> The Enchanted Library: Sidestories
>  by Monochromatic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Twilight VS the Projector [Comedy]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Projector


Rarity treasured the simple pleasures of life. After all, the simple pleasures were often things one took for granted and then longed for most when they were gone. 

There was nothing quite like reading a captivating romance novel on a rainy afternoon; no delight like a dress perfectly formed, every stitch in its place; no relaxation like drinking tea with Fluttershy in the garden; and no greater joy than shocking Twilight into a silent freakout with ‘modern technologies’. 

It had been several months already since Rarity had befriended the alicorn spirit and, in retrospect, Rarity would have never quite foreseen their friendship turning out as it did. Before they were even friends, back when Rarity would never dream of omitting the “Princess” title that came with Twilight’s name, it had felt like her relationship with the alicorn was strictly a… well, not a friendly relationship, but a… very odd, very serious relationship. 

“I simply cannot wait to see her expression! It’ll be the best one yet!” 

The Everfree Forest was hardly a place that ponies desired to enter, and even less so merrily skip through it, but Rarity's love for shocking Twilight into silence with mundane modern objects was simply too much.

Fluttershy giggled, trotting next to Rarity in a much more reserved fashion. “It was nice of Cheerilee to lend us all this, wasn’t it?” she asked, looking at the reel-to-reel projector and accompanying screen that Rarity was floating in front of them. 

She wasn’t the only one curious about it, either, considering the black owl guiding them kept looking back and throwing wary glances at the odd device. 

“It was, and we’d better make sure to return it in pristine condition,” Rarity warned, seeing to it that projector didn’t brush against stray branches that might damage it.  Of course her warning mostly translated into making sure one particular very curious spirit didn’t dismantle the only projector Cheerilee had. 

Admittedly, it had taken quite a lot of convincing for Cheerilee to lend it to them, but it would all be worth it just to see Twilight’s reaction. If she’d nearly lost her marbles over a flashlight, the projector was sure to garner an even greater reaction. 

“Look! There’s the library!” Rarity exclaimed, her heart skipping a beat at seeing the familiar old oak in the distance. She hastened her already quick pace, feeling very much like a filly set loose in a candy store. She could hardly stifle her excited giggling as she followed Themis towards the oak tree. “Hurry, Fluttershy!” she called, glancing back at the equally excited pegasus. 

Upon stepping hoof inside the library, Rarity’s eyes landed on Scootaloo, sitting at a table and no doubt still reading the same comic books she’d been poring over when the two mares left hours earlier. At the sound of their arrival, though, Scootaloo looked up and then jumped to her hooves.

“Geez, that took forever!” she exclaimed, trotting towards them. 

“Where’s Twilight? And Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked, carefully setting down the projector and screen, simultaneously looking around for the alicorn. 

"Princess Twilight's downstairs helping Sweetie with some magic spells,” Scootaloo explained, watching as Fluttershy took out some film reels from her saddlebag while Rarity prepared the viewing screen. “What films did’ja bring?” 

Fluttershy squinted at one of them. “Uhm… ‘The Anatomy of Flying’ and…” She looked at another one. “‘Magic and Technology: A Perfect Harmony’.” 

“What?! But those are so boring!” Scootaloo blurted out, looking back and forth between the two mares with a disgusted expression. “She’s gonna fall asleep to those!” 

Rarity playfully rolled her eyes. “No, she won’t, darling,” she assured, once more failing to stifle a giggle. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Besides, these were the only films Cheerilee had to lend us, and yes, though they may be a little boring—”

“A little?”

“Terribly boring, I’m sure Twilight will be more than thrilled; positively riveted, even.” 

That said, Rarity completed her preparations, and as such removed a white sheet from her saddlebag and draped it over the projector so that only the imaging lense was left uncovered. She didn’t think Twilight would be able to instantly figure out the machine simply by looking at it, but she didn’t want to take any risks.

“Right, here we go!” Rarity giddily exclaimed. “Scootaloo, be a dear and fetch Sweetie and Twilight, will you, please?” she asked, turning away from her handiwork. 

Once Scootaloo had run off, Fluttershy spoke up. “Which one should we show her first?” she asked, unable to stop herself from absorbing the excitement Rarity’s entire being was exuding. “Maybe she’d like the one about magic?”

“Oooooh, yes!” Rarity agreed, taking the corresponding reel and briefly removing the sheet so as to properly place the film. Film placed and sheet canvasing projector once more, she looked to Fluttershy, who was busy making sure the screen was straight and properly facing the projector. 

“I hope Princess Twilight likes it,” Fluttershy said, nudging a corner of the screen into place. 

"Hope I like what?"

Rarity and Fluttershy turned around to find the ghostly princess herself, appearing as unannounced as ever. And apparently as curious as ever, considering she didn’t even wait for a reply before starting to levitate away the projector’s cover. 

"Don't do that! You're not supposed to see yet!" Rarity shrieked, her own magic pushing down the cover, much to Twilight's surprise – and momentary dismay. Rarity then noticed someponies were missing. "Wait, what happened to the girls?"

"They said you needed me to come up, so I did," Twilight explained unceremoniously. "They've been giggling at me ever since you left, and wouldn’t tell me why," she added, looking away from the covered object to find Rarity and Fluttershy failing miserably to hide their excited smiles. "Almost like you two are,” she added with narrowed eyes. 

"Patience, darling," Rarity said, clearing her throat in an attempt to push down more giggles. "The girls are just excited for you to see what we brought. We just have to wait for them to get here."

Twilight frowned.

She looked towards the spiralling staircases, her horn lighting up, and mere seconds later, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were teleported into the room, both of them landing on the floor with a startled “oof!”.

That done, Twilight looked back to Rarity with an expectant stare. “There.”

Rarity blinked. Alright then…

She cleared her throat and gestured to the covered object. “Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said, loudly and clearly, with as much grandeur as she could muster,  as if she were about to address royalty — which, technically, she was.  “I present to you…” Suddenly, in a theatrical fashion, she lifted off the cover with her magic, revealing what hid beneath it. “A projector!” 

Silence ensued as four excited ponies waited with bated breath, staring at an unimpressed alicorn. Rather than gasps or ‘ooh’s and ‘aaaah’s, the projector was met with nothing more than cautious curiosity. 

“This is a photographic camera, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, taking a step towards the projector and looking it over. “Why is it larger than the one you have? Isn’t it impractical? Is there a difference in quality? How does it work? Is it powered by magic?” She then noticed the small speakers attached to the device. “What are these for? Is it some kind of ventilation system?” She looked around, and before Fluttershy could say anything, Twilight levitated one of the film reels close and inspected it. She squinted her eyes and looked at the frames. “This already has photographs in it? Are you re-using it?” 

She floated the reel back to Fluttershy and directed her attention to the screen. She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards it. “What’s this for?” 

“Allow me to demonstrate,” Rarity said, a flicker of light departing from her horn, followed by the projector turning on moments later. 

An image blinked on the screen, and finally, like a photograph, the title credits of the film appeared before the ponies. The words ‘Magic and Technology: A Perfect Harmony’ were written in an elegant calligraphy, and below the title a unicorn stallion stood perfectly still. 

Twilight blinked, seeming only slightly impressed. “Oh! It projects images and photographs.” She turned to the projector, and asked, “How do you change to the next one?” 

“Darling, it does much more than simply project images,” Rarity said, the giggle at the tail-end of her sentence sounding much like a teacher amused by her student’s innocent ignorance. Silly Twilight Sparkle; she had no idea what awaited her. 

“It does?” Twilight asked. 

“It does,” Rarity replied, letting out another enigmatic giggle, revelling too much in the suspense she was creati— 

“Come ooon, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle said impatiently. “Show her already!”

Rarity blinked, having momentarily forgotten that there were other ponies in the room. “Yes, yes,” she said, clearing her throat with full intention to continue with her air of suspense. Sweetie Belle didn’t understand anything about showmanship, did she? 

Of course she didn’t. 

“Star!” Rarity called, glancing towards the chandelier floating near the ceiling and lifting her hoof. She then slowly lowered it as she continued speaking and said, “Lights, please!”

One by one, all the candles on the magic candelabra started to dim, flooding the room with enough darkness to properly see the movie, but leaving enough light for Rarity not to miss a single second of Twilight’s reaction. 

Twilight seemed to be somewhat concerned by the display, glancing at the theatric unicorn with a confused expression, and only looking at the screen when a smiling Rarity gestured for her to do so. Whereas Fluttershy and the fillies sat down to enjoy the show, Twilight remained standing, glancing back and forth between Rarity and the screen. 

“Well?” she asked after a moment. 

Rarity declined to reply, simply continuing to smile and lighting up her horn once. She heard the projector start up, and smiled wider when Twilight’s attention was quickly captured by the screen. 

“Magic and Technology!” a voice emerged from the speakers. “Welcome to our tour through the technological advances of ponykind made possible thanks to the…”

The voice faded away in Rarity’s mind, becoming nothing more than background noise, unheard and uncared for. The same could be said of the film itself, which she held no interest in watching. Her attention was focused instead on a much more fascinating sight, which was a terribly entertaining show in itself. 

While moments ago Twilight had looked as serious as ever, her expression had now changed completely. Rarity watched with absolute delight as Twilight’s eyes widened, her ears flicking up as she took a step forwards, her mouth slightly opening up. 

A quick glance around informed Rarity that likewise, the other three ponies couldn’t care less about the film, and Twilight had become the center of everypony’s attention as she again took another step forwards. 

Eyes transfixed on Twilight, Rarity found herself wishing she knew the thoughts that were no doubt blazing through the Princess’s mind while she watched the film. As the stallion on screen spoke, Twilight kept glancing back and forth between the screen and the projector.

After a moment of Twilight staring at the screen with a shocked expression, Rarity decided to speak up. Or, she would have, had Twilight not spoken up first. 

“Rarity…” she said, still looking at the screen with wide eyes.

Rarity giggled. “I know.”

"Rarity…” Twilight repeated, lifting her hoof and waving at Rarity, still not bothering to actually turn to look at her friend. 

Rarity giggled yet again. “I know, darling, I know.”

And then, it happened. 

At the rate of approximately a million miles per hour, question after question shot out of Twilight’s mouth while she practically zoomed from the projector to the screen, to Rarity, to the back of the screen, to the projector, to Rarity, to trotting through the screen, to going back to staring in shock. 

How was it doing that? Where was the sound coming from? How could a pony not actually present in the room be speaking? Was it a long-distance communication spell? Where could she find that spell? Who was that pony? Could she meet them? What did Rarity mean she couldn’t dismantle the projector? She was going to put it back! What did Rarity mean she ‘always said that’?! She always reconstructed them exactly to how they were before! Well, okay, almost exactly, but— 

“Twilight, I said no!” Rarity said for the tenth time, conjuring a barrier between the alicorn and the projector. “You cannot take it apart!” 

“But Rarity—!” Twilight blurted out, whatever decorum she usually possessed all but gone. Without a care for Rarity’s protest, Twilight trotted through the unicorn’s barrier and stopped right before the projector. “I only want to see how it works!” 

“Aw, come on, Rarity,” Scootaloo said, “Princess Twilight’s really good at building stuff! She helped me when my scooter broke!”

“Scootaloo, what she gave back to you looked nothing like a scooter. Don’t look at me like that! It didn’t!” she added when Twilight shot her an indignant look. “Twilight, this isn’t mine!”

Eventually, Twilight stepped away. “All right,” she relented, throwing the projector an alarmingly longing look. “Can I look at the other moving photographs, then?” she asked, levitating the second reel. “Please?”

