S4 E23: Inspiration Manifestation (What If?)
Spike had been expecting a lot of things when he arrived at Carousel Boutique one day shortly before the annual Colt and Filly Fair (a fair for young ones and their families, or whoever was willing to serve as honorary family for those who had none). Maybe Rarity needed his help with a last minute modeling problem. Perhaps she was pressing him into service as a basket holder/body guard for another gem hunt. Or just maybe she was going to invite him out after the fair on what would hopefully be a first date.
What the little dragon didn't expect was to find the front door unlocked, as if Rarity had been expecting him. That was the first sign to him that was something was not right. Rarity was never one to just leave her door unlocked. The only times she did so was if something else was currently occupying her attention.
That something revealed itself to Spike when he made his way inside the boutique. Immediately he found several empty cartons of ice cream lying on the floor, carelessly discarded.
Rarity herself lay upon her iconic fainting couch, resting her head against the soft pillow while she used her horn to bring another carton of ice cream towards herself. She was using a spoon to scoop as much ice cream as she could out, and then stuffed it into her mouth. And the fashionista's mascara was running, while her sobs loudly echoed through the room.
"Rarity?! Is something wrong?!" Spike frantically asked as he rushed to the unicorn's side.
"Oh, Spike," Rarity sobbed even louder, barely paying the little dragon attention at all. "It's the most horrible thing to have happened to me since... I don't know when! I've lost my creative mojo!"
Spike blinked. "What are you talking about, Rarity? Shouldn't you be busy making dresses?"
Between sobs and spoonfuls of ice cream, Rarity tearfully told her tale of woe to Spike. "Yes, I should be. That's the whole problem. Just take a look around you, Spike. See any dresses? Any at all?"
The little dragon's eyes did a quick inspection of the boutique floor. There was not a single dress to be seen anywhere. In fact, the only thing his eyes did see besides all the ice cream, were the roughly sketched out plans for an elaborate traveling puppet theater. And that was it, no actual puppet theater currently existed.
"Do you understand now, my dear Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity declared as she briefly sat up. "I can't even make a puppet theater, let alone a dress! I had hoped that if I just stepped away from dress making and tried my hoof at something else, it would clear up the blockage and get my creative juices flowing. But I'm utterly incapable of making my plans a reality, I haven't finished a dress in weeks!" An unhappy sigh escaped her lips. "I hate to admit it, but at this rate I may have to cancel all my orders. Oh, and that puppet master is going to be so upset. I promised him the finest puppet theater in the history of puppet theaters in time for the Colt and Filly Fair! The deadline's tomorrow, and I haven't even started on it!"
Spike was all but rendered speechless at this confession. "So, you called me here just to tell me this?"
"I didn't know who else I could tell all this to!" Rarity loudly wailed and then fell back upon her fainting couch! "I don't know what to do, Spike! I was hoping that at least a visit from you might cheer me up and take my mind off my troubles for a while. You're always good at that, you were splendid at supporting me when Trenderhoof was in town and I was obsessed with him."
"That was a crush, and I was just doing what friends do," Spike tried to play it off, knowing that it probably wouldn't be best to take advantage of that situation's outcome for his own desires. "This is different. This isn't something just any friend can do."
Rarity slowly nodded. "You're right, Spike. I fear that even my favorite dragon won't be able to help me when I'm like this. I mean, what could you possibly know that could help me break out of my creative slump? It's not like a solution is just going to magically appear!"
Suddenly, an idea came to the little dragon. "You know, you mentioning magic just now made me think of something," He said to Rarity. "There's an entire library of spell books and magical texts in the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'll bet if we went there we could find something that would work for you."
Rarity was surprised at the suggestion. "Spike? You would do that for me? Especially on such short notice?"
Spike thoroughly nodded. "What else would you expect your favorite dragon to do? You need my help, and I'm willing to help in whatever way I can. Now come on, if you want to contribute anything to that fair we need to go soon!" But the little dragon had no idea that his harmless suggestion was going to snowball out of control, unleashing a series of events that would push his special connection with Rarity almost to the breaking point and nearly cause Rarity to lose control of her own mind.
The Castle of the Two Sisters was quite a trek even now that the Everfree Forest had been tamed considerably by the Tree of Harmony. But dragon and pony arrived at it with little trouble. Rarity in particular was amazed at how different the castle seemed to be. "My, it really has come a long way from the sorry state it was in just a few months ago."
"Yeah, it's a lot safer now too," Spike boasted. "No need to worry about falling beams or crumbling roofs."
