Story snippets, outlines, short one-shots, and the like.
Story snippets, outlines, short one-shots, and other things that don't warrant a singular story entry.
Just like every other one on FIMfic. See index for more accurate tagging info.
Index;
Assassination: Slice of Life, Drama — Celestia explains to an MP how she feels about assassination. [One-shot] Living Bad Dreams: Dark, Adventure — One night during her patrol, something follows Luna out of the world of dreams. [2 chapters of scrapped story] The Sisters and The Dragon: Adventure, Faux-Mythology — A young Spike asks Celestia why dragons and ponies don't get along. So Celestia tells him a story: the time two sisters met Tiamat, mother of dragons. [Short scene from a potential story idea] Untitled Inexcusable sequel: Dark, Alternate Universe — A "friend" from a previous life visits Nightmare Moon. [Theoretical continuation of different story] Untitled Sunset Shimmer story: Dark, Alternate Universe — [Proof of concept from discarded story] "The Mirror[ed Princess]": Fairy Tale, Subversive — A guilty ruler creates a mirror that reflects all the good qualities of whomever looks in it. [short one-shot] Astronomic Changes Outline, Clockamole, et. al: Adventure, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe — Twilight the astronomer must defeat Nightmare Star, but she will need some friends to help. / Sweetie Belle steals Rarity's magic food ingredients. / Rarity's food magic causes issues. [Pieces of unfinished AU] Welcome Home: Dark, Alternate Universe, Sad — [Discarded continuation of You Too Will Deteriorate] "Senescence": Sad — Celestia muses about immortality. [Poetry] "I spied a pretty mare. . .": Limerick — dating sucks. [Poetry] "Pony haiku 1": Haiku, comedy? [Poetry] I Hate Hearth's Warming Music: Romance, Slice of Life — Rarity has been lying to Pinkie about something near and dear to her; Hearth's Warming music.
The room froze. It happened instantaneously, in a way that no normal conversation could have. Every pair of eyes swung onto her, like archers tracking targets. Indigo Morning nearly adjusted her dress shirt or coughed, but she resisted the urge. Weakness from a new MP was exactly what they expected, and she wouldn't give them the ammunition.
Princess Celestia smiled. Indigo couldn't tell if it was sincere or patronizing or predatory. The princess was far better at body language and control than her.
"Tell me, Lady Indigo, why that would be a good idea." Celestia's smile did not flicker or waver in the slightest. If it wasn't for the hundred pairs of eyes on her, Indigo might have sworn the princess was sincere.
She coughed. It was like scratching poison ivy—giving into the urge only made her want to do it more. The princess did not react. Celestia simply sat there stoically, that serene smile taunting Indigo with its control and patience.
"Well, Your Highness, we've been discussing the Griffon Empire's declaration of war for hours now." She swallowed, and she knew the motion took longer than it should have. "But, well, the Griffon Emperor has a well-known...difference of opinions with his son on the matters of war. If we killed him, then..." She gulped. She could've sworn the princess' smile flickered on the verb. "then his son would take the throne and call off the war."
Every pair of eyes in the room swung onto Celestia, like spectators at a game waiting for the match point.
Celestia did not stop smiling. It felt infuriating. It felt mocking. It felt painful and incriminating and neutral.
"And how would you propose we do this?" Celestia asked.
"The Equestrian Armed Forces contain over four-hundred ponies with cutie marks in marksmanship, archery, combat magic, or teleportation. It would only require some vetting and a small amount of extra training."
Celestia's smiled dimmed, just for a moment. Everypony saw it—a room full of politicians would notice a pin drop in a tornado if the report afterward called for it. "You've thought about this."
"A good leader considers every tool available to them, Your Highness."
"Tell me, Lady Indigo, how long has the Griffon Empire been a monarchy?"
"Since its inception. About six-hundred B.D. I think."
"And how many emperors do you think they've had?"
Indigo's ears flattened. There was some trap coming, but she couldn't figure out what it was. The Princess never asked rhetorical questions unless it was a trap. "I don't remember high school civics that well. About forty, give or take."
"And what is the average lifespan of Griffons?"
"About 80 years, I suppose. Same as ponies."
"And how old am I?" Celestia asked.
There it was. She had walked right into it, no less. "Your Highness, while I applaud your long-term strategizing, you can't write off such an immediate problem that way."
The eyes of the other MPs snapped back to Celestia. They switched back and forth so quickly that Indigo suspected they had rigged themselves to pendulums for just such an occasion.
Celestia chuckled. "But Lady Indigo, I am agreeing with you. The Griffon Emperor dying would solve all of our problems. Your choice of weapon, however, is lacking in subtlety and effectiveness. After all, good leader considers every tool available to them."
Celestia stood up. "I think we need to take a break to compose ourselves. I expect more careful thinking from the Equestrian government. We shall reconvene in an hour, to discuss more reactions to this issue."
The room followed her order instantly. Save Indigo. She stayed in her seat. The room cleared, members of parliament filtering into countless break rooms and offices.
Finally, the room was empty, a hundred chairs and desks and one podium vacant and still. Finally, when she was absolutely certain that nopony could see her, Indigo Morning exhaled.
Luna stepped out of the dream and took a deep breath. She hated dealing with the nightmares of adults. She hated nightmares in general, but children had such simple ones; a monster here, a fire there, the occasional implied death. The fears behind them were so banal, so…well, childish. Overcoming them was always so trivial, even relaxing.
Adult fear, on the other hoof, was so much more complex. It was multilayered and intricate and personal. That was what made it so disturbing.
Luna shook her head. No point in dwelling on it, she told herself. I helped them the best I could, and now I must focus on the next one.
She glanced around the night sky for something simple. The stars representing her subjects usually calmed her, the light reassuring her that everypony was safe. Her previous charge’s nightmare still lingered in her thoughts, however, and the effect was dampened. The brisk air did not help.
Perhaps a break is in order, she thought to herself. None of the stars are flickering too severely, so I’m certain none of my subjects need my immediate assistance. She took a deep breath and the night sky wavered. She slowly closed her eyes and took another slow, deep breath.
When she opened her eyes she was back in her room in Canterlot Castle, her body laying in the same fetal position that she had left it in. The furnishings were likewise as she left them. Her few pieces of furniture glowed softly in the moonlight. Her windows and the glass door to her balcony meant it was very bright despite the late hour. Her bedsheets were flat and folded underneath her.
She sat up and worked a crick out of her neck. The crack echoed faintly. She glanced around and sighed. I really must put more furniture in here.
Her ear flicked. She looked across her room more carefully, her eyes sweeping slowly across the area, pausing at every painting and pillow.
Her shoulders relaxed and she sighed.
Her ear flicked again. Her shoulders tensed. She leapt out of her bed, her hooves silent as she landed on the floor.
There was nothing in her room. She continued looking and her gaze fell upon the balcony. The waved glass doors blocked any real view of the castle grounds, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. She stepped cautiously towards it.
You’re just being paranoid. Open the door.
Her horn lit up and she flung the doors open.
There was a pony standing there.
At least, it was pony shaped. It was silhouetted against the moon, its features obscured.
Luna furrowed her brow. “I do not know who you are, but you had best have a good explanation for this intrusion!”
The pony was silent.
Luna took a step forward. “Did you not hear me?”
The pony was silent.
Luna frowned. She still could not make out the pony’s features. She took another step forward. “Hello?”
The pony was silent and immobile.
Luna cast a light spell, and her horn shone a beam of bright blue light across the room. She gasped. Her light spell wavered but did not extinguish. She took several steps backward.
The pony standing before her was no pony. It was a twisted caricature of one at best, a monster at worst.
Its pitch-black coloring had not merely been a trick of the light. Its entire body was a dark, shiny black. Its skin was more reminiscent of rubber or tar than anything else. It had no mouth, at least, not on its face. Its snout was completely smooth, save incredibly thin lips, just discernible enough to reveal a twisted smile. There was instead a horrible caricature of a mouth where its cutie mark should have been; just a jagged, drooling line of fangs. It never opened but the teeth still found a way to snap and drool.
Its mane was a dull gray, but it was closer to stringy flesh than hair. Like rat tails combed into a sickly sheet. Its tail was the same, a bushel of fleshy vines mashed together into the general shape of a tail.
There was smooth, blank skin stretched over where its eyes should have been. There were still slight depressions, implying sockets underneath.
Luna did not move. The light coming from her horn flickered again. She forced it back to full brightness, but her body was still frozen.
The creature did not react to Luna’s light. It merely sat there, silent and unmoving. Its face was pointed at Canterlot’s skyline. It did not waver. It did not even breathe.
Luna finally inhaled. She took a step towards the thing.
It turned its head to look at her, and she froze again. Its haunch mouth opened, and Luna caught a glimpse of a colorless void before it snapped shut.
The creature turned back to look at the buildings, and then took a step towards the balcony railing. As its hoof struck the stone there was a distinct snap of teeth. Luna looked at the floor and there were wet teeth marks where it had removed its hoof.
It took another step, and the same snap escaped as its hoof landed. Suddenly it leapt off the balcony.
It’s a seven-story fall. It won’t survive that.
Luna waited. The night was silent.
She ran forward, sidestepping the hoofprints and shoving her neck past the railing. The lawn below was empty, with no sign of the creature anywhere in sight.
CH 2
Every pony has nightmares, sister.
She had been searching for at least an hour. Despite the creature’s bizarre hoofprints in the castle, there was no signs of it anywhere in the grounds. It was like it had never been there.
Luna slumped on the wet grass. She glanced up at the sky. Dawn is approaching slowly, but it will arrive eventually. She put a hoof to her chin. I do not know how that creature interacts with daylight, but best to find it sooner than later.
She glanced around the patch of grass she was on. No sign of the creature anywhere, magical, physical or spiritual. She had scoured the grounds with all six of her senses and turned up nothing.
