Love . Sickby KitsuneRisuChaptersMAGICHONESTYLOYALTYGENEROSITYKINDNESSLAUGHTERLOVE (Epilogue)MAGICLove.Sick M A G I C The sun, in all its majesty, never once compared to the one who caused it to rise every morning - the gentle, beautiful ruler of the lands of Equestria – Princess Celestia. Her work came but once a day, and the nights were left to call her own. The evening brought the hazy smells of fresh flowers over the grass as the wind picked up and caressed her rainbow, silken hair. She looked down upon the city of Ponyville, from her spot on the hill, where it twinkled in the distance from the street lamps intermittently responding to the setting of the sun as they came to life one by one. As the sun dipped behind it, a warm, orange silhouette exploded over the city, casting it into shadow, where only the blinking fires that lined the streets and the windows of the inhabitants of the township gave it any form. Anything else was merely a sketch in ink; and even that too slowly faded away as the final rays of light dipped behind the edge of the world and onto a new day. A candle flickered to life, bringing illumination to the scene upon the hill. Twilight sighed contentedly. She never once found this sight to be repetitive in any count, and the only one thing that would, and did, make it better was the company she chose to spend it with. She drew in the sight, taking a deep, full breath; a feeling of melancholy passing her by for just an instant. But she never did want to think of the night ending, and she pushed it away with a quick look to her companion for the night. "Well... that was... beautiful," muttered Princess Celestia, nearly under her breath. Twilight nodded. They sat, side by side, on a white-and-red chequered blanket with a small glass bowl of cold fruit between them. It was nearly finished; the stems of a bunch of grapes and a few stray slices of oranges were the only things left floating in a half-melted puddle of ice. "It's rare that I get to spend some time alone with you, my pupil," the Princess elated, with her gentle, heartfelt voice. "Thank you for sharing this wondrous sight with me. I would never have experienced it otherwise." Her eyes still remained transfixed to the town, as it started to take shape yet again as the lights brightened it up with no more competition to be found, and the pair’s eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. It was like watching a photograph of a scenic vista slowly developing in front of your eyes, but with the magic of life added to the encumbrance. "Oh Princess," Twilight said, trying to hide the pride behind her voice. "It's nothing, really." She giggled. "Anyway, as you said, it's rare just to spend some time alone with you. And I just... picked the right spot, I guess!" "Don't be so humble, Twilight," Celestia responded, looking down toward her. "Take some praise where it's rightfully due." Twilight was glad that it was dark, and the hue of red slowly flushing up from under her purple skin didn't show too obviously. "Well... alright. I did do some research, I suppose, but, well..." Her heart took a pause for measure as she started with what she truly wanted to say. "... it's a special occasion I guess," she eased in. "Well yes, it is a lovely Wednesday," Princess Celestia remarked, quirking an eyebrow. "No, not that. I mean yes, it is a lovely Wednesday, but that's not why... I mean..." "Slowly, my dear," the Princess chuckled. "Whoo... ok," Twilight gulped down a final breath of air. "I think... and I really... will understand if you disagree... and I fully know the reasons why if you do, because I've been considering it and it's all about public appearance and your position and..." "Twilight." "..." she paused. "... I think we should go... public." Her expression changed to that of a cheesy grin, eyelids slanting away and body sinking into itself, a mix of embarrassment but still clinging on to the little hope that somehow, somewhere, the answer might just be 'yes'. Celestia's expression didn't change quite as much. "I understand," she said, at last, after a year of silence passed through Twilight's mind. "You... what? Huh?" "Oh, I mean... I'm sorry. I know why you would want to, of course. Many nights have I thought about it myself, but..." And there it was. That one word. The one word that always, in every answer, threatens to destroy everything built up prior to that moment. Twilight's plea was a building, condemned, and 'but' was the detonator. "... but I'm not sure if it's such a wise idea." Well, that wasn't a 'no'. That was, at best, a 'probably not', but it certainly wasn't a 'no'. Twilight felt her heart beating a little bit faster now. She had to fight for it. She knew she couldn't let it go on a perhaps. "Listen, Princess... if it's about the age difference..." "Twilight," the white-clad ruler said sternly. "What have we discussed about mentioning my age?" "Sorry!" peeped the younger, smaller pony. "I... I mean... anything, we can work through it, right? We've been together so long already, why... why keep it secret? I want to tell all my friends, I want to tell all of Equestria! It's..." She swallowed. "Celestia, I love you," she said sadly, her words thick with the truth of her emotions. "I love you so much and... ever since I met you it's been nothing but just a wild flight of fantasy, and... I know it's selfish, but I need to tell everyone. I need everyone to know that I love you. I need everyone to know that you love me." She peered up into Celestia's face, which was slowly weakening from the most terrible words of all; that of pure heart and nothing more. "What could possibly be bad about it? You wouldn't have to... not be princess, or anything!" "It's not about that, my sweet," replied Celestia. "If I had a thousand crowns I would give them all up just to spend another night up here on this hill with you, Twilight." "Then...?" "It's... complicated. It really is. I... Please believe me, Twilight. You know that we have never kept anything apart from each other since the start. But right now... this is something that I can't explain. It's... complicated." "You keep saying that!" yelled Twilight suddenly, stamping her front hooves on the ground. Moisture started to collect in her eyes, as they grew damp from the lamentable mix of evening dew and her own raw, unabated feelings. She threw her head into the grass in front of her and covered her ears with her legs. "Ifft's noff fairff," came the mumbled, tear-choked complaint. "Ifft's jufft noff fairff!" A gentle touch came down, upon Twilight's shoulder. "Alright," Celestia sighed. "I... will try to explain." Twilight frumped forward, sniffing. She gazed half-heartedly at the town with the lower half of her face nestled in her folded front legs. "Twilight, you're... special." The purple pony remained silent. Was she just trying to compliment her? That wasn't going to work. Silly old Celestia. "And I don't mean in the ‘that’s why I love you’ sort of way.” Oh, that makes it all better. THANKS, Princess. Twilight rolled her eyes up. Princess Celestia quickly clarified. "What I mean is that I have always loved you, unconditionally, from the very beginning. Since the first day we met I have never, ever regretted our chance encounter, nor have I ever wavered from this position." Oh, alright. Keep saying things like that, twilight bore a hidden smile. "But it's because I love you... that... you're special." Twilight finally lifted her head and cleared the remaining dust from her throat. "Wh... what do you mean?" “I know it sounds strange, but just… hear me out, alright?” the Princess said. “Your uniqueness comes from the fact that we are together, not the other way around. But that is not to say that you aren’t special to me.” “Yes, that is what you just said, only in slightly fewer words,” Twilight said, dryly. “It doesn’t really explain why it’s so bad.” "Well, let’s put it this way. I don't think your friends will… react very well to knowing about our relationship. It's not you, specifically, but it's about… the idea of us. I know this sounds a bit... strange, but if you were anypony else, I'd be telling you the exact same thing." "What, so... it's... about you then?" "No, not exactly either. The thing is... well... there’s magic involved, and magic works in strange ways. You and I... even as gifted as you are, we both still do not know how it really works, correct?" Twilight nodded, eyes betraying her feelings of curiosity and suspicion. "So the first time that we... ah... touched horns, it created a resonance between us. You and I... we are linked together. And this magic that seems to envelop us... will only affect you, although it was caused by both of us together." Twilight's mind tried to wrap itself around this strange, yet significant plot device. "In... what way?" "Well, when you tell your friends... I mean, if you tell your friends," she shot a stern glare at Twilight as if to warn her against it. "They will... react... in bothersome ways." "I... see?" "Let's just say that things previously unknown may... become more realised to you." "That's it?" Twilight shot up, propping herself up on her forelegs. "They're going to just be a little bit jealous and proclaim their feelings? That's all?" "Well, yes, that's understating it a little bit, but..." "Oh, was that all it was?" Twilight laughed a small laugh of relief. "I know you're trying to protect me, Princess, but really." The old Twilight seemed to return for a moment. "Well it's not just that. Sometimes they might actually develop feelings for you that they wouldn't normally have as well." Twilight scoffed. "No problem." "They... might change." "No problem!" "Twilight, it's really for your own good. What if your friendships get ruined because of this? What if you can't reconcile with them?" "Princess... you said earlier that you would give up a thousand crowns for me. Well I would..." Princess Celestia's nodded sighing interrupted Twilight's epiphany. "Alright, I get it. I get it," she smiled, although it was a wry smile, bereft of personal pleasure. One with a tinge of worry on it. "O... ok. Go ahead. But... if I were you I'd just start small. Don't go telling everypony in Ponyville about it from the start, ok?" "Ooooh, Celestia!" squealed Twilight Sparkle, throwing her forelegs around her neck. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much, thank you thank you thank you!" Twilight planted a big kiss on Celestia's muzzle, and she couldn't help but smile genuinely at that. "It's... alright," said Celestia, holding Twilight close to her. "It's alright." HONESTYH O N E S T Y Twilight Sparkle awoke, fresher than she had ever felt in a long time. She hated to admit it, but her lodgings in Ponyville were a far cry from those she once played host to back in Canterlot, but last night she felt that she slept on the wings of doves. She bounded out of bed, throwing the covers off and letting them dance to the floor. Spike'll get it! It's all OK. Everything's going to be OK. Today was great. Oh, who cares about some silly old covers? Twilight was giddy with excitement. Her mind, heart, soul and body were all sharing the same solid emotion, and she could not wait. Her morning routine was not broken though; she was still the same old Twilight in many ways. But many things yet were going to change. Standing in front of the mirror she brushed her hair exactly 20 times, bringing it to its regular, straight bob which dropped a fringe over her horn, which was twinkling in excitement. She washed her face, dried it off, and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit that she kept by the stairs. It floated gently into the saddlebag she had straddled to her back, as she floated gently down the stairs on the hoof-falls of someone who was swinging on air. "Oh, hey Twilight," came a familiar voice down from below. Spike was busy, as he always was, tending to the day-to-day of the library. Dusting off the shelves; replacing all the read books that Twilight left out the previous night; a dragon's work never ends. "Mornin', Spike!" Twilight bubbled. She turned one too many times at the foot of the stairs and ended up twirling around in a happy little dance. "Whoa, you sure seem like you're pleased about something," said Spike. "Did I already make you breakfast and forgot about it?" "No, silly," she said, giggling. "Something... amazing has happened." "What is it?" Spike turned around. He loved gossip. Boy, did he love gossip. "I can't tell you yet!" He turned crestfallen. His crests actually drooped. It's a dragon thing. "Aw, come on, Twilight, you always do this to me!" "Oh ok. I'll tell you later. Promise, ok? But I gotta tell someone else first!" "Oh, allllright," said Spike, grouchily, as he went back to dusting the books with much more rigor than normal. "But you better not ditch on me!" "I won't Spike!" Twilight said as she walked, with saddlebags bouncing up and down her back, out the door. "I'll be back later, don't wait up!" "Well, I gotta wait up if I'm gonna hear about this news, right?" His plea was met with silence. "Right?" Spike turned around. Twilight Sparkle had long since departed, and the door was firmly closed. "Aw shucks." -- <3 -- The girls gathered around the town square. They were always there around this time - it was their usual meeting spot, and it was just that hour of the day. It was that little open area where the stone bridge ran over the river that separated Ponyville from the fields that lay beyond. Just a little bit more to the left and straight on through, and you would see the spot where Twilight was laying not just last night. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all congealed in a tight group, chatting and talking and catching up with the Equestrian daily news when Twilight came rushing in from a distance. She didn't stop, barrelling straight through and widening the circle as she ploughed into the middle of the group. "So, Gummy said... WHOA!" yelled Pinkie Pie, jumping back a few meters. "Wow, what's eatin' you, Twilight?" exclaimed Applejack, also stepping back. "You look like you got a bug up yer nose!" "Oh boy, do I ever," she replied, looking at the bewildered faces of each of her friends in turn. Pinkie's was just a little bit farther away. She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, not a bug, at least, but I do have some news!" She bounced up and down in place, like a jackhammer with the safety off. "Girls? You five are my best friends, and I wanted you to know this first." "Oooh! What is it? What is it?!" Pinkie squeaked, hopping back into place. "Didja find a cookie?" Twilight stared at the Pink, springy character. "No... no, Pinkie. Why would I have found a cookie?" "Because I left one on your doorstep last night!" She grinned. There was no answer. There really couldn't be one. There wasn't anything actually inherently arguable about that. "Oh, just ignore her," cut in Rainbow Dash, "What's the good word?" "So..." Twilight went on, turning away and looking at the others again. "I have something quite personal that I would like to share with you." All at once, the 5 ponies leant forward, tightening the circle around Twilight; each ear stilled with earnest concentration, eager to hear the news. "I... am... in love!" Twilight squealed, all four legs bouncing up and down in that inscrutable dance that she does whenever excitement overwhelms her. All five heads moved back. "Love?" asked Applejack. "Oh my, that's wonderful," intoned Fluttershy. "What?! That's impossible!" yelled Rainbow Dash, taking off and hovering a meter above the ground. "What now? Love?" asked Applejack again. "Oh, that's marvellous, darling," Rarity flicked her hoof forward, placing it on Twilight's shoulder. Only Pinkie Pie was uncharacteristically silent, keeping still with head tilted to the side; a quizzical expression on her face. The buzz and chatter amongst the ponies continued for a while longer, with interjections of various kinds from all around Twilight. She felt like she was standing up on stage, having just finished a grand performance, and was now taking her bows. "With who?" asked Pinkie, suddenly. All chatter stopped and everyone turned to look at her. Her question came suddenly, scratching a path out of the noise simply because it didn't sound excited. Pinkie herself was still - she wasn't bouncing, wasn't laughing, and was just asking in a veritably normal way. "Actually, it's with 'whom', Pinkie," Rarity said, trying to break the odd tension. "Alright. With whom?" asked Pinkie again. At that, even Rarity was taken aback. Pinkie's austere gaze cut through the crowd like a knife. "O... ok, you're never going to believe this, but..." Twilight Smiled again. "It's Princess Celestia!" "Oh." This time the response came immediately from two sources. One from Pinkie, which should have been quite expected, but the other came, mysteriously, from Applejack. It was getting uncomfortable. Twilight Sparkle had lost her shine in the spotlight, and it now felt like it was casting unneeded attention upon her. This was probably what Princess Celestia meant the other day. A good, promising start now turned slightly awkward. But it was ok! A little awkwardness was never an unmanageable thing, right? Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Rainbow Dash touched down again, standing still on the floor. "Uh... girls?" asked Twilight nervously. "Is... everything ok?" "Yeah! Everything's fine!" said Pinkie Pie, her voice and expression returning to normal. A strange, stiff wind blew across the open area, and for just a fragment of a moment, sound faded into an echo and not even the usual hubbub of country life could be heard. It suddenly came back, like the pop of a champagne cork. It was pulled back by Pinkie Pie letting out an intentional sigh. "Well, it's been fun girls, but I gotta go! Gummy's due for a feeding, and you know he can't feed himself." She turned, waved, and started to hop off, only turning back for just a quick second to say "Congrats again, Twilight!" before she disappeared into the distance. "Yes... well..." Rarity cleared her throat. "This has all been very fun, but... I have some clothing to work on. You have my congratulations, Twilight. I'm sure your relationship will be long and fruitful!" "Well, gotta jet!" said Rainbow Dash, seconds after. "Love to stay and find out more, but maybe next time? I gotta go get some stuff ready for... something." Fluttershy silently walked up behind Twilight as she watched three of her friends leave suddenly. The unicorn felt like her lungs had fallen into the pit of her stomach. This was actually pretty bad. Maybe Celestia was right. She thought her heart would stop. "Um... congratulations," said Fluttershy suddenly, from behind Twilight, her eyes cast down to the ground. "Yeargh!" yelled Twilight, spinning around. "Don't do that, Fluttershy! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Well, at least it was pumping again. "Well... I'll... be seeing you, I guess," she smiled. "I need to go... think about some things. I'll see you later, ok?" The whole square was abandoned. Twilight was... it was hard to describe what she was feeling. She felt overjoyed that she finally could talk about her true love, but at the cost of this? What even happened? All their reactions were unfathomable, at least by their countenance. This was some powerful magic, alright. She practically forgot about her final friend, who was standing there next to her. She did not make a sound, did not move an inch, and nearly blended seamlessly into the background with her self-diminished bearing. The unicorn turned to look at her, ready to hear her sudden excuse to leave. Instead she saw something entirely different. Applejack's throat was quivering back and forth, as if she were trying to swallow something that just wasn't there. She was trembling slightly, in the grip of an unseen fear, but a fear that has already come and has left the remnants of terror within. Her eyes, already welled up, released the first of many tears that fell to the ground with a resounding splash. "Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed, walking up to her in an instant, and reaching out to comfort her. The freckled pony jerked back, droplets running off her face and hitting Twilight in hers. "Don't touch me!" she sobbed. "Don't... don't touch me." Applejack let out a deep sigh of instant regret. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Twilight. Ah don't know what got over me," she stuttered, her tears stopping. "I'm ok. Look, can we talk?" "Of course, Applejack," said Twilight, a tinge of concern in her voice. "Ah... shall we go to your barn?" "Yeah... yeah, that'd be a good idea." The rest of the trip was made in silence. Twilight let Applejack lead; she felt more comfortable being able to keep an eye on her. And it was a good thing she did - Applejack's uneven hoof-falls nearly caused a trip once or twice, and there were times when she simply stopped walking for no apparent reason but to take in a breath or two and look at a bird far away. But Twilight, loyal as ever, sauntered on behind her, breaking pace when she needed. The barn was open, as it usually was this time of day. Applejack would normally be found hauling cartloads of juicy ripe fruit in and out of the storage building as needed, either returning them from a fresh apple-buckin' or delivering them to market to sell. Today she hauled in her own weary, shivering body, hooves dragging in the dirt, eyes barely open. Twilight followed closely in, and shut the doors behind her. They were alone. The barn gave a sense of space. It wasn't a particular sort of space, that is, too little or too much, but just 'space' in general. There was adequate room for contemplation, plenty of running grounds and fresh air that filtered through the slats in the roof, but still, it felt homely and comfortable. It was a nice place to be in a storm. A drop of rain hit the roof. Twilight noticed a rag lying on the ground next to a small pile of straw, and lifted it easily with her magic. Floating the cloth gently over to Applejack, she started to rub her face down with it, wiping away the streaky, drying tear-stains. "T...Twilight!" Applejack yelled, pulling her face away. "That there's the cloth ah use to clean the plough!" Twilight stopped, and then looked closer at the rag, which was stained with old dirt and soil. Applejack's face too, now had a slash of soil running straight across one of her cheeks. It was so ridiculous, so silly, that Twilight couldn't help herself but laugh. Soon, Applejack joined in too. The shared laughter eased the tension tremendously, as Applejack threw herself into a bale of straw and stretched her muscles a little. "Heh heh... ah... well," chuckled the filly, wiping the dirt off her face with her leg, just like she usually did, anyway. "Thanks for nothin', Twilight." "Oh, it was my pleasure," came the joyful response, as Twilight herself settled down next to Applejack. "So... what did you want to talk about?" Applejack licked her lips. "I... well..." she started. "You know... I've always been honest wit' ya, right, Twilight?" "Of course, Applejack." "And I'd never tell ya a lie. Although..." Applejack tilted her head, and started staring into the far corner of the barn. The sunlight that beamed through the roof slats started to break up as the rain came down harder, and the patter of water on ceramic tile echoed throughout the room. "I... guess it's not really a lie if I just keep a secret, right?" "No, of course not, Applejack. Everyone has secrets. Even I just told you one earlier, remember?" Applejack closed her eyes as a heavy wisp escaped her lips, as if that memory just ran a knife over her heart. "Yeah... I remember, Twi. 'Course I remember." "I'm... guessing I know what you're going to tell me, Applejack," said Twilight softly. It was kind of obvious, really. The whole scene didn't really set up for a particular surprising revelation, and even if it had, Princess Celestia's warning served as the clearest portent of what was about to occur anyway. "How long?" asked Twilight. She supposed it was best to just get into it without have to drag it out painfully. "Maybe 'bout a month after we met," said Applejack, still staring at that corner. "At the start we were just friends, and it was pretty excitin' and all, what with the Elements of Harmony and all that, and all those other fun adventures we had. "But ah think it was 'bout the time when them Parasprites came, I think. I can't rightfully tell now," her gaze defocused, not really looking at anything except the past. She scratched her head. "I don't think you knew, really. To you we was just pals, but... well, I'd always hoped, y'know? "But now you just come out with this. Just... outta th' blue, Twi. No warnin' or nothin'. It... I just took it hard, tha's all. I'm sorry, Twi. I really am." "Now now now, wait," Twilight waved her forelegs around. "You've got nothing to be sorry about, ok? In fact, I suppose I should be the one who's apologizing. "It's just that... well, I've been with Princess Celestia a lot longer. And please believe me when I say that you're a fine, lovely pony, Applejack, and if I wasn't with anyone else, I'd be honoured to be with you." "Aww, that's mighty kind of you just t' say so," choked Applejack, the tears starting up again. "Ah... ah guess that's jus' the way it is." "I'm sorry," said Twilight again. "But... we'll always be friends, right?" "Yeah... yeah, we will," muttered Applejack in a half-hearted way. "But... you know, I ain't never felt this way 'bout no one else afore." "Yeah, it's called love, Applejack. It happens. If this is your first time, especially, it's going to be pretty hard." "No, you don't get it! Ah really ain't never felt like this afore. Twi, you're... you're perfect," she sobbed, the waterworks starting again. "I... I don't... wanna have 'ta... have 'ta...." She couldn't even complete her sentence, breaking down into a wailing fit of staggered breaths and coughs. Twilight could do nothing but try to give Applejack a hug. "Come on, Applejack. Come on. You're the strongest one of us. Come on," she held her tightly. "Please. Don't do this to yourself. It'll be ok, alright? I promise. There'll be somepony else." "There ain't never gonna be somepony else!" Applejack nearly screamed. Twilight jumped a little at the outburst; it was that sudden. "Never, never, never!" She buried her face into Twilight's chest, still sobbing uncontrollably. Her hat, having been pushed off, fell to the floor behind her, revealing her striking autumn hair all tied up in a ponytail. Twilight sniffed her braid. It smelt faintly of cloudy apple juice, freshly squeezed. It wasn't intentional, but Applejack's head was in her face. She didn't feel very comfortable. To be honest, it was quite awkward. She made a decision. "Look... I'll... stay with you the night, alright?" Twilight said, "No funny business. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but I'm gonna stick by you and see you through this." "Would'ja really?" sniffed Applejack, pulling back and looking up at Twilight with watery pupils. "That'd be... that'd be nice." "I think that's the least I could do." Well, sorry Spike, guess I'll have to tell you some other time. I don't think I'm coming home tonight. I don't think I'm coming home. LOYALTYL O Y A L T Y It hadn't stopped raining the entire night. The wind picked up, bringing a slight fog over the town, and still, even in this early morning, the drizzle fell in patches, maintaining the puddles that mired the landscape. Twilight was snoring to herself, nestled in a cocoon of hay. Applejack was already awake, leaning over her and staring at her through gentle eyes. "Twilight, I just want to say, I love you," she said softly to her, as she lay resting. The previous night had been fun. They talked for hours, laughed, reminisced, and all that friends do. Applejack slowly came to terms, and had to face the inevitability. As they drifted off to sleep, Applejack stayed up for a while longer looking at the stars through the rain and the clouds, and let her mind take her away for just one final night, but it had to end, and she knew it did. "I just wanna say to ya... thanks for everything," she said. Twilight stirred a little, and her breathing lightened up considerably into a calm purring. "It's been a pleasure. It's been fun. You'll always be m' best friend forever, Twi." Applejack nodded to herself. "And ah know whatcha said last night 'bout there being other ponies an' all, but to me, y'all always be my one and only." Twilight's eyes finally opened, just in time to see the blurry shape of Applejack heading out the door with saddlebags in place and lasso around her neck. She had her hat back on as well, and she was pulling her cart behind her. "Goodbye, Twi! Thanks for being my friend!" she called, mostly to herself, as she left. "No probwelm," Twilight mumbled, smiling to herself. That went well, she thought. That went really well. And she fell right back to sleep, the worries of the day left behind. -- <3 -- By the time Twilight Sparkle had risen for good, it was mid-day. She surmised the time to be around 4, mainly because the big clock in the town square had just struck 4 times. She astounded herself with her analytical prowess, sometimes. She threw on her own baggies, which she had left in a random pile the night before, and threw open the doors to a bright new day. Well, one down. Four to go, eh? Well this wouldn't be that bad. Hopefully it'll all be as easy as how it went with Applejack. She glanced over into the fields of apple trees that peppered the distance, knowing that Applejack would be hard at work somewhere amongst the boughs, collecting the day's take. She'd see her later at the town square, and everything would be as it always was. A whizzing sound came from high above; an object