CYCLED

by The REAL Mister Pkmn

Rthö Ëb: Unfolding of New Friendships

A few days had passed, and that morning saw Twilight practicing some spells with Spike supervising. She already knew them backwards and forwards, but it wouldn’t do to let herself get rusty. Some of these spells were pretty taxing on her at first, but now she could pull them off without much extra strain. Of course, there were some spells that she had learned later on than this point last time, so she decided to practice those in secret. After her morning run-through of the 25 spells that she’d written down, Spike handed her the list with all boxes checked. “Y’know, I think you are pretty good at these already. You should show your friends these spells!”

At those words, Twilight froze a little. It was a similar phrase to what Spike had said last time on the morning of the day that Trixie had first visited Ponyville. She shook it off, certain that it was probably just coincidence. She smiled, and nodded. “You know, I think you might be right about that. I’ll talk to them, see if they want to see what I can do.”

Just then, however, somebody came knocking at the door. Twilight went towards it, and opened it. She reacted fast enough that the pail of water above it didn’t soak her. This could only mean one thing. Rainbow moaned in disappointment. “Aw, rats! I thought that I’d getcha!”

But more intriguing was the fact that Gilda was at her side. She smirked slightly. “I didn’t think that any pony aside from Rainbow would react quite that quickly.” She turned to Rainbow, quirking an eyebrow. “You sure that she’s just an egghead? Seemed pretty nimble to me…”

Half expecting Twilight to berate her for that term, Rainbow held up her forehooves defensively and replied immediately. “Hey, I meant that in the best way possible! Besides, I haven’t known you long enough to get any in-depth impression. I am pretty surprised that you avoided it, though. Pinkie, I get because of her Pinkie Sense. But how did you react that quickly?”

Brushing off the stray droplets that had managed to fly onto her, Twilight replied. “Well, I saw the pail before it fell, and calculated its trajectory and- well, to put it simply- used math to determine how to avoid it in time. I may be a ‘nerd’, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t keep myself fit.”

Blinking, Rainbow took that all in. she hadn’t quite expected that kind of answer, but she didn’t know what was truly ‘typical’ for Twilight just yet, so she just shrugged it off. “Huh. Who knew that math could actually be useful. Y’know, for people that are into that sort of thing.”

Before much else could be discussed, Applejack came up to them. “Well, isn’t this something! Another new face today!” She approached, and extended her hoof to Gilda. “Ah’m-”

Gilda cut her off, taking her hoof in talon and shaking firmly. “Applejack, right? Gilda. Rainbow wasn’t exaggerating, tough grip you’ve got there.” She smirked. “I bet she’s told you some things about me, right?”

Surprised at first, Applejack soon recovered, and nodded. “Yes, a few things here or there. You’re a prankster, an pretty darn good a flyer. She hardly shut up about the things you two get up to.”

Smirk growing to a full grin, Gilda playfully elbowed Rainbow. “So you did mention me to your pony friends! I thought it might’ve slipped your mind. Ah, well.”

Asserting her presence, Twilight spoke out. “AJ, you mentioned that Gilda was ‘another new face’. Who else has come to Ponyville today?”

Turning to Twilight, Applejack jerked her head over towards the town square. “Maestro brought over a friend ‘o his, apparently. She’s… interesting, to say the least.”

Many thoughts ran through her head as they walked towards the square. It can’t be, right? Trixie and Gilda arrived on different days last time! It has to be somebody else, right? If not… then, what does this mean for the other events that will repeat? I’ll have to talk to Maestro about this… When they arrived, Twilight’s suspicions were confirmed by the presence of Trixie near the stage while it was being set up. She panicked for a bit, but calmed down when she remembered that this was a fresh start- that she could do things differently from last time. Her Ponyville friends were all in the area as well, most likely having been gathered by Pinkie.

Her attention was then drawn to Maestro. He took one look into her eyes, then nodded. He knew that she had questions, questions he would be glad to answer later. He went over to them, Trixie at his side. “Hello. Jax and the others have already met her, but I think the rest of you need to be acquainted.” He gestured to Trixie. “This is a friend of mine, Trixie. She’s here to perform a magic show, so please be polite while it’s underway.”

