed an employee napping outside of it next to a space heater. Shrugging off the odd sight, they paused at the top of the mountain.
“Let’s do this,” Twilight said, as she and Sunset pushed off.
Sunset did her best to ensure her decent was a nice easy one, so she was surprised when she looked over and saw Twilight slaloming around some of the pine trees that lined their slope.
When they reach the bottom Twilight thrust her hands in the air in excitement.
“That was a great run!” she shouted, “The wind in my hair, the landscape flying by, and all the complex calculations needed to ensure the run was flawless.”
“I’m glad you had fun, I guess sleeping on it got rid of your fears of ramming into a tree too,” Sunset said, smiling at her.
“Yup, I guess I forgot my fears and began focusing on the thrills,” Twilight said, as she and Sunset climbed back on the ski lift.
Making their way to the edge of the mountain once more, Sunset was baffled as Twilight’s second run was pretty much a mirror of her first, though she did add a little flourish by ramping off a snow drift that had been compacted down by other skiers.
“That was a nice little jump you did up there,” Sunset said, when they reached the bottom.
“Yeah, and now that I have a feel for it, I’ll try and do a trick or two off it this time, maybe a three sixty spin,” Twilight said, as she began strategizing how to pull off some tricks.
“Well I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Sunset said.
They made their way back to top of the mountain and prepared to push off once again.
“Hey Double Diamond, shift change,” the ski lift attendant shouted to the sleeping employee, before ringing a cowbell as an impromptu alarm clock.
I must obey Mistress Sonata, when I hear a bell again I will return to normal, Twilight thought, as the spirals faded from her eyes, Huh, what? Where am I? Oh, right I’m on the top of the mountain.
“Yeeeek!” she shouted in terror, “What am I doing up here?! Oh right, I’m skiing…why am I skiing!?”
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Sunset said, concern filling her voice as she made her way over to her.
“I…I don’t want to be up here….Why did I want to go skiing?” Twilight said, her voice a mix of fear and confusion.
“Okay…okay, we don’t have to be up here, let’s go back to the lodge,” Sunset said, as she took Twilight’s arm and began to lead her back towards the ski lift.
They rode back down and relative silence, Sunset doing her best to comfort Twilight.
Back at the lodge Twilight sat in one of the large overstuffed chairs in front of the fireplace.
“Here, I brought you some hot chocolate,” Sunset said, handing her a mug.
“Thanks, Sunset,” Twilight said, smiling at her.
“What the heck happened up there? One minute you’re all gung-ho about skiing, the next you’re frozen in fear. Are you feeling okay?” Sunset asked, her concern for her friend growing.
“I’ve been going over it in my head over and over again. It’s like a switch just got turned on and off,” Twilight said, “I think the mountain air, high altitude, and the excitement of being with you guys again affected me somehow.”
“Kind of a weird way to effect you,” Sunset said, as she sat down next to Twilight, “And like you said, it seemed like a switch turned off and on in you. You went from Ski Loving Twilight back to Ski Hating Twilight almost in an instant.”
“Then it must have been a mini adrenaline boost caused by those things. When I felt the rush of it, I pushed my inhibitions and fears to the side and wanted nothing more then to have fun up on the mountain,” Twilight said, “But once it wore off, it really wore off, kind of like coming off a bad sugar rush.”
“A real bad sugar rush,” Sunset set said, taking a drink of hot chocolate, “I guess that makes sense though. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a mini adrenaline rush.”
“There is in Equestria at least, I’ve read about them a few times,” Twilight said.
“Well, the one you had is past, so let’s forget about skiing and enjoy the fire.”
“Fine by me,” Twilight said, as she and Sunset enjoyed the crackling fire and their hot chocolate for awhile.
“This is ridiculous!” an annoyed voice said.
Twilight and Sunset turned and saw an angry customer standing at the front desk.
“Looks like Adagio’s track record for customer service hasn’t improved,” Twilight said.
“I’m just hoping we don’t have to deal with her again,” Sunset said.
The angry customer’s frustration had reached a boiling point, and he slammed his fist down onto the call bell.
Twilight gasped a little upon hearing the bell.
I must obey Mistress Sonata. Whenever I hear a bell I will become someone who loves skiing, snowboarding, and having fun in the snow, she thought, the spirals forming in her eyes once more.
She pulled her goggles back down over her eyes as a smile spread across her face.
“You were right Sunset, I should forget about skiing,” Twilight said, “Because it’s time to go snowboarding!”
“Wait, what?!” Sunset said in confusion.
“Let’s hit the snow!” Twilight said, before chugging her hot chocolate, “Ow…ow…ow still real hot.”
She ran over towards the gift/equipment rental shop to rent a snowboard.