dropping at such speed that it made little rat-ta-tat noises where it intersected with a falling raindrop. "Eeek!" screamed Twilight, jumping back. The pumpkin missed her by centimetres, but she still caught some of the fallout. Seeds and wet pumpkin flesh dribbled down her side, and a piece of shell lay ingloriously on her head. "Oh hey!" came a voice, just as fast, also from high above. It landed just short of Twilight, as those blue wings and rainbow hair came to a sudden complete stop. "Whoops, sorry!" Rainbow dash reached up and pulled the hat off Twilight's head. The face behind it honestly made her want to put it back. "Heh... heh heh... guess I didn't miss after all, huh," said Dash, tossing the fruity remnants off to the side. "But it's a good thing I flew into you! There's something we totally gotta talk about, but we gotta go somewhere first!" "What?" said Twilight, rubbing goop off her nose. This was a little different than she had expected. In fact, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to be affected at all. Maybe Princess Celestia neglected to inform her that that whole magic deal she talked about didn't necessarily have to affect everypony. Well, it could also just be that Rainbow Dash was far too stubborn to admit. That was also an option. It was hard to tell with that one. "Look, I got something to show ya, ok? It's really cool, and I know you're gonna love it!" Dash yanked on Twilight's leg. "Come on!" "Alright, I'm coming!" said Twilight, breaking into a fast trot to keep up with the speedster. "Hey, mind if I ask you a question?" "Shoot!" "Well... what happened yesterday? I mean, everyone just bolted off suddenly, and you probably don't know about this but Applejack kinda... had an episode. I just spent the night with her, and she's in pretty bad shape." "Oh, that's a shame," Rainbow Dash threw it aside as casual as that. "She'll get over it. Don't worry!" Ah, this now. That was odd. Twilight's senses started to prick. "Anyway, about yesterday? Sorry about that too! I just had to go... get some stuff ready, like the pumpkin. Well, so much for that though! Actually, I don't wanna spoil nothin' for ya, but it's got something to do with this super fun thing I just got to show ya!" "What is it?" "You'll see, come on!" Rainbow Dash sped into a run, just to get there all the more faster. It seemed like she was just that eager to show Twilight this magnificent gift. Twilight struggled to keep up. She had to dodge giant puddles, bushes, and other strange objects that lay in her path. This was a path that was obviously not well-travelled. In fact, you could barely call it a path at all. Rainbow Dash seemed pretty familiar with the route, though. Although she wasn't even flying at the moment, none of the obstacles even slowed her down for a second. She had no idea where Rainbow Dash was leading her, but it was definitely not anywhere she'd ever been before, and it was certainly not somewhere that many ponies would go searching after unless they already knew it was there. They finally came upon a small rock-face in the middle of the forest that they had been running through, and against the side of the natural wall was a crudely-built shack of some sort. It would actually be a shack if it didn't simply open to a set of stairs that led underground. In fact, it was small enough to be called a shed, even. But behind its red-painted door was nothing more than those stairs that didn't struggle to keep itself hidden. Twilight felt that the little building that was placed over the top was just some sort of afterthought, as if it was just added there to make things 'cooler'. She wouldn't put it past Rainbow Dash to do something like that. "Well... here we are!" exclaimed Dash proudly. "Check it out. Isn't it sweet?" "Where... are we, exactly?" Twilight nervously chuckled. "Oh, just some place in the forest that I found one day. It's no biggie. Just head that way," she gestured with a wing. "And you'll be back in Ponyville." "Alriiiight..." said Twilight, peering down the stairs. The stairs too, were crudely made. Simple planks propped up against what appeared to be a steep stone chute. "And this is...?" "This is..." Rainbow Dash jumped up high and landed in front of Twilight, her forelegs spread open in presentation. "Rainbow Dash's super secret fun club house!" "A... fun club... house?" "Alright, it's a cave. But it's cool! Trust me! Go on, it's alright." She dragged Twilight again, pulling her toward those rickety-looking steps. "Is... this safe?" "Yeah! Sure it is! I made it myself! You can trust me, come on. Anyway, plenty of other ponies come down here all the time." Twilight gingerly took that first step onto the first wooden plank. The support struts poked out at odd angles, and the nails weren't even beat all the way completely in. It didn't look like it actually attached to the rock in any way or form. But, it was sturdy. She put her weight onto the board, slowly, and in fact it did not shake, or shudder, or waver. She tried to look down further into the entrance to see how deep it went, but the darkness enveloped the chute past the 5th step. Her horn blinked once; twice, and then burst into light as a glowing orb danced around it in a slow waltz. It seemed like there wasn't any need to see beyond the 5th step, because right there was the bottom already; it didn't go that far, and the view beyond her was amazing. It was a natural cave, even larger than Applejack's barn. It seemed that the whole rock face was actually some sort of hollow mountain feature, and it seemed to have been there for a very, very long time. Stalagmites and Stalactites grew in random locations, drops of water running off them every once in a while. The rest of the cave, however, was quite dry indeed and it did not feel clammy. It even had a sort of natural air conditioning; the howlings of an underground wind channel somewhere far toward the back of the cave betrayed a few other openings, and gave a promise that the air inside would never be stale or still. A large 'phhomp' sound echoed off the walls, and Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash lighting up some gas lanterns that had been placed strategically around the cave. Without the need for her own light, she cut hers off and started exploring around. "Rainbow... this is amazing! How far does it go?" her voice sounded hollow and lonely in the vast expanse of the cave. "Oh, I don't know. We never really explored past the river," Dash continued lighting lamps and a few torches that she stuck into brackets on the wall. "There's a river?" "Yeah, small one! No one wants to go down there, though. Not that we really need it yet!" Twilight quirked an eyebrow to herself. Impressive, indeed. But it was just like Rainbow Dash to overlook the true beauty in things. The cave was finally completely illuminated. The soft warm glow of the flickering lights caused shadows to dance in every corner, and even with all that Rainbow Dash had done, it was still not enough to brighten up the furthest reaches of the cave. What it did light up, however, was the dirty, stained center of the cave, where most of the activities obviously took place. The dirt was disturbed in many places, and the stones were more worn. A lot of dancing... or something... took place there, surely. Also there was that huge pot. It stood in a bed of firewood; precociously threatening to fall over and roll away. It was quite large indeed; Twilight felt that she could get in and hide if she rolled up enough. I mean, if one would be inclined to get into a cauldron in the first place. "So... what do you do here?" She circled the room and came back to Rainbow Dash. "We have... fun. We play... games." she answered, avoidingly. "Well... why here? Why couldn't you play outside? We play games outside all the time." "Yeah but you know, some kinds of games you can only get here!" Rainbow Dash pointed to a table that was set up in the corner. "Like look! Air Hockey! Totally sweet!" Twilight walked over. "Um... Dash, this isn't an Air Hockey table. It's a regular table. And this isn't a puck. It's a stale cookie. And there are no paddles." "Heh heh... alright, you got me. I can't get anything by you, can I?" Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Alright, I just want it to be a surprise, so just wait for the others to arrive, alright?" "Others?" "Well yeah, it's not a secret fun club without others, right?" Well, obviously. "Anyway, they'll be here soon, so don't you worry! Just relax." Twilight relaxed. Or tried to. Something was still a bit off, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. And it wasn't a few minutes of silent regard that the first member of this super secret fun club arrived. "Scoots! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash called suddenly. Twilight turned and locked eyes with Scootaloo, who fluttered down carrying a large pack on her back. Well, of course it was Scootaloo. "Didja bring the stuff?" "Yeah, of course I did, Rainbow Dash!" she said proudly, swinging the pack off and dumping it on the table. She upended it, and out poured a few large chunks of cheese, some strange bottles, and what looked like black cloths. "Just like you asked!" "Yeah, totally sweet," Dash said, pushing the cheese into a corner, and looking at the bottles with intent. "'86, huh? Good year." That was when Twilight cut in. "Dash, is that what I think it is?" "Yeah, it's cider. We're gonna have a party, Rainbow Dash style." "And what about..." She tilted her head toward the little filly, who was now busy pushing the oversized cauldron upright with her entire body and not having much progress. "What, her? Oh, she's..." "I'm 25!" Scootaloo shouted from the distance. "That's right! Just like we practiced." Rainbow bumped the air with her fist. "So don't worry! Anyway, it's a special occasion. We even got you this and everything!" Twilight didn't like the idea, but well... it was a special occasion, right? But for what? She looked down to what Rainbow Dash was offering her. It was a black cloak. It had a hood that covered the face nicely, and had a little lightning bolt sewn into the flank area. By the time she looked back up, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were already getting into theirs. "Ah..." "It's part of the ceremony! Go on, just put it on!" Twilight did as asked. You don't really want to question things like this. She bit her lower lip, though. She wouldn't say that it wasn't beginning to get weirder and weirder by the minute. Soon, another robed figure appeared at the top of the stairs and made her way down. She wafted over the floor, hit her head against a stalagmite and fell down upon her rump. "Ditzy! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash squealed. "Ditzy here is one of our best members. She's really fun!" Scootaloo started to put the cheese and cider into the cauldron. "Ok, Rainbow. I'm sorry. Surprise or no, I really have to ask. What is this 'fun' club about? What do you do here?" Rainbow smirked. "Alright. I hear ya. Can't stand the wait, huh? Can't say I blame you. Just because you're you, I'll let you know." She leaned toward Twilight slowly, and whispered in her ear. "This is a love club." For what must have been the eighth time in the past two days, Twilight jerked back. "A what?!" "A love club! You know, we get together, eat a little fondue... we have crackers AND bread... and we... have a little fun, you know? Fun!" "Wh... what? What? What?" Twilight rattled off, backing up and hitting a rock formation for herself. "But... Scootaloo... and Ditzy?! Ditzy? Really? But her eyes, I mean how can she even... coordinate?" "How do you think her eyes got like that in the first place?" shrugged Dash. "She's one of our more active members." Twilight shook her head. "No... no, this isn't really what you do here, right?" she giggled with stress on her voice. "That was just a really bad, really tasteless joke..." "Oh no, not at all. You're gonna love it!" The fire beneath the cauldron burst, and grew in size as it was lit. Ditzy fluttered unevenly to the side where she sat, waiting for the cheese to melt. "Wh...why have you brought me here...?" Twilight stuttered. "Well, to tell ya the truth, Twilight, we really never intended to." Dash nodded, with her eyes closed, as if it were a bad thing. "But you see, when you gave that proclamation yesterday? Well, I was gobsmacked! I didn't know you were up for, you know, this kind of stuff!" Twilight's jaw hung open. "And I know, you're shocked, but it's cool! It's no problem honestly, and well," she leaned in closer again, "There's a few members who always ask me about you, you know? If you'll ever join. You're pretty popular here!" Two more hooded figures clambered down the stairs and stopped momentarily to stare at Twilight before joining Scootaloo and Ditzy at the pot. The shadows made it hard to pick out their faces, and if they had any reaction whatsoever about Twilight's presence, it was hidden from view as well. "Ponies... talk about me?" Twilight stammered. "That's... not... right..." "I know!" exclaimed Dash. "They shoulda just asked you directly, right? But anyway. It's cool, It's cool," she kept repeating. "I had to rush off yesterday to prepare all this just for you! Well... minus one pumpkin." The ponies had started to arrive in clusters now. In all, there seemed to be about ten members, all of whom lay in a circle around the bubbling, hot cauldron, all of whom were watching Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle having their little conversation a few steps away. Twilight tried to find something to say but ended up gaping like a fish. "Listen, Twilight, today's your first day, so you get to go through... initiation!" Dash nodded proudly. "And initiation is the best part." No. "What we do is cover you with cheese..." No. No no. "And then we eat it off you..." No! "And then we all have a turn initiatin' ya one by one!" NO! NO! NO! "It'll probably take about six hours, but you can last that long, can't you?" Twilight screamed. No. No no no no no. This was insane. This was not happening. She turned suddenly, tripped up in her cloak, and landed, sprawling to the ground. "Unf!" she called out, as a sharp rock scratched her chin. But she didn't wait to check it out. Scrambling to her hooves, she rushed as fast as she could to the exit, barging outside and taking in the evening air. The rain had started again, washing off the scratch and stinging it in the process. Twilight winced. From behind her she could hear Rainbow Dash rushing after her, calling out after her. "Hey wait! Was it something I said?!" Her voice was faint, but she was definitely getting closer. Oh gosh, oh gosh, which way did she say it was again, back to Ponyville? The rain made it hard to see, and the darkness of the forest didn't help a bit either. Could she even trust Rainbow Dash with what she said earlier? She had no reason not to, but she didn't