Twilight Sparkle was in a state of relaxation and focus. Her eyes were closed. Her breathing pattern was slowly becoming more calm with the passing minutes. She even had fleeting moments when she didn't even know where she was. In fact, she was home, in the library of Ponyville. She was not asleep, but in a state of meditation.
Life in this town had been rather hectic lately. Pinkie had loud parties every 2 or 3 days. Rarity contantly needed attention and help with her business. Fluttershy needed counseling at random intervals. Applejack was constructing some inane contraption for her farm and needed Magical assistance carving out gears and other components from wood, metal, and rock. Rainbow dash kept crashing into buildings during her training for the next phase of Wonderbolt Academy, which was meeting again in just a few short months.
It was all flustering when these worlds all combined to give Twilight pounding headaches; one after another. The days of late had been agonizing. So, in a desperate plea for help from Zecora, Twilight was given some peculiar potions to drink, hot, as well as written instructions for deep extended meditation in a relaxed position.
Twilight reflected back on her time with Zecora. The elder tree that Zecora called her home was decked out with strange artifacts and symbols. When Twilight creaked open the door, Zecora was busily preparing her own dinner. There were broken eggshells on her kitchen table, as well as chopped up roots ready for boiling. The entirety of the house gave off a pleasant fragrance. It smelled like good food and burning incense. But what kind of incense? Twilight wasn't sure. Zecora immediately acknowledged her good friend with raising of her hoof into the air without looking back from her work.
“Be just a moment, my Magic friend. So that this meal may not offend.”
Twilight closed the door behind her, walking around and making herself at home. This was an impressive hollow of a house built from an ancient tree, deep in the Everfree Forest. The walls were laden with shelf after shelf of potions and jars filled with chopped herbs, both fresh and dried.
“What is that wonderful smell?” asked Twilight.
Zecora finished chopping her special roots and tossed them all into an iron pot, which hung just above a greenish flame. Green Fire? That was strange. Was it Magic? It must have been some kind of power like Magic. Twilight had never seen such a thing before, even with her extensive Magical training and studies. Zecora sighed.
“There are many things from beyond your world that you have yet to learn, like what can bring light, and what may burn.”
“I know what Fire is, thank you very much!”
“Do you?”
Zecora had still not turned around, which was slightly irritating to the purple unicorn. She decided to let it go though. Such moments were fleeting, but often filled with meaning, and she didn't want to miss anything. Twilight sat quietly as Zecora turned around, her stew on it's way to being completed. Time and patience was needed now. Only time and patience, and in this she revelled.
“You are smelling the scent of burning Mugwort. I grind many herbs of that sort. But this is not why you have come. You have a reason, and many problems become one.”
“How did you know why I came? I haven't even-”
Twilight was cut off by Zecora raising her hoof for a moment.
That night was long, and they shared a good meal. But there are further details which will be gone into later. For now, we go back to the world outside Twlight's quiet space.
She had posted Spike as a guard outside the library door to repel invaders.By invaders, she meant ponies with inane problems to pester her with.
The first potion she had taken tasted like razzleberries and smelled like boiled turnips. She had cooked the liquid in it's oddly shaped clay vase with her Magic until it was steaming hot. She liked her tea hot. Well, just hot enough as not to burn her tounge. Steam was a good sign. Steam made he feel at peace, regardless of the odd smell. She bathed her mane in the steam. It went up her nose and curled around her ears. She had materialized a large comfy beanbag chair in the middle of the main room, and had dimmed the glass in all of the windows with her Magic. This was to be a time of peace, if only for one day.
Rarity soon showed up at Twilight's door, all flustered and partially covered in blue diamond encrusted ribbons. However, she was soon put to a halt by the Library's Sentry, who loomed angrily with his full 2 1/2 feet. Rarity blinked, and then lowered her head in a piercing gaze with a slick smile on her face. Spike was entranced almost instantly by his secret crush, which was not as secret as he had once hoped. Rarity knew that she had power over him, and wielded it as every convienient opportunity. Spike's pupils soon transformed into pulsing red hearts and he became rather dizzy. Rarity was obviously through the door by now, ignoring him fully now, as was her preferred custom.
