The Alicorn Enigma

by Zobeid

Chapter Three: A Falling-Out

Twilight decided to look up Rarity to see if she’d heard anything, while Pinkie Pie bounced off to scout the “southwest-by-northeast” side of town. Upon arriving at Carousel Boutique, however, Twilight was frustrated to see the CLOSED sign. Rarity hadn’t left any note saying when she’d be back.

Twilight sat for a moment and pondered. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both lived outside of town, so there was no reason to suspect they’d know anything helpful. Applejack might possibly have rounded up Apple Bloom and gone home by this time… She might possibly know something. It was worth a try.

Twilight had trotted less than a block when she encountered Rarity coming back toward her shoppe. Twilight bounded over to her friend and called out, “Rarity, hey! I’m glad to see you.”

Smiling back, Rarity answered, “Hello Twilight! How are you today?”

“I’m trying to solve a mystery today. I heard there was a new alicorn in town this morning, and I’m trying to find her.”

Rarity brightened up. “Then you’re in luck. I just got through treating her to a bath and some grooming at the spa.”

Twilight blinked. “Buh? Really? Uh, how did that happen?”

“Well, dear…. Crystal Dawn — that’s her name — showed up at my boutique and asked me to make her a new cloak to replace hers that was ruined this morning. And of course I said I’d be happy to, but then I saw how damp and sooty she was from the fire, and I simply had to help her get cleaned up.”

Eyes bright with excitement, Twilight asked, “You talked with her? Did she tell you why she’s here? What are her powers? Did you see her cutie mark? What’s she like?”

Rarity recoiled slightly, blinked and glanced away from Twilight for a moment as she tried to think of a polite way to respond. Then she said, “Twilight, please! I’m on my way back to the boutique now. Walk with me, and I’ll tell you — one thing at a time!”

“Oh, sorry! Heh! I got a little excited.” She moved to walk beside her friend.

“So… I had a nice chat with Crystal at the spa, and she explained that she came to Ponyville for a couple of days to visit a friend. She was merely at the market this morning to pick up a few things while waiting for her friend to get off from work.”

“Friend? Who is it?” Twilight wondered.

“Hm. I’m not sure if I should really tell you that. She didn’t say it was a secret as such, but I did get the impression that Crystal is rather reserved — not as much as Flutteryshy, of course, but I do think she values her privacy.”

Twilight’s ears drooped. “You… You know who it is, but you’re not going to tell me? Rarity, this could be important. We’re talking about a new alicorn, only the third one that’s known to exist. Remember what happened when the last one showed up? It’s vital that I find out what she’s up to, so I can report to Princess Celestia.”

“Really? I don’t see why it’s so important. Crystal seems like a rather nice pony to me. I can’t imagine why you’d think she’s up to any mischief. Besides, it’s hardly proper to pry into the business of a visitor to our town.”

The pitch and volume of Twilight’s voice increased as she argued, “But you already know! And she didn’t say it was a secret, right?”

Rarity sighed, and stopped walking, as she’d reached the front door of her Boutique. Her horn glowed as she opened the front door and turned the sign back around to OPEN. “Come on inside, Twilight. I can tell this conversation is going to take a while. I might as well fix some tea.”

Twilight followed, but once inside she fidgeted and paced around while Rarity made tea. Her anxiousness only seemed to reinforce Rarity’s resolve to maintain ladylike decorum, and she provided no more answers until tea and cookies were served. When Twilight was finally settled down at the table and took a sip of tea, then Rarity finally was willing to continue. She said, “As I was saying, Crystal came to Ponyville to visit a friend who she hasn’t seen in a while. She’ll be here over the weekend. She’s from Hoofington, by the way. She has a glass workshop and a gallery where she sells her art glass.”

Twilight seemed befuddled. “Glass workshop? Really?”

“Oh yes! It seems she and I have much in common. We both have a creative passion. Her creations, like mine, range from the utilitarian to the whimsical. I asked her to send me some pictures of her art after she’s returned home. Oh, and she gave me this…” From her purse she levitated a small object. It looked like a glass marble, except for the golden-orange light flickering inside like a tiny candle flame. “Have you ever seen anything like it? She called it a fire bead. She insisted it was merely a trinket, but I’m already thinking about how I could incorporate these into some of my designs.”

