Destiny Sparkle

by Spirit Guide

Solution to Solitude

I woke up the morning after the meetup like I did on any other, going through my usual preparations for a day of work, but fate had others things planned. Once I was all through getting ready, I started downstairs and reached for the light switch, but realized all too late that I'd overreached and stumbled against the table.

"Damn," I grunted through my teeth. I splayed my hand on the tabletop and pushed myself up. This day is not starting out as well as I'd hoped.

Then I looked over to the couch and any discomfort I had evaporated like water.

Twilight was asleep on the sofa bed, making her cute sleeping noises. The sheets had partly slipped off her upper body, which strangely made her appear even cuter. Her mane was all flat and built-up in a colorful show of bed-hair. Every so often, her ears would twitch in a captivating manner that made me want to reach over and scratch them.

It was not easy for me to resist picking Twilight up and cuddling her, which would leave her both awake and surprised, so I forced myself instead to tuck her in. As I pulled the sheets back over her, Twilight rolled over in her sleep and smiled unconsciously. It warmed my heart immensely.

She'll likely be asleep until I go out, I figured, remembering how tired she was the other night. I went to the kitchen and started gathering my things for work. As I took a bag of milk from the fridge for breakfast purposes, I realized I hadn't turned on the light when I came downstairs.

What they hey? I put my hand against the wall and felt around for the light switch, flicking it on. The kitchen filled with light. "That's better," I said quietly, not wanting to wake up Twilight. As I ate breakfast, my attention was drawn to the kitchen light. It was really nothing special, just a long florescent lamp, but for some reason it felt annoyingly bright this morning.

"Wish I could just lower the wattage a bit, maybe dim it down," I muttered, pushing my bowl aside. I sat down at the table again, my bag packed and ready for work. But all I could do was look up at the white bulb, almost defiantly. My fingers drummed on the table, just hard enough to be felt, as I wrestled for understanding. Then I recalled the previous evening, and in my mind flashed the image of a lamppost, at first dim then slowly glowing brightly.

Oh yeah. My first act of magic. I held my hand up and examined my fingers, remembering the strange glow it gave off yesterday. I glanced over at Twilight, still sleeping and ever adorable. Twilight believes I have magic. Maybe I should give it a try.

Squinting up at the bothersome bulb, I brought my lower arms together on the table and held my palms facing up towards the ceiling. Last night, the magic reacted to my wishing I could comfort Twilight in the dark, which could mean that it's also connected to her somehow. Then again... I curled my fingers inwards and focused as hard as I could on the lightbulb above. At first, all I felt was a headache, but slowly the tingling feeling began to creep up my arms and into my hands, followed by the faint white aura.

Wow. It feels so.... warm. The glow from my hands seemed to fill my whole body, chasing away the morning chill. I drew a mental line between my glowing palms and the bulb. The light it gave off suddenly dimmed a bit, no longer brightening the kitchen counters and the lounge with its usually glare. I had successfully lowered the wattage of the bulb with magic.

I held up my hand. The glow started to fade until my palm was normal and no longer shining. So I really can use magic. At first, I couldn't believe it myself, but the excitement began to build in no time. Oh, the possibilities! What a human could do with magic.

What can I do with magic?

So far, I had displayed a knack for boosting power and decreasing it as well. The power I'd shown was probably a variant of Twilight's own supernatural energy, but still magic. If that's the case, I should be able to do other things with it.

My eyes settled on the sleeping unicorn and memories of her lifting objects in her own purple aura came to mind. Twilight does a great deal of levitation, and quite effortlessly too. I wonder how hard it really is.

I focused my attention on my empty cereal bowl. I held up my hands palms down and pointed my joined fingers at it, trying to see in my mind the image of a floating bowl. Sure enough, I felt a rush of energy in my arms and the bowl rose steadily into the air, surrounded by a milky white aura like my hands.

Sweet.

Standing up, I carefully followed my bowl as I floated it over to the counter and into the sink. After filling it with water, I drifted over to the armchair and sat down, regarding my slumbering friend while deep in thought. Everything is pointing to my being able to preform any magic that an Equestrian unicorn is capable of. Obviously, I'll have to keep it out of sight of people or there'll be a lot of questions. At this thought, I sighed. So much secrecy.

Twilight snuffled in her sleep and smiled unconsciously. That brought a smile to my own face. But it's so worth it. Twilight, magic and Equestria itself are worth keeping hidden. Oh, so worth it.

The ticking of the clock brought me out of my blissful thinking session. Guess I should be off. Don't want to be late for work. As I got up from the couch, I glanced back down at Twilight, all curled up under her sheets. Smiling shamelessly, I bent down over her and kissed her cheek.