"You think Twilight will move into the castle once all the repair work has been completed?" Rarity wondered as she and Spike made their way up the front steps of the castle.
Spike shook his head. "Nah, I can't imagine Twilight would just move. She's too attached to the Golden Oak Library to ever think of leaving," He added. "Most likely she'll turn this castle into a museum or something. But we didn't come to sight see, we're here to find something that can help you make a contribution to the fair and get your mojo back."
The two made their way inside the castle and headed straight to the castle library. It was vast and full of dusty old books. Dragon and pony both searched for a while, looking for anything that showed even a faint sign of promise.
But after several minutes the two had nothing to show for it. They had exhausted several shelves of books only to find there wasn't a single spell book among them.
"Spike, I'm beginning to think this is a lost cause," Rarity commented. "I appreciate your suggestion but we really should call it a day and head back. I'm sure I'll get my inspiration back in due time."
Spike groaned. "Come on, Rarity! We can't give up now! You said it yourself, I'm your favorite dragon. And what would your favorite dragon be if he couldn't help you out in your time of need?" As he spoke one of his arms happened to grab a book. But the book turned out to be a prop, it was attached to a lever. Suddenly, the whole bookshelf began to slide. As it parted, Spike and Rarity noticed a room that they had never seen before.
It looked like there was something just beyond a door that was guarded by a padded lock. But Rarity gulped. "Spike, I don't like the look of that place. Maybe we should just get out of here. What would Twilight say if she found out we took a spell book out of this castle?"
Spike waved a claw. "What Mom doesn't know won't hurt her. I mean come on, I've been by her side since the day she hatched me. I think I know a thing or two about magic. Besides, we're just 'borrowing' a spell book for one day. We can put it back before anyone even finds out we were ever here," He rushed over to the door that had appeared, and used his fire breath to melt the lock. "You want to make a contribution to the fair, don't you?"
"W-well yes, but..." The fashionista began.
The little dragon didn't wait for the unicorn to answer. He strolled up the stone steps in the dimly lit room, retrieving a rather tacky and drab looking book that had spikes around the cover. His eyes scanned the title. "Inspiration Manifestation," He read aloud as he made his way down the steps, unaware that they were crumbling behind him. "This sounds like a winner, Rarity!"
Rarity eyed the book with concern. "Spike, I have a bad feeling about that book. I mean, just look at it."
Spike waved a claw in reply. "Come on, Rarity. If I wasn't supposed to have it wouldn't be so easy to get. Besides, you know what they say about not judging a book by its cover," He presented the spell book to her as he encouraged. "Go on, it's yours!"
Rarity reluctantly accepted the book, taking hold of it with the soft glow of her horn. She read aloud from it: "From in the head to out in the field, every thought to action. Hold close this book, and through its power start a chain reaction. Projecting forth whatever beauty you should see. But only when the link is severed can you finally be set free." A faint swirl of lime green magic escaped from the book and made its way up to Rarity's horn. It settled in and Rarity's eyes briefly glowed the same color, while her magic now took on the lime green hue.
"Did it work?" Spike hopefully asked.
Rarity closed the book. "Well, there's only one way to find out," She eyed the book as she remarked. "I really can't get past how... gloomy this spell book looks," A lime green glow from her eyes followed as her magic enveloped the book. In the blink of an eye it transformed! Now it was a beautiful red in color, the spikes were gone. The fashionista let out a gasp! "Oh my! I thought about making this a more beautiful spell book, and I have! I wonder what else this book can do!"
"Well, let's take back it to your boutique and find out," Spike suggested. "After all, you've got that puppet theater to design."
The unicorn nodded. "Great idea, Spike! Oh, what would I do without you? I was ready to give up, and my favorite dragon comes to my rescue! Remind me to give you some gems to snack on later. But for now, let's go and give that puppet master the greatest puppet theater he's ever imagined," Her eyes briefly glowed that ominous lime green color as she suddenly declared. "Or I should say: That I've ever imagined!" For a second it might have been possible to hear a cackle escape her lips.
Some time later, Rarity and Spike made their way through town in search of the puppet master named Claude. He was a bulky unicorn stallion with the same light blue coat as Snips. He had a black mane and tail cut short, purple eyes, and a cutie mark depicting puppet strings. He also wore an orange top hat and a purple suit with an orange tie.
