Chapter 3 - 'Friendship' is not a secure combination
When Sunset and Twilight rounded the wall of the partition, they found Spike, carefully unpacking the box he’d brought. “SPIKE! What are you doing here!?” Twilight demanded.
“Just storing some of my valuables down here. I don’t want to risk them getting damaged accidentally, and this place is perfect.”
“Spike, I’m using this vault!” Twilight explained emphatically.
“Yeah? So am I. See?” Spike gestured about, to indicate the nearby bookcases that were already home to a number of comics, cards, and figurines.
Spike pulled a large crystal vase out of the box and set it on a nearby table. The vase displayed a stylized version of himself, shooting a massive gout of flame upward into what appeared to be a falling iceberg. He took a moment to admire it before turning back to Twilight. “This isn’t just your home, you know. I live here too. So, I have as much right to store my valuables down here as you do.”
“Spike! I’m not storing just anything down here. These are old, possibly dangerous, items that can’t be left lying about!”
“Yeah? And these” —he pulled a number of comics that were wrapped in plastic sleeves out of the box and waved them at her— “are my first edition Power Ponies comics. Do you even know how rare these are? I gotta keep them in mint condition.” Spike started to sort his comics into various smaller boxes off to the side.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “And the gems?” Her tone was flat as she pointed to a respectable pile of gems on the floor.
Spike shrugged. “All dragons have a hoard of treasure somewhere, and these are particularly delicious ones that I’m saving for a special occasion. I’m actually considering getting a rack for them.”
Sunset blinked. “A… gem rack?”
“Yeah, to organize them by year and flavor.”
Gems have years… and FLAVORS? Sunset thought, confused.
Twilight still looked annoyed, but the promise of some organization seemed to win her over. “Well… ok. As long as you’re going to be neat about it. But don’t go bringing anypony down here. The only ones who know about this vault are the three of us and I intend to keep it that way.”
Twilight’s left ear suddenly twitched, and she went very still. Sunset was about to ask what was wrong when she heard it too, the sound of somepony else clip-clopping through the vault. Twilight’s face darkened with a scowl. She gave an annoyed growl and stomped off after the sound. Spike and Sunset quickly followed.
They pursued the sound to the opposite corner of the vault. Upon entering that partition, they found a pink mare with a purple mane and aquamarine highlights, decorating the shelves with kites. In fact, her corner was filled exclusively with kites of various sizes, designs, and colors. They sat on shelves, tables and some even hung from the walls and ceiling. After setting her most recent additions to the kite hoard down, she turned to leave, still oblivious to the three of them.
Finally overcoming her stunned horror, Twilight found her voice. “STARLIGHT!”
“Hmm?” Starlight blinked, turned, then happily trotted over to them. “Hey Twilight, Spike, and… umm… wait don’t tell me.” She stared intently at Sunset, hoof over her mouth, eyes tightened in concentration.
“You’ve never met her.” Twilight deadpanned
Starlight exhaled with obvious relief. “Oh, thank goodness, because I was coming up with nothing.”
Twilight wasn’t even trying to hide her irritation at this point. “Sunset, Starlight. Starlight, Sunset.” She said while rapidly gesturing between them. “Now! How did YOU find out about my secret vault?”
“Secret vault? I thought this was the storage room.”
Twilight brought a hoof to her face. “…While that’s not technically wrong, there’s a bit more to it than that. This,” She said, with a sweeping gesture around the vault, “is where I keep potentially dangerous magical items.”
“…And other valuables.” Spike added.
Twilight rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed snort. “Yes, and Spike stores his comics here.”
“Oh, sorry!” Starlight grinned sheepishly. “I just found this room while exploring the other day and thought it would be a good place to store my extra kites!”
“Why do you have so many kites?” Sunset asked.
Starlight seemed a little hesitant to answer. “I…like kites.” She said quietly, a blush appearing on her face.
Sunset smiled, then gave Starlight a reassuring nudge. “Hey, don’t feel ashamed of what you like. We all have our hobbies. For example,” She led them back to Spike’s corner and gestured around, “Spike preserves first edition comics and hoards delicious gems. Back home, I play video games and the guitar. And Twilight collects evil artifacts.”
“Hey! They aren’t MY evil artifacts!” Twilight countered. “I’m just keeping them locked up here where they can’t fall into the wrong hooves. I’m not ‘collecting’ them!”
Sunset gave Twilight a tilted nod. “Well, you kinda are.” She said in a high-pitched voice.
Twilight pouted at the floor. “…okay, maybe by the strictest definition-”
“‘Strictest’ here being only.” Sunset amended.
“-this would technically qualify as a collection. BUT! I want it known that while I do this, I take no pleasure in it!”
