What does it mean to be the most powerful unicorn in Ponyville, maybe even in the whole of Equestria? When you can fix everything with magic, what do you do when everypony expects you to do just that? Are there limits to what Twilight´s magic can do, and what lies beyond those limits?
The scalpel was glowing gently in the dark purple aura that was keeping it afloat in the air. Underneath the blade lay the patient (or victim, however you wanted to look at it) on the cold metal surface. The room was devoid of any windows. She and her assistant were covered in total darkness, only contrasted by the brilliant luminosity of the work light above the operation table.
The first cut was the one that always made Twilight the most nervous. After that the routines always kicked in, but until then she couldn´t help but hesitate. It was not the first time she had done this, nor even the tenth. Still the feeling of the first incision breaking the skin was the hardest, always feeling so... wrong.
"Spike! Sponge!" She managed to whisper from her sandpaper-covered throat. The voice was barely audible through her surgical mask. It was making her breath cloud over the goggles she was wearing. Her assistant nervously dabbed her forehead, wiping away the beads of cold sweat.
"Umm, Twi ... You really don´t have to do this. The Princess knows you are thorough even if you don´t resort to stuff like ... this."
"Not helping, Spike."
Her voice was still only a whisper in the darkened room. "Did you make sure that we´re all locked up in here?"
"Of course!"
"I want you to double—"
"I´ve already double AND triple-checked. We´re alone and it´s the middle of the night!"
Sometimes the unicorn librarian´s obsessive compulsions could feel really frustrating to the little dragon. Complaining about it usually just agitated Twilight, so he decided to remain quiet.
"Don´t you understand? There can be NO distractions. This is delicate work. I need all my concentration to leave as little proof of ... of intrusion as I can."
"It´s Okay, Twilight. Let´s do this so we can get to bed."
"Spike! This is important!"
She was getting annoyed with the baby dragon by her side. He was still too young to understand the gravity of the situation. The all-too-tight strap of her goggles was not easing her irritation either.
Better get started though. I´m not going to feel any more comfortable with this.
Here spread before her was not a mere object to be played with, but a work of organic art. It was only a shell, she knew. Yet, she was cutting into something that had lain still so long, already partly decomposed. How could they have done something like that? Leave their old friend just laying there without taking care of them. Abandoning them alone to rot. The patient (it´s not a living thing! Don´t think like it is!) was old, its skin cracked and stretched.
This is the last chance to get anything out of him (It! It´s not a person!). I can´t fail now.
She took a deep breath through her clammy mask and pushed the blade down, cutting.
After an hour of grueling work she had finally gotten all three locks off. She had hoped to avoid just slicing them off, but the keys for the locks had vanished ages ago. Had the keys been available, it would have taken a miracle and a lot of industrial solvents to remove the rust from them. Using her innate magic for such precise tasks was trivial for someone like Twilight Sparkle, the most faithful student of Her Majesty, The Co-Ruler of Equestria, Lady of the Morning (etc. etc.), Princess Celestia. Still doing it for an hour in one go was giving her a stiff neck and a throbbing headache.
"Forceps!"
"Wstfgtl ..."
After a while of nothing else happening, she reiterated in a louder voice:
"Spike! Forceps!"
"Rarityyy ... Look at how many gems I can fit in my mouth."
Sigh. Already asleep. Well it IS kind of late for him to be staying up I guess. I wish Owloysius had hands instead of zygodactal talons. And he has such trouble with reach too. Maybe if we practiced with some simpler tools first? I need to get him a perch in the lab too. Maybe if he used his beak to handle the implements it could work. And he has good night-vision too. If I drop something he´d find it quicker than Spike with that little flashlight of his. Good thing I did, though. It was really hazardous to let him use his firebreath for lighting anyways. Especially here with all the flammable chemicals and delicate study subjects. Oh right I was doing something. What was it...
"Focus Twilight!"
She gave her head a brisk shake. Attempting to banish her ornithological musings, she decided to pick the tools she needed from the table next to her by herself. The thought of doing so was completely alien to her. She was a professional after all.
"Let´s see what you are hiding underneath all that mold and dust shall we? Don´t worry; I´ll be gentle!"
With her telekinesis she manipulated two pairs of forceps to the book, clamping them on either side. Slowly, she started lifting the cover up.
Good thing I invested in these Cantermalt forceps. Those old Halstable mosquitoes had were so unwieldly, and I could never get a good grip.
She was already anticipating the pages to be stuck together, so she didn´t apply too much force. Multitasking even more, she was about to insert her scalpel, when she quickly pulled out.
"What the hay am I doing!? No no no no no!"
With just a bit too much force, she shoved her razor-sharp blade back on the tray.
Of course, a long cut like this requires a number 23 scalpel! I almost ruined everything with that silly number 10.
After finding the correct tool for the job she returned her attention to the book. With a long delicate cut, she separated the first page from the cover. Taking care not to lift too hard, she turned open the cover, while speaking softly, like to a small scared filly:
"Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What´s yours?" She asked, smiling under her mask.
On the inner cover was only an ominous text.
"Ye whoever shall open this accursed book, turn away now. Neigh but sorrow and madness follow in its wake. Turn away now, as I should have all those years ago. Burn it, destroy it, kill it, for I cannot."
Ooh how exciting. Must be a horror novel. I can already feel the shivers on my back. Tee hee.
After managing to slice open the next page, she was finally introduced to her new friend.
NECROPONYCON The Mad Ramblings Of The Bedouin Al Khamsa
As Translated From Al-Azif By Olaus Martingale
Yesyesyesyesyes! This is not just an old horror novel! This might be something even BETTER!
Taking out a clean scroll and dipping a quill in ink, she started meticulously transcribing the ancient volume. She only tried to hurry enough that she wouldn´t lose anything, as the tome´s contents were rapidly destroyed by contact with clean air after so long. Only the rasping of her pinion pen and the quiet snoring of his number one assistant kept her company in the small hours of the night.
The loud banging from somewhere above disrupted Twilight´s concentration on her task. She didn´t know how long she´d been at it, but suddenly she felt that all that time had caught up to her in an instant. As she craned her neck she heard a few loud crackles as her joints re-aligned themselves. After such a long static excercise, the movement caused a boost in her blood circulation, making her eyes black out for a second. She felt the floor wave dangerously underneath her as a feeling of nausea washed over her. She had to steady herself on the edge of her workbench so she wouldn´t fall down.
Still the incessant knocking descended on her, bringing with it painful memories of yesterday, and especially of promises and schedules. One particular marshmallow-white mare intruded upon her cognitive capabilities, accompanied by a healthy dose of guilt and gut-wrenching panic.
"SHOOT! SPIIIIIIKE!!"
"Whathuh? Is it morning already?"
"More like NOON!" she exclaimed while looking at the small alarm clock, sitting forgotten on a nearby shelf.
"Why didn´t you wake me up! Or tell me to go to bed! Or SOMETHING!"
The little dragon didn´t seem to understand what was going on. Or where he was. Or even who. He was still laying on the floor with his scaly tail clutched to his chest like a pillow, trying to open both of his eyes at the same time. After this herculean feat, he decided that panic was indeed par for the course.
"Rarity! We were supposed to meet her at the café! Now what are we gonna do? Is she here? Are my scales straight? Have I grown a moustache yet?"
Unfortunately for the dragon it was quite impossible to hold a conversation alone, so he could only dash after Twilight.
"Rarity I´m SO sorry! I completely...."
"Say no more Twilight Sparkle! I can see that the emergency is even more dire than I thought possible. Just tell me who did this to you and I´ll make him pay!"
"Wha ... huh?" was the only thing Twilight could say as she was bodily pushed back inside the library from the door.
"Darling you simply must tell me what is going on! You look absolutely dreadful! Should we call the police? Royal Guard? Princess Celestia even?"
"I know I missed our appointment at the café, but aren´t you overreacting a bit?"
"Overreacting? Twilight how CAN you say something like that? Have you seen yourself in a mirror? If there ever was an emergency fit for Rarity, the most generous (and stylish, she added in a whispered tone) pony in all of Ponyville, it is nigh! Luckily for us I ALWAYS carry an emergency make-up and grooming kit with me."
Sensing that this was something more than just the usual hamminess of Rarity, the purple mare decided to saunter over to her bathroom and take a quick peek at the mirror. It was probably because of the horrid images from her last night´s reading, but she immediately recognized that she´d been turned into one of the creatures from her book.
In her reflection two crimson orbs stared at her like the blasphemous embers of some lost dream-quest. Underneath them the folds of a horrid ancient monstrosity were trying to envelop the chafed and opprobriously cerise facial features of the once likable librarian. The cyclopean apparition was made even more grotesgue by the shaggy mane of some proto-beast from ancient times, which was now skewered on her horn. To top the ensemble of fungoid terror was the slimy, sweaty apron, that might have once been some other color than that of mold and ink.
"SPIIIIKE!!"
"Umm...Yes Twilight?" came the careful voice outside the bathroom.
"Make me a quadruple espresso. Stat."
"Oh-kay. Want some sugar in it?"
"How much do we have?"
"Got it!"
After Rarity had, quite literally, worked her magic, she declared Twilight to be ´passable`. It did take almost half an hour of work and depleted most of her emergency rations, but that´s what friends are for.
Twilight´s mane was now straight as usual, and the irritation of the mask and the goggles was covered under several layers of make-up. The fashionista couldn´t do anything about the bloodshot eyes. Only a full night´s sleep would suffice for them.. Still, considering where she´d started, the results were nothing short of miraculous, even if she did say it herself. She did.
Rarity was putting away the tools of her trade while her friend greedily downed her second batch of coffee, hoping to drink it down before the cup melted.
This is why Spike is my number one assistant. Celestia bless that little alchemist. I have to buy him some nice gems as thanks. And a new cup. This one´s already paper thin.
"I know that you are a respectable mare, and you know me well enough to know that I don´t pry into the comings and goings of my closest friends, and that there is nothing I value more than privacy—"
"It´s OK Rarity. I think I owe you an explanation. And an apology. I was so caught up in my work that I completely forgot the time. Can you forgive me?"
"Don´t worry about such small things darling. The weather is ALL too hot and dry for my tender complexion anyway so staying inside is a welcome change of plans."
"Thank you."
Rarity could see her friend visibly relax and lower her shoulders. She knew very well that Twilight was punctual to fault, which made this tardiness even more interresting.
"I´m usually always on time, and I feel awful for making you wait and having to come check up on me like this."
"I already said that it´s all right, sweetheart. Let´s let by-gones be by-gones. But if you don´t mind me asking, what were you up to with that simply hideous getup?"
"Yes, well, it all started yesterday when I suddenly got a package from the Princess."
"A package? From Her Highness Celestia?"
"Yeah. It was so big that Spike almost lost a tooth erm ... delivering it."
A light shiver ran through the fashionista, luckily unseen by her number one fan. It wasn´t that she didn´t like Spike. At least in a friendly, platonic way. But some of his bodily functions didn´t always agree with her stomach.
"Anyway the package contained a letter from the Princess, and an ancient tome in an ornate box. Apparently it had been discovered at some archeological dig site far to the South-East. They had already stopped most of the excavations, because all they´d found were a few hundred identical pillars covered in sand in the middle of the desert. One of the archaeologists leaned on a pillar by accident and managed to topple it. According to Her Highness, his academical career would have been over then and there, but under the pillar was that box. It was sent to Canterlot, and because Princess Celestia knows how much I like books and restoring them ..."
She gave a small shrug but forgot to hide the guilty grin on her face.
"I see. But what led to the travesty I was faced with at your very own doorstep?"
"Isn´t ´travesty` quite a strong word? I´d maybe go for ... I don´t know—"
"Horror?"
"No I—"
"Atrocity?"
"Umm Ra—"
"Hideous farce?"
"Rarity! Are you making fun of me?"
"I´d never do such a thing to my DEAR friend," she said in a tone of hurt that was almost conceivable, apart from her mischievous grin. "But darling, honestly! I may have saved your social standing in Ponyville! I mean if you´d gone out in that ... let´s call it ´condition`, for now, you could´ve never shown your face outside again for shame!"
"Yes, yes, I get the point."
"So do continue."
"Well there´s nothing much to say. I take restoring books pretty seriously, and I have a well equipped workbench downstairs. I had to work late yesterday evening indexing the "History" shelf after the little mishap with the ´Applebloom-and-hoofballs-inside- the-library` incident."
It was impossible to miss the compulsively twitching ear of her friend, but Rarity decided not to mention that little fact.
"So when I finally got around to the book, it was getting pretty late. I was only thinking of maybe doing a preliminary analysis on the covers, maybe try to date the style of binding. I couldn´t help it! It was so EXCITING! I just HAD to open the book and read a few pages!"
"Yes darling don´t we all just love reading musty old tomes in the middle of the night?"
"Exactly!" Twilight continued without breaking a stride, paying no attention to the marshmallow pony collapsing on the table with rolling eyes.
"The book is so fascinating! I only got about a hundred pages in, but I think I´ve never seen such a book before. It´s a collection of ancient myths and prophecies from ancient times. Just the images of the horrors described in the book might keep me up at night!"
Even that seemed to excite her, making her giggle.
"And the stories! They tell of beings older than the Royal Sisters, and how they ruled Equestria before a single pony even existed. It´s, of course, all fancy and make-believe, but the ways in which they are described are so vivid. Wait a second and I´ll go get the copies I made and you can look for yourself!"
Hearing her cue Rarity perked up in her chair.
"No need to burden yourself for little old me. I´m sure the book is just marvelous, and those old fairytales must be a fantastic read before bedtime, but I simply MUST return to the Boutique. I have a customer coming over soon, and I need to prepare some fabric samples before he arrives."
The look of disappointment on the bibliophiliac librarian was quite evident, but Rarity decided to disregard it. Self-preservation is a useful trait when dealing with Twilight Sparkle, she´d learned.
"Well ... Thanks for coming over to meet me and we have to re-schedule our meeting in the café for some other day."
"Don´t mention it, sweetheart. Now I really MUST dash. Ta ta!"
And with that she galloped out of the library. If Twilight had paid any attention to the fact, she´d have noticed that her friend had exited with considerably more haste than maybe was ladylike. Fortunately she already had other things on her mind.
"SPIIIKE!"
"Ouch, Twi, I´m standing next to you."
"Good! Fetch me the checklist for today! I have to make sure I don´t miss any more appointments today!"
"Are you sure about that? Maybe you should take a little nap? You just pulled an all-nighter, remember?"
"Your concern is very touching. But I´ll just turn in a bit earlier today. And I feel totally FINE. Great even. Just. Great."
Her dragon assistant just sighed, not daring to mention that the amount of caffeine and sugar the librarian had imbibed could cause a manticore to suffer a heart attack.
He also didn´t mention the nervous ticks that had appeared when she´d been talking with Rarity, nor the fact they hadn´t stopped since. Or that her voice was a lot louder than usual.
What he did do was get the checklist for the day, because the sooner she was done with her chores, the sooner he´d get her to go to bed.
"First off: See Mayor Mare about the Emergency Dam Repairs."
Twilight had barely exited the library, when she was approached by a mint-colored unicorn.
"Excuse me, Miss Sparkle?"
"Yes? Uhh ... Lyra was it?"
Nopony calls me ´Miss Sparkle` unless they want me to do something for them. So much for getting to the Town Hall on time. And could someone PLEASE shut off that light? Oh ... it´s just the sun. Hey! I could write to Princess Celestia, and ask if she´d be nice enough to take the sun down for a moment. How can my brain actually hurt so much when I´m not even doing magic?
"So nice of you to remember me. I don´t think we´ve ever even had time to talk."
"Nonsense. I remember we met at one of Pinkie Pie´s parties only a few weeks back."
She had slowed her pace to a steady trot, so they could talk while on the go. For some reason standing still felt like a really bad idea.
"Well people often confuse me with other ponies. My friends always tell me I just seem to fade into the background."
"I distinctly remember a unicorn that looked exactly like you at the party, though. You were standing on your hindlegs and juggling as I recall."
"Oh. You got me there." She looked a bit ashamed as the slightest of blush spread on her face. "I might have had a few too many muffins that night. Bon Bon always tells me I shouldn´t eat too much sugar."
"I think it was a nice act. Shows you´ve been practicing a lot." Looking at her empty forehoof where a pony might keep a watch, she continued: "Well then. It was nice to meet you Lyra but I really must be off. I´m already late for an appointment with Mayor Mare."
"Umm ... I´m sorry but ..."
Here we go. Twilight to the rescue! I should never leave my Twi-Cave without my Mare-Do-Well costume, it seems.
"Well it´s a bit silly really. My neighbour´s cat is stuck in a tree and we can´t get her down."
"And you´d like me to help, is that right?"
"Oh yes please. The poor thing has been stuck there since last night, and my neighbour is really worried and—"
"Well we can´t leave the kitty-witty just hanging now can we. Let´s go rescue her!" She might have skipped the heroic pose, but it felt obligatory. "Just one question though ... why don´t you," she casually tapped her own horn, before continuing: "you know?"
"Well see ... that´s why I had to come to you, Miss Sparkle"
"Just Twilight is okay, please."
"Twilight ... um ... the fact is I tried to get her down myself, but she´s holding on to the branch with her dear life, and I couldn´t dislodge her."
"... and I can´t thank you enough Miss Sparkle!"
"Just Tw—"
"Miss Fluffykins was out all night and we couldn´t get her down. We even had help from the CMCVFD, but they couldn´t get her down either."
"Yes. Well. No trouble. No trouble at all. Happy to help a neighbour. Ehehe. We´re all a big family here at Ponyville aren´t we?"
If Lyra´s neighbour, old lady Milk Saucer, wasn´t already almost deaf, she might have heard the audible "plop" that Twilight´s ear made every few seconds now.
"Oh deary me! Are you sure you don´t want a band-aid for those cuts? I know Miss Fluffykins is VERY sorry for scratching you like that arentyoumissfluffykinsofcourseyouare."
"No. No. Not at all no. Thank you. No. I must be off. Mayor Mare must already be furious that I´m late for our meeting."
She started slowly backing away from the old mare, trying not to make eye contact.
If she invites me over for tea and crumpets, I´m done for. Although a little tea and cookies would do wonders for me. Make that a lot of tea. Or coffee. Coffee would be good.
"Twilight?"
"Everything sorted. All good. Cat saved. Only took an hour. Bleeding already stopped. Won´t cause scars. No problem. Happy to help."
"Well I´m really sorry for taking up so much of your precious time. I couldn´t believe the little kitty would resist even your magic for so long. It was a nice idea to finally saw the branch off and I´m sure that Mr. Greenhoof won´t mind his greenhouse, after we explain that it happened under dire circumstances. But yes I had something for you ..."
She rummaged around in her saddlebag for a moment, producing a small bag with an image of a sweet on it.
"Bon Bon made a big batch yesterday, and left some for me. But like i told you, i think it´s better if I avoid sugar for a while, so ... would you like to have some? They´re double-chocolate coffee-and-coconut beans. It´s her favorite recip—"
The bag had been appropriated by a purple glow as soon as the C-word had been uttered. Popping one in her mouth Twilight actually felt like she had used the cloud-walking spell again. Only this time on solid ground.
"Mfese re demificius! Meminf me fo asf fo mo fom Bom-Bom," she muttered while ramming a few more of the sweets into her mouth.
"I´m sure she´ll be pleased you like them."
Gulping down the first few sweets, Twilight turned to leave for her now late-afternoon meeting with the Mayor. Something was still bothering her, and she spun rapidly back, startling Lyra.
"STOP! One more thing! I heard something about some CMCFDV or something?" She was closing on Lyra, causing the minty unicorn to back away. They were almost close enough for their horns to touch.
"Oh you mean the Cutie Mark Crusader Volunteer Fire Department? They were the cutest little bunch! They even had their own ladder and siren and all"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders? Siren!?" Lyra felt her rump collide with the wall behind her. There was no escape from the bewildered librarian.
"Oh yes. That cute little Apple girl, what´s her name, kept running it all the while they climbed to Miss Fluffykins. They couldn´t get the kitty down either. That orange pegasus filly even threatened her with a little hatchet she had with her, telling her to come down or ´he was gonna get it`. Too bad they had to leave for some errands. I´m sure they would have succeeded!"
"So ... the Cutie Mark Crusaders were trying to rescue a cat from a tree by blaring a siren at him and threatening him with an axe?"
"Yes ... Aren´t they the cutest, though? So energetic and—"
"YES!. Energetic. Very. So nice to hear they´re so HELPFUL. Yes. Have to go. Mayor. Bye."
"Bye!" Lyra happily waved after the librarian. She´d heard some strange things about Twilight Sparkle but the purple mare seemed like a really nice pony. She´d even liked her juggling. And very friendly. Always smiling.
Next night Lyra woke up screaming and crying, scaring her marefriend Bon-Bon terribly. All she could say through her tears was: "The smile ... The smile ..." over and over again.
After helping Pinkie pull out a burning cake from the oven, opening a stuck lock on a chest for Mr. and Mrs. Cake while catching a falling Pound Cake, holding a two hour lecture at the school about the history of Equestria (specifically about the border tensions between the indigenous Buffalo tribes and pony settlers), helping Fluttershy shop at the market without getting ripped off and fixing Big Macintosh´s cart that had lost a wheel, Twilight decided to take a detour.
After avoiding or outright fleeing from the few ponies she met at the back alleys, she finally arrived at the Town Hall.
Take care of this meeting [ ] Go home [ ] Sleep [ ] Wake up early [ ] Start helping with the dam [ ]
No problem. Everything´s just ... PERFECT. Except for the bag of sweets she´d had earlier. It had disappeared somewhere. The bag had a warning of only eating a few per day so it was might´ve been just as well. I need a clear head for this meeting.
"Miss Sparkle! I´m so happy you could make it!" The gray mare had been outside the Town Hall, conversing with some muscular earth ponies. Twilight was proud of noting that her cognitive functions were still running at full speed when she cunningly deduced that they were a part of the dam repair crew. Really, it was too simple. One of them even had a powertool cutie mark!
"Mayor Mare. I came as soon as I could! I´m sorry if I´m a bit late—"
"Don´t worry about a thing, Miss Sparkle. I met up with that delightful friend of yours. She told me all about what happened at the library this morning."
"She did?" Luckily her purple coat could hide a small blush, before it was apparent to everyone else around her.
"Yes. Imagine that the tree roots could break all those pipes at the same time! I heard it was the worst possible coincidence."
"Pipes. Broken. Leaking pipes. Water in a library. Bad." Twilight was smiling and thinking very hard if she´d missed something as bad as this when leaving.
"I fully understand that you had to remain behind and help with the repairs and securing the valuable books. I always said that books are the backbone of education and knowledge. Having Princess Celestia´s personal student here, running our beautiful library with such dilligence! I couldn´t think of a better person for the job."
"Well. Thank you. Mrs. Mayor. I´m ... honoured?"
"Please Miss Sparkle. The honour is ALL ours! I mean, to have the Element of Magic here at our little town has brought us so much prestige. They even have a fan club for you I hear. And we ar ... THEY ARE thinking of getting you a statue!"
What is she talking about? Clubs? Didn´t she just tell Vinyl Scratch not to try converting Sugar Cube Corner into one in the weekends? And why are we talking about music? Shouldn´t I be fixing the pipes at the library? Maybe these two stallions could help me with the repairs? They must be hoofy with tools. How does one find out that powertools are their destiny anyway? I thought foals weren´t supposed to play with them until they got older.
"Mrs. Mayor," the light brown earth pony with the power tool cutie mark cut in before Twilight could catch up with her train of thought. Or more likely stop it before it ran off a cliff. "We should really begin the meeting, Yerronor. We still have lots to do today and the day ain´t getting any younger."
"Quite right Mr. Drill. Twilight Sparkle, I´d like you to meet Impact Drill and Iron Girder." Both stallions nodded their heads. "They are in charge of repairing Ponyville Dam."
"Ehhehehe"
"Ahem! Miss Sparkle?" Mayor Mare asked, with a well practiced cough of a true politician.
"Excuse me. Sorry. I was just thinking about the library."
"Maybe we can give you a helping hoof there lil´lady." This was the first Twilight had heard the steel-grey pony talk.
"We have a plumber on our team. Won´t be needin´ him much tomorrow, so we can lend him to you. I could ask him to come even tonight if it´s urgent? He´s from Germane but I hear he´s very good at what he does."
"Thank you. NO! I mean. No. Thank you. I´m sure my assistant Spike has everything under control by now. He´s very good with things like that. Pipes! With pipes."
"If you say so, Miss. Now should we move to the construction site? Our boys have been settin´ up there since mornin´."
They´d arrived at their destination, and were standing on a small hill overlooking the dam operation. The two stallions were staring at Twilight with slack jaws. She didn´t seem to notice, as she was scanning the construction site.
"So YOU´RE the mare who repaired the dam earlier?" Impact Drill was unsurprisingly surprised about the fact that Mare-Do-Well was actually standing in front of him.
"Well we did find it best to withold that information publicly. Just to protect the identity of our benefactors. You understand how it goes, Mr. Drill."
"Of ... course Mrs. Mayor." He still seemed quite incredulous about the fact that this twitchy little mare, cute as she was, could do anything, except maybe hold a quill. "So you´re actually—"
"Yes yes. Element of Magic. Princess Tia´s star pupil. Saved the world three times. Part-time superhero. Brother´s the Captain of The Royal Guard." Feeling that this wasn´t enough, she added: "I like books."
The collective gasp went unnoticed by the oblivious unicorn squinting at the dam.
"When do we start fixing this thing? What´s even wrong with it?"
"Is she always like that?" came a quick whisper to Mayor Mare´s ear.
"Mr. Drill, I believe that sometimes it is better to allow some people their few eccentricities. To keep the ball rolling, as it were."
"Got it."
Returning to a normal speaking volume he carefully approached Twilight.
"So Miss Sparkle—"
"PleasecallmeTwilight!"
"Allright . Twilight. Before we begin, is there anythin´ I could get you? Maybe a drink?"
"Coffee please. Big cup. Didn´t sleep well last night. At all actually."
"I see ... well ... the only thin´ us workin´horses can offer is the canteen dishwater that our cook calls coffee..."
"Perfect. Just. Perfect. Oh and do you have anything for headache?"
"I´ll see what I can do."
After a few minutes Twilight Sparkle´s brain was up and running again. She´d taken double the dose of the painkillers she´d been offered. That was bound to make them work twice as fast, right? Her head was about to split. And then split again. The coffee had been just as bad as it sounded. Twilight´d had seconds.
Now she and the two workponies were seated at the small canteen tent acting as a makeshift conference room. Mayor Mare had excused herself for the evening. She´d given a short pep talk to the few workers still present, and happily trotted off.
"Sooo. Dam right? What´s wrong with it?" Twilight asked, approaching the caffeine dosage that made her almost coherent. "And why isn´t Mayor Mare staying?"
"We already managed to go over the boring paperwork and legal mumbo jumbo while we waited for you." Impact Drill explained while looking at several blueprints laid out on a canteen table. He pointed to some calculations that the unicorn immediately recognized as integrity assessments.
