> Punishment By The Book
>  by KitsuneRisu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Punishment By The Book
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Her voice trilled like a lovebird every time she spoke, the highs and the lows all part of that song that she called speech. As pristine and precocious as ever, Rarity burst into the library one shady day, the overcast clouds lowering the temperature of that evening to a fine chill.

But not a single chill was found in her intonation, as it bubbled along like a river over loose stones.

"Twilight, oh Twilight, dear!" Rarity called out, pushing her way into the middle of the oak-lined room past Spike, who was ready as ever with a feather duster and a smile.

"Oh, uh… hey, Rarity." Spike waved. "What… what brings you here?"

In response, a slow drawing in of breath was taken, as the perfectly poised Unicorn turned ever so slightly to regard him with a plain visage. No mood was displayed but for a split second, before it returned to the old lazy smile that Rarity was always giving.

"Oh hullo, Spikey," Rarity said, honey clinging to her words. "I'm here to see Twilight, of course."

"Twilight, of course," the dejected Dragon mumbled. "She's in the basement. I'll get back to cleaning now, then."

"You do that." Rarity nodded, flicking her head forward once again, heading toward the rear of the library.

The repository of books that Twilight called home was also base to a multitude of other rooms; some of which seemed inappropriate for the setting, but all of which Twilight found use for. And there she was, in the lower half of the building that was surrounded by the roots of the grand tree, buried far underground amongst the soil and the worms.

It was also one of the few rooms in the library that had a door to it for extra privacy, and Rarity simply found it fortunate that Twilight had set herself up exactly where she was needed. And it was from the bright, candle-lit main atrium to this dark, cold and musty basement that Rarity headed toward.

The door flung itself open, perhaps with a bit too much force than required, and Rarity made her way down the stairs to the landing, where her companion in waiting was busying herself with some strange machines and readouts. But her head jerked up at the sound of hoof beats on wooden steps, and she greeted her friend with her normal enthusiasm.

"Rarity! What a nice surprise," Twilight greeted, in her usual way. "What brings you here today? Did you just get off work?"

"Twilight, darling!" Rarity trilled happily, bounding down the stairs two at a time. "Twilight, you simply must see this!"

Twilight tore away from a device of some sort, and Rarity finally hit bottom, and they both met in the middle as Rarity tore off her custom-designed saddlebags of whites and blues with a little bit of magic.

"Oh, look at this, look at this," Rarity continued onward, too excited to stop, as she yanked out a rectangular something-or-other and a strange black quill from one of the bags, tossing the now-empty containers off to the side in an uncharacteristic lack of neatness. "You have to see what one of my customers gave me!"

"Whoa, Rarity," Twilight said, with a little chuckle. "What's the rush? You're pretty… excited today, aren't you?"

"Oh, don't mind me! Don't mind me at all," Rarity responded, lowering the object gently to the ground. "My last customer was a… shall we say, purveyor of magical items from all across Equestria, and he happened to be carrying some curios with him as he came to pick up his cloak. Nice little thing, if I do say so myself, of course. Silver lined, hoof-stitched cross work… oh."

Rarity cleared her throat before getting back on topic. "Anyway, he was there to collect and make payment, but we got to talking about some of the things he had… and… well. I saw this, and I immediately thought of you, my dear! So I offered a trade, and he accepted, and… and… well! A gift. From me, to you!"

"Oh that is incredibly thoughtful, Rarity!" Twilight gasped, a great smile appearing on her face. "You're such a good friend. I wish I could repay you."

"Oh… you sure will," Rarity muttered, looking off to the side.

"Hmm?" Twilight asked, tearing her eyes away from the object for a second. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, 'no big deal', dear," Rarity slithered, charmingly.

"Oh. Of course!" Twilight remarked, going back to the item. "So, what is it?"

"Well, it's a book, darling. I know you like… books. You seem to have a lot of them. Your last two houses were libraries. I'm guessing you like books."

Twilight chuckled, the sarcasm not lost on her. "I do. I do. Well, let's have a look, shall we?"

She lowered herself down onto the ground, getting comfortable as she slid the book toward her. Rarity took position just beside, taking a moment before settling down as well.

