Foundations

"I'm sorry, you'd like me to what?" Rarity raised her eyebrow, blinking at the rather frazzled unicorn standing in her open doorway. She hadn't anticipated Twilight to come barreling by the boutique to ask her to become some test subject in a crazed project of hers.

"I'd like you to let me try some spells. I've been doing what studying I can, and I need a test subject for tomorrow's tests. Please, Rarity?" Twilight got down on her knees and put her hooves together, putting on her best puppy-dog face.

Rarity furrowed her brow at the unicorn before her, "No, Twilight! I'm not going to be part of some silly research project of yours. I'm sorry, but it just will not happen." The unicorn was adamant in her position, now becoming quite agitated. "You know how I feel about others using spells on me, especially if it's to do with an experiment."

"Um... I was hoping you'd make an exception? Please?" Twilight made as good a grin as she could, "For a friend?"

"Not even if you were about to pay me my shop's weight in diamonds, Twilight. And pick yourself up off the ground, dear," Rarity cupped Twilight's chin and pulled her up to a standing position, "Ladies do not grovel and beg. We use charm and reasoning in order to bargain and haggle."

"Right, sorry. Still... are you sure?"

"Very sure, dear. I don't want unicorns using magic on me, even if it is in a controlled environment. I am very sorry, but I simply will not accept this invitation." Rarity shook her head, a look of disappointment on her face, "Though, if there is any other way I can help, I would be glad to, believe me."

"Thanks, Rarity... I'll keep that in mind." Twilight hung her head with a sigh and turned away, walking down the steps from Carousel Boutique. She caught the scent of fused gems from inside; apparently, Rarity was trying out a new method for binding gems to her clothing, and it stunk up the place something fierce. "I'll see you later."

Rarity sighed, shaking her head, "Please, Twilight, pick yourself up. I'm sure somepony will be very happy to help you."

Twilight simply nodded before Rarity closed the door and returned to her work, leaving the librarian to continue her trek down the street. It's not like she didn't see this coming, but it was still a damper on her plans. Rarity making an exception... well, it was worth a shot. She nodded at the thought; it was, but Rarity really was the best bet she had. Her friend had one of the sharpest minds she'd seen in Ponyville, and her memory was top notch; she could've charged through Twilight's notes in a night, and known the details like the back of her hoof. All the safety procedures, all the cautionary footnotes, all the general facts. Darn it... doing this with Rarity would've made things so much easier. It's a lot less stuff I have to keep track of, and with an experimental field of magic, that's a good advantage.

Turning her eyes to the horizon, however, revealed another possible solution. The familiar gingerbread-look-alike walls of Ponyville's own bakery, and sure enough, the hot sauce lover herself held within. A light blinked on in Twilight's head, and her sorrow soon gave way to excitement. Of course! Who else has a better memory than Rarity? Pinkie Pie! She's a little irritating, sure, but her Pi— Her face froze as she stopped, brain completely stalled on the thought. ...The Sense That Shall Not Be Named. Yeah. With the disaster averted, her mind quickly rebooted and she quickly sped up into a sprint. Surely she'd help!

"Sorry, Twilight, can't do it!"

Twilight's jaw hit the floor as Pinkie sped around the kitchen. "B-But I didn't even ask yet!"

"I know, but I know it's going to be something, and that something isn't something I can do right now! Or tomorrow! Or the next day. Maybe Saturday?" Pinkie stopped in the middle of her sprinting, calmly resting a hoof on her chin as she balanced two bags of sugar on her back. "No, I've got a party then. Sunday's 'Planning Night', and Monday, I'm hanging out with Rainbow Dash. Sorry, Twilight, I'm all booked up!" She went back to her sprinting, Twilight hearing small gigglesnorts between the hoofsteps. "Hehehe, 'booked'... maybe if I asked you to redo my schedule, I'd have time!"

Such an act is suicidal at best, and end-of-the-world bad at worst. Twilight shuddered at the thought of balancing Pinkie's schedule; the mare was all over the place, constantly making plans with others and reorganizing everything in the hurricane of her own head. What sense could Twilight possibly make of it? "I'd like the challenge, but I don't think I'd h-have enough time. Maybe later."