"Well you did fix the dam up real good, but it was broken real bad. You used some hefty magics on it, but unfortunately that magic won´t hold for too much longer. Magic doesn´t hold as well as cement on the long run."
"Yup," added the other stallion.
His partned continued: "That´s why we have to take it down, and build it up again almost from scratch. That´s where you come in. We believe that you can hold the waterflow back long enough for us to work safely. Breaking the dam down won´t take much work at all. Our resident unicorn tells us that the structural integrity is already very low, so even a small amount of magic could break the whole dam down. We want to do it in a controlled fashion."
"So blast the dam and watch out for the bits." With a worried glance, Impact noticed that the purple unicorn had found a quill and ink, and was busy making a checklist on a napkin. "Next?"
"Well next comes the tricky part. We calculate that we need to staunch the waterflow for at least 12 hours. We use a special quick-drying mixture that´s designed for such operations, but usually we have time to lower the water level a lot more than what we can do here. If we could, we´d wait for several days before starting, but now it´s not an option. We are running out of time."
"So keep a few million gallons of water back for half a day. Next?"
"Are you sure you can manage this? I mean we´ve already recruited several other unicorns to help you with the task so you can take regular breaks and grab a bite to eat."
"Don´t worry. I can do it PERFECTLY fine on my own. No need to bother the other unicorns in the town. I´m sure they are busy busy BUSY with their own work and chores. When do we start?"
"Well we´re ready to start as soon as you can come here tomorrow. I´ll have my team get everything ready by, let´s say, 6 o´clock?"
"Fantastic! So did we have anything else on the agenda?" Twilight´s eyes were bright and clear and her voice was steady.
"That´s about it I think. So we´ll be seeing—"
"First thing tomorrow morning. Yes. Well I still have a few things to take care of today so have a NICE evening."
"You too Mi—"
With a loud buzzing noise and a flash of purple light, she was gone.
After a long silence, it was Iron Girder who was able to talk first.
"So she´s gonna hold the river off for tomorrow? Alone?"
"Yup."
More silence
"Did you notice how her eyes and ears kept twitching all the time?"
"Yup."
Some more silence
"We´re royally bucked aren´t we?"
"Yup." Feeling that this was not quite enough he added: "That we are. But I did check our insurance and we´re all covered if things go South."
"Don´t you mean "when" Impact?"
Going over their meeting with the Element of Magic, he really couldn´t find an answer.
Twilight Sparkle had happily crossed out one more box on her mental checklist. Now all she needed to do was go home, fall in bed and ... something. For some reason the landscape in front of her was rolling gently from side to side, making her think of being on a boat. Or maybe a see-saw. Or both. It had started right after she´d done her second Sparkle-Step. Walking was probably a good idea for now.
Seems Princess Celestia received my letter and is now putting the sun down for me. She´s so nice. I have to make sure I send something nice to her as thanks. Cake maybe? Or Spike? Spike is nice. I think I´ll take the path through the woods. It´s cool and nice there and I´m sweating like a horse. Must be all the excercise I´ve done today. It´s nice to hear the birds sing in the forest too. They think it´s evening because Celestia is putting the sun down a bit early for me. They´re not too smart. Not like me. Birds are nice though. So organized. Can´t have quills without birds. And they keep mosquitoes away from me.
Walking along the path, she heard three very familiar voices from somewhere close-by..
"Ah told y´allready Scoots! We can´t keep bein´ the Cutie Mark Crusader Volunteer Fire Department on account o me having ta return this here hatchet to ta farm."
"Well can´t you borrow it again tomorrow? I think I´m real close to getting my firefighting cutie mark! I can feel it!"
"We haven´t even fought a fire yet. How could we get a mark for something we haven´t even done yet."
This caused a sudden silence to descend upon the trio. The kind of silence that is for adults what a calm sea is for a sailor.
"You know I think I have some matches somewhere, and the forest is full of dry wood—"
"Well ah know that if ah don´t get home five minutes ago ah´ll be grounded again. And ah just got out! An all becos o that lil´ incident at—"
"HI GIRLS!"
The three fillies turned slowly toward Twilight, who had found her lovely smile again.
" *gulp* ... Twalaight´s."
"Did I hear you were going to make a fire? In the forest? In the middle of the driest season of the year?
"Well Scootaloo was just joking, weren´t you Scoots?
"So where should we put the fire? We have lots of good flammable wood here so just pick a spot."
I´m so happy I can help the girls out. I´m sure they´re still a bit anxious after I used that Want-It-Need-It spell on them. Maybe I can prove to them that I´m really a NICE pony. And I´ve always been good with kids. I know that for a fact.
The assembled Cutie Mark Crusaders were gawking at Twilight. Sweetie Belle was the first to notice that she was still capable of speech.
"Unh Miss Sparkle, it´s getting really late, and I´m staying over at my sister´s, so maybe we should just go—"
"TWILIGHT!" the purple mare bellowed, making the young unicorn fall down on her haunches with a loud squeak.
"Just. Please girls. Call me Twilight, Okay?"
"Yes, Twilight!" The three girls shouted in unison. Something was very wrong here, so it was best to go along. It was like the time when Miss Cheerilee had been really upset with the class about that whole ´class pet` thing.
"And don´t worry about your sisters. Or families. I´ll take care of them. All of them."
At that, the fillies exchanged quick, worried looks.
"You´re with a responsible adult here to supervise. Just tell them you were with me and that I promised that everything is all right."
"Well we don´t really have matches or anything, and it´s pretty dark so maybe we should try tomorrow, Twilight?" Intoned Scootaloo, trying bravely to stand between her friends and the adult unicorn.
"Aaall right. It´s gonna be aaall riiight ..."
"Umm, Twilight?"
"YES! What. Is it. Scootaloo?"
"We can´t make a fire cos we don´t have matches, so why don´t we come here tomorrow. Maybe with some ... other adults too?"
The two other fillies were nodding behind their friend in agreement.
"Nonsense! No day like today! Carpe Diem! And don´t worry about matches. We have Sweetie Belle!"
"What?" The filly in question squeaked, her voice going up a terse. Or maybe even a quint.
"Yes. Sweetie Belle! You´re just the unicorn for the job! I´m sure you can light a small fire with your horn, can´t you?"
"Umm ... actually ... I can´t really even use my horn to move stuff yet." The two fillies at Sweetie´s side looked at her in concern. This was thin ice territory.
"Really? I could do several spells at your age."
"But ... but my mom and pop say that it´ll come to me sooner or later! And Rarity said I´m a late bloomer, whatever that means. And I´ve been practicing real hard! It just doesn´t work! Maybe my horn´s busted or sumthing."
All during her rapid fire response she´d been growing quieter and quieter. When she got to the end she was practically whispering and looking down to the ground in shame.
"Is that so? Well seems I´ll have to teach you then! Come over here and I´ll show you how it´s done! Won´t it be nice to have your first time with Auntie Twilight?"
"Do I have to explain it again Sweetie? You just have to find a SPARK inside you. Something that makes you wanna BURST in flame. Like something that makes your really REALLY ANGRY! And poof!" As Twilight said the word, a small ember of fire lept from her horn. It floated gently in the air for a while, and then landed at the small pile of dry twigs she´d collected. As it touched down, the leaves started smoldering.
"And THAT!" She stomped the small ember out. "Is how you make a fire. It´s called pyrogenesis, the first step of pyrokinesis. Now GET ANGRY!"
Sweetie Belle was clearly not feeling very angry. She´d already given it all she had, but she couldn´t make even the lightest glimmer to appear on her horn.
"I´m sorry, Twilight! I just CAN´T!"
Her voice cracked yet again as she collapsed to the ground and tried hiding her face with her hooves.
"I´m no good at magic and I never will be!"
Her eyes were filling with the burning tears of shame.
"Twalaight!"
This time it was the yellow farm-pony that spoke up. She´d been uncharacteristically quiet all this time.
"Ah know y´all are still mad at me, an ah dunno how ah can tell ya how sorry ah am! Jus ... jus please don take it out on mah friends! Ah thought y´alld forgive me after ah was grounded for like ... forever! Ah didn´t know y´all was still so angry!"
"Applebloom what are you talking about?" asked the puzzled mare.
"Ain´t this about me tryin´ ta burn down your library? Ahn´t you still mad at me an tryinna teach us how dangerous fire is? I got it already. WE got it! We wasn´t even gonna make a fire. That was just Scoots bein´silly. And ah´m real sorry ´bout ta library an all but please stop pickin´ on Sweetie! She wasn´t even thar!"
She was now standing almost nose to nose with Twilight, having made the adult pony back several steps during her tirade. Applebloom felt her hooves clearly shake and her cheeks were burning. Still she wouldn´t back down.
"What ... but I ... just ... wanted to help ..."
"Huh?"
"I thought you wanted to be the volunteer fire department. I thought it would be a nice game to play with you. We´d set up a small controlled fire and then dump some water on it and have a nice laugh..."
I can´t believe this. I just wanted to help them. I´m good with children. That´s why Cheerilee asks me to the school to lecture so often! How did it end up like this? I didn´t want to make Sweetie Belle cry! Oh nonononononono this isn´t happening. I just wanted to be their friend and now she´s crying and—
"Sweetie Belle I´m so sorry. I didn´t mean to scare you."
She tried to walk to the crying filly. Her way was blocked by the rest of the CMC, standing shoulder to shoulder.
"Please just let her be, okay?" quipped the orange pegasus.
"Just ... please stop crying Sweetie. It´s allright. Auntie Twilight is sorry. I didn´t—"
"Twalaight ... mebbe y´alld just better go an let me an Scootaloo here talk er outa it? She´s real tender when it comes to magic an stuff."
"Sweetie. I´m sorry. Just please stop crying ..."
Why is she still crying? I already told them It´s just a misunderstanding. How could I make her cry? I´m the worst pony in Ponyville. How can I even look Rarity in the eyes after this? I scared her sister out of her wits. I wish she´d just stop crying and we could just hug and it´d all be okay. I feel so awful about it. I said I´m sorry and she´s still crying. How can I stop her crying? I mean I just wanted to help and have fun with them and she keeps on crying and I don´t know what to do. Oh Princess what am I going to do? THE PRINCESS! If she hears I made a filly cry she´s bound to punish me. She´ll take me away from my friends and I´ll never see any of them again and It´s all because I made her cry and I want her to stop crying and she´s still crying and I just wanted to be nice and this is how she repays me? That filly is so ungrateful! I´m here after a long day, trying to teach them something valuable, and she just starts crying and goes on and on and on, and the whining sound is making me NUTS and didn´t I already tell her how sorry I am and she´s just blocking me away and I´ve been studying friendship so much that I know you should forgive people and her crying is just getting worse and her friends look at me like I´m some sort of a monster and I just wanted to help and—
"WHY CAN`T YOU JUST STOP CRYING!" she shouted at the three fillies.
"I´M NOT SCARY OR EVIL OR ANYTHING! WHY CAN´T YOU SEE THAT?! I JUST WANTED TO PLAY WITH YOU! YOU WANTED TO PLAY FIREPONIES AND I WANTED TO HELP YOU WITH IT!"
As she was shouting she felt the familiar warmth of anger and fear creeping up her spine. She´d only experienced it a few times before, and only in the worst of moods.
Not now! Oh horseap—
"What´s wrong with her mane? I don´t like it!"
It was all the orange pegasus filly could say before the air around the four of them exploded in fire. When they could see again, the three wide-eyed fillies were faced with the scariest thing they´d ever seen.
Where Twilight had been standing moments ago was now a pure-white unicorn, with flames dancing as her mane and tail. The flames spat out embers and tongues of fire that landed around her, making the dry forest floor blaze. The leaves under her hooves turned into smoke almost instantly, leaving nothing but ash behind.
The white unicorn stared at the fillies, and when it spoke, the voice seemed to come from all around them. It was a whisper from the forest, carried by the wind.
"If I do something bad, will you still love me?"
In just a few seconds the unicorn turned back to her more familiar purple coat and dark mane, only to collapse in the middle of the arboreal inferno.
What happened? Where am I? Is this smoke? FIRE! Everything´s on fire!
Twilight desperately tried to get up, with all her limbs shaking and her head hurting like a tree had fallen on it. All she saw was the thick smoke surroungind her and the few blazes of fire glowing through it.
" *cough* Girls! Where are you!? *cough* are you okay?"
"HALP!" came a cry from nearby, mixed with worried whinnies and coughing.
Without thinking,Twilight dashed towards the sound and found the three Crusaders lying on the ground with their eyes wide.
"Where´s the water!"
"We don´t have any! We tried to tell you!" Said Scootaloo, not even daring to get up.
"Well go get a bucket and run to the stream! It´s only—"
"We don´t have buckets EITHER!"
"What! What kind of fireponies are you?"
"Sorry, Twalaight, but all we´ve got is ah siren an this here hatchet!"
"It´ll have to do!"
Without explanations, she grabbed the hatchet in her purple glow and looked around.
I can´t even see anything in this smoke! What am I going to do!? How am I going to stop a forest fire?
Maybe if I can just first stop the fire from spreading, I can maybe stop it.
She looked at her hatchet and made it spin wildly, turning it into a glimmerin circle of metal. Through the smoke, Twilight spied a small tree that had caught fire. She flung the hatchet towards the sapling, missing it by several feet. The furiously spinning blade vanished into the smoke.
Okay! Bad idea! Bad idea! How am I going to fix this!
SCIENCE! I´ll use Science!
Fire is the rapid oxidation of matter that can generate enough energy to sustain the reaction. In this situation the matter is carbon-based, so if I introduce a non-flammable gaseous substance into the air, I can use it to stop the reaction.
Which gases were non-flammable again?
Carbondioxide? Just blowing on this fire isn´t enough.
Oxygen? No that´s what causing the whole problem. THINK!
Hydrogen? Isn´t that what water is made out of? No, won´t work, it´ll just blow up.
Chlorine? Could be dangerous. And where am I going to get any?
She´d walked back over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and sat down to think
"Ahn´t ya go—*cough*—nna do something, Twalaight?"
A bit annoyed that the filly had interrupted her thoughts, she noticed that they were desperately trying to stamp out some burning leaves.
Well there is always that ...
"Stand back girls! I´m—*cough*—going to FIX EVERYTHING!"
Concentrating through her hammering headache and the burning of the smoke in her eyes and her lungs, she formed an image in her mind, and began turning it into reality.
"Whoah Nellie!" "What´s going on?" "EEEK!" "Bu-Cawk!" "NO WAY!"
The three fillies tumbled backwards as the ground suddenly jumped upwards and tilted. Soon they were covered in debris and smoking leaves. They could only watch in horror as a large piece of the forest floor tore itself free. It rotated gently up in the air and fell down, trees first.
The movement didn´t stop there. The trees started snapping and cracking as if some immense weight had been piled on them, making the full grown trees snap and tumble like toothpicks.
When it was all over, there was a low mound surrounded by a clearing in the woods. It was around thirty yards across, with fresh dirt and a few tree roots sticking upwards. At its side were three fillies, all covered in soot and mud. All they could do was stand huddled against a tree, clutching eachother.
"See? Told you there was nothing to worry about! A little bit of magic fixes everything! So girls what did we learn today?
She turned around, just to see the last flash of a red tail disappearing into the foliage.
"Girls?"
"Twilight! Are ... are you allright?"
"Yes, Spike. Fantastic. Could you draw me a bath?"
"But—"
"SpiiiIIKE?"
"Going!"
Twilight collapsed on a chair in her private rooms at the library. With drowsy eyes she managed to focus her vision on the clock.
Almost MIDNIGHT? Where did the time go again? I didn´t even get any reading done, and the library´s a mess. I never should have left Spike in charge. There were books all over when I came back. Maybe it was because of those pipes? I hope the plumber fixed everything. Good thing I thought of asking him over. Seems I missed him though. And I read somewhere that all Germanean plumbers are handsome stallions. Would have been nice to see for myself but NOOO. Twilight isn´t supposed to have any fun.
What an infuriating day! I do my best to help EVERYPONY and all I get is some lukewarm thanks and crying fillies. Why do I have to be the one to fix everything? Does everyone take me for granted? Sometimes I think I shouldn´t even BE here in Ponyville. See how they´d manage their monster attacks and forest fires and miscast enchantmets then. HAH! That´d show them.
I mean, Is it really too much to ask for someone to actually respect me enough to even let me finish a sentence? I´m not asking the key to the Town or anything. And what´s up with those kids? No respect for their elders. One´d think they were raised in a barn. Well Applebloom probably was but that´s still no excuse—
"The bath is ready, Your Highness."
"Spike! Not in the mood."
"Oh-kay grumpy. Should I fetch you the first aid box?"
"Why? I´m feeling fine. Well except you could get me some painkillers. I have a nasty headache."
"You sure about that? I mean it´d be no trouble—"
Without turning back she slammed her bathroom door shut behind her. Turning to look into her mirror she was suddenly stopped cold.
Her image in the reflection was not of her. Or if it was, she´d aged fifty years today. Beady red blood-shot eyes each a different size, underlined with deep dark pockets, a ruffled and singed mane, soot, running make-up and cuts all over her face, and the most tired expression she had ever seen. To top it all off, her horn was black at the tip and still smoking lightly.
She tried to lift up her brush to try and get the burned hairs out. The moment she started concentrating on the object, a slashing pain went through her horn. In the reflection she saw how some small fractures appeared along its length.
"I—"
She started, but couldn´t get anything else out. The world took on a deep red colour and turned ninety degrees right. She could only slowly fall down to the floor.
A few moments later the door was opened by her worried assistant.
"Hey Twi! You ... Twilight! What´s wrong!?"
"It´s allright Spike. I just used a bit too much magic today. All I need is a quick bath and a good night´s sleep."
"No way. I´m calling the nurse over. You´re in a really bad shape."
"Be quiet, Spike, and help me get into the tub. Tomorrow´s an important day, and I´m NOT going to let everyone down."
"If you say so, but still—"
"I DO say so!"
Spike was left starting at Twilight. She could be demanding and often excessive in her demands and cared little about how she treated him when she was in ´The Zone`. But this was different. It wasn´t usually mean spirited or anything. Usually she was just so concentrated on something that she forgot everything else entirely, even how to treat her closest friends. But this was not like her. This was mean.
But she was plainly hurting and desperate. The only thing that mattered for the small dragon was that his friend was really tired and needed his help.
"Here we go, Twi."
After the bath she could hardly walk to her bed.
Spike´d had to help her wash up, which was really humiliating. She couldn´t use her magic, even the thought causing her to wince in pain.
Spike had to push her up the last few stairs to her bed. Without a word, she fell face first on her pillow and closed her eyes. Her assistant could only let out a small sigh and put out the lights.
"Good night, Twilight." He whispered, curling up in his basket at the foot of the mare´s bed.
"Nmmft Spffmk."
Finally in bed, Twilight felt her neck and head hurting, and tried to turn to the side to make it feel better.
And turned the other way when the pain wouldn´t let up.
After a while she got up a bit to ruffle her pillow.
And turned on the other side. And the other.
She tried pulling her blanket up and curling around in it, but was soon feeling too hot.
Tossing the blanket off, she soon started shivering, all covered in cold sweat.
The events of the day were all a jumble in her head. She felt really confused, and the headache was only getting worse when horizontal. She tried to pile her pillows and blanket up and rest while in a half-sitting pose. It didn´t help either.
Am I really so tired I can´t even get to sleep? I have about five hours before I need to be heading for the Dam site. UUURGH!
Tossing and turning futilely around in her bed, she finally surrendered and got up. Thinking of grabbing something small to eat, she headed for the kitchen.
Her brain kept going over the day again and again, trying to piece together a puzzle that was missing all of its pieces. She also felt that the quiet library was gently swaying from side to side, especially if she made any sudden moves. Miraculously, she got to the kitchen without falling down in the stairs.
After a while she´d chowed down on some leftover chocolate cookies and drunk a big glass of warm milk. The clock in the kitchen showed the time was half past one. She leaned on her forehoof and tried to massage her temples. If only she´d get to sleep even a few hours! Her mind was full of frustration and confusion. She got up, and angrily kicked the wall to clear her head, making the cups and glasses in the cupboard next to her rattle.
After the nausea had passed she managed to stagger back to the kitchen table. Sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, she collapsed on the tabletop, slamming her chin on her forehoof. In the window she saw the stars twinkling quietly in the night sky and felt her eyelids droop down.
She was pulling a big wagon behind her. Who´d have thought that she´d find the secret library of Gilgamanesh.
Her trusty companions on her adventures, her five closest friends, were celebrating the discovery with her.
"Nice job Twi"
"Good one there, Sugarcube"
"Such fabulous work, darling"
"Umm ... yay?"
The books in the library were priceless. They contained all the knowledge in the world and she´d get to read all of them. Her friends were also happy.
"OOOO! Look at what I found! It´s an ancient cookbook that tells me how to bake Chocolate-Cinnamon-Caramel Pastries! I´ll call them the CCCP!"
"OMIGOSH! This book tells me how I can fly at the speed of THOUGHT! Can you believe it! Now I can get into the Wonderbolts for SURE and it´s all thanks to you Twi!"
The praise of her friends was overwhelming. They kept piling the greatest books in existence on her cart, which was getting heavier by the second.
"Uhh, girls? I don´t think I can drag all this outside."
"Nonsense, Sugarcube! You´re our friend! Sure you can manage a little bit of manual labour. And while you´re at it, you´re going to help us with our little problems and do all our chores for us"
"Which reminds me ... umm ... if it´s not too much to ask ... I mean ... You´re kinda the only one I can ask and ... i wouldn´t want to put pressure on you but ... I´m about to drown in quicksand and you´re the only one who can help me."
"Oh No! Fluttershy! I´m coming!"
Twilight reached for her friend, but couldn´t move with all the books she was pulling.
"Can´t you take the books off me for a moment girls? I gotta save Fluttershy!"
"No can do, Muffin. Tha´s yer pers´nal burden o´ knowledge, an y´all jus hafta carry it."
"But Fluttershy! I need to help her!"
"But DARLING! If you help HER out, then what about me and my order for ONE MILLION DRESSES for tonight? You can´t just help ONE of us! That wouldn´t be very friendly of you!"
"And you´ve gotta teach me how to fly! You´re the only one who can fly, Twi!"
"Dem trees ain´t buckin´ themselves, so get crackin, Twaiaight"
"Twilight!" "Twilight help me!" "Please!"
"TWILIGHT!"
"Mhm ... huh?"
"Did you sleep well?"
"Spike? But ... what? No no no I´m going back to bed. Put the lights out will you?"
"Umm ... That´s the sun. It´s morning."
"You can´t seriously be telling me that I slept here? The whole night?"
"Well don´t you do it all the time with your books? I mean the amount of slobber stains on our books alone—"
"SPIKE!" She immediately regretted having raised her voice.
Spike tried to smile, but started convulsing instead. With a loud burp he delivered the morning mail.
"Is that from the Princess? At this hour? What could she possibly need?"
"I´m ... sure it´s nothing. Don´t worry about it. Coffee?"
The dragon couldn´t have looked more guilty, even if he´d´tried.
"Spiiike? Give me that letter RIGHT! NOW!"
"You really shouldn´t be worrying about it"
Twilight was already concentrating on her magic to pull the letter from Spike.
"Owwwwwwwh!" There was a tiny splitting sound, as even more cracks appeared along her horn.
"You ... okay there, Twilight?"
"Yes of course, Spike," she said through gritted teeth. "Now give it here. Please."
"I´m ... sorry. I really can´t. It´s for me."
"What? Why´d the Princess be sending mail to you?"
"Well ... see ... umm ... sorry!"
With that, he bolted out the door, leaving Twilight behind.
"SPIKE!"
She got halfway up from her chair when the waves of illness struck her in full force. Her hooves felt like they were burning again, as if treading on hot coals, and she felt like throwing up. The constant hammering in her horn was almost enough to make her pass out. She barely managed to get to her front door, which she was seeing as double.
This is not going to work. It´s almost time for the Dam project to start. There´s only one mare that I can depend on right now, and if I´m quick I´ll make it just in time. I just hope she doesn´t ask too many questions, because I´m not sure I can answer them right now.
With her new resolution she headed for the Everfree Forest and Zecora´s hut.
The short, cloaked figure slowly made its way up the hill. It dashed from cover to cover, only to stop from time to time to make sure it wasn´t followed. After it got to the crest of the hill, it looked back towards the waking town.
"Nobody has followed me. The stars are in their places and we are only a few moments away from the planetary alignment. It seems we are running out of time to find the last key..."
Turning around, he walked into a muscular palomino pony.
"Whell top o tha mornin to ya too, Spikester."
The little dragon fell on the ground and got caught up in his cloak, which turned out to be a dark blue tablecloth.
"Hey what´s with all the cloak and dagger stuff?"
The sound came from above the three ponies and the dragon. As Spike tried to quickly remove his makeshift cloak and pretend he hadn´t been caught doing something silly, the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane touched lightly down on the ground. Her eyes were still half-closed and she tried to stifle a yawn, unsuccessfully. She was hoiding on to a take-away cup of coffee from Star-Bucks.
"I don´t understand why I have to be here! Especially so early! Can´t we do this later? I have lots of important napping to do."
"RD! We´re here cos o Twalaight. How can ya be thinkin o nappin at a tahm like this?"
"Yeah yeah whatever. She´s just probably a bit stressed about some egghead thing."
"Be that as it may, Rainbow dahling. You DO remember what happened the last time she was ´a bit stressed` as you so quaintly put it? The incident with a certain doll and Princess Celestia?"
The look of sudden remembrance and fear on the rainbow-maned pegusus´s face told them that she did, indeed, remember
"And where did the famed Element of Loyalty go when I wasn´t looking..."
"HEY!" She took wing and shot towards the marshmallow mare.
"That was uncalled for Rarity! I´d never leave my friends hanging!"
"I apologize Rainbow Dash. That was uncivilized of me "
The white unicorn turned away from her friend, but soon turned back to look directly in her eyes.
"But you didn´t see Sweetie Belle yesterday after her little tete-a-tete with Twilight. I almost didn´t recognize my OWN DEAR SISTER!"
She shook both of her forehooves in the air, as if trying to grasp at something floating above her head.
"The poor thing was all grey from smoke and her eyes red from crying! Uggh it was just horrid! HORRID I tell you!"
She shivered all over and turned towards her audience. Going into a half-crouch she started creeping towards them and circling them slowly, like a feline predator. Whenever she put more weight on a word she´d snap her whole body towards one of the listeners, making them take a step back.
"She was all covered in CUTS! from head to hoof and could hardly STAND! And her mane was in SUCH a mess! And I´ve NEVER seen her so upset in my WHOLE LIFE! She couldn´t even tell MEEEE what was wrong."
Rarity clutched her hooves to her chest, as if cradling a small baby.
"Just clung to her Big Wiftew Wawity like she was dwowning!"