She bowed theatrically. “The Great and Powerful Trixie-” Maestro elbowed her lightly, giving her a look that said “save it for the show”. Taking the hint, Trixie started again. “Ehem, sorry, got stuck in my stage persona there.” she composed herself, and continued. “Right, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance.” She then looked to Gilda after rising from her bow, and quirked an eyebrow. “Though, I didn’t quite think that I’d meet a griffon in town today… Quite the surprise, I must say.”

Shrugging, Gilda moved past her. “I suppose that’s understandable. Then again, I’m only a visitor in town, much like yourself. There’s no feasible way you coulda predicted I’d be here.”

Chest puffed out, Trixie then lapsed back into her stage persona. “Oh? Then you have yet to see the feats of magic that the Great and Powerful Trixie has to offer! Come, watch my show! It starts in an hour, so I must get ready.” She reared up on her hind legs, and stomped down, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Maestro spoke up. “Sorry about that. Trix just loves her dramatic exits, but just wait ‘till you see her enter on to the stage. It’s more flashy.”

Gilda stretched her wings a bit, eager to get off the ground. “I think that I’ll take a little flight around town until the show starts. Rainbow! You in for a good prank run?”

Shooting into the air like an arrow, Rainbow nodded. “You betcha! This oughta be fun!” The two then shot off into the distance to cause a bit of mayhem.

Twilight was about to go after them, but Maestro stopped her and pulled her aside. He put up the silence field so they could speak privately. “Don’t be reckless, Sparks. They need to blow off a little steam.”

Huffing in agitation, Twilight spoke up. “Maestro, I know you remember how that ended. Some ponies got hurt! Do you-!”

He put a hoof to her mouth, and interrupted. “I don’t want that any more than you do. But we’ve got to be careful. We’ll let them do a few pranks, and interfere when it starts to look like it might get ugly.” He lowered his hoof, and sighed. “Besides, Trixie is also here- I’m just lucky that I won’t have to try in vain to get you guys to not derail her show. This time, things will be different.”

Twilight stopped him from dispelling the field, voicing a concern. “Maestro, what does their days coming to Ponyville merging mean? Will other events similarly overlap like this down the line? What else will change?”

Maestro paused for a solid moment before he replied. “Events have not overlapped before, so this is new territory for me as well. I’ve seen different endings to each of the individual events before- but I cannot predict what will change if events overlap. Major events, I am pretty sure will not- But who is to say if any minor events will not overlap with others?” He smiled widely, a chaotic twinkle in his eye. “Honestly, it’s rather exciting to be this in the dark, though also a bit nerve-wracking.” He calmed himself, reigning in his wild emotions. “Though, I think we’ve spoken enough for now- You best check on Gilda and Rainbow now.”

The silence field lowered, and Twilight went to see what Gilda and Rainbow were up to. She came upon the pair just as they finished up a prank that wasn’t hurtful, but it wasn’t exactly benign either. Before they could go off for another one, Twilight called out to them. “Rainbow! Gilda! I think that’s quite enough for now.”

Affronted, Gilda landed and broached Twilight’s personal space. “Yeah? And why’s that?”

Twilight didn’t flinch, instead standing firm. “That recent prank could’ve gotten somepony hurt. Ponies aren’t as rugged as griffons, what would barely make them flinch could easily hurt a pony, possibly even badly. I think that you best quit before somepony gets hurt badly.”

Rolling her eyes, Gilda was about to completely brush off what Twilight said. But a Rainbow’s hoof on her shoulder made her stop. “She’s right, Gilda. The only reason that I can deal with your rougher pranks is because I’ve gotten used to them. We grew up together, but they’ve never been around you before. I don’t want one of my best buds to end up hurting somepony. Could-”

However, Gilda wasn’t having it. “You’re asking me to tone down what I love to do! I don’t want to hold back on the account of some random pony.” She lifted off, intent on getting away from the situation.

Rainbow tried to reason with her though. “Gilda, don’t be like that! I’m just trying to-”

Frustrated, Gilda shouted at her. “Well, DON’T! I just wanna be myself. If you can’t understand that, I don’t want to be around you!” In a huff, Gilda flew off.