Her eyes widened. Of course, how could I be so foolish! She stood up and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, slowly sucking in a huge lungful of air, and releasing it just as slowly. She repeated the action, slightly slower than before.
When she opened her eyes she was still standing on a grassy plain, though it was considerably larger than the one in the physical world. Canterlot Castle was no longer to her far right; a forest instead stood far in the distance.
She looked up at the sky. Normally the abundance of stars would calm her. The sky was practically packed with them, almost as if there was not enough room for them all. But tonight is not a normal night, she noted as she scanned the expanse of glittering lights. Tonight I see victims instead of subjects.
She had nearly turned a full circle examining everything, and none of the stars flickered too severely. Then she froze. One of the stars was red. Not flickering or shifting, merely a bright, blood red. She ran towards it, bracing herself to enter the dream, her horn glowing softly and her muscles tensing.
It was only a few steps before she stopped, the air a few feet in front of her shimmering and waving violently. She stepped back, and seconds later the creature materialized in front of her, its not-eyes fixed on her motionlessly.
She was prepared this time. She fired a spell, the blue glow of her horn pulsing brightly as a wave of magic rushed towards the creature.
It won’t be able to dodge such a large spell. Moments before the energy hit the creature, it vanished, the air quivering as it left. The spell passed harmlessly across the field. Seconds later the air grew still and it was as if nothing had ever been there.
Luna’s eyes widened. She scrunched her eyes shut, drawing in breaths, trying to force the air in and back out as fast as possible.
Her eyes snapped open. She hadn’t shifted back. Of course not. She shook her head, her mane rippling violently behind her. Relax, properly this time. She closed her eyes again, forcing herself to breathe slowly, gently, calmly.
When she opened her eyes she was back on the castle grounds. A series of bites had been taken out of the ground, an unmistakable trail leading towards the garden.
Figures. Her horn glowed and the marks began to glow in unison. The points of light gradually grew brighter and faded into the distance. She examined their path briefly and then closed her eyes.
She vanished in a flash of light, reappearing a few yards away from the castle garden. The unorthodox hoofprints snaked their way across the pathways and into the hedge maze.
Luna grit her teeth. Magic flared around her horn. “Damnit, show yourself!” she shouted. She swung her head downward and her horn flashed brightly.
She looked up just in time to see the spell slash into the garden. Every bush in front of her shuddered as it split in half, and a huge cut shot across the ground in the same direction. The line of damage in front of her spread clear across the castle grounds. She could see a small nick in the outer walls. Yet there was no sign of the creature.
There was a flash of movement to her left. She turned just in time to see the creature vanish in a shimmer of light. Her laser did nothing but scorch a few bushes.
I needn’t guess where it went. It can shift faster than I can, this is getting me nowhere.
She glanced at the damage to garden. The staff will not say anything if I order them not to. She looked at the ground. The creature’s hoofprints had vanished. And it took its trail with it.
Luna let out a deep sigh. There were exactly eighty-three minutes and thirty-four seconds before her moon finished its journey across the sky and dawn arrived.
Chasing it is futile. Her ear twitched. At least, with a single party.
She looked at the castle. Sister has other things to worry about. But who else would be up to the task?
Her ear flicked again.
I suppose I had best inform the staff before I leave.
Finally, the sisters arrived at the mountain. It looked like a jagged wound in the sky, the edges sharp against the clouds, smoke leaking from it like blood.
They stepped inside. The mountain was hollow despite its size, almost a giant cave. It reminded the sisters of a shell whose animal had been torn out and eaten.
In the center of the giant room lay the dragon. She was enormous, like a castle parapet that had fallen onto its side and gone to sleep. Her silver scales glittered even in the darkness. Every time she snored, fire leaked from her nostrils and cast an orange tint on her body and the walls.
Her hoard littered the cave. Coins of every metal and shape formed a mattress, rusted armor and dented barding formed her pillow. Cups and vases and furniture lined the walls, and gems and jewels and crystals piled in the corners. Some pieces looked fresh from the smith, others looked like they were from before the invention of the forge.
Her eyes snapped open, and she rose, slowly, ponderously. Coins flaked off her body, the pile of armor and barding crinkled and shifted. Her only adornment was a silver necklace, bigger than a dozen ponies, set with emeralds and onyx the size of house windows. The green and black matched her eyes.
“A slumber broken best have good cause, whelps, ” she bellowed. “I, Tiamat, dragon mother, hate such gall.”
Celestia smiled. Her ceremonial barding had rusted slightly, her coat looked dingy and unkempt. Most noticeable was her hair; black streaks accompanied its usual multicolored luster. They looked like discolorations in an old photograph.
“Hello, Nightmare Moon,” she whispered.
“Celestia? What are you doing here? Why do you look so different?”
“Why, Nightmare Moon, don’t you recognize me? I suppose it has been a long time, for you, but I did not think you would forget me so easily.” Celestia gripped her chestplate in her magic, and moved it to the side, slowly, painfully slowly.
Princess Nightmare Moon recoiled. “It can’t be.” A long, jagged scar wound across Celestia’s chest.
“Oh, but it is,” Celestia whispered. She traced the scar with her hoof. “That’s the spot where you tore out my heart.”
ch 1 Nightmare Moon jolted awake. She twisted sideways and fell off her bed, the sweaty sheets sticking to her body. She tried to force them off before they tangled, but only succeeded in bunching them onto her hind legs.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I startle you?”
Nightmare Moon froze. “It can’t...” She turned to the foot of her bed. Celestia stood there, the same Celestia from her nightmare.
Celestia tilted her head. “I was so eager say hello, but I did not want to wake you. Perhaps the dream spell was a little too potent?”
Nightmare Moon backed up, tripped over her blankets. “How... why can you be here? I...”
“Killed me? But Nightmare Moon, that’s exactly why I’m here.” Celestia’s smile was so bright. It cut through the darkness of the room, contrasted so greatly with the dullness of her coat and mane. “You never checked on my body, did you? Never thought to make sure it was still there during any of that time?”
Nightmare Moon said nothing.
“And of course, by the time you had gotten guilty enough to try and revive me, there was no point in trying, was there?”
Nightmare Moon ran a hoof through her mane. “Discord...”
“Yes, he bores rather easily. I suppose you should have expected that, when you left him to his own devices.” Celestia laughed. It sounded as light and musical as it always did. “But then, you were never particularly good at planning, were you?”
“But, I don’t understand...” Nightmare Moon fell again. “Did...did you come here to check on me? To make sure I didn’t ruin another Equestria? I’ve changed, Celestia! You have to believe that! Don’t you...?”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Nightmare Moon. I’m not here to check up on you.” Celestia finally moved, stood up and took a single step forward. “I’m here to replace you.”
“W-what?”
“I came here to eat your heart, just like you ate mine. I can’t very walk around like a ghoul for very long, now can I?” Celestia took another step forward. Her smile had not faded, not flickered or changed in the slightest. Her head still tilted at an angle, her teeth still shone.
“But...but sister, I’m using it...”
“I was using mine too, you know.” Celestia was only a few feet from Nightmare Moon now. The latter had fallen over, one foot still tangled in blankets. “It’s only fair, isn’t it? An eye for an eye, a heart for a heart, a life for a life?” She leaned down, her face stopped inches from Nightmare’s. “I saw you eat it, you know. I can still remember it clearly. It hurt. It hurt more than I can describe, in more ways than you can imagine. And now I’m going to do the same thing to you. It will hurt, it will hurt so badly. You will die, and the last thing you see will be me eating your heart.”
“I...I could stop you,” Nightmare Moon whispered.
“Now, why would you do something as silly as that?” Celestia reached forward, dragged a hoof along Nightmare Moon’s chest. “What better way to absolve yourself, than by letting me take your life? You’d finally be free. All that guilt and pain would be gone forever. That’s all you ever wanted, wasn’t it? That’s why you ran away and came here?”
Nightmare Moon didn’t say anything.
“I knew you would agree,” Celestia whispered. “Now, hold still.” Her horn ignited, she leaned down.
The door slammed open. Celestia stood there, the living, immaculate Celestia. Her barding was missing, her mane slightly askew, but that only made the absence of a scar and the bright colors of her mane that much more pronounced.
The revenant bending over Luna continued smiling. “Why, Celestia. So nice to see you. I suppose this can wait. I imagine you have a lot of questions. It would be rather rude to just waltz in and make a mess without a proper introduction.”
ch 2 The dungeon had entirely too many occupants lately.
Celestia nodded to the guard and walked into the cell. The doppelganger sat at the desk, her tea and biscuits untouched.
The creature would not stop smiling. Her teeth shone, and their brightness did not match the candlelight.
Celestia sat down across from it. “You haven’t touched your tea.”
“My tastebuds do not work, at the moment.”
Celestia looked over the revenant again. It certainly smelt like death. “Why did you let the guards shackle you so easily?”
The revenant’s smile widened. “Come now, Celestia! As if I would ever hurt any of my little ponies.”
“You could have run, then.”
The revenant blinked, slowly, forcefully. Like she had to be forced to perform the motion. “I did not come here for subterfuge, Celestia. I came here for justice.” It tilted its head. “Aren’t you going to ask what I am? How I got here? Aren’t you going to ask about that monster pretending to be your sister?” It’s smile flickered on that word, but quickly returned.
“I can hazard a guess. Luna told me that she killed you.”
The revenant’s smile fell away. “She told you what she was?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“I did not expect honesty from a stain like her.” The revenant leaned backward. “Still, I suppose monsters can learn tricks, given enough time. That doesn’t change anything.”
Even in my magic, floating in front of me, the book feels heavy. It took so much to get a hold of, I must be imagining the weight.
The spell sticks in my throat, like my body is scared of what the words might do. I force them out anyway. It’s for the best. If Celestia won’t admit my talent or importance, I will show it to her. To everyone.