“That’s what she said!” Spike and Sunset quipped simultaneously, before turning on each other and shouting, “JINX!”
Twilight was not amused by their antics.
Starlight, however, perked up a lot. “You’re right! It’s not silly to want more than one kite if I like kites. I don’t have to justify my interests to anypony!”
“Exactly,” Spike assured her. “Just don’t go taking up too much table space here, Starlight, we need some of them clear for when Discord, Mac, and I play Ogres and Oubliettes.”
Sunset could swear she heard something snap behind Twilight’s face. “YOU LET DISCORD INTO MY SECRET VAULT!!!”
Her ears ringing, Sunset felt a twinge of something in the back of her mind.
“In my defense, I didn’t know it was a secret vault,” Spike began, “but it IS large and out of the way. So, we can have Guys’ Night in here on a weekly basis and not have to wait until you leave the castle or risk disturbing you. I was trying to be considerate.” He gave a small huff, then turned and hung a poster of himself holding —Sunset guessed— the Crystal Heart, up on the wall.
Twilight inhaled deeply. “Does anypony else know about my secret vault?” Her glare jumped between Spike and Starlight.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then shook their heads.
Twilight exhaled slowly, clearly making an effort to remain calm. “Ok… so the only ones who know are; me, Sunset, Spike, Starlight, Big Mac—
“Shining Armor probably also knows,” Spike blurted out.
“WHAT?” Twilight rounded on him. “Spike, how would my brother know about my secret vault!?”
Spike’s eyes stared off into the distance.
“Yes! Nat 20!” Spike cheered, as the die came to a rest.
“That’s your first one this quest, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time Garbunkle,” Discord declared.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac agreed heartily.
Shining Armor consulted his papers quickly, before rolling his own die. “HA! Your 20 easily beats her lousy 12.” Shining cleared his throat and began narrating passionately. “Ok. Garbunkle, your spell effortlessly tears the illusion off of ‘Princess Caden’. With a hiss, and a flash of fel green magic, the princess is gone, and in her place, stands the horrible, QUEEN CARAPACE!!!”
Big Mac, Discord, and Spike all gasped dramatically.
Shining Armor gave an evil laugh. Then, he spoke with a voice so conniving and dripping with malice, it was as though Chrysalis was in the room with them. “Well, well, well. You figured it out. Too little, too late. I have already absorbed enough love from Prince Charming to become strong enough to easily dispatch all of you!”
Shining returned to his normal voice. “Queen Carapace fires a wave of dark energy that flies across the room! I’m going to need you all to make Strength saving throws. If you fail, you’re knocked prone by the magic, either way, you’re taking damage.
“6” Spike admitted glumly.
“23” Big Mac said proudly.
“16” Discord announced chaotically.
Shining Armor gave them a cruel smirk. “Nope, that’s not gonna do it.”
“WHAT!?” All three shouted.
Discord slammed his fists down, as he yelled across the table. “Just what are you playing at Shining Armor!? Big Mac got a 23!!”
Shining Armor just shrugged smugly. “What can I say? Her magic has been boosted by my-, I mean, Prince Charming’s love for Princess Caden.”
Spike swiped the paper Shining Armor was holding.
“Hey! Give that back!” Shining yelled, reaching for the monster sheet.
Spike’s eyes boggled. “A saving throw of 28!? ARE YOU INSANE?” He screamed in disbelief, as Shining snatched the paper back.
“Oh, calm down, that’s only the opening move. Anyway, you all take 60 damage and are knocked prone,” Shining Armor said, with an unapologetic smirk.
The three of them grumbled as they updated their sheets.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that. You should be proud!” Shining chuckled warmly. “You solved the mystery, exposed the evil Queen, and stopped the wedding! That’s a lot of wins! I made this campaign really tough to challenge you, and you’re doing great!”
Slowly, their glares faded. Truthfully, it was exciting, and each victory felt well-earned.
“Let’s take a quick break,” Shining said, rising from the table with a stretch. “This room has the perfect ambiance with all of Twily’s evil artifacts, but it could use a bathroom.” The others concurred.
“Kay, let’s take 20,” Spike declared. “That’ll give me enough time to prepare more snacks.” This was met with a round of appreciation from the whole group as they left the vault.
Spike’s eyes snapped back to Twilight. “Pfft, come on Twilight, you of all ponies should know what a great detective Shining Armor is.”
Twilight did not seem fully convinced but decided to let it pass. “…my Brother, an-”
“Oh wait! I saw Princess Luna here once,” Starlight interjected.
“WHAT!? What was Princess Luna doing in my vault?” Twilight demanded.