Rainbow was too shocked to try and go after her. “What… just happened?” She spoke in disbelief, still trying to cope with what Gilda had said. By the time she had fully recovered, Gilda was long gone from sight. She then turned to Twilight. “Twi, what do I do now? I thought that maybe…”

Honestly, Twilight was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. But, she knew who could help. “C’mon, Maestro might have an idea. He’s had experience with this kind of thing.”

She took Rainbow back to where the others were, and took Maestro aside, and explained what happened. “I see. Gilda wouldn’t listen, eh? Well, she might listen after she cools her head a bit. You’re trying to get an old friend of yours to connect with some newer friends, and that’s certainly admirable- heck, it’s what I’m doing for Trixie. But hiccups like this are bound to happen sometimes. In the face of adversity, you must persevere. You’re one of Gilda’s oldest friends- maybe her only one. If she doesn’t want to lose that, she’ll come around eventually.”

Rainbow seemed to understand what he was getting at, even if he used a few words she didn’t quite get. Though, she couldn’t voice it as the stage started to come to life, a full audience of all ages present for the show. Spotlights danced on the curtain as Trixie announced from behind it. “Ladies and Gentlecolts! Prepare to be enthralled and amazed at the illusions of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” A puff of blue smoke and fireworks masked her entrance, and they soon cleared as the audience clapped. Trixie took a bow, and straightened herself. “Thank you, really. The Great and Powerful Trixie is honored to be here today, to put on a show for all of you. Now, for my first trick, a bit of a classic- The Great and Powerful Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience!” Hooves went into the air, and Trixie made a show of deliberating for a while before choosing a young unicorn colt named Snips from the audience. She brought out a deck of playing cards, and fanned it out so that the audience could see that all the cards were accounted for. She then fanned the deck of playing cards in front of the colt, face down in her magic. “Pick a card, and show it to the audience! But by all means, refrain from showing it to the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She procured a blindfold, and tied it around her eyes. “Just for a bit of… insurance.” Snips then picked a card, and showed it to all the audience- a 9 of Hearts. He then placed it back into the deck, which Trixie shuffled after taking off her blindfold. She smirked, and picked a card from the deck, but refrained from revealing it. “Now behold, as the Great and Powerful Trixie reveals your card!” She turned the card to the audience, and it was indeed the 9 of Hearts. The audience applauded, for most had not seen such a feat before. Twilight applauded out of respect- She didn’t think that Trixie would go so far to assure the audience that no “shenanigans” were going on.

After once again rising from her bow and sending the colt back to the audience, Trixie got ready to announce her next trick. “For my next trick, The Great and Powerful Trixie wants you all to pay close attention to my horn.” She tapped it lightly, and addressed the audience. “See how it doesn’t glow when The Great and Powerful Trixie does something arguably magical!” she procured a table from the back, and placed a small statuette on it. She removed her cape, and draped it over the table. “Now, the Great and Powerful Trixie will make this statuette disappear!” She waved her hooves over the cloth and muttered some magic words before pulling the cape back to reveal that the statuette had disappeared. The audience applauded, and Trixie returned the statuette by pulling off her hat, and pulling it out of it. She bowed as the applause intensified, and rose after it died down. She returned her cape and hat to their proper place, and made ready for her next trick. Though as she was about to address the audience, she was accosted by a pretty nasty prank from above- a vat of tree sap coated her, followed by feathers. Gilda snickered away, and Trixie glared lividly at her. “You dare interrupt the Great and Powerful Trixie’s show with a prank such as this?!” a powerful spell from her horn cleaned her up- if a bit roughly- and swirled the residue around in a ball. “Let’s see if our prankster likes it when it’s all turned on her!” The feathers were morphed into loose fur, and the mass was hurled back to the still laughing Gilda- though she wasn’t laughing once hit by the rebound prank. She panicked a little, forcing an emergency “landing”. Though, Rainbow flew over quickly enough to spare Gilda from truly crashing.

Once on the ground, Trixie jumped off the stage, and got in Gilda’s face. But before she could rage at her, Maestro set a hoof on her shoulder and cut in. “Reel it back, Trix. Don’t go doing something you might regret. I know that she interrupted your show, and that was wrong of her, but your fire back wasn’t exactly necessary, either. Try and calm down, alright?”