"That's alright, I can do it! And I am sorry about having to miss out on this, Twilight. What exactly did you wanna ask me, though?" Pinkie's voice was becoming harder to track as the pink mare tended to treat after treat, restocking the shelves out front, playing 'chatty clerk' with the customers, and bringing things up from the basement.

Twilight simply sat down amidst the chaos and listened for her voice, speaking as calmly as she could. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to help me with an experiment."

"Oh, an experiment? How exciting!" Pinkie's voice seemed to bounce off the walls as she, hopefully, neared her top speed. "What is it? Changing chocolate sauce to hot sauce? Changing colors? Camouflage? Oh, turning invisible! That would be so cool! I could surprise Rainbow Dash with that by sneaking up behind her while invisible and going BOO!"

"GAH!" Twilight screeched, turning to her left. What use did Pinkie have for invisibility? She moved fast enough to simulate the effect! Sure enough, the air next to her was empty, but she was more sure of that air being the source of the 'boo'.

"Sorry! Still, what's the experiment?"

"I'm just testing spells on ponies..."

"Oh. But why do you need me for that? Can't you ask Rarity?"

"I did, Pinkie. I could really use—"

"What about Fluttershy?"

"I can't ask he—"

"Lyra?"

"She's got other things to wo—"

"Bon Bon!"

"Pinkie!"

"I was just about to say her name! Wait, that's me!" A gigglesnort quickly followed the realization, Twilight responding with a simple sigh. The librarian was beat with simply communicating with her friend, and though the scent of baked treats begged her to stay, her need to find some form of reliable test subject was too demanding. "Sorry, Twilight, but I'm sure somepony'll help you!"

Gotta be somepony out there... the problem's just finding them. With a shake of her head and a farewell that she hoped was more cheery than she felt, Twilight headed out of the bakery and back into the afternoon sun. A few clouds drifted by overhead as her eyes picked out images in them; a ball here, a bird there. Clouds were strange things, puffy marble that the wind would carve into recognizable shapes, smashing them together or pulling them apart to suit its design. Funny, how something so random could create such sharp shapes. Twilight smirked at the thought; even random occurrences could seem to follow some greater picture. Sort of like the Pi— no, no, don't lock up, brain! Don't lock up!

After a minute or so of internal panic, Twilight brought herself back under control and continued her trek through Ponyville. The clouds above did give her something more than white shapes in the sky to look at, a certain pony claiming to be the fastest flyer in Equestria. She's not the most ideal subject, oh no. But the thing about those safety protocols is that they can all be tracked by me... but what would happen if both me and my subject made a mistake? Rainbow's body is one of the toughest I've ever seen. She'd survive disasters that would otherwise reduce a pony to a puddle of muck! Perfect for my levitation experiments, and generally if anything goes wrong. Twilight's brow fell slightly in surprise, "Wow, look who became Little Miss Doomsayer. Anyway, where would she be?" She whispered, searching the sky.

How would somepony pick out a sky-blue object moving so fast, though? The only remarkable part of Rainbow Dash was her namesake mane and tail, as the rest of her just blended in with the clear sky. Sky-blue body on a pegasus who wants to be noticed by the world. How ironic. She giggled slightly at the thought, and picked up the pace. Well, first choice is obvious. Her house... or would it be a fortress? With a mental shrug, she ran down the street, straight for the edge of town where the famous cloud house hovered, and hopefully, where the famous pony herself would be.

"No go, Twilight."

The hunt was relatively easy. Rainbow was sat on a cloud near the ground under her house. Convincing her to be a test subject, however, was harder than Twilight's entrance exam into Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. The red on her face built from pure frustration was a good notice.

Twilight took a few calming breaths; at least she was able to actually ask Rainbow the proper question before being turned down. "Why not, Rainbow Dash?"

"Because." The pegasus simply shrugged, lounging on the cloud. "I don't feel like being 'experimented' on."

"But you're the best choice I could make with this!" Third best. Maybe fourth. Don't say that, she'll just fly off.