Magic swirls from my horn, from the book. The air stiffens, the taste of metal leaks into the air. I can feel the spell forming in front of me. It’s tricky: nudging each piece into place is much more difficult than I had imagined. I’m a prodigy, however, so it doesn’t matter how difficult it is. Another thread falls into place, and another, and I feel the air throb in response.
My knees buckle. The taste of blood fills my mouth. My back hurts. It’s on fire, it’s being split open and burned and cut and it hurts so much.
I don’t take my eyes off the book. The spell weaves in and out of my body. It's gentle buzz of magic is the same as teleporting, but it’s overridden by the pain.
My legs feel weak, my neck feels like it will collapse under the weight of my head. The spell is almost done. I scream. My body feels like it’s been frozen and shattered and put back together.
The spell ends, and the book thunks onto the floor. The air still feels thick and musty, my mouth still tastes like blood.
I stand up, but my legs collapse before I can get more than few inches off the ground. I cough, and blood splatters onto the floor in front of me. My eyes sting, my horn aches. I turn my head. A wing is definitely attached to my body. It’s splayed out and onto the floor, but it is there. I turn to the other side, and my neck strains to finish the movement. There’s a matching one there, too. They’re covered in blood, but it’s already drying and flaking off. The feathers underneath match my coat perfectly.
I smile. It worked. Naturally, given the pony casting it.
I try to move them, test them, and they twitch just as I pass out.
Celestia scanned the room again. She had been in Sunset Shimmer’s chambers only a few weeks ago, assuring her that there were no shortcuts to power. “Talent only goes so far,” she had said. Sunset had seemed so receptive to the idea. The blood smeared across the floor contradicted it so starkly.
“Princess?”
Celestia shook her head. “Sorry, what?”
The guard waved a hoof at the floor. “It’s definitely her blood. Mostly, anyway. We still need to test some of the scattered bits.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. Please test every spot you can find, to be sure.”
“Of course, Princess.”
“And add additional aerial patrols to the search party.”
“Of course, Princess.”
Celestia glanced around the room again, then turned to leave. “And find out which librarian gave Sunset Shimmer access to the restricted sections. I need to question them about what else my student has been reading.”
“Of course, Princess.”
“I think I need a moment to myself, to process what has happened.”
The guard saluted. “I’ll send someone as soon as we know more.”
Many moons and suns ago, there lived a ruler of ponies. She had been through many hardships, done many things to defend her kingdom, and things were prosperous. Now and then, she saw flickers of evil and corruption among her subjects, but that was normal. So she thought.
One day, her sister attacked her. Her sister had been tainted by emotions and urges, twisted herself into a monster. She sealed her sister away, hoping to find a cure.
The guilt ate away at her. It tainted her soul. She devoted all her thoughts to solving this problem, to fixing her mistakes.
If her own sister had been overcome by such evil urges, then what would become of her kingdom and subjects? Would they succumb to evil and corruption?
Finally, after secluding herself for so long, she had an idea. She would make a mirror. A mirror that reflected all the good in whomever looked inside it, and suppressed and blurred the bad. She would have all her subjects come to look inside it, and surely that would prevent any more hatred and malice. And when her sister finally returned from her exile, then they could look into the mirror together, and everything would return to normal.
She forged the mirror from silver and gold and dragonfire. It worked perfectly. She summoned every pony in the kingdom, decreed they had to look into it. And every pony did.
Except one. The last pony in line approached the mirror, and the ruler bade him look into it. Instead, he struck it, and it shattered into uncountable pieces.
Before the ruler could react, the pieces of the mirror scattered. Fragments embedded themselves in every pony in the kingdom. The largest pieces struck the ruler herself, burying deep inside her heart and eye.
The pony never explained himself. The ruler forgave him. After all, she saw the good in his decision. With the pieces stuck in them, the effects would never wear off. Every pony would see the good in each other forever. Eventually, the effects of the mirror became irreversible. The kingdom prospered like never before.
Many moons and suns passed, and her sister's exile weakened. The ruler waited with bated breath. After so long, she would be able to see her sister again. To cleanse her and repair her. She had even made another mirror, for her sister to look into when she returned.
Finally, the magic sealing the sister faded, and she returned to the kingdom. She would be still corrupted, still twisted, but the ruler had the mirror ready.
The ruler looked at her sister, and saw only the good in her. It was like her sister had never been tarnished. The ruler was so elated, she forgot that the sister was still full of hatred, and the sister attacked her.
The ruler didn't fight back. The sister killed her, and became the new ruler. But when the new ruler found the mirror, she was filled with guilt. She looked inside it and saw all the good qualities she had lost.
She took the pieces of the mirror from her dead sister, embedded them inside herself. She swore that no matter what, she would not let this continue. She would never let herself be overcome by evil emotions or urges ever again.
To celebrate this transformation, this redemption, this revelation, she took a new name: Celestia.
Ch 1A Very Important Date Twilight Sparkle is in the Royal Observatory checking the aphelion of mars, marking figures on star charts, and making sure the Hoofle Space Telescope is working well, when an assistant pops in to tell her she is nearly late for her appointment with the princesses Twilight brought up her foreleg, and the readout on her watch was not comforting. She gasped “Feathers, you’re right!” She hurriedly grabbed her bag, stuffing a few select papers and quills into it. A few of her other notes flipped into the air, but Twilight was already halfway down the stairs. “Please do me a favor and clean that up, would? Sorry!” The intern merely turned to the mess and rolled his eyes. “Honestly, she can be such a scatterbrain sometimes…” “I heard that,” Twilight shouted from the bottom of the stairs. She shook her head and headed out the door onto the castle grounds. Plenty of time to mark his performance review later. Twilight trotted towards the main palace building at a brisk pace. She adjusted her saddlebags and chanced a glance at her watch. It’s fine, plenty of time if I hurry. I could try teleporting there, but last time I ended up in a tree. Faster just to walk. It’s a lovely night for a walk. Perfectly clear, great for telescope work. Twilight forcibly tore her gaze away from the sky and back to ground level. No, gotta focus. It’s a lovely night but getting absorbed in it is what made me late in the first place. She took another few steps three-legged while she glanced at her watch. She passes by various buildings and then arrives in the throne room, breathing a bit heavily. The princesses looked up simultaneously. Their identical body features made the motion a bit unnerving. All these years and they still get me with that, Twilight thought to herself. She flung herself into a bow and stood back up, still panting lightly. “Please, please excuse my near-tardiness, Princesses!” The Royal Sisters raised a synchronized eyebrow. “Twilight Sparkle, if we recall correctly your appointment was at x I know, but I was almost late for being early Discuss Twi’s research proposal, sisters reluctantly agree that some time in a new location, with new ponies would be good for Twilight. Celestia points out that Spike happens to be in Ponyville as well, and Twilight blushes when asked about it. “Curiosity.” Celestia retires “It is nearly my bedtime. Sister, I trust you can help Twilight with the rest of her preparations?” Ofc After Celestia leaves, Luna asks Twilight something. What is it, Princess? I know I can trust my faithful student not to say anything, but this is very important Twilight. Your research proposal was concerning a constellation whose stars are…blinking out That’s right. I know why You do? Why didn’t you say anything Because, I didn’t… Luna said. Listen, Twilight, what I am about to tell you must never leave this throne room Twilight nodded solemnly Allow me to tell you a story…
Ch.2 The Cast Constellation, Saddled Stars, The Stallion in the Stars? This was a long time ago, Twilight. I’m not proud of it, but it was a long time ago, however little that means. I’ve matured since then. Perhaps not, since you’re the first pony I’ve told… Regardless, this was some time after Tia—er—Celestia and I defeated Discord using the Elements of Harmony. He…whispered things to me. A never-ending trickle. Just when I would forget about the previous time, he would be there. The content of these whispers is best left unsaid, but they ran the gamut thematically: I came close to breaking many times. There was a disturbing undercurrent of truth in so many of the things he said…
Eventually, I snapped, but not how he expected. I sealed him in a constellation. It was easy to hide; I called it an artistic surge and Celestia thought nothing of it.
Ch. 3 Magical Mystery Tour A Tiring Tour After listening to Luna’s story, Twilight is shocked. Luna asks her to gather some ponies to use the Elements with, just in case Luna can’t bring herself to tell Tia before the prison breaks. Twilight agrees, ofc. Cut to Twilight arriving in Ponyville. She unpacks at the library, and finally she saunters out, unsure how to approach Luna’s homework. And then Pinkie smacks into her. Pinkie apologizes for not greeting her right when she arrived (was working) and then offers to show her around town. “Hmm… well, okay, that actually sounds kind of nice.” Suddenly Twilight found herself being lifted up, and when she looked down she found herself on Pinkie’s back. “Uh…” “Okey dokey lokie! One aerial tour coming right up!” “A-aerial tour!?” Tour goes here; major destinations are café, sofas and quills, etc. Twilight asks about the Elements of Harmony and so Pinkie takes her to the main 6’s dwellings. Does she asks them about the Elements or not? Finally Pinkie says she has to get back to work so she takes twilight home. “If you ever need anything I live over there” (maybe she’s Rainbow’s roommate and they already ) Twilight sighs, glad that’s finally over, and goes back upstairs to work. After eating dinner and everything (alonneeee) she checks on the fading constellation, and there’s only one star left (be sure to establish earlier that there were like 3-4 left).