It turned out that Claude had set up shop at Sugarcube Corner, having converted the front door into a make shift theater. He was more than a little surprised to see Rarity. "Ah, Miss. Rarity, how unexpected," He commented with a frown. "Come to see the show, I presume?" He came barging out of the front door a moment later as he snorted. "You'll notice I had to make do in light of your abrupt cancellation and inability to produce a functioning theater." Using his magic the stallion made two of his puppets dance around on the small theater, ending with them both frowning.
"That's why I wanted to see you, Claude," Rarity told the stallion with a smile on her face. "I was actually able to complete the traveling puppet theater that you ordered. I trust you'll find it's to your exact specifications." And she stood aside, revealing a rather large theater in shades of blue and purple, as well as yellow on the front beneath the theater. Two flags of yellow and green were on either side of it, alongside two pull up pikes that held the theater in place. Best of all, two large wheels could be plainly seen, which would indicate that it could actually travel.
Claude seemed to be impressed as he inspected the finely crafted work. "Ooh, yes! It does appear quite stylish. But that was not the most important thing I asked for, now was it?" He used his magic to pull up the pikes and had his puppets tow the theater around. The wheels worked perfectly, no bumping or spinning in place. And they worked just as well going backwards as they did going forwards. "Good, you remembered that it's supposed to travel," He said with a nod as he went around to the back. "Plenty of room for my puppets!" He happily exclaimed when he saw how big the theater itself was. "Thank you, Miss. Rarity. This is exactly what I've been looking for," Then he asked. "But I must say, I'm surprised you were able to make something like this so soon after you cancelled the project. How exactly did you manage?"
Spike opened his mouth. "Well actually, she..."
But Rarity cut Spike off as she said with a wink. "A good designer never reveals her secrets."
That answer seemed to satisfy Claude. He didn't really care how the theater had been assembled, all he cared about was the fact that it worked like he wanted it to (and looked good doing so). "Well, I'll be sure to let everypony know where I got this wonderful traveling theater from. With this I can take my puppets everywhere I go, and without having to throw them into those stuffy cases."
The Colt and Filly Fair came and went not long afterward with little fanfare. When it was all done many ponies stayed to help take down the tents and pack up any leftover supplies.
Rarity and Spike watched the whole thing from atop a nearby hill, Rarity having pulled Spike close to her for a hug. "Spike, I really can't thank you enough for what you did for me. That spell book you found truly worked wonders!" She happily told him. "And you were right, nopony was ever the wiser about our little adventure to the Castle of the Two Sisters."
Spike nodded. "Just doing what I can to make you smile, Rarity. After all, that's what your favorite dragon is here for," Then he held out his claws. "So, can I take the book back now? I'd really like to return it before Twilight gets suspicious. She always checks the library every time she goes to the Castle of the Two Sisters."
Rarity pulled the spell book out from a saddle bag she had tucked it into. It still had the design that she had given it. "Ah yes, I suppose I could. I've made my mark on the fair just as I wanted to. That should be just the thing to get me back into the creative spirit," She briefly floated the spell book over to Spike, before she yanked it away before he could grab hold of it. "Although, come to think of it, I do have quite the backlog of dress orders to fill. I would like to get them all done now so they won't bother me any longer," Turning to Spike she sweetly encouraged. "You will support me in this endeavor by letting me keep the book for just a little bit longer, won't you?"
Suspecting nothing, Spike agreed. "Oh, alright, just for tonight. But it's going back first thing tomorrow, right?"
Rarity nodded. "Of course! One night should be more than enough! In the meantime it'll just stay our little secret." And she trotted away, putting the spell book back into her saddle bag for safe keeping.
Spike left not long afterward, thoroughly content in his belief that Rarity would only hold onto the spell book until morning before he would return it and everything would go back to normal.
The little dragon was quite surprised to be confronted by a rather unhappy looking Owlowiscious before he could even think of coming back home. "Whoo!" The owl called in a sharp tone.
"What are you talking about? I have no idea where you even get such a ridiculous idea!" Spike defended.
Owlowiscious kept on pressing. "Whoo!"
Spike stepped back! "What?! You've been spying on me this whole time?! I can't believe you, Owlowisicious! How could you do such a thing?! Don't you remember that Rarity made you that bow tie that you love so much?"
"Whoo!" Owlowiscious unhappily replied.
The little dragon just groaned. "It's not because I have a crush on Rarity! She needed help getting her inspiration back and that spell book helped. Just watch, you'll see! Tomorrow morning, she'll agree to put it back where we found it and nopony will be any the wiser," He proceeded to threaten. "You better not tell Mom!I I didn't rat you out when you brought back that mouse one time. You're lucky I was able to scare it away. So if you're thinking of telling, you'd better remember that I know your secrets too."