"Sorry, Twi'. Being studied just kinda bugs me, it's like a really excited fan watching my stunts and trying to do them on their own." She shuddered, wings fluttering out in a twitch.

"But..."

"Sorry, Twilight. I'll help with something else if you want, but I don't wanna be poked and prodded by a million different machines with some crazy magic stuff going on."

Twilight's eye twitched a bit.

"You alright?" Rainbow tilted her head slightly, staring at the decaying mane on Twilight's head as random hairs started to spring up.

"Just fine." Was all Twilight could say, while internally, her mind was going wacko with assumptions and guesses. Who was left for her to ask, and would they turn her down, too? Need a contingency plan, a Plan C, D, E, F, G, H, and everything else up to ninety-nine. Ponies to ask, um... Lyra, Bon Bon, Thunderlane, Roseluck, Daisy, Lily, Aloe and Lotus, who else? Princess Celestia! Yeah, she'll *definitely** not tie me to a tree over trying to learn about a taboo field of magic! Ugh. Think about it later, I've still got Fluttershy and Applejack to ask.* She hung her head at the thought of the two last friends she had to ask. I'm doomed.

Rainbow simply raised her eyebrow at the sight of her quickly-about-to-cry friend. "Maybe you should just head home for the day, Twilight. You look burnt out."

"No, no, I'm fine! Honest. Just, heh, need to ask somepony else. Sorry for bothering you, Rainbow!" With a grin and an about-face that would impress most soldiers, Twilight raced off before her mind broke out of its binds, leaving a slightly confused pegasus behind.

Eh, it's her typical weird self. Rainbow shrugged and grabbed her cloud, giving her wings a few hard flaps to bring it up to a higher altitude. A nap seemed like a pretty good thing to do, and she wasn't going to miss an opportunity to saw a few logs!

"Right, Rainbow Dash turned me down, Rarity doesn't like magic, and Pinkie's got planning. Who else? Fluttershy and Applejack, of course!" The pony racing through town was down to her last two options before she had to make do with anypony she could ask. The last two ponies who could make any kind of competent research subject for a field she didn't want anyone to know about until it was time. The shy pony, and the stubborn pony.

Yep, so doomed. May as well go with the obvious choice first! There's no way Fluttershy would let me down! No chance at all, right? *Right!?*** She shouted in her head, trying to convince herself that there was still a chance for success in her dilemma. An image of Spike flashed in her mind for just a moment, but she quickly swept that away. Dragons and unicorn magic really didn't mix sometimes, something that was proven when she used teleportation to get away from a particularly rowdy group of ponies. If I hear the words 'Grand Galloping Gala' within the next three hundred years, I think I might hurt myself. Anyway, focus! To Fluttershy's cottage!

And with a few sparks from her horn, Twilight vanished from existence, her target clear and her experiment's success assured. There was no way she could fail now!

"I can't do it, Twilight!" Fluttershy squeaked from... somewhere in her house, Twilight looking around the living room of the cottage. Even the animals seemed to have abandoned ship, the whole place devoid of any sound beyond Fluttershy's panting as she hid in whatever hiding place she could fit her slender body into.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Twilight moaned, moving around the cottage to try and find her friend. "Fluttershy, please!"

"I can't, Twilight! What if you turn me into a cactus? Or accidentally turn me a different color? I don't want to become a plant!" The rustling of feathers and the sound of something falling over was Twilight's only notice of her friend moving to some new hiding spot.

"I promise I won't turn you a different color, and you have no idea how hard it is to turn somepony into a cactus! That needs way more magic and a lot more time than I'd have!" Twilight groaned, frustration only building in her mind like two rock shelves pushing up against each other, just waiting to release a horrific earthquake.

"I know, but it's still possible. I don't like that possibility!" Another squeak from the gentle pegasus. At least it was helping to quell Twilight's frustration, which only built right back up with Fluttershy's constant fear of turning into some kind of plant life.

She really doesn't know how much magic was used to turn my parents into potted plants ten years ago, does she? Twilight tilted her mouth up at the side, sighing. "Fluttershy, I'm being honest here. I swear on my life that I won't put you in any danger. I only wanna try a few simple spells!"