“That you may,” Rarity said, relieved that the projector was no longer in imminent danger. “But before you do, I have a surprise for you that is far better than dismantling the projector.” 

Twilight’s ears flicked up. “Did you bring another one?”

“Er… No… But you’ll love it far more!” she exclaimed before Twilight’s disappointment could flood the room. Without another word, she dug into her saddlebag and took out a thick book. “Tah-dah!”

Scootaloo grimaced. “A book?”

“Oh, a new book?” Twilight asked, her ears flicking back up. 

“And not just any book! It’s an instruction manual!” Rarity explained, flipping through the pages. “Now, you don’t have to dismantle the projector to know how it wo—” Her sentence was cut short when the book disappeared from her hooves and reappeared in front of Twilight. “... You’re welcome…” 

“Maybe we should turn off the projector, then,” Fluttershy suggested, but as she trotted to it, a pink barrier appeared before her. 

“Wait, I’m still watching!” Twilight blurted out, even though she was still very much staring at the book. 

Rarity rolled her eyes, smiling good-naturedly and sitting down. “Well then, everypony get comfortable. We’re in for a long hour.” 





“Rarity? Rarity, wake up…” 

After a long yawn, Rarity’s eyes fluttered open, and she stretched out, idly grasping the sheet that had been placed over her. She blinked once, twice, thrice and found Twilight standing besides her, looking her down with an impassive expression. 

“Oh, pardon me, I must have dozed off,” she said, stifling a second yawn and looking around. A quick glance showed her three sleeping ponies, meaning she hadn’t been the only one who’d succumbed to the sandpony’s grasp. Those films really were more effective than sleeping pills. 

Her cursory glance, however, also came with the realization that something was missing. “Twilight?” she said slowly, feeling her grogginess almost immediately disappear. “Twilight, where’s the projector?” 

“The projector? Oh, I—”

“Oh no, you dismantled it, didn’t you?” Rarity interrupted, clutching the cover against her chest. “Twilight! I told you tha—”

“I didn’t dismantle it!” Twilight whispered, indignant. “I only moved it downstairs so it wouldn’t wake you up while you slept! You seemed tired, and I thought you should rest...” 

“Oh… Thank you,” Rarity said, now feeling rather badly for her accusation. A bit embarrassed, she looked down and finally realized she was clutching the blanket she’d brought to hide the projector. “Did you cover me with this…?”

“I didn’t want you to be cold,” Twilight explained, a light flush appearing on her cheeks when she glanced at the others. “I looked in your saddlebag for more blankets for everypony else, but I didn’t find any…” 

“And you picked me to cover?” Rarity asked, somewhat taken aback by the gesture. She giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. “Awwww! Sweetie Belle would be green with envy!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. 

“If you didn’t dismantle the projector, why did you wake me up?” Rarity asked, yawning one last time before standing up, levitating the sheet with her and placing it atop the two sleeping fillies. “Finished your book?”

Twilight nodded. “I wanted to ask you some questions. The manual had a history section, and it mentioned something called a flip book?”

“Flip books? I’ve never told you about flip books? Well, today is your lucky day!” Rarity exclaimed, trotting past the alicorn and towards the aisles of bookcases. “You still have blank scrolls, don’t you? We’ll need a few of them so it’ll work.” 

Some time later found the two mares sitting at a table on the library’s lower floor, Twilight leaning over Rarity and watching her friend carefully stack up several sheets of scroll paper. 

Once they were in proper order, Rarity took the quill dipped in the nearby inkwell and cleared her throat. “Why don’t I…” She drifted off, finally lowering the tip of the quill and carefully drawing an owl on the first scroll’s corner. “There!” 

Twilight leaned in further, furrowing her brow. “... That’s it?”

“No, that’s not ‘it’,” Rarity replied, lifting the scroll and revealing the one beneath it. “Now, we’re going to to draw an owl in the same place, except we’ll change it up a bit. How about we make it fly?” she suggested, drawing the same owl, now with its wings lifted up. 

Minutes later, Rarity had drawn numerous nearly-identical owls, enough for it to flap its wings and fly up a few centimeters. After instructing Twilight to pay attention, she placed her hoof near the edge of the upper scroll and then used her magic to quickly flip back and forth through the scrolls’s edges. 

“See?” she said excitedly, watching the owl fly up and down. 

“Oh! I see, it’s a primitive version of the moving photogr—”

“Film,” Rarity corrected.

“Film,” Twilight said, using her magic to take scrolls and try the flip book for herself. 

"Why don't you try making one?" Rarity suggested, eager to see what Twilight would come up with. "It's fairly simple."

Twilight furrowed her brow, taking the quill in her magic and staring down at the scroll. She turned the scroll around so an owl-free corner would be facing her, and after dipping the quill in ink, she carefully began to draw on the scroll. 

Rarity watched, trying to not to be too eager and lean too much towards Twilight; she didn't want to, well, go through the Princess, after all. It was interesting, however, to see their difference in styles: while Rarity had drawn the owls in a quick fashion, as she did most of her sketches, Twilight seemed to be putting extra care into her strokes. Sadly, this made it difficult for Rarity to see what she was drawing, and she eventually decided to lean back and wait patiently for the result.

Maybe she ought to read the manual while she waited. 

Eventually, Twilight put the quill down, rousing Rarity's attention by clearing her throat. 

"Oh, you've finished?" Rarity asked, putting the book down and scooching closer to the alicorn. A cold breeze brushed against her coat, and she made a mental note to bring sweaters whenever she'd be sitting so close to Twilight.  Without waiting for Twilight to offer permission, Rarity took the scrolls. "Let me have a loo..."

Rarity drifted off, a strange warmth bubbling up inside her. She hadn't really known what she expected Twilight to draw, but she would have assumed it would have been a book, or a spell, or an owl. Instead, Rarity was flattered to find herself staring at a simple yet charming drawing of herself reading. 

"Twilight..." 

She flipped through the scrolls and watched as 'Rarity' turned the pages of the book with her magic, the book gently levitating up and down. It certainly wasn't a very detailed drawing; if anything, it was almost childlike in its design, but Rarity was completely taken by it nevertheless. 

"Do you like it?" Twilight asked, and there seemed to be some sort of hesitation in her voice. It occurred to Rarity that this was the first time Twilight ever did, well, anything for her, and it made sense that she'd be nervous. 

"Well," Rarity said, turning to Twilight and smiling. "I must say I'm happy you didn't draw me being thrown against a bookcase!"

Twilight's face turned crimson. "You won't ever let that go, will you?" she asked dryly. 

Rarity laughed in reply. "Not a chance!" she proclaimed, her smile widening when Twilight rolled her eyes. "In any case," Rarity continued, taking on a serious tone and looking back to the drawing, "I love it, Twilight. It's very charming! Of course, I am a charming model, am I not?" she added with a wink. 

Twilight giggled softly, her previous offense fading away. "Rarity, I..." she faltered, furrowing her brow as if having a hard time piecing together her next words. "Thank you," she said, finally. 

"Thank you?" Rarity asked, blinking. "Whatever for?"

"For bringing all these things for me to look at," Twilight replied. “I appreciate it.” 

“Twilight, it’s my pleasure!” Rarity insisted, offering her most dazzling smile. “It really is, and once you’re out of here, I’ll be even more delighted to show you everything else we have outside!”

Twilight's expression darkened for a fraction of a second, and Rarity remembered just how adamant the alicorn was in her belief she was trapped forever. When Twilight opened her mouth to reply, Rarity half-expected her to say as much, but she found she was wrong. 

"I… Thank you," Twilight said, lamely, awkwardly, as if she'd wanted to say something else but refrained at the last minute.  

Rarity didn't make mention of it; she already knew what had been left unsaid. Still, Twilight not saying she couldn't be freed was leaps and bounds more encouraging than her just stating it as if though it were fact. 

One day, Twilight Sparkle would sincerely believe there was a way out of her library, and Rarity had already decided she'd make that belief a reality. 


> The Enchanted Boutique [Comedy/Romance]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Enchanted Boutique
by Monochromatic

***



***


Twilight Sparkle did not believe in fairytales. 

She believed in facts and figures, things science and logic could prove. She believed in knowledge too, which is why she spent endless hours in her library, reading and reading and reading as much as she could, and it was why she traveled to Canterlot Castle every other week to read all the books she didn’t have herself. 

It was because of her extensive reading, in fact, that she stumbled upon a very interesting — but certainly untrue — tale. 

A long time ago lived a mare as beautiful as the setting sun and elegant as the rising moon. A mare so beautiful, in fact, she’d attracted the attention of the immeasurably evil and fearsome Spirit of Chaos. He’d gone to visit her and test if her heart was as pure as her beauty. Unfortunately for her, her heart did not have the purity the Spirit expected, and as punishment for her ill-willed actions towards him, he cursed her. 

“... To live as a ghost inside her boutique, forgotten by ponies and time!”

Twilight’s voice carried itself loudly despite the sound of crackling leaves under her hoof, as well as the Everfree Forest’s usual cacophony of noises. Timberwolves, manticores, and other beasts roamed about, but Twilight Sparkle was prepared. 

Prepared with magic, of course. 

Any respectable unicorn knew at least thirty-six self-defense spells. 

“Hoo!”

Two owls followed behind the unicorn, her ever faithful companions.

“No, Themis, of course it’s just a legend,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes as she skipped over a rotten log. “Even if there was a forgotten house in the forest, it’s highly improbable that a spectral being lives inside it. For starters, there’s no such things as ‘ghosts’, and secondly, there’s no such thing as Spirits of Chaos either.”

Twilight Sparkle, as mentioned before, did not believe in fairytales, but even so, she did believe in proving she was right. Despite her extensive search, she’d failed to find any records whatsoever of somepony proving  if the Legend of the Mare was real or not, which meant that she had to do it herself — as she had to do most things, if she wanted them to be done right. 

Luckily, if Twilight found theory interesting, then practice was fascinating. 

“Hoo!” the other owl exclaimed, flying past Twilight.

“What is it, Elara? Did you find something?” Twilight asked, trotting to keep up with her pet owl. 

Finally catching up to her, Twilight saw a white persian cat in the distance. It wore a purple ribbon on the top of her head, and the opal-studded collar it was wearing seemed to be glowing, beckoning Twilight towards it. Had the cat been waiting for her? It certainly seemed like it, considering it stood up upon Twilight’s arrival and now walked off further into the forest. 

“Wait!” Twilight called out, trotting after it. “Where’s your master?!”

The cat did not stop, but it did look over its shoulder, meowing loudly before turning back towards the winding path. Twilight and the owls followed it, into the depths of the forest, until they finally reached their destination and the unicorn felt herself become short of breath. 

An abandoned building awaited her in the distance, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a merry-go-round, complete with decorative pillars and pony sculptures lining the lower and upper exterior of the building. It looked old — ancient, even — and there was something positively chilling about it.

Though her terrified mind protested that ghost and ghouls simply did not and could not exist, she was having a difficult time shaking the feeling somepony was watching her from one of the windows on the second floor. 

Gulping down, Twilight followed the cat all the way up to the building. The door, decorated with two large diamonds, was closed, but that didn’t stop the cat from pushing on the diamond closest to the ground and revealing its purpose as a cat door. 

In the name of research, Twilight forced herself to approach the door. She lifted her hoof, intent on knocking, but… why do I have to knock? It's not like anypony's going to answer!

Unless they did, in which case she might consider turning around and coming back with not thirty-six self-defense spells, but fifty-five.

Bypassing common courtesy, Twilight carefully opened the door, her ears twitching at the creaking sound it made. She waited for her two owls to fly in before stepping inside herself, and what a sight it was.