She stood in awe and confusion at Twilight, who was enraptured in lightly drifting steam from several clay vases and laying back on a greyish bean bag chair. The room was quiet, and Spike has fallen over in the doorway in lovesickness.
"I'm having a crisis, Twilight! What are you doing?" barked Rarity.
It seemed as is something outside Twilight's quieted mind had erupted with sound. However, even as she was only slightly aware of this in her deeply meditative state, she lazily sent out a spell with her horn that appeared as a bubble above her head. The bubble absorbed some of the combined steam and soon colored itself pink. Rarity yelled out again to wake up the other Unicorn, but was only met with a frightening essence that had just been born from within the bubble, which had dimmed down in color to a tranlucent purple. Rarity fell backwards on her tail and barrelled back out the door, falling over Spike in the process, who was awakened from his dizzy spell by a warm white form squirming on top of him. Was this a dream? His question was duely answered by a quick hoof to the face as Rarity ambled to her feet and bolted from the scene, with some scattered ribbons flying away as she ran.
"What a mare.." Spike mused as he passed out on the doorstep.
Spike awoke to find himself in a dream. The rolling hills of grass and scattered rock lay before him. The sky was a wintery grey, with a dimmed sun through the murky clouds. It was a misty and cold day here. But where was this place? It certainly wasn't Ponyville. He must have passed out in a gem-eating binge. In fact, he did see several different kinds of gems dispersed around his feet. This made him drool a bit, but only for a few minutes. From in the distance, he saw a white form running towards him. She was calling his name.
“Spike! Spike, my darling! My love!”
His eyes immediately turned to red pumping hearts again as he anticipated his crush's approach. Soon they would embrace. Soon they would nuzzle noses. Soon he would confess his undying love for her, on this misty, wintery day. It was even beginning to snow ever so slightly. She was getting closer, and closer,...and closer. He knew it was her, his one and only, his dream mare. However, this moment was not to last, and the white blur became shredded into a flurry of snow that spiraled upwards and into the clouds, as did her dying word on her final breath.
“Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!”
“RARITY!” he called out, waking up on Twlight's doorstep in a cold sweat.
“Rarity...”
Back in Twilight's musings and far-within memories, she recalled more of her night with Zecora.
Zecora served her cooked meal of boiled roots and draconicus eggs, which she now shared with Twilight. It was seasoned with fresh dill, chives, and garlic, all finely chopped and meticulously prepared.
“My dear mare. You seem to be confused. Long on this have I mused. Your friends you may love, but they push and shove. Quickly you must act, and that is a fact.”
“My friends? They've been nothing but nice to me.”
“Have they? It may have been none of my business, but many things have I witnessed. You have been overburdened my friend. I knew you would come so that I might mend.”
“Mend? Mend what?”
“Your troubled mind. I can see it. You seek my help that you might free it. You are very wise and so very humble, but without my help tonight, your mind may crumble.”
Twilight thought for a while, and the more she thought, the more her eyes began to water. She finally collapsed her head and front hooves on the table, her crying face buried in the polished wood.
Zecora sighed, and walked over to a shelf, picking out a clay vase marked with a strange inscription. She brought it over to the table and placed a hoof gently upon Twilight's frazzled mane.
Back in the real world, or as real as can be expected, the room was quiet. All was silent except for Twilight's calm breathing. She felt at peace today, but she still had to work out her nerves through this meditation. She did feel the bean-bag chair underneath her flank, as well as the steam rising around her. She was acutely aware and yet deeply introspective. She was alone, inside her mind, undivided. She did not feel the need to talk to herself today, not in this new-found serenity. This may seem strange when one is all alone, but looping her personality back on itself didn't seem so necessary when she wasn't flustered past the breaking point.