"Sleep tight, Twi," I whispered.

She snuggled further under the covers almost in response. Her smile, if anything, only grew bigger, as did my own. That settles her for the rest of the morning. Hope she'll find what to do while I'm out. I rose up and walked to the door, before looking back and remembering that my bag was still on the table.

I chuckled quietly. "Not a very promising start." Holding my fingers together, I pointed my hand at the bag and focused. Both my hand and bag became wrapped in the magical aura. I made a curled gesture with my fingers and the bag floated off the table and into my outstretched hand.

"I'm getting better at this," I said, shouldering my bag and unlocking the door. As I slipped out, I took one last glance at Twilight, sleeping soundly on the sofa bed. "I wonder what she'll say when I tell her." I shook my head and chuckled again. No point thinking ahead. I may know some of Twilight's behaviors from the show, but she is by no means predictable.

With a flick of my finger, I turned off the lights in the house, closed the door and made my way to the park.

*

*Twilight POV*

Waking up in the morning was never a challenge for me. At least, never back in Equestria. Here in Steven's world was quite another story.

That morning, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. It was just so warm and cozy under my sheets, but outside of its warmth.... ugh. Even with just my horn jutting out, I could feel the chilly morning air in the house. And it was not inviting.

"Uhhhh.... Steven?"

I waited for two whole minutes before coming to the conclusion that I was alone in the house. Aw man. That means no morning cuddles. Feeling quite miffed, I wormed my way to the foot of my bed and peeped out at the flameless fireplace.

"That's no good," I murmured groggily. I aimed my horn at the coal-filled hearth and shot off a couple of sparks into it. A flame burst out of the coals, followed by another. A few sparks later, there was a roaring fire spilling its warmth into the cold house.

"Aaaaah." I wriggled out of my sheets and slid off my bed to sit in front of the fire, letting the heat wrap around me. "That's much better."

While I warmed my icy hooves, I looked out the window. The sun had already risen completely into view, but it was still cold inside. Steven was probably already at work, lifting loads of bricks and sand in the frigid air. Thinking of my only friend in this world brought me instant comfort, but the moment I thought of Steven, I felt a strange tingling feeling on my cheek.

What was that? I placing a hoof against my face. The sensation faded away, but it had definitely been there. It felt familiar. And warm, too. Maybe some sort of after-effect of something, but what? My eyes were drawn to the stairs and I suddenly imagined Steven standing over me, protective yet still friendly.

It does remind me a bit of that kiss we shared in the hurricane, I figured, laying my hooves on my knees. Did Steven come over before he left and.... I giggled at my sudden realization. Oh, that silly brony.

With the mystery solved and my body sufficiently warmed, I got up and headed for the kitchen. I'd gotten the hang of getting my own breakfast, after carefully going through Steven's supplies and listing them, of course. How does he manage to remember how many eggs he has without a list? I pondered, levitating a spoon and bowl from the cupboard and milk from the fridge. It boggles the mind, it does.

As I helped myself to cereal and ate my breakfast, I remember the day after the hurricane, when Steven told me the rules and guidelines that I should follow while staying in the house....

"You've got your own toothbrush now, so you should be fine on that. Feel free to take anything from the fridge or the pantry, just don't try to stuff yourself like you were on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration."

I objected to that, very much. "Aww, you take all the fun out of eating!"

He had laughed at this. "That sounds like something Pinkie would say. Also, I know ponies don't normally wear clothes but, if it gets chilly, you're welcome to take two pairs from my sock drawer."

"Sock drawer? Where'd you bring that up from?"

"Ummm... Nothing. I, uh, just figured socks would work with hooves, y'know."

Back then, I couldn't understand the relevance of socks. Now I knew differently. Ponies wearing socks was another fad in the brony community, and fan art of it was in droves. I bet he was waiting for a chilly day that would send me running for his woolen footwear accessories. But not today.

I cleared away my bowl and sat down on my bed, watching the flames leap back and forth behind the grate. There were exactly 9 hours, 13 minutes and 57 seconds until Steven returned home from work, when we would tell each other about our day's activities while snuggling up on the couch. Oh, just thinking about it made me feel warm and fuzzy!

BUT in order for Snuggle Time to be a success, I would need something to tell Steven. For the past few days, I'd become engrossed in the computer, the Internet and its ever-increasing uses, but today I was hoping for something else. Something to get me away from that captivating device. The only question was what to replace it with.

