• Published 23rd Jul 2012
  • 30,102 Views, 3,573 Comments

Families - Darth Link 22



Spike and Scootaloo are acting strange, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash are going to find out why.

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An Interlude of Sorts

Pinkie walked out of Fluttershy's front door, her head hanging down somewhat. "Thanks for listening," she said again.

"It was no problem," Fluttershy assured. "If you can't tell the others in time, I'll go with you to see your parents."

For once, Pinkie wasn't jumping for joy at the good news. "You think I should tell them anyway? You know, even if everything with Spike and Scootaloo doesn't get better?"

"Well, um, I wouldn't want to trouble them. But, you can tell them, if you think you should..."

In a rare occurrence, Pinkie actually looked annoyed at the non-answer. "Well, maybe everything will be okay by then. Who knows, Twilight's probably gotten through to Spike already.


Twilight looked around. No matter where she looked, there was nothingness. Just a white abyss as far as the eye could see. It was rather disorienting. Fearing for her mental stability, she turned quickly, hoping to see something.

She did, though she did not realize it immediately. It was a door, and it was as white a the abyss, so much so that even looking right at it, Twilight wasn’t completely sure it was there. Carefully, as if something was going to jump out at her, she moved a hoof forward. It hit the door, confirming its solidity. She then moved her hoof to the side and pressed forward. It passed through nothingness.

Carefully, she moved forward, making a circle around the doorframe. She saw the same door on the backside. Completing the three hundred and sixty degree trek, she paused for a moment of contemplating.

Finally, carefully, she used her magic to turn the doorknob and open it.

To her surprise, there was a room inside. Her mind nearly broke trying to process this. She circled the door again and found the other side open to what appeared to be the same room.

Completing another circle, she peeked through the door. It seemed to be a library of some kind. All she could see was two rows of shelves filled from top to bottom with big thick books, going so tall she could hardly see the top.

Tentatively, she stepped inside, and found almost immediately that there were more shelves. Rows and rows of them fanned out to either side of her, going on farther than she could see.

“I’m in Paradise,” Twilight thought. “...I think.”

Carefully, she levitated a book off the shelf and brought it to her face. It displayed a headshot of a pony, a brown stallion, who was smiling at nothing in particular. She cracked open the book to a random page.

”He bit into the toast and chewed, then he went back to reading his newspaper. Then he bit into his toast again...”

Twilight skimmed down and found it all a detailed description of him eating breakfast. She flipped through a few more pages, only seeing small, idle chit chat with friends, long days working on the field, and some rather embarrassing parts of what he and his wife had done. She finally hit the last page, where he died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 74.

She put the book up and pulled out another one. It, too, had a picture of a pony on the cover, a blue pegasus mare. She flipped through the book and found it equally dull, as if the writer had deemed this ordinary pony worthy of documenting everything about her.

She put the book up and looked at the shelves again. What was this place?

She trotted to the end of the aisle. At first, she could hardly see it. But as she got closer, she saw something. At the end of the aisle was a room that appeared round, and she could scarcely make out a figure there.

She moved closer, seeing it was a white pony, barely standing out against the white wall. What did stand out, however, was the movement above her. Several objects circled the air, creating a funnel around the stationary figure. As she moved closer, she saw it had a horn. A unicorn, then. With a red mane, messy and tied in a ponytail.

Then she saw movement at her sides, and froze. Wings... an alicorn.

“You might as well show yourself,” the pony said. “I know you’re there.”

Twilight tensed up, every muscle locking in place. Her eyes darted around. What to do, what to do...

“If I was going to hurt you, I would have done it already.”

Twilight loosened a little. She stepped forward, never taking her eyes off the mare. She was big, as big as Celestia and Luna, though she held none of their royal grace. Quite the reverse, this alicorn looked overworked. Her fur had no sheen, her mane was a tangled mess, and her blue eyes had bags under them, as if she had never slept. Her cutie mark was a simple quill in an ink well. It took her a moment to realize why she would be marked so. The funnel above her was composed entirely of books, each with a different pony’s face on it. At each tome was a quill, writing furiously.

“Who are you?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” the alicorn said with a yawn. “My name seems to have slipped my mind some few thousand years ago.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Twilight said, slightly annoyed. “What are you?”

“Just call me ‘The Keeper’. I keep stories.”

“I’ve read your stories. No offense, they were boring.”