Despite the archaic decorative style, the interior of the building didn't look quite like Twilight would have expected of a building forgotten by time. A lit chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the plethora of sewing materials, mirrors, and ponnyquins scattered about. In an almost absent-minded gesture, Twilight brushed her hoof against a nearby desk, and when she examined it, she found it to be free of any dust or dirt. 

Did… Did somepony actually live here?

What if it's— No, Twilight! There's no such thing as ghosts. 

"Hello?" she called out. "Hello? My name is Twilight Sparkle! Anypony home?"

No one replied, and Twilight would be lying if she wasn't relieved. Relieved? What was there even to worry about in the first place? There were no such things as ghosts, or spirits, or anything of the sort. 

"Meoooow!"

Twilight's scream was quite impressive, enough to scare her two owls out of their wits. In the time she turned around, she'd already prepared her horn for five different defense spells, not to mention she'd already levitated a nearby full-size mirror to use as a weapon. When she spotted the unimpressed cat sitting on top of the display stage, she let out a sigh of relief and returned the mirror to its previous place. 

"Oh! A guest!" 

At the sound of the voice, Twilight immediately turned around and froze her eyes on a beautiful silver unicorn mare. Her first instinct was to look for any signs of etherealness, but the mare seemed, well, normal. Her long, purple mane seemed real, her body seemed real, and the magic she was using to levitate a piece of fabric seemed real enough too. 

"Oh! I-I'm sorry!" Twilight blurted out, inwardly chastising herself for not having knocked, "I thought no one lived here!"

The mare smiled, taking a step towards a nearby basket, filled with silks of all kinds. The mare carried herself with an odd sort of timeless elegance, the likes of which Twilight saw in the nobles roaming around the castle, or in the Princesses living there with her. 

"That's quite alright," the mare said, placing the fabric on a nearby table. "I do apologize for my cat. Opalescence unfortunately hasn't much concern for polite behaviour. In any case, welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique!"

Twilight smiled. "This is a very, er, interesting place! Though this location can't be very good for business, can it?" 

The mare sighed theatrically. "No, I fear not. One can only wonder how tragic ponies must look without my fine couture." She took another step towards Twilight, eyes narrowing slightly. "Though, I must say, you don't seem to be a mare very much into fashion. Am I right to assume couture is not the reason of your visit, Miss…?"

"Uhm..." Twilight felt her cheeks grow hot at the idea of confessing why she had really come. "Well, uhm, it's… My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I don't know if you've heard of… I'm here because of an investigation on..." She gestured with her hoof. "... paranormal activities, and there were rumors that suggested a haunted building in these woods, so...'

The mare smiled again. "Haunted building? How fascinating."

"In theory, yes, but everypony knows there's no such things as paranormal beings," Twilight replied, waving her off. "Anyway, Miss..."

"Rarity," the mare replied. 

"Miss Rarity! Why haven't you considered taking your business somewhere else? I'm sure you'd find more customers in Manehattan or Ponyville,” Twilight suggested, eager to move the topic away from ghosts and ghouls. 

“Manehattan?” Rarity slowly asked, and Twilight raised an eyebrow. Every fashionista worth their weight in gold knew what Manehattan was! “I…” The unicorn drifted off. “I fear relocating my boutique would be a rather impossible task, Miss Sparkle.” 

Twilight blinked. “Oh? How come?”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Allow me to demonstrate,” she said, trotting towards a nearby table. Except rather than trot to it, she trotted right through it, and then Twilight understood.

“Oh.” 

That was initially all she could say as she watched the unicorn ghost pass all the way through the table and stop at the other side, looking back at Twilight with what could only be described as a mocking smile. 

“Ooooooooh,” Twilight repeated, every hair on her coat standing on end, a nervous and slightly terrified laugh leaving her lips. “Oh. Oh. Uhm. Wow. Yes. Okay! Okay, uhm, okay, yes wow, uhm…” She teleported a notebook out of her saddlebag, opening it up right in the middle and staring at a blank page. “Right. So, yes, anyway, right—”

“Are you going to keep repeating yourself?” Rarity asked, amused by Twilight’s shocked spectacle. Immediately did Twilight lower her book, and Rarity took the opportunity to trot closer, seemingly inspecting the terrified unicorn. “Hm, you’re not really the knight in shining armor I hoped for, but I’ll have to make do, I suppose!” she said, circling Twilight as though she were a dress to be inspected. 

“M-Make due?” Twilight asked,or squeaked, to be technically correct. 

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Well, yes. You will help me, won’t you, Miss Twilight Sparkle?” she asked, and Twilight discovered that the classic puppy-dog eyes was indeed a timeless facial expression. 

“What happens if I refuse?” Twilight asked, the question leaving her lips before she could fully process the consequences of denying a spirit their request. 

Rarity’s pleading expression all but vanished, and she instead regarded Twilight with an air of indignation. “Refuse?” she asked, and the previously sweet tone in her voice dropped to frigid levels. “Am I to understand you don’t want to help me?” 

Twilight gulped down. “Well, Miss Rarity, in most fiction works as of late, whenever a character is confronted with an age-old spirit and its request, refusal of complying almost always ends up with the character being attacked by the spectre,” she informed, wishing she’d learned a hundred and twenty three defense spells. 

Rarity harrumphed. “Well, Miss Sparkle, I’ll have you know that though I would very much consider you an extraordinarily rude pony, I would never attack you. What do you think I’d even do? Throw you against one of my mirrors? My bookcase, perhaps? What, do I look like a barbarian to you? Honestly, etiquette must be lost to your generation!” 

“Wait, so, you won’t attack me?” Twilight asked, feeling herself relax ever so slightly. 

“As I said, attacking guests is not really my style,” Rarity tonelessly repeated.

Twilight stared at her for a moment, assessing the situation. If Rarity wasn’t going to attack her, then… then this meant that maybe she’d be interested in an in-depth interview?

“Uhm, okay!” Twilight blurted out, looking back to her notebook. She’d never interviewed a ghost before! This was completely unprecedented in Equestria’s history! She cleared her throat, teleported her quill out, and without a care for the world asked, “So, you’re dead, right?”

Silence replied first.

“Goodness, you really do lack manners, don’t you?”

Twilight nodded, jotting something down on her book. “I’ll take that as yes.” Just as she finished, so did she rush over to Rarity, letting out a barrage of questions ranging from “did it hurt when you got turned into a ghost?!” to “if you eat something, does it go right through you?”, and not to mention “Can I put my hoof inside you? Oh, wow, that was weird, let’s not do that again.”

By the time she was finished, Rarity looked like she’d been defiled, staring Twilight down with a mix of horror and fascination. “You know, I do believe we’re quite done now,” she demanded, levitating Twilight away several paces before the lavender mare had a chance to stick her paranormal detector device anywhere inside her. “I think I’ll take my chances with the next wandering visitor!”

“Wait!” Twilight insisted. “You haven’t told me why the Spirit of Chaos turned you into a ghost!”

Rarity looked taken aback. “Ah. Yes. Well, he asked me a question, and he did not like my honest reply,” she said at length, and even Twilight could tell she was avoiding a straightforward answer. “It’s hardly important, regardless, and—”

“Yes, it is! You must have done something terrible for him to imprison you for a thousand years!” Twilight pressed. “ What did he ask you?”

Rarity bit down on her lip, seizing Twilight up until she finally relented.

“If you must know, he asked me what I thought of his external physique,” she replied.

Twilight stared expectantly. 

“And you answered with…?” she prodded, gesturing with her hoof. 

“I…” A light flush decorated the unicorn’s cheek, which all things considered should have been impossible given that she didn’t have a body with blood in it to begin with. She cleared her throat and nonchalantly examined her hoof.  “I may have told him that he looked uglier than a old dirty mule.”

Silence fell again. 

“Wow.”

“What do you mean by that?!” an indignant spirit demanded, flipping her hair. “He’s the one who wanted my honest opinion! Isn’t honesty supposedly the best policy?! Well?! Isn’t it?!”

Twilight frowned. “Not when you’re facing the Spirit of Chaos, no.”

"Well, it doesn't really matter now, does it? It's already done and now I'm stranded here for all eternity unless some dashing prince decides to save me!" Rarity theatrically shrieked, cheeks still flushed as she turned away with a pronounced harrumph. 

Twilight took another book from her saddlebag, specifically the one relating to Rarity's legend. "Hm. There doesn't seem to be an explanation on how to free you in my book." She took out another book, since any respectable adventurer knew to have at least five different sources. She flipped it open and revised the alternate variation of the legend. "This one doesn't have one, either..."

"Of course it wouldn't! Really, Miss Sparkle, did you think the Spirit of Chaos would just give you the answer? Write out a detailed list on how to free me?" She paused and looked away. "Only I know the key to freeing me from my imprisonment."

"Oh! Okay," Twilight replied, closing the book, offering the spirit her full attention and waiting, and waiting, and waiting even more as the Spirit continued to theatrically look away. "So, what is i—"

"It won't be an easy task!" Rarity interrupted with a shriek, placing a hoof against her chest and closing her eyes, still looking away. "Only the bravest and noblest of ponies can even hope to come close to succeeding! I'm sure if you try, you might… manage..."

Twilight frowned, trying hard not to dwell on the underlying insult. "Right. So, again, what is the way to free you, Miss Rarity?"

Rarity finally looked at her, frowning slightly. "You must look for all the sacred chaos gems," she said solemnly, taking a step towards Twilight. "Only the retrieval of all of them can aid in my escape."

"Gems?"

Twilight blinked. That wasn't really what she'd thought it would be, but with a good gem-finding spell, it shouldn't be such a daunting task. 

"Gems," Rarity repeated. "Emeralds, to be precise."

Twilight took out her notebook, already formulating a plan. "All right, well… First I'd need to know what type of gems they are, and… How many of these sacred emeralds are there?"

Rarity didn't hesitate. 

"A million."

Twilight slowly lowered her book. "A million?"


***



***


"A million emeralds?"

Inside the library, Rarity turned off her sewing machine and regarded her sister with a very incredulous look. "Sweetie Belle, darling, isn't that..." She drifted off, gesturing with her hoof. "A bit too much?"

"A BILLION EMERALDS!" Sweetie Belle screeched, slamming her hoof against the mattress Rarity had brought for their sleepover at the library. "A jillion gems scattered ALL OVER EQUESTRIA, and then in the next kingdom, and in space, and—!"

"Sweetie Belle," Twilight said, frowning at the filly. "'Jillion' isn't an existing numerical value. Not to mention the fact that you've changed the number of gems two times already. This isn't very consistent storytelling."

The little filly harrumphed. "Fine! She needed to find, uhm, a… a thousand gems! All over Equestria!" she amended, which Rarity couldn't help but think wasn't a much better number than before. "And so then, Rarity asked Princess Twi— I mean, just Twilight if she'd help and..." She paused, no doubt trying to create an air of suspense. 

"And obviously," Rarity filled in, turning to look at the alicorn with a charming smile, "Twilight said 'yes, of course, dearest Rarity! Need you even ask, for your beauty has bewitched me, and I shall search for them throughout all the lands, no matter what it takes!'" 

She finished her sentence by swooning lightly, a hoof against her forehead and ignoring Sweetie's protests of it being her story, Rarity!

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. "Right," she said, turning back to Sweetie, and missing Rarity's offended expression. "It all sounds more like a nightmare."

Trying not to dwell on the fact that her 'description' was a frighteningly accurate summary of her motivation for finding the books, Rarity turned to her sister with a frown. "In any case, it's getting very late now, and you, young lady, should go to sleep."

