> Eye See You > by catluvr2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twilight, what's this?" "Hmm?" Spike was holding a book that looked old and long-forgotten. He and Twilight Sparkle had been going through the older section of the library in Ponyville, although they hadn't come across a book that looked quite this old and forgotten before. Twilight picked it up and started looking at it. It had a picture of an elaborate eye on the cover. No title, just the eye. Very odd, she thought. She turned to the first page. There was a picture of a very cryptic sculpture of an eye, followed by these words: "The Eye of Horace the Forceful is one of the most powerful relics known to ponykind. It has been rumored to grant knowledge to rival even Celestia's. It was lost eons ago, but was last rumored to have been seen in the Everfree Forest." "Very interesting. Thank you, Spike, for letting me know about this. Let's see what's on the next... OH!" As Twilight attempted to turn the page, the book crumbled to dust. She stood there blinking for a while, stunned at what had just happened. "Uh, Twilight? You okay?" Spike asked, concerned about her apparent inability to deal with not being able to read a book past the first page. "What? Oh, yes, I'm fine, Spike. Thanks." Twilight responded almost absently. "The Everfree Forest..." "Yeah, there are a lot of mean things in there, but Zecora lives there too. It can't be ALL bad... can it?" Spike said worriedly. "Nope! As long as I avoid the Poison Joke plants, don't go near the manticore, and keep to the path, I should be fine." Twilight replied nonchalantly. I hope she knows what she's getting into, thought Spike. > 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity was working on a dress in her shop, while Yarn Purl was helping her by making a matching scarf. "This scarf will look great once it's finished, Rarity!" the orange unicorn colt exclaimed. "I can't wait to see the dress as well." "Yes, well, as long as we get them done by Tuesday they should be fine, Yarn." the white unicorn replied. "Oh dear, I seem to have run out of lace again. Be a dear and go get some, will you? Here are some bits; that should be more than enough to pay for it." Yarn Purl dashed out of the Boutique and almost got knocked over by a purple and pink blur headed towards the Everfree Forest. Hey, wasn't that Twilight?, thought Yarn Purl. She seemed to be in quite a hurry. I wonder what she's going to the Everfree Forest for. Maybe to check a book Zecora has... Shaking his head, Yarn Purl picked himself up and trotted over to get some lace. PLOP! "There, that's th' last apple for th' season! Now ah can go... WHOA NELLIE!" Applejack quickly stepped out of the way as a purple blur went by faster than a zapapple harvest, upsetting AJ's applecart in the process. Ah wonder where she's goin' to in such a hurry, thought the orange earth pony. Ah do wish that she would've stayed an' talked for a bit... Applejack started to pick up the apples, sorting out the recently bruised ones in the process. Whoa, she's really moving fast, thought Rainbow Dash. Maybe she wants to race! Rainbow Dash flew down from the cloud she was resting on and swooped beside Twilight Sparkle to chat. "Hey, ya wanna race?" RD asked. "No... time. Got to go... Everfree Forest!" Twilight replied. That stopped the blue pegasus where she was. The Everfree Forest? she thought. Last time we went in there, we ended up having to take a bath in that weird soup Zecora made, and AJ had to take it in a teacup! Slowly, she flew back to the cloud she had been on seconds before and thought about what Twilight could want in the Everfree Forest. I've got to find out where this relic is, thought Twilight, I didn't see any information on where it was in the Everfree Forest. I guess I'll just have to hunt for it... Not noticing a second purple blur behind her, she dashed off in the direction that she went with her friends when Nightmare Moon had broken free of her lunar prison. "Hey, wait up!" Spike called, but it was obvious that Twilight hadn't heard him when she continued galloping off toward the old ruins of the castle that Celestia and Luna once shared. Spike watched after her for a while, then went off to go find the others to tell them about Twilight's discovery. It seemed impera... imperi... important that they should know about this. > 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "G-g-g-goodn-n-n-ness, P-p-p-p-pinkie, I-i-i-i think tha-a-a-a-at you-u-u-u r-r-r-reall-l-l-l-ly ha-a-a-a-a-ave s-s-s-s-somethi-i-i-i-i-ing thi-i-i-i-i-is ti-i-i-i-i-ime," Fluttershy said as Pinkie Pie jitterbugged around her, knocking half of the birds off of their roosts in Fluttershy's cottage. "I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i'v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-ve ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-som-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-methi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ing like this bef-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fore, bu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-ut no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ot qui-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ite this ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad!" Pinkie Pie responded. "Th-th-th-th-th-this is gon-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-na be-e-e-e-e-e-e a bi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ig do-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-zy-y-y-y-y-y-y-y!" Going aloft to try to avoid getting the shakes, Fluttershy said "Oh, I see. Well, do you know who it'll involve? I mean, it's okay if you don't, I know that you usually don't know who it's going to happen to..." "N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nope! Bu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-ut it'll be-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e in th-th-th-th-th-the Everfree-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-for-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rest!" "The Everfree Forest? Oh my..." Just then, Spike ran