She stood up to her full height again with a hoof held on her forehead, silhouetting herself against the rising sun.
"Took me over an HOUR to get her calm enough so she could tell me everything. HOW COULD SHE! HOW COULD YOU TWILIGHT SPARKLE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO ME MY FRIEE-HEE-HEEEENND! BWHOO-HOOOO-HOOOO-HOOOOO ..."
She was crying and shouting at the horizon at the top of her lungs, before collapsing dramatically to the ground, making sure to end up on the grass, and not the dry dirt.
Tears were also rolling down from Spike´s eyes in a torrent. It seemed like his small heart had been shattered by the tragedy her idol had faced last night.
"I´m so sorry Rarity ... I wish i coulda been there for you."
"Oh it´s alright Spike. Sweetie´s a strong filly. She´ll get over it."
For some reason Rarity was already standing again, with no sign of tears or emotional turmoil evident. Spike just stood there, looking at her confused.
The workhorse was next to speak: "Aye. Appabloom was jus like that too. When we found er that is. She din´t even come home yesterday, so we went out searching for her. Found her soon enough, hidin´ inside one o our barns. She was curled up on tha loft an wouldn´t even talk to me. Ah had ta carry her home an she jus kept tellin me how sorry she was for settin that fire at the library a few weeks back."
She was also looking towards the town and the giant tree at its center. "Ah´ve half a mind to go an give Twalaight a piece of mah mind myself. An tha other half agrees!" To accentuate her point she slammed her forehooves down hard enough to make the dry dirt under them crack.
From behind them a careful, perpetually worried voice began: "And ... uhmm ... Scootaloo spent the night at my cottage. I found her hiding in my umm ... chicken coop. She was really confused and scared and hitting her forehead on the wall."
"She was WHAT?"
The sky-blue pegasus shouted out again, while Fluttershy was trying to hide behind her pink mane from her voice. "Why´d she do something like that?"
"Well ... umm ... I kinda promised not to tell and I shouldn´t have said whatIjustsaidand ... ´msorry ..."
"Is she okay? She wasn´t hurt or anything was she?"
"Well .. a bit yes. She´d kinda fallen down in the woods. Several times. And—"
"Tell me Flutters! What happened? I gotta know!"
"Well ... she said she didn´t want you to know she cried ... and was hurting herself to stop the tears."
"WHAT?!" Rainbow dash was about to fly off, but couldn´t decide whether to go to the Library to shout at Twilight, or to Fluttershy´s cottage and her number one fan.
After a moments hesitation she landed back down, ready to explode.
"I´m gonna .... I´m SO gonna ... I dont know WHAT I´m gonna do but I´M SO GONNA DO IT!"
Was all she could say, not sure how to continue.
Spike was really alarmed about the things he heards from the ponies. This didn´t sound like Twilight at all. He felt like he needed to atleast try and defend her.
"Please, you guys! I know you´re angry, but I think we should try to help Twilight. At least before anything worse happens. You didn´t see her last night. I´ve never seen her so ... broken before."
The worry and shame in the little dragon´s voice was enough to calm the group of ponies down. At least a bit. Only one of them was able to talk to him though.
"Don´tcha worry Sugarcube. We´re gonna make sure that Twalaight is allright. An THEN we gonna shout at her." Applejack smiled at the little assistant. "Ah know we can fix this an get ev´rythin up an runnin again. Jus you wait Lil´ Spikester."
The dragon was a bit surprised about his new nickname, but it also helped him to wake up a bit from his slump.
"Yeah you´re right. Twilight´s in trouble and we gotta help her. That´s why we sent the letter to the Princess too. And she´s sent the reply already."
"Well aihn´t that the reason we´re all here? Ahll we need is for Pinkie Pie to get here."
"What did you want me to get here? Cake? Balloons? Cake floating on some balloons? BALLOONS INSIDE A CAKE? That would be SOO awesome! We´d just have to make sure the cake doesn´t float off before we get to eat it. And if we swallowed the balloon, we´d have to hold on to something so WE wouldn´t float of too. I´ve never floated away as a balloon before. Do you think I could float all the way to Canterlot?"
"PINKIE! This is serious business! And when did you get here?"
"Silly Dashie! I´ve been here all morning! Just waiting for you to talk about me so I could surprise you!"
The blue weatherpony could only plant her hoof firmly on her forehead in exasperation.
"Spike, dearie. Now that we´ve ALL arrived to our most clandestine meeting, would you be so kind as to read the letter from Princess Celestia?"
"Yes. Ahem. Of course Lady Rarity."
With just a little bit too much flourish he drew out the scroll from somewhere and broke open the seal.
"My Precious Little Friend Spike
I have unfortunate news for you today. A diplomatic situation at the Griffin Kingdoms has arisen, and requires my immediate presence. I truly wish I could come meet my Most Faithful Student and discuss her behaviour, but right now my hooves are tied. You must understand that I have to take care of all my loyal subjects without distinction. My heart is heavy because of this decision, but today the weight of the Crown of Equestria is even worse.
I have talked about the situation with my sister, Luna. She thinks very highly of Twilight Sparkle, and would be willing to come and help. If you would ask her, she could be there in a few hours. You know how to reach her directly with a letter.
And to the five other ponies that are no doubt present when you read this letter: You know My Student even better than I do. I hope that you trust in her and try to keep her from harming herself or others to the best of your abilities.
Princess Celestia"
"Princess Celestia can´t make it? This is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE—"
She was curtly interrupted by the anxious pegasus: "Yeah yeah, Rarity. We got it already. And she said that Princess Luna could come and help."
"Ah´m not one to say anythin disrespectful about tha Princess but are y´all sure we should be mixing her in all of this? Her way o fixin thin´s can be ... uhm ... what´s the word?"
"Bouncy? Electric? Mellow? Orange?"
"NO Pinkie ah was gonna say "Regal", as in Royally Pis—"
"That´s quite all right, Applejack dahling. Maybe we really SHOULD try to find Twilight first, and try and speak with her. Maybe we really shouldn´t have tried dragging the Princess into this immediately—"
"Don´t you guys remember the last time? We couldn´t do ANYTHING and just got caught up in that bizarre magic thingy she did."
"Ah know, RD. But tha Princess says she trusts us an that´s that. Let´s go find Twalaight."
After a short silence the yellow pegasus was able to open her mouth.
"Uhmmm ... Where should we start looking? Oh dear I hope I didn´t interrupt anyone—"
"Well this morning she said she was going to the dam construction site but I´m not even sure if she could get out the door."
"Then we go to the library, and I´ll bring some cookies and some punch and my party cannon and gummy, and we can hold a ´Twilight-we-love-you-even-if-you´re-slightly-crazy-and-would-like-you-to-stop-traumatizing-little-fillies-pretty-please?-party!` YAY!"
The ancient trees of the Everfree Forest were leaning over Twilight Sparkle. She walked underneath the canopy of branches and leaves, paying little attention to the sounds of predators and their prey around her. The only sound she could hear was the steady unpleasant howling in her ears. It had started after a she´d taken her first steps outside her library, and had gotten worse by the minute since. She had to stop every few steps to lean on a tree, or just droop her head down until the black spots went away from her vision.
With no sun to help her tell the time, and her internal clock stymied, she was not sure how long she´d been out of the library. After a while she didn´t even care. Putting one hoof in front of another took all her concentration. Only thing she´d figured out was that the old path she was walking on should lead her to Zecora´s hut, and hopefully to some remedies to her ailments. Zecora had never turned down anyone´s pleas for help, and she hoped the zebra wouldn´t start today.
"The Princess is pretty upset with you by the way. You know Spike sent her a letter."
"Who is that? Who´s talking to me?"
"Guess twice. I´ll give you a hint: There´s no-one else here and you´re talking to yourself."
"So ... you´re me?"
"Yay she got it on the first go. You sure are a genious egghead."
"Am I really this snarky?"
"Only when I can see how pitiful I am."
"Pitiful?"
"Yeah. You shouldn´t even be up and around, little less in the Everfree Forest, the most dangerous unlawful place in the existence. Well maybe not THE most unlawful, but it´s right up there."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Don´t you mean to myself?"
"Uggh. First person conversation is so confusing."
"You´re telling me? I´m just your hallucination. We could make this a bit easier on ourselves."
"I´m listening."
"Well you can be Twilight Prime and I´ll be Twilight Infidus. That´s scientific and all. And we won´t start mixing up who the original is that way."
"Sounds good. So, Infidus. How far gone am I if I start talking to myself, and don´t even think it´s weird?"
"Well I´m actually pretty impressed how calm you are. Your mind is shattering and you are hallucinating."
"Well I´m used to rational thought. Even if I´m going crazy, that shouldn´t be a reason to panic."
"Isn´t ´Panic` your go-to solution in stress, dear Prime?"
"Hehe. I guess you´re right there. Maybe this is what comes after the panic? Maybe I snapped"
"Sounds as good an explanation as any that I can think of."
"Do you think we´ll get more of us here soon? More personalities I mean."
"Nah. Well maybe there is one more coming, but I haven´t seen her around in a while."
"Oh? Who would that be."
"Well you remember the theories of that old kook Trotmund Freud?"
"Ah. That would make you my ... superego?"
"Yup. I´m your sense of right and wrong allright. BZZZZZ! Wrong answer. Miss Prime just lost 200 points. You wanna give up or go to the Double-Jepardy?"
"You´re not? Then—"
"Yeah. I´m your ID. I´m the little self-preservation instinct that you so often forget you even have. You try to use logic and cold facts and high morals on everything so you hardly have a use for me. Let me just say that the last few days I´ve seen more action than in the last few years combined."
"But if you´re my ID and I´m the ego, where´s the superego?"
"On a vacation it seems. I think she couldn´t handle the stuff that happened yesterday, and decided to go away. It´s just you and me here, sister."
"Do I still have to call you Infidus or is ID enough?"
"I don´t care. Ego does the choices. I just toss out ideas."
"I really thought that the ID was a nasty thing that only made me want to eat chocolate and sleep late."
"I´m not nasty or nice. I´m a part of you. I usually try to find the solutions that keep you safe and well fed. I don´t care about friends or working and all that stuff. That´s for the superego. You two usually get along so nicely that I hardly get to do anything. "
"Well ... that´s kinda nice to hear. Friends are important I think."
"Yeah right. Because friends are so important that you´re here, lost in a forest with your horn broken. You haven´t eaten anything but sugar and stimulants for the last three days. You think that you´re irreplaceable, and try to do everything yourself."
"But isn´t that what being a good responsible person is all about? Being able to put others before you? If I can help someone and choose not to, doesn´t that make me evil?"
"Do you really think that not doing something when you can is evil?"
"Of course! If someone is suffering or hurting and I just walk by, how could I ever look myself in the mirror?"
"Then why do you always sit inside, your nose stuck in those books of yours? Someone is always hurting somewhere. Why aren´t you there, looking for those less fortunate? Alleviating pain, curing the sick, defeating monsters with your Celestia-given magic powers? Aren´t you the most powerful mortal being in Equestria at the moment? And all you read is books."
"..."
"Truth hurts doesn´t it? It´s because you´re not the ´good little pony` that you think you are. You are just a normal person who has needs, and here´s the kicker: You have weaknesses. You aren´t all-powerful. You can´t help everyone, because there´s not enough Twilight Sparkle to go around for everyone. You´ve been trying your best, and congratulations for that. Maybe it´s time to think of yourself for a while?"
"But ... If I´m the only one who can help, am I not sentencing people to their doom if I just pass their problems by?"
"You didn´t cause their problems. Why should you be the one to solve them? Do you think that you even could solve all the problems in existence? Even the Royal Sisters can´t solve everything with their powers alone."
"How can you say that? Princess Celestia—"
"Was defeated ten–zero by an insect."
"..."
"You didn´t even realise? That seeing your Princess, your Teacher, your GODDESS get knocked down with hardly any effort from her opponent had such an impact on you? Aren´t you just trying to prove something to yourself?"
"Am I trying to save everyone because I think that I´m the only one who can? Now that I can´t even trust my mentor?"
"Sounds about right to me."
"But my friends are always by my side, helping me out. Together we can really do anything."
"Ughh ... I sound really childish when I spout foalish horseapples like that. Your friends are just using you. They´re just keeping you close because of your powers. They know that you´ve saved their flanks several times and without you they might be in danger again."
"They are my friends! They stand by my side in any situation."
"Side? Or behind you?"
"Same thing ... Isn´t it?"
"Are they expecting you to do everything for them, so they can congratulate you on a job well done? But when the apples hit the basket they abandon you if it´s in their advantage."
"They´d never abandon me!"
"Just like they didn´t abandon you at the wedding? Even the Princess walked away from you, when she could have stood beside you and face Cadance. But none of the trusted you or stood by you. They chose the glamour of the wedding, instead of the hardships of conflict. They wanted to save face and social standing while leaving you alone. Only afterwards did they side with you, when they had no other choice."
"Shut up."
"Make me. They left you to rot in the dungeons under Canterlot. You had to fight your way out while dragging your former foalsitter with you. Without you the Changelings would have taken over Canterlot, maybe even Equestria. And what did you get for it?"
"They apologized. They promised to trust me in the future—"
"Just like they promised to trust you with your problems after the Want-It-Need-It spell? How´d that go again?"
"I´m really nasty to myself."
"And you´re really thick-headed for an open-minded scientist. Why can´t you see that everyone just wants to use you. They don´t care about you. They pretend to be your friends as long as it´s in their advantage, and then they just discard you without second thought. Only if you once again become useful do they flock to your side, spouting their nonsense about loyalty and friendship. Just so they can make you do all their odd-jobs for them and save their hides again and again until you get terribly broken and used up. And where will your so called friends be when you´re hurting? I don´t see them around right now, do I?"
"You ... might be right. I´m hurting and I´m all alone, and I hate you, and I hate myself for it, but you might be right."
"You can only trust yourself. I´m doing this because I really care about you and want to protect you. That´s why I´m here. I´d never let any harm come to you."
"What should I do?"
"Do? Nothing. Just lie down. Sleep. Then when you wake up, we get a bite to eat, and take it from there. Maybe we could take a vacation somewhere where everypony is actually serving you and not the other way around. You deserve it. Trust me: Just take a nap and we´ll figure something out when you can actually walk straight."
"That sounds so good. Maybe I will lie down for a bit..."
"Mie ni maingiliano chebuka Mwangu makao nakukumbuka
Hisia wa utungu yangu mwa kifua Zangu kumbukizi ni thubutu tulifufua
Tabasamu za changu mzazi Kivuli za changu mnazi"
From somewhere around her drifted the words of a somber singer. The words were unfamiliar to her, but the tone suggested longing and deep sorrow. There was something prickly pushing up against her stomach, and her nose picked up a multitude of unfamiliar scents.
What the hay?
"Hay to you too."
Who am I?
"Still the same old Twilight Sparkle it seems."
Where am I?
"Must be Zecora´s."
How did we get here?
"You tell me. I was asleep."
Should I open my eyes?
"Maybe."
Will I regret it?
"Most definitely."
With a small groan, she forced her eyes open. She was laying on her stomach. Under her was a coarse mattress, weaved from some strong reed, dyed dark gray. Around her was only the dim darkness of a room with no windows. She could barely make out the shapes of some ornate masks and other such instruments on the walls.
Yup. Definitely Zecora´s hut. Last thing I remember was outside in the forest and ... what? What actually happened? I remember sitting under a tree, and then having a long look at myself from someone else´s eyes. I didn´t like what I saw either. So does that mean that I´m alone again?
"Nope. Sorry to dissapoint you. I´m still here with you. Oh and by the way. Get some food. Now."
She could hardly argue with the empty pit in her stomach. The only problem was that getting up would require using more energy. Energy which she found she was lacking.
Should I call for her?
"Do what you must. Just get us some food. "
Wouldn´t I be indebted to her for asking food? By your logic wouldn´t that make me weaker?
"You´d just be using her for your own advantage."
That´s ... kind of a horrible thought.
"Well horrible or not, do you have a choice?"
"H-Hello? Zecora?"
The singing stopped as she raised her voice. She couldn´t help noticing that the sound she made was raspy and dry. Soon the curtain in front of her was pulled away, flooding the room with restful yellow light. At the door stood the familiar zebra. Her eyes were filled with worry, and she soon leaned towards the mare on her floor.
"Well good morning to you dear! you not waking up was I starting to fear.
"Umm yes. Thanks. Umm—"
"Speak up you poor thing Is there anything I can bring?"
"Well ... could I get some water maybe? And a bite to eat?"
"All you had to do was ask. I will gladly complete that task."
She returned a moment later, setting a wide earthen bowl filled with water in front of Twilight. Without waiting, the thristy unicorn started lapping the water up greedily. The water was slightly brown, and had a slight taste of dirt and metal, but for her it tasted like a piece of heaven. After finishing it she could only lie on her stomach and pant.
The water felt like it was burning in her stomach, trying to melt its way out through her skin. Her legs started convulsing as if someone had given her a shock.
POISON! She poisoned you!
She curled up like a ball, not even in control of her own body. The agony got worse and worse, until finally she felt bile rising through her throat. It was an old mare´s tale that ponies could not vomit, which she disproved all over the floor. She was shocked to see the water she had just drunk had turned a reddish colour in her digestion. The red colour of blood.
"Oh my this will simply not do. Please tell me what has happened to you?
It is clear that you are badly hurt Your condition we must quickly revert
Why is it that you bring forth blood And in it almost my whole hut flood?"
"I´m ... sor ... ry." Was all she could say. her teeth were rattling together and she almost bit her own tongue. "Help ... me ..."
"Be not sorry, for you are ill Help you out of course I will.
Let me think, there must be a reason Is it something that comes with this dry season?
Have you eaten your fill of healthy food? Maybe in drinking have you eschewed?"
"Only ... cof ... fee."
"You´ve drunk only coffee, is that so? If you cannot answer, just nod your head low"
Twilight nodded a few times, every movement causing her vision to spin.
"Then we are lucky, I have just the cure to a stomach-wound it works. that I assure"
She left Twilight on the floor. The unicorn had never felt this sick. Even as a foal the worst she´d suffered were a few ill stomachs and the occasional flu. What was Zecora talking about? A wound in her stomach? How could coffee cause this?
While she was still wondering, the zebra returned. The unicorn felt something get stuffed inside her mouth.
"For this trouble we need not a brew. Only a few leaves must you now chew"
Twilight bravely chewed on the leaves. It felt like she was eating soap. After a few bites she was frothing at the mouth, but kept on chewing. Every now and again she swallowed the foam, and after a few mouthful the leaves didn´t produce any more. Somehow the bubbly mess she had gotten down was soothing her stomach, and she finally felt her legs relax.
"That ... was amazing. The pain is almost completely gone. What did I just eat?"
"A leaf of a plant from far to the South. Espinheira Santa did you have in our mouth.
"I´ve never even heard of this plant. It cured me in just a minute?"
"It treated the pain that is for sure But it is too early to call it a cure"
You must continue with your treatment one leaf daily for a week for this ailment."
"Thank you. But that was not the reason I came here. I´m ... actually in a lot of trouble and I need your help."
"Even worse than a coffee wound, do I rightly understand? Can It wait for a moment, and I´ll clean this mess at hand?"
"Oh yeah. I´m sorry ... of course."
"If you wish it so, go outside. nearby does a small spring hide.
"To wash myself up. Got it."
Without further ado she left to wash herself of her indignation and indigestion.
After a few minutes they were seated inside Zecora´s kitchen. Twilight had gotten down a small bowl of porridge without any complications.
"So let me get this straight, make sure I understand Your horn is broken and your headache you can´t stand?"
"And I´m already late for a very important job that I have to complete today, or else Ponyville might get flushed away. Or it might actually have, I don´t know. All I know is that I´m the only one strong enough to do what´s needed, and I promised everyone to help out."
"You do realise you are in no condition to take on yourself such a mission?"
"Of course I do! But If I DON´T, the repercussion will be catastrophic!"
Zecora only sat in silence for a while. She kept looking into Twilight´s eyes intently, as if looking inside her head. The unicorn didn´t like the stare one bit, but was determined to return it and not show any signs of weakness. This went on for a long while, until finally Zecora was first to look away.
"Help you I can, but on a strict condition after the work is done I place on you an inhibition
For one week must you not use any magic Or the results will be truly tragic."
"A week with no magic? After I fix the dam? What if there is an emergency? What If I´m the only one who can help?"
She heard a voice at the back of her head. It was trying to say something to her, but she blocked it out.
"These are my terms that you must follow. negotiating about them is a task most hollow"
After a moment Twilight had to give up. She was desperate, and needed herself at full power, even if it meant a week of no magic.
I can even think of it as a learning experience! Living the earth pony way 101!
... Who am I kidding? It´ll be awful. Still, how is she going to fix my horn? I´ve never heard of any treatments that could repair a broken unicorn horn, except a long rest without using magic. Sometimes for ... months. And this is for the greater good...
Somewhere in her skull ricocheted the empty laughter of some being she didn´t care to listen to right now.
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT THE BUCK UP!"
She got a very concerned stare from a startled zebra, who´d dropped a few bottles from a shelf.
"Did ... I just say that out loud?"
Zecora gave her a slow nod. Her stare was burning holes into Twilight´s skull.
"It´s just that ... erm ... the ... birds outside are quite loud and ... my headache? Owwww. See? it hurts?" She rubbed her head and tried to give Zecora a convincing smile.
Her only answer was another nod, this one even slower than the last one.
"Nice save there. Didn´t know you were such a smooth liar."
Twilight tried to use her most reassuring smile. She didn´t pull it quite as well as she thought ... mostly because her ear had started twitching once again.
I´m NOT going to mess this thing up just because I´m not 100% behind this idea, you hear me?
"Are we a democracy now? How many votes do I get?"
None.
"Sheesh. Cheapskate."
I think you should shut up now.
"I think you should eat some cake."
I hate you!
"That´s called self-loathing."
"I´m sorry Zecora. The birds were distracting me a bit. Could you say that again?"
The zebra looked at her, seemingly deep in thought. Twilight felt herself starting to sweat.
"Is this where we run? Might be best. You never know with these foreigners—"
She´s my friend! How dare you ... I ... think of her as a foreigner?
"Well ... because she is?"
But that´s not how I think!
"You USUALLY don´t. But now that Miss Superego is not here with her high horse, you get to hear the second opinion."
I´d NEVER discriminate someone based on where they´re from.
"Horseapples. Tell that to the changelings."
She´s not a monster! I trust her!
"Don´t! She´ll just betray you, just like your other so-called ´friends` did."
Not this again!
"Never gonna let you up—"
During this whole internal monologue, the zebra pharmacist had just looked at her friend. The nervous twitches and shifty eyes on the mare were quite unnerving. Shaking her head she decided to go against her better judgement and trust her.
"First off is your headache, the reason is clear your neck is the source of the pain, i fear.
I give you for it a relaxing herb take it in the evening, you´ll sleep superb
For a librarian there is a nasty hook don´t strain your neck, or read a book."
"No books and no magic for a week? That´s ... that´s ..."
What other options do you have?
"And it´s not like you can´t pick up something light to read, as long as you don´t strain yourself, right?"
You support reading?
"You like doing it, so I like doing it too."
"... doable. I guess."
"For your shattered horn I have a secret pill. Only once can you use it, lest all go downhill
For one day can you put your magic to work And only for that day, or you go berserk."
I´ll go mad if I use more than one? What is she going to feed me?
"She´s not feeding us anything! We´re NOT taking something like that! Zebra poisons!"
But if we don´t, the town—
"Buck the town! You can´t save anyone as a vegetable!"
Well I won´t take it immediately. It´s better to have more options, right?
"Well ... that´s true I guess."
She could only nod. Zecora started preparing several pouches of herbs for her.
First there were the leaves for her stomach.
The next bag was filled with some brown roots and leaves, which she recognized as chamomile and hops.
Those are probably for my neck.
"Or making you sleep so deep that she can steal all your books while you sleep?"
Isn´t that a little bit too paranoid, even for you?
"Paranoia is my middle name."
How can it be your middle name if your whole name is ID?
"I Paranoia D. There. You happy now?"
Last the zebra walked to a shelf and took a small brown glass jar from there. Inside were only a few large pills, all uniquely wrapped. She took one and put it inside the last pouch.
"Thank you Zecora. With these I´ll be able to go on for just one more day. I hope that´ll be enough."
As she turned to leave she felt the zebra seize her by the shoulder.
"Day is all you get, enough or not Try any more and your brain will rot
In you I´m not sure I should trust But in this situation I guess I must.
If you´ve told me a lie, I do not joke I will feed to you some poison oak!"
Those ominous words kept turning in Twilight´s head as she started her trek back to town.
"See? Zecora helped me. Us. Whatever. The point is, you were wrong."
"I was? What makes you say that?"
"Well, she helped me out without asking anything from me in return."
"She actually gained quite a lot for a few reeds and roots. Did you ever think what Zecora´s life is like?"
"Huh?"
"She lives in the middle of the most unhospitable place in Equestria. All she has is a small cabin full of memories from her homeland, and hundreds of monsters right outside her door to keep her company. Did you ever think of why she lives there and not, for example, in Ponyville?"
"I always thought she liked the solitude, and I guess it´s a good place to harvest her plants."
"That´s true of course."
"But? I´m sure you´re going to say ´but`."
"BUT she´s also feared by everyone who meets her because of her different looks and ways. When you first met her, you believed that she was an evil witch casting curses. And you´re very level-headed and logical."
"And I had difficulties believing she was evil."
"And yet you did. Even you. You charged in her house and wrecked her whole place. And you´ve done it several times since, like when Spike decided to steal everything from her. You never though how many priceless items and heirlooms were destroyed in that mess?"
"No. I didn´t."
"And before you succeeded in convincing the town that she was not a threat, they all hid inside when they even as much as got a glimpse of her."
"Well that just goes to show that I managed to overcome my prejudice, and made her welcome as a part of our community."
"And what happens without you? If you leave Ponyville, what happens to her? How long does it take for them to turn against her again?"
"The people of Ponyville wouldn´t do that! They know better."
"Maybe. You´re the most level-headed pony in town, and yet you were on the bandwagon before she was proven innocent. You were ready to hurt her bad back then. You were lucky that Applebloom was there to stop you. How do you think normal ponies would accept her when even you couldn´t? Can she take the risk?
If she´d thrown you out today, and the people of the town heard that she didn´t help you? Remember, her not helping you might very well cause the destruction of large parts of the town. How would the people react to losing their homes? Would they blame you, the Prized Pupil of Princess Celestia, endlessly sacrifing herself to help the townsfolk? Not to mention who could easily just hurl them around the country with just a thought? Or would they instead turn on the single zebra from far away, who indirectly caused the problem?"
"That´s just silly. She has nothing to do with the dam or the disaster that it might cause."
"They know you. They know you´d never let anything happen to the town. So someone else would have to get the blame. They can´t face loss without blaming someone for it."
"So you say that Zecora helped me because I´m valuable to her?"