"Sleep?!" Sweetie Belle gasped, clutching onto the bed covers bunched up over the mattress. "But, I'm not finished with my story yet! And Princess Twilight doesn't want me to go to sleep yet, right, Princess Twilight?!"

Twilight smiled sympathetically at the filly. "Sweetie, you should listen to Rarity. As she said, it's already late, and sleeping is a very important process in the growth of ponies, especially in their foalhood stages."

"But I'm not a baby pony! Why can't Rarity go to sleep, and I stay up?!" Sweetie continued protesting. "You said I'm your favorite, and so I should stay up!"

Never one to miss an opportunity to tease, Rarity looked at Twilight, ears lowering and eyes growing wide. "Twilight, you… you said that? After… After all we've gone through?"

The reaction was immediate. 

"Rarity, stop that!" she said, narrowing her eyes. "You know I don't—!" She noticed the forlorn Sweetie Belle, and stumbled over her words. "I mean, of course, I'm very fond of you, Sweetie, but you know that—! And—!" And rather than finishing her flustered mess of a reply, she resorted to not finishing it at all by teleporting herself away from the problem. 

Rarity giggled. Clever princess, she thought, making her way towards Sweetie and levitating the covers into a much more sleep-worthy state. 

"She didn't answer because she didn't want to hurt your feelings," Sweetie said with a determined nod, letting out a surprised squeal when her sister dropped the covers on top of her. 

"Yes, I know, I know! Simply terrible," Rarity said theatrically when Sweetie wiggled her head from behind the covers. She tucked her sister in and sighed. "No matter what I do, I simply can't compete against your endless charms, little sister. If I were Princess Twilight, you'd be my favorite too!" 

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Well, you're her second favorite," she offered, a way to heal Rarity's terribly wounded heart. However, as fast as it came, so did her smile vanish. "Do I really have to go to sleep?"

"Now, darling, however do you expect to impress Princess Twilight tomorrow if you're falling asleep in the middle of her lessons, hm?" Rarity asked, brushing Sweetie's bangs back. "Actually! Now that I think about it, if you fail to impress her, then maybe I'll have a chance to dethrone you from her favorite list!"

"No, no, no! I'm sleeping!" Sweetie Belle quickly said, covering herself up all the way to her head, the covers failing to muffle her giggles. "Goodnight, Sis."

"Goodnight, Sweetie," Rarity said, stepping away from her sister and looking up towards the floating chandelier. "Star! Star, be a dear and dim the lights, will you?"

As asked, the magic chandelier dimmed its thousands of candles, leaving only enough light to allow Rarity to see properly. That done, the unicorn trotted off into the rows of bookcases, keeping an eye out for Twilight and eventually finding her organizing the shelves of a bookcase. 

"So, Princess Twilight the First, Your Royal Highness, Ruler of the Library Kingdom, I've finally managed to convince your very favorite loyal subject to go to sleep," she said, drawing the attention of the alicorn. "I do apologize for my outburst. I was rather hurt by the revelation, admittedly."

"I hope you enjoyed yourself with that," Twilight said, playfully raising an eyebrow at the unicorn. 

"Oh, tremendously!" Rarity replied, sitting down and watching the alicorn organize the books. "And I hope you enjoyed her story! Or, as you put it, nightmare." She paused, seizing up the alicorn and then a perverse idea made its way into her mind. "Speaking for myself, my absolute favorite part was when you asked me if I was going to attack you."

A red tinge decorated Twilight's cheeks, and she seemed more intent than ever to stare at her books. "Funny, I must have been distracted during that part. I can't remember it."

"No? Darling, it was the absolute best thing! You asked me if I'd attack you, and then I replied that of course I wouldn't throw you against a bookcase because I'm not a barbarian!"

Twilight finally turned to her friend. "Rarity, I already apologized for that! At least fifteen times! You… You..." 

A flash sparked from her horn, and a small book appeared in front of her, titled 'Don't Burn Your Bridges: Idioms and You'.  After a moment of looking it over, she found what she wanted, announcing it with a victorious "Ah-hah!" 

She teleported the book away, her smile fading and her frown returning. 

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" she asked, and Rarity couldn't help but smile devilishly. 

"Darling, I'd love to let bygones be bygones, but how can I let you live that down when you aren't alive in the first place?" she asked, and how she delighted in Twilight's pronounced blush.

"Well—! But—!" Eventually, Twilight quieted down. "Good point, though technically I'm not dead. I'm in a magical stasis where my body is displaced in time and— I am not a barbarian!" she added before Rarity could revel in winning the argument. 

Rarity giggled. "No, you're not a barbarian, darling. Nor are you a knight in shining armor, and you're hardly a princess," she said, and before Twilight could protest, she let out a theatrical sigh and gestured towards the bookcases. "Honestly, all day perched up on your bookcases, stalking ponies from above! You must be a vulture!"

"Last time you said I was like a cat," Twilight pointed out. She then shook her head and with a teasing smile added, "You know, this is why Sweetie Belle is my favorite."

Rarity gasped, pushing herself against the bookcase, hoof against her forehead. "Twilight Sparkle! Oh, you wound me with your words! I'm not your favorite?!" She dropped the charade for a moment. "This is obviously because you lack any taste whatsoever, as exemplified by your outdated manestyle. I mean, honestly, darling, what are you? From a thousand years ago? But oooooh!" She sniffed once. "How will I go on?!"

"Aren't you laying it a little thick?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow, only to then quickly teleport back her idioms book, giving a little nod after seemingly making sure she'd used the expression correctly. 

"That's it! I shan't look for your books anymore! No, it's too late, don't protest! You can't sway me any longer, Princess!" 

Twilight smirked. "That's all right. I'm sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders will go look for them in your place."

Rarity was silent at first, her dramatic façade disappearing. "You know, it's frightening to think that they probably would," she noted, and when Twilight giggled again, she finally drew herself up with one last sigh. "Fine, you've swayed me! You're just lucky I'm not a spirit trapped in my boutique, and you won't have to go through with the nightmarish task of retrieving gemstones throughout the land."

"That wasn't why I said that, Rarity," Twilight said, concern washing over her face. "I'd go look for the gemstones if you were trapped, even though it would be much more difficult seeing as gemstones can be grounded up and used to create a wide array of items."

Rarity blinked. "Then whyever did you say that? It was honestly rather hurtful."

Twilight stared at her, as though she couldn't believe Rarity had even asked that. "Rarity, I said it was a nightmare because just the idea of you being stuck in my place… I don't think..." She shook her head and turned to her books. "I don't even want to think about it..."

Rarity fell silent, and again did the butterflies in her stomach come alive. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there staring, but she assumed it must have been quite some time considering Twilight turned to look at her with a disconcerted expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked, ears dropping. 

"Twilight, you..." She drifted off before allowing her lips to be graced with the single most teasing smile she could muster, taking her necklace in her hoof. "You do care! Awwwwww—mmph!"

Her muzzle magically shut close, Rarity blinked at the flustered alicorn before dutifully continuing to 'aw' despite Twilight's magic. 

"Are you done?" Twilight asked eventually, and when Rarity nodded, she finally released her magical grip on the unicorn. "Anyway, we need to start on your teleportation exercises if you want to be able to do it before your trip to Rainbow Falls."

Rarity's smitten smile immediately vanished. "Oh no..."

Twilight didn't flinch. "Oh yes."

"You know, darling, I'm starting to feel tired, and it's been quite the long day, and I—"

"Really need to stop making excuses and bring the teleportation book from the desk, please," Twilight finished, relentless in her pursuit of teaching Rarity the art of disappearing all over the place. "I'll finish organizing the books, and we can get started."

"This is the nightmare," Rarity mumbled, reluctantly turning around. At the back of her mind, she told herself that she didn't really have to do as Twilight said, but how could she say no to the alicorn's cute yet desperate attempts to miraculously teach Rarity teleportation in less than a few weeks. 

"No, it's not," Twilight chastised as Rarity trotted off, drawing back the attention of the unicorn. "Luckily for me, you don't have to look for a thousand books like I'd have to look for a thousand gems if you were in my position."

"Luckily for you? Don't you mean 'lucky for me'?"

"No," Twilight replied, looking to the unicorn. "You wouldn't look for a thousand of my books, would you?"

Rarity regarded Twilight in silence for a moment before tilting her head slightly. "You surprise me, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The things you say sometimes… It's as though it has yet to cross your mind that perhaps I care about you, too. In any case, teleportation it is!" she said before turning around, not having missed Twilight's flustered expression. 

Sometimes I wonder if I care too much about you, Twilight Sparkle. 
> Breath of Air [Mini-fic]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight sometimes likened Rarity to light. 

It was a silly word to use to describe somepony. Light wasn't a thing one could be, light was just a concept, a notion, the result of the sun shining overtop or a candle flickering in the night. And yet, she was light.

The word 'light' made out Twilight Sparkle's first name, yet light was not what she brought. Much like her name, it felt like she lived in the tinted penumbra between day and night, between yesterday and today, between life and death. 

The Light yawned, her hoof going to her mouth as she did so, and her magic gently dropping the needle she'd been holding. She was light, she was life, everything Twilight thought she'd lacked but had now regained, been allowed to have back. 

It fascinated Twilight that Rarity yawned, that her chest rose and fell with each breath not out of habit but out of actual need. 

"Twilight?" 

Twilight blinked, her expression softening like the barriers she'd carefully constructed but Rarity had done away with. "Yes?"

"A bit for your thoughts?" Rarity asked, as she so often did. The endless string of questions, of fascination for Twilight Sparkle who in turn was fascinated by the notion that somepony would be interested in her, in she whom time had long forgotten, in she who'd so dearly tried to forget herself.

Twilight breathed, a habit she kept, and answered, "I don't need to breathe." 

"You don't need to," Rarity said, and she smiled, and it was a lovely smile, Twilight thought. "The dead do not breathe, do they?"

"I'm not dead," Twilight replied, yet she found no sadness nor joy in the fact. "My body is displaced in time. It's more like I'm constantly frozen or paralyzed in a pocket of time."

Rarity hummed. "I know, but death sounds more poetic, doesn't it?" She looked away, to her needle on the desk. "If I stop breathing, I shall die."

Twilight frowned. The thought was unpleasant. The thought was disturbing, even, that Rarity could die, would die, one day far away and perhaps Twilight would still be trapp— 

"If you're not dead, then," Rarity interrupted, and Twilight knew one day the memory of Rarity's voice would paint her eternity with a thin coat of endless pain, "You need to breathe something that gives you life, don't you?" She laughed and mischievously suggested, "Ink from books?"

"How did you know?" Twilight asked, and Rarity laughed, and Twilight couldn't help but smile even more. 

One terrible day, Twilight thought in those especially quiet times, Rarity will no longer come to the library. No longer will her voice fill the hallways, no longer will desks be decorated with books brought for Twilight to read, and lack of use will allow dust to settle over the formerly-pink necklace on the desk.

One way or another, like many other things it had taken, eternity would rip Rarity away from Twilight Sparkle and she'd again be alone in her library with nothing but her owls, and then might Twilight not be so quick to clarify she was not dead.

But for now, she smiled.

She smiled because it wasn't air that filled her lungs, no, but instead it was Rarity's presence that filled her life or lack thereof. Perhaps Rarity was not the light that shone in the library, but the air that filled Twilight's existence.

And for now, Twilight would take as many breaths as eternity allowed. 
> Before You Leave [Chapter 25 Prequel // Romance ficlet]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Before You Leave
by Monochromatic






"Is there any particular reason you're sitting there?"