Ch. 4 Twilight rushes to Pinkie’s house and asks here where those other 4 crazy ponies went. They gather the party, and Twilight explains the situation. Did Luna lend her the Elements? Did Tia find out because Luna was getting them out or because they were missing? When Twilight hands them out does she get them the same as the show or not? (maybe they start out as simple gold bracelets and when they put them on they morph or something) They all head to Everfree Forest, towards a specific clearing that Luna mentioned (Luna banned the Nightmare over there so no one would find out) (either they fly over, Rarity/Twilight teleport them, or a mix of both) Once they’re there, Twilight pulls out a star wheel astrolabe and a mini telescope (Never leave home without it!) and targets the constellation just as the last star flickers and blinks out. The night suddenly grows darker, and at the other end of the clearing is a tall pony with an orange coat and an ethereal, pitch-black mane
Ch. 5 “Well, Ah guess you weren’t lyin’ about the story…” But you shouldn’t have a body! Twilight jabbed a hoof at the creature Princess Luna said you hadn’t possessed anypony when she banished you! “Oh? So Princess Luna sent you?” The stallion smirked. “I was hoping she would greet me herself. We have so much to talk about, after all.” He glanced lazily around the clearing. “And to answer your question,” he slowly brought his gaze back to Twilight, “I was trapped in a star for a thousand years. I had to do something to pass the time.” He took a bow. “You may call me Nightmare Star. Though hopefully that name won’t last.” We already know about all the lies you told to Princess Luna! She didn’t fall for it, and neither will we!” Another smirk. “Oh, really?” Nightmare Star blinks out the sky, pitch black. And it goes around confronting each of the main six with their biggest flaws. All of them are paralyzed (this is what causes them to part ways afterwards?). Just as Twilight feels the dark energies seeping into her brain, Tia and Luna show up and Harmony the crap out of Nightmare Star (dissipating smoke->possible episode later on? Book ends; they lose to him the first time and beat him the second?). Was it all a secret test that the main six lost? Or was Luna honestly keeping a secret from Tia for that long? Luna apologizes for putting everypony through all this, just because she was too afraid to confront her own problems or to ask for help. Celestia pats her on the back and apologizes to everypony for letting things escalate this far.
Major Deviations from Canon; Pinkie – Pegasus. Her weather patrol duties mean she has less time to throw parties, but her hyperactivity and teammate dash help get the sky clear in 5 seconds flat. Main flaw isn’t wanting to be liked—everypony likes her—it’s being afraid that she doesn’t have any real friends besides Dash Dash – is less insecure, more fangirl (I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, I like what I like! Meme references? Gotta go fast!). Less lazy cuz of Pinkie being her BFF? Flaws; stubborn? Afraid to try new things? Flutters – earth pony Spike was raised by Fluttershy. This actually made flutters more outgoing Summer Sun Celebration and Winter Moon Celebration are the two largest festivals in Equestria. SoL opportunity. Ticket master? That’s the Ticket (They intentionally send twilight multiple tickets to get her to be more social and invite ponies? Naturally she chooses the ponies she kinda knows already) Two of the main six have UST? (Rarity and AJ, mebbe?) Nah, don’t want any romantic plot tumors, Faust definitely had that right.
Rarity scribbled another sentence on her notepad. The dish smelled nice enough. She opened the oven, and the smell of garlic and mushrooms hit her along with the wave of heat.
The mushrooms had browned nicely, but the gems still hadn’t ejected all their magic. Rarity closed the oven and wrote another note. Perhaps mushrooms absorbed magic slower.
Her ear flicked. “Sweetie Belle!” She looked up. Her sister was two steps into the kitchen, frozen in place. “I’ve told you three times now not to disturb me when I’m designing new spells. This is a delicate process.” Rarity crouched down. The mushrooms were dangerously crispy, but the gems still hadn’t emptied.
“But I want to help!” Sweetie said.
“You are helping by watching the front desk.”
“But nopony’s here!” Sweetie waggled a hoof at the front door.
“Then why don’t you go and play with your friends?” Another scribble. “Weren’t you trying to get your cutie marks or somesuch?”
“Yeah, but we already tried everything we could think of. I thought maybe if I helped in here, then—”
“Oh, Sweetie, don’t be silly.” Rarity’s horn ignited and the oven door clanked open. The baking sheet floated out of it. There was nothing for it, any longer and it would be inedible. “This requires precision and experience. One cannot simply do it. Magic food is dangerous if prepared improperly.” She prodded the bruschetta a little. Her pencil floated back towards the notepad. Perhaps less heat and a longer cooking time, give the gems enough time to marinade properly.
“But—”
“Now, if you aren’t going to attend to the front desk, please stay out of the kitchen.” Rarity plucked the gems off the baking sheet and placed them in a glass jar. They clinked against the other gems as they landed. “This mathshroom bruschetta is giving me more trouble than I thought, and I can’t afford any distractions.”
“But—”
There was a jingle from the other room.
“Ah, speaking of customers.” Rarity turned to the door, her apron untying as she began walking. “Don’t worry, Sweetie, I’ll handle this one. Run along and play with your friends. And don’t touch anything in here.”
Rarity pushed through the kitchen door, her magic tugging at her ponytail. “Welcome to Carousel Catering and Spellcraft, how can I—” She let go of her hair. “Oh, Twilight! I didn’t expect to see you out of the observatory today. Did you need something?”
“Uhm, well.” Twilight glanced at a picture on the wall. It looked like a very abstract blotch of purple. “I was wondering if your offer for those cupcakes was still, uhm, valid.”
“Oho! Finally realized that some self-improvement would do you some good. Of course it’s still valid! Charisma cupcakes are one of my most popular spells! Just let me grab my notepad and take down some of your details. Body weight, age, simple things like that.”
Rarity poked her head into the kitchen. “Sweetie, darling, can you bring me my...” The kitchen was empty. “Hmm, I suppose she went to play with her friends after all.” The notepad on the counter and the pencil next to it glowed blue and floated over. “Just as well, she spends far too much time here on occasion.”
“So let me get this straight...” Apple Bloom pointed at the jar of gems. “If you cook food with one of these next to it, then it becomes magic?”
“Well, kind of,” Sweetie Belle said. “It also needs to have a goofy name and you need to make it right.”
“I dunno. A cooking cutie mark sounds pretty lame,” Scootaloo said.
“Except we won’t get our cutie marks from cooking, we’ll get them from the spell.” Sweetie turned the jar over, and the gems clattered loudly. “That’ll show Rarity.”
“So whatta we make then?” Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I dunno, think of some food that rhymes with ‘cutie mark’.”
The three fillies rubbed their chins. All three of them exaggerated the motion, made it too noticeable. An adult walking by might have found it charmingly adorable because of how unconvincing it was, but it managed to fool the fillies.
“What about, uh, mark-aroni?”
“Or mark-aroons?”
“Wait, do we even know how to cook any of those?” Sweetie asked?
“Since when has that ever stopped us?”
“Yeah, what she said,” Scootaloo added.
“But this is different.” Sweetie pointed at the jar. “If we do it wrong then the spell won’t work right. So we need to use something we know how to make.”
“I can make applesauce.” Apple Bloom rubbed her chin again. “Maybe, uh, apple-mark...sauce?”
“I can make cereal.” Scootaloo rubbed her chin again. “Maybe, uh, cute-e-al?”
“That sounds terrible.”
“Well, yours was worse.”
“Girls, don’t worry.” Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin. Unlike before, this time the motion was subtle and restrained. “I think I got an idea.”
Sweetie Belle set the bowl down. The lumpy green mass didn’t move at all. It just sat there, listless and static.
“So that’s it?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
Apple Bloom pointed at the bowl. “All we did was squish some avacados and tomatoes together. You made it sound all complicated.”
“That’s what guacamole is.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Don’t you two know anything about food?”
“Whatever,” Scootaloo waved a hoof. “We’ve got the stuff, now what?”
“Now we need to stick one of the gems near it and leave it in the fridge overnight.”
“I thought you said ”
Charisma Cupcakes Chapter one (first draft and second draft)
Rarity scribbled another sentence on her notepad. The dish smelled nice enough. She opened the oven, and the smell of garlic and mushrooms hit her along with the wave of heat.
The mushrooms had browned nicely, but the gems still hadn’t ejected all their magic. Rarity closed the oven and wrote another note. Perhaps mushrooms absorbed magic slower.
Her ear flicked. “Sweetie Belle!” She looked up. Her sister was two steps into the kitchen, frozen in place. “I’ve told you three times now not to disturb me when I’m designing new spells. This is a delicate process.” Rarity crouched down. The mushrooms were dangerously crispy, but the gems still hadn’t emptied.
“But I want to help!” Sweetie said.
“You are helping by watching the front desk.”
“But nopony’s here!” Sweetie waggled a hoof at the front door.
“Then why don’t you go and play with your friends?” Another scribble. “Weren’t you trying to get your cutie marks or somesuch?”
“Yeah, but we already tried everything we could think of. I thought maybe if I helped in here, then—”
“Oh, Sweetie, don’t be silly.” Rarity’s horn ignited and the oven door clanked open. The baking sheet floated out of it. There was nothing for it, any longer and it would be inedible. “This requires precision and experience. One cannot simply do it. Magic food is dangerous if prepared improperly.” She prodded the bruschetta a little. Her pencil floated back towards the notepad. Perhaps less heat and a longer cooking time, give the gems enough time to marinade properly.
“But—”
“Now, if you aren’t going to attend to the front desk, please stay out of the kitchen.” Rarity plucked the gems off the baking sheet and placed them in a glass jar. They clinked against the other gems as they landed. “This mathshroom bruschetta is giving me more trouble than I thought, and I can’t afford any distractions.”
“But—”
There was a jingle from the other room.
“Ah, speaking of customers.” Rarity turned to the door, her apron untying as she began walking. “Don’t worry, Sweetie, I’ll handle this one. Run along and play with your friends. And don’t touch anything in here.”
Rarity pushed through the kitchen door, her magic tugging at her ponytail. “Welcome to Carousel Catering and Spellcraft, how can I—” She let go of her hair. “Oh, Twilight! I didn’t expect to see you out of the observatory today. Did you need something?”
“Uhm, well.” Twilight glanced at a picture on the wall. It looked like a very abstract blotch of purple. “I was wondering if your offer for those cupcakes was still, uhm, valid.”
“Oho! Finally realized that some self-improvement would do you some good. Of course it’s still valid! Charisma cupcakes are one of my most popular spells! Just let me grab my notepad and take down some of your details. Body weight, age, simple things like that.”