"You noticed how she looked at us. She clearly knew we were lying and just waiting for her to fix our problems."
"I wasn´t lying! Well ... maybe just a bit about not reading or straining my neck. And I really was going to cut down on magic."
"But you lied."
"I didn´t mean to!"
"Didn´t you also fail to mention that you were quite unstable in the head? As is evident from our little talk right now? Would she have given you some powerful zebra magic pills if you´d told her?"
"At least I had good reason to do so. To save the town."
"Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?"
"That´s not—"
"The ends justify the means?"
"No I didn´t mean to—"
"It´s alright to cheat and lie and steal, as long as you don´t do it for yourself? That you don´t MEAN anything bad to happen?"
"Stop it. I don´t want to listen to you anymore."
"Who were you talking to again? You can´t just storm out the door and slam it shut behind you. I´d be there, waiting for you. And don´t think your moral compass is here to shut me up either."
"Please!"
"Why are you begging me? It wasn´t ME that decided to cheat a friend to get what you needed? To USE her for YOUR OWN BENEFIT, knowing full well that all she could do was OBEY? It´s in YOUR hooves to either let her live peacefully, or force her to run away from the angry mob that wants vengeance. It was all you. I even remember trying to talk you out of it, because I didn´t know what she was giving you?"
"But if I don´t use magic? If I don´t strain myself? Doesn´t it mean I didn´t use her?"
"The question is: What did you think when you lied to her and used her? It doesn´t matter what you say now, because what´s done is done."
"I. HATE. YOU."
"And?"
"AND ... and ... you´re right. Once again. I really DID use her for my own benefit. And I got what I wanted."
"And the worst part is?"
"I ... don´t even really feel guilty about it. I had to do it. For the town, and especially for myself. If I don´t save the town, the people will hate me and blame me. I´m not even supposed to be outside. I should be home, sleeping."
"Don´t I know it, sister. We could still go have a nice long nap. You´re really tired and weak."
"If I just discard everything I promised to do and just go to bed, I´ll get into even more trouble. I had to go to Zecora, because she was the only one who could give me what I needed. And I took it. I could have refused her aid. I could have said no, give up and walk away. I didn´t."
"And does that make you a ´Bad Pony`?"
"No. It is not wrong to do what I must."
"And who did you do it for?"
"Myself. So I wouldn´t get in trouble for breaking my promise."
"Did you do it for the town?"
"No."
"What do you think about the townsponies?"
"They are forcing me to use Celestia-knows what to give me an edge with my broken horn."
"Tell me more!"
"They are the reason I´m in this condition."
"Who? Tell me who!"
"The thankless greedy selfish townsponies who always expect me to fix their problems. It´s because of THEM I´m hurting like ... like BUCK."
"Such language! Do go on!"
"But if I don´t fix the bucking dam, they´ll be all over me and blaming me for the destruction."
"If it makes you feel any better, you´re also saving the library and your books. Especially that really interresting one in the basement."
"Which I´ll be bucking reading on my bucking bed with some bucking nice apple cider before this bucking day is over. "
"You go girl"
"I´m gonna take a ten hour bath and eat so much candy and cake I´ll be pissing syrup."
"Buck yeah!"
"Right after I kick that bucking little twerp of a dragon out, so I can have the whole bucking library to myself. "
"Who needs him anyway! You have yourself and don´t need anyone else!"
"And if my friends try to come and abuse me, I´ll throw THEM out too."
"Oooh yeah!"
"If bucking CELESTIA comes down from her Bucking-ham Palace I´ll RIP HER HORN OFF AND STUFF IT UP HER—"
"Hate to interrupt you there, but we´re at the dam site."
The construction site was silent. The workers had started early, made all the preparations that needed to be done.
Then they´d waited.
And waited.
It was a nice day for waiting, of course. It wasn´t like they´d be working in a bad weather — There were rules and regulations for that sort of things. The local weather team had been told to keep the sky clean and warm. All in all the stallions and mares at the dam were quite happy. They were paid by the hour, and getting paid for lying on the ground and basking in the sunlight wasn´t really a bad deal.
Some of them had taken out picnic baskets and quilts, and were enjoying themselves with some early lunch. Others were sitting at the riverbank, cooling off their hooves in the low water.
Only the unicorn mare next to the dam itself actually had anything to do. Even her job was just to probe the wall of reinforced concrete every now and again to see if it was going to go off. She was taking care of her work with all due dilligence, lying half-asleep on her back and listening to her portable stereo.
The only people that hadn´t relaxed yet were the two forestallions. They were sitting with worried expressions on their faces in the shade of the cantina tent..
Impact Drill, ever the talkative one, was preparing for a full on torrent of communications by coughing silently.
"´s getting late."
His colleague, in the majestically hunched form of Iron Girder, decided this comment needed his immediate attention.
"Yup."
Impact couldn´t let him get away with this, and intoned in words that would one day be recited all over the world as a testament to this day.
"Nice weather though."
After a short bemusement at these deep words of philosophy, Iron could only reply with a laconic expression almost unheard-off since the ancient classical era.
"Yup."
To accentuate the finality of this answer, he shifted the straw that was hanging from his mouth to the other side.
With their dialogue options depleted for the foreseeable future, they decided to return to the task of staring at nothing. They were good at it. It was one of the secrets of success as a professional in the construction business.
Don´t have anything to do? Stare at nothing.
Didn´t get the supplies you needed in time and the workponies were asking for extra bits for overtime? Stare at nothing.
Customer just complained that you had built his house upside down? Stare at nothing.
Mayor of the town was antsy because her whole town might need scuba courses soon? Stare at nothing.
It usually worked. After a while people tended to go complain to someone else who actually reacted in any way. If you started arguing, negotiating, trying to be all diplomatic, things would just get worse.
A good stare solved everything.
It was exactly this stare that brought into their attention the lone figure which had just come into their view. She´d rounded a copse of few willows, and was most definitely heading their way. This meant that they needed to take immediate action. Which they did after about a minute, with Impact Drill breaking first from the pressure.
"Oi! Lads an´ Lasses! Getchore gear in order. We´ve got work to do."
The forestallions started slowly trotting for the lone purple unicorn. They met her about halfway, and could almost swear she´d been cursing under her breath right before they were at a talking distance.
"Well good morning to you Miss ... erm ... Twilight wasn´t it?"
"... ning" followed the other suit.
The mare seemed only now to notice the two of them. The stallions tried to give her a reassuring smile, and waited politely for her to respond. She did so, but not in quite the way they expected.
"Shut the buck up. I don´t want to be here any longer than is absolutely neccessary, so why don´t you two do all of us a favor and cut the horseapples and tell me where to start."
To say that the muscular stallions were taken aback by the rapid verbal assault from the little unicorn was like saying that Princess Celestia might like a cup of tea every now and then. They weren´t used to being talked down to, especially by ladies that they had been told were quite respected around here. But they were almost as anxious to start this disaster as was the mare apparently.
"Alright. Let´s get to it then. We´re all set here so when you´re ready to start just take a spot you like and signal the unicorn near the dam. She´ll start weakening the structure slowly and you´ll be able to take it from there."
"Fine. Just let me take my medicine. Can´t do ´the magics` without my pills."
"Are you allright Miss? If you´re feeling ill I think it´d—"
"Last time I heard you weren´t told to think. Only work. Clock is ticking and I have a book to get back to."
Without waiting for a reply, she took out the small pill from her saddlebags.
"You sure about this? It could be zebra poison?"
"She wouldn´t risk poisoning us. And I sure as hay wasn´t going to try this without some extra power."
"Oh yeah. Right. You´re the boss."
She opened the wrappers around the pill. Inside the cloth was a small yellow piece of ... something. It wasn´t even really a pill, just a lump of something. The feeling it gave off was something else entirely. She could feel the energy pulsing from the small item in her hand. She tossed it in her mouth and took a small drink from the river to wash it down.
And nothing happened. She waited for a while and all she could feel was the small hammering of the headache starting to return from its trip to Zebraland. The sun was hot, and flies were buzzing around her ears, but that was about it. Then something caught her eye on the ground.
On the grassy field was now laid before her a network of white strands. Some of them only barely visible in the light, some as thick as her hooves. After the perspective adjusted she understood that the strands were actually underneath the ground she was standing on, some even a very long way down. She noticed one that was close to the surface, and with a few digs of her hoof dug it out. Not really expecting anything to happen, she pushed her hoof into the strand.
The effect was immense. She felt like someone had poured ice-cold molten metal into her horn, and then turned it inside out. The power she felt course through her was almost as strong as when she´d channeled the combined energies of the Elements of Harmony. As soon as the effect started, it dwindled away, taking the strand with it. She started scanning around the field for another, more powerful strand.
One in particular caught her attention. If her eyes didn´t deceive her, it was very deep underground, and yet it looked like it was one of the thicker ones. With a small pulse of energy from her horn she gently tugged at it, feeling it respond easily. She pulled the strand towards the surface, noting it growing larger and larger as it got closer. When it was just beneath the surface, right under her, it was almost the width of three ponies put side by side. She only hesitated for a moment before pulling it to the surface and stepping on it.
And then there was power. It made every hair in her body stand out like the spines of a porcupine. The feeling was overwhelming, making her lose all sense of the world around her. For a second she wondered who she was and what she was doing, almost losing herself in the absolute flow of the energy. With all her considerable willpower she was able to form a thought.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, the strongest unicorn in Equestria. You are MINE!"
She willed the strand to lift her up from the ground and move her above the river. From her blurred vision she could only see the workponies stare at her in wonder. She turned her attention to the insignificant little construct that she was supposed to rebuild. It was time to get to work.
Twilight looked at the dam, noting every small crack and groove on its surface. She also saw the small thin strands of magic she had used before to keep it whole. She saw the insignificantly weak unicorn stand near her target.
"That mare is useless now. Once again I have to do everything all by myself."
She knew how brittle the lines of magic crisscrossing the concrete were, and despite the energy trying to overwhelm her, decided to start slow. Focusing her magic in her horn she opened the smallest possible pathway between her and the wall before her.
When the shockwave reached Applejack and Rarity, it was only strong enough to throw them a few feet into the air. The following low bass rumbling made the world dance around them, as the ground itself moved in waves as if it was water. They could only lay spreadeagled on the ground and shout in fear. They had no idea how long the quake lasted, but it felt like it´d never end. Once the road they were embracing eventually stood still, the duo finally dared to open their eyes.
In Applejack´s vision there was only darkness. The deep dark of midnight, with no light visible.
"Rarity! Y´allright there?"
"Things just COULDN´T be WORSE! My mane is a MESS and I have DIRT all over my beautiful coat!"
"That sounds mighty awful on ya but for some reason ah can´t seem to see ya. Or anythin´ else for that matter."
"Have you tried taking your hat off of your eyes, dahling?"
"Oh."
After she got her Stetson back in its proper place, she noticed that the whole world had turned gray. What caught her attention, though, was the pillar of dust that rose towards the sky from behind the hill they were circling.
"Ah guess we´ve gone an found Twilight. Let´s just hope we ain´t too late."
Rarity didn´t hear her words. She was already around the first bend, speeding toward the construction site.
The two ponies were expecting the destruction to be absolute. They were expecting to walk unto a scene of terrible carnage and mayhem. Images of fire and panic, of craters and horrid pain, fluttered through their minds. Still NOTHING could have prepared them for what lay before them when they rounded the last corner.
What had once been a semi-organized construction site, was now just a clean meadow with a tiny river running through it. There were no signs of the tents, carts full of supplies, or even the workponies. A few butterflies were dancing merrily around the small flowers, and from the nearby forest the wind carried the song of birds.
The dam had been fixed. Well, to say it was ´fixed` was not really the correct word. It had been rebuilt from the ground up. The old industrial look had been replaced by a more natural stone surface. It had been built completely out of large boulders that had been cut into precise geometrical shapes that fit together perfectly. From the distance, Rarity nor Applejack could see the lines between the stones. Had they even gone for a closer look, they couldn´t have seen them, because without a microscope, none would ever see where exactly one stone ended and the next one begun.
One scientifically minded pony from Cloudsdale would come to visit at a later date. He had heard of the Ponyville Dam, and wanted to study how it had been built. With him he brought all the tools of his trade and got to work. After a full day of careful study he could only come to one conclusion: The stones had been fused together. No mortar or cement had been used in its construction. The amount of heat would have been astronomical and would be impossible to replicate with mundane means. The only way to tell that the stones had once been separated was the change in their texture and colour where one block ended and the next started. Apart from that, the dam was effectively made out of one single stone. It was as strong as bedrock, and would probably stand the test of millenia as one of the greatest shows of magical masonry in the history of Equestria. It would draw in tourists, school classes and the occasional unicorn mason to visit, just to gaze upon it. The meadow also made for a nice camping area, and it was a favorite place for families to have a nice Saturday afternoon picnic.
It gained even more popularity when a minotaur hard rock band by the name of Judas Goat wrote a song about it called "Ram It Down". One of their most legendary tourneys around Equestria ended in a major concert at the dam itself, where the lead vocalist, Turbo Lover, drove straight into the granite wall on a motorcycle, and tried to headbutt the stone wall dowm. Legend has it, that when he finally came to, he wrote the lyrics to three more bestseller songs on the spot. After that, he told the media that the dam had another thing coming, which caused one of the reporters to drop his pants off accidentally and suffer from a really nasty headache. Turbo Lover got into contact with several other bands, and together they held the first annual "Rock Hard Ride Free" -festival. It would bring in even more people to Ponyville, and with them a notable increase in tourism revenue for the town.
These facts went altogether unobserved by the two ponies standing in the meadow. They had noticed one other living being near the dam. At this distance it looked like a glowing ball of fire that was hovering a few feet above the river. It was bright enough to make their eyes hurt from looking at it directly, but underneath the blaze was the unmistakable coat of a purple pony. When they got closer, the brightness slowly dimmed into a mere luminescent glow, still clearly visible at high noon. The glow was coming from the horn of their friend and the unofficial leader of Team Elements Of Harmony, She seemed to be still concentrating on using her magic, and before their eyes, some burning letters started appearing on the nearby wall. The flames cut deep into the rocky surface, and after the fire cooled down, a new writing stood on the wall, cut inch-deep into the stone.
Underneath today´s date was a simple text.
"Constructed solely by Twilight Sparkle Librarian of Ponyville The most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria Personal student of Princess Celestia"
And a bit below that was a smaller text: "Suck it, Trixie!" next to a stylized image of a unicorn blowing a raspberry.
After finishing her work, the floating unicorn turned towards the other two ponies. Her eyes were just small disks of white, glowing bright as the noon sun above them. As she opened her mouth a white glow was also visible inside her mouth and as she spoke the misty light seemed to flow out between her teeth and dissipate harmlessly into the air. Her voice had a strong echo, as if she´d repeated every word several times at the same time. Her voice, or voices, sounded a lot deeper than usual, reminding Rarity of the noises that came out of Vinyl Scratch´s studio during the early morning hours.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Both Applejack and her marshmallow white friend were taken aback by the force behind the words. Applejack´s faithful hat was torn from her head and flung away to the grassy field behind them.
"Whoah there pardner! Ah reckon y´all just might want to calm down ah bit an maybe cut down on tha ole Royal Canterlot Voice y´hear?"
Twilight was now standing closer to them, but still quite high in the air so they had to look up to her. They could see her brow furrow and her voice take on an even deeper, darker tone.
"SO THE FIRST WORDS YOU HAVE FOR ME ARE TWO ORDERS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE COMFORTABLE?"
"Twilight, no-one is ordering anyone around here! Please, we just came to talk to you! We know you´re in trouble and want to help!"
"HELP? HOW COULD A FARMER AND A DRESS-MAKER HELP ME? WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND OF MY SITUATION"
Her voice was so loud enough to hurt both of the earthbound ponies. Rarity had already slumped down on the ground, and was trying to cover her ears with her hooves. The mare next to her was still stubbornly standing with a determined expression on her face.
"Mebbe y´all are right an we don´t unnerstan wha´s goin on with ya. But won´t ya just let us try? That´s wha friends ah for!"
"FRIENDS?"
"Ain´t that wha ah´v just said? We came to see if y´all was alright an find out wha happened here. And where´d all tha workers go?"
"THEY ARE GONE."
"Whaddya mean 'gone'? Whatcha go an do Twalaight!?"
"NOT HERE ANY MORE. SCREAMING AND PANICKING LIKE LITTLE FOALS, WHEN I WAS DOING THEIR WORK FOR THEM. DISRUPTING. CRYING ALL ABOUT THEIR WORRIES AND FEARS. I MADE THEM GO AWAY. DISAPPEAR "
"Please! It hurts! Please don´t shout!"
"Twalaight! What tha hay´ve you done!"
"YOU ARE NOT WORTH MY TIME! SPEAKING TO YOU IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE TO ME!"
Twilight Sparkle once again summoned the energy she´d stored in her horn. With a brilliantly bright purple flash of magic she was gone again. Unlike her normal Sparkleport, it was not followed by a buzzing sound, but the crack of air filling a vacuum all too abruptly.
Rarity could only hear a small falsetto whine in her ears. No other sound came through. She tried to get up but found she had no balance to support her, even with four hooves. Applejack was next to her, trying to shout at her, but she couldn´t hear the words. All she saw was the panic on her palomino friend´s face. The farmpony was pointing at her ears and making hurried gestures. Rarity put a hoof to her ear and was shocked to see it covered in blood. She tried asking for help, for her friend to make everything alright. She couldn´t hear the answers, but could feel her starting to push her yellow mane under her barrel. She was hoisted up on Applejack´s back like a sack of apples. Hardly a way to treat a lady, but for once she said nothing about it. Only thing she said was a short "Thank you." She felt a hoof pat her on the shoulder comfortingly. She was safe and being taken care of. With a long sigh she drifted off into unconsciousness.
Applejack'd been running the whole way, and was really starting to feel the weight on her back. Her legs felt heavy, and the town didn't seem to be getting any closer. It was really hard to know exactly how far she'd run because of the gray dust covering everything like fog. Somepony might find it ironic, that the Element Of Honesty was very good at lying to herself. She'd never admit it to herself, but she hated being alone. Always living so close with her family and friends, she'd really started hating the moments in her life where there was no-one else near her. Even now she felt so lost and hopeless, carrying her injured friend in the grayness. The world was devoid of shadows, as the sun was only visible as a slightly brighter spot in the sky. She´d walked this road countless times, but it had never felt this unfamiliar. She had to concentrate on what was important:
Keep her friend safe.
Get her well.
Still she was losing her composure with every step. The weight of a full-grown pony on her back had felt manageable. Not any more. She had to let Rarity slide down gently to the roadside to catch a breath. The dust in the air burned in her eyes, making them water. She sat down next to her, gently petting her friends ruffled mane. Rarity was always so prissy about her mane, and now it was all clumped and tangled. She was breathing quietly, like she was asleep.
After a few minutes, Applejack tried to stand up. For some reason, she couldn't get her body to move as she willed. She´d lost all the strength in her mighty legs, and they felt like rubber. It was tiredness, the stress of the situation, the loneliness. She had to admit it to herself: She couldn't go on.
It felt ridiculous for the usual determinator to lack the energy to even walk a familiar road. She was supposed to be the one for everypony to lean on to, but who could she lean on when she needed help? There was always somepony near to snap her out of it. Dash with her taunts, urging her to surpass herself. Rarity to tell her how her simple thinking and ways was uncouth. Even when she´d tried to buck the whole apple harvest by herself two years ago, she´d had everyone there to catch her if she fell. But not this time. Twilight was gone, Rarity was down for the count, and the gray air clung to her sweaty sides like mud. It must have been the grayness that did it. The monotone gray that separated her from her friends and family. It was like a wall had been put in front of her. She felt a large lump rising up her throat, making it harder and harder for her to breathe. With an unfamiliar quiver in her voice, she first spoke, and after a few tries shouted: "HELP! Somepony! Anypony! Please!"
When the two pegasi appeared in her vision after a long while, she could only smile weakly. The two streaks of colour against the monochrome background felt like two small points of happiness and security to her. Her two closest pegasus friends had found her, and she wasn't alone with her burden any more. They soon converged around her, one hovering just above the ground pulling up her goggles, the other landing softly next to the them with a worried expression on her face.
"Uhm ... hello? Are you all ri—"
"Hey, Rarity! Aren't you afraid of getting dirty from lying in the mud?"
"RAINBOW DASH! Stop that righ' now. She's hurt real bad 'cos o Twalaight and we gotta get her to tha hospital an fast!"
The mirth on the blue mare's face was quickly replaced by worry. Before she could continue, Fluttershy had already gone to her injured friend.
"Oh my! What happened? She´s bleeding from her ears? Oh this can´t be good ..."
"Yeah that Twalaight ain't well in ta head. It´s even worse than last time an that was real bad back then."
"Are you telling me that the egghead librarian hurt Rarity? I can't believe this!"
"Ah don think it was on purpose or anythin. Ah'll tell y'all bout it when we find tha others. RD can ya fly her to a doctor?"
"Of course. But I need Flutters to help. I could of course do it all by my own but the going would be too rough. You OK on your own?"
Applejack was almost ready to say no, but seeing her friends had given her a new burst of energy. Everything was going to work out alright again, now that her friends were here.
"Wha do ah look like to ya? Ahm ah some lost schoolfilly, or a proud member of tha Apple family? Now you two jus mosey on to tha hospital and we'll meet up at tha library after. Ah'm sure that´s where we´ll be findin Twalaight."
"You got it. Cya!"
Being alone didn't feel really as bad when you knew your friends would be there for you in a pinch. But it was often hard to remember. With a determined shake, AJ started for the town at full gallop.
Twilight was going over a checklist in her cellar.
-Get cider. Check
There were several barrels of it, stamped with the Apple family seal in the corner. It was wonderful how much free stuff you could get with a basic knowledge of the lay of Sweet Apple Acres, and some well placed Sparkleports.
-Get candy and other goodies. Check
She looked approvingly at the new shelf she´d installed. It had previously been a part of the Sugarcube Corner.
-Go to Zecora´s and get the rest of the Best. Pills. EVER. Check.
The look on the zebra's face had been priceless when she appeared next to the shelf, stole the pills and disappeared, all in a matter of seconds.
-Kick Spike out. "Well he wasn´t here so I guess that's close enough ..." Check
-Throw some bits out the door with the Want-It-Need-It spell cast on them. Check
Luckily she couldn't hear the commotion down here. It was a market day after all.
-Close all doors and windows with magic. Check.
-Make sure to mark the places where the traps are in a way only you know so you don´t accidentally step into them yourself. Check.
-Set up several nasty teleportation traps inside the library. Check
She wasn't really sure what had happened there. Moving on ...
-Put up a forcefield around the library. Check.
-Move the bed to the cellar lab. Check.
-Start reading a forbidden tome of ancient knowledge. Check.
After a while she had to return to the checklist, and add one more item:
"Oho! So that's how it works. Never would've guessed."
Twilight was laying on her back on her bed. Around her were floating the different items of her wanton decadence. There were partially eaten pies and half-drunk glasses of cider, among the various reference tomes and dictionaries, all of them bathed in the purple glow of her telekinetic magic. Absentmindedly she made a few notes on a parchment by her side, not even bothering to look at it while doing so.
She'd found out that ever since she took the yellow pill and found the strange ribbons of energy underground, she'd been able to think with such speed that it amazed even herself. Even now that she was no longer touching any of those strands, it felt as if she'd supercharged her horn with a surplus of magic. It was like someone had cleaned the thinking engine inside her head, oiled it and filled it with infinite fuel. Multitasking and concentrating on several things at once felt easy and natural to her. When before she'd had to use all her concentration on just one task to succeed in it, she could now handle several thought processes, calculations, spells and functions at the same time. She could even eat cake at the same time.
Life was good for Twilight Sparkle.
She'd already managed to restore the whole ancient tome. It had been almost too easy with the energy that was coursing through her. She didn't even need the scalpels or the other tools for the job anymore. Her control over her magic was so precise, that it took her less than ten minutes to remove all the pages from their moldy prison. Now she was hard at work reading the faded pages while copying them for future use. She'd been amazed at how easy it was to transcribe even the most complicated images, diagrams and even woodcut prints on the pages. Twilight never was much of an artist, and anything more complicated than writing and copying basic text always led to an inky mess.
The tome itself had been an amazing read up to this point. The Necroponicon, or The Book Of Dead Ponies, was a repository of knowledge, both arcane and mundane, from ages long past. She'd basked in the thought that she might be the only living being in the world who had access to such a gift. The book had been originally written over two millennia ago, and the moldy tome she was now perusing was just a translated copy of the original work. It had been called by many names through its time, but the first name it'd ever had was Al-Azif. She hadn't found a literal translation for the name, but the idea it conveyed was "screaming" or "howling". Maybe it referred to the speech of long lost ponies, whose words and deeds carried throughout history, even if they were already gone from this world.
The original author, Abd Al-Khamsa, or "Servant Of The Five", hadn't existed at all. At least none of Twilight´s history books held any mention of him. It was quite possibly a name given to a group or tradition of scholars of old. His translated name might have held some more answers, as "The Five" was mentioned a few times in the ancient history of the southern lands. They had been well respected mares, who had ruled the vast desert lands together, from a majestic city called Eram, The City Of Pillars. Not surprisingly, the description of that long-lost city, as well as its general location, matched those of the archaeological dig site where this tome had been unearthed. Why there had been a translation there, and not a book in its original language, was puzzling. Had someone walked there on a pilgrimage to maybe look for something hidden there?
She made a mental note to take the trip herself and study the herself.
Who, or whatever, Abd Al Khamsa had been didn't really matter, because what he´d written was pure gold for the unicorn mare, now reclining comfortably on her fluffy mattress. She was about halfway into the book, but the ideas and theories contained withing had already opened up her mind to so many new possibilities. The book had told her of the energy streams contained within the crust of the land she lived in. She´d walked above such vast reservoirs of untapped potential all her life. Now thanks to a series of coincidences she'd finally found them, and the book had told her what to do with them.
It was called geomancy. The art of using the inherent magic suffused in all living beings that flowed around the world as a gigantic network of criss-crossing streams. According to The Necroponicon, the streams were composed of raw Mana, or Essence. This Essence was what allowed life to sustain itself in the world. It made flowers bloom and allowed baby ponies to be born. Also, when a living thing´s time was up, its Mana returned to the underground stream, to be born again as something else. She found the thought strangely comforting. She didn´t often think about what happened to ponies in the end, but this option was a lot less scary than just vanishing completely.
The origin of Mana was told to be the lifeblood of an ancient being called Gaia, or Terra (the names were used interchangeably). This being was described as the source of all life. It was definitely described as female, and some of the woodcuts of her in the book were enough to make Twilight blush. She was pictured as a powerfully built Equine, with wings and a majestic horn and a flowing black mane. In the stories she was one with the land, making everything grow and blossom. For aeons she was the only being in the land, molding and shaping it for the future. She created the flora and fauna of the land, and finally all the numerous sentient species of Equestria.