That seemed to more or less settle the argument with the owl. He flew away, though not without casting a glare at Spike that seemed to convey. "I'm watching you!" Only when the owl was out of sight did Spike breath easy. "As long as I can get that spell book back to where it belongs before Twilight visits the castle library again, I'll be fine."
Spike woke bright and early the next morning, especially once he learned that Twilight would be on her way to visit the Castle of the Two Sisters later in the day. He wanted to make sure he'd have enough time to return the spell book to where it belonged before said visit.
He strolled right over to Carousel Boutique, whistling a tune to himself while seemingly unaware of the sounds of magic bursts coming from within the boutique itself. He knocked on the door and called. "Rarity," There was no reply, Spike knocked again. "Rarity? Are you in there? It's me, Spike. Your favorite dragon?"
Suddenly, the front door of the boutique swung open and poor Spike was buried in an avalanche of dresses! Rarity found him, and with her eyes glowing lime green she pulled the little dragon clear from the pile. Her mane and tail looked slightly disheveled, which was unusual considering how she was always one to keep her state of appearance as neat and pristine as possible. "Spike!" She happily exclaimed upon recognizing him! "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! Come inside, I have so much to show you!"
Spike was pulled into the boutique before he could get even a word in edge wise. He was shocked beyond words at what he saw! Dresses were piled high all around him, and Rarity's right eye happened to twitch as though as she had gone without a good night's sleep. "Are you okay?" He asked the unicorn.
Rarity excitedly giggled! "Oh I've never been better! This book you've given has worked wonders for my inspiration!" She briefly pulled it out, revealing that it still had the design she had given it. "Why I've just been up all night, creating, and creating, and creating!" She brought over several racks of clothes. "I've even finished my fall line for the next fifteen seasons in a row!"
"Really?! In one night?! That's impossible!" Spike gasped in alarm!
"Not with this incredible book you've given me!" Rarity boasted! "With it, anything is possible! But I couldn't sleep, because I started thinking 'Why stop there?' Oh, Spike, I've always thought this town of ours could use a few beautifying upgrades, and with this book, I can make that happen with such ease! I know I said I'd let you have the spell book this morning, but there's just so many things I want to do that I can't do without the book! Please, you must let me keep it! I'm not taking no for an answer!"
"O...kay," Spike reluctantly blinked. "But it's going to go back to the Castle of the Two Sisters before Twilight visits it later today, right?"
"We'll see!" The fashionista declared in an ominous tone of voice. "Now come, we've no time to lose!"
Spike followed the unicorn as she dashed out of her boutique. He wasn't used to doing so much running on such short notice and began to quickly tire out. "Come on, think, Spike!" He thought to himself! "You're the son of Twilight, the pony who knows how to think her way out of a tight spot! Surely, you can do the same!" And an idea suddenly came to her. "H-hey, Rarity," He said in between pants. "What do you say we get a little breakfast before we get started? It is the most important meal of the day, after all."
Rarity dismissively replied. "No time for breakfast, Spike! I want to get started right away!"
"Well, technically, we do have time," Spike suggested. "Because with that book held close, you can just make things-" But Rarity had already left him behind, so he had to pause mid statement and catch up to her. He found the fashionista in an alley, looking out towards one of the Apple family's apple carts.
With her eyes glowing that sickly lime green color, Rarity whispered to herself. "Now, this is exactly what I'm talking about! Why, that cart hasn't an ounce of stylish flair anywhere! Allow me to correct that oversight."
Applejack and Granny Smith were unaware of Rarity's presence. All they knew was that all of a sudden their apple cart was a bright gold in color, with gems encrusted all over it. Granny Smith blinked and rubbed her eyes. "My eyes playin' tricks on me again?"
"I don't know, Granny. I know that was just a plain old apple cart a minute ago," Applejack commented while looking all around. "What in rhubarb pie just happened?"
Giggling, Rarity turned away while whispering. "You're welcome, darlings," She hadn't gotten far when she bumped into Spike. "Oh, Spikey Wikey, you're just in time. Tell me, what do you think of the Apples' new apple cart? Isn't it gorgeous?"