Sitting atop one of the library's bookcases, Rarity fixed the alicorn opposite her with a stare, broken only by the fluttering of her eyelashes. Princess Twilight Sparkle blinked once, twice, thrice, looked down, and then back up. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she usually did when failing to catch onto Rarity's implicit messages. "What's wrong with where I'm sitting?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with it, per se, but I simply wonder why you'd elect to sit there when you could sit here," Rarity replied, again fluttering her eyelashes as she patted the spot next to her. 

Twilight smiled. "Why don't you come and sit next to me, then?" she asked, cheekily. "You should have no problem teleporting here. Or even jumping."

Rarity scoffed. "Jump? What do I look like to you?! I am a lady! You're the one who should be jumping to me!"

Twilight kept smiling. "I am a princess."

"Touché." Rarity sighed theatrically. "What does that make me, then? Your knight… knightess?"

"Dame."

"Your dame in shining armor!" Rarity finished, biting down a smile when Twilight giggled. She sat up straight and furrowed her brow. "How are you sitting there? You're a ghost. Shouldn't you..." She gestured vaguely with her hoof. 

"I'm not actually sitting here. I'm levitating on top of it to create the proper illusion, or else..." Slowly, her body began to sink down into the bookcase until only her head was poking out. "I'd look like this."

Rarity hummed. "You know, of all the creepy things you've ever done, this might be the creepiest."

Twilight giggled again, teleporting herself next to Rarity. "Happy?"

"Very."

Silence fell between them for a brief moment. 

"I don't want you to go."

Rarity turned to Twilight, finding the alicorn staring intently at a distant point in the library. Her ears were lowered, and she very briefly glanced at Rarity before looking away again. 

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked. "I thought you were excited for us to go and meet Princess Denza."

Twilight's ears lowered down further. "I am! I am," she said forcefully, like she were trying to convince herself of the fact. "I'm just worried. I know I shouldn't be, because Denza wouldn't hurt you and the castle is the safest place in Equestria, but I…" 

She drifted off. 

Rarity sighed. "I… I have a confession as well."

Twilight looked up to her, alarmed eyes searching Rarity's expression for something wrong. "You do? What is it?"

Rarity looked at her, ears lowering slightly, eyes fluttering. "I'm going to miss youuuuu."

And then Twilight's worry faded away, replaced instead with an absolutely delighted smile as she rolled her eyes.

"See! You look so much nicer when you're smiling instead of being a silly pony," Rarity exclaimed, very pleased with her satisfactory results. 

"I'm not a silly pony," Twilight weakly protested. 

Rarity leaned in as close as she could, so much so their noses would be touching if they could, and despite the blush now decorating her cheeks, she asked in a sing-song voice, "Aren't you when it comes to me, though?"

Even though Twilight also sported a blush, she did not move back, and for a moment, Rarity wondered—or perhaps wished—Twilight would lean in, even if it would be a very bizarre if a bit unfulfilling kiss. 

But, eventually, Twilight pulled away, looking back to her fixed point in the distance. 

"Maybe I'm a little silly."

"Just a little?" Rarity asked. 

Twilight glanced at her from the corner of her eye, smirking slightly. "Just a little." She looked away again and took a deep breath. "How long will you be gone?"

"Twilight, the number won't change no matter how many times you ask me," Rarity pointed out. "Five days isn't so bad, darling. Also, may I add that you've yet to say you'll miss me too, and frankly, I'm a bit hurt."

And now Twilight laughed. 

"Now who's the silly pony?" she asked. "I thought you already knew that I would."
> Vignettes [Enchanted Library Spoilers]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Vignettes
Spoilers from chapter 1 to 36 of Enchanted Library






#01 - Air
It didn't matter that she'd been freed for several hours now, and it didn't matter that her chest rose and fell as oxygen rushed into her lungs for the first time in centuries; it didn't matter, because her first real breath of air came only when she saw Rarity was safe and sound.

#02 - Apples
"I don't care how much ya beg and plead, Pinkie," Applejack said, ignoring the pink mare practically sniffling at her hooves, "'cause Princess Twi's first meal is gonna be a bonafide Sweet Apple Acres apple pie, and I ain't letting it be otherwise."

#03 - Beginning
On a particularly grim day, months after having last seen her princess, Rainbow asked Rarity a question: if the unicorn had somehow known way back how things would end, would she have still set foot inside the library that very first time; Rarity would always answer with a resolute yes, and yet in the stillness of the night, she sometimes wondered if her heart agreed with that.

#04 - Bugs
Rarity knew Pinkie to be clever, but she had to wonder if offering the resident's of Heart's Haven acting classes was truly the best way to earn money for their future shop in Hollow Shades.

#05 - Coffee
"Sis, isn't that way too much coffee?" Sweetie asked, watching as her sister poured coffee into not one, but three whole thermoses, "Or is Princess Twilight going to keep reading to you about Magic Thermodynamics?"

#06 - Dark
For the past thousand years, Princess Twilight Sparkle had been used to keeping the first floor in darkness; it was a bit difficult to get used to having Star as a chandelier all the time now that that strange unicorn kept coming back to visit her.

#07 - Despair
"No! I refuse! I want out! OUT, I SAY! OUT!" Rarity shrieked, banging her hoof against the bookcase blocking her way out from this hellscape she'd been forced into; behind her, Twilight rolled her eyes so far back, she could see through her head, "Oh come on, Rarity, we've only been practicing teleporting for six hours."

#08 - Doors
It was frustrating to say the least — every single time Rarity made any progress, whenever she felt like she'd finally opened the door to Twilight's past, she'd always find that there were twenty more closed doors waiting; by the time she was done, she'd be an expert at lockpicking ponies's hearts.

#09 - Drink
Princess Twilight had never been one to drink alcohol, not even back when she could actually physically do so, and yet it was hard to deny she was drunk on Rarity's mere presence.

#10 - Duty
"I'm only helping her because it is my duty," Rarity whispered to herself, forcing herself to not stare at the princess for the tenth time; it was duty, and certainly nothing else that forced butterflies into her stomach and painted her cheeks red whenever Twilight so much as smiled at her.

#11 - Midnight
Rarity loved their necklaces—how could she not when it meant she and Twilight could literally interact whenever they wanted?—though she really, truly wished Twilight would call her at more decent hours than the middle of the night.

#12 - Temptation
Sometimes, she stared for too long, when Twilight was too absorbed in her books to notice, and she wondered if she was brave enough to voice the three words she wore on her lips; sometimes, Twilight would look up at her, as though she knew Rarity had been watching and ask, "What's wrong?"—Rarity always lied with her reply.

#13 - View
Twilight made sure to be cautious whenever she stole glances at Rarity; she waited until she was too busy reading or sewing or being adorable, and then just gaze at her—this unicorn that had stumbled into her life—and all would be well; that is, all would be well until Rarity would smile and say, "I take it you're enjoying the view, darling?"

#14 - Music
It didn't matter how awful the nightmare was, Pinkie knew that Princess Luna would always come and get here; all the little filly had to do was be brave, be strong, and do her best until her best friend in the world arrived alongside the hum of a lovely lullaby.

#15 - Silk
"This dress is beautiful, Rarity!" Tullip Blossom gasped, brushing her hoof through the prettiest silk dress she'd ever seen, "And it's made for a pegasus! Was it a commission, or is it on sale? I want to buy it before you move to Hollow Shades!"; Rarity smiled gently and softly replied, "It's not for sale. It's a present for a..."—she faltered—"a friend, though I'm starting to think I'll never be able to give it to her."

#16 - Torn
It was both sad and fascinating how quickly one could grow used to new things, how changes became routine after repetition; how she'd been initially unsettled by a strange unicorn finding her way into her life, and how one day the thought of a life without Rarity was nigh unthinkable—it was both sad and fascinating how she never realized how quickly she'd grown used to being with Rarity until the day she could do so no more.

#17 - Perseverance
Just as it had during three terrible months, Rarity and Pinkie's shared motto resurfaced during the years that went by; "we have to work to free the princesses," Pinkie repeated time and time again, whether it be to a cheerful unicorn working on a dress, or to a desolate mare curled up in her bed, "we have to help them be free, even if we won't be there when it happens."

#18 - Dream
"Does she dream of her a lot?" Pinkie asked, watching as Princess Luna rearranged the stars, and she felt rather sad when the Princess shook her head—did it hurt that much that not even in dreams could Rarity bear to see Twilight?


#19 - Fool
Rarity had done a great many foolish things: she'd fought dragons with no weapons but words, she'd gone against timberwolves and nearly been mauled, she'd insulted the Spirit of Chaos to his face, but she wondered in the late hours of the night if perhaps her most foolish mistake had been to fall in love.

#20 - Heart 
Carousel Boutique was quiet.

It had been quiet for a long time now, as one would expect of a shop whose owner had moved away a year ago. This time, however, though it was quiet, it was not completely and utterly so. The lights from the floor below were dim, barely illuminating the ink marks on the floor and walls.

A pink mare snored away in Sweetie Belle's room, cuddled under the covers and mumbling about the princess of the night. She dreamt of said princess, in fact, and of the day where they would be able to hug and cry and be together beyond dreams.

A little filly slept soundly on one side of her sister's bed, nearly tipping over the edge, her fur covered with ink splotches she'd acquired when trying to help bring somepony up to the room.

Besides her, an alicorn slept for the first time in a while, her breathing even and her thoughts, for once, not tormenting her as they'd done for as long as she'd been trapped in her library. There was a smile on her lips, soft and loving and happy, and she nuzzled against the last pony on the bed.

Unlike the others in her house, the unicorn was not asleep. She was wide-awake, more than she'd been in a what felt a long time. Rarity cuddled against the one besides her, her ears pressed against Twilight's chest as she listened quietly to a rhythmic melody she never knew would make her so happy.

A heartbeat.
> Only In Dreams Does She Call
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



 
From the Enchanted Library - Chapter 36

She turned around, looking into the library, her mind reeling at a thousand miles per hour. Maybe she couldn’t break the barrier, maybe she couldn’t free herself, but if she could somehow send a messa…

The necklace.

[...]

She rushed into the bookcase aisles, trying to put together the fragmented memories of her time under the possession. One by one, bookcases were lifted into the air, her frown deepening when nothing showed up beneath them.

“No, no, no, no!” she exclaimed, coming to a full-stop and in a single effort, levitating all the bookcases up into the air until finally she saw a soft pink glow in the distance.

They were still connected, even after…

She summoned the necklace over to her and cast the communication spell, the bookcases dropping to the floor after it, books scattering all over.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up,” she whispered over and over, until a painful eternity seemed to pass by where no unicorn answered her call. She threw the necklace to the floor, stepping back, her chest heaving as mounting dread clouded her thoughts.

Well then.

If Rarity wasn’t going to save herself, Twilight would just have to go and do it for her. 







He lifted his hoof and let it hover against the doorknob. It lingered for a moment before, finally, he lowered it and a wave of relief swept over him when his hoof made contact.

“I am not dreaming,” said Professor Awe.

I am not.

He cleared his throat and opened the door, ready to go to the market and meet with his frie--acquaintances. Nighttime had yet fallen over Hollow Shades, and it was with a wide smile that he stepped outside, closed his eyes and breathe—

“Hi, Professor!”

Ah yes. There went his serenity.

“Miss Pie,” he said, opening his eyes and finding before him a very cheery mare. He was suspicious. He was incredibly suspicious. But he felt the earth under his hooves. “How do you do?”

She hopped in place. “I do! And you?”

“I do, too,” he said. “Er, I mean, I’m doing well! I’m doing well, thank you.” He cleared his throat. “What do I owe your visit…?”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh, nothiiiiing,” she said in sing-song. “Just wanted to say hi!” She jumped out of his way. “Off you go, Professor!”