feel like she could trust Rainbow Dash ever again. Never mind! Just run! Think later! She took off, not casting the spell of light in case Rainbow Dash would use it to track her and drag her back to that pit of debauchery. And deep into the forest she ran, dodging branches, trees, and so much more. And ran she did, ditching the cloak and her bags at her earliest convenience. Running. Away from something she knew but didn't know. The foreign in the familiar. The strange sense that she had missed so much, and this odd feeling when she thought back on all the times she had been with this... this pony who harboured such a secret. She didn't know where she was running to, but she wasn't going to stop. Not yet. Not just yet. GENEROSITYG E N E R O S I T Y She didn't know how long it had been since she started, but she knew that the end was in a place that she hadn't counted on being. Panic had caused her to dart around without thinking, and now with the chance to regain her senses, she found her options had severely limited themselves. She had stopped, in the middle of a dark area of forest. The sun had set a while ago, and all that was left were a few streaks of lightning to temporarily cast familiar shapes upon the scene around. She didn't feel like running. She didn't have the energy, the spirit, or the heart. She stood there, resigned to her fate. The thunder roared and lightning once again lit up the scene. Amidst the rain, tapping on leaves and branches, and the trees that eventually closed off all sight in a radius around her, was Twilight Sparkle, wet, cold, and miserable, standing in the middle of a patch of familiar blue plants. Her horn had stopped working a few minutes ago. Without magic, she now didn't even have the chance to make her way back using the tools she normally would have at her disposal. The poison joke laughed at her, and robbed her of her powers. Clinging to her ankles like tiny little hands reaching up through the ground just for a chance to stroke her luscious skin, they sapped of her the individuality that would be a most welcome ability in dire need. She waded through the patch, shivering, sniffing, alone. She was... scared. She looked up, drops of rain hitting her in the face and eye, running over the cut on her chin and washing her down to her soul. A few more steps were taken, in whichever direction, as Twilight proceeded carefully through the dense brush, stumbling over a rock or root whenever it happened to be just right to do so. "...light..." She froze. Her eyes widened. The skin on her back dropped ten degrees in temperature, as her hair prickled up and the wind died down. "...Tw...l...t..." Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What was that. What was that? It came from behind her. Definitely. Maybe. All sounds faded away as she heard what appeared to be her name being called in the middle of nowhere. And then the roaring pour of water came back as her senses were regained. It was accompanied by a high pitched buzzing that Twilight knew was just in her head. It was the kind of warning that she gave herself when she knew that she just shouldn't be somewhere. "... ig..t..." She did not want to turn around. She closed her eyes, letting the water run down her body. A twig snapped. Audibly. Clearly. "Celestia... please..." she said to herself, barely over a whisper. "Help me... please..." "Twilight" the voice intoned. It was directly in her left ear. Twilight's eyes bolted open, but only saw it for a second. It was a figure. Dark. Illuminated by the moon. It had pallid skin, and was barely in the shape of a pony, but it was pony-ish at the very least. It stood there without moving, featureless, emotionless. It had no eyes. That was enough. Twilight took off from a standing start, her legs racing to keep up with her beating heart. It wasn't clear which one was moving at a faster pace. It was only that one split second of sight, that she caught it, and out of the corner of her vision, but whatever it was that she saw there that was calling her name, she let her imagination fill in the blanks. And usually that is the worst thing one can do in a situation like this. But the voice. There was no avoiding the voice. It wasn't male, it wasn't female. It wasn't anything she ever heard before. It sounded like the grating of carrots. It sounded like the purring of cats. It had that strange roughness to it, and a distinct warbling that sounded like someone trying to talk underwater. It clearly wasn't pony. It clearly wasn't real. That's right. It's not real. It's just that horrible poison joke, doing another nasty on her. She laughed, suddenly and harshly, as the thought of it ran through her head. Yes, nothing to worry about, nothing to wo... "Twilight" She turned so quickly that she ended up careening into a tree, hitting herself hard on the chest and knocking out whatever little breath she had left. It wasn't that running wasn't easy for her, but she really had nothing left to supply the oxygen that her entire body was screaming for. She wheezed, propping herself up on her front leg, body dangling in the back, trailing in the mud. Through dizzy eyes and blurred vision she saw that figure again. It was right in front of her this time, walking slowly toward her with spasmodic pacing. It was an uneven gait - one leg following after the other, but at random intervals, like a spider examining its surroundings. Somehow, it managed to stay upright, and even manage to catch up with Twilight with its slow saunter. "Twilight" it said again. Twilight didn't know if the word 'said' was appropriate. She strained to see, but the creature definitely did not open its mouth when it spoke. The voice came from it, but it didn't say it. She still swore it didn't have eyes. She struggled around the side of the tree, using her teeth, forelegs, whatever she had at her disposal to clamber around to the other side, where she could catch her breath. The thing behind her hit the tree. She could hear it. There was a slight clonk. And then... silence. It did not seem to be attempting to reach for her around it. And maybe it didn't want to, either. Twilight knew she was stuck, and perhaps this was part of the idea. She couldn't go left or right. It would be able to know. The only way to go was straight away from the tree in the opposite direction, leaving that horrible monstrosity behind her. Was it... a trap? She didn't have time to think. The waiting was destroying her as the seconds ticked by. It was a strange mystery. She didn't want to hear anything, but yet, she did. She didn't even know now if that thing was still there. Maybe it was in front of her now, waiting in the darkness. Maybe it was above her, waiting in the tree. "Twilight" The voice confirmed its location, and her plan of action. She took a few more final, rapid, deep breaths and pushed herself off the tree as hard as her aching legs could take her, and ran from the location deeper into the woods. Thunder crashed. Lightning roared. She ignored it. The ground around her hooves turned softer. No longer were there small rocks or boulders which defined the forest ground. It seemed to be a path now. Dirt and mud, it was a well-travelled path, cut out between orderly rows of trees. In fact, and Twilight had just noticed, the trees were much more sparse now. Spread out, and even, almost as if they were... Planted! She looked up in hope. Apples. Yes! Apples. Oh Celestia, thank you, thank you. She had brought her here, back to the farm. It was the farm, right? Definitely. Twilight peeked back over her shoulder. No one. That thing wasn't there. Oh thank goodness. Thank goodness. She slowed down a little bit. Still looking and peering around cautiously, but nothing immediately catching her attention. It was still very hard to see anyway. The farm was never really lit up that much at night. The sound of crickets protesting the weather became clearer, but that only meant that she was back in a familiar place. It was all going to be ok. It was all going to be ok. She jogged along the trees, not paying attention anymore to the ground in front of her because she knew Applejack didn't leave things out, especially not in the rain. That's why she never expected it when it hit her in the eye. She came skidding to a halt under a particularly tall tree, mud pushed up all over her body and face. The mud, seeping into her wound, reminded her again of the scratch she had. She coughed, muddy water filling her nose and mouth, assaulting her senses, and bringing her to look back at what she walked into. It was this long thick strand of... something. Twilight squished closer for a better view. Rope. That's all it was. It was tied around the trunk of the tree. Twilight reached up to touch it, just as one does when one is curious about something. The lightning lit up the bark. It had been tied over something. Something carved into the bark of the tree. She strained to read what it said, waiting for the moon to peek through the clouds and give her the opportunity. ApPleJack ♥ TwILiGht SparKlE was crudely carved into the tree with a jackknife. The rope had been tied in a way that it crossed out Applejack's name. Twilight's heart sank. It couldn't possibly be. It just couldn't. She stepped backward, her rear leg hitting what she later would find to be a wooden cart, toppled over backward and laying upside down in the soil. She was already crying as she trailed her eyes upward, following the rope to a branch, and following it down to the shadow of a corpse swinging gently on the end of a lasso. "No... No...!" Twilight wailed. "Why!? Why?! Applejack! No!" Her voice turned to breathy squeals as everything was sucked out of her from repeating that same mantra over and over for far too long. She dropped to her back, holding her hooves over her temples, as she stared up at the body. It looked serene. It looked happy. If it were any other day, she would look even better than normal. "This... is... not..." Twilight struggled against her choking sobs. "What... I... wanted!" The sheer ridiculousness of what she said just hit her. Of course, it wasn't what she wanted. None of this was what she wanted. Princess Celestia... this... magic. What was it? It was horrible. Every part of it. It was only two days ago but she now wondered what possessed her to eagerly tell the world of this forbidden relationship. "Twilight" Oh no... enough. Please. I beg you. Whatever is out there that still has some good left in them. Please let this not be what I think it is. Please. Dear Celestia. Dear Luna. Dear Powers That Be. Please. Please. The creature stood there, with the rope separating itself from where Twilight sat, throwing up over herself in the mud. It took a step forward, the rope pushing against its face as if it were not even there. The corpse above quavered with the pressure, heavy under the weight of water soaking into languished flesh. Twilight turned, struggled behind the cart, and started to run yet again. There was simply nothing else she wanted to do besides this. She wanted to run away from this all. From the horror and the nightmares. Yes, that's what this was. It was a nightmare. She was still asleep, in Applejack's barn, and she would wake up and that would be that and... "Twilight Sparkle! Over here!" This time she opened her eyes to something that gave her more than the calm of relief. At this point she would take anything. Especially Rarity. "Quick!" Rarity yelled, "Oh you poor darling! We've been looking for you forever! Hurry and get to the boutique!" Twilight fumbled toward the voice. It was Rarity, alright, standing there under her saddle-umbrella, a lantern being floated by her horn. It barely worked in the storm, but it guided well enough. She stood at the edge of the fence which separated the farm grounds from the path that led up to the barn, waving Twilight over. "I don't know what's been happening, darling, but it's been madness around here! Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and I have been looking for you ever since you disappeared yesterday and oh my, you do look dreadful! Come in out of the rain, quickly! You'll catch your death of cold!" Twilight was so happy to hear Rarity's long-winded speeches that she wished she could just listen to them forever. The nightmare was ending. At least by this account, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were doing alright. They raced to Carousel Boutique, Twilight shaking off most of the mud before entering. "Oh my dear, my poor dear," Rarity said, gathering up a bunch of fresh, clean towels. "You look absolutely terrible. What happened to you?" Twilight took some time to regain her senses. It was nice to be out of the rain, and especially nice to be in a warm, cosy place like Rarity's. The events of the past day still weighed heavily on her mind, but at least now she had the opportunity to settle down and let them sink in at their own pace. "It's just... I don't know where to begin," said Twilight. "It's impossible. Everything that happened... is impossible." "Take your time, while I get you some nice hot tea," said Rarity, gently pouring Twilight a fresh mug. The mug had flowers on it. Twilight ran everything through her head. she didn't even know what she should say. Applejack? That would be traumatizing. Rainbow Dash and the fact that half the town were members of some weird cult? No. Maybe not now. "There's some sort of thing in the forest," Twilight decided. "It's... like a weird... non-pony pony. And I think it's after me. It's been chasing me all night, and it keeps..." She shuddered. "Saying my name." "Oh?" said Rarity, her back turned to Twilight as she worked on the tea. "Yeah and in this really weird voice too, like almost mechanical..." "Well," came the reply. She should be more concerned. She really, really should be more concerned. "Rarity?" "I'm sorry I'm not perfect," huffed Rarity. "What?" "I know the voice is a bit strange, but it was the best I could do, and I think for a day's work it was quite good, wouldn't you agree?" she turned around with the cup of tea hovering beside her. Twilight gulped. Nothing went down. She had run dry ages ago. "Rarity... do... you know... that thing?" "Of course I do. I made her with my own two hooves!" She held them out for effect. They were bruised. Cuts lined Rarity's perfect white skin, and open sores scarred her flesh. "Theeeeese hooves!" "Rarity! What have... you been doing!?" The door behind Twilight slammed shut. In the full light of the boutique, she could now clearly see what had been chasing her. It was one of Rarity's mannequins; the ponies upon which she draped her fashions. This one had torn free from restraint and was now walking amongst their midst, like a flaccid mockery of life. Extensive work had been done to 'prepare' it. There were huge tears in its side, sewn-up cuts of various widths and thicknesses, and altogether it looked like a patchwork of cloth and stuffing. The worst part