The little dragon scratched the back of his head with a claw. True, the cart was gorgeous. But that didn't necessarily mean it was a necessary change. Apple carts weren't supposed to look visually appealing. However, rather than voice those concerns to Rarity he held his tongue. "I... guess if you say it's gorgeous than it is. But I hope you're going to ask Applejack if she wants you to do the same for all of her family's apple carts."
Rarity scoffed at such an idea. "Oh, I don't really think I need to ask permission, darling. Everyone loves surprises," In a whisper she added. "We shouldn't even tell anypony it's me who's behind all the fabulous changes I'll be making to Ponyville," She then giggled. "Won't that be a fun little secret for the three of us to share?"
Spike blinked in surprise, hoping he had somehow misheard. "The... three of us?"
Rarity nodded, gesturing a hoof to Spike. "You," She turned the hoof to herself. "I, and the book, of course," She pulled the spell book out of her saddle bag and hugged it! "My marvelous, marvelous book! Promise me you won't say a word of this to anyone, Spike. Not until I've brought about the necessary changes to Ponyville that is."
"...Right." Spike slowly commented.
"Good," The fashionista smiled. "I knew I could count on you, Spike. And I also know just what I want to do next!"
"Um... okay," The little dragon nervously replied. "But uh, first I... need to... tend to something. Something important," He tried to think of a valid excuse. "Oh, that's right!" He quickly lied! "I forgot I left the stove on back home! Better make sure it hasn't burned the place down!" He rushed away before Rarity could stop him!
Spike made his way back to the Golden Oak Library just in the nick of time, Twilight was about to head out on her journey to the Castle of the Two Sisters! Immediately, he threw himself around Twilight's legs and exclaimed! "Twilight, am I glad to see you! I did a terrible thing!"
Twilight, suspecting nothing, asked the little dragon. "What did you do, Spike?"
"I let Rarity borrow a spell book from the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters!" Spike desperately confessed.
Twilight took the news surprisingly well. About as well as you'd expect anyway. "What?! Please tell me this is your idea of a joke!"
Spike shook his head. "Twilight, I'm your son for Celestia's sake. You know I wouldn't joke about something like this," And he explained. "It wasn't supposed to get out of control like this, I swear! It was just so Rarity could get her inspiration back in time for the Colt and Filly Fair."
"And let me guess, it's taken control of her?" Twilight inquired and received a telling nod that confirmed it. The alicorn let out a groan. "Spike, why would you do such a thing?! Ancient spell books are not something to be trifled with!"
"I know, I know, it was a bad decision on my part! And you can punish me for it all you want later," Spike protested while clinging harder to Twilight's leg. "But for right now I need your help. Rarity's out of control and you're the only pony I can think of who could possibly stop her! I promise I'll find a way to make this all up to you after this is over."
The young alicorn couldn't argue with that. "Do you remember what the name of the spell book was, Spike? It might help give me an idea of what exactly we're up against."
Spike put a claw to his chin as he let go of Twilight's leg. "I think it was called Inspiration Manifestation. And it made Rarity's eyes and horn glow a weird green color for some reason."
Twilight groaned anew. "That means we're dealing with dark magic, Spike. The kind that's really hard to reverse."
The little dragon swallowed hard. "But you can fix it, right?"
"Maybe eventually, though not on my own," Twilight answered in a serious tone. "But it won't make a difference unless we can stop the magic at its source. We need to find Rarity and free her from whatever hold that book has on her!"
"Great, sounds like a plan!" Spike declared as he rushed ahead! "Come on, Rarity's probably already halfway done transforming the town by now! If she asks, I told you nothing!"
Pony and dragon made their way through town. They couldn't find any trace of Rarity but they didn't have to look far to see signs of her work. Transformed houses and buildings, ponies in tacky and ill fitting clothes, they left no doubts as to who could be behind them.
Suddenly, a frantic looking Mayor Mare rushed up to Twilight while panting! "Princess Twilight! Thank the stars you're here!"
"Why?" Twilight asked the mayor. "Is something wrong?"
Mayor Mare nodded! "I stepped outside for a moment to talk to a judge and the next thing I knew town hall had been turned into crystal!" She gestured a hoof to the aforementioned building, which now looked like it would've belonged in the Crystal Empire and not Ponyville! "There are two other ponies trapped inside the walls! You're the only one with both the wing power and magical expertise to free them! Please, you must hurry!"
"Don't worry, Mayor Mare, I'll take care of it!" Twilight declared before she turned to Spike. "Just stay there, okay? This shouldn't take more than a minute, then we can resume our search."