The book wasn't instantly recognizable as one from the get-go if only because of its age and peculiarity. It was the sort of books that had a fur-lined jacket, and it was rather hefty and large as well. Thick stock pages and what must have been hoof-binding made this a personal project rather than something meant for mass production, and the fact that the fur drooped over the sides initially made it resemble some sort of fuzzy box rather than any kind of reading material.

In faded stiching etched into the cover were the words 'Evolutio Paroxysm', and the fur was blackening in parts, as if stained by ink or some other sort of ichor.

An interesting odour rose off the book, like a musk of unknown animal origin, and faintly reminded Twilight of that time when Winona ran through her library after being out in the rain.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Twilight felt the room grew a little bit darker as she stared at the tome in front of her.

"This is… wow," Twilight muttered, all her initial happiness drained from her voice. Something about it didn't make her happy. Something about it didn't make her… excited. Beside her, though, Rarity simply played with her mane, primping up the bobs and not paying much attention to Twilight's reactions.

"Do you know what this is?" Twilight asked, dryness encroaching on her throat.  "I mean, what it's about?"

"Well, it's a book, really," Rarity said, matter-of-factly, a slight tinge of impatience growing. "I'd have assumed you could tell me, hm? You're the expert, after all. I don't ask you about how to sew, do I?"

"I… I suppose not," Twilight admitted, once again turning back to the tome. Something was rather strange about this whole situation, and she had no idea what exactly it was. But curiosity got the better of her, and she flicked the cover open with a ginger hoof, not even wanting to do it with magic like she normally would.

The image on the first page took her by surprise; it wasn't anything particularly strange, or odd, but it just seemed… awkward. It was the mix of its presentation as well as the lack of any sort of preface, and the fact that it all seemed to have been drawn down manually through some painstaking process of time and effort…

But there was an incredibly detailed image of a pony splattered across the very first leaf.

Drips and drops of stray ink blotted the paper, and as old and decrepit as the material was, the ink still seemed fresh and clear. The drawing was intricate. Nothing seemed to be left out, as far as Twilight could tell from an initial glance, but what made it altogether eerie was the fact that every part was labelled.

Lines leading from legs, torso, head, tail, and all other specific parts led to a cursive script, each word detailing each part's name in specifics. It was almost as if it were a medical manual of some sort, but she had never before seen one presented in this way before.

More than that, it also contained a break-down of individual body parts.

As the pages turned one by one, as they crinkled from their dryness, Twilight saw more and more drawings, each now getting more and more personal with each flip of her hoof.

Jumping from section to section on the body, each new picture drilled down with more and more detail each time, separating even the minutest of pieces in the pony body from each other, all of which were similarly labelled with finesse and knowledge.  And beside them, on the opposite pages, were the same parts, but of places unseen; of areas untouched. They were cross sections and skinless models, showing muscle and bone and veins and other amorphous collections of flesh that Twilight did not want to consider.

Twilight slammed the book closed, her mouth agape and her eyes stinging from the absence of regular blinking. She reared back a little, that little distance between herself and the book giving her a tiny bit of comfort.

"Rarity… this is… this is terrible. I… I'm glad for the present, but… there's something wrong with this book, and I don't know what. I think we should have Princess Cele–"

"It's just pictures," Rarity said, shrugging. While Twilight had been busy with the drawings, Rarity had somehow found her way onto her back, legs hanging lazily in the air as she played with an invisible fly. "Do you not… like… pictures?"

"I…" Twilight started again. A strange morbid urge took over her, and in that second she opened the book again to a random page a bit further on, this time coming to rest on images that Twilight herself didn't even instantly recognize. The labels were clear though – she was looking at intestines and kidneys and a heart and all their companions in the deeper regions. She didn't want to know how the author managed to draw these parts out with such complexity.

And as Twilight stared, she almost saw those stray drips of ink run across the page, trickling along and swirling by their own right, swirls of blackness pooling along yellowed, cracked edges, a deep well bleeding black marks. The page was bruised with smears that pulsed and cavorted and…

Twilight nearly jumped from her position on the floor back to the upper landing.