Starlight Glimmer opened the vault and walked inside carrying a few kites. She carefully placed them around her corner and left. Just as she was getting ready to close the vault door, Princess Luna strode past her, carrying a large cake in her magic. The cake had thick blue frosting, little drops of white chocolate that looked like stars, and a big crescent moon in the center. Atop the cake was a folded card that read:
Luna’s cake. For Luna, and nopony else. This means YOU, Tia!
Without hesitation, Luna set the cake upon a table and left the vault. Once out, she turned to look at Starlight. “I did not see you, and you did not see me, OR my cake, Starlight Glimmer.” Luna’s tone was even, but it did infer severe repercussions in the event this one-sided agreement was breached. Before Starlight could respond, Luna teleported away.
“Well, that certainly explains the overwhelming smell of frosting and the crumbs I found the other day!” Twilight complained.
“Why are you so angry about crumbs?” Sunset asked.
“That’s how you get ants!” Twilight practically hissed. “I don’t want ants in my vault!” Shaking her head, she looked about the group. “Do any of you know how Princess Luna learned about my vault in the first place?”
Spike started to sweat.
“’MWHAHAHAHAHAHA,’ The evil Queen Carapace laughs. ‘You put up a valiant fight but you little foals are no match for me AND MY SWARM!’” Shining Armor cackled like a true villain, as Big Mac, Spike and Discord attempted to work out how they were going to get out of this mess.
“Shining! I know you said a challenge! But this villain is WAY too powerful!” Spike cried out.
“Now, now,” Shining reassured him. “Just be patient. Do you three remember that guard you saved earlier from the group of changelings that you could’ve just snuck by?”
Discord sighed. “Oh yes, Sir Greg. Saving him involved a particularly tough fight. It’s a shame he was too wounded to join us.”
Big Mac nodded solemnly “Yup.”
Shining smiled. “Well, in my campaigns doing the right thing is rewarded, if not immediately, then spectacularly!”
Shining Armor cleared his throat dramatically.
“So! As you look up at the cackling Queen Carapace, her elite guard advances on you to finish the job. Just then, the windows on the east wall shatter inward with a terrible force. Queen Carapace’s guard is swept away like leaves in the wind, and you all feel a cool, calming light that fills your very being and heals you for 200 points, each!”
“WHAT!?” All three of them gasped. “How???”
Shining’s smile got wider. He had been waiting for this moment the whole campaign. “You get to your feet, feeling energized like never before. Then, you hear a booming voice declare,”
“ARISE, DEAR FRIENDS! ALLOW US TO AID THEE IN DISPATCHING THIS FIEND!”
All three jumped upon really hearing a booming voice echo through the vault! They stared, perplexed, at Shining Armor, who sat with his mouth closed, smiling at them.
Then, from behind a bookcase, dressed in full battle armor, leapt Luna. She flew over the table and set her own figure down on the board, between the heroes and Queen Carapace.
She looked absolutely giddy, and her Royal Canterlot Voice seemed right at home in the game. “PRINCESS CRESCENT OF THE NIGHT WILL FIGHT AT YOUR SIDE! TOGETHER WE SHALL CHANGE THIS TRAVESTY OF A WEDDING INTO A BRIGHT AND GLORIOUS FEAST!”
Shining Armor let the shock of the new arrival sink in properly. When he felt enough time had passed, he cleared his throat and resumed Queen Carapace’s dialogue. “YOU!? I told my minions to steal your alarm clock, so you’d sleep through the invasion!”
Luna laughed gallantly, “Fortunately, these brave souls saved Sir Greg, who rushed right down to the store to purchase, ANOTHER alarm clock!”
Spike turned to Big Mac and Discord. “Couldn’t he have just gone to wake her up?” He whispered, causing the two of them to snicker.
‘Queen Carapace’ gave Luna a wicked glare, “So, you wish to fall too? Very well, I have already bested your sister, Princess Solar Flare. I can easily deal with you AND these fools!”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Thou thinks that claim will impress us? Our sister is an old mare who became so complacent in peace, that she let herself go.”
A chorus of “OOOOOOOOOoooooo” erupted from Spike, Big Mac, and Discord.
‘Queen Carapace’ scoffed, “Hmph, that may be, howev-”
“IN FACT!” Luna interjected, anger rising in her voice, “when our sister banished us to our own moon for an eon, we spent each day training for the moment that we would face her in battle again!”
‘Queen Carapace’ attempted, once more, to continue, “That’s very impressive, but-”
“IMAGINE OUR FURY!” …but she got no further. “When we discovered she had not taken the time nearly as seriously! While we were busy perfecting our form, the only lifting she did, was that of cakes to her mouth!”
“OOOHHHHHHH!” Cheered the three heroes.
“BUT!” Luna continued. “What insulted us the most was not that slight, nor the fact that she stole our clothes and had them modified to encompass her own massive volume-”
“STOP LULU, STOP! SHE’S ALREADY DEAD!!” Discord roared with laughter.