“I’ll take a snowboard please,” Twilight said to Aria.
“Whatever,” Aria said.
“I would like it today,” Twilight said, getting annoyed.
“I bet you would.”
“Mr. Sar…” Twilight, started to shout for Mr. Sardo.
“Ugh, fine,” Aria said, handing her a snowboard, “You just like to keep making life difficult don’t you?”
“If you’re trying to take over the world or preventing me from having fun in the snow, I will make your life as difficult as possible,” Twilight said to her.
“Uh, Twilight maybe we should stay inside,” Sunset said, as she watched Twilight in action.
“No way, after all I promised Rainbow Dash I would show up,” Twilight said, as she walked towards the exit.
Sunset shrugged her shoulders in defeat and followed after her.
The snowboarder’s section of the mountain had been carved into two different portions, one acted as a combination downhill/obstacle course section and the other was a half-pipe section.
Rainbow Dash stood next to Flash Sentry as they watched Derpy make a run at one of the obstacles. She slowly slid across a picnic table that had been half buried in the snow before promptly falling off it, leaving a Derpy shaped impact crater in the snow.
“Derpy, I thought you said you can snowboard,” Rainbow Dash said, facepalming.
“I can snowboard…just not real well,” Derpy said, from within the crater.
“Now she tells us,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes.
“Hi guys!” Twilight said, as she and Sunset walked up to them.
“Hey Twilight, I didn’t know you were here,” Flash said.
“That’s because she’s been holed up in the lodge or over on the baby ski slopes until now,” Rainbow Dash said, “Looks like you accepted my challenge to come on over to the cool side of the mountain….and don’t you dare say something about it being warmer over here because the sun’s out of something.”
“Oh, I wasn’t going to,” Twilight said, “There’s definitely a lot more going on over here. I can’t wait to try out this course they’ve laid out here.”
“It’s pretty tricky, do you snowboard often?” Flash asked.
“Nope, this is my first time,” Twilight said, smiling at him.
Flash stood in stunned silence while Rainbow Dash burst out laughing.
“Alright then, let’s see you try it,” Rainbow Dash said, taking out her phone, “But if you do worse then Derpy, it’s going on the internet.”
“You’re on!” Twilight said, as she made her way to the starting line of the obstacle course.
They watched in amazement, as she kicked off and began gathering speed in the down hill section, masterfully going around the turns and corners carved into the snow, before she jumped up and grinded across a metal bar set up in the middle of the course. She flew up another section of the course before making the jump off the picnic table and avoiding the Derpy shaped crater upon landing. She grinded across another railing, before she entered a tunnel in the snow that sent her looping back around to them.
“So, did I become internet famous?” she asked, walking back up to them.
“Twilight, that was amazing!” Flash said.
“Eh, it was okay for a beginner,” Rainbow Dash said.
“How did you do all that?” Sunset asked.
“It was a simple matter of maintaining velocity by taking all the hills and corners dead on, and making sure I had equal weight distribution on all the obstacles,” Twilight said.
“Twilight, you can be such a nerd sometimes,” Rainbow Dash said.
Twilight pushed herself up a small incline so she could gain some momentum, and began making circles around Rainbow Dash.
“Correction,” Twilight said, smiling broadly, “I’m an awesome nerd all the time.”
“Well Ms. Awesome Nerd, how would you like to race against me on the half-pipe?” Flash asked.
“I’d love to,” Twilight said, as she walked off with him.
“What gives?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Normally she’s sputtering nonsense when around him, but he asks her to race him and she happily goes along with it?”
“She’s done a lot of things today that are making less and less sense,” Sunset said, “I think she might be right about the mountain air, and high altitude affecting her in odd ways.”
“Real odd ways,” Rainbow Dash said.
Up on the half-pipe Twilight and Flash were waiting to start. Their progress was currently impeded by a starting gate.
“So uh, how do we know when to start?” Twilight asked.
“She’s been telling everyone when to start all day,” Flash said, pointing to a tower off to the side of the half-pipe.
Standing in the tower next to a microphone, Pinkie Pie was suited up in a brightly colored winter outfit, complete with a knitted jester style cap.
“Here yee! Here yee! Pinkie Pie, the official starter of races welcomes you to another race, and also wishes you a happy Earmuff Day!” Pinkie said, slipping on a pair of earmuffs.
Twilight and Flash shrugged at one another upon hearing the odd holiday declaration.
“Now, on your marks! Get Set!” Pinkie shouted, before signaling the start of the race with an air horn.
The starting gates popped open and Twilight and Flash began flying down the half-pipe.