In time, she fell in love with another powerful being "from across the stars". The being was as powerful as her, and they continued to create the world together. He was the one who brought entropy and death into the circle of life in the land, allowing things to truly live. Together they had two children, called the moon and the sun.
"You´re not telling me those were Princess Celestia and Luna ..."
The father was called Nyarlathotep. He was described as a dragon of immense ... "proportions". He was also alluded to be very unstable, and in the end he became a threat to the land. Gaia and Nyarlathotep fought, bringing ruin to the land and destroying every living thing, save their daughters and the handful of mortals they managed to save. In the end Gaia was killed, and her blood seeped into the ground she so much loved. Her blood became the life that sustained life in the land, and everyone who was born, lived and passed on would be a part of her.
Nyarlathotep reigned supreme in the land, enslaving all those that came to live from her former lover´s blood. He created his own twisted creatures called the Nightgaunts, shadowy shapeshifters that had no face, just two bulging eyes and a monstrously wide mouth ...
Twilight had to stop and stare at the picture on the page. There was no doubt that she was looking at a Changeling.
"One more piece to a puzzle I´m only starting to understand even exists."
He was called a king of old, or a creature from behind the stars. Sometimes he was even described as a divine being or an Outer God from a different universe or dimension. He often walked the land in the guise of a pony, usually a tall, slim, joyous stallion. He had "a thousand other forms", most of these were reputed to be maddeningly horrific. Nyarlathotep delighted in cruelty, was deceptive and manipulative, and even cultivated followers and used propaganda to achieve his goals. Causing madness was more important and enjoyable than destruction for him.
"You've gotta be bucking joking me! This can't be true! This can't be!"
Twilight was sweating intensely, and her teeth were chattering together. She almost lost concentration on her magic, and barely stopped the book from plummeting to the ground. She carefully laid it on her bed and continued reading.
In the end, the two Daughters Of Terra joined together and rallied the young races of ponies, mules, zebras, pegasi and ki-rin. Together they waged an eternal war against the King Of Chaos, only after centuries succeeding in trapping him in stone. Of his return it is written that:
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with stranger aeons, even Death may die."
This sentence foretells that somewhere in the future the Dragon Of Discord And Lies ...
Twilight couldn't read any more. This was too much to take in. The room had started spinning around her. She tried to cling to her mattress, but her whole world was going down and she couldn't do anything to stop it. The sudden realizations and connections were making themselves in her synapses without her consent. She felt like the cake and cider she had earlier gorged in were now trying to get out through her mouth. She could barely stop herself from vomiting all over her bed. She had trouble breathing, feeling her heartbeat as a thunderous banging of desperation in her ears. She was about to pass out from panic. She punched the mattress with her hooves. She flung the machinery and furniture around the workroom. She screamed. She cried. Still the ideas wouldn't let go.
And in the end came the cold realization. She could fight it as much as she wanted, but this was the truth. She had to accept it.
She could only lie on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her breath came in short gasps. After a moment, she took a large glass of cider and downed it with one swell gulp. And another. And another. The sweetness of the drink made her retch, but she kept going. After a while the sugar started working its own kind of magic, and she felt her mouth turn up again in a smile. She glanced at herself in a small mirror on the wall. The reflective surface had been cracked by some stray projectile, taking with it several pieces of glass. Twilight´s reflection was twisted and shattered. She calmly adjusted her mane, turned her head from side to side and gave a small giggle.
"It´s alright. This changes nothing. Teheheeeheeehe ... The worst has already happened, and we've defeated him for good. He won´t be coming back. He won't be hurting me EVER again."
She'd decided to return to the book. It had already thrown the worst it could at her and she'd been able to take it. No silly book was going to beat her. She was a librarian after all. How silly would it be for a librarian to lose to a book. She let out another mechanical giggle and lay down back on the bed. She took a small bite of a cherry cake and turned to the next page. She choked on the piece in her mouth, trying to swallow it whole by accident.
On the page was the unmistakable image of a draconequus. She could almost hear his taunting voice, as he was gloating over his victory. Still, she was here, all right and sane. He hadn't won. She had. She'd pulled the rest of the Elements out of their mind-controlled delusions and together they had imprisoned him once more.
"You aren't gonna mess with Twilight Sparkle any more you motherbucking plothole. Whether you're Discord, or Nyarlathotep, or Mr. Ed, I don´t care! I slapped you silly and I bucked you stupid and if you want another dance with me, it's gonna be a Danse Macabre for you."
"Such strong words from you little Miss Sparkle."
Twilights words stuck in her throat as she stared at the image. The draconequus on the page had come alive, and was now clearly speaking to her. It was even HIS VOICE.
"This isn't happening. I´m just confused and shocked about all the things I've read."
"Tisk tisk tisk Miss Sparkle. I would have expected more from you. Weren't you supposed to be the open-minded scientist?"
"You're not real! We shut you back into your stone!"
"Oh? Six little fillies with a small bit of Tass are enough to imprison a star-child of Azathoth?"
"I don´t even know what those words MEAN! You can't be real!"
"Dear me. Did the though ever cross your mind that I was never really imprisoned? Maybe I let my DAUGHTERS think that, so they would leave me alone? Maybe I cut myself to pieces and hid among the minds of everyone? Maybe it is that small madness in your head that is my real Essence?"
Twilight slammed the books shut and collapsed on top of it.
"Mhmhwh whmmh hmm."
"You're not real. I'm just a bit on the edge. You're not real. YOU'RE NOT! BUCKING! REAL!"
With mounting horror she saw a two-dimensional claw extend itself out from between the pages. With the slippery moves of a spineless worm, the miniature Discord pulled itself to freedom.
"Ahh. That's better! I was starting to feel so oppressed."
"You're just a figment of my imagination. I just need some sleep and you´ll be gone."
"Gone? Oh no, you misunderstand me Miss Sparkle. I'm here to stay and help you. To teach you."
"What!? I'd NEVER listen to you!"
"You have invoked the pact. You have called me by my true name name and I have answered. I am here. Well at least this small part of me is. And I´m not going away."
"I can always use the Elements to banish you. I can hurt you!"
"You are no longer the Element of ANYTHING, little filly. Ever since you abandoned your friends, you lost the right to that power."
Twilight had no words of denial to shout out anymore. She tried to find a flaw in his logic. She tried to deny him. And yet he was still there, on her bed-end, dancing a shuffle-step to invisible music. The feeling of fear was quickly turning into rage inside her.
She started to cast magic at him. All the bindings and dispels she knew. All the fail-safe spells she'd ever been taught.
They failed.
She put her brains into overdrive, inventing new magics that Equestria had never seen before, calling elements of nature into being from emptiness, teleporting raw fire from the heart of volcanoes and the absolute cold from the moon on her opponent.
To no avail.
She intoned old words that came onto her tongue from books forgotten and languages not spoken in centuries, and let them circle the air in burning runes around the miniature creature, trying to tie him in the glowing chains of mystical letters.
He easily slipped past them.
She pulled on the lifelines of the land and aimed their power at him as cascading silver fire that disintegrated everything around and under him.
Still he kept on dancing to that invisible music of the planes, to the mad blind piper of his father's court. He was Discord, the star-child of primordial chaos. He had found a way in and could not be exiled. He laughed and taunted the unicorn mare, who was already lost beyond the boundaries of hatred and panic.
Finally exhausted, she fell to the ground in the smoldering ruins of her former room, whimpering hollow threats and pleading for her sanity all the while. With barely open eyes she could only see the small figure of the draconequus walk to her and pat her gently on the nose.
"That's the first lesson my dear. Discord always wins. Now let me show you something even more fun."
The heat of the desert was scorching. Every step in the sand burned her feet, as High Tail struggled forward. On her back she was carrying almost half of the supplies of their small caravan with no complaints.She was followed by a small group of other ponies like her. There was Black-Eye, always with a smile on her face. There was Refining Step, her graceful feet barely touching the burning sand. There was Long Neck, who had never lost a competition in her life. And then there was White Cross, the quiet one of the group. She had barely said a word since they left Eram for the Far Oasises. With the five companions was the small draconic creature, barely a child of his race. He was merely called Abdul. He was the personal adopted son of Princess Zenith and her sister Nadir. It was he who had gathered them from the famed City Of Pillars, and told them they had to make the arduous trek through the blazing desert to meet their rulers.
They had been traveling for a week now. None of them knew where they were, save for the small dragon who walked in front of them, never hesitating in his direction. Refining Step was complaining about getting sand under her horseshoes, but no-one cared enough to listen anymore. High Tail and Long Neck were arguing about which of them would win a race, High Tail claiming that the only reason the other had won their previous bout was because she had cheated with her long neck. Black-Eye was talking incessantly to White Cross, the latter not saying a word in return, even if she ever got the chance from the other´s constant babble.
Near the evening they found the first Oasis. Abdul told them they would rest there for the night. The oasis wasn't very large, but any place that had water in the middle of the desert was sure to have some life in and around it. They drank hungrily from the clear water and soon turned in for the night under the welcome shade of the few trees and bushes surrounding the area.
In the morning they were startled awake, as two majestic creatures approached them from over the nearest dune. Almost as one they got up, only to bow down to the ground when they recognized the two princesses. The beautiful white mare with the flowing mane like the sunshine of midday, Zenith, and the blueish-black mare with the flowing mane of the starry night sky, Nadir. They were legendary in the city of Eram. They led the country from high atop the spiraling towers of the Palace of Pillars that stood above the whole city. None could approach them.
Princess Zenith spoke to them with the clear voice of the breaking dawn, of the waking world.
"I thank you for completing the first part of your task. I know it is too much to ask of all of you, but we are out of options. If we are to save our beloved city from the approaching storm, we must work together to secure our future."
She paused to look at the five assembled ponies whose faces were painted with confusion and fear.
"I have brought you here, to this oasis, to celebrate one who is most precious to us. This is a sacred place to our kind, for this is a place where we may commune with our Divine Mother. In this place does her blood flow freely to the surface and nourish all of us."
She pointed towards the small pond of water. The five mares didn't know how to respond, so they just kept their heads bowed down. After a moment, Princess Zenith spoke once more:
" I would ask of one of you a favor."
The five ponies exchanged looks of worry, none of them daring to move. The scorching desert heat was already blazing, but the five could not bring themselves to move, let a lone speak to their divine rulers.
"You don´t have to be afraid of me. Before this day is past, I wish to call you each my friend."
The Princesses were asking them to be their ... friends? What could you even say to something like that?
And then one of bowing ponies rose up and took a step forward. It was the mare with the white mark on her face.
"I am called White Cross Miss ... uhm ... Princess, and ... I ... uhm ... I'd like to be your friend too and ... I´ll do whatever you ask!"
She quickly lowered her head, almost burying it into the ground.
"Then my dear friend White Cross. Would you please step into the pool of the oasis? At the middle you will find a very special and remarkable stone of golden colour. Would you bring it to me?"
"I ... uh ... okay."
White Cross slowly waded into the water, giving a small yelp as her barrel touched the surface. It was only two feet down at the deepest point, but she was still struggling to reach her destination. She took a big mouthful of air and plunged her head underwater. After a small while she returned to the surface, holding a yellow stone in her mouth. She quickly made her way to the shore, near the princesses, and bowing low placed the stone at their feet.
"Thank you White Cross. But this stone is not for me to carry, but for yours alone. It is a stone of Tass, the solidified Essence of Life. Please carry it with you from now on, and it will one day become the Element of Kindness which shall bring peace to this land.
Twilight's vision returned to the dim darkness of her cellar. For a moment she thought she'd only fallen asleep, but was suddenly jerked into reality when she saw the small figure sitting on the remains of her bed.
"What was that?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"That was what I´d call exposition. It´s how the famed Elements of Harmony got their beginning."
"But you weren't there! How could you know what happened?"
"Oh but I was. Remember the smiling little pony that would never shut up? She would become the first Element of Laughter. I've always had a very special relationship with the carrier of that specific Element, and let's say they've always been the closest to my heart."
"So one of the original Elements of Harmony was mad? Is that it?"
"Oh no no no. Mad is such an overused word, only fit for the tongues of people who can't fathom any other way of thinking than their own narrow view of reality. "
The small Dragon of Chaos walked around Twilight's prone form, making her crane her neck to follow him when he continued:
"But the Element of Laughter carried me with her on their quest as they collected the Tass from five different oasises, each with a very specific resonance. It was thanks to Black-Eye that I found out what my two children were planning. When I saw my elder daughter finally bring out the sixth piece from the famed Fountain of Youth, the place where I had a ... misunderstanding with their mother, it all came together in my head. She was collecting sources of portable Mana, so she could carry the blood of her mother into battle as a weapon against her own father. Imagine how hurt I was!"
He clutched his clawed hand to his forehead and leaned backwards dramatically. Twilight only raised one of her eyebrows, which seemed to disappoint the draconequus. He sat back down and ended his story in a half-mumble:
"So that is when I built my contingency and made sure I would not fall to the likes of my daughters."
Twilight let the story sink in to her mind. A few of the neurons in her supercharged cranium were already firing out their impulses.
"That would make the pills I got from Zecora ... solidified Mana? Or Tass?"
The small creature clapped its hands in joy, seemingly becoming his own, malign self. His voice was dripping with venom as he spoke again:
"Oh you´re such a sharp student!" and in yet darker voice continued: I´m going to KEEP YOU"
Twilight didn't even seem notice these attempts at intimidation. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she barely looked at the world-ending chaos given form, now sitting irately on her forehoof.
"So what happened next? How'd you end up in a book? And how did I know those spells I tried to cast on you? I've never even heard of the language I spoke, let alone any spells that would actually require words."
The dragonequus was staring at her, seemingly surprised for the first time in her experience.
"Well if you're going to teach me all about new magic and how to use these Essence Lines and Tass then I'm all ears."
The famed Elements Of Harmony had once again assembled. Except two of them were in the hospital and one was studying under primal chaos. The junior librarian of Ponyville was there, though he seemed quite lost in thought.
They'd holed up inside the Carousel Boutique to hide from the crowd. It was unsafe to go outside because of the hordes of bit-hungry ponies fighting over the coins Twilight had nonchalantly tossed outside the library. Rainbow Dash was busy relaying the events of the day, all the while darting from window to window to check if the mob was nearby.
"So yeah. When we got Rarity to the hospital she was already awake and complaining about us carrying her too roughly and about not hearing anything. The Doc said she'd had a compression and her ears were persecuted or something along those lines. Can´t really understand that medical lingo. Aaanyways, she has to stay at least overnight, so Fluttershy said she'd hang around and see if she could help."
"So is she gonna be ohkay? Ah was mighty worried when she just fell over and stopped moving."
"She's SO gonna be fine! I fall down every night and stop moving and I always feel better in the morning! Except if I don´t fall down into my bed. Once I just fell down outside cos it was so warm and comfortable and I'd just eaten a GINORMOUSLY CARAMELTASTIC cake and was feeling kinda dizzy and then it was already evening and I didn't know where I was cos it was so dark and I´d fallen down on some tree roots and my back was really sore from them and then it turns out I was in this park and there was a nice stallion there selling food and I noticed that I had lots and lots of bits and I bought a tofu dog on the spot and he told me the business was real slow and that he was soon out of business so I started telling EVERYONE in the park about how good his tofu dogs were and they ALL went and bought stuff from him and he was so happy and smiley that he gave me a veggie burger which was SOOOOOO yummy-wummy in my tummy that I had to tell everyone AGAIN how good it was and they all went to buy a veggie burger from him too and he was so happy but he had to leave cos he was out of food and we hugged and I went home except on the way home I ..."
"PINKIE!" shouted the two other mares in unison.
"And that's how I found out I was a real pony and not adopted. And I'm sure Rarity will be fine! She´s in hospital and all!"
"Yeah the Doc said the same. He was also asking me if I wanted to borrow some books while I was there. I mean it was just ONE BOOK and the thing happened, like, AGES ago. Some people can be so ... grudgy."
The indignation of the falsely accused pegasus went completely past the little dragon. He was still sitting alone on a couch with hunched shoulders and his back turned to his friends.
"Spike y´allright there? Ah mean it must be hard on ya with all the stuff Twilight´s been doing an all—"
"HARD?" The three mares were spooked by the anger in his voice. Even Pinkie lost her usual smile and stood looking at him with a slack jaw.
"My BEST FRIEND hurts my ... my ... MY RARITY! And all the other ponies! I ... I ... " The rest of the outburst soon died down when he hid eyes under his small claws. The small hoarse sobs from the tiny dragon were the only sounds inside the Boutique.
"There there, sugahcube."
The farmpony sat next to Spike and took him in a tight embrace.
"Ah'm sure it'll work out in tha end. We´re just in a mighty rough spot."
Pinkie also moved to give a big hug to the distraught little assistant.
"Twilight is being such a Meany McMeanypants, but we´ll work something out. Leave it all to Auntie Pinkie, okay?"
Only Rainbow Dash stayed away, looking around in confusion. Applejack nudged her head towards the dragon, signaling her to come and console him. Reluctantly the pegasus hovered over to him and gave him a small pat on the head.
"Yeah ... umm ... nice weather we're having eh Spike?"
"RD! Is that tha best ya can do?"
"I know! I know! It´s just ... I don´t ..."
She shrugged while a blush was creeping to her cheeks. After a few moments she tried to continue
"And aren't you a boy, Spike? I mean ... are you sure you should be crying and all?"
"RD! How can y'all be so unconciderate!?"
"I KNOW I´m sorry ... I just wanted him to stop crying cos ... It feels like if he keeps sobbing then ... I might ... too."
The anger in Applejack´s eyes soon faded into compassion when he noticed that her pegasus friend was almost on the verge of tears herself.
"I mean ... I'm supposed to be the Element Of Loyalty and *sniff* ... I don't know how I can help Twilight and I'm so angry at her I don´t even know if I want to—"
Before she could continue, the little dragon's voice cut in.
"Thanks everypony. And you're right Rainbow Dash. I shouldn't be crying and I'm sorry."
"Oh Spikey-Wikey it´s OK to cry once in a while! Just remember that whenever it rains the sun always comes to shine afterwards and it´s always more fun when the sun shines, even if you can go outside and play in the rain as well but, you can do so much more fun stuff on a sunny day, like go to a picnic and eat cupcakes and play hide-and-seek and do pranks and everything!"
"What Pinkie is tryinna say is that we all know how ya feel, an were gonna work this out together, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Of course!"
"Buck Yeah!"
"RD! Language"
"Sorry ... "
Spike couldn't help but give a small giggle at that. The ponies soon followed suit, as the depressing atmosphere was finally broken. After the laughter died down, Pinkie was already up and around, bouncing a circle around the trio still on the couch.
"So what are we gonna do huh? Huh? I still wanna throw Twilight that party, but I also need to start planning for the Get-Well party for Rarity. OH I know! Let´s make it a double party, so we can have twice the cake!"
"That sounds all fine an dandy but maybe we'd better try somethin else first? Like asking for Princess Luna to help?"
The somber mood had returned to the room as soon as she said the name. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Doesn't that kinda mean we failed? Weren't WE supposed to be the ones to keep an eye out for Twilight going bat-apples crazy again?"
"Ah know, RD, but with all that´s happened Ah reckon we ain't gots a choice. Ah mean ... even if we could get through the crowds and the bubble outside the library, how could be stop Twilight from just vanishing again?"
"Don't you worry your silly little hat, Applejack! I'll go talk to her and tell her we wanna help and we'll hug and it'll all be okay!"
"Didn't you just hear what she said? How can you get inside the forcefield-thingy that Twilight set up?"
"Oh Dashie. *giggle* When has something like that ever stopped me? I'm sure there's some way in she's forgotten. OH I know! Maybe I'll dig a tunnel under the bubble!"
From somewhere she'd already found a mining pick and a helmet with a flashlight taped onto it.
"Even if ya got inside, sugahcube, what stops her from just flyin the coop again?"
"Oh ... well ... umm ... OOH I know! I'll just go into my super-secret party invitation delivery mode! Whenever I do that I always seem to find the people I'm looking for!"
"You can't be se ..." Before continuing the pegasus had a flashback of how she'd tried to elude the pink earth pony several times, with no success. "... rious?"
"Of course I'm not! Being serious is so BOO-RIIING! That's why it's going to WORK! See you girls later! I´m off to see Twilight"
She hopped happily out the door, still wearing her mining gear.
After a small silence, Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"So we're gonna write a letter to Luna now, right?"
"Eeeyup."
"Wait you guys! Don´t you think Pinkie can get to Twilight?"
"Ah'm sorry, Spikester, but no. Ah'm sure she has her heart in tha right place but it's her head that's been put on backwards. So let's jus call it an insurance?"
"Oh-kay. Well lucky I have my ink and quill with me, so ready when you are."
Reverently, Applejack took her hat off and held it close to her chest.
"Here goes:
Dear Princess Luna
We're mighty sorry for having to disturb Your Rulership Highness' rest it being the daytime an all. But we really could use some help with this here dilemma wtih Twalaight an all. So if you'd be so kind and regal an stuff as to come to Ponyville, we'd really appreciate it.
Yours truly, Applejack.of Sweet Apple Acres.
That sound good enough to y´all?"
"Well it doesn't really matter what we say does it? She already knows that Twilight's gone bonkers from Princess Celestia, right?"
"True enough. So, Spikester, make with the flames will ya?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
And with a loud sulphurous burp, the letter was on its way.
"How long y'all reckon it'll take for her to ans—"
She was cut short when Spike, having barely sat back down, when he regurgitated a letter. He snatched it from midair and read it, and after a moment his features turned into a curious frown.
"Well what is it Spike! Don't keep us waiting!"
Rainbow Dash tried to swoop down from above to read the letter from over Spike's shoulder, but when she got to it ...
"Erm ... Spike. What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure but I THINK it means she´s coming."
"Lemme see that there letter."
When she got to the paper, she could only look at it in bewilderment. All the paper read in large, messy letters was:
OMW W84ME T-180
The air inside the cellar was steadily growing colder. Twilight barely noticed the small puffs of steam that were turning into frost over the pages she was reading. The cold was a precaution, Discord had told. It kept the spells calm, he said. She didn't believe a word of it.
"Aren't you just making it colder so I would lose concentration or fall asleep and become totally vulnerable to you?"
"No, my dear student. I need you bright and awake. We're about ready to start with one of the most important spells in the book. It's my favourite creation."
The draconequus was sitting on the unicorn's shoulder. His pointy claws were tickling and prickling Twilight's skin, causing goosebumps to run along her sides. Or it might have been the cold. Who knows.
"I can't have you falling asleep. Not yet. Have a nice cup of cocoa."
She didn't even hesitate as the cup was placed next to her. She drank it down almost in one go, only slowing down a bit when the steamy chocolaty taste was about to singe her tongue. The hot drink felt like it was going directly to her brain, instead of her stomach. Her bloodshot eyes had been half-closed, but now they shot open as new energy entered her thinking machine.
"Got to give it to you. You really brew a nice cup of cocoa."
"It was always one of my specialties. I invented chocolate, after all."
The cold feeling was rapidly fading, being pushed out by the nectar of Discord. Her feet were prickling with the sensation of numbness that followed, as her circulation found its way into her extremities after a long while. It felt most uncomfortable, and she could only try to slowly move her hindlegs under her stomach, causing jolts of neural sensation to travel through them. Her eyes followed a few flakes of frost, floating gently down from he mane.
"How long have I been lying here?"
"Don't worry about such small things. Read. Learn. You're my Number One Student, and I'll make you understand all the secrets of the vast multiverse. Just a little while longer little Twiley."
"Please ... don´t use that name. You have no right. It's ... it's only for me and my brother."
"Did I hurt your feelings? Oh I´m SO sorry."
She felt his sharp claws travel from her shoulder to her head, until he was staring at her left eye, hanging upside down from her mane.
"Are you maybe feeling angry? Or sad? Maybe a bit of both? A mix of hot coals and bitter tears?"
"Shut up will you? I can't concentrate when you're hanging on my face like that."
She gave her tousle of a mane a swift shake, dislodging the offending chimera, and dropping him on the bed. He nimbly scrambled up and curled next to the open book. With a lazy claw he pointed to the book.
"This is where you were reading. Now continue little Twiley."
"I TOLD you not to ... URGH! Fine."
She kept reading in silence, only pausing to make a few notes on the parchments next to her. She'd incinerated most of her notes in the little occult tantrum earlier. Nothing that couldn't be replaced later with the help of her new teacher, and she hadn't found the first few chapters to be too important. Well they kind of had been, but the things she was now learning ... well you couldn't really compare.
"Does this symbol really work?"
The page she was looking at had only a simple glyph design, almost too simple to warrant such attention. It had been drawn painstakingly, every edge and curve precise and sharp. The lines formed a five-pointed star, but the lines were crooked inwards or outwards, making it look like it had been squished from the sides. At the pentagon in the middle stood a few small runes, looking like two letter U's, pointing inwards into a letter S.
It could also look like a lightning bolt surrounded by two curves. Where had she seen that kind of a lightning bolt before? It reminded her of something ... some .... pony? Had she known someone who had a connection to such a symbol? An image of a grinning face and a flash of rainbow colour appeared in her mind, but soon vanished. It was irrelevant, she decided while shaking her head vigorously.
"Can it stop ANY non-extraplanar creature from crossing it?"
"Not ALL of them. It´s a sign I created to control my ... experiments. It will work on anything that I've created and that you can call into being with this book. Think about it! With it you can summon majestic beasts of pure chaos to wreak havoc and serve all your needs. You can make them destroy, crush, burn, devour, eradicate, defenestrate, maim, gouge, rip, cut, strangle, slash—"
"I think I get the point."
Twilight couldn't even make herself feel bad for those words or the uses suggested therein. She was in control. She'd decide what to do with the creatures IF and only IF she ever decided to call them for help. And she wouldn't. Of course she wouldn't. Why would she? She didn't need the help. Especially from the chaos-beast on her bed. A small silly thought crossed her mind, and found a way out through her mouth:
"We're strange bedfellows, aren't we?".
She started silently giggling. It kept on going long after she´d already forgotten what had been even remotely funny in the first place. Discord only looked on her in silence, gently cleaning the undersides of one of his claws. If one was familiar with the mannerisms of a draconequus, they might have been able to tell that he was, indeed, quite happy at the moment.
"You´re coming along well, little Twiley."
The familiar name shook Twilight out of her mirth, and suddenly the cold in the room felt like it was seeping into her spine. She'd lost her composure. She was cracking up.
She couldn´t let that happen. Once again she concentrated deeply, like every time she was preparing to cast a spell. It was nearly a rote she´d been over countless times, but in moments of stress, it was a good way to find her center. After she felt once again in control, she continued reading.
"So it can also hurt the things?"
"Yesss. I like to control my subjects with pain and fear. At least the dumber ones. You I'd never hurt. I LIKE you. You have a beautiful laugh, did you know that?"
Twilight felt her skin crawl in disgust the compliment.
The air shimmered as several new shapes took form in the room. They were monstrous and hideous beyond belief.