“-NAY! The worst insult came when we awoke from our slumber to-day, only to discover that she had EATEN MY CAKE!!!” Luna roared with indignation.
“Why do I feel like I’ve lost control?” Shining pondered aloud, as Luna sucked in more air.
“So, thou sits there, on her exceptionally wide throne and brags about defeating her, as though thou has accomplished some great feat!? BAH, I say!”
Shining just sat, mouth agape, helpless in the face of this passionate rant.
Tears streamed down Luna’s face as she pulled out a massive lance and leveled it at Queen Carapace’s tiny figure. “SO! In the name of my most beloved cake, who was so cruelly taken from me this morning by my no-good, dirty-rotten, fat-flanked sister; I shall bring all the judgment meant for Celestia down upon THEE!”
“Uhhh…don't you mean Princess Solar Flare?” Spike suggested.
Luna leapt atop the table, lance raised, as her voice thundered to the heavens. “THIS! Is for my cake, that you unjustly imprisoned within your MASSIVE BUTT, TIA!”
“WAIT, Princess Luna!” Shining Armor shouted, desperately, trying to regain control of the situation. “Queen Carapace is NOT Princess Celestia! You’re fighting the Changeling Queen, not your sister!”
However, it was too late. Spike, Discord, and Big Mac, all caught up in Luna’s energy, joined her atop the table and added their voices to her war cry.
Shining Armor brought a hoof to his face. Inviting Luna had been a miscalculation. She had completely derailed his meticulously planned campaign, right at the epic climax. To add insult to injury, she had also spent the last several minutes interrupting him.
“Discord! Hit it!” Spike shouted over the din.
“You’ve got it, Garbunkle!” Discord snapped his fingers. Light filled the room and they rose into the air.
Spike turned on the spot. With a whirl, a cloak draped itself across him. He tilted his head back and a grand beard burst forth from his chin. He clicked his feet together and two big boots appeared on them. He then reached into his cloak and pulled out a magical staff, which he twirled, raised, and tapped against his head. With a ‘POOF!’, a blue wizarding hat appeared, completing his ensemble.
Big Mac donned a ram-horned helm and a unicorn horn grew from his head. He reared up, brought his hooves down with an earth-shaking stomp, and in a flash of light, he was clad in black plate armor. He raised his head, horn aglow, and a massive sword erupted from the earth. He lifted it to the sky and gave a heroic, “EEYUP!”
Discord flew through a field of stars with an unexpected amount of grace. He wrapped his arms around himself and his body began to glow with a chaotic assortment of bright colors until he was nothing but a pastel silhouette. Then, he threw his arms out to the side, and with a burst of light, a green tunic, leather boots, and bracers appeared on him. He raised his hands to his mismatched horns and slid them down the back of his neck. As he did so, a long cascade of sparkling, shimmering golden locks tumbled down. He opened a nearby chest, reached into it, and spun around, triumphantly raising the contents to the sky.
You found the Draconequus Bow!
On the Select Item Subscreen,
you can set it to C.
Their transformations complete, the four of them landed upon the newly formed battleground: a massive plain, bathed in moonlight. They glared across the field at their nemesis.
Opposite them, standing twice as tall as Luna, and wearing nightmarish chitin battle regalia, was the vast and horrible Evil Queen: Shining Armor.
Shining blinked, suddenly taking note of his imminent peril. “Whoa! Hold on a second!”
“YOU HAVE DISGRACED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, TIA!” Luna pointed her hoof at the massive moon hovering above. “THE PALE MOON IN THE SKY CRIES FOR YOUR BLOOD!” She raised her spear with a yell and the four of them charged Shining Armor.
Shining had been a Dungeon Master for many groups over the years, some could be unpredictable, and some had been downright rebellious, either way, he always took pride in being able to roll with the punches. If this was the fight they wanted, so be it! He would make it one they would never forget. He gazed down upon the approaching heroes with contempt and chuckled darkly.
“The moon? No, it is you who should gaze upon the moon… FOR IT WILL BE THE LAST MOON YOU EVER SEE!! YOU DARE STAND AGAINST CELESTIA, SUPREME MONARCH OF THE SUN!? I SHALL THRASH YOU ALL AND DEVOUR EVERY LAST CAKE IN EQUESTRIA!!!” He charged out to meet the four of them, head-on.
Thus, began the cataclysmic battle where Garbunkle the Magician, Sir McBiggun, Captain Wuzz, and Princess Luna, stood boldly against The Unforgivable Celestia: Eater of Cakes!
Did any survive? Only the Moon knows!
“Spike? Spike! SPIKE!” Twilight was frantically shaking Spike.
“huh? What happened?” Spike asked, looking around.