Twilight’s horn started to glow, then she asked, “May I?” Rarity nodded and transferred the floating marble from her blue aura to Twilight’s purple aura. Twilight peered closely, and let her magic feel its way around the gem. “Hmm. It’s… only a simple light spell. Although, it’s not that easy to cast a light spell on an object and make it permanent. It’s nicely done.” She passed the fire bead back to Rarity.

“So… Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

Twilight stared into her teacup and said, “It still leaves a lot of questions. Where did she come from? I don’t even know where alicorns come from. They aren’t just accidentally born, are they? Or do ordinary ponies somehow get transformed?”

“You never asked Princess Celestia? She is your teacher, after all.”

Twilight’s ears drooped and she didn’t meet Rarity’s eyes. “I… I wondered, but I didn’t know if it was a sensitive thing. I mean, I figured if she wanted me to know she’d tell me eventually.”

Rarity sighed softly and set down her teacup. “Well then. Maybe it’s about time you asked her. She may or may not tell you, but I’m sure she won’t resent the question. After all, it is a student’s place to ask questions.”

Twilight perked up. “Yes! You’re right, and I’ll be sure to ask her in the next letter I send. Thanks Rarity!”

Rarity smiled and added, “I wouldn’t mind hearing the answer as well — assuming it’s not some sort of state secret, of course.”

Finally able to relax a little, Twilight took a sip of her tea, then remembered to ask, “What about Crystal’s cute mark? You did see it, right?”

“Oh yes. It’s a phoenix.”

“A phoenix? Huh. I wonder what that could mean?”

Then Rarity elaborated, “Actually it’s a Phoenix with a heart on its tail. Or a tail shaped like a heart. And I’ll admit, the symbolism seems rather obscure to me as well. But such is the way with cutie marks. Some are obvious, and others… not so much.” Then she giggled softly and nodded towards Twilight. “Sweetie Belle once asked me if your special talent was exploding.”

Twilight laughed and said, “I’ve had a few spell-casting attempts end that way, but yeah… Some concepts don’t translate so well to a cutie mark.” She took a gulp of tea, then got up from the table. “Anyhow, I’d still like to meet Crystal Dawn. Can’t you give me a hint where to find her? I still have her groceries to deliver.”

Rarity blinked at the bags of food that had been following Twilight around. “Those are hers?”

Twilight nodded. “She left them in the marketplace after the fire. I promised Roseluck I’d try and get them to her.

Rarity fidgeted, then said, “I suppose you must fulfill your promise. Just tell me you won’t harass the poor dear when you see her.”

“Harass? Me? I’m shocked that you would imagine such a thing. Of course I won’t bother her, I’ll just deliver the groceries, and maybe chat a bit if she doesn’t mind. I’d never harass anypony.”

“No… No, of course you wouldn’t. Anyhow, she said she’s in town to visit Derpy Hooves. I’m sure you’ll find her at Derpy’s house.”

Twilight blinked. “Derpy?” Rarity nodded. Then Twilight said, “Wait, is that the same pony that Rainbow Dash calls Ditzy Doo? The gray pegasus with the goofy eyes that delivers the mail? Same one who almost destroyed City Hall? The one Rainbow said has a brain like a walnut?”

“Oh well, that’s just unkind. I’m sure Rainbow exaggerates. But yes, I believe that’s the same pony.”

Twilight scratched her head and wondered out loud, “How would Ditzy end up friends with an alicorn? There’s got to be a story behind that. umm… You wouldn’t happen to know where Ditzy’s house is, would you?”

“Not exactly, but I believe it’s somewhere in Littleville. Or above it, if she has a cloud home. You should ask around there.”

“Oh, Littleville…”

---

Littleville was, one might say, the low-rent district of Ponyville. It wasn’t a slum. There was really no wrong-side-of-the-tracks in Ponyville, not as such. However, in Littleville one was a bit more likely to see a broken down wagon in the front yard, as opposed to a nicely tended flower garden.