Spike reluctantly obeyed as he watched Twilight fly off to the rescue. He wanted to help too but he knew that there probably wasn't much he could do in that particular circumstance. He could only watch as Mayor Mare rushed to the scene of disaster too, no doubt trying to direct Twilight.
But the little dragon wasn't alone for long when Rarity happened to bump into him. "Oh, Spike, there you are. Finally took care of that urgent situation, did you?" She then chuckled. "Oh, I know I should've waited but I'm simply buzzing with ideas. Simply buzzing! I had to bring the visions dancing in my mind to life, I just couldn't ignore them! Just wait 'til you hear what I've done to Ponyville already, you'll hardly recognize it!"
"If you're talking about the buildings, I already know. Especially town hall," Spike answered the possessed fashionista. "You did know other ponies were inside it, right?"
"It's crystal, Spike, it can't hurt them," Rarity waved a hoof. "Town hall deserves to look its best, far better than that upside down gazebo aesthetic it had before. Besides, that is the least of what I've done. Why, just take a look at Rainbow Dash!"
Spike looked up and nearly fell over in surprise! Rainbow Dash was wearing a dress an insanely dark shade of red with orange around the cuffs. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if not for how overly fancy it was (to say nothing of how it didn't appear to be even a little bit aerodynamic and seemed to actually restrict the brash speedster's moves). Rainbow, for her part, was trying to tug on the sleeves to get the dress off. "Get! It! Off! Me!" She shouted. She was so focused on the dress that she didn't look down to see Spike and Rarity.
"Just look at her now, cloud busting with style," Rarity giggled, before she heard a crash off in the distance. "Oh, she'll be alright," She commented as she immediately assumed it was Rainbow who had caused the disturbance. "It's just a dress, after all. She can take it off whenever she wants to, though I wouldn't recommend it if I were her."
"So, besides turning town hall into crystal and giving Rainbow Dash a dress, what else have you been up to?" Spike reluctantly asked Rarity. He was hoping to stall for time until Twilight got back. Just what was taking that rescue operation so long?
Giggling more, the fashionista happily confessed. "I gave a foal's birthday party a touch of class, it's sure to make the front page of a fancy magazine or two. I even made the clown into a butler, a much needed upgrade if you ask me. And I also opted to give one of Fluttershy's bird houses a make over."
"And, what did the bird think of it? I can't imagine he was particularly thrilled." Spike asked Rarity.
Rarity snorted and scoffed. "Oh please, what does a bird know about fashion? It wouldn't know good fashion if it snuck up and bit it on the butt. All that matters is what you think, Spike. None of this would be possible without you. So go ahead, tell me what you think. You like the changes I've made, right?"
The little dragon froze, unable to say a word. Should he tell Rarity the truth? Would it even matter at this point?
The fashionista interpreted the dragon's silence as a sign of satisfaction. "Ah yes, you're so impressed that you're speechless. Just the reaction I expected," She giggled yet again, but this time it sounded more ominous and threatening than playful. "Oh, I can feel the magic from that book flowing through me. I'm so excited. I'm so excited!"
"I'm so scared," Spike whispered to himself and then tried to suggest. "You know, Rarity, you've probably been at this for a while now. Why not take a break? Give that creative mind of yours a well deserved rest?" He hoped she hadn't heard the nervous laugh he'd ended his little speech on.
The unicorn dismissed the suggestion. "What? Stop now? Are you kidding?! I'm not going to stop now! Why I won't stop until every inch of Ponyville, no, every inch of Equestria has benefited from my creative genius! There's still so much I can do, so many things I want to try," She turned to Spike. "Starting with you, my darling Spikey Wikey. Now hold still!"
Before Spike could even think of running away, he felt the dark magic from Rarity surge over him. His whole body began to tingle, and there was a flash of light!
"You! Look! Fabulous!" Rarity exclaimed as she admired her work, seeing Spike clad in a suit of armor made entirely from diamonds (the really hard kind too). "No no, no need to thank me! I know you like it," Then she felt a tug on her horn. "Ooh, and it looks like my precious book is telling me where to go next! Come along, Spikey Wikey."
But Spike was not used to his new diamond armor. It was incredibly heavy, and the moment he took a step forward he lost his balance and stumbled to the ground face first. When he managed to pick himself back up, Rarity was gone. "Shoot, not good!" He thought to himself.
"Oh no, not you too!" The familiar concerned voice of Twilight suddenly spoke up as the alicorn finally came back from her rescue operation.