“I asked if any of you knew how Luna found out about my secret vault. Then, your eyes went wide and you became unresponsive for several minutes!” Twilight said, in a half panic.
“Did I?” He asked, getting his bearings once more.
“You looked pretty content the entire time, though,” Sunset added. “That must’ve been some daydream. Wanna fill us in?”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Spike sighed wistfully, “Just remembering the best session of Ogres and Oubliettes, we ever had.”
The girls blinked. Starlight looked confused, Twilight checked Spike’s forehead for a temperature, and Sunset smirked, her interest piqued. “If it was that good, maybe we should all play sometime.”
Spike perked right up. “Oh totally! You’d love it Sunset! You get to-”
“Spike!” Twilight said sharply, causing him to clam up. “Do you know how Princess Luna found out about my vault?”
“…Nope can’t say I do.” Spike yawned, in an attempt to conceal his inept poker face.
Twilight sighed. “Ok, well I guess I’ll have to ask to make sure she hasn’t told anypony else. But in the meantime,” Twilight took a deep breath, “the only ones who know about my secret vault are; me, Sunset, Spike, Starlight, Big Mac, my brother, Princess Luna, and…Discord.” A sigh of defeat escaped Twilight.
Sunset felt something stir on the edge of her memories, but before she could bring it into focus, her thoughts were interrupted.
“But that’s IT!” Twilight cried. “This is my secret vault! The point is to keep ponies OUT! This is where I store, study, and categorize dangerous things!”
“Oh! On that note, I just thought of something,” Starlight said, before exiting the vault, teleporting away, and returning a moment later holding a two-pronged stick. “Here you go, the Staff of Sameness.”
Twilight glared at the stick like it was an uninvited party crasher. “…Starlight. That’s just a stick you found in the desert. Just throw it away.”
Starlight’s ears flopped down. “But… I used this to enslave an entire village. I keep it around to remind myself how far I’ve come.”
Sunset did a double-take. “Wait, enslaved a what now?”
“So just keep it in your room! We aren’t dedicating vault space to a stick!” Twilight was intent on defending her vault from any additional unwanted space invaders.
“But what if someone tries to steal it? I mean, I know it’s not, but it sure looks like it could be a magical artifact.” Starlight waved the Staff of Sameness in front of Twilight as if to highlight how magical it looked.
“And honestly, Twilight, aside from its labyrinthine halls, your castle’s security is kinda lax. I mean, haven’t you ever considered what could happen if one of your enemies just… came in while weren’t home?”
The vault went silent as a tomb.
Twilight just stared at Starlight, as if she were no longer sure that she was real.
Spike gave an awkward cough, “yikes”.
For her part, Starlight just stared expectantly at Twilight, clearly waiting for an answer to her question and apparently oblivious to whatever landmine she had dropped a meteor on.
Sunset’s eyes darted between the three of them. She felt out of the loop.
Eventually, Spike took it upon himself to break the tension. He took the Staff of Sameness and examined it. “Well, it may not be magical, but it is pretty boss. It could definitely contribute to the atmosphere in here if you place it with the other items.”
The look of volcanic rage on Twilight’s face was too much for Sunset to take. After a few heroic seconds of struggling, she burst out laughing. “Oh, come on Twilight, we both know the real reason you’re upset about this is that you don’t want to share your secret vault.”
Spike and Starlight suddenly turned to Twilight, whose ears flopped down as her face turned pink and she poked at the floor. “It’s not that I don’t want to share, I just want to be able to keep everypony safe… in an organized fashion.”
Sunset gave her an understanding smile. “I get it, but Spike’s right, this is his home too. He and Starlight have as much right to store what they feel is important in here, as you do.”
For nearly a minute, Twilight’s mind worked overtime, trying to find a loophole to keep her oh-so-important vault from being filled with comics, kites, and sticks. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any.
“You’re right.” She finally sighed. “We’ll share the vault. I’ll divide the room evenly by square footage and we can each store what we want in our allotted space. Does that seem fair?”
Spike and Starlight nodded.
“BUT!” Twilight continued, “No one else is to know about this vault!”
“Not even Trixie?” Starlight asked. “What if she needs a place to store some props?”
Twilight stared into space as she imagined the ramifications of letting Trixie use her vault.
Welcome to the Great and Powerful Trixie’s show! Tonight, you will be amazed by things so dangerous and SO rare that they need to be stored in Princess Twilight’s Secret Vault when not in use, hidden behind an Alicorn statue in her castle, and sealed with the combination, 6-18-9-5-14-4-19-8-9-16!
“Especially, not Trixie!” Twilight said with finality.
“Aw” Starlight frowned.
Hoping to prevent more nonsense, Twilight ushered them all out of the vault. As she closed the massive door, a thought occurred to her. The slide was a one-way trip, so the only route back up to the castle was via teleport. “Spike, the secret passage is just one way, how’d you get out of here before?”