"That tentacled monster the size of ancient redwood, with a mewling mouth near its base? That's a Dark Young of Shub Niggurath. That was one of my aliases when I was touring the eastern lands. These winged horrors, whose whole essence was that of a sleek predator? I simply called them Hunting Horrors. And observe my greatest invention: Packs of hounds that would find their prey whenever, wherever. Hunters in the angles, they traveled through time in sharp corners, not in the gentle curves your timeline. The Hound of Tindalos, named after the imaginary moon of a faraway planet."
"How could they follow their prey anywhere? They don´t have wings for flying or anything. Were they shapeshifters?"
"Such good questions my lovely student! I couldn't be MORE PROUD!"
The small slithery form embraces Twilights forehoof and gave it a small kiss.
"I created them with the magic of the earth. They could walk along the dragon-lines below the ground. No pony-made structure could hold them. Only the Elder Sign I showed you could stop them."
"How could I even summon one of these things? There are these strange words I can barely read ... let alone invoke. Is this the language I was speaking earlier?"
"It is the language of the Earth and the Stars my dear pupil. They are the words of unmaking, of entropy. They weaken the fabric of reality where they are uttered, and allow you to pierce the Veil of Logic and Science, into my domain. Into the primordial chaos that is the birthplace of all living things."
"I thought Gaia was the birthplace of all life?"
"Only on this small clump of rock hurtling through infinity. When the day comes for stars to grow cold, and this world crumbles, that is when Gaia herself returns back to Father Black, the dancing chaos of the void between the stars. And I´ll be riding the wave of mana back to my father who will not even know who I am, for he has already forgotten. Like he forgets everything. Because he is everything."
"That's just a load of horseapples. You're just trying to confuse me."
"As you will, my little unicorn. You won't be around to see it, so you can never prove me wrong."
"Unless, for some reason, Equestria is destroyed. And even more, the whole of this ecosystem, and maybe even this planet."
"Hmh? You surprise me yet again. That would allow you to see it, ever so briefly, before you'd join the stream of mana on its way home to Azathoth. But why would you even consider something like that?"
"It was only a thought. Just a hypothesis."
"Care to tell me how you'd make it happen?"
"Hypothetically?"
"Of course. This place is much too fun to destroy outright. But do tell Daddy Discord how you'd blow up the planet."
"Well ... first of all I could once again tap into the power of Gaia, to the dragon-lines under the earth. With them at my call, I could channel them into the core of the planet and unmake it slowly."
"You'd burn out before you could even do any real damage. A mere unicorn, even how powerful, can't do it alone."
"Well then I'd use all the unicorns in the land. Coerce them into helping me."
Discord waved his claw to make the image of an army of unicorns standing in formation under the command of Twilight Sparkle.
"Do you remember how it felt the first time you tried using the streams? You almost lost yourself to them. Joined them, instead of controlling them. And that was just for minor cantrips. Remember that the stream is made of limitless consciousnesses, all working together to protect the land. How many weaker minds would succumb? Would the remaining few be enough? I highly doubt it."
"That is a problem. Maybe if I taught them about the power slowly, gave them a much smaller amount of Tass to begin with?"
"They'd still be channeling vast amounts of energy. Even if they could handle the energy together, they couldn't coordinate with each other, and even one mistake would cause such a backlash that they couldn't recover."
In the image floating in the air, the unicorns clutched theirs heads as one and fell down on the ground, squirming in pain.
"Are there other beings that can touch the dragon-lines?"
"Good question my precious pony. Yes there are. All ponies are capable of it, not only unicorns."
"Huh? But only unicorns can use magic ..."
The squirming unicorns were replaced by old gray mares and stallions, wearing the garb of wizards and witches from a child's picture book.
"Nonsense! Unicorns are only the second strongest when it comes to geomancy. The land is populated with ponies that use it every day in their mundane tasks, never understanding what they are doing, only intuitively calling on Gaia's power."
"Earth ponies."
"Yes my darling little cucumber."
"Erm ... what?" Twilight had to physically push the floating image of the offending vegetable away from her. "Anyways. Earth ponies can channel the dragon-lines of Gaia? Is that how they make seeds grow and trees bare fruit?"
The images next to them were now of earth ponies, clad in green and brown wizard robes, dancing around a cauldron on a moonlit hill overlooking an orchard.
"It's not that simple. It is more of a case of finding a place where the lines are strong and making their farms there. That is why almost no unicorn or pegasus can farm the land with any success. They can't FEEL the earth's call. And the earth ponies can do so much more without knowing it. Molding! shaping! Calling into being! ... Just think about all the earth ponies and their cutie marks that you know. Aren't many of them almost supernaturally good at what they do? Without using any magic? Can they bake better bread than anyone? Can they build the sturdiest houses? Can they hear the voices of the earth and whisper back?
Discord once again made a wave with his hand.
From the stairs came the steady rhythm of somepony bouncing up and down excitedly.
"Heyaaaa Twilight!"
The prancing pink party pony popped into view.
"Oh! I FINALLY found you! I thought you'd be upstairs in your room or something. WOW-WEE you've redecorated your lab! Isn't this where you tried to study my Pinkie Sense? And oh! Oh! You have a new shelf too! It's almost EXACTLY like the ones we have at the Sugarcube Corner! Except ours isn't as badly broken and burned and the cake we keep on ours isn't USUALLY all over the walls except maybe when I get REALLY excited about some extremely excellent expedited eclairs.
"So, Discord ... what does bringing a copy of Pinkie here prove?"
"How did she get inside the forcefield? How'd she pass all the traps?"
"Good point. Let´s ask—"
"Oh and you even have your own BED here! WOW! I have to move MY bed down to the counter at the shop. That way I can work from my bed! You're just the most awesomely brilliantly geniously unicorny pony I know! Or maybe I should AAAH! MOVE IT TO THE KITCHEN! Then I wouldn't even have to get up to make cupcakes! But if it's in—"
"Pinkie!"
"... the main room I could throw A SLUMBER PARTY! Inside the shop! I could invite everyone in Ponyville to my slumber party, but then I'd need a bigger bed and maybe some mattresses and I can't borrow yours cos it´s all burned and busted—"
"PINK-IE!"
As Twilight shouted, she used some of her magic to take hold of the bouncing pony and shake her. After a vigorous rattle Pinkie´s eyes were spinning around, but at least she was quiet for the time being. That wouldn't last, Twilight noticed, as the pink pony was already preparing for a new burst of babble.
"That was FUN! Can we do it ag—"
"NO! Pinkie! Just PLEASE! BE! QUIET!" The pony dangling in midair made a gesture over her mouth, as if she was closing a zipper.
"NOW! Please ... tell me how you got in?"
Pinkie just looked at her with big eyes full of laughter, giggling under her breath. She gestured to her mouth with an emphasizing hoof and shrugged.
"Pinkie, I´m really not in the mood with your silly games. Just answer."
"OH-KAY Miss Grumpy Grumpykins of Clan Grumpygrump. I just walked inside."
"HOW could you walk inside! I have an IMPENETRABLE FORCEFIELD around the house!"
"Oh silly Twilight! I just thought about you and how I wanted to meet you at the library and how I wanted to invite you to your Not-Going-Crazy Party and OH I ALMOST FORGOT here´s the invitation!"
She took a crumpled envelope from somewhere underneath her mane. It was pink, and was sealed with a small children´s sticker of a heart.
"How could you do that? How could you just ... "
The unicorn just stood there, mouth gaping.
"Are you telling me that you used your inborn Earth pony gifts to traverse here on a dragon-line? Did you hunt me like a Hound from Tindalos? Is that it? Can you actually see the angles of time and break into the fourth dimension?"
*gigglesnort* "Ahhahhahaaa! Twilight you always call ME random and here YOU are saying THE SILLIEST THINGS! HAHHAaaha"
Discord climbed onto the unicorn's shoulder and gently whispered into her ear.
"See? This is how Earth pony geomancy works. She can't even understand it herself."
Twilight didn't even turn to look at him while muttering back.
"Horseapples. Hounds of Tindalos? Puh-lease. There are dozens of wards and traps upstairs. Even if she did WALK into here through my forcefield, she'd never pass them by. Not even with her silly Pinkie Sense."
"No no. That´s just how their magic works. It´s the same as—"
"How stupid do you think I am, Discord? Pinkie is just a normal, if a bit random, earth pony. I've studied her, and I know she can't do any magic. Her Pinkie Sense is weird, but I think it's just something she plans ahead of time so she can trick others into believing in her tricks. It's one of her pranks to make everyone notice her and give her attention.
She took a deep breath, as a humourless grin appeared on her face.
"I've just about had enough of you Discord. Do you want to know what I do with your illusions and tricks?"
"Pfeh. There´s nothing you CAN do. You're powerless against me."
"Watch me."
The fake Pinkie was still giggling and snorting like a maniac.
"Quiet Pinkie"
She tightened her grip on the pink pony, until she wasn't laughing anymore. Instead, her eyes suddenly grew wider and she let out a small yelp, but still managed to speak up.
"Hey ... uhm ... I like hugging and all, but this kinda hurts. Could you loosen up a bit, Twilight? Please?"
"Did I ever tell you how I feel about you Pinkie?"
"Well ... you ... like me like everyone else does? Cos I bring the smiles and parties an—"
"You´re unscientific."
"Wha-What?"
"You're unlogical."
"Wait ... what? What are you—"
"You're controversial. You're random. You're SO WRONG."
It was getting harder for Pinkie to breathe now.
"How ... how can ... you say something ... nasty like that ... with words I don´t even understand!"
"I know it's because you're part of him now. All Elements Of Laughter are. He's showing you to me because he knows you confuse me. Your weird abilities and your weird Pinkie Sense and your weird appearing out of random places and you chaotic babble. You're part of Discord."
"That's not funny Twilight. And this is ... really starting to hurt. Please let me go okay?"
"Not ´funny`, Pinkie? Do you think it was ´funny` for me to try and understand you while I got hit, stung, crushed and chased by a hydra for my dear life?"
"Owww! it HURTS Twilight! Please I just wanted to see if you´re okay and needed help—"
"Help? I am here with Discord and you want to HELP?"
A weird shudder went through the floating pony. First her tail twitched, then her hair stood on end and went limp, her eyes blinked rapidly and her hooves all pulled up to her stomach.
"Let me guess ... that's a Pinkie Sense, isn't it?"
"Yeah but ... I've never felt it before! I've felt all of them before! But this one means ..."
Her eyes grew even wider in shock.
"Yes Pinkie? What does your CRAZY PINKIE SENSE TELL THIS TIME?"
"It ... says one of my best friends is going to ... hurt me."
"Ahh. Well I might have to agree with that one. You see, Pinkie" Twilight walked closer to the floating mare, and wiped a large tear from he panicked face. "I've never really liked you. Not really. Actually all the random things you do really make me confused. And angry. And I've thought several times about one thing and one thing in particular."
"Please Twi ... I'm your friend .... please don't hurt me ... please ...?"
She was already tearing up, her hair hanging limp over her shoulder.
"Have you ever thought what you could do to another pony, if you got them alone in a dark cellar, just like this? What you could do when NO-ONE could come and help? Especially if you really REALLY hated them?"
With every word she tightened the purple glow around the floating pony.
"PLEASE TWILIGHT! I'M YOUR FRIEND! PLEASE SNAP OUT OF IT!"
"Sorry what was that Pinkie-Winkie? I couldn't hear."
"I SAID! PLEASE! SNAP—"
"Okay."
The sound was loud in the small confines of the cellar. It echoed from the stone walls and the low ceiling, followed by a scream of pain from the happy-go-lucky pink pony. Her right forehoof had been twisted into a weird angle, now jutting to the side and upwards. After a long time the scream had died down to desperate sobs and laboured breaths.
"I´m not afraid to admit it: I've been SCARED of you, Pinkie. You're MAD! You keep following people. You keep threatening them with your `Pinkie Swears` and ´FOREEEVEER`s. I'm TIRED of being afraid, Pinkie. No more following and no more threats. No more smiles and maniacal laughter. All I want to hear from you is crying and begging."
"PLEAAASSEEE! IT HUUUUURRRRRTTSSS!!! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOPPP!"
"I'll give you an F for that one. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here after class."
There was another sickening crack as another leg twisted and turned.
Twilight was lying on the bed, content at her work. She hadn't thought she'd enjoy breaking the imaginary Pinkie that much. Almost too much.
After almost an hour of having fun with the pink pony, she'd sent her away. She'd vanished in a purple glimmer. It was a clear sign she'd won. She'd dispelled Discord's weak illusion. SHE was the one in control. Not the dragonequus. It wasn't about pure magical power. It was all in her mind.
"Did you see that you stupid little snake? I can beat everything you throw at me. Now I'm in charge."
"Yes. I have to admit I never expected you to be able to attack your friend like that."
"There's no limit to what I can do, you puny little chimera. So teach me. Teach me everything. Teach me about ... pegasi. Are you now going to explain to me that they can use some form of geomancy too? Maybe they do it with a REAAAAAALLY long stick?"
Twilight felt exhilarated. She'd broken through. The cobwebs had been removed from her clockwork and she was starting to see the fallacies of the things the lying monster was telling her.
"They have their own brand of magic they use to this day, yes. They follow the invisible songlines drawn across the sky."
"Now you're not even trying."
"I'm not, am I? Pegasi can't find their way in storms and darkness. They can't build houses out of steam and live in them. They can't control the weather and the air just like Earth ponies can't work the earth. You're right."
"OK I'll play along, but ... song lines? Seriously?"
"Words of creation left to linger around the heavens, rebounded by the dome of the sky where stars are painted in the night. Words so powerful that even their echo from aeons ago can still be called upon, if you know how."
"Do you know the Words of Creation?"
"No. They were the domain of Gaia, my beloved. Mine is entropy, the unmaking of everything."
"But didn't you say that chaos is the force of creation?"
"Chaos is the origin. Gaia pulled the chaos-stuff out of my father's side and made it into life itself."
"But who created Gaia?"
"ENOUGH of these QUESTIONS! Read! Study! Learn!"
The miniature serpent was angry. Despite his small stature, his presence filled the room and made clear that compromises would not be reached.
"AH-HA! So the great Discord fails to answer!"
"You're being clever again, TWILY! I can feel you trying to be clever! That is not your job. Your job is to LEARN! To do! To bring forth my chaos into the world."
"Erm ... what?"
"You are mine. Mind, body and SOUL. I have claimed you and you're forever bound. That was the pact of this knowledge. That is the price. Ultimate cost for the ultimate gift."
"No—"
Twilight was shaking again, but not out of cold. The words were like weights, pulling her down into the depths of horror. She'd thought that this was just a test, a game for Discord to play with his prey before attacking. But had he already made his move? Had she already lost before she'd even known when to fight back?
"Yessss... "
More serpentlike than ever, Discord drew himself up to his full length. Twilight could feel the wrongness of his being, as he stood on the bed, level with her eyes."
"Did you not read the fine print? Oh deary me there wasn't one? That's what you get when dealing with a being of CHAOS! I don't keep my word, I give it and break it as I will."
"But if no word was given, then you cannot hold me to it! If you don't teach me everything, nothing holds!"
"I can and I will. It is not about consent or rules, it is about me and you and the words of binding."
"The words of binding?"
The small cogs in her head, no-longer covered in the cobwebs of metaphysics and confusion, finally turned a notch.
"You are mere words. You are not here. You are not the real Discord. You are just a being from the book. A glamer to fool me."
"No! I am the Son of Azathoth, of The King In Yellow, The Boundless Entity. I COMMAND—"
There was fire. It was not the wildfire she'd aimed at the apparition earlier. It was a small burst, only enough to make the pages in front of her catch fire."
"You really think I'm the book? You really think me—"
"I don't think anything. I know what you are. I was weak and open to your illusions. But no more. Now I know how I can hurt you. And I know you are not the book."
"Wha—"
Twilight took a deep breath and dove, head first, into the burning book. She felt the heat of the flames embrace her. The fire was cleansing and pure. It was the fire she knew from her childhood. It was the fire of her mane, the flame of the White Unicorn. The true reason she was Princess Celestia's Most Precious Student. It was the one thing none alive could boast, and she'd never tell. As she felt her face blister and burn, as her eyes lost vision and the smoke burned in her lungs, she finally collapsed. She couldnt even laugh at how easy the answer had been. In a victorious scream she shouted.
"YOU! ARE! IN! MY! HEAD!"
Outside, Pinkie Pie tried desperately to claw her way through the wall.
Her hoof was broken in several places but she couldn't even feel pain any more.
She could just try to scratch away at the purple wall of energy.
It was the only thing standing between her and her friends. They were screaming and crying. She couldn't hear the voices through the barrier. Or maybe she couldn't hear anything at all. It was so quiet.. She could only see the worry and fear in their eyes.
She saw Applejack bucking the wall in desperation.
She saw Rainbow Dash slam into the wall over and over again.
They had been at it for hours, as soon as they'd seen her pop out of thin air just next to the barrier. But all their work was in vain. No cracks appeared, and no help came for the broken pony.
She'd been brave.
She'd tried to get to her friends.
She'd REALLY tried.
There was nothing more to do any more. She couldn't even open her eyes anymore. So close to her friends but so far away. As the last of her tears rolled out of her eyes, she fell into the welcoming arms of darkness.
Death is a curious thing. When it comes to you, you're the last one to know. Nopony is present at their own death, because their body shuts down systematically moments before it happens. It's not called "the great sleep" for nothing. And nopony ever wakes up from that dream. It is the final mercy at the end of a long road. Usually it takes away all the pain and suffering that one has accumulated in their lives, however long or short. For many, it comes as a relief, as there is no more hurt or loneliness. Some even welcome it with open hooves, diving into it's embrace prematurely, because their lives have become unbearable. And so it was for Pinkie Pie too. The great sleep of death swept her up with it's gentle whispers of oblivion, telling her it would be okay. That she'd been brave and fought hard, and now it was time for her to lay down her mortal coil and go forward into the darkness beyond.
That is probably the reason that the bright lamp of the hospital room, and the terrible pain at every single part of her body, came as such a surprise to her. She screamed and begged to go back to the darkness, because here existed only pain. She didn´t notice the ponies around her, working, mending, healing her broken form. All she knew was torture, and the few thoughts she could spare for anything else hurt even worse, for she knew who had done this to her.
It had been her bestest friend in the world.
Rarity also regretted getting better. Her ears had always been quite delicate, and now that her perforated eardrums had been repaired with the combination of earthpony medicine and unicorn magic, the noise from the next room was driving her mad. There was no mistaking who was suffering there, and she would have given anything to help her friend out, or just to make the awful noises stop. And there was nopony there to complain to. Even all the nurses were busy helping with Pinkie. Not that she'd have it any other way, of course.
But it wouldn't hurt to have somepony there to complain to. Or ask for earplugs.
They'd told her she shouldn't try to walk around yet. Apparently her sense of balance was still off, and the feeling of vertigo she got from even shifting on her bed made her agree. She was wondering if maybe she could appropriate a wheelchair, or maybe even move her hospital bed with her magic, so she could go see her friend. Even the thought made her ears ring with a high-pitched whine.
Ever since they'd brought Pinkie in, she'd been dying to get some information on what was going on. Fluttershy had vanished immediately from her bedside, and she´d only seen the occasional glimpse of one her friends hurrying past her door. Nopony had told her what'd happened. She'd heard a few words here and there, about the library, and Princess Luna. Apparently the princess had come to Ponyville, and soon after Pinkie had been carried to the hospital by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. What in Equestria was going on?
Twilight Sparkle, or Inferno, whichever name you preferred, was sitting quietly in her cellar. The moment of prescience and insight that usually followed her transformation was fading fast, so she was determined to make the most of it. Her fiery mane was lighting up the room, but all it accomplished was make the destruction clear for her to see.
Broken pieces of machinery and tools of her occupation were scattered around the room. Only the instruments that had been made out of metal were left, and even they had been twisted out of shape, some of them merely mounds and puddles now. Everything else in the room had been turned to ash when she'd changed. Even the walls had changed shape, the stones having melted in the heat. The masonry in the walls had flowed like molten glass a few moments ago, and was now cooling into a mirror-like sheen all around her. Where once the walls had been made out carefully laid stones and mortar, they were now a solid piece of stone. The air was full of the sounds of the rapidly cooling stonework and the few patches of molten metal strewn around. She felt a small, distant twinge of regret for all the work that she'd put into her little sanctuary under her library-home. But it had all been worth it. She was victorious, and that was all that mattered.
She knew that soon someone would come down to meet her. Someone of great power that she shouldn't even consider fighting. It was time to give up. She'd fought the cursed book off, destroying every last page of its contents. That was her limit and she was well aware of the fact. The events of the last few days had clicked together in Inferno's mind. She was well aware of all the facts that had led to her release. Usually she and Twilight weren't able to communicate, and could be considered two separate beings. This time Twilight had given herself over completely to the side of herself she was most afraid of. It had been wise, for the mind-control that the curse had put upon her would have broken Twilight´s will in no time at all. She could understand Twilight's feelings and fears too. All the memories and knowledge of her host were now her's as well. She shared every intimate thing with the unicorn, and was impressed of how far she would be willing to go just to fight off an invader in her mind. It was almost ironic that in doing so, she had given free reign to another. Twilight's original gambit to hurt herself so badly that she'd lose consciousness to repel the curse might have succeeded, but it would also have left her damaged beyond repair. The fiery unicorn'd had to intervene.
The determined but wary hoofsteps coming down the stairs from the main floor announced the pony she was waiting for. The dark blue alicorn descended the gap from the last remaining steps with a light flutter of her wings. She was all business, just like Inferno remembered from all those years ago. And just like all those years ago, she knew it to be just a mask, trying to hide the insecure mare underneath. She was also clearly surprised to find the white unicorn standing amidst the destruction.
After taking a sweeping look through the room, the blue mare finally spoke:
"Inferno."
"Princess Luna."
"I didn't expect to meet you here of all places."
"Did your sister not tell you that I was with Twilight Sparkle now?"
"It must have slipped her mind. You know how she is with her royal duties."
"Yes of course. And I see you've returned from your imprisonment."
"Two years ago, yes."
They watched each other in silence. The flames in the white unicorn's mane were flickering and slowly dying down.
"It seems I will not be here for long, my dear Princess."
"I always feel sad to see you go, Inferno. Your existence is always so brief."
The mask of composure on Luna's face was slowly breaking, allowing the hurt in her eyes to show.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, my Princess."
The white unicorn took a step forward, as if to embrace the alicorn, but stopped a few inches short.
"My time is once again nearly up. Before I go, I must tell you a few things about what happened here."
The Princess of the Moon could only nod.
"The book that Twilight Sparkle received contained a powerful curse, laid by the mad bedouin himself. It invaded her mind a few days ago, when she was working on restoring the book."
"A curse? In this day and age?"
"It had been dormant for hundreds of years inside the book. It took hold of Twilight´s mind slowly, first creeping into her subconsciousness, making her cut her ties with her friends. Then it made her expend most of her magic energy to allow easier passage into her mind. It mixed truths and lies inside her head, teaching her of ancient magics and powers of the earth."
"I remember those spells. They were forbidden because of all the unicorns who lost themselves into the dragon-lines. The decision to destroy all knowledge of them saved many lives back in the days."
"But she was able to use them."
"Twilight Sparkle? Using the dragon-lines? I know Tia always speaks very highly of her but I never knew she was that strong-willed."
"Apparently she was able to tap into a mainline, and repair the dam all by herself. She did have a small piece of Tass to help her, which was very lucky for us. Had she not, we might have lost her."
Princess Luna raised one of her eyebrows at this.
"This day keeps getting even more surprising. Tass? Another relic of the ancient times surfacing at the same time as the book? Can this be a mere coincidence, I wonder?"
"Yes, the thought crossed my mind also. You will wish to speak with a zebra called Zecora in Castle Forest."
"It's called Everfree Forest now."
"I can't really keep up with the names. If Twilight hadn't allowed me to take over, I wouldn't even know we're in a town called Ponyville, and that the pony she almost tortured to death is called Pinkie Pie."
The expression on the white unicorn's face didn't change at the mention of the pink pony, but Luna couldn't suppress the wince of revulsion on her face.
"She's still alive. At least she was when I broke the barrier around this building. Her friends took her to the hospital."
"Twilight thought her just one of the phantasms that Discord conjured up. She really didn't know it was her real friend. She'll be devastated when she finds out. Also ... I'm a bit worried that she might have enjoyed hurting this Pinkie for her own personal reasons as well."
The blue alicorn couldn't stop herself from shivering at the thought of Twilight Sparkle actually hurting someone on purpose and liking it.
"That is ... I must tell Tia about that. She's her student after all and will probably know what to do."
"Don't be too hard on her. She is a very strong little pony to have fought off the curse as long as she did."
"She was very lucky to have you as her friend, Inferno."
The fiery-maned unicorn bowed deep in front of Princess Luna.
"I only exist to serve, My Princess. I always have, and always will. But now, it is time for me to rest. And for Twilight Sparkle as well."
Luna walked to the bowing pony and gently touched their horns together.
"Thank you, my friend," she said, as the last flames on Inferno's fiery mane were snuffed out.
Now lying before her was the slumped form of her sister's Most Faithful Student, who groggily opened her eyes.
"Princess ... where ... what has ... "
"Sleep, my little unicorn. You need all your energy when you awaken, but until then, sleep," Luna whispered, and with a gentle flow of her magic, sent Twilight drifting off to sleep. She carried the limp unicorn upstairs like a small filly. Luna gently piled a few pillows under Twilight and covered the mare with the soft cover of her wing and lay beside her.
"... and not notice the curse? I could feel it squirming in the air even after it had been dispelled!"
"But I just wanted to give Twilight something nice as a present and you know she loves to read—"
"The ramblings of the cursed bedouin are your idea of a good read?"
The two familiar voices brought Twilight back to the realm of the waking. After she got her eyes open, she recognized the surroundings as her bedchamber in the library. For some reason she was on the floor, not in her bed.
But why were the Princesses at the library? Did they want to borrow a book? But didn't Canterlot have well equipped libraries for that? The personal collection of Princess Celestia alone ...
Everything that had happened caught up with her.
"You must understand, dear sister, that—"
"Don't you dare ´dear sister` me! Your oversight almost caused the destruction—"
The two arguing alicorns were interrupted by the panicked shriek coming down from the bedchamber upstairs. When they got to her, Twilight had curled up into a tight ball on the floor and was crying hysterically. Princess Celestia went to her side and took her into a tight embrace, like a mother cradling a child after a bad dream. She gently stroked her student's mane and told her:
"Everything is going to be alright, Twilight Sparkle. The bad things are now past and everything is alright. Just try to breathe. That's all you have to do right now. I am here and I will not leave you."
The only person to see the tears running down Celestia's cheeks was her sister, who closed the door to the bedchamber, and walked out the front door of the library with a heavy heart.
She took a deep breath of the cool evening air. It had been two days since she came to the town, and life had returned to normal in the small town. All the ponyfolk were still giving the library a wide berth, which was only natural. The memories of the fighting mobs and panic were still fresh in their minds.