But it was nothing more than a cold hoof placed gently around her shoulder. Rarity's hoof. Rarity's leg. It trailed to a face that was none too amused.

"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight," Rarity echoed, with a mockingbird's call. "What ever is the matter?"

"I'm not feeling comfortable, Rarity," Twilight meekly intoned, "I don't like this. I know it's a gift. But this is…"

"Well, it's only half of it," Rarity said.

"H…half?"

"Yes, half." Twilight's view switched to a wave of purple hair for a moment, as Rarity turned to her side to float over the other item pulled from the bags earlier – a jet black quill with a golden nib. "This is the other."

Twilight gave it a cursory glance. It was… a quill. Nothing that she hadn't seen before or used on many occasions, and this one seemed no different.

"Now, hoof out," Rarity instructed, the quill twirling in midair, pointing toward Twilight like an arrow.

Twilight did as she was asked, turning up her right hoof and holding it over the book. "But what's so special about this qui– ow!"

Like a dart, the quill had run down a fine line, piercing the air and embedding itself into Twilight's skin. Her natural and proper response then, was to jump back and roll away at the same time, collapsing upon herself as she withdrew her outstretched leg.

Rarity was left alone with the book as Twilight made a frantic scrabble to her hooves, expression of shock turning to anger.

"What was that for?" she shouted. "That really hurt, you know!"

"Hurt? Oh yes, I'm sure it did," Rarity replied, lazily. The nib of the quill now had a single drop of blood on it, hanging down like a crimson jewel. But Rarity watched, and Twilight fumed, and soon the drop of blood drew upwards into the tip, as if lapped up by a hungry animal, and the feather at the end of it bloomed in a deep shade of red.

"What… what did you do. What did you just do?" Twilight demanded.

Her business concluded, Rarity slowly dragged herself up, bringing the quill and book to eye level.

"Let me… explain something," Rarity said, her voice low and whispery, like the rush of cold wind that comes just before the clouds break open with rain. "Ponyville… isn't a place for Unicorns. Being one of the only few… well. It comes with perks. I'm sure you understand."

"What is this, Rarity!"

"Oh, do be silent for a while, dear," Rarity said, turning the pages and scanning for something. "But… that's what it's about, isn't it? It's always you, you, you. All the time. Ever since you came. Always making such a big fuss about fitting in… the whole Winter Wrap-Up thing about not using magic? Rubbish. Anypony could see you were just trying to give yourself a back-handed compliment. And not all of us are rather… appreciative of your hogging of the limelight."

"I don't even know what you're talking about, okay?" Twilight shot out. "Are you saying that this is just becau–"

"I said shut up!" Rarity growled, her eyes glaring bullets at Twilight, who stood there in defiance. "Do you know what it's like? One day you're the queen and suddenly in a few weeks, you're dethroned by a pretty little Celestia's pet, all perfect and shining. Disgusting. I could throw up if I hadn't already!"

"R…Rarity," stammered Twilight, her haunches dropping. "Look, this is… please. You just had to talk to me. Do you think I was trying to upstage you?"

"Oh, no, I don't think you were trying. But you just do that so naturally, don't you, dear? I mean, even my precious, precious gem spell. It's the only thing I have, Twilight. But you… you see it just once and you suddenly can do it too. Is that fair? Is it?"

"Rarity, you're crazy. Okay? Crazy." Twilight shook her head. That was probably not the best thing to say to a crazy pony, but Twilight also felt a rising surge of rage from within; caused by this rather obscene reaction to what could have been solved easily over a drink of tea and a biscuit. "There's no need to do what you're doing, Rarity. Put the book down. We don't even know what it does."

"Oh… I know what it does," Rarity sang, playfully. "And… ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't if I were you, Twilight."

She noted Twilight's horn surging to life, and was well prepared for it in advance. With a flick of her own spiralled wand, the quill zoomed down and ticked a red line across the book, which was open to the page that had the overarching view of a Unicorn standing straight onward.

Twilight's horn buzzed, sparked, and the glow that surrounded fell into a blander lustre. But the surprise that could be seen in her eyes was the icing on the cake that Rarity was tucking into. It didn't hurt. Not really. At most it was a small sting, but the tiniest trickle of blood seeped forth and curled around the grooves in her horn as it was pulled downward by gravity.