Spike raised an eyebrow and simply said, “The stairs, Twilight.”
He grabbed a crystal outcropping from the sidewall and pulled on it. A section of the wall swung forward to reveal a perfectly regular set of stairs that Twilight was now glaring daggers at.
“There were stairs? Since when!?”
One completely regular set of stairs later, Twilight became even more annoyed as she discovered they led into the main hallway.
“They’re just behind a regular door!?”
“Well, yeah. How’d you think I found them?” Starlight asked. “I came across them the other day while looking for the kite-making room. I didn’t even know there was a secret passage.”
“We don’t HAVE a kite-making room,” Twilight said, turning to Starlight with a tired look in her eyes.
Starlight’s mouth just hung open, aghast. Her mind had been sent reeling from the shock of learning that the castle did not have an entire room dedicated to kite-craft.
Spike looked up thoughtfully, claw on his chin. “Well, I’m sure we could find a room where you could set one up.”
That brought Starlight back to reality. “REALLY? It wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
Twilight sighed, before giving Starlight a weak smile. “Yeah, we can set one up. Let me draw up a list of potential rooms for you to choose from.”
Sunset blinked, looking at Twilight with confusion. “Why can’t she just pick a room?”
Twilight gave Sunset a look of disbelief. “What? Just…pick a room? Willy-nilly? With no consideration for future plans of the castle’s layout!?”
“Aren’t you overthinking this?” Sunset asked, brow raised.
Neither of them noticed that Spike and Starlight had left.
“Sunset! There are lots of variables to consider. I haven’t come up with an official castle layout yet because there are too many empty rooms. I have to choose a location for the kite-making room that makes sense for several future potential organizational layouts!!” Twilight’s face was just an inch from Sunset’s and there was a wild look in her eyes.
Sunset slowly backed up.
Twilight matched her movements! “I have data on every room in the castle! Wall space, Floorspace, Average Amount of Sunlight per day, Average Humidity, Average Temperature, Distance to the Nearest Bathroom, Distance to the Kitchen, Distance to the Front Door, Distance to the Library, Distance to the Nearest Fire Exit, potential Ladybug Threat Level-”
“Ladybugs!?” Sunset squeaked in surprise, as she felt her backside bump up against the wall. She had no escape.
“-Distance to Twilight’s room, Distance to Spike’s room, Distance to the Throne room, Primary Window’s Quantified View Beauty Rating, Capacity to hear an intruder messing around the Cutie Mark Map,”
“The cutie mark what!?” Sunset whimpered, curled up on the floor and clutching her tail in front of her like a shield.
“Twilight, what are you doing!?” Spike asked as he and Starlight returned.
“Spike! Help me!” Sunset cried, desperately reaching for the dragon.
“Ok, Ok. I got this,” Spike assured her. He walked over to the two of them and placed a claw on Twilight’s side. “Twilight calm down.”
Twilight rounded on him, eyes just a little too wide. “What are you talking about Spike!? I’m just explaining to Sunset how many factors need to be considered when choosing the perfect room for kite-making.”
“Oh, is that what this is all about?” Starlight asked, joining them. “Don’t worry about it, Twilight, we already chose a great one.”
“A great one!?” Twilight echoed, voice cracking. With a flash of magic, she was standing in front of Starlight their faces mere inches apart. “How could you know which one is a ‘great’ one without consulting my tables and charts? Do you even know how many factors you need to consider?”
Starlight raised a hoof to her face. “The only ones that I think matter are size and lighting.”
“You only considered 2 factors!?” Twilight gave a scoff and draped a wing around Starlight. “Don’t worry Starlight, you’ve come to the right place. Let me pull all the info I have on the rooms. Then, we can sit down and get through this in just a few hours.”
Now it was Starlight’s turn to look scared. “HOURS!?” She looked to Spike, pleading for rescue.
Spike pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Then, very clearly, he simply said, “Want it, Need it.”
Twilight flinched.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. When she spoke again, her tone had returned to normal. “Ok, I may have been a bit too eager to find a use for all the data I compiled for fun one weekend.”
“A bit?” Spike asked eyebrow raised.
“Just a skosh,” Starlight nervously assured her.
“For fun!?” Sunset cried.
“Okay, WAY too eager. I’m sorry, everypony.” She gave them all an apologetic smile, then turned specifically to Starlight and Spike. “I’m also sorry for acting like the items you wanted to put in our vault weren’t as important as what I wanted to put in it. They may matter in different ways, but I should have respected that they mattered to you.”
“It’s okay Twilight,” Starlight said understandingly. “And as for the room, I appreciate the thought, really. But I don’t want to spend hours just picking the ‘perfect’ room. I mean, the fun comes from making and flying the kites, not having the perfect room to make them in.”