I immediately turned to the nearest bookshelf. There was no doubt in my mind that I could spend many blissful hours, even days, just reading all the books in Steven's house, but for some reason I just didn't feel like reading.

'Don't feel like reading?' What is with me today?

Shaking my head, I continued to look around the room until my eyes settled on the TV. Once, I had turned on the set and flitted through the channels, until I found the National Geographic channel. It became one of my favorites almost instantly; a wellspring of knowledge from the world I was in, perfect for a newcomer as myself. When the facts they gave got too confusing and moved too fast for me, I'd use the computer to research the topics they discussed. Though whenever I'd start describing what I learned on TV, Steven's eyes would glaze over. Seriously, some people just can't take a little education

As I got up to look for the remote, I noticed a shelf beside the TV set that was loaded with boxes like the ones that housed the Friendship is Magic DVDs. I moved around to get a better look at them. The covers bore all manner of oddly-dressed humans and creatures as strange as those in Equestria.

Are these all TV shows? I pulled out one box and read the title: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. On the cover were two hands, sort of reaching out for each other with a full moon behind them and a.... a bike. Yeah, a bike, flying in front of the moon.

This must be a movie, I guessed, recalling more from Steven's TV talk. I studied E.T. for a minute, then looked back at the shelf of DVDs. All at once, excitement began to build inside of me. I've got it! I'll watch the movies and makes notes on them. Then I'll share my observations with Steven for Snuggle Time!

This plan brought me much joy and I skipped around the room several times before realizing what I was doing. "No point wasting another moment," I declared, running over to the supply cabinet and pulled out several sheets of A4 paper and a pen. It had taken a while for me to get used to the fact that humans have self-inking writing utensils. To me, the pen was a marvel.

"Okay, okay, okay," I muttered, spreading my note papers over the coffee table. I kept a respectful distance from the Equinomicon. The beautiful old tome wasn't glowing like it was last night, but I couldn't help but gaze in awe whenever I caught sight of it and thoughts of its previous actions popped up in my mind.

We've already got three spells from it so far: the Ultimate Recovery Spell, the Fire of Friendship and the shrink spell. After giving us all that, I'd understand if the Equinomicon were taking a break from sharing its secrets. Maybe one day, Steven and I will find an explanation for its power.

Mentally pushing the Equinomicon aside, I grabbed E.T. and several other movies from the rack. I levitated the remote and turned on the TV set, changing the settings so I could play the DVDs. "Time to learn," I said happily, popping the E.T. DVD into the machine.

Little did I know that I was about to learn exactly why too much TV can be bad for you.

*

*Steven POV*

What a day! I would never have expected that.

While the overall work itself was dirty and tedious as per usual, Daniel juiced up our lunch break when he pulled out a set of speakers and started a party right there in the finished gazebo. Us construction workers were the first to enjoy its shade and I was glad that the park's pavilion structure was finally back in business.

I walked through my front door, still humming the songs we danced to. At first, I didn't notice the lack of response that usually accompanied my return home, I was so happy. But when I saw the purple horn tip poking up from the other side of the couch, I let the grin spread across my face as I strode over.

Twilight was sitting on the couch, wearing a controlled and guarded expression. It wasn't one I've never seen before, but it was a first for her. On the coffee table were papers covered in quickly-written sentences, but I gave little attention to them. Twilight always had mine in full.

"Hey there, bookius equus."

Twilight flicked her head up in my direction and stared. "No books for me today, Steven. I spent the whole day watching movies."

I let a surprised look cross my face. "My Little Couch Potato. That would rake in attention."

Her head flopped to one side like a puppet with its strings cut. I was becoming concerned, Twilight's lack of energy making me edgy. I slipped around the couch and sat down beside her. "What's up, Twilight?" I asked gently.

"Nothing."

"Come on." I slipped an arm around Twilight and held her close. "I was out all day working and finished the gazebo. What have you been watching?"

Twilight's horn glowed and a paper flew up from the table. "Nothing special," she mumbled, her eyes trained on the paper.

Worry gnawed at me like a rabid beaver. Twilight's normal reaction to my return home was energetic and usually knocked me off my feet. Literally. I couldn't begin to think why she was so dull and sluggish today. I lowered my head beside hers and read the paper she was levitating: Relatable. Likened abilities, though not completely; loneliness, telekinesis, plant affecting, rainbows :), Past death situation. Possible return. Parallel further?

None of this made any sense to me, not even the smiley face. It seemed to be spur-of-the-moment notes, ones you could only understand in context. Context which I wasn't familiar with. What was Twilight watching?