“They can be,” Keeper sighed, bringing a book to her. Twilight gaped. It was her picture on the cover. “Not everypony has a story as exciting as yours.”

Twilight stuttered to speak. “You’ve recorded... everything about me?”

“Yes I have. Your birth, hatching Spike, NightMare Moon, Discord, the Changeling Queen, the time you wet your bed and hid the sheets because you were embarrassed...”

“I... I did not!” Twilight shrieked, her face reddening.

The Keeper only smirked. "If you say so."

Still reeling from embarrassment, she looked up into the funnel of books. Seeing this, the Keeper pulled six more from their paths and brought them to Twilight’s attention. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike all decorated their covers.

Twilight looked at them for a moment, then gazed back into the funnel. She saw, in the middle, were three incredibly thick books, displaying Celestia, Luna, and Discord.

“Wait... why are you writing for Discord? He’s trapped in stone!”

“He still thinks, schemes, fantasizes. If I told you half the things he wants to do to you once he’s free, you’d have nightmares. I mean, even worse than you’ve been having.”

Twilight felt a chill go down her back. She looked up at the funnel again and saw another book, this one thick as well. Unlike the others, there were several pictures on this one, and one of them she recognized.

“Dr. Whooves?”

“Yeah...now that story's interesting,” the Keeper chuckled. “Hard to keep track of, too.”

Twilight shook her head. "So... how did I get here? The last I remember, I was in my house with Applejack."

"You still are," the alicorn informed, lighting up her horn. A screen appeared in front of Twilight, showing what appeared to be her in her bed. Her earth pony friend was laying there with her, still holding her in a comforting hug. She was asleep as well.

"So... I'm dreaming?"

"In a way," the Keeper said.

"I'm really just in my bed with Applejack?"

"Your body is."

"So, if I'm dreaming, this isn't real, right?" Twilight said confidently.

"Oh, it's real, I assure you," the Keeper noted, closing the window. "Your body is in the library, but your consciousness is here with me."

"So... it's not a dream?"

"No, it's a dream."

"But you said it was real!"

"Correct."

"Look, is this a dream, or is it real?"

"Yes."

"...Is there some sort of rule that says nothing in my life can be straightforward?"

"All I have to do is sit here and write about ponies doing things. I have to get my fun somewhere," the alicorn winked.

Twilight groaned, rubbing her temple. "Okay, I'll play along for now and assume this is real. Why did you bring me here?"

"I didn't. You came of your own will."

Twilight's head felt like it was going to split in two. "Okaaaay... I have no clue how I got here. Could you please explain?"

"A pony with a destiny such as yours should be able to travel here at any point, but you had certain... roadblocks preventing you from getting here. Your inability to accept anything that isn't backed by magical theory, your unwillingness to let others in, all prevented you from traveling here before now. That changed last night when you let Applejack talk to you. You still have a way to go in conquering your own problems, but it's a start. Of course, that is only half of what it takes. There has to be something you want badly enough to come here and get it."

"Something I want?"

"Indeed. You want something so badly you brought yourself here.”

“And where, exactly, is here?”

“That’s a complicated question,” the alicorn mused.

“Of course it is,” Twilight sighed. She thought for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly. “Am I... in the Source?”

“A good guess,” the Keeper commended. “You might hate me for this, but the answer is both yes and no. The Source is what gives me my power, and what gave me my job. However, you are not in the Source proper. The only way a pony can enter that place is to take the Trials.”

“So, was that it? You were an ordinary pony once who took the Trials?”

“I don’t remember, honestly,” the alicorn sighed. “I’ve been recording the lives of every creature since time began, but I can't remember anything about my own story. For all I know, I’m being punished with this duty.”

“I can imagine,” the unicorn said sympathetically. She kicked the white tile with her hoof, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t cry for me, I don't mind it. Now, you came here because you want something badly. Tell me, what is it?"

Twilight racked her brain. "...I'm not sure. I guess I want ponies to accept Spike, I want my friends to be happy, I want to make Celestia proud of me..."

"Living for others, how noble," the Keeper nodded sagely, though there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that made the unicorn scowl.

"Yeah, well, unless you can magically change the political climate of Equestria, I don't see how this can help me."

"I cannot. It's forbidden of me to directly interfere with the lives of mortals. I'm a mere record keeper. But you can."