"What are you talking about? I just wanted to try on a new look." Spike retorted, only to lose his balance and fall again.
Twilight helped the dragon to his feet. "Very funny, Spike. I know you wouldn't wear such a ridiculous outfit as a fashion statement. I raised you with a much better sense of fashion than that. Besides, it seems like you can hardly move with something so heavy," She used her magic to undo the diamond armor, clearly straining her whole body to do so. "Well that confirms it. It's definitely dark magic we're dealing with here, heavy duty dark magic at that. Oh, it'll take forever to get Ponyville cleaned up!"
"Forget Ponyville, Rarity's already set her sights on all of Equestria! If we don't stop her soon, who knows how far she might try to go?!" Spike wondered with alarm! "It could take Princess Celestia to stop her, just like when you enchanted your foalhood doll to create a friendship problem!"
"I'd rather not have it come to that, Spike!" Twilight firmly insisted! "Which means we've got to find Rarity and stop her before it's too late! Did you see where she went?"
Spike shook his head. "I didn't. I tried to stop her, but she ran away before I was able to get a location," Then he sighed. "I'm really sorry, Twilight. It feels like you're always cleaning up my messes."
Twilight lifted Spike's chin. "Listen, this isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. What matters most is stopping our friend before she goes too far off the deep end to be saved. Hopefully now you understand why you should never take a book out of the castle library without asking."
"It's actually kind of funny," The little dragon commented. "Earlier, she said she wanted the changes to be a surprise. A fun little secret for the three of us: Me, herself, and the book."
Twilight arched an eyebrow upward. "The book?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, I found it kind of weird she mentioned the book, but..." Then realization struck him! "Wait, that's it! I think I know how we can stop Rarity! The book mentioned something about severing the link! If we can somehow get the book away from Rarity for long enough, I'll bet it'll break whatever kind of spell it has her under!"
"Sounds like a plan. A really risky plan, but still a plan," Twilight firmly nodded in agreement. "Now we just need to know where she went."
As if the universe itself had heard the young princess' concern, the ground beneath her and Spike suddenly transformed! It was now a dazzling (and blinding) path made of solid gold. Several ponies were screaming things such as: "My eyes!" and "I can't see!"
Twilight quickly motioned for Spike to hop onto her back and she took to the skies. "Looks like she's heading this way." She observed, spotting Rarity on a hill overlooking Ponyville itself.
With that ominous and maniacal sounding giggle, Rarity was observing her progress as she looked down at Ponyville in its transformed state. So fixated was she on this display that she failed to hear the wing flaps of Twilight as she and Spike drew near.
Twilight landed a short ways away and whispered to Spike. "Okay, Spike. You go up there and distract Rarity so I can sneak the book away from her."
"What?! Why me?!" Spike nearly gasped, it was a miracle he remembered not to shout! "Why can't you do it, Twilight?! I may have thick dragon scales, but I'm not invincible!"
The alicorn shushed the dragon and explained. "I know you aren't, but Rarity trusts you. If I try to go near her she'll suspect something because I don't know about the spell book yet. You do and she still thinks you haven't told anyone yet. That should get her to lower her guard, which will allow me to put an end to this nightmare once and for all!"
The little dragon sighed, he couldn't argue with such logic even if he wanted to. "Well... I guess I have to try." He briefly gulped before plucking up courage. He not so secretly crept closer to Rarity, happening to brush against the saddle bag containing the spell book.
That seemed to catch the unicorn's attention as she swung round quite suddenly! "What are you doing?!" She asked in a defensive and suspicious tone.
"O-oh," Spike stuttered as he tried to play it cool. "Just... just basking in your magnificent radiance, Rarity, that's all."
The fashionista bought the excuse even as she told Spike. "Well don't get any ideas about my precious book. I need it to get any sort of inspiration, and you know it!"
"Yes, yes, I remember," Spike nervously replied as he tried to comment. "So uh, what are you doing now? Seems like you've spruced up Ponyville pretty nice."
"Yes, but I'm not done yet!" Rarity insisted! "You know what this town really needs?" She didn't even wait for Spike to reply as she answered her own question. "Gold plated roof tops for everypony!"
But at that moment, Twilight managed to get close enough to grab the spell book with her magic. She was hoping to teleport away with it before Rarity found out, but the fashionista swung round as if she'd been tipped off! "Twilight!" She roared as her eyes narrowed! "You traitor! You can't have my precious book, it's mine!"