Luna took wing into the darkening evening, landing at the top of a tall white building in the middle of the town plaza. Turning her face skyward, she called out the stars from their places behind the curtain of daylight, and gently lifted the satellite that had so recently been her prison above the horizon. A few ponies on the streets below were watching her with mixed expressions of fear, awe and respect. It was not the way she ever hoped her subjects to have to look at her, but she couldn't do anything about the fact now.
What she could do was push herself back into the skies with her night-blue wings, and silently glide over the darkening town to her destination. She gently landed down at the grassy field next to Ponyville Hospital. Luna walked inside, barely giving a nod to the nurses at the counter, and continued to the room at the second floor of the building. The sounds of quiet speech flowed through the partially open door.
"... an tha's how Big Mac got his cutie mark. Ah remember how he'd prance around the farm showin' his flank to all the farmhands until granny told 'im ta stop it or she'd make 'im buck all tha trees in tha orchard by 'imself. An all Big Mac said was `Eeeyup´ and galloped to work like it was nothin."
As the Princess pushed the door open, she was met with the rest of the Elements Of Harmony. Near the door, the cyan pegasus was napping on an empty hospital bed, and leaning onto him was Spike, snoring quietly. Fluttershy and Rarity were reading some fashion magazines on two small chairs near the back corner. Applejack was sitting on the other bed, talking to the patient. Pinkie Pie was covered from head to toe in white casts. Her limbs were supported by a series of pulleys and rings that were suspended from the ceiling. All that gave a visible sign of her even being alive were her eyes, that turned to the princess as she walked inside.
"Good evening my little ponies," she said and walked next to Pinkie's bed.
"Any news, yer highness?" asked Applejack, hopping down from her perch on the bed and pulled out a chair for the Princess, who sat down gratefully.
"Your friend Twilight Sparkle has awakened."
Everyone else in the room took in a sharp breath. The duo lying on the other bed were now wide awake, and were listening intently on the words of the blue alicorn.
"She's been sleeping for a bit over two days straight, and it'll take time for her to be able to see all of you. I recommend giving her at least until morning. I left her with Celestia and came here, because you asked me to tell you as soon as there were news."
"How is she? How's she doing? Is she hurt?" the questions assaulted her from everywhere at once.
"I'm sorry but ... I can't really tell. She's been through a lot, and it'd be a miracle if she'd escaped ... damage."
As the silence fell in the room, a small moan could be heard from Pinkie. Her eyes were wide, running with tears, and her breathing was rapid. The sound that escaped her was one of the eeriest things Luna had ever heard. The cast covering her mouth and her broken jaw made the sounds coming through it muffled, but it was the sound of pure pain, hatred and fear. The pink pony on the bed tried moving, to run away from the horrors that were going through her mind, but she could hardly move her head enough to bang it onto her pillows.
Her friends were next to her in an instant, holding her, trying to calm her down. Fluttershy ran out and soon returned with the doctor in tow, half carrying him inside. When they couldn't make Pinkie relax, the doctor deemed it necessary to inject her with a sedative so she wouldn't asphyxiate with her cast mask. Pinkie's eyes slowly shut as the medicine took effect, sending her into a happier place than her current broken body.
As their friend was finally still again, the rest of the ponies could let out a sigh of relief. Could, but Instead, they started shouting.
"How could Twilight do something like this, huh?" shouted out the blue pegasus. "I'm gonna—"
"That Twilight! Ah'm gonna—" shouted the farmpony, while throwing her Stetson to the ground.
"... .. .. .. . . ... .. .. .. . . ," said the yellow pegasus, her voice drowned in the noise.
"Please don't shout so loud, it's hurting my ears!" shouted the marshmallow white unicorn, clutching her ears.
Only the reminder of their other friend still being injured brought any semblance of order to the room. The doctor who marched back inside, telling them all to be quiet or he'd throw them all out of the building, helped too. When there was a small calm in the storm, Princess Luna spoke up:
"Please. I already tried to explain that it was not Twilight Sparkle's fault what happened. You have to believe me. If you want someone to blame, then blame me and Tia for sending that book to her in the first place! And if I had arrived sooner, then maybe—"
"Please yer highness. It ain't your fault for being late. You had ta help tha workers out tha Ghastly Gorge after Twilight put them there, or so ah hear. If it weren't for y'all they'd still be stuck there. It's just ... seeing Pinkie here hurt so bad ... ah just can't understand this stuff about curses an' other mumbo-jumbo."
"Umm ... excuse me but ... I think we should be thinking about Twilight too ... I mean ... she hurt Pinkie, but what if she really didn't know what she was doing? Or was forced to do against her will? I can't imagine how she'd feel right now."
"Oh ... horseapples. I hadn't even thought about that ... ARGH this is SO confusing!" the rainbow-maned pegasus said, as she once again landed down on the bed, next to the quiet baby dragon. He hadn't spoken a word ever since he'd seen what Twilight had done to Pinkie, two days ago. Luna walked over to the angry pegasus.
"I understand it is hard. But right now both Pinkie Pie AND Twilight Sparkle need their friends more than anything. You don't have to choose a side. What's important is for you to try and help them forgive, either themselves, or the pony that hurt them."
"Can you be sure that it wasn't Twilight who did it? That it was the book?" asked Rarity as she walked over to the group..
"Yes I can, Miss Rarity. From what I saw when I went to the library, and what happened when Twilight woke up, there is no doubt in my mind."
"Then," the white unicorn laid a hoof on both Applejack and Rainbow Dash's shoulders "there is no way I'm going to let two of my best friends be torn apart by cruel fate. It seems Twilight is a victim of circumstance as much as Pinkie, and we should ALL go see her the first thing in the morning and tell her just that."
That seemed to be all that was needed for their anger to dissipate. The room was soon full of chatter of when they should go meet Twilight, what to bring her, and what to say to her. She could even swear that she could have seen a small smile cross over Spike's lips. Luna thanked Rarity silently for being the first one to extend her hoof to the possibility of forgiveness. It wouldn't be easy for any of them, least of all for Twilight and Pinkie, but the first step had been taken, and that's all it took for the second to follow. She sat there, listening to their chatter, with a small smile on her face. She couldn't help feeling a bit envious of how good friends Twilight Sparkle seemed to have.
It was just like her old friend Inferno. Whenever things were at their darkest, she would appear and bring with her the fire that lit a small light in the darkness. And when you could see where to take the first step, you could find your way out of the dark. She could only think in horror what would have happened if Inferno hadn't shown up. Well, it did no good to look a gift horse in the mouth. Things should work out fine now for Ponyville, and she should return to her duties. Wishing a good evening to the group of friends, the Princess of the Night walked out, and took wing to the beautiful midsummer night sky.
Twilight Sparkle let out a long sigh. She'd once been proud of this room. It had been her own personal space, her sanctuary. All that remained were the sooty walls and the dirty floor. Not even the stairs remained. She'd had to ask Spike to jury-rig a few planks to act as a makeshift slope for access from the upper library. The room was empty now, but the memories were still inside. So much had happened inside here, not even two weeks agos. The whole incident with the forbidden tome. It had also been the incident where she'd hurt several of her friends, one of them severely. She felt a lump rising once again in her throat.
Twilight walked over to the empty spot where her workbench had been. All the tools she'd painstakingly collected over the years were now gone. All the various chemicals, all the books on how to restore books, all of them just black soot on the walls now. In her mind's eye she could see herself, working diligently hour on end on some old tome or ancient manuscript, that would end up being a trashy love novel or a cookbook that was only useful for ponies in the tropical islands. Still, it had been, for a lack of a better word, fun. She'd have to start all over again from scratch. It would take several visits to Canterlot, and maybe some other cities too, to find the instruments she'd need. She wasn't even sure if she even wanted to start again. The whole thing felt sour in her mouth after what had taken place. Everything had been a mess ever since she'd opened that ancient leather-bound book.
That damned book! In agitation she punched her forehoof at the wall in front of her.
Night had fallen in earnest before her bawling receded into loud sobs, and then finally into tired weeps. Princess Celestia held her student tight to her chest, not letting go for a second. Twilight Sparkle had tried to speak through the emotional turmoil, but all she'd been able to tell the white alicorn had been "I'm sorry," over and over again. Neither of them was aware of the time, only that the sun had set long ago, and they were seated in near-total darkness in Twilight's bedchamber. "Twilight... It is I who should be asking for forgiveness for the events that have transpired here in the last few days. If anything, you were the victim in the whole thing, not the culprit."
"Princess how can you say that?" Twilight was looking at her mentor with wide eyes. "You should be angry at me! I hurt my friends. What I did to... " She was once again overcome by the wracking sobs of guilt.
"As I tried to tell you, my most faithful student; It was all because of the book that you did what you did. No blame rests on your shoulders."
"You don't know that! You CAN'T know that! The things I thought and did! I'm a horrible pony and the book was just an excuse for me to let go!"
"Don't you dare say something like that, Twilight Sparkle. I've known you since you were an awkward little filly, and I know you'd never do the things that have happened here."
Twilight got up, pushing the comforting hooves away from her and backing away from the other pony.
"Please don't... try to defend me! I'm responsible for everything that has happened. Not you or anyone else. I need to be punished! I need to go to jail, or be exiled, or have my horn removed, or ANYTHING that'll stop me from hurting anyone ever again!"
She closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if subjecting herself to the will of the court right then and there. The princess only walked to her and spoke softly:
"You have just told me the only thing that matters. That you never want to hurt anyone again, and never have. That is the true Twilight Sparkle that I have known for all these years. If only I hadn't sent that accursed book to you, none of this would have happened."
"You don't understand, princess. I... I liked it! I've always wanted to use my magic to do what I want, with no care for the consequences or repercussions of my actions. And now I went all out with everything I could, and beyond that. It wasn't the book that made me want to do that. It was... me. Even when I was... Pinkie... " her voice trailed off as she heard the words coming out of her mouth. "Oh Pinkie... what have I done?"
"Your friend is badly hurt, but she will recover. I have visited her in the hospital, and I know that she is well taken care of. And your other friends are all right as well. You don't have to worry about them right now. All you have to worry about now is yourself."
"I'm... afraid of myself. How could I do the things I did? And how could I think those... things... "
"But you have never acted upon those thoughts? Anypony who has any power over others has those dark thoughts. Of how they could abuse their gifts for their own ends. It is only natural. "
"But... even you?"
"Of course! Not a day in court goes by without me thinking how much I'd like to scatter the whole upper crust of Canterlot society to the four winds and be done with them. But I never do. And I have so many other dark thoughts too, but I'd never act upon them. That is the difference between a good pony, and an evil one."
"But I did!"
"Yes, you did, my most faithful student. And I am so sorry you had to go through all of that because of my mistake. But the fault rests with me, and that's final! It was I who sent you the book, I who was not here when your friends called me to help you, I who failed to send Luna here to help you in my stead, I who never taught you about geomancy and it's risks in the first place!"
"My... friends asked you to help?"
"Of course they did! As soon as you showed the first signs of your breakdown, they approached me. Ever since then they've been trying to find you and help you. It was just bad luck that they didn't get to you in time."
"But I thought... they aband—" Her mouth fell open at the mere thought. "But they'd never do that, would they? Why would I ever think that... " She seemed lost in thought, but her eyes were growing wider all the while.
"No. They wouldn't. Now do you understand how completely you were under the spell put on you by the book?"
"It could really make me think my friends abandoned me? That... was the thought that... all of this... "
"Yes. The curse was powerful enough to make you doubt your own friends. It also made you lose your conscience. You acted only on your base instincts, with no regrets or remorse. Only to satisfy yourself with no consideration to others."
"I... remember when that happened. I thought I was speaking to myself. The voice told me it was my self-preservation instinct. And I was so tired and sick that I... believed it." Tears were once again welling in her eyes, but they were not of sadness, but of anger. "How could it make me do something like that! How could I be so stupid... "
"The curse was powerful, and there is no mind in this world that could break it if it got in."
"But how could all of this happen?"
"I could explain better, if you would tell me, in your own words, what happened here."
"Everything? But... all the things I did... they make me feel so... sick."
"I understand. But I must know. You have all the time in the world, and I will be here for you."
It took her several hours to recount all the hazy memories she had of the last few days. With every sentence she spoke, she felt more detached from the person that had done all those evil deeds in her stead. It had been her, but not her, if that made any sense. All the thoughts and values she held dear had been twisted and mangled to resemble her own, but they were not really hers. All the while she talked, she could feel her heart growing lighter, ever so slightly. With every word she was confessing, she felt herself letting go of the guilt.
Princess Celestia had excused herself for a moment to go perform her morning ritual and raise the sun. Meanwhile, Twilight entered her bathroom.
Once again she was startled by her own reflection. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her tears had made dirty lines in the soot underneath her eyes. Her mane was a mess of off-colour strands of dark hairs. She turned the water on with her hoof, not even daring to think of using magic for the task. Her coat was singed in several places, and as she splashed some water on her face, she felt several stings where her skin was raw. Still, after all the things that had happened, she finally felt like she could at least look herself in the eyes.
When she returned to the study, she found Princess Celestia reclining on one of the soft pillows that she kept around. The princess had also pulled another one next to her and motioned for her student to take a seat. There were also two cups of...
"Tea? How did you have time to make tea? I mustn't have been gone for more than a few minutes," she asked incredulously.
"Do you think that a princess would start her day with nothing less than a cup of darjeeling? Even if I had to magically call it from the kitchens in Canterlot Castle, I simply wouldn't feel right without it." She gave a small chuckle, and somehow Twilight felt her own mouth turning into a small smile as well. After sitting down and taking the first sip of the hot drink, she felt as if there actually was a future ahead of her.
"There are so many questions I want to ask you, Princess."
The white alicorn just took a sip of her tea, and nodded.
"So first of all... how much was true?"
"Do you mean about Discord being my father and the planet itself being my mother? Or me and Luna making the Elements of Harmony from the lifeblood of the planet? Are you seriously even asking me about that?"
Twilight blushed deeply and quietly tried to look away from her mentor.
"I thought as much. The curse was an insidious one. It wove truth and lies together to make you believe everything it offered. It was masterful manipulation from a masterful manipulator, in this case, Abdul Al-Khamsa. I met him in his time. He was as mad as they come, but he was also well versed in magic. His talent lay in his understanding of how coterminous and coexistent dimensions affected our own. Too bad he went mad after years of studying them. He was also one of the last unicorns that used geomancy to power his spell matrixes that he used to create portals to those other dimensions"
"So... It is actually possible to open portals into other places and times?"
"Yes... and no. He could open portals, but most of them were unusable and all of them unsafe for anyone traveling through them. And they were so lacking in stability that one'd never be able to return to where they left. In the end I believe he stepped through one of his gates and never returned."
"So what about the book?"
"The writer, Olaus Martingale, has been mentioned several times in the history of Equestria. I have personally never met him, and from what I gather, he was not even a real pony, just a pen name used by a group that imitated the teachings of Al-Khamsa. What you read was their interpretation of his work and their theories of ancient times. The curse was their way of making someone believe their writing and spreading their teachings. It must have been some brave pony who hid the book at that distant ruin just to make sure no-one would get hurt. The one hiding it must have been under the book's influence by the time, and couldn't destroy it."
The princess had to stop for breath for a while and tried to take a sip of tea. The dismay that furrowed her brow made it clear that she hadn't noticed herself draining the life-giving liquid earlier. With an unsubtle crackle of teleportation magic, she summoned a full teapot, still whistling, from the kitchen far away. All the while, Twilight was looking at her with a puzzled expression, finally bringing herself to ask one of the more personal questions she was worried about.
"Will I be able to use magic again?" she asked, with a clear quiver in her voice. Celestia lowered her cup down to the floor and patted her pupil on the horn. Twilight shied away from her touch, seemingly in pain.
"It still seems to have sensation in it, and the cracks aren't too deep. It will be a long while, but if you steer clear of any use of magic, it should be alright in it's time. But don't expect it to happen anytime soon. "
Twilight let out the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding. The good news was enough for her to trudge on in her attempt to understand the goings-on from the last days.
"That's good to know. And you can be sure that I will not do ANY magic for a long while." After seeing the approving smile on the princess' face, she continued:
"What actually happened in the end? I just remember... fear and panic and... fire. It felt like the few times when I got really angry, but this was different. This time—"
"This time your secret friend pulled you out of the frying pan and into the fire. Only this time the fire actually saved you."
"The whodid whatnow?"
"I remember you always being very talented at magic, but especially in one specific style: That of pyromancy; The control of fire in all of its aspects. That is because of the spirit that resides in you. I also recall having to put several small fires out in the castle after some of your... should I call them tantrums? When your mane would turn to fire and you'd run around in anger, sometimes causing things to catch fire nearby, or even spontaneously combust."
"Well that explains a lot. So I have this evil fire demon inside me too? Great. How many things are possessing me at the moment?"
"Please don't misunderstand, my dear student. The spirit of Inferno is everything but evil. It has been protecting you since you were a foal. Most of the time it lies dormant inside you, but at times of great stress it comes out to protect you. That is why you've never gotten serious burns from miscast spells."
"So... Is my... talent with magic... from Inferno?" Her voice was a quiet whisper, as if dreading the answer.
"No, my dear," the princess said, as she leaned in to nuzzle the purple mare gently. "Your magnificent aptitude for magic is the result of your hard work and the talent you were born with, not from any other source. You are not my most faithful student because of something that is bound inside you, but because of who you are."
"I'm... very relieved to hear that," said Twilight, stifling a small sob that was trying to work it's way out of her throat. She felt like a small filly again, being comforted by the princess after some failure or mishap in her studies. "Can I ask one more thing, princess?"
"Of course. Ask as many things as you need to. Luna is taking care of the country, so I have all the time in the world just for you. Maybe if I had more time earlier, then all of this—"
"Please! Let's not start this again. I... I'm sure that it wasn't my fault but even thinking about facing my friends after all that has happened makes me want to throw up. Oh my gosh! I... I had some leaves from Zecora I was supposed to chew! Oh nonononono I stole those pills from her too! I have to apologize to her too... and all the workers at the dam? This is all too much!" Twilight was going through a plethora of emotions, until finally settling on the, by now, very familiar panic. She was about to start hyperventilating, when a white hoof pushed her nose with a little more force than was necessary.
"BEEP!" shouted the Princess of Equestria.
Twilight could only stare at the gold-shod hoof squishing her nose flat, and after finding no other proper way to conduct herself, ended up giggling hysterically on the floor, with the princess following her example. They laughed until they were both panting for breath and their cheeks were streaked with the tears of mirth. After they calmed down, Twilight finally spoke.
"I really needed that, princess. I think I'll be okay for now."
"Do not worry about all the problems that the book has caused. I'll help you work your way through them all. Just stop blaming yourself for what has happened. If you can't forgive yourself, how can you expect your friends to do so?"
"Forgive... myself? Yes I think I know what you mean. But I really think that when I get to explain everything to my friends, they'll stand with me too. And with them I can get through anything."
"Just please remember that... one of your friends is with you here, right now." The voice of the alicorn princess was soft, and even sounded a bit fragile. Twilight gently trotted next to her and nuzzled the princess' neck. "Thank you," she whispered into her teacher's–and her friend's–ear.
After a long while, she broke off from the white mare, and moved back to her own pillow. She took a clumsy sip from her tea with only her hooves.
"Bleargh! When did this stuff get cold?" she asked, while holding her tongue out like a school-filly. She had to look away from the princess' smirk. After regaining her composure, she continued:
"So... I was about to ask... How did this spirit of Inferno end up with me? I don't remember anything about it from my foalhood."
"It happened a few months after you moved into Canterlot Castle to study in my school. Long story short, there was a fire that you got caught in, and in an attempt to save you from getting hurt, Inferno took residence inside you. She's been looking after you ever since."
"A fire? But I don't—"
"Because I used a memory alteration spell on you. I didn't want you to remember such a horrible experience as such a young filly. It could have been very traumatic for a young mind, especially one gifted with as much magic as yours."
"You actually erased my memory?" Twilight's voice was not as much angry as curious.
"I am sorry about the spell, and I have never used it on you after. It was only for your protection, and I can remove it at a later date if you so wish."
"No I think this is better. Maybe there are some things better left forgotten."
"Thank you. I have been meaning to tell you about it for years now, but I have never had the opportune moment for it. I also dreaded how you would take it. I for one hate even the thought of mind-alteration magic, but just this once it seemed like the right thing to do."
"I think so too, princess." They shared a common smile, before Twilight asked her next question:
"So who is this Inferno? Seeing as it is living inside me and protecting me, I think I ought to know a bit more about it."
"Actually, you might want to ask my sister about Inferno."
"Huh?"
"Inferno was one of Luna's students over a millennium ago. The student got hurt badly in a fire, so in an attempt to save her life, Luna bound the elemental power of fire into the unicorn. It didn't succeed completely, and since then Inferno has been existing as an ethereal entity, protecting people from mishaps in the castle. The thing is that when it joins with someone, they become partners for life. Usually Inferno just hides inside the mind of the pony carrying her, but sometimes it comes out during a crisis. And you can also summon it if you need to willingly. As I remember, the unicorn that later turned into Inferno was a very nice and gentle pony, and I know she was a very good friend of Luna's."
"Seems to me I have to thank both Luna and Inferno properly. Inferno has now saved my life twice."
"That would be nice. Just remember that while she was once a unicorn, Inferno is now only a spirit of fire, and even though it carries the memories and thoughts of her former self, it is not truly alive."
"That's kind of sad now that I think about it."
"Don't worry about it. Inferno once told me that she wants to help and protect other ponies, and that will never change. In it's own way, I think it's content with its existence."
"But what about the other things the book taught me about? The monsters from beyond our dimension? The strange sigils and summoning spells? I know geomancy is true, because of how I repaired the dam."
"Most of it is true, but very dangerous to use. Several unicorns lost their ability to perform magic or even their sanity when attempting to use them. Some books still exist with information about them, such as the Ponykotic Manuscript and De Equiis Mysteriis. I have copies in my personal library, which I can send you, but I hope you will let the topic slide for the time being. They are not useful in modern times, and only should be read as a reference to arcane history, not as manuals on spellcasting."
"I think I'd best stay clear of them. I've gotten enough transdimensional horror for a good while, and that geomancy stuff sounds really dangerous, even if it was useful."
"Which reminds me, I have to go visit that zebra friend of yours some day. It seems she might know things that are not common knowledge in Equestria, and I would talk with her about their origins."
"But Zecora didn't do anything wrong! I was—"
"Of course she didn't. I just merely wish to ask where she got the information and Tass in the first place. And maybe correct her assumptions if she doesn't know the whole truth." She turned her eyes in a dangerous glare toward Twilight, who had to swallow a large lump that had risen to her throat. "Sometimes I wonder what my subjects think I would do to someone who does wrong without knowledge of it... " The princess' face quickly turned into a smile again and she let out a small chuckle. Her amusement was cut short as a letter-scroll appeared in front of her. After having a quick read through it, she said: "Actually I think I might visit this Zecora right now. It seems that you will be having a few friends come over to visit you in a few minutes."
"Wait, what? In a few minutes? But what will I say? How can I... Oh princess what am I going to DO!?" She was visibly shaken by the abrupt forewarning.
"Do not worry, my precious student. I shall remain here for the time being, with you, and help you get over the worst part with your friends. But I also think that you should be the one talking to your friends about what has transpired, not I. You still have a few minutes, so I suggest taking a quick bath and maybe allowing me to brush your mane?"
"Oh I couldn't ask you to—"
"You don't have to. Now move your rump to the bathroom, Little Miss Sparkle!"
Twilight didn't even notice her feet starting to move towards the bath, and when her brain finally registered what was happening, she was already knee-deep in hot water.
It was spring in Twilight's stomach. That is to say, it was filled with butterflies, a few storms and maybe just one migration of geese. At least that is what it felt like to her. She kept reminding herself that these were her friends, and that she had nothing to worry about. She'd explain everything, and they'd solve the problems together as adult mares should, and everything would be just fine.
When she heard the knocking on the door, all of her resolution escaped her mind, leaving only the dull fear of rejection and panic.
"I... don't think I can meet them, princess! Could you just, maybe... tell them to go away? Maybe if I wrote a letter to them or... WAIT! What are you—"
The princess had walked over to the door and swung it open with a small nudge of her magic. Outside stood four mares and one small dragon, silhouetted in the shadows of the early dawn. Twilight couldn't do anything but try to put on a brave smile and meet her friends.
"Hello gi—"
A multicolored, but mostly blue, whirl swooped inside, and with a resounding SMACK slammed a hoof into Twilight's cheek, sending her flying backwards in a crumpled pile against a shelf. A few books fell down around her, some of them landing painfully on her back.
"That's for Pinkie and Scoots and Rarity, YOU JERK!" shouted Rainbow Dash, currently being held back by Fluttershy and Applejack. "How could you do something like that to them! I though you were our friend!"
The purple mare couldn't see straight. The whole room was tilting, and the few constellations spinning around her head weren't helping. She thought she recognized Cassiopeia.
"I think that is quite enough of that, Rainbow Dash," called out the authoritative voice of Princess Celestia.
"But she—"
"DID NONE OF THE THINGS YOU ARE ACCUSING HER OF!" came the deep booming voice from the princess, knocking the three ponies prone, and causing Rarity to hold her ears in pain. In a more collected, if still taut voice, she continued: "I was under the impression that my sister Luna had already explained what took place. "
"She... but... " stammered the cyan pegasus. "She told us that it wasn't Twilight who did it but... I couldn't help myself! I've been so pissed off and angry and worried and... stuff. When she was there just smiling like we was coming over for a sleepover, I kinda lost it."
"The last few days have been trying for all of you. But I will NOT be having any outbursts like that. Do I make myself clear, Rainbow Dash?"
With a loud gulp, the emotional pegasus managed a nod. In the ensuing silence, all that was audible were the loud sobs coming from the corner. Spike had ran to Twilight's side and was hugging her tightly, both of them in tears. The purple mare kept repeating "I'm forry" once again, with a thin streak of blood dripping from her mouth on the little dragon's scales. The small voice of the dragon could be heard saying:
"Please don't go mad again, okay?"
Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but give small chuckle through her tears at the sincerity of her number one assistant.
"I promife, Fpike."
That seemed to break the spell that was holding the room quiet. All of her friends surrounded the downed mare with their embraces and well-wishes. All except one. Rainbow Dash remained standing at the center of the room, with her head held low, not daring to approach her friend after just having hit her squarely in the face. Twilight finally got up on shaky legs and, supported by Spike, made her way to the rainbow-maned mare.
"If'f alrighf Daff. I kinda deferved fthaft. Before fthe prinfeff effplained what fad freally fhappened, I wouff haff fone a lot woff to myfelf."
"It's not alright! I don't deserve to be the Element Of Loyalty, if I can't even believe in my best friends!"
"Ifn't fat juft fthe reafon why you fit me? Becaufe you care for your friendf?"