“So, how can I do that?”

“Oh, I think you know,” the Keeper replied cryptically.

Twilight’s hoof hit her forehead. “Of course, I don’t get a straight answer.”

“You have one, it’s been staring you in the face since you were a filly.”

“And what is it?”

“Something very close to you.”

“What is it?”

“An answer in plain sight.”

“What. Is. It.”

“What you’ve been seeking.”

“...You just like annoying ponies, don’t you?”

“Well, yes,” the Keeper noted smugly. “But like I said, I can't directly interfere with the lives of mortals. I can only point you in the right direction.”

Twilight moaned. “And I’m guessing even if I knew the answer, it would still be a long road.”

“That’s right. You still have a lot of growing to do before you’re ready. You’re powerful, but not quite powerful enough. You’re wise for your years, but not as wise as you need to be.”

“So... I came here to find out I need to keep doing what I’ve been doing?”

“For right now, it seems so. You are not yet ready to utilize me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the ultimate purpose of this meeting is not yet clear, to either of us. I cannot tell you just how far you will accomplish your goals."

Twilight sighed. "Can you tell me anything at all that can help me right now? Like why Spike keeps avoiding me? Or if anything is wrong with Scootaloo?"

"For Scootaloo, I can only say that Rainbow Dash is on the right track. As for Spike, before you sleep tomorrow night, you will know the answer, and it will be another step toward becoming who you were meant to be."

"Who I was meant to be? What does that..."

"Twilight, I'm going to tell you now, were I to explain what I meant, you would refuse to believe me. At any rate, I am forbidden to. Telling you the full truth would be too great an interference to allow."

Another shiver ran down her spine. She gulped. "You know...back when I was a filly, I would have jumped for joy to hear I was so important...actually, not would have, did... Celestia told me I would do so many great things, and I was so excited. Then we fought NightMare Moon, where I could have been killed. That was an eye opener. Then Discord, where everything didn't go back to normal once the bad guy was defeated. And then, with the Changeling Queen, I learned that not even my friendship with the others was completely safe...or is it? I want to think something like this won't happen again, but...."

"That is the nature of life," the Keeper nodded. "Just like a diamond is made from pressure, great ones are made through trials."

"Great. I enter an unknown realm to get fortune cookie logic," Twilight couldn't help but mutter.

"Well, I'm afraid to tell you this, but there are more problems brewing. You know already the Changeling Queen is still out there, and already the wheels are turning for another crisis."

Twilight's blood ran cold. "Worse than Discord?"

"...No. I assure you, he is the foulest creature out of any I can predict. But there are still problems coming."

"How can I stop them?"

"You can't. It's no fault of yours. Great creatures are no more to blame for the actions of fools than fools are to blame for the actions of great creatures. It's coming either way, Twilight Sparkle, you must be ready to deal with it."

Twilight rubbed her forehead, which was aching. "I miss the days when this was all fun and games."

"A common complaint of adulthood. At any rate, this is not the last time we'll meet, I think. You have a lot to accomplish in the next few years."

Twilight finished rubbing her head, then looked down at her hoof. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

The Keeper nodded. "Wake up."

"...What?"


Twilight bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily. She looked around. She was back in her library. What had happened?

"Twi?" Applejack asked, sleepily but concerned. "What's wrong? Didja have another nightmare?"

"No. Well...maybe. It was so real...I'm confused."

The cowpony brought herself upright and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Tell me about it, Twi...I'm..."

She was cut off by a loud banging sound downstairs. The two mares jump, and the sound banged up the stairs until it burst into the bedroom.

"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed "I need to know, have you figured out what's wrong with Spike? 'Cause if you have, I..."

She trailed off. Twilight took no notice.. "Pinkie! Oh man, I just had the weirdest dream about..." And then she noticed her friend's stunned expression.

Applejack looked at Twilight, then quickly back to Pinkie, horrified realization crossing her features. "Pinkie, this is not what it looks..."

"I knew it!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. "You two are such a cute couple!"

Both mares blushed furiously.

"What?"

"Pinkie!"

"Oh, I've gotta go tell the others!" the earth pony squealed, darting back down the stairs.

"No! Applejack cried, leaping out of bed and falling on her face. She was back up in moments, undeterred, as she chased the baker down the stairs, while Twilight buried her head in her hooves.

"Pinkie!"