about it was that it had the same pale, white, flesh colouring of Rarity, and three diamonds stitched into either side of its flank. A faux mane and tail, purple in colour, hung off its back and rear, but entirely drenched now and falling down to the side like straggles of seaweed clutching to the side of a shipwreck. It didn't have any eyes. "It took me hours, darling, but I finally made it work," Rarity said. "You see, the key was using a real diaphragm to get it to speak, although it still sounds a bit like Opal, as you've no doubt heard. Poor dear, really. But I'll get a better one soon, I promise!" "How... why...!?" Twilight looked frantically around the room, spotting a soggy, wet sheet covering a tiny red lump hiding behind the dressing cupboard. "Mmmph, well I was thinking about the other day, darling," said Rarity, bringing over the tea as if nothing were the matter. The doll stood there by the door, silently. "Oh, gorgeous thing, don't you think so? Looks exactly like me," Rarity remarked, as the doll caught her eye. "Anyway, I was just thinking to myself, how unbelievably selfish it must be for me to want to call you my own, but show nothing for it." "Your... your own?" "why yeeeeees, darling, of course!" sang Rarity, her picture perfect hair bobbing as she nodded. "Now of course your announcement was just a challenge, I could see that as clear as everypony else, but how could I be so terribly self-centered not to be around you as much as I possibly can? "I know I can't compare with the others, definitely, I simply have so much work to do. So that's why I made her." She stroked the faux Rarity with a hoof, some of its skin peeling off like flaking scales. "She will be there when I cannot, and that way, I can be around you twenty-four hours a day!" she gleefully tittered. "Isn't it brilliant?" she asked. "Twilight" the doll 'said'. "Oh yes, I shall improve its vocabulary, as well. So much to do. So much!" She daintily flowed back to Twilight. "So, do you accept, then?" "A... accept what?" "My love of course! Silly little pony." She bipped Twilight on the nose. "Ugh, mud." She wiped off her hoof carefully on one of the stray cloths. "You see, between me and those other four yokels, there wasn't any competition, so I never really needed to say anything, of course. But now that Princess Celestia entered the picture, why! I needed to... mmph, step up my game, as they say, colloquially." "But... how... Rarity... how?" Twilight groaned, weakly. Knowing that Rarity was behind this strange monstrosity wasn't making things any better. In fact, seeing it in full view was perhaps more unnerving than it had been chasing her around in the forest. "Oh, it was the strangest thing! Ever since you mentioned your... attachment to Princess Celestia, I just sort of knew." She shrugged. "I knew I had that spell lying around in my horn somewhere, just waiting to come out. "But anyway! There's no problem!" Rarity concluded, clopping her hooves together. "Now we three will always be together. Forever!" "Forever" the doll intoned. "Oh look, it learnt a new word! Isn't that precious?" Rarity trilled. Twilight had been inching her way to the window ever since Rarity started her tirade. Now. While Rarity was distracted. Quickly. Out the window. Twilight noticed a small bolt of cloth, half-processed into a dress, that was sitting there on the table beside her. She knew she had to do what was necessary. She grabbed the shiny blue silk and rubbed it vigorously over her face, letting the mud, tears, sweat and fear soak into it. And then with a flick of her head she tossed it across the room, letting it hit the wall and slog down. "Oh my gosh, Rarity, your dress!" She yelled, and dived out the window head first into the bushes behind the boutique. The screams that came from within could not compare to anything that Twilight herself had made that night. The cold, raspy, death wail of a pony who had just had her very soul ripped out of her own chest paled in comparison. As Twilight ran off into the distance of the town square ahead, the shrieking kept up until it was too, finally drowned out by the noise of the rain and angry winds. And perhaps till this day, she is shrieking still. KINDNESSK I N D N E S S There were only two ponies left whom she knew well enough to help her. She didn't trust either. She needed to get out of town as quickly as possible, head up to Canterlot and reverse this if it was even possible. She travelled down the empty, dark streets of Ponyville, not a single soul out that night. She didn't know if they were simply just in due to the rain, or in due to other more nefarious reasons. She didn't care to find out. But first she had to do something about her horn. It was useless as it looked, and she now realised what a boon it was just to simply have magic. It would be about this time when she would decide to launch a research paper into how Earth ponies get by without, but really, now simply wasn't the right situation. With no means of defence, heading to Zecora's was out of the question. She needed to find someone who knew the cure. And there was only one doctor in Ponyville. Twilight skidded to a stop in front of the gate that opened into the Chicken patch that bordered Fluttershy's house. Behind her was the Everfree Forest, groaning and quaking, beckoning all to enter and be consumed. She had a hard time deciding which one would be the worst of two evils. But... It was Fluttershy. How could she possibly... Twilight steeled herself, and pushed the gate open with her rump. It squeaked. Rusty. The lights inside Fluttershy's cottage flickered. She was in. Twilight trod up to the door, and she couldn't even keep her hoof steady and she banged on the knocker, once... twice... three times. A nervous voice came from behind the door after a tense few seconds. "Who... who is it?" "It's Twilight," she said weakly. "Can I please come in?" The door burst open suddenly, and Twilight felt herself being yanked in, out of the rain, into a warm, fire-lit cabin room. "Oh, oh oh, Twilight!" meeped Fluttershy. "Oh I was so... so worried! I couldn't... even think!" She flustered around the room, knocking over knick-knacks and bottles as she gathered bandages, salves and other sorts of various items without even thinking about it. Twilight never managed to catch a look at herself in a mirror, but by Fluttershy's reaction, she must have been through hell and back. She certainly felt like it. But it was a breath of relief that Fluttershy actually seemed to be acting normal, as far as normal went for a pony of her timid nature. The medicatives were strewn across the floor in front of Twilight, who started to dry herself off in front of the fire. She lay, face on her side, sprawled out on the wooden floor of the cottage, just thinking of everything that she had gone through so far. And even now, she still cried weakly through bloodshot, pain-stricken eyes. She hadn't the strength to muster up a good strong tearful bawling, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. It wasn't just sadness that caused it, but a lot of everything else as well. She thought about the corruption that took place in the hearts of her best friends, and started to wonder if they were like that all long or some evil force had changed reality as she knew it. But at this point, did it even matter anymore? Applejack was... oh... Applejack... how could this have happened... Rainbow Dash, with her carefree and fun loving nature, now a sick dredge of society, Rarity and that thing... and now... Fluttershy hummed to herself, and smiled as she cleaned Twilight off, and dabbed her chin with a little bit of medicine, putting a little sticky bandage over it to finish. The bandage had yellow smiley faces on it. It was very apt. Twilight just said nothing. It was fine. She had enough of talking for the time being, and it was just good to be able to breathe regularly. Fluttershy finished off by dabbing at the edges of Twilight's eyes with cotton balls. "Phew, all done!" said Fluttershy, keeping her things away and setting items back up where they had fallen. "You must take care of yourself better, Twilight." "Oh, you have no idea what I've just been through, Fluttershy." "I'm... sorry." Fluttershy mumbled, looking down as if she had somehow failed Twilight. "I... wish I was there for you." A chill ran down Twilight's spine at those words. "Everyone can use a friend in times of trouble!" she continued. Oh, thank goodness. Just... a little overreaction there. But you couldn't blame her, could you? No, now's not really the time to take anything for granted. "So... what happened?" Fluttershy came by with a bottle of fresh carrot juice for her friend, which she took with grace, and settled down next to the fire alongside Twilight. "And your horn! Oh, did that nasty old Poison Joke get you again?" "Yeah... long, horrible story, Fluttershy." "Well don't you worry! Because you're safe with me now. I triple bolted all the windows, and the door is really sturdy!" "Errhh... I don't think that's really necessary, Fluttershy..." "Oh, no worries, you can open it at any time," Fluttershy assured. "It's not like I'm trying to trap you in here or anything." Phew. "So... I just want to... well... this is going to sound pret-ty weird, but... are you feeling alright, Fluttershy?" Twilight took the path of caution, as she weakly asked. "Me?" gasped Fluttershy. "Of... of course... is... do I look wrong? Is there something on my face...?" she shot up, looking worried as ever. "No! No! Not at all. Settle down, Fluttershy," It was Twilight's turn to reassure. "Just... checking, that's all. See... things have been... really terrible since two days ago. "I feel just awful," she understated, surprised at her own clarity despite all that occured. "It all started back when I made that announcement to everypony." "The one where you said you were in love with Princess Celestia?" "... yeah..." If only taking words back were that simple. And the words to come were not going to be any easier. -- <3 -- By the time Twilight had finished accounting all the details from start to end, from her night in Applejack's barn until the time they ended up there in Fluttershy's house, Fluttershy was just as destroyed as Twilight was. She openly cried over Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash; her face looked so distraught, with quaking jaw and twitching eyes, that even Twilight felt guilty for telling the entire story to her. "S... so... e...ever...y... pon....y.... is...." she barely made it through the sentence, quivering in her horseshoes. She sputtered, coughing out flecks of spittle, and squeezed her eyes shut tight. "W... why... Twilight... why..." "I don't know," Twilight said. It was the truth. She didn't know. "I just don't know wh..." "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" belted out Fluttershy. "... wha?" "Those stories... they were so... so good," heaved Fluttershy, through short tight breaths. Oh... Oh colt. Twilight stood up in an instant. She was exhausted. What now? What could it be now? "Twilight..." Fluttershy giggled, through her tears and coughing. "That was wonderful. I especially loved it how you described Applejack." "Please... please don't hurt me," meeped Twilight, moving backwards. "Hurt you? Why... why Twilight, I could never..." Fluttershy looked down at her front hooves again, scratching them back and forth over the puddle of tears that she left. "Look, Fluttershy, I hate to have to run, but I really just need something from you, ok?" Twilight quickly took initiative. She had to get it, and get it now. "Do you still have that cure for Poison Joke that Zecora left us?" "Oh, yes," Fluttershy nodded. Oh thank goodness. "But... I... I want you to do something for me first..." the timid yellow Pegasus continued. Oh holy hells. "Twilight?" Fluttershy said softly, drawing up, dragging her heels behind her in a seductive, bashful way. "I would never hurt you... but... I... I want you to hurt me..." "No... that's insane... no... you're not right, Fluttershy. Something's happened and you're not acting normal," Twilight tried to reason. "Oh no, I've... I've always been this way!" Fluttershy insisted. Something inside Twilight's head clicked. Living on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Always taking care of Rarity's late cat. How she's such a good doctor. Angel Bunny. Oh. My. "Twilight, just... hit me. Just hit me right here," Fluttershy closed her eyes and nervously tilted her head back and away, exposing her right cheek to the stunned pony standing in front of her. "No!" Twilight shouted. "Please, Twilight! Please!" the meek yellow pony begged, wings tipping. "It has to be you... I love you so much, I made my choice... back then... I wanted to end it with the one I love..." "I thought you said you didn't love me!" Twilight complained. "I never said thaaaat," Fluttershy smiled, bashfully. "You just asked me if I was feeling alright, and... well... I am!" "Oh no. No no no." Twlight backed up a little more. "Please?" asked Fluttershy. "No! It's sick!" "Pretty please?" "No!" "With sugar?" "No!" "With a black eye?" "NO!" Fluttershy clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disappointment. "Alright," a snide tone had taken over her voice. "I guess it can't be helped." "Listen, Fluttershy, I just really, really need that Poison Joke cure..." Twilight couldn't even finish what she wanted to say. A strange sensation took over her as her muscles contracted in her right foreleg, and without thinking, her arm flailed out and slapped Fluttershy right across the face. "Oh my gosh, Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled, looking at her leg in staunch disbelief. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" Fluttershy's head had been snapped back with the force of the impact, although it was only a slight hit. She remained in that position for a while, the point of attack starting to blossom in red already. She brought her own hoof up to her cheek, gently prodding it and wincing from the pain. "Ah... yeah..." she turned her head back, slowly, deliberately, and faced Twilight again, eye to eye. "See? That... wasn't so hard, was it?" And again. That feeling. That strange odd feeling of irresistible beckoning shot through Twilight's head. The second time it happened, she managed to grasp a bit more of what it meant. The first time had taken her by surprise, but this time she caught a small glimpse of a flash of some kind... the image of herself... as if looking at the scene through a telescopic lens; of herself punching Fluttershy in the lower chest. Twilight Sparkle blinked. She slowly withdrew her hoof from the keeled-over form of Fluttershy, who was groaning in pain, punctuated with sporadic coughing. The dizziness was returning to Twilight's head. Split images of things in her vision once again overlapped each other as things started to fade in and out of reality. She stared at her hoof. She stared at the floor. She stared at Fluttershy as small flecks of blood started to dot the sides of her mouth, staining her pretty yellow skin. "Fluttershy..." Twilight whispered, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I didn't mean to..." "Un...ng...hh..." was the only reply. Slow groaning; a futile argument against the discomfort that she so desperately wanted, and received. The third time, and Twilight caught it all. It happened as if falling through treacle. It was laboured, and slow, and exhaustive, but no amount of struggle could remove the thick, dense shroud she was in. Fluttershy turned her head to look up at Twilight. And stared. Her eyes, so full of love, kindness and peace. Those eyes, slanted at the sides to make her look as if she was feeling guilty about everything. Those eyes that only saw the good in everything around her and brought out the best in everyone. Those eyes that bore deep into Twilight's mind. Those eyes that screwed further and further into Twilight's brain with a drill. Those eyes that drank Twilight in, and sucked her into a place where there was nothing else but those eyes. And again, Twilight felt that floaty feeling of separation. She pushed off the floor, where everything was a monotone of grey, and she was the only one conscious of the surroundings. She watched as she, herself, walked in half time to stand over Fluttershy where she lay on the floor. And she watched, as she raised her leg high... high in to the air, above the face of the whimpering, bloody pony. And she watched as the whimpering, bloody pony gave the biggest smile she had ever seen. It felt now like she was being pushed down a long corridor. Stars and twinkles of light zipped past at ludicrous speed as she flew back into the recesses of her own consciousness. And as the colour returned, she knew she had committed what Fluttershy commanded her to do with that horrible stare. She didn't want to look down. She knew what would happen if she did. Twilight just shut her eyes, as hard as she could, and lifted her leg off the mass of wet, bulging flesh that twitched and pulsated under her hoof. The only thing that let her know that Fluttershy was still alive was the scant giggling that haunted the cabin, and heavy breathing that sounded like it was being done through a plastic straw. She stepped backward, eyes still closed, with her head unequivocally focused on one single thought. Just keep your eyes shut, and get out. Get out. She backed up, step by step, slowly, shuffling so as not to trip, and tried to use her memory to reach the front door. "Twiliiiighhhtt... where aree..... you.... going....?" a voice gurgled, "I'm... still... here..." It was dark through shut eyes. Twilight had no sense of her surroundings, and as hard as she tried, she could not help but use the pathetic sounds of Fluttershy as a point of reference to where she should be headed. All there was in her head were those sounds of breathing. Those small wet giggles. At one point, those groans of pain intermixed with the sighs of pleasure, and Twilight couldn't tell which was which any longer. But still she crept backward, in the darkness of her own head. One thing that she knew for sure was that, at the very least, Fluttershy was in no position to chase after her. It was a few more steps, and she felt the door behind her. Quickly, she turned, opened her eyes only just for this last point - which was to yank the door open - and throw herself outside. She ran. Again. Running from everything and everypony. Running from her life, and for her life. And she did not stop. Through the wind and the rain, she did not stop. She had given up. She should have had a long time ago. She didn't even want to consider any other avenues. She went back to the library. "Spike! Spike!" She screamed, bursting through the door. The library was silent. No Spike was there to greet her with a friendly hug and a 'hey, Twilight!' The books felt cold and chilly. Remote and grotesque. Even to her. All the candles were out, and on the floor next to the small stepladder lay Spike's duster. Twilight bit her lip nervously in the same groove that she caused by biting it so many times before. Ok. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. LAUGHTERL A U G H T E R The back door of the library was open, letting the rain in. Someone had opened it only recently, from the looks of things, as not a whole lot was wet on the inside, and the lack of tracks showed that someone had left and not entered. The wind must have extinguished all the fires, and all the scrolls that normally lined Twilight's writing desk lay across the opposite wall like torn wallpaper, stuck there by the gusts that blew in through the open doorway. It was truly a shame that that doorway was Twilight's destination. She stepped silently. She didn't know why. Yelling Spike's name at the top of her lungs would have given away her presence ages ago, and if anything, walking cautiously slow wasn't really the best thing to do at a time like this. She peeked out the back door. There was only one reason why she wanted to do this, and only one reason for coming here in the first place. And it was gone. The large Air Balloon that was usually tethered in the small open patch behind Twilight's house was decidedly unavailable. Where it had been lay the sunken heart of one Twilight Sparkle, whose dejection managed to hit critical levels of lowness. She staggered back in, eyelid twitching. She dragged the door close behind her, struggling to do so without magic. She didn't even give it a thought as to why it was necessary. She was running on automatic, and she just felt the need to be behind closed walls. She sniffed. No magic. No Balloon. Options? She could walk. Walk to Canterlot? In the rain? With that Rarity thing out there? And no doubt Rainbow Dash and her weird friends would be looking for her too. Right? Or were they busy with their little fun club? How about just walking to the next town over? Yeah, that was an idea, Where was the next town over, anyway? Oh right, it was Canterlot. Hey, I know! How about we go out, and forget the whole thing ever happened, and we could just put on a brave face and just accept Rainbow Dash for who she was, and learn to live with Rarity's doll and leave Fluttershy very well alone and just forget about Applejack entirely? Time heals all wounds, they say! Heh Heh heh. Hahaha! It was so funny. Twilight Sparkle found herself laughing, against all logic. Against all hope, and in the face of everything wrong. She found herself taking the advice of somepony she knew a long time ago, but probably didn't know any longer. Just laugh it all away. "Heeheeheeee!" Pinkie Pie giggled, joining in. And then it all went dark. -- <3 -- "What's up, Twilight?" bubbled Pinkie Pie. The voice came from somewhere in front of her, but it was hard to tell exactly where. She knew she wasn't in the library any longer. The room sounded different as well. Of course all this could be explained by the burlap sack that Twilight had over her head. "Pffenkie?" Twilight said, muffled through the bag. "Iffat yfoo?" "Yeah, of course it's me, silly," she called. "Who else would it be? I'm the last one, you know!" Last what? Oh for crying out loud. It was already difficult to understand Pinkie Pie regularly, but... could Pinkie Pie even get any more insane? Was it physically possible? The bag was whipped off Twilight's head, and a cascading torrent of light overflowed her senses and blinded her. Wherever she was, it was very, very well lit. Slowly, the lights began to quiet down, as she got used to it. Unfamiliar blobs of luminosity began to take shapes, and it was a while before she finally realised that she was sitting at the end of the long dinner table that was up in Pinkie's loft. The room was as it had always been - decorated with streamers, party favours and other such embellishments, and a huge banner that stretched across the ceiling. For a moment, Twilight thought she had saw something, but as the letters focused more and more, it simply read 'Happy Birthday!!' in a large, comical font. Pinkie Pie was sitting at the other end of the table, wearing a party mask. It was one of those kinds that covered the upper face, breaking form with an over-abundance of plastic jewels and other such gaudy nonsensicals. The table was set for a celebration. Pinkie Pie herself was uncharacteristically calm. No sudden movements, no weird jerking, no walking on the walls. She just sat there. She did sound normal, but she was acting... normal as well, actually. The word 'normal' really does lose meaning in the context of Pinkie Pie. The next thing Twilight noticed was that she couldn't move. Well, not to say that she couldn't, but she was restrained. She was sat on the chair on her hindquarters, a rather uncomfortable position, in fact, and her legs were bound up in front of her; all four together. It was like someone had trussed up a turkey, and sat it nicely on a chair, and put a little party hat on it. Yes, Twilight was wearing a hat. One of those paper cone things. Cheap. Didn't really capture the feel of the situation. "Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Would you please untie me?" She didn't bother to ask why she was tied up. That question was a dangerous question because it would lead to Pinkie Pie saying things that she really probably would be better off not knowing. "Okie dokie lokie!" said Pinkie Pie, clambering off her chair and trotting over. Twilight blinked in surprise. "You're not really tied up tight, anyway," Pinkie Pie said, yanking at the rope. "You could probably just get out of it yourself!" The ropes came free. There wasn't even a knot to be had. Twilight just simply hadn't bothered. "Um..." Twilight said. "Because you were struggling in your sleep, I had to carry you here without getting my head knocked off!" Pinkie said, giggling again. "And how di..." "Oh, when I showed up at the library to get you to safety, you fainted!" "And the sack..." "Well..." Pinkie stared at Twilight. "That one was just for fun." It all... made sense, really. "You came to rescue me?" Twilight asked, rubbing her ankles. "Yeppers!" nodded Pinkie, bouncing back to her side of the table. "Well. You see. You know how the other day you told all of us how..." "Yes, yes." Twilight cut Pinkie off. She had enough of that. "Well, all of us started to act really funny, and my pinkie sense? It started giving me doozies! All day! And all night, too! I couldn't sleep, it was pretty funny. I was doozying so hard, I fell out of bed! And then I doozied all the way downstairs, and doozied in the toilet, and doozied..." "Pinkie." "Oh, right! And well, I knew something bad had happened, so I went out to take a look, and everyone was acting so funny all over! Applejack came to me to say goodbye for some reason, like she was going on a loooooong holiday, and I wish I could have joined her, but I had things to do, and Rarity? She was making this really creep-tastic doll thing, and I was scared of it, and Rainbow Dash was gathering ponies from all over town for some weird thing, and I didn't even know about it but I accidentally found her cave and ooooh yuck! They were eating cheese inside, without any toast! But she didn't see me, and I left and..." "Pinkie!" "... and I knew you were in trouble because everyone was trying to find you and you were missing, so I figured to find you first. But it looks like I found you last, but it really doesn't matter because you're safe now!" Was she? "Twilight, it's ok." she suddenly said, with a more serious tone than before. "It's really ok." "R...really?" Twilight asked. She pleaded. "Yeah. Look, everything's ok here. You can stay here until we find out what happened to your balloon, and then we'll both go up and talk to Princess Celestia. That was why you went back to the Library, right?" "Pinkie, you don't sound..." "Like myself? Yeah. Well. Guess what, Twilight? This is actually how I really am. I'm not really in the mood to keep up the whole 'fun and laughter' thing anymore. It's been a long night, as I'm sure it has been for you as well. Everypony else seems to have gone genuinely mad, and you don't even want to know how I just found Fluttershy a while back." "I... I know." "Well... then I don't have to elaborate," said Pinkie. Whether she was serious or funny, at least her incessant chattiness wasn't affected. "I suppose you think it was me or something who took the balloon in the first place, and to be honest, no. I didn't. I don't know who did. "When I realised that everypony else couldn't be trusted any longer, I made straight for your house. I only just arrived after you got in yourself, and I also went to look for the balloon. I'd like to get out of here as well, personally. "This place just isn't... as fun anymore," she smiled weakly. "It's magic," Twilight blurted out suddenly. "What is?" "I... oh Pinkie... I'm so sorry for everything... Celestia... she warned me. She did. I didn't listen. She said that if I told anypony about our relationship... bad things would happen... I didn't expect it to be this bad..." "Don't be silly," said Pinkie Pie. That made Twilight perk up and look at her stern face. "What happened was not your fault. Why are you apologizing for something that you just wanted to share? If it were any worse than what Princess Celestia could have foreseen, she'd have warned you more, wouldn't she? Did you maybe think that she didn't know the outcome herself?" Taking solid, logical advice from Pinkie. That was new. "What happened is terrible. It's a tragedy. It changed all of us. Look, it's turned me into you." Was that a joke? Twilight wasn't certain. Pinkie giggled a little bit. At least she wasn't changed entirely. "Well, look, Twilight Sparkle, what's over is over, but now we have to fix it. You and me together, alright? We'll take care of business, and everything will be as it's supposed to be." "Supposed to be? How can we ever do that? Don't you get it, Pinkie? Everything's ruined!" "Everything is not ruined!" Pinkie said. "With everything we've gone through together, don't you remember? Nothing, and I believe nothing can be undone! Don't you believe that we can see this through to the end?" It was frightening to see Pinkie Pie this charged up. Twilight nodded. "Yeah... Yeah! I do!" "So just take a little break for now, I think we both need one. Have some tea, I made tons of cakes, as usual, and just relax. We'll tackle the first problem a little later, alright?" Twilight looked at the table apprehensively. It was laid out, as she noticed earlier, for a sort of party, but then again, to Pinkie, it could just be dinner. There were cupcakes and treats of all kinds, cups full of oats and bran, and a full punch bowl overflowing with hot cocoa. Didn't seem like Pinkie had any other container to put it in, but who's complaining? Twilight struggled to fill a cup with the delicious warm drink as regular ponies do. She tilted her head carefully to fill it with a ladle, and remarked to herself how easily Pinkie Pie did this. She probably would never underestimate the power of magic ever again. Not for herself, and not when dire warnings were to be heeded. She sipped the freshly brewed chocolate milk drink, letting the warmth run down her throat and envelop her core. It felt really good. The heat radiated out from within and wrapped her body in a glow of pure chocolate goodness. It was the little things. Pinkie Pie had brought over a plate of assorted cakes. She even had them cut them up to be bite-sized so that Twilight needn't fuss with a knife. It was so sweet of her. So thoughtful and kind and lovi...ng... "Pinkie?" Twilight said, putting the plate down on the table. "Yeah, Twi-twi?" "I want to check... something with you. And this is going to sound really... weird, but I need to ask." "What's up, pony?" "Are you... in love with me?" Pinkie Pie stood there blinking at Twilight. "F...F....fwwaaahhahahahahahhahahahaa!" She suddenly cackled. "In... in love? Ahhhhh hahahahahahahaahhahahaa!" "Well, geeze, Pinkie, thanks for being subtle," commented Twilight. "Oooh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ahhhh hahahaha.. oh..." She clutched her belly. "Oh that's a good one... yeah... ok." Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "No." "Yeah, I got that." "Am I supposed to be?" "It's a... theme," Twilight said, emotionlessly. "Everything bad that happened seemed to be due to some twisted perversion of love. I don't really know if they actually loved me from the start or anything, but this is the result." Pinkie Pie drummed her hoof on the floor. She looked a bit uncomfortable, the same way that she did when Twilight first announced that she was in love herself, those days ago. "Pinkie? You alright?" Twilight noticed. "Yeah... yeah. I am." "What's wrong?" Pinkie smacked her tongue, and ran it over her puckered lips, popping them out again with an audible sound. She sucked some air in through her clenched teeth, making it sound like a snake going in reverse. "Twilight? I guess I ought to tell you." "What is it, Pinkie?" "I guess... and don't you freak out on me now," she put her hooves up as if to say 'whoa there'. "I have a secret of my own as well. And before you start thinking this is all going to end badly in some kind of horrible twist, no, it's nothing concerning you, and it's not going to lead me to do anything bad. Just to get that clear." Twilight nodded. Ok. At least she could follow this as long as it remained this calm. "Look... since the start... well, from a long time ago, really, I've always known that I was... different." "Yeah you can say that again," snorted Twilight. "No, hey, come on!" Pinkie pushed Twilight gently. "Seriously, ok?" "Alright, alright. I'm listening." "When I was young... and all the ponies were just going about... falling in love... making romance... I never was... you know, attracted to them. I just felt that they were friends, and believe me, you girls are the best friends a pony could have, but I never... really... was attracted to any of you. "I started to act out to try to hide it. You know. Being goofy, being silly, being overly girly. My therapist said that I was trying to over-compensate, but... meh!" Pinkie shrugged. "In the end I came to a conclusion. I couldn't really keep it in anymore, and I just had to be happy with who I was, and the pony on the very inside." "Pinkie? What are you saying?" "Twilight... I'm... straight." Twilight's eyes widened. "You're... what?" "I like... guys, Twilight. I like big strong buff chests. I like muscular arms. I like unkempt dirty hair. I'm... straight." "Wow..." muttered Twilight. "That's... something, alright. You know, if I had to guess that anyone was straight I'd have said Rainbow Dash..." "Naw, she's just butch," smiled Pinkie. "I can tell. Straydar." She tapped her head. "So really, if there's any worry that you have about me falling in love with you... that just ain't gonna happen! Sorry!" "Oh, don't apologize. Believe me. This is so much of a relief. I can't even tell you!" Twilight held Pinkie by the shoulders, shaking her back and forth. "But... but thank you for confiding in me! I know it's hard to come out of the closet, but..." "It's no problem. Just... keep it to yourself, alright?" "Of course!" Huh! Twilight went back to her chair and slumped in it. Huh! Imagine that. It was strange how things turn out, sometimes. The one pony you'd think would be the most dangerous somehow changes in a way that makes her the sanest. It's... a terrible affliction of irony if nothing else. Huh! Twilight shook her head to herself. It was the end of a long, tiresome ordeal, but they were finally on the way up. "So, Twilight, you ready to start fixing the problems?" "Yeah, definitely!" she said, renewed with energy and hope. "Ok so step one. All this nonsense about all the other ponies loving you. Let's get just one thing straight. Only one's gonna love you, and it ain't those weirdos out there." "Yep! Princess Celestia!" "Nope!" ... ... ... "Nope?" Twilight grinned. The edges of her mouth had started trembling, almost like an uncontrollable tic had seized her face and was yanking the strings of her smile. "P.p.ppp..pinkie... Pie...?" She warbled, like birdsong, she was so scared. "Yo... you said that you weren't... in love... with me..." "Oh I'm not, silly!" Pinkie Pie grinned, a genuine, hearty grin of friendship. "But Gummy is!" Pinkie pie held the alligator in outstretched legs, propping it up by its underarms. Its vapid gaze looked at the whole room at once, but never looked straight at Twilight. It flicked its tail, but made no other movements. It slowly opened its mouth, horrendous teeth sticking out at every angle, as if someone had gone in with a wrench, a project, and far too little time. Small shining beads of saliva peeled off the roof of his mouth, and flowed their way down thin strands to his lower jaw, like a macabre dance. "Wh...why does Gummy have... teeth?" asked Twilight, knowing it was futile. "Well... they grow back, stupid, duh." Pinkie rolled her eyes, "I thought you read a lot." Pinkie Pie walked closer to the shaking, quivering Twilight, who was bolted to the floor. Her legs refused to move. Her hooves refused to take that first step toward the stairs. "Now, Gummy tells me that ever since that day, he's been wanting so much for just one little thing. A big kiss!" She held the alligator closer, who opened his jaws wider... and wider... until Twilight's entire head could be encased within it. "Now, won't you make Gummy happy?" asked Pinkie Pie. Step. "Won't you just give him a little kiss?" Step. "Won't you?" Twilight closed her eyes for the very last time. She breathed in calmly, and let the feeling of serenity flow over her from head to hoof. She felt like she was lying on a cloud. She felt like she was spinning off into space as the world turned slowly under and away from her. A creeping feeling started from her face and travelled over her skin, and although it felt like a thousand insects were dancing over her body, she loved the feeling, and she loved how they were the only things left that cared. And for the last time, she closed her eyes. LOVE (Epilogue)L O V E Spike stepped out of the balloon onto Princess Celestia's balcony. Up there, the rains didn't hit; the clouds were far below the range of the castle. Celestia stood there, looking down upon the cloud-coated city of Ponyville, and Spike hopped off the basket and joined her by her side. "I got here as soon as I could, Princess. What's the emergency?" She just kept gazing down at the town. Overlapping greys and blacks of storm clouds devoured the area, from Fluttershy's lodge to Applejack's barn. "That's some freaky weather, Princess," Spike remarked. "Why'd the Pegasus ponies do that anyway?" "Oh, it wasn't them," replied Princess Celestia. "It's a special occasion." She turned away and walked back into her room, where she, with dour face, stroked her horn upon a small wooden box that lay on her mantelpiece. The intricately carved case popped open, the lid and front panel chucking out its contents, which was a tiny black scroll upon which were written silver letters. "Princess?" said Spike. "Should I really be here? Twilight's missing and I really ought to go find her." "Oh, she's not coming back, Spike," Princess Celestia said sadly, but resolutely. "She's not coming back." She scanned the black scroll all the way from the top to the bottom, as if each entry of the list that lay upon it held dark memories for her. Every entry in the list was crossed out, save the very last, which read, simply, "Twilight Sparkle". She sighed for a while, as if that would have changed anything. Then with the glowing tip of her horn she ran that across the scroll as well, as a red, ragged line cut across Twilight's name. The box swallowed up the scroll like a tongue, and shut itself tight. "Princess?" asked Spike. "Is... everything alright?" "They just never listen, Spike," she said, careening her neck upward and stretching her back. "Mmmmnn... I try to warn them, but they never listen." "They never listen." The End -
MAGICLove.Sick M A G I C The sun, in all its majesty, never once compared to the one who caused it to rise every morning - the gentle, beautiful ruler of the lands of Equestria – Princess Celestia. Her work came but once a day, and the nights were left to call her own. The evening brought the hazy smells of fresh flowers over the grass as the wind picked up and caressed her rainbow, silken hair. She looked down upon the city of Ponyville, from her spot on the hill, where it twinkled in the distance from the street lamps intermittently responding to the setting of the sun as they came to life one by one. As the sun dipped behind it, a warm, orange silhouette exploded over the city, casting it into shadow, where only the blinking fires that lined the streets and the windows of the inhabitants of the township gave it any form. Anything else was merely a sketch in ink; and even that too slowly faded away as the final rays of light dipped behind the edge of the world and onto a new day. A candle flickered to life, bringing illumination to the scene upon the hill. Twilight sighed contentedly. She never once found this sight to be repetitive in any count, and the only one thing that would, and did, make it better was the company she chose to spend it with. She drew in the sight, taking a deep, full breath; a feeling of melancholy passing her by for just an instant. But she never did want to think of the night ending, and she pushed it away with a quick look to her companion for the night. "Well... that was... beautiful," muttered Princess Celestia, nearly under her breath. Twilight nodded. They sat, side by side, on a white-and-red chequered blanket with a small glass bowl of cold fruit between them. It was nearly finished; the stems of a bunch of grapes and a few stray slices of oranges were the only things left floating in a half-melted puddle of ice. "It's rare that I get to spend some time alone with you, my pupil," the Princess elated, with her gentle, heartfelt voice. "Thank you for sharing this wondrous sight with me. I would never have experienced it otherwise." Her eyes still remained transfixed to the town, as it started to take shape yet again as the lights brightened it up with no more competition to be found, and the pair’s eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. It was like watching a photograph of a scenic vista slowly developing in front of your eyes, but with the magic of life added to the encumbrance. "Oh Princess," Twilight said, trying to hide the pride behind her voice. "It's nothing, really." She giggled. "Anyway, as you said, it's rare just to spend some time alone with you. And I just... picked the right spot, I guess!" "Don't be so humble, Twilight," Celestia responded, looking down toward her. "Take some praise where it's rightfully due." Twilight was glad that it was dark, and the hue of red slowly flushing up from under her purple skin didn't show too obviously. "Well... alright. I did do some research, I suppose, but, well..." Her heart took a pause for measure as she started with what she truly wanted to say. "... it's a special occasion I guess," she eased in. "Well yes, it is a lovely Wednesday," Princess Celestia remarked, quirking an eyebrow. "No, not that. I mean yes, it is a lovely Wednesday, but that's not why... I mean..." "Slowly, my dear," the Princess chuckled. "Whoo... ok," Twilight gulped down a final breath of air. "I think... and I really... will understand if you disagree... and I fully know the reasons why if you do, because I've been considering it and it's all about public appearance and your position and..." "Twilight." "..." she paused. "... I think we should go... public." Her expression changed to that of a cheesy grin, eyelids slanting away and body sinking into itself, a mix of embarrassment but still clinging on to the little hope that somehow, somewhere, the answer might just be 'yes'. Celestia's expression didn't change quite as much. "I understand," she said, at last, after a year of silence passed through Twilight's mind. "You... what? Huh?" "Oh, I mean... I'm sorry. I know why you would want to, of course. Many nights have I thought about it myself, but..." And there it was. That one word. The one word that always, in every answer, threatens to destroy everything built up prior to that moment. Twilight's plea was a building, condemned, and 'but' was the detonator. "... but I'm not sure if it's such a wise idea." Well, that wasn't a 'no'. That was, at best, a 'probably not', but it certainly wasn't a 'no'. Twilight felt her heart beating a little bit faster now. She had to fight for it. She knew she couldn't let it go on a perhaps. "Listen, Princess... if it's about the age difference..." "Twilight," the white-clad ruler said sternly. "What have we discussed about mentioning my age?" "Sorry!" peeped the younger, smaller pony. "I... I mean... anything, we can work through it, right? We've been together so long already, why... why keep it secret? I want to tell all my friends, I want to tell all of Equestria! It's..." She swallowed. "Celestia, I love you," she said sadly, her words thick with the truth of her emotions. "I love you so much and... ever since I met you it's been nothing but just a wild flight of fantasy, and... I know it's selfish, but I need to tell everyone. I need everyone to know that I love you. I need everyone to know that you love me." She peered up into Celestia's face, which was slowly weakening from the most terrible words of all; that of pure heart and nothing more. "What could possibly be bad about it? You wouldn't have to... not be princess, or anything!" "It's not about that, my sweet," replied Celestia. "If I had a thousand crowns I would give them all up just to spend another night up here on this hill