“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “And I’m sorry for inviting the guys into the vault without asking. I honestly didn’t think it was a big deal but since I knew you kept your own things in there, I should’ve asked anyway.”
Twilight chuckled. “It’s okay Spike, I know Shining and Big Mac won’t blab, and I bet the only pony who would take anything Discord says seriously, is Fluttershy. I’m also sure that Princess Luna is capable of keeping a secret. So, as long as I have a talk with her, it should be fine.”
The three of them went in for a group hug. After a moment, the warm silence was broken by a massive yawn from Sunset, causing the others to turn and stare at her.
“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to ruin the moment,” Sunset apologized, sleepily. “It’s just been a long day and it’s kinda hitting me now.”
Twilight went over to her. “Oh Sunset, I’m sorry. I completely forgot that you were up early for school today. You must be exhausted. Come on, let me show you to your room.”
Sunset gave Twilight no arguments as she bid Spike and Starlight ‘goodnight’ and was led away.
Soon, Twilight pushed open the door of a cozy guest room. “Feel free to consider this room yours. If you’d like a different one, we can find another tomorrow. If you need anything, my room is just two doors down the hall.”
Sunset nodded with a sleepy smile and unfocused eyes. “Thanks, Twilight, I’ll be good for now though.” She walked over and collapsed on top of the bed without getting under the covers, or even removing her saddlebags.
Twilight smiled and shook her head as she walked toward her. Sunset hadn’t been kidding about being tired. She was already fast asleep by the time Twilight reached her. She took Sunset’s bags and placed them on the dresser. Then, she tucked Sunset in properly, placing a pillow under her head and putting a blanket over top of her. Then, she turned and headed for the door. When Twilight reached the entrance of the room, she looked back.
“Goodnight Sunset, I’m glad you’re here,” Twilight whispered, before closing the door.
Sunset Shimmer looked around. She wasn’t sure where she was. She felt stone beneath her hooves, but in every direction, there was only fog. Each step she took echoed off some unseen wall. Was this a dream?
Suddenly, Sunset heard a voice come from the fog.
At Last.
She whirled around, facing the direction of the voice.
I have awaited your arrival for countless years.
The voice sounded familiar, but Sunset couldn’t place it. It spoke with odd inflections on the syllables, as though it had only recently learned to speak.
“Um, thanks, I guess. So, who are you?” Sunset asked.
In response, there was a flash of light. When it faded, Sunset was able to make out a small, sparkling, translucent orb within the fog.
Just look around. Who do you think I am?
Sunset looked around. Aside from the partially obscured orb, there was only fog. “Well, I can’t see anything but fog, so unless you’re Izanami, I got no ideas,” she smirked.
Fog? You see fog?
“Yeah, can’t you?”
...That cannot be. You should be able to see by now. Why would you come back if you could not see?
Sunset shrugged. “Cause it’s winter break?”
…Who are you?
She blinked. “I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
That is your name, not who you are. Who are you?
“I’m a lot of things. What are you looking for?”
The thing you give to those close to you.
It is who you are.
It is what makes you special.
It is why you matter.
Sunset’s eyes became downcast. Who was she close to? Her parents? Celestia? The Rainbooms? Her whole life had just been a cycle of being picked up and, inevitably, thrown away. What about Twilight? She was definitely nice to Sunset, but…
You will never rule in Equestria. Any power you had in this world is gone. But tonight, you showed everyone who you really are. You showed them what is in your heart.
Sunset recoiled, as the memory tore apart her insides. It was all so vivid. The judgment she heard in Twilight's voice. The contempt in her eyes that Sunset saw glaring down at her. Twilight had seen her for what she was, a monster. That must be why she left her behind, abandoned to those who hated her. After all that, Twilight couldn't possibly see her as a friend. Sunset thought sadly.
She looked up. “I don’t matter… to anyone. I’m no one.”
The fog-filled room instantly became less comfortable. The voice, which had been warm and calm up till now, suddenly became stern, bordering on threatening.
You... are no one?
…No. That is NOT correct!
An ice-cold wind suddenly filled the room.
“What’s going on?” Sunset asked, as the frozen gale bit at her.
Who are you?
The voice’s edge had not dropped. However, the temperature in the room certainly had. Sunset started to shiver uncontrollably.
“Um, I’m a student of Canterlot High, a former student of Princess Celestia’s, a unicorn from Equestria, an orphan, a bully, a demon?” Sunset began rattling off things at random.
None of those things represent who you ARE.
At this point, Sunset’s teeth were chattering. She was curled up on the ground in a desperate bid to stay warm. How was she feeling this cold? This was just a dream… right?