I turned my gaze onto the other jottings. Among them were notes similar to the first page, including Away from their home, at least they're together. I may not have understood what was going on but the more I read, the more concerned I became. “Twilight," I said slowly, thoughts becoming words, "what have you been watching?"

"Just... movies." Almost begrudgingly, Twilight magicked several DVDs and held them up. Among the ones I recognized at once were E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Smurfs and Enchanted. At once, I remembered something they all had in common: the characters were forced away from their kind, friends and family one way or another in and had to spend time in a land they were not familiar with.

That must be why Twilight's all pooped out, I realized with dread. She's feeling the weight of her situation, being separated from Equestria, and the loneliness of being away from her friends. What in our two worlds gave Twilight the idea of watching these movies that were hitting so close to home?

"Well..... um....." I struggled for something to say, anything that could pull Twilight out of the dumps. "Oh, did I tell you what I was up to this morning?"

Twilight showed some interest at this, if her eyes brightening and opening fully were anything to judge by. "What happened? Did someone come early in the morning to visit you? Was I seen?!"

"No no, nothing like that." I raised my palm toward the paper Twilight was still levitating and curled my fingers, exerting my own will over the sheet and sending it drifting back down onto the table, shrouded in a white glow. "I was practicing earlier."

Huge purple eyes grew even wider as Twilight watched her notes descend upon the rest. She looked at me with a beautiful, dazzling smile. Her smile. "It's developing!" she squealed delightedly, closely examining my glowing hand. "It's really pale, like a foal's magic. Maybe it'll get its own shade as it comes in more." She looked into my eyes carefully. "I'm thinking yours will be lapis or azure."

"Why, because my eyes are blue?" I closed my fist and the glow brightened around it. I could feel the energy gather in my hand, warming it up.

Twilight nuzzled my glowing fist. "Yeah, that's usually how it works. Since you don't have a cutie mark and it's either that or the eyes which the magic draws its color from, I'm guessing it'll be blue."

We stared at the white aura surrounding my palm, some of it spreading up my arm as allowed the energy to flow. I realized that the prolonged ebb and was making my arm vibrate like an itch, which left me feeling irritated. I cut the power rushing through me and the glow faded, Twilight's smile disappearing with it.

"Oh..." she said in a small voice. The quiet she exhibited upon my return had come back.

"Twilight, are you okay?" I pressed gently. "You're not usually like this. What happened?"

"Steven...." Her eyes fell upon the papers and her eyes suddenly filled with anxiety. "It's my loneliness spells, Steven. Not the magic kind, the feeling. Like the way I acted when you came home from work yesterday."

"I still find it hard to believe that all happened just yesterday."

"I know, right? Anyway, the magic you've started to exhibit just reminds me of the magic I've wielded together with my fr—" She let the words die in her throat.

"Twilight?"

She didn't respond at once. Twilight instead reached over and manually picked up another sheet of paper. Among its scribbles, this one read Forced through against will, power followed through, song, eventual reuniting, maybe? I was getting the gist of things now and I sure as hell hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of yesterday's loneliness confession.

"I guess... it all just seems unfair," Twilight finally said. "All the characters in those movies were separated from their friends and family and sent to strange worlds so different from their own, but ultimately they returned to their home worlds." She shifted herself in her laying-down position over my legs, a comfortable state for the both of us. "I'm some parts envious and the rest sad on the matter. In one version at least, the characters were transported away as a group from their kind, numbering in six. Just seeing that, it leaves me feeling so... alone."

Alone. Of course it would. Six was the number that Twilight and her friends totaled at. Together, they made up the Elements of Harmony and would use its immense magic to counter the evils of Equestria. To watch a group of six beings — blue, rather than pastel-colored — navigate the cruel human world. It likely did a little more than hit home.

“You’re not without friends here, Twilight,” I said, brushing my fingers through her mane and down her back. I felt the tension in her body vanish beneath my touch. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you or any of my friends.”

“Mmm.....” Twilight shivered happily from my brushing her, but when she spoke her sad tone was still there. “I just wish I had some constant companionship. You’re an awesome friend, Steven, even I know that, and you do your best to keep me content. But I’ve started having moments where I just need an old familiar face to look at, or to feel a flat warm hoof in my own.”

Twilight leaned her head against my chest and I could almost feel her thoughts swirling before me. I now had all the facts straight. The only question remaining was what to do with it all. It was clear to me now that Twilight needed a different kind of friend, an equine kind, but the problem was how to come by one. Earth had ponies, but even I knew their hooves were hard and much like human toenails, not the soft and slightly furry hooves of Equestrian ponies. That would hardly suffice.