in. "P-p-p-p-pinkie P-p-p-p-p-pie and F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fluttersh-sh-sh-shy! I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i'm glad to-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-see y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you! C-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-come on, we-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e've g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-got to g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-go to the li-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ibrary bef-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fore i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it's too-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o la-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ate!" Spike said as he was bounced around like a ball due to the massive shaking the Pinkie Sense was causing. All of a sudden, Pinkie stopped shaking. "Oh no, we're in trouble now!" Spike said. "We'd better get to the library now if we want to stop anything else from happening!" "Ooh, are we throwing a surprise party for Twilight? I love surprises, especially if they involve cake. And presents. And sarsaparilla. And pin the tail on the pony! And..." "No, Pinkie, it's not a surprise for Twilight." Spike replied. "Awww...." As they left, they could see a deep purple glow coming from the Everfree Forest. It was shaped like a sonic rainboom, only it seemed more threatening. Twilight Sparkle drew nearer to the locked door in the old castle where the sisters Luna and Celestia once lived. "Hmm, I wonder if I can open this door. Let me try... aha!" The door creaked open in a purple glow, which was odd because it was a stone door and shouldn't have creaked. Twilight stepped inside to find a small sculpture of an eye sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the small room. The plaque underneath the sculpture read "To see clearly, one must open my eye". Hmm, thought Twilight. I don't know any spells to open a stone eye, but I do know of an Awakening spell. Maybe that'll work? Only one way to find out... The sculpture lit with a dark purple glow. Hay, wait a minute, thought Twilight, That's not my usual magic color... OH! Suddenly, the dark purple engulfed the sculpture, the room, the castle, and Twilight. The last thing Twilight saw before she passed out was that the eye was open, and it was bright green, unlike the stone that surrounded it. At the library, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity looked toward the Everfree Forest just in time to see the dark purple magiboom. "Oh dear..." > 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Uhhh... what happened?" The purple pony rubbed her head and sat up, having been lying down for Celestia knows how long. "I feel like a tree after it's been bucked." She went to a mirror, and her jaw dropped. Where a medium purple unicorn pony should have been standing, there was a deep violet alicorn. She had a magenta stripe in her mane, and she was as tall as Princess Celestia. She looked down at the statue of the eye, which was now open. I guess the awakening spell worked, she thought, I feel... OOF!! Suddenly a wave like fog came over her, and as it was made complete, her eyes turned a bright and sinister green. "HA HA HA HA! WE ARE FINALLY FREE! NO MORE BEING TRAPPED IN THE EYE OF HORACE! WE SHALL RULE EQUESTRIA NOW!" she said, much unlike her usual voice. What? No! Get out of my... uhhh, she thought as she slipped into a safe place in her mind. "NOW THAT WE ARE FREE, WE SHALL PUT AN END TO YOUR LITTLE 'FRIENDS', FOR MALEVOLENT SPELL WORKS ALONE!" the new alicorn said. Stretching her new wings, she flew off from the castle back toward Ponyville. "Oh no, this is bad, this is really REALLY bad." Rainbow Dash was watching the Everfree Forest for signs of Twilight after Spike had told her and the other four about what Twilight was doing. She watched as a dark violet streak came out of the Everfree Forest and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. Flying down and landing next to Applejack, she said "I'm glad you're not at home right now, because Twilight just flew over there, and it really doesn't look that awesome for any ponies who stand in her way." "Wait, so yer sayin' Twilight FLEW? She ain't got wings! Well, there was that one time when she gave Rarity that set o' wings fer watchin' you in Cloudsdale, and we all saw how THAT worked out." Applejack said. "Well, those aren't those kind of wings. For one thing, they're dark purple, but so is she!" RD replied. Rarity said "So you're saying that somehow Twilight got her coat dyed in the Everfree Forest? I wonder who set up their shop in there. Granted, they may not have many customers, but..." "I'M SAYING THAT TWILIGHT WENT BAD ON US!!!" the blue pegasus yelled, drawing the eye of everypony in the group, not to mention one yellow eye of the gray mailmare who happened to be flying by. "Oh.... oh dear. This isn't good at all. I... I think I'm going to go find something to cuddle up with if you don't mind..." Fluttershy meekly said as she started to creep away from the group and (presumably) be hidden from what Twilight had turned into. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. > 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Applejack went on her way back to the farm, she heard somepony singing. A red stallion was singing "She's an evil enchantress and she does evil dances. She's Malevolent Spell and she'll put you through --" "Hello there, Big Macintosh! Ah didn't know you could sing like that! You sounded a lot like Fluttershy sounded when we went through that Poison Joke!" Applejack told her brother. "Eeyup" Big Mac replied. "Did you always know you could sing like that?" his sister inquired. "Eeyup, but ah didn't have a need to before." "Hmm... All raht then, let's go back to th' farm an' see what Malevolent Spell did." They went back to the barn quickly, so as to not be found by Malevolent Spell. "COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE, RARITY! I'VE GOT SOME NEW 'DESIGNS' FOR YOU!" Malevolent Spell looked around Carousel Boutique for any signs of Rarity, but there were none to be found. "SHE'LL TURN UP SOONER OR LATER, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT SHE'S NOT HERE." With a giant push from her hind legs, Malevolent Spell leaped into the air and flew towards Rainbow Dash's house. "To stop she, you came to me?" Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were at the doorway of Zecora's hut in the Everfree Forest. Spike had just filled her in on what was going on, but judging by the way Zecora reacted when he told her, he thought she probably already knew. After all, the problem did start in the Everfree Forest. With a small gesture, Zecora invited them in. Zecora quickly shut the door behind them. "So, for a book, we must look." "That makes sense... wait a minute," Spike said. "Are you telling us that you have a copy of that old book here too, like you did with that book that has the Poison Joke in it?" "Old and preserved. It is what it deserved," Zecora replied with a shrug as she looked around at her bookshelves for the ancient tome. "I FOUND IT! Get it, "eye" found it? See, it's got a picture of an eye and everything on it!" Pinkie Pie was giggling at her own joke. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and started reading it. "Hmm, it says to open... yeah yeah... and then... hmm... Oh no!" "WHAT?" Everypony crowded around RD. "Gimme some room, will ya? It's easier to read when I'm not crowded!" Everypony took a step or two back. "Thank you. Anyways, the book says that there's only one known way to defeat the possession of this artifact, and that's by using the Elements of Harmony! We can't do that because Twilight is the sixth element, and she's the one who's possessed!" "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!" "Pinkie, MUST you be so melodramatic?" Rarity asked. "Of course!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "There is another way to do it, but she must know that she knew it." Zecora said. "So you're saying that Twilight has to know something that she knew before but she's forgotten in the transformation?" Rainbow Dash asked Zecora. "That is right. Now take flight!" Zecora told the 5 of them. "You heard her. Let's go stop Malevolent Spell!" Spike said. "But... we don't know what it is that Twilight forgot when she turned into Malevolent Spell..." Fluttershy said. Spike replied "I've got an idea of what she needs to turn back into Twilight." The five of them rushed out of Zecora's cottage and started looking for Malevolent Spell. > 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Rarity, I'm back! It took a while to find the lace, but I finally... huh?" Yarn Purl stood looking at where Carousel Boutique was, or rather, where it had been. It was totally destroyed by Malevolent Spell. "Oh no! Now we've got to rebuild it, and all those dresses Rarity was working on..." Yarn Purl went off to go find Rarity to tell her about what had happened to her shop. Rarity already knew that her shop had been destroyed, as she heard it from Rainbow Dash, who was watching what Malevolent Spell was doing. "Come on, we need to go stop her!" Rainbow Dash led the way to the middle of town, followed by Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, who had decided that hiding "wasn't gonna be any help to anypony". Once they got there, they saw Malevolent Spell next to the fountain. "THERE YOU ARE! PREPARE FOR YOUR DOOM!" "Not if we can help it. Ahem." Spike started reading the friendship letters that Princess Celestia had sent to Twilight when they were trying to defeat Discord. After a while, the little dragon stopped and said "I know you're in there, Twilight! Come on out and fight Malevolent Spell! Your friends are counting on you, and you're the only one who can stop this." Suddenly, Malevolent Spell's green eyes flickered purple. "WHAT? NOOOOOOOOooooooooo...." Malevolent Spell shrieked as she was surrounded by a white glow not unlike when Twilight uses her element. She was lifted into the air without the use of her wings, and suddenly her wings shrunk back into her body, she lightened in color, and she shrunk back to her normal size. She landed rather roughly on the ground next to the fountain. "Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike asked. "ohh, my head... Thank you, Spike, for helping to release me from Malevolent Spell's bonds." Twilight Sparkle cuddled the dragon. "Now I wonder what the story is behind that evil eye. I'm sure there is one, we just have to find it." A golden stallion and a pink mare walked up to them. "Did you just say something about an evil eye?" the stallion said. "Yes, we were wondering about the history behind it. Do you know anything about it, Mr...?" "Call me Fair Row, and my wife is Fuss Row. She's the District Attorney for Ponyville, and I'm the judge. Yes, I know quite a bit about that eye; my father, Horus, made it. I have no idea why he made it; it's caused nothing but trouble for anypony who's found it." "Well, thank you, Fair Row, for telling us about the history of the evil eye." Twilight Sparkle told Fair Row. "Wait a minute... Horus? Not Horace?" "Yes, well, the old books got his name wrong and they refused to correct it. Some ponies can be SO stubborn..." They all laughed at that. "Come on, everypony, we've got some rebuilding to do," Spike said. "Can you take a note first, Spike?" Twilight asked. "Sure thing, Twi!" > The Lesson > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Celestia, I learned that knowledge isn't always good. Sometimes it can lead to bad things happening, and sometimes you think you know something when you really don't. I also learned that I should do more research when confronted with the unknown, and that sometimes the answer to a question isn't very far away at all. It might even be as close as a best friend. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle Princess Celestia looked up from the letter. "Sometimes things can go wrong when you don't consult your friends. Isn't that right, Philomena?" Philomena took off from her perch and soared around the throne room once, then settled back on her perch. Then she nodded. The End.