Asking around, it didn’t take Twilight Sparkle long to locate Derpy’s home. The cloud home was floating at low altitude within easy view from a nearby street. Twilight didn’t have much experience with cloud construction. She’d been to the floating city of Cloudsdale once and found it amazing. Rainbow Dash’s cloud home was impressive too, with its central tower and rainbow waterfalls. In addition, even though Canterlot Castle was made from solid stone rather than clouds, its magnificently soaring spires were clearly inspired by pegasus cloud architecture.

Twilight was, therefore, surprised to discover that it was possible to make a shotgun shack out of cloudstuff. Well… At least clouds didn’t cost anything, and nopony could charge Derpy rent. Twilight quickly cast a cloudwalking spell on herself and teleported up to the small cloud deck that served as a front porch. “Hello?” she called out. “Is anypony home?”

“Coming!” replied a melliferous voice. Momentarily the front door opened and Crystal Dawn emerged. Despite having been told what to expect, Twilight couldn’t suppress a startled gasp over Crystal’s resemblance to Princess Celestia. She would never mistake one for the other, but this alicorn’s size and proportions were much more similar to the princess than to a common earth, unicorn or pegasus pony. For her own part, Crystal noted Twilight’s wide-eyed expression and said, “Hello! Are you all right?”

Twilight stammered, “I… I’m okay, you just startled me a little. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. I’m Crystal Dawn. You must be looking for Derpy. She’s out, but she should be home pretty soon if you care to wait.”

“Actually, I was hoping to find you. Rarity told me you’d probably be here. I, uh… have your groceries.” She floated the bags over to the door. “You left them in the marketplace.”

Crystal smiled and her horn glowed as she took the bags into her own magical aura. “That’s very thoughtful. I forgot these in the excitement this morning. Thank you!” She floated the bags into the house and sat them down. Then she returned to Twilight, who was staring intently with a sort of goofy grin on her face, and asked, “Is there anything else you wanted? I would invite you in, but it’s not my house.”

“Yes! uhhh… I’m doing some research, and I was hoping you could answer some questions for me. If you don’t mind, that is.”

Crystal’s smile faded, and she said. “Research? What sort of research? You’re not a reporter, are you?”

“No! I’m just a librarian.”

The alicorn stared at her for a moment, then said, “And you’re doing library-related research?”

Twilight fidgeted. “Err… That is, I’m also Princess Celestia’s student. So you can understand why I want to learn more about alicorns. Until now I only knew about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And then you showed up. So, I was hoping you could explain a few things.” Twilight found herself feeling quite awkward. This wasn’t quite how she’d imagined the conversation going.

Crystal frowned and asked, “Did Celestia send you to check up on me?”

“Not really.”

“So it was your own idea. You just got curious and decided to make me your next research project?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “um… Basically, something like that. I was kinda worried too, because the last time an unknown alicorn showed up, it was sort of a… big deal, you know?”

Crystal nodded. “Nightmare Moon, yeah. Well, I can put your mind to rest on that score. I’m not here to cause trouble, and I haven’t escaped from any sort of imprisonment. I’ve been around for a while, ponies know me, at least back home in Hoofington. There’s no cause for alarm.”

“That’s… good to hear.”

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me; Derpy will be home soon, and I should get about fixing lunch.”

“Wait! I mean, I’d still like to know more about you, if that’s okay.”

Crystal sighed, and then said, “Listen, kid. I’m sure you must be a real go-getter, if Celestia took you as a student. And I don’t want to be mean to you or anything, but… I have a nice quiet weekend planned, visiting with my friend.”

“But I have so many questions! How old are you? Are you related to the princesses at all? What’s your special talent?”

Crystal stamped — quietly, since hooves striking cloudstuff don’t make noise, but Twilight got the meaning of the gesture anyhow. Crystal said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to play Twenty Questions with you or relate my life story to a complete stranger.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, then left it open as she tried to think of what to say. That Crystal might simply refuse to answer hadn’t occurred to her. Twilight couldn’t force her to talk — but not getting answers to her burning questions was intolerable. There must be a way to convince her.