Twilight tried to fire her horn up again, but it simply wouldn't start. It felt severed. Detached. Dead.

"R…Rarity?"

"And now you know what it does!" Rarity laughed, an insane giggle echoing through the basement. "Not too hard. Quite simple, yes. Works perfectly. Amazing. I thought that old magician was full of it, honestly. But this… this really works doesn't it?"

This time, Rarity swung the pen down on the other page; the page which showed a sideways shot of an anonymous unicorn. The quill's stem rattled against the page, a thwapping noise emanating out from in front of her.

Twilight's face twitched, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing. She inhaled sharply, a stinging pain shooting through her right flank. Almost instantly, an elongated mark appeared, reddish and glowing, right across her cutie mark.

"Oooh, would you look at that," Rarity said to herself. "The pony who gave me this book told me that whatever I did it would intensify about… ten-fold. It's just an approximate, darling, but would you look at that! I barely tapped the page and… oh, you're all red now."

"Rarity. Please." Twilight started to appeal, as panic joined the party of mixed emotions and drowned her senses in stimuli. Her flank was throbbing slightly, the pain of a rather strong whipping fading away thanks to time. "Let's talk about this, alright? Y… you're overreacting."

"Noooo," Rarity huffed, her snide smile creeping in. "Not at all, darling. Now. If I were you I'd stay put. Maybe… if you behaved, we could have that little talk, hmm? If not, well… if you try to run…"

The pages flipped over until it reached the diagrams of the legs, the quill hovering very close to the parts around the ankles.

"You wouldn't!" Twilight sputtered. 

"And if you scream," Rarity continued, ignoring her. The pages turned again, until they landed on the drawing of the throat. "Although, that might be a bit too harsh, perhaps. We don't want you to die, after all."

"N…no?" Twilight said, hopefully, her eyes also plastered to the open book as if her fate itself was scrawled in it.

"No, I just… want to punish you," Rarity said. "I have to live with what you've done to me, and so in return, it's only fitting that you live with what I'm about to do to you, yes?"

"What… what are you going to do?" Twilight asked, the meekness in her voice almost making her sound like Fluttershy. She took an instinctive step backward, trying to put futile distance between her and this insane pony standing on the other side of the room.

"Oh, oh. Let's see. What would be fun?" Rarity said to herself, the book tilting back upward so that only Rarity could see what it was open to. The pages roared, and then fell silent. And Rarity quirked an eyebrow upward. "Oh. Oh my."

"Please…" Twilight whispered. It wasn't even heard by her captor. It was a mere plea to the Heavens for a resolution.

"Oh yes, yes. Very yes! Yes." Rarity giggled again, her eyes glancing up and down the page that she had chosen.

"Rarity…" she tried again. It never hurt to try. Her hair was matting to the sweat that trickled down her neck, and came dishevelled from her quaking alone. She peered downwards, the floor offering no solace. It was just hard and cold, like how she felt right now.

"Do you know what the worst part is, my dearest Twilight Sparkle?" Rarity asked, teasingly.

"W… what?"

"I actually like you. A lot. Mmm. It just makes what you're doing to me sooo much more painful, you know! Well. Perhaps I won't hurt you then. Perhaps… I wonder…" Rarity muttered, looking closer at the feathery pen, musing about something.

"Rarity, then… then let's talk, alright? Please," Twilight continued, taking a weary step toward her counterpart.

"Hmm? Oh yes," Rarity said, the quill suddenly shooting toward Twilight's face, coming to a halt right in front of her, giving her a shock in the process. "Question darling. Which side do you want?"

"W… what?" Twilight blurted, stumbling over the word. She couldn't even approach it; it bore no meaning to her. But her eyes started filling as she tried to ignore the fact that something very bad was about to happen and she was being made to choose what it was.

"Oh come on!" Rarity spit. "Which side? The feather or the bloody nib? You're smart, aren't you? Choose one, genius!"

Twilight closed her eyes, a great weight was felt on her head. She knew she was crying already, but a quivering jaw still opened, and an answer was still given.