Flash smiled confidently as he picked up speed, but was soon shocked as he spied Twilight zoom past him, she was leaning forward to gain momentum. She then began ramping up and down the sides of the half-pipe, cautiously grabbing the front of her snowboard at first, but as she started gaining more and more air she began executing spins and other tricks. In the end she cleared the finish line almost a minute ahead of him.
“Twilight, that was incredible!” he said running over to her.
“Thanks,” she said, blushing slightly, “Like I said before it’s all about velocity and in this case hitting the half-pipe at the proper angles.”
“Well you definitely proved you’re an awesome nerd,” he said, playfully.
“It was cool and all, but let’s see how you do against an expert,” Rainbow Dash said, walking over to them.
“You’re on!” Twilight said, as she rushed back up to the starting gates.
“You’re living in denial, Rainbow Dash, you don’t stand a chance,” Flash said to her.
“Denial, schmenial, I won’t let that egghead beat me,” Rainbow Dash said confidently.
She joined Twilight at the starting gate and waited for Pinkie to start the race.
“Ready guys? On your marks! Get set!” Pinkie said, before she pressed the button on the air horn, but it only produced a disappointing ‘fweep’ whistle, “Ooops out of ammo.”
“Come on Pinkie, say ‘go’ or something!” Rainbow Dash shouted up to her.
“Oh I know, I’ll use this,” Pinkie said, as she took off the knit jester hat and shook it in front of the microphone to amplify the sound of the tiny bells attached to it.
I must obey Mistress Sonata. When I hear a bell again, I will return to normal, Twilight thought, as the spirals faded from her eyes once more, Huh…what…oh no, not again!
“Wait don’t start….crud!” Twilight said, hoping to halt the race, but her hopes were dashed when the starting gates opened and she began to slide downward.
“Whoa no! Whoa! AAAAA!” Twilight shouted, as she flailed her arms wildly, while turning sideways. This resulted in her barely being able to remain upright, while descending down the half-pipe at a snail’s pace.
“What’s going on with Twilight?” Flash asked, as he watched the race with Sunset.
“I think I know,” Sunset said, her voice laced with concern.
Back up on the half-pipe Rainbow Dash had finished her run and looked up in confusion at Twilight. She continued to wait and stare for a solid ten minutes as Twilight made her slow, slow decent down the half-pipe.
“What the heck happened up there?” Rainbow Dash asked her, once she finally made it to the bottom.
“I wish I knew,” Twilight said, her voice a mixture of sadness and confusion.
“Come on, let’s get you back to the lodge,” Sunset said, taking her arm.
“You gonna be okay? Do you want us to come with you,” Flash asked.
“No…no I’ll be foom, I mean fine,” Twilight said, slightly flustered.
As they walked away Rainbow Dash and Flash turned to each other and shrugged in confusion.
Back at the lodge Twilight sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in front of the fire again.
“That’s twice this has happened now,” Twilight said.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Do you think you could be coming down with something and it’s not another mini adrenaline boost?” Sunset asked, as she took Twilight’s wrist and began taking her pulse.
“No, I’ve been fine. I didn’t feel sick in Equestria and I didn’t feel like I was coming down with anything when I came into this world, and…what are you doing?”
“Ooops sorry,” Sunset said, as she released Twilight’s wrist and grinned sheepishly, “I had that dream where I was a nurse again last night. Guess it kinda stuck with me.”
“Well you’ve got a great bedside manner,” Twilight said, smiling at her.
“Thanks,” Sunset said, smiling back.
“I just hope it doesn’t happen again,” Twilight said.
“Well, maybe if we get you to a slightly lower altitude and help you burn off some adrenaline there’s less of a chance of it happening again,” Sunset said.
“Where and how do we do that?” Twilight asked.
“The game room in the basement of course,” Sunset said.
“Sounds good to me,” Twilight said, as she followed Sunset to the elevators.
They descended down into the basement of the lodge and after passing by a creepy café that was closed for the indefinite future they found the game room. A pool table and air hockey table stood in the center of the room, while a few arcade games lined the walls.
“I guess it’s more of a night time use game room,” Sunset said, noticing that they were the only ones there.
“So what should we do first?” Twilight asked.
“How about some pool?” Sunset said, as she grabbed one of the well used cues.
“Okay,” Twilight said.
Sunset racked up the balls and broke them. She then stepped aside so Twilight could take her shot.
Twilight studied the table and lined up her shot, before sinking the four ball.
“Looks like I’m stripes,” Sunset said.
Twilight then got to work, making her way around the table, sinking ball after ball with perfectly aimed shots or bank shots that went off without a hitch.
“Correction, looks like I’m not taking another turn,” Sunset said, once Twilight had finished, “I didn’t know you were so good at pool.”
“It’s just a game of math and angles,” Twilight said, pointed to the table.
“You can apply math to anything, can’t you,” Sunset said.