"How simple...?" Fluttershy whispered.

She's nearby, that's good. Twilight sat down on the floor in the middle of the room, staring at the hint of a pink tail sticking out from behind her friend's couch. Not really the most effective hiding spot with that blasted bunny sitting on top of it, staring over the back at his host. Petkeeper? Master? Does that rabbit even *know** about the terms used in a pet/owner relationship?* Twilight quickly shook off the conundrum, I can think about that later. "Very simple, Fluttershy. Just some levitation, maybe a few simple muscle spells, a transformation or two..."

"Transformation? I-I'm perfectly happy being a pegasus, thank you!" The tail vanished from behind the couch, and Angel fell right off the couch from a gust of wind, a flash of yellow and pink flying up the stairs. This was quickly followed by the slamming of a door, and the end of Twilight's conversation.

From the red on her face and her lowered brow, she wasn't very happy.

"I'm sorry, Twilight! I don't like the idea of magic being used on me, it's something I can't stop on my own!" Fluttershy was reaching new volumes with her 'shouting', which amounted to not much louder than a typical speaking voice. Twilight simply sighed and hung her head, staring up at the rabbit sitting on his head by the couch.

Note to self, ask Rainbow to teach Fluttershy about confidence. It may just save my sanity. Angel and Twilight shared a groan, the mare getting up and heading over to the front door.

"I'm sure somepony will help you though!" Fluttershy called out from a crack in her open bedroom door. "I'm very sorry!"

"It's alright, Fluttershy, honest. Somepony will help me out, I know it. Thanks!" Twilight showed herself out, waving to the bedroom door, or what she could see of it, before heading on down the path. Angel gave a single wave and a gruff sigh before closing the door behind Twilight, off to do whatever rabbits did in their free time.

Yeah, if I find anypony else. Rainbow Dash turned me down almost immediately, she locked herself in her room, absolutely terrified of the idea, and Rarity doesn't like magic being used on her. Pinkie's busy with party planning, too... She sighed, feeling defeated. It was only a day after the presentations - her sigil had been removed by Nightlight, thanks to a quick memory and a very fast teleport to catch up with him -, and she was frantically trying to find a test subject she could trust. A pony that wouldn't feel at all awkward being relentlessly studied while she tried a number of possibly dangerous and taboo'd spells on them. Nothing wrong at all.

Just finding that one pony in a town was impossible.

"And I really doubt AJ would want any part in this." Twilight raised her head slightly, looking off to the hill covered in apple trees: Sweet Apple Acres. It really wasn't all that far from Fluttershy's cottage, the barn's roof easily in sight from the top of the walk. "Why would she let me do this?" She mumbled, tilting her mouth slightly. She's really tough, sure, but still. Why would she help somepony like me when she's got the farm to look after? Twilight chuckled to herself as she walked down the path, passing by the short trees and bushes, yet not really going anywhere in particular. The big, strong mare helping out the egghead with her big science project. Should've expected the same thing from Rainbow, really... hm. Is it worth a shot? Ponies walked by her once she crossed the threshold into town, aiming concerned glances at the crestfallen unicorn, but thankfully not prying as they carried on with their own days.

She considered the option and looked up, finding herself at the path leading up to the farm. Well, lucky me. Now I don't have to walk across half the town like I was already doing. Convenient. Her eyes turned up the hill and over the crest, trying to see the farmstead through the hill. "Well, hopefully AJ accepts my invitation."

The trip was quiet through the orchard, dirt and dust being her companions beside her shadow. The breeze carried a strange quiet with it, Twilight's mind slowly rolling in the silence. What do I do if she turns me down? Ask Spike and possibly tire myself out trying to use magic on him? Or ask somepony else...? No, this kind of thing would spread like wildfire. She sighed; her last chance was held within the expanse of the apple trees around her.

The hefty 'THUD' of nearby trees distracted her thoughts, a grumble leaving her mouth as she was thrown out of her train of thought, unpleasant as it was. Just ahead stood the tall barn of Sweet Apple Acres, the landmark of an entire farm. Weird how a building marks a farm, but there's this giant orchard systematically planted around it.