"Oooh! Feather! Very nice," Rarity congratulated, withdrawing the quill back to the page. "Good choice. I'd have gone for feather myself, too. But, mmm, the difference is, I know what's going to happen."

Twilight opened her eyes again, her vision crossing as she kept her eyes turned downward. She didn't want to look at that beast… that horrible pony standing there… mocking her…  was she going to just stand there and take it? Sure, she used her magic a lot, but was she just going to accept this without a fight?

Eyes rolled upward, as Rarity came into focus in her sight. That white terror, standing there, mocking her, with the book turned toward her and the quill floating around in a dance. Rarity caught her eye. Caught her looking. And she winked, tilting her head and giving her the crassest of smiles.

Twilight's neck flexed as her head was thrown upward, and through blurry, tear-soaked sights she narrowed her eyes and reared back, ready for the charge. If she could just knock the book away, she might still be able to overpower Rarity. She wasn't by any means the strongest of the lot, but Twilight was confident that… oh…

Oh… oh…

"U... ungh…" Twilight moaned. Her knee buckled just as she was about to run, sending her down to the floor again, as a wave of electric tingling shot across the folds of flesh nestled between her hind legs.  "What…"

"Guess which page I'm on!" taunted Rarity. Grasped tightly in her aura of magic was the quill, facing the other way around, the feather having licked the page from bottom to top. "Oh, sorry. Did you fall down? Yes, it's quite intense, isn't it? ten-fold, remember? Maybe more! I don't know. What did that feel like to you, Twilight? It was a simple stroke of a feather, but you seemed to be completely bowled over!"

Twilight propped herself up slowly, using her right foreleg to clamber forward, her teeth grinding from the humiliation. She wouldn't give Rarity the pleasure of an answer to that question. 

It was merely another touch of the feather to the page, and Twilight slipped; her head and body falling roughly and stirring up the dust on the un-swept basement ground. She let out a soft moan, her chin having hit the floor rather hard, but it was not apparent if that was the reason for the moaning.

She looked up from her sprawling, her heart beating hard and fast against her ribs. She kept it in, even as the mere tickle on the page caused a fury of soft lappings to stroke her heavily on her most private of areas. Rarity. So close now… just a few more steps and she'd be within swiping distance….

Rarity huffed, knowing exactly what Twilight was up to. "You… should really stop now, darling, and just enjoy yourself," she said, prepping the quill for a different action.

The feather twirled in a corkscrew, tip pressed firmly against the page, on a spot that only Rarity was ogling at with a look of a lustful anger. Her eyelid twitched, drinking in the delight of her imagination of what Twilight was feeling. She licked her lips, the hum of an unknown song rattling from her throat.

"Ah!" Twilight squeaked, her hooves flying to her groin to stop the sensations that spread out from her midsection toward the rest of her body. It was a strange warmth, a pulsing glow, with ants dancing on her skin and under her flesh; but that soon gave way to a slight ache, and a roaring tinge as if she had been scalded and someone was slapping the burn.

"Please… please stop!" Twilight winced, as she pushed harder and harder onto the point which hurt, almost as if she wanted to push the feeling straight off her body. "You're hurting me!"

"Well, that is the point, you know. For somepony so smart, you sure make a lot of silly observations, darling."

"Nn… nnghh…" Twilight groaned, arching her neck back as she twisted and turned on the ground. Her breathing became shallower by the second, and wheezes replaced breaths eventually, her insides tightening up around herself. It was indescribable. The pain and pleasure intermingled, dancing with each other, and while she hated everything about this – the indignation, the shame, the weariness of her buttons as they came undone over and over – it still sent feelings of intense pleasure up to her brain, her mind arguing if it should give in and love it or continue to fight.

But her body gave up, collapsed. She coughed sporadically, each time with a little breath that intensified her feelings. She almost could feel the edges of her mouth turning up toward a smile.

The thought sickened her, disgusted her. It was foul to think that her mind had to fight against such responses. So she buried her face into the floor, and planted her hooves down as well, rebelling against the tide.

"Giving up already," Rarity commented, withdrawing the feather, sounding a bit disappointed. "This isn't enough, is it? You're stronger than I thought, dearest Twilight."