“Ooops, sorry. Bad habit of mine,” Twilight said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset said, as she walked over to the air hockey table, “Let’s play a game where math and angles don’t hold a candle to random chance.”
Twilight joined her at the table and grabbed her paddle.
“Get ready,” Sunset said, as she put a quarter in the machine to start it.
Twilight watched as the air hockey puck floated over the table’s surface and smacked it towards Sunset. Sunset sent it back towards her. Twilight went to strike it again only to accidentally hit it into her own goal.
“You weren’t kidding about random chance,” Twilight said, putting the puck back on the table. She hit it back towards Sunset, getting a better feel for the game.
Despite many hiccups due to the randomness of the air currents, Twilight was able to eek out a narrow victory.
“Looks like you won again. I’ll get some more change,” Sunset said.
While she made her way over to the change machine Twilight watched the mini light show the table put on.
“Congratulations! You’re a winner,” an automated voice said, which was followed by a cacophony of random noises, including a ringing bell.
I must obey Mistress Sonata, Twilight thought, being triggered again, Whenever I hear a bell, I will become someone who loves skiing, snowboarding, and having fun in the snow.
She pulled her ski goggles back over her spiraling eyes and smiled.
“You know Sunset, I’ve been skiing and snowboarding today, but there’s one thing I haven’t done out in the snow yet,” Twilight said.
Oh no, what now?! Sunset thought nervously.
“Build a snowpony!” Twilight said triumphantly.
Sunset let out a sigh of relief before smiling.
“Actually in this world it’s called building a snowman,” Sunset said.
“Can’t we make both?”
“Absolulety.”
“Yay!” Twilight said, clapping her hands together excitedly.
They made their way outside to a quiet corner of the lodge.
“Hey look, it’s Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “Hi Fluttershy!”
“Oh, hello,” Fluttershy said, turning around.
“What are you doing out here?” Sunset asked.
“Watching the snowbirds fly in for the evening. They’re very beautiful creatures.”
“They sure are,” Twilight said, “We came out to build a snowpony and snowman. Wanna join us?”
“Um, sure,” Fluttershy said, smiling.
The three of them quickly got to work making their snow creations. Twilight rolled out the lower body for the snowman and quickly made the middle section, but had trouble lifting it.
“Thanks,” Twilight said, after Sunset helped her lift it up, “It’s times like this I miss having levitation magic.”
“Yeah, it’s one of those things you definitely come to miss after awhile,” Sunset said.
Once Twilight finished the head of the snowman she started forming the legs of her snowpony, while Fluttershy and Sunset built a body. Once they were done, the three of them placed it on top of the legs, only for it to collapse almost immediately.
“I think maybe it would be best if the snowpony was lying down,” Sunset said.
“Good idea,” Twilight agreed.
A short while later they had repurposed the remains of the original snowpony into one that was lying down.
“Hmmmm there’s still some snow leftover,” Twilight said, once they were done, “Let’s make something else.
“Perhaps we went a little overboard,” Fluttershy said, a short while later.
“Twilight was a bit of a snow building machine,” Sunset said, as she looked over at the snowman, snowpony, snowcat, snowdog, snow Celestia, and snow Star Swirl the Bearded, they had built.
“That was fun,” Twilight said, taking a selfie in front of the snow menagerie.
“It’s getting dark, maybe we should head inside,” Sunset said, “Maybe we can get more hot chocolate.”
“That sounds great,” Twilight said.
Back inside the lodge they noticed a large group of angry people gathered at the front desk.
“Is Adagio the only employee they have running the front desk at this hour?” Sunset asked, noticing her post had been abandoned…again.
“I’m gonna kill that clerk,” one of the customers said, as he angrily slammed his hand down on the call bell three times.
I must obey Mistress Sonata, whenever I hear a bell again I will return to normal. I must obey Mistress Sonata, whenever I hear a bell I will become someone who loves skiing, snowboarding, and having fun in the snow. I must obey Mistress Sonata, whenever I hear a bell again I will return to normal, Twilight thought, as her mind was repeatedly triggered in rapid succession.
“Ugh,” Twilight said, as she lifted her goggles and rubbed her temples.
“You okay Twilight?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah, just a bit of a brain freeze I guess,” Twilight said.
“Maybe we spent too much time out there building snow things,” Sunset said.
“Maybe, but it sure was fun,” Twilight said.
“And there’s still fun to be had later on tonight,” Fluttershy said, “We’ve still got Sonata’s hypnosis show to go to.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Sunset said.
“I can’t wait to volunteer,” Fluttershy said, her voice filled with an air of nervousness and excitement.
Me either, Twilight thought, as another post hypnotic suggestion appeared in her mind.