Where on Earth could one come by an equine like that? I turned this question over in my head several times like food on a spit, until a grilled answer came to me. The place one comes by any and all things of that manner.

Easing Twilight off my legs, I got up and checked my wallet. Everything I found concerning my bank total was looking positive, my constant income keeping things in check. Thank goodness for my paycheck. Forrest is indeed generous, an employer after Rarity’s charitable soul. More importantly, though, was the wad of bills that would be a lot more than not missed.

Twilight watched me dully as I pocketed the money and sat back down, bringing over the Equinomicon as I fell onto the couch. “Did I miss something?”

It hurt me to see her so unexcited. Twilight was usually so bouncy to the point that it could pick me up easily. But I had an idea forming and was sure it would work. “Twilight, we’re going on a little trip.”

“A trip?”

“Yeah. I’m going into town for some shopping and I want you to come with me. For that, we need some spellwork going.” I tapped the Equinomicon pointedly.

Twilight’s eyes slowly returned to a normal state, her face more blank then bored. She leapt up from the couch and booted up the computer. Over the top of the chair, I watched her open our digital image gallery, quickly zeroing on the picture we were after: an upside-down Rainbow Dash with a twiggy bit in her mouth, the reins being held by the miniature Applejack sitting astride her belly.

“Last time, we did it with the TV. Think this’ll work okay?”

“Should do fine.” I held up my arm toward the kitchen, starting up my own magic. A white-shrouded cookie zoomed out of the jar and into my hand. “We’ve got everything now. Are you ready?”

"Almost." Twilight took a chair by the table and the Equinomicon from me, flipping it open to the shrink spell. She put a hoof on the page and looked up at me slowly. “What’s going on, Steven?” she asked, her curiosity overriding her loneliness. “You never ask me along for grocery trips. And that’s more than enough money for a week’s worth of milk and cookies.”

“We’re not going grocery shopping, Twi,” I told her, placing the cookie on the table. “We’ve got a different target today.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Are you trying to surprise me?” she asked with just a hint of surfacing amusement.

I leaned in close and put a finger against Twilight’s muzzle, gently booping her. “I am going to surprise you.”

A small grin spread across Twilight’s previously grim face. She looked back into the Equinomicon and a raspberry pink aura emitted from her horn, slowly unraveling and connecting the spell elements.

The flash of light I’ve become used to seeing followed soon after, filling my vision. Already, I was turning on my heels to go prepare the lined bag we used for the meetup. By the time I had returned to the table, the light had faded and Twilight was on the table, a couple inches tall and happily munching a cookie several grams heavier than her.

“Come on, Twilight. Eat that and you’ll get a tummy ache."

Crunch. “Wha washat, Shteven?” she managed through a mouthful of cookie.

Shaking my head and chuckling, I closed the Equinomicon and scooped Twilight and her cookie into the bag. I made for the door but stopped to flick my finger in the direction of the light switch. With a small flash, the switch flipped down and the lights went out.

“Perfect.” I reached for the door handle, all set to leave, but all at once a wave of exhaustion washed over me, as though I had been walking around all day carrying heavy things. Which I actually had, but I had never felt this tired afterwards.

Twilight noticed my stance change and poked out of the bag. “Steven, are you all right?”

“I… I think so.” I pressed my hand against the door and breathed several times. The exhaustion seemed to be fading. “I just feel kinda tired all of a sudden.”

I awaited Twilight’s response, and a good thing I did too. “Magic depletion can sometimes leave us tired and gasping for air,” she explained. “A unicorn who uses more magic than she has readily available can risk losing consciousness. You’ve only just unlocked your magic, Steven. It’ll be a while before you can use more of it without feeling tired afterwards.”

It made sense what Twilight was saying. Magic was just like energy and, like energy, it can be used up. Obviously since I was an absolute novice, I could only use a little magic at a time. “Okay, I get it now. That and I feel better.”

Twilight patted my shoulder with her tiny hoof. “That’s good. Now let’s go before your surprise loses its promise.”

“Right, going. I just hope for my sake that there aren’t any dying streetlamps that need powering up.”

It was meant as a joke and was well received. Twilight giggled in her impossibly adorable manner and I got caught up in her mirthful display. We calmed down hurriedly and each made clear our paths, Twilight back down into the bag and I out the door.

Please, I said inwardly, directing my thoughts at whoever was behind all events leading to this moment, if happiness is truly an achievement, let it be within my grasp. Let this be the solution to her solitude.

Author's Note:

Questions, comments, notes, anything.

Comments

[DanteRevolution]

That morning scene was cute. Can't wait to see what this answer to Twilight's solitude is