He stared at her for a second.

“I will, then,” he said at length, slowly trotting past her.

He made it nearly five steps before she spoke up, and the cheer in her voice had faded.

“Professor?”

He stopped, and when he looked back, she was staring at him, eyes-wide.

“Does this really feel real to you?”

Oh, for pony’s sake!

“Yes!” the stallion exclaimed, stamping his hoof on the ground. “Yes, it is! It is real, and I grow tired of these games you two are playing!”

Pinkie’s smile returned. “Oki-doki! I was just asking, silly!” she said. “I’m happy you’re sure you’re not dreaming!”

“I am!” he said with finality. “I am.”

He trotted off, determined with every step, and yet with every step, his pace slowed until...until…

Was he really sure?

No, but he was awake! He was breathing! He could feel the ground against his hooves, the air in his lungs, and the slight pain when he slammed his hoof down. He was awake!

Or was he dreaming he could feel all these things?

“This is real!” he exclaimed, turning around and pointing an accusing hoof at the pink mare. “This is real, and I will prove it to you! I just have to ask any pony and—”

Pinkie giggled again. “And have them say what you want to hear?”

He gritted his teeth.

“I am sure this time. I am positive. In fact, I will wager this is real.” 

She gasped. “Ooooooh! Really? What’re we betting?!” She hummed, playing with the pendant hanging from her neck. “How about a dessert? Or a cake?”

“A cake sounds fine!” he exclaimed, marching to her with a smile. “It’ll be the most delicious cake I’ve ever had.”

Pinkie clapped her hooves. “Oki-doooooki.” She cleared her throat. “So, you bet that this is real?”

“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do.”

Pinkie rubbed her hooves together. “He he. Well…”

In a wisp of smoke, a smirking alicorn towered behind the giggling mare.

“Well, it would be most wise for you to purchase the grandest cake for my Little One if you wish for your slumbers to remain peaceful.”

“For goodness’s sake! I already apologized endlessly for my blasted assassination theory! What more do you want from me?!”

Luna simply continued to look at him, smiling devilishly. And she was the devil! Blast her!

“What’s the score, Pinkie?”

Pinkie frowned. “Uhm! Sixteen to two! Yay Team Luna!”





With a start, Professor Awe awoke in his bed.

His breathing was heavy, and his eyes darted around the dimly lit room.

“What…”

He waved his hoof around in the darkness, before remembering he was a unicorn, turning on the light and screaming at the pink mare sitting by his bed.

“Ready for cake?!”

“MISS PIE, I SWEAR TO—” 

“Whaaaat! You left the door open, silly,” she defended, taking ahold of the pink crystal necklace hanging from her neck. “Princess Twilight saw it!” She lifted the necklace and whispered. “Right, Princess Twilight?”

He groaned, putting on his glasses and sighing.

“Well, I’m up now.”

Pinkie giggled, still talking to the necklace. “The score is sixteen to two, Princess Twi! Aren’t you proud?!”

“Will you stop talking to that thing? It’s not as though she can hear you,” he said, getting up and drawing the curtains.

“Hey! You don’t know that!” Pinkie replied. “Maybe when we get to fifty, she’ll call back!” She turned to the necklace. “Right?! You want me to keep talking to you?”

Hah! He shook his head. Nearly two years had gone by. Nearly two years, and still they waited.

“You’re all obsessed with that. It isn’t doing any of you well, and as much as Miss Rarity might lie to herself, that thing will only ring again in dreams.”

And, no sooner had he finished speaking, the necklace on Pinkie’s neck began to glow.

“Well. Well played, Miss Pie,” he said, impressed. “Seventeen to two.”

And yet Pinkie did not seem thrilled. If anything, she simply stared at the necklace with wide, nearly terrified eyes.

“This isn’t a dream.”

He stared at her. For the longest time, it felt.

“What?”

“Princess Twilight!” Pinkie yelled, pressing the necklace against her mouth. “Hello?! Princess Twilight?! Are you alive?! Are you okay?! Hello?!”

And now, now he was sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Rarity! Go get Rarity!” he roared, but no sooner had he done so, the necklace ceased to glow.

It lay there in Pinkie’s grasp, having returned to its usual subdued glow, and a deathly silence reigned the room.

“I missed the call,” Pinkie said quietly, horrified, terrified.

And before he could say anything, she rushed out the room, leaving him to his solitude.

“Princess Luna,” he said, “if this is a dream, it is not a very funny one.”





He chased off after Pinkie Pie, and found her near the marketplace, behind a stand and hidden from the sight of a unicorn busy looking over fabrics.

“Miss Pi—”

“I’m afraid,” Pinkie whispered, clutching the necklace to her chest. Tears bordered her eyes. “I promised her I’d tell her if it glowed. I promised her. And I missed the call.”

“Mis… Pinkie, this is not your fault,” he said warmly. “I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“But I promised. I promised.” 

So,” a voice said, “Is there any reason you two are hiding here like weirdoes, or…?”

He turned around and found himself faced with a very curious pegasus.

“Ra-Rainbow,” she whispered, voice cracking.

“Woah, Pinkie, what’s wrong?” Rainbow said, landing on the ground. “Why are you crying?! What’s wrong?” She turned to the Professor, menacing. “What did you do, Prof?”

Before he could defend himself, Pinkie spoke up.

“I missed the call,” she said, still clutching the necklace. “I missed it.”

And then did Rainbow understand, her eyes widening.

“Oh,” she said. “Oh no.” She looked back towards the stands, uttering a very terrible expletive. “Uhhhhhh… Okay! Okay, okay, no worries, okay, just, okay, we’ll figure this out, just, uhhhhh—”

“My, my! What’s going on here? A social gathering that I wasn’t invited too? How dreadful!”

Three sets of terrified eyes bore into the smiling unicorn, fabrics floating behind her. The Professor had never truly felt fear until that moment, and he could hardly imagine how Pinkie felt.

Rainbow tried to speak. “Uh, Rarity…”

But Rarity caught sight of something else too fast, too late.

“Pinkie, darling,” she said, her smile vanishing. “Darling, are you crying? Whatever’s the matter?”

And Pinkie simply stared.

“Mi-Miss Rarity, I think—”

“Pinkie, goodness, you’re shaking! What’s wrong?” Rarity spoke over him, rushing to the mare. “Darling?”

“I-I’m sorry, Rarity,” Pinkie said, forcing the words out.

“Sorry? Sorry for what, sweetheart?” Rarity asked, the fabrics placed on a nearby stand.

“I...I tried to pick-up… I tried… And then I tried to come get you, but she stopped and.. And I’m sorry, I k-know I promised…”

Rarity’s eyes flickered down to the necklace. “Ah,” she said softly, and the Professor had the distinct impression he’d just witnessed somepony having being given a death sentence.

She stepped back, and it was painfully obvious she was forcing herself to smile.

“Ah.”

“Ra-Rarity, I…”

Rarity tilted her head, lifted her hoof, and the Professor could see it was shaking.

“May I…?”

Wordlessly, Pinkie lifted the necklace from her neck and handed it to the unicorn.

“Thank you,” Rarity said rather tonelessly, before sitting down and simply staring down at the necklace. She looked like death, in some way, and the Professor was reminded of the shell of the pony he’d seen a long time ago.

He felt terrible, he did, but he wondered if it would be better for Rarity to never see this princess again.

Her horn began to glow, and silently, they all watched as the necklace began to flash. And flash. And flash. And flash.

“Hey, boss,” a yellow unicorn mare said, trotting towards them, fabrics in tow, “I was thinki—” She fell silent at the sight, her eyes landing on the necklace. “Oh. Uhm…”

And finally, the glow around Rarity’s horn stopped.

She looked up.

“Well, then,” she said with a smile that held no joy.

She levitated the necklace over to Pinkie.

“Here you go.”

And everypony stared as Pinkie hesitantly took it in her hoof.

“...Rares?” Rainbow said.

“Don’t feel bad, Pinkie. Twilight didn’t call you,” Rarity said, suddenly cheerful. “It must have been a trick of the light! A simple trick of the light.”

“Ye-Yes, she did!” Pinkie protested. “The Professor saw it! The necklace was glowi—”

“Pinkie,” Rarity cut off, the smile on her face fake but the tears around her eyes very real. “It was a trick of the light, wasn’t it?”

And the Professor watched as Pinkie conceded.

“Ye-Yeah! It was! Ha ha ha! Si-Silly me!” Pinkie quickly said. “I miss the Princess so much, I tooootally told myself she was calling me! Ha ha…”

Rarity smiled, and it seemed to be genuine. “Right!” She turned to the mare. “Come now, Incantation, we have much to do, don’t we? Ha ha!”

Incantation blinked. “Uhm… Yes, Rarity.”

Rarity turned back to the fabrics, and yet, before taking them, she used a hoof to wipe away her tears.

“You’d think after two years, I’d be…” She shook her head and turned to Pinkie. “I shall see you all la…” She drifted out, her eyes widening.

And when the Professor turned to Pinkie, he saw the necklace on her chest flashing brightly.

Pinkie screamed. Loudly. But rather than talking, she took off the necklace and threw it directly at Rarity’s face, who stumbled back trying to catch it.

But catch it she did, and so did everypony stare at her now, stare as she watched at the necklace glow for the second time in two years.

“Pick it up! Pick it up! What’re you waiting for?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“I...I’m afraid,” Rarity said, her eyes widening at her own confession.

But she stood up tall, and with one last breath, cast a spell.
> Empty Parks [TEK]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Though there was no pony left, those that had attended the event certainly didn’t hesitate to leave behind signs they’d been there. 

As North Ridge walked along the moonlit plaza, his eyes lingered on the trash left on the ground. Wrappers and the remains inside them, discarded drinks, and more than anything, posters that clearly had not been taken home. 

He frowned, disappointed. It had been a great speech, he thought. Applejack had been inspiring, and the Princess even more so. Steady. Clear. Earnest. Everything a speech should be. 

He picked up a few of the posters, as well as some other discarded objects near him, and trotted towards a nearby trashcan. The wrappers went in first, the drinks next, and he stopped when all that was left were a few of the posters. He didn’t need to read them—he already knew what they were; essentially the same as the ones in the newspapers—but he also didn’t have the heart to throw them away.   

Instead, he tucked them into his saddlebag. 

It was growing late, he noticed, and turned around to make his way back to his companion in the forest, but he stopped when faced with a shocking sight. 

Sitting on a bench, alone and tired and looking very different from earlier, Princess Twilight Sparkle looked down at the ground, deep in thought.  

He knew it was her. Not by her mane, obscured by the night; not by her cloak, covering her wings; not by the expression on her face, so similar to the one he saw in Rarity when left alone to think. He recognized her solely by the glowing pink crystal hanging from her neck. 

My stars, he thought. It’s her. Just sitting there. I could walk up and talk to her. 

His next thought shortly followed: I have to tell her.

His third came next: Look at what he’s done! The bastard! If she knew it was his fault! If she knew what’d he’d done!

But who am I to tell her? Should I tell her? Should she even know? 

It would be a great betrayal, after all, if he acted at all. 

Ignoring the weight in his heart, he turned around and trotted away, achieving five whole steps before changing direction and marching straight towards the Princess. 

“Excuse me, Princess!” he called, his nerves taking over and his breath as frantic as if he’d just ran a mile. “Excuse me, please!”

“Y-Yes?” she asked, startled by this mad-looking elderly pony. 

And the wind blew out of his sails. 

He found, after all, that he was not able to tell her at all. 