The moments of silence were broken by a soft sound of pegasus wings as Derpy fluttered to a wobbly landing on the porch. “Crystal! Yay!” she yelled.

Crystal’s face broke into a big smile as she answered, “Derpy! It’s good to see you!” Then the alicorn and pegasus pony nuzzled and rubbed their necks together.

“I’m off for the rest of the weekend,” Derpy said.

Crystal said, “That’s great. I was going to fix something for lunch, but some things came up and I never got time.”

“That’s OK. I got some blueberry muffins in my saddle bags.”

Crystal laughed and said, “I could have guessed that. But you really should eat a carrot or an apple, something healthy, before digging into those.”

Derpy finally noticed the purple unicorn. “Hey it’s Twilight Sprinkle! What are you doing here?”

“That’s Sparkle, actually. I, uh… brought some groceries to Crystal, and I wanted to meet her.”

Crystal said, “I think Twilight was just leaving. Weren’t you?”

Twilight’s ears drooped, then she looked to the pegasus and said, “I could stick around for a while if you don’t mind, Ditzy.”

Derpy blinked, and glanced toward Crystal, who in turn glared at Twilight and said, “Ditzy? Is that what ponies are calling her now? A ditzy blond airhead?”

Twilight flinched. Derpy said, “Crystal, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Crystal held her gaze on Twilight for a moment longer, then pitched her nose in the air and said, “I’m going inside,” and she disappeared into the cloud house.

Twilight blinked, trying to figure out what just happened. She looked to Derpy and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything…”

“I know,” Derpy said. “She just has these moods sometimes. I think she must have had a bad morning. You’d better go now.”

Twilight glanced at the doorway where Crystal had gone, really not wanting to give up. “Maybe if I went and talked with her…”

Derpy growled. It wasn’t much of a growl, but it was more than most ponies had ever heard from her. “Twilight! This is my house. I didn’t even invite you here, and you’ve been hassling my friend. I think you should GO.” She spread her wings and shook them, and stepped closer to Twilight. Intimidated by the display, Twilight took a confused step backward away from Derpy. Derpy shook her wings again and took another step forward. With a rising sense of panic, Twilight stepped back again.

Derpy shook her wings and stepped forward one more time, and Twilight stepped back — and found herself slipping off the edge of the cloud deck. Her hooves scrabbled for purchase on the thin edge of he cloud, then she fell. In a blind panic she reflexively cast teleportation to bring herself to the ground. She still retained the momentum from falling, though, and landed on her back with a sickening thump.

“OWW!” was what she tried to say, but nothing came out. To her horror, Twilight realized she couldn’t breathe. She gawped like a fish for air, but the impact had knocked all the wind out of her. Looking toward the sky, she could see Derpy’s face peering down at her from the edge of her front porch. Twilight waved her hooves in the air in a futile attempt to convey that she was suffocating, but Derpy didn’t seem too concerned and disappeared back into her home.

“So this is how it ends,” Twilight thought. “I’ll be found laying here in the street, cold and lifeless. I wonder if Princess Celestia will come to my funeral?” The urge to breathe was overwhelming, but her lungs wouldn’t respond.

After a short while that seemed much longer, Twilight began to breathe again, first in short little gasps, then deeper breaths. She rolled upright and managed to stand, and she looked upward at the cloud home. Then she lowered her head and her tail and started to trudge back towards her library. It was a long walk, and along the way she broke out in sniffles. “I just don’t know what went wrong,” she sobbed softly.

Comments

[Barbecue Sauce]

Good chapter!

Poor Twilight.

[Cleopatra]

whats next? Be faster!

[Cleopatra]

Update or what?

[Zobeid]

1650019

Oh how embarrassing.

I was just thinking I couple of days ago that I should mark this as being on hiatus. I guess I'd better do that now. I'd like to get back to it eventually, but my focus right now is totally on the Minty story, so I can't give any kind of estimate at all.

[Cleopatra]

awwwwww....
Well get back to it soon!

[Zobeid]

3748086

check this --> Gulliver's Travels: The Yahoos