Rarity poked her head into the kitchen. “Sweetie, darling, can you bring me my...” The kitchen was empty. “Hmm, I suppose she went to play with her friends after all.” The notepad on the counter and the pencil next to it glowed blue and floated over. “Just as well, she spends far too much time here on occasion.”
Twilight stared at the tray of cupcakes. They had been sitting on her kitchen table for hours now. She had spent hours working up the nerve to ask Rarity to make them. In the time it took for them to bake and marinade in magic, maybe Twilight had lost her nerve.
She had tried to focus on her work. Even with the mystery of the broken constellation solved, she had plenty of other things to do around the observatory. Yet the thought of them had not left her mind.
Twilight picked up Rarity’s note. She had to strain slightly to read the curly cursive. All the astronomers she knew had positively dreadful quillwork, and she had adjusted to typed papers long ago.
Eat one before going to bed. Do not brush teeth. Do not eat more than one every two days.
Enjoy! Rarity.
Twilight put the note down. It felt so silly. Using magic to boost her charisma. She glanced at her desk. The tickets that the Royal Sisters had sent her were still in there. One for each of the ponies that had helped with the Nightmare Star debacle. They hadn’t moved from their envelope since she had stuck them in that drawer.
She turned back to the cupcakes. There were seven total. Why had Rarity given her so many? She only needed one, just enough to hand out the tickets and forget about it. Maybe another one when they actually went to the Winter Moon Celebration.
Twilight shook her head. The princesses hadn’t ordered her to hand out those tickets, but they would be disappointed if she didn’t. Twilight grabbed one of the cupcakes in her magic aura and shoved it into her mouth, before she could change her mind again.
She glanced at the clock. Zero zero fifteen. A little earlier than she usually went to bed, but there was nothing for it. All the procrastination had tired her out, anyway.
She rolled her tongue across her mouth. She could feel crumbs and frosting stuck to her teeth. The temptation to brush her teeth jabbed at her brain, but rules were rules.
Twilight’s eyes popped open. She let out a prolonged yawn, then slowly turned to glance at her clock. The daylight poking into her eyes certainly matched the clock.
Twilight dragged herself out of bed. The lack of a proper tooth brushing from last night jumped to the front of her brain, and she headed straight for the bathroom.
Normally she was not the type to look at herself in the mirror, unless it was necessary for something. Today the urge struck her, so she sauntered into the bathroom.
She grabbed her toothbrush and ran her tongue across her mouth. Her teeth felt smooth, but that was probably a trick of fatigue. She turned to the mirror.
She looked amazing. Even though she had just gotten out of bed, her mane looked perfectly normal. Her usual straight manecut didn’t look any different, but light bounced off it in a subtle, pleasant way. Her coat looked glossier, her fetlocks looked smoother. She opened her mouth and ran her tongue across her teeth. They felt and looked perfectly shiny and clean.
She instinctively glanced toward the kitchen. The wall blocked her view, but the cupcakes must still be on the table.
She ran a hoof through her mane. No knots, no grease, no tangles. It felt silky and clean.
She had planned to finish some chores today. Normally she stayed away from town on weekdays, the crowds impeded her errands. But perhaps some grocery shopping would test the effects. A little inquiry on the mechanics of it wouldn’t hurt. She grabbed her bag and set out.
As soon as she stepped out of the observatory, she could feel eyes on her. She saw the mailmare out of the corner of her eye, and a stallion pulling a cart near the end of the road. Normally the idea of ponies looking at her would trigger a dozen different worries and fantasies. Maybe she had gotten something stuck to her tail, or her bag hadn’t been washed, or ponies were taking note of a stranger they never saw.
Those feelings almost happened. Twilight felt them poke at her, but they vanished immediately. It felt like a burp that didn’t happen, the echo of something that wanted to be heard and then changed its mind. As the feeling died away, Twilight felt happy. She smiled, and she imagined that those ponies noticed.
The observatory had been built fairly far out of town, so ponies would only get denser the closer she got to the market. The prospect of more attention actually calmed her. It felt like something to look forward to.
Ponies clogged the market. It felt like wading into a swimming pool rather than walking along a road.
Twilight sauntered over to the fruit stand. Those same feelings of threatening worry poked at the back of her mind again, but they barely registered.
“Afternoon, Twilight,” Cherry Picker said. “Did you do something with your mane? It looks nice.”
“Thank you.” Normally a compliment would take her a while to respond to. The last time Celestia had complimented one of her papers, it had taken her a full ten seconds of stammering to start a sentence after. It felt like somepony had chosen the words for her and stuck them in her mouth. It felt nice.
The entire day felt the same. Every little action felt like it made ponies notice her. Every time she felt ponies notice her it made her happy. And every time she said something or responded to someone, the words came out so quickly and easily.
Finally, she returned to her home. The observatory felt oddly empty. Normally she liked it that way, but right now it felt oddly draining.
She strolled into the kitchen, and her eyes latched onto the cupcakes. The note still sat near them, but Twilight pushed it away. The day had been a pleasant blur, like a she had walked through a park on a sunny day. Maybe she had done that. Trees and ponies glancing at her were definitely in there somewhere.
Twilight picked up one of the cupcakes and ate it. It tasted fine, same as before. She grabbed another in her magic, contemplated it for a second. Rarity hadn’t mentioned any consequences about eating too many of them, and Twilight hadn’t worried about the other one. She smiled and put it in her mouth. If one felt good, then two would be even better. After all, rules were made to be broken.
SECOND DRAFT STARTS HERE
Twilight stared at the tray of cupcakes. They had been sitting on her kitchen table for hours now, silently taunting her. She had spent hours working up the nerve to ask Rarity to make them. In the time it took for them to bake and marinade in magic, maybe she had lost her nerve.
She had tried to focus on her work. Even with the mystery of the broken constellation solved, she had plenty of other things to do around the observatory. Yet the cupcakes, and the inadequacy they represented, had sat at the back of her thoughts the entire time.
Twilight picked up Rarity’s note. She had to strain slightly to read the curly cursive. All the astronomers she knew had positively dreadful quillwork, and she had adjusted to typed papers long ago.
Eat one before going to bed. Do not brush teeth. Do not eat more than one every two days.
Enjoy! Rarity.
Twilight put the note down.
It felt so silly. Using magic to boost her charisma. She glanced at her desk. The tickets that the Royal Sisters had sent her were still in there. One for each of the ponies that she had dragged with her into the Everfree. “Half-apology and half-thank-you,” Princess Luna’s note had said. They hadn’t moved from their envelope since Twilight had stuck them in that drawer.
She turned back to the cupcakes. There were seven total. Why had Rarity given her so many? She only needed one, just enough to hand out the tickets and forget about it.
Unless she did need more.
Twilight shook her head. The princesses hadn’t ordered her to hand out those tickets, but they would be disappointed if she didn’t. Twilight grabbed one of the cupcakes in her magic aura and shoved it into her mouth, before she could change her mind again. It tasted like a cupcake. Hints of vanilla and daisy mixed with the sharp sugar of the frosting and the chewiness of the wrapper she had forgotten to take off.
She swallowed. Nothing happened. Maybe her tongue tingled slightly, but the feeling faded quickly.
She glanced at the clock. Zero zero fifteen. A little earlier than she usually went to bed, but there was nothing for it. She had meant to get more filing done, but constantly avoiding the cupcakes and trying to ignore them had taken up a lot of her time and energy.
She turned to her bedroom. Maybe the magic would only start up tomorrow. She rolled her tongue across her mouth. She could feel crumbs and frosting stuck to her teeth. The temptation to brush her teeth jabbed at her brain, but rules were rules.
Twilight’s eyes popped open. She let out a prolonged yawn, then slowly turned to glance at her clock. The daylight poking into her eyes certainly matched the time.
Twilight dragged herself out of bed. Her mouth felt sticky and dry, her tongue felt greasy. She headed straight for the bathroom.
She grabbed her toothbrush and ran her tongue across her mouth. Her teeth felt smooth, but that was probably a trick of fatigue. Normally she was not the type to look at herself in the mirror, unless she needed to brush her teeth or was about to confront a crowd. She actively avoided it otherwise. She turned to the mirror, and felt and saw her eyes widen.
She looked amazing. Even though she had just gotten out of bed, her mane looked perfectly normal. Her usual straight manecut didn’t look any different, but light bounced off it in a subtle, pleasant way. Her coat looked glossier, her fetlocks looked smoother. She spread her lips, smiling awkwardly at her reflection. Her teeth felt and looked perfectly shiny and clean.
She instinctively glanced toward the kitchen. The wall blocked her view, but the cupcakes had to be there.
She ran a hoof through her mane. No knots, no grease, no tangles. It felt she had just spent hours in a spa.
She had planned to finish some chores today. Normally she stayed away from town on weekdays; the crowds impeded her errands. But perhaps some grocery shopping would test the effects. A little inquiry on the mechanics of it wouldn’t hurt. She grabbed her bag and set out.
As soon as she stepped out of the observatory, she could feel eyes on her. She saw the mailpony out of the corner of her eye, and a stallion pulling a cart near the end of the road. Normally the idea of ponies looking at her would trigger a dozen different worries and fantasies. Maybe she had gotten something stuck to her tail, or her bag hadn’t been washed, or ponies were taking note of a stranger they never saw.
Those feelings almost happened. Twilight felt them poke at her, but they vanished immediately. It felt like a shout in a crowded room, the echo of something that wanted to be heard and then changed its mind. As the feeling died away, Twilight felt happy. She smiled, and she imagined that those ponies noticed.
The observatory had been built fairly far out of town, so ponies would only get denser the closer she got to the market. The prospect of more attention actually calmed her. It felt like something to look forward to.
Ponies clogged the market. It felt like wading into a swimming pool rather than walking along a road.