"No it isn't, Rarity!" Twilight protested as she became locked in a magical tug of war with Rarity for the spell book. "That book has taken control of you! I'm stopping this madness right here, right now!"
As Rarity strained herself to near the breaking point she turned to Spike and pleaded. "Spike, don't just stand there, do something! Twilight's trying to spoil our fun!"
"Don't listen to her, Spike! You know where this book belongs!" Twilight insisted.
For a moment, Spike just stood there in helplessness while he watched the two mares fight over the spell book. Then, suddenly, Rarity weakened her magical grip and charged at Twilight! This move caught the alicorn off guard and caused her to lose her hold on the book as it flew into the air!
Thinking quickly, Spike reached out his claws and caught the book before Rarity had a chance to claim it! He began to breath fire on it, but the book refused to burn even a little!
Now Rarity turned her attention towards Spike, her eyes still glowing that sickly green color. "Come on, Spike. Give me the book. Don't make me do something I'll regret later."
But after quickly looking at Rarity's eyes, Spike grabbed the book and shoved it into his mouth! "Oh, I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for this!" He thought and swallowed hard, forcing the book down his throat with a loud gulp.
Rarity let out a horrified shriek, before she collapsed onto the ground!
Twilight, meanwhile, teleported over to Spike. "How do you feel?!" She asked in concern.
Spike groaned as he put a claw to his stomach. "Oh, I don't think dark magic agrees with my stomach! I can feel it inside me! You gotta get it out of me, Twilight!"
"Alright, open wide!" Twilight instructed as she lit up her horn. With a great deal of straining she was able to pull the book out of Spike's stomach. It was covered in saliva but otherwise remained intact. She quickly placed it into a plastic bag and then teleported the bag away! "Princess Celestia will know how to keep that from falling into the wrong hooves." She said to herself as she saw Spike return to normal.
"Thanks, Twilight," Spike sighed in relief. "I am never doing that again!" Then he rushed over to Rarity, still on the ground. "Rarity? Rarity?! Are you okay?! Please, answer me!"
The fashionista slowly stumbled awake as the sickly green color flowed out of her and vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed in the first place. She shook her head, feeling quite groggy. "What... happened?"
"You don't remember?" Spike questioned the unicorn.
Rarity shook her head again. "I don't know, my mind feels all fuzzy. I remember reading a passage in the spell book, and feeling something take hold of me. I felt the urge to create, but after I made the puppet theater for the fair, everything's a blur," Standing up she trotted over, looking down on the transformed town below. "Although, from the looks of it, something quite awful must've happened to Ponyville."
"You happened, Rarity," Twilight explained. "That spell book contained dark magic, and it corrupted you like the alicorn amulet did to Trixie. Except instead of taking over, you wanted to transform Ponyville and then all of Equestria. The only way for it to stop was to get the spell book as far away from you as possible."
Spike let out an unhappy sigh. "It's really my fault, Rarity. I never should've taken that spell book without telling Twilight. And then, after you started getting creative, I was afraid to say what I really felt about what you were doing. I thought if I said anything, you'd think I wasn't being supportive. I thought staying quiet would help, but all it did was let you become something quite awful."
Rarity trotted over and nuzzled Spike in the side. "Spike, if I'm doing something I shouldn't be doing I'd want you or any of our friends to tell me so. If you know somepony's doing something wrong, there's nothing wrong with speaking up about it. Staying silent will only make things worse."
Twilight couldn't help but smile briefly. "Sounds like an important lesson to have learned, Spike. Probably even worthy of writing down in that friendship journal," Her smile quickly faded. "But Ponyville's a mess. That's a lot of dark magic. I'm going to need back up. I hope Princess Celestia and Princess Luna won't be too upset, I know they have more important things to do than to help me clean up Ponyville."
"Tell them that if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it!" Spike firmly insisted as he looked at Twilight. "One of the most important things you taught me while raising me is that I have to be able to clean up my own messes. At least it'll teach me not to keep such big secrets and to take things without telling you. When it comes to magic, you're the expert, not me."
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
971 users online
361,640 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
EXCELLENT work, once again, on this latest chapter. As usual, you bring up VERY good points in the author's notes. I particularly liked how you expanded Twilight's role in a way that DOESN'T overshadow Rarity and Spike. Yeah, the explanation for the "puppet theater" problem makes A LOT more sense in this spin (especially with Rarity already acknowledging she had a problem with it before Spike even showed up). And Spike fessing up to the problem right away to Twilight also helps.
And, on to the next chapter.