“THEN I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM!” She screamed at the orb.
The wind died and the chill subsided. When the voice spoke again, it did so with its calmer mannerisms, but the warm tone it had before, had turned somber.
What has happened? You’ve lost sight of yourself.
Sunset shifted uncomfortably but remained silent.
…I see. It is unfortunate, but it seems you will have to learn who you are again.
“How do I do that?” Sunset asked.
Within the fog behind the orb, a massive light began to glow brighter and brighter. Before she was blinded completely, Sunset noticed a number of shadows in the fog gather behind the Sparkling orb.
Find the answer to this question: What does every friendship need?
Far from Twilight’s castle, in a dark room, the whir and beeping of machinery pierces the silence of the night. The glow of a dimly lit screen is the only light the room has to offer. A modified seismometer spits out page after page of data. All is quiet now, but that certainly wasn’t the case several hours ago. A brave mare looks over the readings from earlier that night, triple-checking her findings. With a heavy sigh, she reaches a dreadful, yet undeniable conclusion: It has begun.
And with this chapter, the first day of my story ends. Personally, I've had a blast doing this and I certainly hope I've been able to bring some enjoyment to you.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Thanks again for reading. 
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I can understand how everyone found the vault, but how'd they know the code to get in?
Also...that was a mysterious bit at the end...
10157173
Why don't you take a look at both the chapter name and the scene of Twilight imagining Trixie using the vault?
10157301
Ohhhhhhh
10157301
Awesome! That was exactly it!
I wanted to try tossing in a sort of hidden joke. Something that isn't outright told to the reader but all the clues are there to be worked out. I was worried it might be a bit too buried so I didn't want to make it a super important detail.
Okay. Sunset's bit at the end felt tacked on for no other reason than because "Buck reasons," and that's it. This has enough going on as is.
It doesn't need more.
Preach it GlimGlam! Not the kite part. But any self respecting hobbiest knows this feeling. And the urge to vaporize anyone who tries to be a Twilight Sparkle in all of it, with wasting time on unneeded things.
10158065
Glad to see you're enjoying it. Thanks for sticking around, got quite a bit planned for the future.
Also preach it Starlight! I don't do kites, but I get where Starlight is coming from. I could use a secret vault for all my Warhammer 40k miniatures I have. I'm running out of room for them all.
And I still want more. Plus I don't have to justify any of it to anyone. It's my money and hobby.
10161793
I love the scene too. Just seemed like the Tree of Harmony is trolling Twilight with it.
To start with this was hilarious and fun. However, I need to point out you said this takes place before Friendship Games and Twilight does not befriend Starlight until after the games. Since timing-wise Sunset can't get ahold of Twi because she's time traveling with Starlight.
Still fun and hope to see where you go with this, bit felt compelled to point that out.
10164822
Thank you so much for reading. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it so far.
You aren't wrong about the timelines, I just really wanted to include Starlight cause I love her character so much.
So, I pushed them just a skosh out of alignment and used the season 6 Equestria.
If you don't mind my asking, of what you've read so far, is there any particular joke, scene, or sequence that stood out to you as especially enjoyable? I was a history major so I'm decent at writing non-fiction but this is my first attempt at writing a story.
At any rate, I hope you stick around, I've got lots of things planned for the future that I think will be quite spectacular.
10164940
Your scene timing has been excellent for giggles, but what really stole the show this last time was Luna letting out her frustration involving her sister in a more healthy gaming situation this time. The mental image of that was enough to make me laugh to tears.
10164988
Oh Im glad you liked that. I worked very hard on that bit. I loved the idea of Luna playing O&Os but getting so into it that she accidentally hijacks the campaign and lets some recent frustrations bleed through into it.
Twilight, Twilight, Twilight...just go ahead and cast a Fidelius charm, and make yourself the secret-keeper. Force everypony else to forget about the "secret" vault's existence and location, then only inform certain trusted individuals - who cannot then inform others (unless you write it down on parchment, and they then take that parchment and show it to everypony, since it's still your writing down the secret).
SPOILER, DUDE! Massive spoiler for a 2008 PlayStation 2/2012 PlayStation Vita/2020 Steam game!
If I could, I'd send you back to Magical Kindergarten, or banish you to the Moon, or something!
OK, I know I'm a wee bit late to the party but I gotta ask... Are you a fan of Babylon 5? Cause that whole "Who are you?" scene just felt like it was honoring Sebastian from "Comes the Inquisitor" (aka one of my favorite episodes of the whole show)
10627010
Thank you for reading. I hope you're enjoying the story.
I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to watch Babylon 5, tho. How is it?
A hobby is a hobby.
Empathy
The biggest secret about the vault is that it is a secret at all.
I kind of feel like the vault thing was overplayed. I ended up skipping through most of it.