Introns

“Come on Spike! We’re going to be late!” complained Twilight Sparkle for possibly the fifth time. The pale magenta unicorn was dashing through the tree house library, books and scrolls flying through the air as she fumbled to get her notes in order.

The baby dragon yawned heavily and muttered half-consciously.

“Mmm...too early. Not enough sleep. Need at least...4 more hours.”

“Too early? For Celestia’s sake, Spike, it’s past 10:30 and I am not...going...to be...LATE!” She punctuated this last point by seizing Spike’s quilt with her magic and tearing it out from underneath him, sending the perplexed and now very much awake baby dragon sprawling to the floor. Picking himself up and spitting out a wad of paper, Spike shot Twilight Sparkle a frustrated look. The unicorn, engrossed in her search for the speech she had prepared diligently in two hour blocks for the last week didn’t notice, and shook a hoof at him absently.

“Don’t just stand there, go wash up and get ready! We need to be at the ceremony in TWO HOURS!” she exclaimed, in a panic.

“Two hours?” grumbled Spike. His tail dragging in mourning of the lost potential snooze, he crept off to the bathroom, muttering all the way. Splashing water on his face, the small purple reptile had a feeling today was not going to be a good day.

Precisely fifteen minutes, three arguments, and one unfortunate incident with a bookshelf later, the two friends were walking through the streets of Ponyville toward the hill overlooking the town. The sun glowing in the clear blue sky, the pegasus ponies had clearly gotten up earlier than than them in order to prepare the sky for the event. Shuffling Twilight’s notes for her speech, it wasn’t long before Spike started to complain again.

“So why is it that I need to come along exactly? I mean, you don’t need me to do your speech, so why can’t I just go back to bed? Because that sounds like a great idea!”

Twilight heaved a frustrated sigh. “Because, Spike, it doesn’t matter whether you need to do anything or not. This is an incredibly important event for Ponyville! And it’s my duty, and yours, to be there and to celebrate this grand achievement.”

The dragon looked at her skeptically. “Twi...it’s a well.”

“It’s not just  a well, it’s a wishing well! And a wishing well is a fantastic thing to have! After all, it’s not just superstition, you know! After all, I’ve read several books on the subject.”

Groaning, Spike rolled his eyes as a contented Twilight Sparkle commenced another one of her lectures.

“You see, when a wishing well is placed in exactly the right place where magic fluxes intertwine just right (as described in ‘Magical Forces in the Physical and Metaphysical World: An Anthology’), and it’s supplied with enough energy coming from wishes and desires, they become actual sources of power that can make magic far more powerful and controllable. Some ponies even believe that it can become its own conscious magical entity! Can you imagine?!” she said, beaming with excitement.

“Oh yeah...that sounds really interesting!” said Spike with feigned enthusiasm that he hoped would quiet down the overly eager scholar. “But as soon as that’s done, I’m going straight back to-”

“Oh, look, we’re here!” interrupted Twilight Sparkle, her eyes glittering.

They had finally put the empty houses and streets, and the distant hum of many excited voices had overtaken the otherwise gentle breeze and silence of the peaceful hillside as throngs of ponies assembled before the structure protruding from the crest. Twilight accelerated her trot into a gallop.

“Come on Spike, I have to be onstage at any minute now!” said the unicorn as Spike struggled to keep up with her pace.

“Any minute? We still have an hour and a half!”