The feather turned sideways, the stiff tufts now sticking perpendicular to the art on display.

"No… enough. Please…" Twilight begged, sobbing into her leg.

"But we're just getting started!" Rarity stamped the ground, throwing a tantrum. "We can't just end here! I'm having fun!"

With strokes like a knife cutting into a soft pat of butter, the quill came down, running from top to bottom, over and over and over, each slash cutting deeper and deeper into the gash.

With each powerful swing, Twilight's eyes blazed wider, only to drift off into a half-closed state where she had run out of energy to keep them fully open. Each swing brought forth a new pant, flecks of saliva flicking out of her mouth. Each swing brought forth a bolt of electricity that shot up her spine and into her brain.

It was agonizing. It was torturous.

And Twilight could do nothing by lie there and enjoy every second of it, each pulse and jolt like a fireburst of pure, intense pleasure that caused her to curl up and whimper, tears – but not the only clear liquid – exploding forth from her body.

"Ha… ahh… ahhh," she cried, dragging her hooves back and forth across the ground, trying to clutch at an invisible something. "Stop… just… stop…"

Rarity did, on the fiftieth stroke, tilting her head as she observed the wreck on the ground.

"Ready, I see," she said, observing a glistening that caught the light of the machines behind Twilight. "Ready for more."

"No…" Twilight cried, another out of countless times. "No!"

"Then…" Rarity said, stepping forward and leaning over her. Her hair was frizzled and matted where she had rubbed it furiously to escape the sensations. Her face was stained with wetness, and so were her thighs. It was a terrible sight, but one that Rarity bore no pity for.

"Then, are you sorrrrry?" Rarity asked, using a voice she normally reserved for talking to children.

"I… I am… I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Twilight wheezed, shaking.

"Really? What… what are you sorry for?" Rarity continued, scribbling something onto the book with the quill. But Twilight felt nothing and she had no idea what had just happened.

"What… what are you doing?"

"What are you sorry for?" Rarity repeated, withdrawing the quill and letting it levitate over the book. The book floated down to the floor, landing under Twilight's nose. As was obvious, the book was open to the page which showed the more… private areas of a pony, but there was now a huge ink splotch over the parts, like a giant round censor spot.

The ink was swirling around it like a whirlpool, blocking the more graphic areas of the diagram from Twilight's sight.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, her eyes travelling back up to Rarity after a while in search for a prompt.

"For the third time, dear," Rarity asked yet again. "What are you sorry for? Depending on your answer… I will drop this quill right now."

"You… you will?"

"Yes. I give you my word, Twilight," Rarity said. "If you tell me now: 'I'm sorry for being a bitch and ruining your life and stealing your thunder', I will drop this quill right here, right now."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Twilight choked, gagging on a burst of emotion that left her sobbing again. "I'm sorry for be…being a bitch and ruining your life and… and stealing your th… thunder…"

"Oh… good," Rarity said, grinning wildly. "I thought you wanted me to stop."

"I… you said you…"

"I said I'd drop the quill," Rarity said.

Twilight looked. The quill remained there, pointed straight downward, still captured by the field of white magic. But her eyes traced its path and… where it would end…

"No!" Twilight screamed, as the quill shot down, zooming as straight as an arrow toward the ink-blot on the page.

Her neck craned back. Her eyes felt like they had drowned from all the tears that gushed out. It felt like someone had stuck something very long, hard, and thick into her. But yet, there was nothing there. The sensations of something violating her and scratching up her insides was only made worse by the sight of the quill sticking out from the book, nearly all the way up to the feather.

It had sunk into the swirling darkness of the ink blot as if it were being swallowed by a wave, and all that was left was watching it flick ever so slightly with each convulsion of Twilight's own pelvic muscles.

Each time Twilight closed around the invisible object, the quill would move in turn; shaking in the page, and each time Twilight sucked at it against her will, the quill sank deeper and deeper into the page.

Rarity's expression was unbelievable – the combination of fury and satisfaction and glee… it almost made it certain that she did what she did next.

She placed a hoof gently, almost too gently, against the side of the quill.

"Twillliiight," she sang. "How are we feeling, today?"

And then she kicked.