“Get away from the door, Spike!” barked Rarity, who had come back to the library with new determination.
Spike was flabbergasted. He couldn't reconcile his loyalty for Twilight with his obsession with Rarity. Now he was getting a headache. Perhaps later he would give the meditation thing a go too. This was a short moment of introspection that was promptly interrupted by a strong bolt of Magic to the face.
SLAM!
Rarity obviously held little respect for him, but this was getting ridiculous. This was the last coherent thought within his waking consciousness before he was out like a burnt light bulb.
When she passed through the door, the spell within the floating crystallized bubble was waiting for her. She giddily backed away, mumbling incoherently with fear as it the color inside the bubble darkened to a blood red.
SLAM!
Rarity was tossed violently out the door by a burst of Magic with the exact force she had just applied to Spike. Apparently she couldn't take as well as she could give, which is kind of an ironic commonality in sadism. It was this sadistic nature that was reflected in her dealings with her friends, or those she claimed to tolerate.
The white unicorn was becoming increasingly worried. What was that bubble? Why wouldn't her friend answer her when she needed attention? Rarity began to think that the purple unicorn didn't much care for her problems at this time. Perhaps she had never taken Rarity seriously. What was Twilight doing in there? What was she thinking? Whatever it was, it had to be less important than Rarity's issues. It simply had to.
Twilight Sparkle was up and about, after lazily drifting back into normal reality. It was time for a break, and besides, she was getting hungry. She ambled to her hooves and prepared herself a good meal with the stock left over in the pantry.
Spike was awake again, and soon burst through the door. Having been rudely beaten down into unconsciousness twice in the same day, he had a decidedly grumpy look on his face. Twilight's eyes grew angry.
“Spike? What are you doing? I thought I told you to guard the door.”
“It's Rarity. She keeps coming in here!”
Twilight became even more irritable.
“What did I post you out there for?! Huh?”
Spike teared up and shook, like he was cold. Cold. That was how Twilight looked. She couldn't even see that, at least not right now. So, he turned an walked outside, without saying anything. This slience could not have had a greater impact on Twilight just then. She caught herself being angry at Spike, for no good reason. Was this what Zecora had been talking about?
Twilight caught herself pacing, and soon the headaches began to resurface. It was obvious what she should do next. But was it really so obvious? She needed to fix whatever problem was ailing Rarity, but she also needed to listen to Zecora. Yes, that was the best idea, she thought as she eyed the indented beanbag chair she had been pacing around. She floomphed down on the greyish blob and ignited a spell to heat up the contents of the vases again. She controlled her breathing vehemently at first, but then found her calm center again and drifted away with the steam once more.
What nopony seemed to notice was the bubble of magic overhead. This land was so over-saturated with magic that such a phenomenon was brushed off as nothing in most situations. It wasn't even a large bubble; hardly a threat. It still remained a bloody red color. What nopony could imagine, at the time, was what was actually cooking inside the orb. What could happen if this crystalline ball were to crack open and release whatever had accidentally been born? Only Celestia could know such a thing, and she was busy in Canterlot. Had she been informed of this, she would have taken immediate action in the company of at least seven armed guards surrounding the area. More than one thing was getting out of hand here, and nothing was likely to change until it was too late.
All was quiet within the serenity of the library, but it was not to last. In a last stitch effort to rouse Twilight, Rarity was about to do something troublesome. She had raced back to her boutique to fetch a book of spells that she had borrowed from the library earlier that week. She had previously needed the Spellbook to forge a metallic dress with white-hot molten iron thread. Such a thing simply could not be hoof stitched. She would be in Ponyville Hospital with 3rd degree burns all over her body before she could finish one hemline. Hence, this required powerful magic wrought of a complexity that could only be gotten from books. Her own magic, on it's own, was only good for clumsy attacks, levitation, and the art of the dress. In no time at all, she returned with the open book floating in mid-air just below her nose. She had a determined and decidedly saucy look about her, as if she already knew how this was going to end.