“I— I—” nervously said the stallion who’d once confronted the Manticore King of the West. “That was a good speech,” he ultimately said, and every word he hated. Coward! Coward, coward, coward! What would Frost Flower say? Wajinga! “I enjoyed it. I believe you.”

“I… Thank you? I appreciate that,” she replied and after a moment stood up. “I’m sorry. I have things to take care of.” She smiled at him genuinely. “Thank you for believing in me.”

And she left.

And he let her. 

And when he came back to the little campfire near the outskirts of town, steeped in shame and frustration and helplessness, he wished his companion could sleep. When she asked what was wrong, he gave her the posters in reply. 

“I saw her,” he said. “I spoke to her. Twilight.”

For the longest time, she said nothing. 

“How did you find her?” she eventually asked, careful and measured. 

He reflected on that a moment before replying: “The same way I find you.”

She did not ask more after that. She did not need to ask if he’d revealed to Twilight what was going on behind the scenes. After all, both knew that doing so would bring about quite terrible things.
> Strange Mares [TEK/ Spoilers for Current Arc]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




I would like to say that this mistake was yours. 

I would be more than delighted to sit here, levitating a warm cup of tea, and tell you that your first mistake when starting this fairytale was to make that assumption. 

And I can. I could. But I won’t. 

I won’t because I made that mistake too. 

I too thought that the great heroine of this story was me. I too thought that as I ventured into forbidden forests, as I convinced ponies that no, I’d not yet gone mad, as I told myself time and time again that this was my story, my adventure and my grand tale of rescuing princesses of old. 

And yet it never was, was it? 

This was always Twilight’s story, even as you and I both thought the opposite. 



And here we are now, if only because I’ve missed you. Or missed the attention? It’s hard to to tell, I must admit, though I’m fairly certain that you, my darling, have missed me too. Was it strange? To follow my thoughts and emotions and now follow hers? Or was it easy, like this story had finally taken its proper course? 

I always did play the part of the mysterious incidental character better. 



“You are a strange mare, Rarity,” said my dear North Ridge, whom I wish you could get to know better. North who drinks black coffee, speaks like sandpaper rubbing on sandpaper, and who loved his beloved more than life itself. 

A trait we shared. 

You are a strange mare, he’d said to me as we walked through the forest in the light of the moon, walking and walking aimlessly towards somewhere that made sense. 

“Why, North, I’m a perfectly fabulously normal mare,” I replied, my eyes set on the winding path ahead of us. 

“I’d debate that!” He laughed with gusto, his hooves burying into the muddy ground with every step. “I think we’re all strange,” he added next and his eyes turned up towards the sky sprinkled with fresh new stars.

I followed his gaze and voiced a stray thought. 

“Is it almost time?”

He grunted, reached into his saddlebag and took out a worn-out golden pocket watch, the name Frost Flower inscribed on the back. He squinted at it under the moonlight and answered my question by frowning gravely. 

“Any minute now.”

Curious how three little words still managed to suffocate me. Curious how this strange little ritual had taught me the true meaning of toxic dependency. It hurt every time it happened, and yet if it didn’t, I’m sure it would hurt even more. 

We came to a stop, North and I, and waited. We waited, and waited, and waited, my eyes set on the night and his eyes set on me, and after five whole minutes, nothing happened. 

“What time is it?” I asked and failed rather miserably to not sound strained. 

“Seven five.”

“Ah.”

“There must be a hold up,” he said jovially, even if I knew he was already trying to anticipate and relax my nerves. 

“I’m sure,” I replied. 

And we walked, he and I, and the more the minutes trickled by, the more my dread grew. Half-past seven went by, half-past eight arrived eventually, and it was terribly hard to focus after half-past nine hit the clock. 

We set up camp at half past ten, and by the time it was eleven, North’s snoring filled the forest and left me to my thoughts. I sat alone by the burning fire, the flames dancing before me, and I spoke to the wind. 

“You’ve given up on me, my darling,” I said, and I did not blame her. Certainly, I did not feel sorry for myself, either, nor was I consumed with guilt as she was prone to. 

And then, finally, barely six minutes past eleven, the necklace hanging from my neck began to glow four hours later than it did every single day. I didn’t realize I’d started to cry until the tears blurred my eyes. 

“You are a strange mare, Rarity.”

I looked up to see North staring at my from the ground, a terribly cheeky grin on his lips. 

“Am I?” I asked, looking back down at the pulsing necklace, now knowing an answer wasn’t expected even if I could provide one. 

“You are for thinking she’d ever give up on you after what she did with your nightmares in Hollow Shades.”

I laughed, lifting my hoof and pressing it against the pendant. “I suppose I am a strange mare, after all.”



> Interlude ??? - Apple Crisp's Long Night [Unpublished draft]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Wicked as he was, the Spirit entered the unguarded library and attacked the young princess, taking away her physical form and leaving her to eternally watch over the books she so loved. Not yet satisfied with what he’d done, he stood next to the tree and transformed the barren land around it, destroying the small village in the process.




He raised his left claw and summoned a dangerous forest to hide the oak tree, hoping to plunge the mare into darkness and despair. He raised his right paw and imbued life into the fallen branches, creating howling beasts of wood and fright to deter wandering ponies from venturing into the forest and finding the princess.








Apple Crisp liked the tent.

He especially liked it now that everyone was outside, and it was only him, the beds, and the bowl of apple and strawberry jam pressed against his chest as he huddled in the corner of the tent. 

Then again, even if he didn't like it, it wasn't as though he had any say in what his new home would be. For two months now, that large tent was his home and would continue to be so until such a time the soldiers finished helping his father and uncle build new homes for the family. 

It was mostly empty, as not much had been salvaged from the forest's grip. It was like the houses had been swallowed by the earth and with them had their belongings disappeared. His parents didn't tell him much, but he'd heard them whisper, believing that their houses had been taken by the Spirit. 

He didn't want to go to his house, honestly. He preferred the tent because it was safe, away from the scary forest that had taken his home, and away from the scary wooden beasts that stopped anypony from going in. They gave him nightmares, all the time, even if he knew they never ventured out of their new home.

He heard shouting outside, his ears flicking up and towards the noise, his arms wrapping themselves tighter against the bowl. The first few times, noises had excited him, giving him hope that the Princess had been found, but now… 

Now it always meant something bad had happened. 

"Quickly! Put him in here!"

Soldiers rushed him, his mother leading them into the tent. She directed them towards his father's bed, on which they carefully placed a….

Crisp closed his eyes and clamped his ears against his head, trying his hardest to block out the agonized groans of the injured stallion. Why did they always have to bring him to their tent? Why couldn't they put him someplace else? Why couldn't Princess Twilight be there to make everything better?

He was scared, and with great effort did he remember Princess Twilight's instructions whenever he had nightmares. It didn't matter at what time he went to her, or what she was doing, she would always stop, listen to his nightmare, and then smiling instruct him to take ten deep breaths. 


"Inhale and exhale ten times. No, slowly, Crisp. Slow, deep breaths."


He took one deep breath, then two, three, four, five, si— 

"C-Captain Winter! My leg—! It hurts! I can't take—!"

Seven.

"Shard, you're stronger than this. Just keep breathing."

E-Eight.

"How many attacked him?"

N-Nine.

"Two, but there were more before we managed to get away. I almost fell into these blasted sinkholes all over the place.  Celestia help us, look at all this blood."

Crisp felt tears border his eyes when he took the last breath, and more than ever did he wish Princess Twilight were back. 

"Those beasts… We can't keep losing soldiers like this. We'll have to send him ho—"

"No! Princess Cadance ordered us to find them! We have to! They’re the princesses!"

 Crips opened his eyes, startled by the sudden yell, and even despite the amount of ponies huddled around the bed, he was able to see the stallion's face. It was still contorted in pain, but more than that, the stallion looked distressed, even crazy. He spoke about the Princess, about his duty to her, but his eyes… His eyes looked different when he spoke about her, as if he was overtaken by something. 

And it frightened Crisp terribly that it wasn't the first time he'd seen that kind of look. He'd seen it in the other soldiers too, the crazed almost magic glint in their eyes, but no pony ever believed him. 

Princess Twilight would have believed him. 

"I was going the right way! I was going the right way!" the stallion desperately yelled, thrashing about in the bed. "The trees were guiding me! They were watching! She was watching! I'm not wrong!"

"Princess Twilight," Crisp sniffled, closing his eyes again, tears dripping into the bowl of jam. "Please come back… please..."

"Crisp! What are you doing here?!"

At the sound of his mother's voice, he looked up and realized all eyes were on him, save for the stallions trying to hold back the injured one. Captain Winter immediately signaled for several soldiers to block the view of the groaning stallion before he himself taking a few tentative steps towards the foal. 

"Hello, little one," he softly said, apparently unphased by how Crisp backed further against the wall of the tent. He gestured to the bowl of jam. "Is that for you? It smells delicious."

Crisp shook his head. "It's f-for Princess Twilight," Crisp replied, gulping down. "It's her favorite… We always give her some when me and Heart Seeds make some."

The Captain smiled. "Oh? The Princess is very lucky to be friends with you, then."

"When is she coming back?" Crisp asked, wiping off a tear with his hoof. "J-jam goes bad quickly, and we always have jam when she reads me bedtime stories..."

Winter’s expression softened, and he kneeled down to Crisp’s eye-level. “We are doing our very best at finding Princess Twilight, little one. Those creatures think they can stop us, but we will not let Princess Cadance dow—” A pained groan from the stallion interrupted him, forcing him to get up and gesture to the door. “Your father is outside. Why not join him?” 

“Come on, sugar,” his mother said, equally gesturing to the exit. “See if Papa needs helps. You can leave Princess Twilight’s jam here.”

Reluctantly, Crisp did as instructed and got up, putting the bowl atop a nearby table. He didn't really want to go outside where the wolves could get him, but the smell of blood was getting stronger and forced him out of the tent. 

Night had fallen, but even despite the darkness, he could still see the forest in the distance. It felt as if it was only yesterday that he'd been woken up in the middle of the night, screams all around him as the forest grew all around their house. 

He forced himself to look away and turned to the other tents scattered around. Dozens upon dozens of soldiers had come right after the attack, all of them under orders of Princess Cadance herself. And yet, out of the dozen soldiers, not a single one had been able to find a single trace of Princess Twilight.

In the distance, Crisp noticed his sister and father sitting on the ground, their gazes turned towards the forest. Heart Seeds was quite older than Crisp, and though they'd always had a rocky sibling relationship, it felt as if they'd never been closer. 

He made his way towards them, eventually settling himself down next to his father and pulling on his foreleg. 

"Papa..."

Iron Cobbler glanced down at his son. "I thought you were supposed to be sleeping," he noted, turning his sights back to the forest. 

"Momma and the soldiers woke me up," Crisp lamely replied, not wanting Iron to know he'd been doing the opposite of sleeping. He looked down at his father's foreleg, wrapped up with bloodied cloths. He still vividly remembered Iron Cobble rushing into the forest to find Twilight, and coming back nearly a day later with a chewed-on foreleg. 

"He ain’t back yet, Papa," Heart Seeds murmured, staring at the forest with concern. "I'm starting to worry… It's been nearly three days now, and..." She looked to her father and similarly pulled down on his fur. "What if he doesn't come back?"

The stallion smiled at her, using his uninjured hoof to stroke her head. "He is as much our family as Princess Twilight is. If he has yet to return before Captain Armor arrives, I will go look for him and bring him home."

Just as he'd finished his sentence, the sound of trumpets rang in the distance and the three ponies turned around to find a carriage flying towards them. 