Twilight felt a wrenching against her insides, something scraping across the most untouched of places on her body. It felt like a push to the gut, but from the inside out. She almost thought her stomach would rupture from the feeling, but the pain never rose to anything more than unbearable discomfort.

Automatically, she squirmed, tossing and turning like she was having a nightmare, and what a nightmare it was. Her hooves flew to her lips to pry out the object, but of course, nothing but air filled the gaping void that she now found was present.

She was open for business, but no customers had arrived.

A white hoof placed gently on the top of the quill, pressing down the feather, was all it took to get the train started. In fact, she didn't even have to withdraw; Twilight's own body was doing a perfect job of that already. She merely needed to rock the boat, upset the sea, and let everything work out by itself.

"Un… ungg…." Twilight moaned, louder and louder, her vocal offerings matching time to the plunging of the invisible rod. "Ah… ahhhh!"

"Reaching so fast?" Rarity mocked. "I thought you could take it for a while longer!"

And there came upon a noise like a steam whistle. Like a kettle going off – a high pitched whine that echoed throughout the caverns of the library, bouncing off the roof and returning to sender.

And her legs, all four of them, collapsed by her side, her body spent and head buzzing with intense purpose. All that was left was the quill which shook and shuddered in the hole.

Rarity laughed. Chuckled, and then burst out in a full cackle as she turned and walked away, leaving her back to her destroyed friend.

"Oh! That… that was amazing, Twilight! You stupid mare, have you learned your lesson yet? Maybe this will give you something to write about to–"

A crash.

The sounds of a click and a flash came from somewhere above, and Rarity's heart froze in surprise. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here. This was supposed to be a time for her and her alone.

"– to… Princess…" she stumbled on her words.

A voice.

Twilight too, distracted by the noises, propped herself up, slowly, still weakened from the experience.

"Oops, sorry," came the voice. A younger, more innocent voice. A draconic voice.

Twilight lifted her head from the ground, coughing out the final few blasts of her heavy breathing and looking upward to where Rarity was also staring. The sheepish form of Spike stood there, peering down at them from the top step, a camera grasped firmly between his claws.

"Heh.. heh.. um… don't… mind me?" Spike said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh for…" Twilight screamed insanely, jumping to her feet and rushing up the stairs. She reached Spike in seconds, pressing her worn, sweat-soaked face against his, as the little dragon cringed and put on his best 'I'm sorry' look.

"This is the third time this week, Spike! I told you, when Twilight has friends down in the basement, Twilight does not want to be disturbed! Ugh!"

She threw her front legs up in surrender. "Go. Get out of here, Spike. But you aren't getting away with this. We're going to have to talk later."

The dragon excused himself, closing the door behind him, leaving the two ponies to themselves once again.

Rarity just stood there, also looking guiltier than she should be.

"Can you believe that little jerk?" Twilight complained, rushing back to Rarity, her voice now taking on a patronizing tone of authority.

"I… I'm so sorry, Twilight. Did I do alright?" Rarity asked, softly.

"Yeah, you were fine" Twilight panted. "It was going well, until that silly assistant of mine totally ruined the mood!"

"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it!" Rarity defended her little favourite dragon, but backed off at the sight of Twilight glaring daggers at her.

This was followed by a few moments of uneasy silence, as the two of them stood there baking in the aftermath of the awkward interruption.

"Well… what now?" Rarity asked, looking down at the quill and the book. Twilight gave a little shake of the head, the quill returning back to black and the streaks of blood on her hoof and horn disappearing.

"I'm really ever so sorry, Twilight. I was taken by surprise, and forgot my line…" Rarity sighed.

"Well, can you get back into character again?" Twilight asked, putting the book and the quill back into the saddlebags and dumping the lot onto Rarity's back with a frown.

"Sure… if you'd give me a minute. It's not easy getting into that mindset, you know!"

"You have five. I'm gonna clean up here. Take your props and get out. We'll reset and try again. And maybe this time we'll progress far enough so that you get your turn as well."

"I would like that, Twilight." Rarity smiled, heading up the stairs and out the door.

"Can't even have one day to myself," Twilight grumbled to herself, as Rarity burst in.


The End