Meanwhile, back in the haze of Twilight Sparkle's memories, we see Zecora and Twilight eating the delicious meal that Zecora had cooked.
The night was getting on, and soon it would be over. This had been quite an interesting night, to say the least. This was not because many things had happened, but because of the inherent importance of what had transpired this murky night in the Everfree Forest.
“So, you think my friends are causing me pain? What can I do?”
Twilight's demeanor was liken to that of a disappointed child, and this was something that the zebra did not care to see in one she respected so much.
Zecora put down her tea; her eyes closed as if she were focused on something else.
“You must put your hoof down, even though it makes ponies frown. Do not let the world trot all over you. This is not the reason you grew. You have grown to be a strong magic user. But without taking a stand, you will be the loser.”
“I can't just insult my friends!” said the purple, flustered unicorn.
Zecora sighed as she opened her eyes and finished her meal.
“Many books have you read, is this not true? The only one who can solve this riddle, is you.”
Twilight Sparkle thought long and hard about this, and suddenly a light bulb burst into luminous glory inside her mind. Zecora smiled because this was apparent from the look on her face. She enjoyed these little talks almost as much as gathering food near the swamp. Some marsh creatures were not that bright, and therefore delicious.
“Thanks Zecora, I'll take your advice. One step at a time.”
With that, and with the realization that she had finished her meal 20 minutes ago, Twilight Sparkle bade her friend a good evening and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
This was the last part of her memories of that fateful night with Zecora. Twilght did not need any further contemplation on this, however, the idea that had been sparked was now weighing on her mind with a heavy, muddled apprehension.
Spike was fiercely adamant about not letting her in this time. He had been serious before, of course; not to disappoint Twilight. However, this time he held new resolve, and was prepared to release a bit of magic of his own. Dragon Magic. He was not a master of it yet, being just a baby dragon, but he had learned something from his time in the great dragon migration. It was hard, but he summoned a flame from his mouth. This was not his usual message-sending green flame. This was Red Fire; coursing with magic from his stomach as his scales vibrated and tingled in response. The flame was small, but consistent. It soon grew into a blazing inferno that dwarfed the unicorn. No words had to be spoken between these two now. There was nothing else to say; not yet. Rarity made a noise from her mouth that resembled some form of language tinged with angular and guttural sounds. It was not characteristic of her way of speaking, but such times demanded an intensity that she had not delved into for quite some time. There was a sparkling reaction from her horn that made a sound like burning leaves. From out of it, a purple fiery haze formed into a beast twice her size that immediately began to charge Spike, who had already engulfed her magic with Red Fire; the likes of which resembled a giant torch blowing in the wind. The two forces fought for a few seconds, and then Spike's attack flickered away in a few final spouts. The large purple beast crashed into him and through the door, leaving said door smashed to bits and the baby dragon laid battered and broken on the floor. Triumphantly, Rarity pranced through the opening in the wall that once resembled a doorway. She had a grin on her face that was soon transformed to one of horror. The bubble floating over Twilght Sparkle's head darkened to a pitch black. Suddenly the bubble cracked slightly, in the kind of moment that heralded a coming storm. All at once the bubble broke open in all directions, and a black form rose from it's birthplace. Large black wings fanned out behind a long neck that held red, burning eyes. A razor sharp tail slithered behind it. The black dragon hissed, flailing out it's tongue as it eyed the white unicorn with a dark eagerness, its talons brandished as if ready for war. The purple magic that had summoned Rarity's fighting companion was now burnt away against the strength of her fear. She could not move, and that was just fine with the black dragon, who was not interested in a fight. No, he was hungry for roasted pony. As if all this weren't enough, something important, wondrous, and powerful occurred: Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes.