"Speak of the devil," Iron muttered, getting up and trotting towards the landing carriage. He glanced back at his daughter. "Heart, Captain Winter should be with your mother. Tell him Captain Armor is here."

"Yes, Papa."

Heart glanced towards the carriage before rushing off. Crisp followed his father to the carriage, feeling safer with him than anypony else. His father was the only pony stronger than Princess Twilight, so he'd never let the wooden beasts attack him. 

"Shining Armor!" Iron called out. "We've been waiting for you!"

Crisp stood behind his father, watching curiously as a heavily armored stallion jumped down from the carriage. Crisp had never met Captain Armor before, but he knew a lot about him if only because Princess Twilight talked about him so much. 

"Iron!" Shining Armor greeted, taking his helmet off and trotting towards the Iron. There were bags under his eyes, even bigger than the ones Crisp saw on his mother during apple bucking season. 

Had he been crying about Princess Twilight, too?

"Tough night, Captain?"

Shining laughed. "Tough months," he said. He then noticed Crisp and smiled, kneeling down to a more appropriate eye-level. "You must be Apple Crisp! Twily told me all about you in her letters!"

Crisp didn't reply, instead only hugging his father's foreleg. 

"You'll have to excuse him, Shining. Everythin' that's happened hasn't done well for him," Iron said, affectionately stroking Crisp's head. "Been having nightmares every night."

Shining Armor smiled sympathetically, drawing himself up. "He's not the only one." He sighed and offered Iron a weary smile. "Sorry about all this, Iron. I know it isn't the best retirement, but—"

"Retirement? A royal guard is never really retired, Captain," he said, his smile proving to brighten up Shining's expression for a moment. "Did you get my letter?"

Shining Armor nodded. He then looked towards the forest, and in a hushed voice asked, "Have you… Is there any news on…"

Iron shook his head. "I'm sorry, Shining. Soldiers have been going and going into the forest, but not one has found anything about her, and it feels like there's more and more of those beasts every day," he replied. "She… She was as much my family as Crisp here is, but I'm startin' to think that fiend really did move..." He suddenly looked down, noticing Crisp and never finished his sentence. 

Really did move what? Crisp wanted to ask, but Shining Armor spoke first.

"Where's Spike?" he asked, looking back to Iron.

Without a word, Iron lifted his hoof and pointed to the Everfree Forest. "Hasn't come out for five days now, and it'd be two straight weeks if I hadn't pulled him out the other day."

Crisp stared at the forest, clutching his father closer and trying hard not to think of his friend wandering around with those scary creatures. When would he come back? Would the forest take him away too?

“Crisp,” Iron said, brushing his hoof on Crisp’s head and nodding towards a distant tent. “Why don’t you go play? Papa needs to talk with Captain Armor.”

Crisp gulped, clutching his father tighter. “B-But the monsters…”

“The monsters won’t get you if you don’t go into the forest. We won’t be long,” Iron said, moving away and walking off with Shining Armor towards a larger blue tent. 

Crisp watched them go, unsure of what to do next. He looked back towards the forest, carefully scanning its edges for signs of monsters or creatures. The soldiers had already left its vicinity, probably because nopony wanted to be the next to be bitten by the wooden monsters. 

It felt like something was watching him from within it. Like amidst the darkness of the trees, they were waiting for him to move, to look away and then they'd come and take him away. He imagined them coming under the blackness of the night, rushing into the tent and dragging him away with their sharp fangs. 

What if they'd eaten Princes— 

Apple Crisp closed his eyes and shoved his forehooves against them, trying to block out the images his thought drew out. Princess Twilight was fine, fine, fine, fine, fine because she was Princess Twilight, and she was strong, and brave, and she was safe in her library. 

"TWILIGHT!"

He opened his eyes and looked to the forest from whence the sound had come. Distant though it was, he was sure he'd heard it, a far-off call lost inside the forest, as lost as Crisp's favorite princess. He knew who it was, though he did not know what to do about it. 

Or maybe he wouldn't have to decide. 

Somepony trotted past him, and Crisp looked to see his sister heading towards the forest, a saddlebag on her back. He blinked at first, not knowing how to react, until his instincts kicked in and fear filled his being. 

"H-Heart!" he called out. "Where are you going?!"

Heart did not stop or answer. She simply moved forward towards her destination. 

Crisp looked towards his father's tent, but what if Heart was gone by the time Crisp returned with their father? Gulping down the fear and burying it away, he galloped after his sister, pulling her by the tail when he reached her. 

"S-Stop! You can't go in there! It's dangerous!" he pleaded, and was dragged along the ground when she did not relent. "H-Heart! I'm tellin' Papa on you!"

It wasn't until they reached the edge of the forest that she stopped, whipping her tail and detaching her brother from it. She turned around, and he did not rise from the ground but instead cowered under her burning stare. There was something different in her eyes, in her expression, and though he wanted to figure out what it was, he was compelled to look away. 

"H-Heart, please..."

"Go home, Apple Crisp," she said, before turning and stepping into the forest. 

"I d-don't have a home!" he called out desperately, because it was true, because home was inside that forest, and he wanted to be in his bed, in his home and not in a tent. 

He got up and rushed after her into the forest, and found her standing still near the entrance. Her ears were flicked up and alert, and when he grabbed onto her tail, she only glanced back and shushed him. He stood closer to her and did as commanded, waiting quietly for… well, he didn't know what exactly they were waiting for.

No sound reached his ears for the longest time, and eventually Heart Seeds moved again. 

"Go home, Apple Crisp," she repeated, after a couple of minutes or so, leaves crackling under her quick hoofsteps. 

"I-I'm scared of going back alone."

As they made their way through the forest, the colt couldn't help but be reminded of the terrible night from months ago. He wished he could remember the way back to the library, but every tree looked as identical and as terrifying as the next. 

Heart Seeds came to a sudden stop, and so did Crisp come crashing against her, nearly toppling down to the ground as a result.

"Look!"

Crisp rubbed his eyes and looked to the tree his sister was pointing at. His gaze shot up initially, expecting to find something frightening on the bark of the tree. He found nothing, however, and lowered his gaze until he finally understood what had surprised his sister. 

The ground around the tree had been messily dug up, like somepony had expected to find something buried around it. 

"And that one!"

Crisp looked again towards where his sister gestured, and just as she'd said, another tree had similarly been dug up, and as he looked around, he realized several trees had met the same fate. 

Before he could question it, a strangled cry interrupted him, and he rushed next to his sister in a panicked frenzy. 

"Wh-What was that?!" he asked, tears bordering his eyes, his similarly frightened sister holding onto him. 

"I-I don't… I think it was..." Heart drifted off, gulping loudly and detaching herself from her brother. 

The cry came again, closer now, enough for Crisp to make out what it was saying. 

"Twiiiiiiiiliiiiiight!"

In the distance, a figure emerged through the trees, and though it was dark, Crisp could make out the shape of his draconian friend. Again Spike called for Twilight, desperation ringing in his voice, apparently having failed to notice the two foals looking at him. 

Without warning, he rushed towards a tree and fell to his knees, using his claws to dig up the dirt in an almost trance-like frenzy. 

The siblings looked at each other, unsure of how to act, and Crisp followed his sister as she cautiously made her way towards the baby dragon. He didn't look up when they arrived, and continued his frantic digging, muttering under his breath. 

"Spike?" Heart slowly said, failing to rouse his attention. She lifted her hoof towards him, but hesitated at the last second.

"Twilight!" Spike called, still looking down towards the ground and pulling on the roots from the tree that were starting to appear. "Twilight! Can you hear me?!"

Crisp frowned. Why was he looking for her under random trees? None of those were the princess’s. 

“Spike!” Heart said, louder now, a hint of nerves in her voice, nerves that doubled when he turned to her, tears in his eyes. 

“What?!” he bellowed, his anger quickly dying at the sight of the frightened foals. He looked back to this hole, his claws balling into fists. “What are you doing here? It’s not safe.”

“Wh...When are you coming back?” Heart asked. “You’ve been out here three days…”

“Not hungry,” Spike said, starting to dig. “Get out of here. It’s not safe. Haven’t you seen the sinkholes he left all over?”

The siblings looked at each other. Sinkholes? They saw none. 

Heart swallowed. “Papa said Discord moved the princess’s tree somewhere else, Spike. Why are you looking for her here?”

“He was lying. A trick.” 

 Heart stood her ground. “...What if it wasn’t a trick? What if he really did move her tree somewhere else?”

Spike stopped his digging. “That’s fine,” he said. “I’ll just uproot every tree in Equestria until I find her, then”
> Someone to Love ( Luna & Pinkie / set during Act II of TEK)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





They sat by the edge of the lake, the stars reflected on the still-surface. 

“I have something sad to say!”

Princess Luna looked to the pink mare seated beside her. She was smiling, which would be odd considering the statement she’d just made, but it was Pinkie. 

And this was a dream. 

“You have something sad to say?” the princess repeated, concern etched on her face. “What has made you sad, little one?”

“You did!” Pinkie exclaimed, again with that enthusiasm that contradicted her statement. 

Luna’s ears perked up, instantly alarmed. “I have made you sad? It was not my intent. How?”

“I think you need to love somepony,” Pinkie continued. “But you don’t. And that makes me sad, because you’d be happier if you did.”

The princess relaxed and allowed herself a laugh. “I do not need to love anypony to be content. I have always been content by myself.”

Pinkie frowned. “Mmm. But you take care of ponies’ dreams! Why do you do that if you don’t love them?”

The princess faltered. “Ah. I do love all of the ponies in my kingdom, but that is a different kind of love.”

“That’s the one I was talking about, silly!”

“Then I do not need somepony to love.” The princess looked out towards the lake. “By your logic, I love everypony, little one.” 

Pinkie jumped up, stamping her hoof on the ground. “Not the pony who matters the most! You don’t love her enough!”

The princess grinned. “Who? You?”

“No,” Pinkie replied, and she sat back down, staring at her frowning reflection in the water. “You. You don’t love you.”

A lump caught in the princess’ throat. This was not how her dream was supposed to go. It was she that was supposed to dispense harsh truths on others, not the opposite. 

And yet. 

Pinkie disappeared, because she wasn’t there. 

The lake disappeared, because it wasn’t there.

And the lonely little princess remained, because she was there. She was there, shaken, left all alone with the only pony she struggled to love. 

A door appeared in the distance, bearing a familiar design of three balloons put together. She stood up and walked towards it, her horn alighting with magic and opening the door. She stepped through it and into a bakery, where a familiar pink mare busied herself baking cakes of impossible designs. 

“Little one.”

The princess’s own voice felt alien to her, still caught in her own emotions. 

Pinkie—the real one, as real as she could be in dreams—looked up, delighted. She dropped her spatula and her batter then rushed over to the alicorn. 

“Princess Luna! You’re here!” She skidded to a halt and looked aghast. “You’re sad!” She stood up, making the motion of rolling up a sleeve. “Who made you sad?! I’ll throw a pie in their face! But one that tastes good so it’s not too mean. Maybe a banana-cherry pie.”

“I did. I made myself sad.”

Pinkie’s horror intensified. “You did?! Why would you do that?!” She fell onto her haunches, pressed her hooves against her cheek and whispered: “Oh no. I don’t want to hafta fight you.” She looked back up. “What did you do?”

“I realized I needed to find somepony to love. It would make me most happy if I did.”

“Oh! That’s true! I found somepony to love, and I’m happy!” She giggled. “Do you want to know who?”

The princess grinned. “Is it me?”

“It’s yo—! Oh. You guessed. Hey!” She pouted. “I was gonna say that. But it’s true! I do love you!”

And if Pinkie loved such a mare, then maybe Luna could too.