It wasn’t easy, but Trixie knew that Maestro had a point. She breathed deeply, and tried to let go of her anger. She met with some success, and was about to apologize to Gilda. But before she could, Gilda stood and smirked. “Well, I guess I had that coming. Going to be a bit of a pain getting it out of my feathers, but it was a good one.” She then held out a talon. “Let’s call it even, and put it to bed. Deal?”

A bit surprised, Trixie stared at the offered talon for a moment. She then smirked and shook it. “Yeah, I think that I can agree with that.” The crowd cheered, and Gilda stepped on stage to help with the next trick- a bit where she was placed in a box and “sawed in half” then split, and finally put back together before being let out of the box. The rest of the night went smoothly, Gilda and Trixie getting to know the girls, and getting along well.

Twilight found her way near Maestro, and he smiled on the scene. “Beautiful. And this time, we didn’t have to deal with the Ursa Minor. Progress.” He turned to her, and smiled. “I really think that things are coming along, shaping up to be better. What about you?”

Twilight had been lost in thought for a moment, but shook herself out of it. “Well, things are better- but I must ask another question…” Maestro set up the silence field, and motioned for her to continue. “What was your first cycle like? Do you even remember?”

Maestro looked away, a dark look on his face. “I… don’t like to think on that one. The one before I became truly aware had just happened, and I had so many ideas to try and fix everything. I remember trying to solve every issue at once- It didn’t end well. I regret many things from back then, Sparks. I wanted to fix everything, but I just broke it. Suffice to say, when I woke up and I was back where I started again- I decided to take a different approach. I’ve made many a misjudgement over the cycles, and caused things that I regret. But I’ve learned what ‘works’ and what doesn’t. But I just couldn’t do it alone anymore, for fear that I would break and go mad. That’s why I brought you into the equation, Sparks. I needed an anchor, to keep me from sinking. You may wonder why I didn’t save the others from being unaware- and there is a reason for that, too. You’re my best shot, Sparks. The best chance I have of getting through to people. Anyone else among my friends, and it wouldn’t work. They won’t listen to me on my own, and nobody else at the confrontation was suitable to help me. I made a conscious choice to bring you into this mess- even if it did seem a bit last-minute. You may ask, ‘but couldn’t you have saved all of us?’ No. I’ve known for some time that I could only bring one other along- the creature gave me that hint a few cycles back. I’ve had those cycles to think on who it would be. I couldn’t be rash about it, for I only had one shot. That’s why I chose you to be the one, Sparks. You’re my friend, even if it took you awhile to start treating me like one. I hope that makes things a bit more clear for you.”

It was a lot to process, to say the least. The silence field fell, and she went over and showed some spells to her friends to try and get her mind off things. Even so, it still was quite the weight to bear. How had Maestro had the wherewithal to withstand this weight for so long? She couldn’t fathom herself surviving for that long in his position. She was really glad that she had him to bear this weight with her, to help her understand what was going on here. Eventually the party to celebrate the visitors died down, and she made her way home to turn in for the night.

---

Throne Room, Castle of The Two Sisters

“It is time for the first foray.” Nightmare Echo’s stood at attention at the call of its benefactor. “Go, and sow the seeds of darkness. Only plant them for now- no need to rush things.” Echo bowed, and went into the night and zipped from shadow to shadow to stay out of the prying eyes of the night sky. Echo went to each house in Ponyville, and spread the nightmare influence where it could. For whatever reason, one of the heroes was not in town- but that did not matter. Six out of seven wasn’t too shabby. After the work was done and the seeds found their ways into the hearts of the ponies of the town, Echo slunk away into the night. The time was not yet to activate the seeds, for they were not yet ripe. Though, the time would come...

Author's Note:

Well, here it is! The second chapter! Just let me know if you spot anything that feels off, and I'll address it as soon as I can! Thanks for editing goes to Book_Wyrm!

Comments

[wizard0209]

lots more details in this one, both in the form of vital information from Maestro that needed clearing up for the audience, and the narrator actually describing what is happening instead of just saying ______ happened, and on both accounts this is nice to see, keep it my dude

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

9455963
Wow, thanks. I really wasn't sure. If you think it's good, that is a big relief.