"Yes well... I guess."
Twilight took the hesitant pegasus in a gentle embrace and stroked her unruly mane with her hoof. The moment was short-lived, before Rainbow Dash pushed herself away.
"Sorry but I can't do this! You shouldn't forgive me so easily!"
"Daff if'f okay—"
"No it's not! I hit you and... now you gotta hit me back."
"Whaf? I fond want to hurf my friendf! Not affer all of thif!"
"Well I wouldn't feel right if you don't! Now sock me good!" She shut her eyes and braced for the punch.
"Buf—"
"DO IT!"
*Smack*
"Eeeep!" Rainbow Dash whimpered as she shot upwards into the air. She ended up near the ceiling, a-hover on her wings, but instead of holding her face, she was holding her hindquarters.
"Maybe that will suffice for now," said the alicorn princess. Celestia waved her tail menacingly towards the flying begasus, who was now massaging her stinging rump, with her face coming a close second in redness. The princess' tail made another swift lash into the empty air with a sound not unlike a whip cracking. The rest of the ponies were giggling at the scene like little fillies. Princess Celestia walked to the front door that still stood open.
"I must unfortunately leave you for now. I still have many things to do today. Please try to play nice, and try to get some rest. And this goes for all of you. I will come visit when the sun has set once more."
Twilight trotted over to her mentor, and they shared an affectionate muzzle before the white alicorn walked out, and vanished in a bright flash of teleportation magic. The purple mare dreaded to turn around, to face her friends alone, but as she hesitated, a palomino hoof landed on her shoulder.
"Come on in, Twalaight. Ah think there's a lot o story ya wanna share with us, ain't that right?"
Twilight nodded, took a deep breath, and went inside with her friends, pushing the front door to the library shut behind her.
Twilight still couldn't believe her friends had forgiven her so easily. Sometimes she thought that she didn't deserve friends like that, and had to mentally buck herself to remember that it was okay to feel like that once in a while, as long as she remembered it wasn't true.
She looked once more around the empty cellar. To the blackened wall, where the shape of a shelf had been burned on the wall. The shelf she'd stolen from Sugarcube Corner. A similar darkened rectangle rested on the floor, where she'd moved her bed from upstairs. The bed where she'd read the cursed tome, hour on end, drunk with magic and confused by the words and images inside. And then the worst part had come: Discord, or at least it's resemblance, taunting her, making the words in the book come alive.
And shortly after... Pinkie.
That was the one part about this whole thing she couldn't get over. How could anything, curse or not, make her hurt a friend so deliberately, so systematically? The revulsion she felt in her mind was echoed by similar feelings in the pit of her stomach.
Pinkie...
"I have to go see her!" For the hundredth time she insisted to visit her broken friend, and heard the same answer as every time before.
"Ya shouldn't, sugarcube. Ah know ya want ta go an make up an fix things, but Pinkie can't meet with ya. An the doctors told ya to stay awayh."
"This waiting is driving me CRAZY!"
She immediately regretted those words when the four mares around the café table took in a collective gasp. "Figuratively speaking, of course. Not going crazy, or feeling even the slightest bit of maniacal impulses, mental distress, or any sort of loss in coherence or cognitive function what so ever. I'm as stable as a roadside motel with fresh straw." She put on her best PR-smile and tried to win her audience over with her wit.
You could have cut the silence with a chainsaw, sold it to a lumber mill, and wait until it came out as cheap PONYKEA furniture, before someone finally spoke.
"Dahling honestly! There are just some things that you should not make light of!" The agreeing murmurs around the table made certain that the awkward librarian knew she'd stepped over a line. "Seriously, it has only been a week since EVERY! SINGLE! FRAGILE! BONE! of her body was CRUSHED!" The collective stare of distaste now had a new target in the marshmallow-white unicorn. "...In an occult accident. Which was not anyone's fault. At all. Ehehe... Would anyone wish to order something? My treat... "
This show of generosity soon dissolved the dense atmosphere around the table as the group of ponies, now missing only one of their number, ordered drinks. Several passers by made sure to stop and chat, making absolutely sure that the resident librarian of Ponyville was, indeed, doing well, and was not in any shape of form feeling unhinged at all. And to please tell them immediately if she felt another episode coming along, so they might lend a hand, or at the least, evacuate the area. After the fifth such encounter in just under as many minutes, Twilight was about ready to leave for the sanctity of the library.
"URGH! I'm starting to think that meeting in such a public place was a bad idea. I know it was Princess Celestia's idea to go out so ponies would see I was alright, but isn't this getting a bit... ridiculous?"
"Just take ah deep breath, applecakes. It ain't easy for y'all and that's why we're here with ya."
"I just feel like I'm seated in the stocks for public humiliation," she fumed, and downed her glass of juice in one go.
"Want me to get you another one while I get myself something, Twilight?" quipped the cyan pegasus. "Seeing as how Rarity is buying!"
"Wait a mo—" called the white unicorn, but it was too late. "Honestly! Some ponies! She'd probably go for the town hall if someone told her it was free." She felt like adding an indignant harrumph, but was interrupted as Applejack got up from her seat in a hurry.
"Heya Appabloom! Why don'tchy'all come over here an say hi to Twilight?" She was waving to the three filly members of the CMC that were trying to weave their way through the quiet market, while most definitely not trying to avoid being spotted by the group of mares seated at the café. After checking that there was no obvious escape route, apart from full-on gallop into the alleyways (not that they'd need to run, of course not!), they sauntered over to the table.
"Oh... Hiya everypony. Didn't... erm... see you there?" called out Scootaloo, with the two other fillies close behind, trying to stay behind each other's backs and as far away as possible from the purple unicorn.
"Um... Hi girls?"
"Hello, Miss Sparkle," they chorused in unison, the practice of several years with Miss Cheerilee evident in their manner. Not sticking out from a group was a survival trait, especially if something had been broken in the classroom.
"So where are ya off to, Appabloom? Doin' sum Crusadin'?"
"Yes, Miss Applejack," they once again uttered as one, bringing on a suspicious squint from their interrogator.
"And what pray tell was the three of you going to do here at tha market?"
"Nothing, Miss Applejack," answered the chorus.
"Bah. Off with the lot of ya. Just don' go gettin' into trouble ya hear!"
"Oh we'll be sure to stay away from Miss Sparkle!" chimed Scootaloo, before getting a double-elbow to her ribs from both sides.
"Yeah we really hafta be off," piped in Sweetie Belle, while pushing the orange pegasus in front of her. "We hafta go an go do... erm... "
"STUFF! Lot's of... stuff," finished Applebloom. Without waiting for a response, they bolted for the security of someplace that wasn't near the Ponyville Psycho Pyromancer.
Twilight looked after the three fillies. It would be a long while before they would feel at ease near her. Looking around the marketplace, she couldn't help but notice that anyone she looked at quickly turned away to hide their stares. One pony walked into a lamp post in her hurry to make sure that she wouldn't catch her eyes. She did what any rational, self-respecting academic would do in a situation like that. She got up and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"I AM NOT CRAZY! I AM NOT GOING TO BURN DOWN PONYVILLE OR USE MIND CONTROL OR ANY OTHER SPELLS! I FEEL FINE! STOP WORRYING! YOU HEAR ME! NOT! CRAZY!"
She sat down, planted her chin loudly on the table and slammed her forehooves on her face, and took a deep breath. When her pulse had calmed down to its normal frantic pace, she finally got up again, only to see see the awkward stares of her friends. They were now alone in the marketplace, with everypony else having skawkered off at full gallop as soon as she raised her voice, including all the other customers and staff in the café. She tried to grab for her new drink, but was only greeted with a splitting headache, as she once again forgot that using magic was a no-no. She slumped back on her pile of hay.
"Maybe that wasn't the best way to handle this situation, dahling?" asked Rarity in a trepidatious voice.
"You think?" the rainbow pegasus cut in. "Now everyone's too scared to even go shopping. Nice going there Twilight."
"RD! Shush! But ya gotta admit that ya might have gone just a mite overboard with that last one."
"I know, okay! You don't have to rub it in!"
"Now, now, Twilight. I'm sure everypony will come around once they get back to their lives." It was the first time that Twilight Sparkle had heard the yellow pegasus speak all day, and was glad to hear her voice offering support, and not criticism.
"Thank you, Fluttershy. I just don't know how to make everyone relax again. What if I become a local horror story? Or a crazy old cat lady that never leaves the house?"
"Oh don't worry about it Twilight. Just give it a little bit of time. And if you want, I have some really cute kittens that you can come and visit someday. If you're feeling lonely. And have the time, that is. And don't have anything else to do."
"I think I'll pass on the kittens. I have enough to take care of with Spike and Owloysious as is."
"Oh... " The yellow pegasus lowered her gaze back to her drink, which she had hardly touched.
"Hey Twilight," exclaimed Rainbow Dash, as her head perked up from her fourth drink. "Isn't that the deadpan doctor from Ponyville Hospital?"
Twilight turned around on her small pile of hay and noticed the unmistakable white-jacket-and-stethoscope -outfit on the brown pony walking towards them.
"Hello everypony. I couldn't help noticing that everyone was fleeing the area in panic, so I wanted to make sure nopony had gotten hurt. Why am I not surprised to find you here, Miss Sparkle."
"Uhmm... hehe... Hello doctor. Do you have any news of Pinkie Pie? How is she doing?"
"She is a survivor, if anything. I have never seen anyone bounce back from such injuries so fast. We removed several of the casts today, and she is able to move around in a wheelchair now."
"That's wonderful news! Do you know when she might get out of the hospital?"
"We were actually thinking of releasing her later today. The Cakes have offered to take care of her, which would be a real relief for us." The doctor turned to look at the assembled ponies along the length of her nose. "She has also been asking to meet a certain Twilight Sparkle whenever she might find the time, but I—"
"Ohmygosh! She wants to see me! I... I have to go! Right now!" Twilight bolted from hear seat without a second thought, and started running for the hospital. She skidded to a stop as she was passing Roseluck's flower stall. She picked up a large bouquet of roses in her mouth, and only then remembered that the proprietor of the humble establishment had evacuated the premises with all due celerity a few minutes earlier. Twilight quickly left a hoofful of bits on the counter and darted off again. She remained oblivious to the numerous shouts, curses, facehooves, sighs and hastily downed drinks behind her, as her friends hurried after her.
Twilight was panting heavily when she got to her destination. She was not used to running with a dozen roses in her mouth, and the lack of oxygen was making her feel a bit dizzy. When she entered the building, she caused a wave of panic to wash over the patients waiting for their turn as she plowed her way through them to Pinkie's room. She'd memorized the layout of the hospital just so she wouldn't get lost when finally getting to go meet her friend.
"Pinkie! I'm here!" she shouted as she kicked the door open with her forehooves. The pink pony was seated in a wheelchair next to the window, and quickly turned to face her former assailant. Twilight walked directly over her, lobbing the bushel of roses on the bedside table on the way.
"H... Hi... Twilight." Pinkie's mane was hanging limply down the side of her face, and her voice sounded high and energetic to Twilight. "Did... you come here alone, Twilight?"
"Yes, it seems so. It's just you and me. I didn't even notice anyone else in the whole inpatient wing. Seems we're the only two ponies here.
Pinkies hooves shuddered, as she was backing her chair away from the purple unicorn.
"Don't worry, Pinkie! You don't have to do anything anymore. I came here to take care of you. Would you like to go on a little walk? Let's go on a walk. So that nopony will disturb us." Twilight slipped behind the chair and started pushing her friend out of the room. She noticed the telltale glimmer of moisture in the pink pony's eyes.
"I feel the same way, Pinkie. I missed you so much. I've been trying to get to you for the whole week, but the doctors and nurses wouldn't let me. It's so good to see you again. I was so worried that we'd never get to spend time together after what happened. You must understand that what happened wasn't really my fault. I mean... it was just a pure... coincidence?"
"I know, Twilight. And now you've returned. And I'm too weak to do anything. Just... promise me one thing, okay?"
"Of course Pinkie! Anything!"
"Just... do it fast this time."
"Of course I will! Don't you worry about that." Twilight started pushing the wheelchair at a faster pace, turning a corner with only one wheel while shouting: "Whee!"
"Th... Thank you, Twilight. I guess I'm kinda ready for what comes next. I had a lot of time to think when I was lying on the bed. To prepare. I knew you wouldn't just leave me there. I knew you'd return."
"I've spent the whole week preparing as well! I can honestly say that not a moment has gone by without me thinking about you and what I should do with you once you were ready. I'm so relieved to see you."
They exited the inpatient area to the small park behind the hospital. Summer was in full bloom outside, as they rolled together on the paved ways away from the building. They came to a stop on a small hill, overlooking the town below them. Butterflies were flying around in the air, fluttering their colored wings as they made their way from one flower to another. The sun shone warmly from the sky, with no clouds to block its tender rays. Pinkie looked around, with another tear appearing in her eye.
"It's so beautiful. It's kinda nice that you brought me here."
"It is, isn't it," Twilight said as she sat beside the wheelchair.
"You know, Twilight... I still can't bring myself to hate you. I know it's not your fault. The book cursed you. I want to hate you for what you did... but... I know that deep down inside you are my friend and would never hurt me."
Twilight felt her own eyes moisten from the hot tears of shame. She turned over to Pinkie and pushed her head onto the party pony's lap. "I never thought you could forgive me, Pinkie. I'm so sorry for what I did. I know it wasn't me, but still... seeing you so hurt here... It feels awful! I just want to stop your suffering."
Pinkie Pie shuddered a bit in her seat, and gently brushed her friends mane. "Yes. And that's why you are here, right? To make my pain stop, right? To end it all?"
"Yes, Pinkie, yes! Exactly! Now that I'm here I don't want you to worry about anything any more. I'll take care of you. Whatever it takes. Now just hush. It'll be all over soon."
"I'm... scared Twilight."
"I know, Pinkie. I wish I could do something about it."
They could both hear the sounds of several pairs of hooves hitting the pavement behind them.
"That must be the rest of the group. I left them at the café but seems they followed us here," the purple unicorn said, as she lifted her head up from her friend's lap.
"Could you... please maybe do it before they get here? So they don't have to see?"
"See? Do what? What are you talking about Pinkie?"
In an empty voice, totally devoid of any emotion, Pinkie answered: "Aren't you here to kill me, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight fell on her back from where she had been leaning on Pinkie's chair. No breath came for her. She could only look at the dispassionate eyes of her friend, sitting hunched in the wheelchair. The eyes she saw were dull, like something you'd see on a doll.
"Didn't you come here to finish what you started? You already broke me, Twilight. My best friend hurt me. Why would I want to live any more? Why won't you just end it all. Let me go. Let me rest. Where nopony will hurt me. Please. Twilight! Do it now! I don't want them to see! It would make them sad! Please! Hurry! Hurry! HURRY!"
Pinkie pushed herself from the wheelchair and started crawling towards the downed unicorn. "I won't fight back! I won't resist! Just please! Do it! Now! It hurts so bad! You can't imagine how bad! Make it stop! Please! KILL ME!"
Twilight couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, as her pink friend crawled over her legs and onto her chest, hammering her with feeble hooves.
"Please! Make it stop!"
"There they are, doctor! OH NO! PINKIE! TWILIGHT!"
If Twilight Sparkle had to pick the worst moment in her life, she wouldn't have to think twice. Seeing her broken and hurting friend, crawling towards her, begging for death. The emotionless face of her bouncy, cheery friend felt so out of place in her mind. It kept haunting her whenever she closed her eyes. Even now she could clearly see it, in the darkness of the cellar. The worst of all had been the eyes. So lifeless. Like something had been removed from inside. Something valuable and precious.
She had woken up crying and screaming every night since.
Twilight sat down on the planks leading to the upper floor and buried her face in her hooves.
The doctor decided it was better for Pinkie to remain in the hospital for the time being. She had been put under sedation, so she wouldn't hurt herself.
Twilight had left the hospital, without saying a word about what had happened. Her friends had only seen Pinkie collapsed out of her wheelchair, while babbling incoherently, and she couldn't bring herself to tell them what had transpired. After she got to the library, she shut and bolted the door, and retreated to her bedroom. Or it was now just another room, because her bed had been incinerated along with most of her other personal items. She collapsed in exhaustion on the pillows, still remaining after the visit from the princess.
She cried herself to sleep, hoping never to wake up.
Twilight wouldn't let anyone inside the library for several days, until the doctor came to visit her. He was insistent on not leaving until he had a chance to talk with her, going as far as to threaten to get Applejack to buck down the door if she refused. Twilight hadn't eaten in two days, having just lied down and never finding the energy to actually get back up. When she finally opened the door, the doctor immediately dragged her to the kitchen and made her eat and drink, while he scolded her on how to take care of herself.
The doctor wanted Twilight to come to the hospital with him. To visit Pinkie. Apparently she was feeling a bit better now that her friends had explained the misunderstanding away, and would be able to meet Twilight.
All the way to the hospital, Twilight felt like she walked to be judged. Everywhere she looked, she felt the stares of the townsponies, who looked over her with a mixture of fear, loathing and pity. Even the weather seemed to be in the mood, with a heavy layer of clouds hanging low in the gray sky. Was this Rainbow Dash's idea of a joke?
On arrival, they went to a room Twilight hadn't visited before. It was a small conference room, with comfortable pillows laid in a small circle of eight. The doctor talked to a nurse at the door, and then took a seat, motioning for Twilight to do the same.
"This is our group therapy room. We usually use it for ponies who have difficulties in their lives, or that are faced with too much substance use that it is impairing their normal lives. I thought it would be better to meet your friend here than in her room."
"Thank you, doctor," was all the communication she could muster.
The small, clinically white clock on the wall moved ahead five minutes before the door opened up again. The nurse from earlier gently guided Pinkie Pie into the room, and helped her sit down on a pillow, on the opposite side of the room from Twilight.
"Hello, Miss Pie," the doctor began. "How are you feeling today?"
"The... usual I think," came the slightly sleepy voice from the other side of the room. Twilight had to strain her hearing to catch all the words. Usually when Pinkie was in the same room with you, even loud music couldn't stop you from hearing what she had to say.
"Hello, Pinkie," said Twilight. The pink pony immediately launched herself up from her seat and backed to the corner.
"Why are you here!? I... I won't let you hurt me anymore!"
Twilight had thought over and over again what to say to her friend when se could finally talk to her. Now that she finally had the chance, her friend was scared out of her mind, and all the words the purple mare wanted to tell were sticking to her throat.
"Pinkie... I'm so sorry. I hurt you so bad and I can only imagine how you felt after what happened two days ago. You have to believe me! I never wanted to hurt you! It was the cursed book that made me do all those things! I thought you were just an illusion that the book made me see! I was so weak and confused! Please! I would never hurt you!" The tears were flowing down her cheeks as she was now laying on the floor, halfway off her pillow.
"But... the things you did—"
"If there was anything I could do to go back in time and stop those events, I would. I even considered using the Star-Swirl The Bearded -spell, but it's one time only. I feel SICK about what I was forced to do!"
"So... you honestly didn't mean to hurt me? It was just some... nasty spell or something? But the things you said... It sounded so much like you. You told me you've always hated me and that I was unscientific and how you couldn't understand my Pinkie Sense and that you just wanted to make me hurt... "
Twilight could just sit there, quietly, not sure what to tell her friend.
Should she confess that, yes, her randomness sometimes irked her to no end, and how she was constantly baffled about her antics. But she'd never hurt her friend over them. Argue maybe, or go on a compulsive research binge, but never, EVER, hurt a friend.
"Do... do you really mean that, Twilight?"
"Ohmygosh! I didn't mean to say that out loud! I'm so sorry!" She couldn't imagine how she'd let slip something as stupid as that.
"Twilight... I was so scared. And it hurt so bad..." Pinkie's feet gave way under her as she fell down on the floor with tears running freely from her eyes.
"I'm so sorry!" Twilight was unable to stop herself. She moved over to her friend and took her in a tight embrace, remembering what the other had thought last time when she did so. "You are my precious friend, and I would never hurt you. It took an ancient curse to make me do it, and I've felt horrible about it every since. You'll never have to be afraid of me again, and I'll never hurt you again."
"Pi... Pinkie Promise?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly," Twilight made the motions with her free hoof, "stick a cupcake in my eye." She hugged her friend tightly. "It's a Pinkie Promise."
Twilight Sparkle was suddenly thrown away from Pinkie, as the latter sprung up from her crumpled position. Her hair had exploded back into its usual consistency of a cotton candy in a hurricane. The pink pony started jumping around her friend in excitement and started to sing:
"Twilight is my bestest friend! Whoopee! She never wanted to hurt mee! I know that sometimes friendship hurts But then this though always comforts They don't really mean it, no! Cos they're my friends, d'oh!"
She glomped Twilight on the floor, and they both shared a hearty laugh, which went on for a long while. Halfway through, the doctor left the room while giving a confused shrug at the sight.
"So will you forgive me, Pinkie?" asked Twilight from underneath her friend after she finally caught her breath.
"Of course you silly filly! You can't be friends with someone if you can't forgive them when they're really sorry!" the party pony said with a giggle.
Twilight went in for another hug, but Pinkie slipped from under her grip like a greased hog.
"Wha—?"
"No time for hugging! I have to go plan your get well party! And mine too! And one for Rarity! Oh and I think I have to hold one for the rest of the fillies too so they won't feel left out! And Spike too! It's gonna be SO AWESOME! I haven't partied in, like, over a WEEK! OHMYGOSH! This might be the longest time without a party IN MY LIFE! Maybe I should hold several parties just to make up for it! I know! We'll hold a party inside a party, and we'll call it `Partyception!´"
"Oh Pinkie," Twilight said, while trying to catch the pink pony in the corridors of the hospital while laughing for what felt like the first time in ages.
"She sure is crazy. And I wouldn't have it any other way," the purple mare said to the darkness inside her cellar. "How can someone have such a big heart that they can forgive someone who tortured them? I don't think I ever could. I guess Pinkie is a stronger pony than I could ever have imagined."
The days after had been a blur. Seemed like Pinkie returning to Ponyville resurrected the town from its gloom, and soon the whole incident seemed to have been brushed under the metaphorical carpet. Twilight had even been summoned to meet with the Mayor and the two forestallions of the dam construction group.
"Miss Sparkle! So nice to see you so well! And on time too!" the gray-maned mayor called from the stairs of the Town Hall, when she noticed the unicorn approaching. The two stallions stood next to her, wearing slightly worried expressions.
"Mrs. Mayor, Gentlecolts." Twilight could feel the all too familiar blush starting to rise to her cheeks once again. The workponies gave her a curt nod. Mayor Mare ushered them inside the large white building, and into her study.
"I wanted to extend my thanks to you, Miss Sparkle, for a job well done!" begun the mayor. "You built us a beautiful and resilient dam, and we won't have to worry about being flooded in the near future. And the Town Council has already agreed to name the dam `Twilight Sparkle Dam´ in honor of the singular pony who built it all on her own!"
"Erm.. Does this have something to do with the... uhm... inscription that I may have put on the dam?"
"None whatsoever! You are wholly deserving of the honor, and I will not hear a word otherwise. I believe that someone has already ordered a brass plate to commemorate the dam's construction. Unfortunately, it might cover some of the... autograph that was added during the construction process."
"You mean... the part about Tri—"
"Yes. Indeed. And now for the other matter at hand. I believe you gentlemen are here on business?"
"As you say, yerronor. As you might have heard, we did not, in fact, have time to actually, that is to say, begin work on the, as it were, construction."
"Yes so I have heard. Would it be prudent of me to say that you did not, in fact, do anything at all? And used none of the raw materials provided for the work?"
"Well... As you say, there were some extenuating circumstances... "
"But you did not construct the dam that you were hired to construct, is that correct."
"Umm... When you put it like that... no. I guess we didn't."
"Under these circumstances I believe that the Township of Ponyville can not be held accountable for any services rendered from your work group, wouldn't you agree?"
"So you aren't paying us, is that it?"
"As you so bluntly put it, yes."
"If you say so, Mrs. Mayor."
"I believe this concludes our business for the day. Miss Twilight. Gentlecolts. Have a nice day."
Without saying a word, the two stallions left the room, followed shortly by the hesitant unicorn. She caught up with them outside the building. The two workponies were leaning on the railing on one of the small bridges scattered around Ponyville to cross the slowly moving river. One of them was seemingly interested in the stream below, while the other was leaning her back on the railing while looking up at the sky.
"Umm... gentlecolts? Might I have a word?"
"What seems to be the trouble, missus?"
"Well... I wanted to tell you that I am truly sorry. I didn't know the mayor would skimp on the payments. It's all my fault and I can contact Princess Celestia on your behalf and maybe try to find some work for your or work something else out."
The two stallions looked at each other for a moment. The one with the symbol of a power drill on her flank took off his yellow helmet and produced a handkerchief from underneath it and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Yer mighty nice to say that, and we wouldn't say no to some honest work. But if yer worried about us getting into trouble for not getting paid, you needn't worry."
"You see," continued the other earth pony. "We sort of contacted our insurance company about the whole situation a few days back. It appears that their policy doesn't specifically exclude ´losses rendered due to Her Highness' Princess Celestia's Star Pupil going bonkers over an ancient curse and teleporting the whole construction site away while doing the work alone,` so it appears that we are fully covered about this. So no hard feelings, missus."
"Oh... well... That's good to hear. Well then... uhm... good day to you two."
The two ponies courteously tipped their helmets for the mare as she turned away to leave. The one with the iron girder as a cutie mark looked at the purple unicorn's flank and blew out a loud cat-call. The mare froze in her steps, and then galloped away with flushed cheeks.
"Now why did you go and do that for, Girder?"
"'s traditional."
Twilight got up from her perch and looked at the walls of her cellar. The heat that had blasted them made the walls smooth, almost glassy to touch. She couldn't see any of the seams between the stones in the small light descending from the open door above. She was interrupted from her musings when a familiar coltish voice called out from upstairs.
"Twilight! We're gonna be late!"
"Coming, Spike!"
Twilight walked up the precarious slope of the planks and finished the exercise with a few happy skips up the few remainin steps of the stairs.
"You ready to PAR-TAY, Twi?"
"Yes, Spike. I think I am," she answered, with a warm smile on her face.
"Then let's GO already! I don't wanna miss the games! And did you hear that Zecora's there too?"
"She is? How ... wonderful."
"Yeah! I hear she made the punch. She's supposed to have used some secret ingredients."
"Well as long as it's not poison oak... "
"Did you say something, Twi?"
"Nope. Lead on, my number one assistant."
As they went through the door into the warm summer evening, they could already hear the loud thumping bass coming from Sugarcube Corner. It sounded like the party was already in full swing. Twilight carefully closed the door to the library, and headed off to meet her friends.
Inside, one of the doused candlewicks started smoking, and slowly a small yellow flame crept up its length. The light from the candle illuminated the entrance to the library from the inside.
It could be dangerous to come into a dark house after a night of partying, and someone needed to keep the young mare safe.