Twilight sauntered over to the fruit stand. Those same feelings of threatening worry poked at the back of her mind again, but they barely registered.
“Afternoon, Twilight,” Cherry Picker said. “Did you do something with your mane? It looks nice.”
“Thank you.” Normally a compliment would take her a while to respond to. The last time Celestia had complimented one of her papers, it had taken her a full ten seconds of stammering to begin a sentence afterward. It felt like somepony had chosen the words for her and stuck them in her mouth. It felt nice.
Cherry Picker had already pulled a brown paper bag from under her stall. “There you go. The usual, right?”
“Oh, how thoughtful of you. You know me too well.” Twilight fished her purse out of her bags. “Four bits, right?”
Cherry Picker glanced at the purse and back at the bag. “You know, why don’t you have this one on the house? You have come here so often, after all.”
“Oh, I couldn’t,” Twilight said.
“No, I insist.”
“Well, if you really do insist.” Twilight put her purse back. “I would not want to insult such a generous gesture.” Twilight picked up the cherries. “Thank you. You’re so generous.”
Cherry picker smiled. “You’re welcome. It’s no big deal for one of my favorite customers.”
“I hope you have a wonderful day. Hopefully karma pays you back.”
“You too, Twilight.”
Twilight turned away. She wanted to object more. She barely knew Cherry Picker. She only saw the pony now and then to buy some fruit. Yet the conversation had been so easy. The eye contact, the way Cherry’s gaze had lingered on her mane, and the promptness of all her sentiments and sentences had felt so natural. Twilight lifted her head, straightened her neck. Maybe the other merchants would feel the same way.
Twilight pushed open her door, plopped her bag on a table. Her steps were light and quick, her movements were sharp and poised. Even now, she could imagine pony after pony looking at her and complimenting her and adoring her. She had lost count of them all. The day had been a pleasant blur, like she had walked through a park on a sunny day. Maybe she had done that. She certainly remembered trees next to some of the ponies.
The observatory felt empty. That was intentional, of course. She liked quiet and solitude during research. A star sitting in a telescope or a well-written research paper was that much better in a pretty silence. And yet, right now it felt oddly draining. The lack of noise put her off.
She strolled into the kitchen, and her eyes latched onto the cupcakes. The note still sat near them, but Twilight pushed it away.
Twilight picked up one of the cupcakes and ate it. It tasted fine, same as before. She grabbed another in her magic, contemplated it for a second. Rarity hadn’t mentioned any consequences about eating too many of them, and Twilight hadn’t worried about the other one. She smiled and put it in her mouth. If one felt good, then two would be even better. After all, rules were made to be broken.
Ponies clogged the marketplace. That was usually a good thing; it meant that business flowed and moved correctly. It felt different today. The ebb and flow of a normal day had been pushed aside, replaced with a static blobbiness.
Rarity hesitated for a moment. Mobs like this one were never good for her mane, but she did not want to be left out of the loop. She nodded and strolled towards the mass. Perhaps a more exploratory approach would work.
“Excuse me,” Rarity tapped one of the outermost ponies on the shoulder. “What is everypony crowding around?”
“You don’t know?” The mare didn’t turn around. “Twilight has been regaling everypony all morning.”
Rarity’s eyebrow rose reflexively. “Twilight? Regaling? In the morning? None of those seem to match up quite right.”
“Shh.” The mare waggled her hoof, then tried to raise her neck. “I can’t hear what she’s saying.”
“Hmm.” Rarity had not made the cupcakes that potent. So either they had reacted with Twilight’s natural magics somehow, or she had eaten too many. Rarity pushed into the crowd, muttering “excuse me”s and “pardon me”s under her breath. Giving Twilight so many had been stupid. She should have known better than to give her more than a sampler for just this reason. Twilight did not strike her as the type to willfully ignore instructions, however, so maybe—
Rarity broke into the small clearing at the center of the throng, and her eyes widened. Twilight looked incredible. Her mane curled slightly, her coat shined in the sunlight. Her eyes looked like polished gems set in a classical statue.
Twilight smiled, and light glinted off her teeth. “So, I looked up the star charts, and it turns out they had been using the one for the southern hemisphere by accident!”
Laughter washed across the crowd. It felt deep and sincere and infectious. It took Rarity a moment to realize that she laughed along with everyone else. She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. That could not be a good sign.
“Twilight?”
“Oh, Rarity! So wonderful to see you.” Twilight waved a hoof at the crowd. “I was just regaling all these lovely ponies with a pithy anecdote.”
One of the bystanders poked their neighbor. “Did you hear that? She called us wonderful!”
“...Twilight?”
Twilight smiled. “Yes, Rarity?” Her teeth looked like tiny stars or gems, glittering in the sunlight.
Rarity mouth flapped, but no sound came out. Every time she reached for something to say, her eyes latched onto Twilight’s smile or eyes and she lost her train of thought. “You look incredible.”
“Why, thank you!” Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. “I tried something different today, and everypony has been commenting on it.”
Rarity closed her eyes. If magic was causing her to get so distracted then her eyelids would not stop it, but it could certainly test things. “Something different? I take it you liked my cupcakes, then?”
“Oh yes, I meant to thank you for those. They worked quite well.”
“And you followed the instructions?”
A foreleg draped across Rarity’s shoulder’s. Twilight’s hooves felt so smooth. Her coat felt so silky.
“Now, Rarity, do I seem like the type that would disobey instructions?”
“I...I suppose not.” Rarity scrunched her eyes, but the image of Twilight smiling at her did not leave her head.
“Of course I wouldn’t. Especially from a pony as knowledgeable as you.”
“I suppose you’re right. It’s just that there can be all sorts of side effects if you overdose on them.” Rarity’s eyes opened, and Twilight’s smile greeted her. “I just wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Oh, Rarity, you are so sweet. But you don’t have to worry, I’m perfectly fine.” Twilight leaned in, ever so slightly. “Amazing, really. All thanks to you.”
Twilight withdrew. “In fact, I’m having a party later today. You should come! See for yourself how fine I am.” She turned, and the crowd’s eyes followed her, still quietly enraptured with every word. “Now why don’t you come along? I was just going to regale everypony in the park.”
“That sounds nice.” Something poked at the back of Rarity’s thoughts. She blinked. “Except, I really shouldn’t. I mean, I can’t. I have work to do, after all.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. But I’m sure you’ll be at the party. Most of the town will be there.” Twilight trotted off. The crowd of ponies shifted, followed after her in perfect step. “See you there!” She turned her head back. “Now, let me tell you about the time one of my colleagues set their star wheel incorrectly!”
Murmurs and whispers rippled across the crowd. “Oh, wow, that sounds interesting!” “I bet it’ll be even better than the last one!” Twilight cleared her throat, and everypony in the mob immediately went silent. Twilight started her story, and her voice carried as the mass of ponies walked into the distance.
Rarity didn’t do anything for a moment. Her brain felt sluggish. She shook her head, but the fog stuck stubbornly to her mind. That scene, that event, had not felt normal.
Her ear flicked, the fog suddenly lifted.
“Oh, dear.” The temptation to use stronger language rubbed against her, but she quickly pushed it aside. Cathartic as it may be, she was still a lady. Besides, she had to turn her thoughts to productive things. Antidotes and counterspells and recipes. Something that could fix this mess.
“What was that all about?”
Rarity looked up. A cloud floated a few feet above her, and Rainbow Dash’s face poked over the side.
“Rainbow Dash, have you been here this whole time?”
“Kinda. I was reading, then a saw a big chunk of ponies all walk off at once. What happened?”
“I’m afraid Twilight may have overdosed on some magic.”
“Didja give her too much of your magic food?”
Rarity tried to hide her frown. “What makes you think it was my fault?”
“Well, you’re standing there, looking guilty. All alone.”
“I might have overestimated her self-control. It’s nothing I can’t fix, however,” Rarity said.
“Didn’t you say that about the thing with the plants?”
“That was different! I told Avant Garden not to leave any of my spells near her venus flytraps and...” Rarity stopped. She took a deep breath. She had to focus. “At any rate, I think I already have a plan. If Twilight overdosed, it is a simple matter to get the magic out of her body. I’ll just need a pony with a strong personality.”
“Yeah, well, good luck with that.” Rainbow Dash flopped back onto the cloud.
“Rainbow Dash! Aren’t you the least bit concerned about helping your friend?”
Rainbow poked her head over the cloud again. “I don’t think getting our butts kicked by a crazy alicorn makes us friends. Why don’t you just get Pinkie to do it?”
Rarity shook her head. “If Twilight is throwing a party, then she must have already gotten to Pinkie. And I believe Applejack is out of town on business today.”
“Well then what about Fluttersh—” Rainbow clamped a hoof over her mouth, but the snicker still leaked across the square. “Almost got it out.”
“Rainbow Dash, this is serious! Twilight has already enthralled most of the town by the looks of it. We can’t just ignore her.”
“Won’t she just digest the magic and go back to normal? I’m, like, right at the good part.” Rainbow brandished her book at Rarity. A Song of Ice and Farrier, by the looks of it.
Rarity stroked her chin. That venus flytrap had returned to normal once the pasta was out of its system. Still, that had taken several hours. “Even if I wanted to let Twilight alone for that long, it might not be that simple. If she overdosed, then the magic of the cupcakes may be mixing with her natural magics.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So, what? Is she gonna blow up?”
“No.”
“Is it gonna go straight to her thighs?”
“No. But it might become irreversible if it corru—mixes with her natural magic too much.”
“Alright, alright.” Dash jumped off the cloud, her book tucked under her wing. “We’ll save the egghead. Wouldn’t want you to get another citation.”
Rarity pursed her lips. “Those charges were never proven. Besides, this won’t be nearly as dangerous. How much harm could Twilight do?”
Rarity pushed aside another jar. “Aha, finally.” She pulled the clump of aluminum foil out of the fridge. “I’ve been saving this for a while now.” She unwrapped one end, and the smell of garlic wafted out. “Garlic bread with all the magic sucked out of it. It should soak up all the excess in Twilight and return her to normal fairly easily.”
“That’s it? Should it have a goofy name or something?”
Rarity gasped. “My titles are not goofy! They are clever and informative!”
“Whatever.” Rainbow poked a hoof at the bread. “So that’s your plan? I just get her to eat this?”
“Well, yes.” Rarity sniffed at it, and winced slightly. A bit on the dry side, but it couldn’t be helped. All that time sitting next to blank gems had been the only way to make it more absorbent. “I may have to stick it in the oven first, though. Freshen it up a bit.”
“Couldn’t you have done this without me?”
“Oh, no no.” Rarity turned to the oven and pushed the bread into it. “I have to stay here and work on our backup plan.” She pulled up a notepad. “What are your measurements, again?”
“Backup plan? I don’t like the sound of that.”
It’s nothing. I’m sure somepony as belligerent and stubborn as you will be able to resist Twilight long enough to give her this. I just like to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
“Eventualities, possible disruptions, that sort of thing.” Rarity leaned over. “I suppose you’re what, three-hundred-and-eighty pounds? Twenty-three?” She pointed her pencil at Rainbow’s side. “You athletic types can be so hard to judge correctly sometimes.”
“Is Twilight going to, like hypnotize me or something? Am I going to be some kind of zombie?” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof around. “Is this going to end up like Daring Do and the Return of the Curse of the Mummy, or what?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Hypnosis. Ridiculous. She’s entrancing ponies, not hypnotizing them.” Her ear flicked and she turned to the oven. “Now, just get her to eat this, and if she entrances you then leave. Very simple, isn’t it?”
“But the mummy slaves couldn’t leave, that was the entire point of the plot! And then Daring had to beat up her brainwashed sister and all sorts of emotional turmoil happened!”
Rarity poked at the bread. It certainly looked better than before. Not good enough for a title, though. “I should probably wrap this up, make it look a little better.”
Rainbow reared up, her hooves landing on the counter with a vibrating clack.“Are you even listening to me?”
“Now now, Rainbow Dash, of course I am. There’s no need to get so upset just because I asked about your weight.”
The sky was empty. Not a single pegasus or cloud could be seen. The streets and buildings looked the same, deserted and lifeless.
Rainbow Dash paused in midair. It definitely felt like that scene from Daring Do and the Return of the Curse of the Mummy. Rarity had insisted that a group of mummified ponies wasn’t going to attack her, and that Twilight definitely was not going to hold her down and hypnotize her with ancient magic. A breeze passed through the streets, and an abandoned window clacked loudly.
Rainbow’s ear flicked. A burst of noise came from the park. She poked the brown paper bag in her mouth, and it swung slightly.
She banked to the left and glided towards the park. Another burst of noise, muffled laughter or cheering. She squinted. The park looked a lot more colorful than usual, more crowded. Every meter she traveled made it more obvious how many ponies were packed into the place. A sea of colors and cutie marks swamped the entire grounds. It looked like half the town was there.
There was a tiny clearing in the middle of the cloud of ponies. A distinct purple unicorn sat in the center. Rainbow Dash gulped. Well, at least they aren’t wrapped in bandages or anything.
Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight. Hundreds of eyes locked onto her, murmurs rippled across the crowd. “You’re blocking our view of Twilight,” a few ponies muttered.
“Why, hello, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “How nice of you to stop by.”
“Uhm, yeah, hi.” Rainbow Dash tried not to make eye contact. The ponies circling her made it difficult. She pulled the bag out of her mouth. “Rarity wanted me to give you this. Said it was part of the cupcake thing.”
“Well, I’m very grateful that you brought it over personally, Rainbow. But the cupcakes are working just fine.”
Every time Twilight said something, every pair of eyes in the park swung onto her. And once she had finished they went right back to glaring at Rainbow Dash.
Dash swallowed, a bit more loudly than she had intended. “Yeah, well, she said it was important.”
Twilight took a step forward. The crowd of ponies shifted to match her step. “Rainbow Dash, is something wrong?”
“No?”
Twilight tilted her head. “Why aren’t you looking at me?”
“I, uhm, got something in my teeth?”
Twilight pulled the bag out of Rainbow’s grip with her magic. “Well, if Rarity says it is important, I would not want to ignore her. I’ll eat it later. I would not want to make anypony jealous by eating something in front of them.”
“She’s so polite!” “And considerate!” the crowd murmured.
“No, Rarity said to eat it as soon as possible.”
“Oh, did she?” Twilight tilted her head again. “Rainbow Dash, is there something you aren’t telling me? I know a loyal friend like you would never lie to me, of course, but you seem to be acting a little strange.”
Rainbow Dash swallowed again, louder than before. Twilight’s voice sounded so hurt. “It’s nothing.” The crowd of ponies staring at her made the feeling worse.
“Well, if you are sure.” The bag crinkled loudly, and the utter silence of the park meant nothing interrupted it.
“There is one thing. It, uhm, might suck all the cupcake magic out of you.”
“Now why would Rarity want to do that?” Twilight asked. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“We just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet.” Twilight trotted over and wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow Dash. “I’m so lucky to have friends that care so much about me.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. She could never lie to her best friend.
“Could you please bring this back to Rarity for me? I don’t need it, and I wouldn’t want it to go to waste, after all.”
Rainbow Dash nodded again. Twilight’s coat felt so smooth. It was so pleasantly distracting, it made it hard to think of something to say.
“Thank you, it means a lot to me.”
Rainbow Dash’s heart leapt. Making Twilight happy felt so fulfilling.
“And I’ll see at the party later, won’t I?”
“Of course.” Rainbow smiled. “I would never miss any of your parties.”
Rarity’s ear flicked as her door jingled. “Well? How did it go?”
Dash stepped into the kitchen, dropped the paper bag onto the counter. If that wasn’t enough of answer, the way she rubbed her neck and the look on her face was. “So, uhm, about that backup plan...?”
C3
shouldn't it have a goofy name?
My titles are not goofy! They’re clever!
Picking two words with the same letter isn’t clever!
then rarity feds rainbow dash a concetrated charisma cupcake and some kind of weird clash of wills ensues?
Luna awoke, her scream echoing off the tiles and windows.
She lurched to her feet. Memories stabbed at her. Memories of blood and fire and imposters. Memories of failure and betrayal.
“Celestia! I know you are here somewhere!” The castle looked different, unfamiliar and distorted. Luna tried to walk forward, but her legs barely held up her weight. This had to be Celestia’s doing. She had discovered Luna’s friend, had somehow found out about her plans.
She had to be jealous. She was jealous that someone had paid more attention to Luna than to Celestia.
“Come out, sister!”
Pain stung at Luna’s chest. It felt like she had forgotten something important. Why the castle looked different, why her chest hurt. Hazy memories stabbed at her mind again. The taste of blood creeped at the edge of her mouth.
Please, help me. You said we would get revenge, that ponies would love us. You said we would do it together. I need you.
No voice answered her.
“H-hello, Luna.”
Luna’ face twisted into a smile that showed entirely too many teeth. “Hello, sister.” She spun around, her horn ignited.
She paused. Celestia looked different. Too different. Frayed and forlorn.
“Who are you?”
“I’m C-celestia, your sister.”
“No.” Luna crept forward. The discolored pony sat there passively. “You are not bright enough to be Celestia. Sickeningly bright. Disgustingly bright.”
Luna looked around. “Do you know where we are?”
“In C-canterlot.”
“The mountain? This is the first I’ve heard of such a construction in that old place.” She turned back to the discolored pony. “I’m looking for a friend of mine. She was supposed to come with me to talk to Celestia. Have you seen her?”
The discolored pony frowned at that. “I’m afraid that your f-f-friend had to leave.”
“No! She wouldn’t leave me!” Luna ignited her horn. “You lie!”
“I wouldn’t l-l-lie to you.”
“Are you another of Celestia servants? Another disguised guard come to feed me lies...” Luna paused. There had been another imposter, pretending to be her friend. That is why she was unconscious. That is why her chest hurt.
“No...”
“Luna, p-please try to stay calm...”
“That imposter...she told me things. I tried to kill her and... but I can’t be...”
“Luna, don’t worry, I’m h-here to help y—”
“Stay back!” Magic scattered off Luna’s horn, cracking tiles and chipping columns. She ran towards the door, any door.
The hallways all looked dingy and unkempt. She ran down corridor after corridor. Finally she burst through a set of double doors and into the courtyard.
The courtyard had decayed long ago. Empty plots of dirt and worn tiles stretched forward, ending in a set of disheveled gates. They had been left open. Empty landscape stretched as far as she could see, swathed in light from a disproportionately large moon.
Luna turned her head in every direction she could, but the same sight greeted her at every turn. Broken, empty skyline.
Luna sat down.
Hoofsteps clacked on the tile behind her.
“I had h-hoped to ease you into the s-sight,” Celestia said.
“I recognize your scent, now.” Luna turned her head. “At first it confused me. You look like Celestia, but with all the light gone.” Her teeth shone in the moonlight. “You smell like decay and failure.”
Celestia sat down. “That’s n-not inaccurate.”
“So that doppelganger killed me after all.”
“Y-yes.”
Luna laughed. “Well, if I had to die, had to wind up in Hel or Tartarus or wherever we may be, then I suppose that is only fair.” She turned her body to face Celestia. “But my friend kept her promise after all. She killed you too.”
Celestia sighed. “That’s n-not inaccurate.”
Luna laughed. It reverberated off the stones and empty planters. She laughed until her teeth caught the moonlight.
“But t-tell me, sister. Now that y-you have what you wanted, now that we are e-equal in the eyes of our subjects...” Celestia waved a hoof at the emptiness. “Was it w-worth it?”
Luna’s laugh stopped abruptly. She turned around again, stared at the skyline. She sat there, unmoving, for a very long time.
Celestia stared at her the entire time. She said nothing, just waited.
Finally, Luna’s shoulders shook.
Celestia inched forward, placed a hoof on her sister.
“She wasn’t my friend, was she?”
“N-n-no,” Celestia whispered.
Luna grabbed her sister, began sobbing into her coat. “I’m sorry... I’m so, so sorry...”
“Shh... It’s ok-kay, sister.” Celestia leaned down, nuzzled Luna’s mane. “I’m just g-glad to have you back.”
Luna had listened quietly to the entire story.
“That sounds...quite far-fetched.”
“Yes, I s-suppose it does. But considering everything we have s-seen, is it really s-so improbable?”
“So then this is not the underworld, just a broken Equestria? I don’t know if that is a comfort or not.” Luna scanned the horizon. “Why did you bring me here?”
“I thought that, p-perhaps, we could rebuild this w-world together.” Celestia knelt down toward a patch of cracked dirt. “I learned some things from Discord. More than I would like to know, more than I deserve.” Her horn ignited, gold light spread across the dirt. “It will take time. A long time. But I can teach you. We can reforge this world into something better than it was before. We can remake it together, however we like.”
Celestia started. She looked down at her side, and saw blood dripping from a freshly made would. Behind her, Luna stood, her horn ignited and a wide smile scarring her face.
“L-luna…”
“I think, sister, that I would prefer to rule alone.”
“L-una…you c-can’t…”
“Shut up!” Luna screeched. Another bolt tore from her horn. It rebounded harmlessly off Celestia’s barrier. “Every time, at every turn… ‘Can’t can’t can’t’!” Another laser fired and deflected. “I can do everything you can and more!”
“L-luna, that’s not what I meant…”
“Don’t try to backtrack now, dear sister.” Luna spat the words out with such vitriol. They sounded worse than a thousand insults or epithets could have. “Even now, after everything that has happened, you think yourself my better.”
“That’s n-not true!”
“Even now, you try to raise yourself above me!” She punctuated each sentence with a blast of magic. They shattered columns. Waves of magic shattered windows and kicked up clouds of dust. Celestia remained unharmed, her puncture wound bound long ago.
“You can drive away my one ally, you can have all the powers of Discord and Tirek and all the hordes of Tartarus!” Another streak of lightning, another lance of fire. “But I will never subserve to you again! If that doppelganger could kill you, then so can I!”
The fusillade of magic stopped abruptly. Luna features froze. Her pose stopped mid-attack, her teeth bared and her front legs flailing. Molten rock and crackling static shifted around her briefly, then settled.
Celestia walked forward. Her hoofsteps echoed loudly in the sudden silence. She reached out and touched the statue Luna had become.
“I’m s-so s-sorry, sister. I should have kn-known better. I will w-w-wait as long as it takes for your anger to cool. And, when y-y-you are ready, we will rebuild the world together. It will never be the s-s-same. It c-c-can’t be. Perhaps it can’t be b-b-better. B-but it will be ours. S-someday.”
Celestia sat down in front of the statue. Her tears dripped onto the pavement. “To p-pass the time, perhaps a story? How about the t-tale of how the gods f-forged the world? You always liked that one, back when we were f-f-fillies…”
Rarity’s heartbeat sounded so smooth. Pinkie Pie nestled her face deeper into Rarity’s coat. Rarity also smelled nice: a subtle waft of vanilla and some undertones of grass and flower petals. Even with her face pressed into Rarity’s body, it smelled so gentle.
Pinkie’s hoof flopped around, bonked into the end table.
“Pinkie, it’s okay to get up and reach over.”
Pinkie shifted her face, only the bare minimum to free her mouth. “But you’re so warm and fragrant. I don’t wanna un-cuddle.”
Rarity set her magazine down. “Pinkie Pie, choosing cuddling me over hot chocolate?” Rarity chuckled. “At least, halfway. I suppose that’s high praise.” Rarity ignited her horn grabbed the mug. “You’ll have to unattach your face to drink it, however. I don’t want any stains on me or my cushions.”
“Okay.” Pinkie rotated, grabbed the mug Rarity floated over.
The hot chocolate tasted better, too, this close to her. The scent of Rarity mingled with the chocolate, and it fluffed and smooshed together on Pinkie’s taste buds.
“I love your taste-smell,” Pinkie whispered.
Rarity chuckled. “And I love your word-voice.”
Pinkie sat up. “Ooh, you know what would make this even better?”
“Marshmallows?”
“No, I already put those in there.” Pinkie set her mug on the table, then paused, then put it back down on a coaster. “Music!”
Maybe Rarity’s noise will make the music better, just like her smell and the hot chocolate?!
Rarity sighed. “I was sort of enjoying the quiet.”
Pinkie hopped over to Rarity’s record player. “What’s your favorite Hearth’s Warming Eve song?”
Rarity coughed into a hoof. “Well, it’s so hard to choose…”
“I know right? But how about [some ponified xmas song titles]? Or maybe []?” Pinkie scanned through the shelf. Rarity’s records looked immaculate, perfectly organized, and daintily dusted as always. No Hearth’s Warming music though…
Pinkie’s property had started to mingle with Rarity’s. She knelt down to the lower, less immaculate, less organized, less dusted shelf with her records on it.
“Ooh, how about ‘The Hearth’s Warming Eve Song’? Classic, smooth, chocolate-y, it’s perfect!”
Rarity muttered something to herself.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Pinkie grabbed the record sleeve with her teeth, slipped it off, balanced the record on her nose, spun it around, then settled it onto the record player. She checked and double-checked the needle, turned the right switches, and then hopped back onto the couch just as the first few piano chords and string notes wafted out.
“Ahh… much better.” Pinkie Pie re-nestled into her spot. “Windigoes nipping at your nose…”
Pinkie groped for her mug, and then settled back into Rarity’s body.
Pinkie’s ear flicked. That’s weird. She pressed her head even more on Rarity, if that was even possible.
“Pinkie, dear, I love you and all, but I need those ribs to breath with.”
“Oh, right, sorry.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Your breathing sounds different.”
“Well, yes, I suppose it’s hard to breath when I’m being cuddled-crushed.”
“No, not that.” Pinkie lifted her head up. “Your breathing isn’t happy breathing anymore. Now it’s more like annoyed breathing.”
Rarity took a deep breath. Then another. Then a third, each slower than the last. “There, better?” She smiled. “Just don’t try and smush me this time, okay?”
They settled back into position, Rarity with her foreleg draped over Pinkie’s shoulder, Pinkie’s ear resting on Rarity’s chest, with two clear trenches for hot chocolate and magazine line-of-sight.
“It’s still different,” Pinkie whispered.
“What?”
“Your breathing. It’s not annoyed breathing anymore, but now it’s more like, uncomfortable breathing. Secretly-bothered-but-holding-it-in kind of breathing.”
“That is rather awfully specific.”
Pinkie Pie sat up. “Is it something I did? I’m sorry I crushled you by accident. And I remembered the coaster, just like you said last time.”
“It’s not that,” Rarity smiled. “Although I did notice and appreciate the coaster.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“Rainbow Dash told me that every time somepony says that, it means there’s something I need to worry about.”
Rarity pursed her lips. “I am skeptical that Rainbow Dash is a good source of relationship advice.”
Pinkie Pie rested a hoof on Rarity’s chest. “So nothing is wrong? Really positively nothing is wrong?”
Rarity inhaled sharply. “Fine then.” She stood up, walked over to the record player. “You’re absolutely sure you want to know what is bothering me?”
Pinkie nodded. “Of course!”
To foals from one to ninety-t—
Rarity held the record up, then slowly put it back into its sleeve. “I don’t like this song.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay! There’s lots of other good Hearth’s Warming music we could listen to.”
Rarity sighed. “And, well, there’s some other Hearth’s Warming songs I don’t like.”
“Like what?”
“All of them.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
“What about—”
“I don’t like it.”
“And even—”
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure you don’t like—”
“That’s even worse.”
Pinkie scrunched her lips. She furrowed her brow. She squinted her eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Extremely.”
“Like, this isn’t just a right-now dislike, it’s an all the time dislike?”
“Very much so.”
Pinkie sat down, massaged her cheeks with her hooves. “When did this happen?”
“As long as I can remember, I suppose.”
Pinkie’s back straightened. “But we were cuddling last week, and I was playing Hearth’s Warming music then, too! Like, five-and-a-half days in a row!”
“Yes, and I hated the music,” Rarity swirled her hoof in a little circle. “But your mane was draped across your face in the most adorable way. I suppose your immaculate cuteness helped drown out the awful soundtrack.”
“So when I asked if that moment could be any more perfect, and you said yes, you were lying?”
Rarity bit her lip. “It was perfect because you were there.”
“But it wasn’t perfectly perfect?”
“Well…not strictly and completely, no.”
Pinkie’s ears drooped. “Oh…”
Rarity has a conversation with Rainbow Dash.
Dash chuckled, and her laughter sprayed a subtle mist of apple chunk onto the ground. “See, that’s where ya went wrong. Pinkie can’t tell the difference.”
“Between what?”
“Between lying to protect her and lying to hurt her.”
Just the other day you were going on and on about her cotton candy mane and her statuesque flanks and her blah blah blah romance” Rainbow pointed her hoof at her mouth “Gag”
My point is, whenever you do anything, its because you planned it. Even all your drama queening is on purpose. You turn it off and turn it on when you need it.
“I beg your pardon? Drama queening?”
“Yeah, like that”
Pinkie isn’t like that. She never turns it off. She’s, what’s the word… Rainbow Dash waved her hoof.
Fragile?
No… It’s like. Whatever emotions shows up, that’s what’s there. She doesn’t plan any of her emotions like you do.
She wears her heart on her sleeve?
Well, yeah, but not quite. I mean, what’s the word for someone who—