with you, Twilight." "Then...?" "It's... complicated. It really is. I... Please believe me, Twilight. You know that we have never kept anything apart from each other since the start. But right now... this is something that I can't explain. It's... complicated." "You keep saying that!" yelled Twilight suddenly, stamping her front hooves on the ground. Moisture started to collect in her eyes, as they grew damp from the lamentable mix of evening dew and her own raw, unabated feelings. She threw her head into the grass in front of her and covered her ears with her legs. "Ifft's noff fairff," came the mumbled, tear-choked complaint. "Ifft's jufft noff fairff!" A gentle touch came down, upon Twilight's shoulder. "Alright," Celestia sighed. "I... will try to explain." Twilight frumped forward, sniffing. She gazed half-heartedly at the town with the lower half of her face nestled in her folded front legs. "Twilight, you're... special." The purple pony remained silent. Was she just trying to compliment her? That wasn't going to work. Silly old Celestia. "And I don't mean in the ‘that’s why I love you’ sort of way.” Oh, that makes it all better. THANKS, Princess. Twilight rolled her eyes up. Princess Celestia quickly clarified. "What I mean is that I have always loved you, unconditionally, from the very beginning. Since the first day we met I have never, ever regretted our chance encounter, nor have I ever wavered from this position." Oh, alright. Keep saying things like that, twilight bore a hidden smile. "But it's because I love you... that... you're special." Twilight finally lifted her head and cleared the remaining dust from her throat. "Wh... what do you mean?" “I know it sounds strange, but just… hear me out, alright?” the Princess said. “Your uniqueness comes from the fact that we are together, not the other way around. But that is not to say that you aren’t special to me.” “Yes, that is what you just said, only in slightly fewer words,” Twilight said, dryly. “It doesn’t really explain why it’s so bad.” "Well, let’s put it this way. I don't think your friends will… react very well to knowing about our relationship. It's not you, specifically, but it's about… the idea of us. I know this sounds a bit... strange, but if you were anypony else, I'd be telling you the exact same thing." "What, so... it's... about you then?" "No, not exactly either. The thing is... well... there’s magic involved, and magic works in strange ways. You and I... even as gifted as you are, we both still do not know how it really works, correct?" Twilight nodded, eyes betraying her feelings of curiosity and suspicion. "So the first time that we... ah... touched horns, it created a resonance between us. You and I... we are linked together. And this magic that seems to envelop us... will only affect you, although it was caused by both of us together." Twilight's mind tried to wrap itself around this strange, yet significant plot device. "In... what way?" "Well, when you tell your friends... I mean, if you tell your friends," she shot a stern glare at Twilight as if to warn her against it. "They will... react... in bothersome ways." "I... see?" "Let's just say that things previously unknown may... become more realised to you." "That's it?" Twilight shot up, propping herself up on her forelegs. "They're going to just be a little bit jealous and proclaim their feelings? That's all?" "Well, yes, that's understating it a little bit, but..." "Oh, was that all it was?" Twilight laughed a small laugh of relief. "I know you're trying to protect me, Princess, but really." The old Twilight seemed to return for a moment. "Well it's not just that. Sometimes they might actually develop feelings for you that they wouldn't normally have as well." Twilight scoffed. "No problem." "They... might change." "No problem!" "Twilight, it's really for your own good. What if your friendships get ruined because of this? What if you can't reconcile with them?" "Princess... you said earlier that you would give up a thousand crowns for me. Well I would..." Princess Celestia's nodded sighing interrupted Twilight's epiphany. "Alright, I get it. I get it," she smiled, although it was a wry smile, bereft of personal pleasure. One with a tinge of worry on it. "O... ok. Go ahead. But... if I were you I'd just start small. Don't go telling everypony in Ponyville about it from the start, ok?" "Ooooh, Celestia!" squealed Twilight Sparkle, throwing her forelegs around her neck. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much, thank you thank you thank you!" Twilight planted a big kiss on Celestia's muzzle, and she couldn't help but smile genuinely at that. "It's... alright," said Celestia, holding Twilight close to her. "It's alright."
HONESTYH O N E S T Y Twilight Sparkle awoke, fresher than she had ever felt in a long time. She hated to admit it, but her lodgings in Ponyville were a far cry from those she once played host to back in Canterlot, but last night she felt that she slept on the wings of doves. She bounded out of bed, throwing the covers off and letting them dance to the floor. Spike'll get it! It's all OK. Everything's going to be OK. Today was great. Oh, who cares about some silly old covers? Twilight was giddy with excitement. Her mind, heart, soul and body were all sharing the same solid emotion, and she could not wait. Her morning routine was not broken though; she was still the same old Twilight in many ways. But many things yet were going to change. Standing in front of the mirror she brushed her hair exactly 20 times, bringing it to its regular, straight bob which dropped a fringe over her horn, which was twinkling in excitement. She washed her face, dried it off, and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit that she kept by the stairs. It floated gently into the saddlebag she had straddled to her back, as she floated gently down the stairs on the hoof-falls of someone who was swinging on air. "Oh, hey Twilight," came a familiar voice down from below. Spike was busy, as he always was, tending to the day-to-day of the library. Dusting off the shelves; replacing all the read books that Twilight left out the previous night; a dragon's work never ends. "Mornin', Spike!" Twilight bubbled. She turned one too many times at the foot of the stairs and ended up twirling around in a happy little dance. "Whoa, you sure seem like you're pleased about something," said Spike. "Did I already make you breakfast and forgot about it?" "No, silly," she said, giggling. "Something... amazing has happened." "What is it?" Spike turned around. He loved gossip. Boy, did he love gossip. "I can't tell you yet!" He turned crestfallen. His crests actually drooped. It's a dragon thing. "Aw, come on, Twilight, you always do this to me!" "Oh ok. I'll tell you later. Promise, ok? But I gotta tell someone else first!" "Oh, allllright," said Spike, grouchily, as he went back to dusting the books with much more rigor than normal. "But you better not ditch on me!" "I won't Spike!" Twilight said as she walked, with saddlebags bouncing up and down her back, out the door. "I'll be back later, don't wait up!" "Well, I gotta wait up if I'm gonna hear about this news, right?" His plea was met with silence. "Right?" Spike turned around. Twilight Sparkle had long since departed, and the door was firmly closed. "Aw shucks." -- <3 -- The girls gathered around the town square. They were always there around this time - it was their usual meeting spot, and it was just that hour of the day. It was that little open area where the stone bridge ran over the river that separated Ponyville from the fields that lay beyond. Just a little bit more to the left and straight on through, and you would see the spot where Twilight was laying not just last night. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all congealed in a tight group, chatting and talking and catching up with the Equestrian daily news when Twilight came rushing in from a distance. She didn't stop, barrelling straight through and widening the circle as she ploughed into the middle of the group. "So, Gummy said... WHOA!" yelled Pinkie Pie, jumping back a few meters. "Wow, what's eatin' you, Twilight?" exclaimed Applejack, also stepping back. "You look like you got a bug up yer nose!" "Oh boy, do I ever," she replied, looking at the bewildered faces of each of her friends in turn. Pinkie's was just a little bit farther away. She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, not a bug, at least, but I do have some news!" She bounced up and down in place, like a jackhammer with the safety off. "Girls? You five are my best friends, and I wanted you to know this first." "Oooh! What is it? What is it?!" Pinkie squeaked, hopping back into place. "Didja find a cookie?" Twilight stared at the Pink, springy character. "No... no, Pinkie. Why would I have found a cookie?" "Because I left one on your doorstep last night!" She grinned. There was no answer. There really couldn't be one. There wasn't anything actually inherently arguable about that. "Oh, just ignore her," cut in Rainbow Dash, "What's the good word?" "So..." Twilight went on, turning away and looking at the others again. "I have something quite personal that I would like to share with you." All at once, the 5 ponies leant forward, tightening the circle around Twilight; each ear stilled with earnest concentration, eager to hear the news. "I... am... in love!" Twilight squealed, all four legs bouncing up and down in that inscrutable dance that she does whenever excitement overwhelms her. All five heads moved back. "Love?" asked Applejack. "Oh my, that's wonderful," intoned Fluttershy. "What?! That's impossible!" yelled Rainbow Dash, taking off and hovering a meter above the ground. "What now? Love?" asked Applejack again. "Oh, that's marvellous, darling," Rarity flicked her hoof forward, placing it on Twilight's shoulder. Only Pinkie Pie was uncharacteristically silent, keeping still with head tilted to the side; a quizzical expression on her face. The buzz and chatter amongst the ponies continued for a while longer, with interjections of various kinds from all around Twilight. She felt like she was standing up on stage, having just finished a grand performance, and was now taking her bows. "With who?" asked Pinkie, suddenly. All chatter stopped and everyone turned to look at her. Her question came suddenly, scratching a path out of the noise simply because it didn't sound excited. Pinkie herself was still - she wasn't bouncing, wasn't laughing, and was just asking in a veritably normal way. "Actually, it's with 'whom', Pinkie," Rarity said, trying to break the odd tension. "Alright. With whom?" asked Pinkie again. At that, even Rarity was taken aback. Pinkie's austere gaze cut through the crowd like a knife. "O... ok, you're never going to believe this, but..." Twilight Smiled again. "It's Princess Celestia!" "Oh." This time the response came immediately from two sources. One from Pinkie, which should have been quite expected, but the other came, mysteriously, from Applejack. It was getting uncomfortable. Twilight Sparkle had lost her shine in the spotlight, and it now felt like it was casting unneeded attention upon her. This was probably what Princess Celestia meant the other day. A good, promising start now turned slightly awkward. But it was ok! A little awkwardness was never an unmanageable thing, right? Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Rainbow Dash touched down again, standing still on the floor. "Uh... girls?" asked Twilight nervously. "Is... everything ok?" "Yeah! Everything's fine!" said Pinkie Pie, her voice and expression returning to normal. A strange, stiff wind blew across the open area, and for just a fragment of a moment, sound faded into an echo and not even the usual hubbub of country life could be heard. It suddenly came back, like the pop of a champagne cork. It was pulled back by Pinkie Pie letting out an intentional sigh. "Well, it's been fun girls, but I gotta go! Gummy's due for a feeding, and you know he can't feed himself." She turned, waved, and started to hop off, only turning back for just a quick second to say "Congrats again, Twilight!" before she disappeared into the distance. "Yes... well..." Rarity cleared her throat. "This has all been very fun, but... I have some clothing to work on. You have my congratulations, Twilight. I'm sure your relationship will be long and fruitful!" "Well, gotta jet!" said Rainbow Dash, seconds after. "Love to stay and find out more, but maybe next time? I gotta go get some stuff ready for... something." Fluttershy silently walked up behind Twilight as she watched three of her friends leave suddenly. The unicorn felt like her lungs had fallen into the pit of her stomach. This was actually pretty bad. Maybe Celestia was right. She thought her heart would stop. "Um... congratulations," said Fluttershy suddenly, from behind Twilight, her eyes cast down to the ground. "Yeargh!" yelled Twilight, spinning around. "Don't do that, Fluttershy! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Well, at least it was pumping again. "Well... I'll... be seeing you, I guess," she smiled. "I need to go... think about some things. I'll see you later, ok?" The whole square was abandoned. Twilight was... it was hard to describe what she was feeling. She felt overjoyed that she finally could talk about her true love, but at the cost of this? What even happened? All their reactions were unfathomable, at least by their countenance. This was some powerful magic, alright. She practically forgot about her final friend, who was standing there next to her. She did not make a sound, did not move an inch, and nearly blended seamlessly into the background with her self-diminished bearing. The unicorn turned to look at her, ready to hear her sudden excuse to leave. Instead she saw something entirely different. Applejack's throat was quivering back and forth, as if she were trying to swallow something that just wasn't there. She was trembling slightly, in the grip of an unseen fear, but a fear that has already come and has left the remnants of terror within. Her eyes, already welled up, released the first of many tears that fell to the ground with a resounding splash. "Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed, walking up to her in an instant, and reaching out to comfort her. The freckled pony jerked back, droplets running off her face and hitting Twilight in hers. "Don't touch me!" she sobbed. "Don't... don't touch me." Applejack let out a deep sigh of instant regret. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Twilight. Ah don't know what got over me," she stuttered, her tears stopping. "I'm ok. Look, can we talk?" "Of course, Applejack," said Twilight, a tinge of concern in her voice. "Ah... shall we go to your barn?" "Yeah... yeah, that'd be a good idea." The rest of the trip was made in silence. Twilight let Applejack lead; she felt more comfortable being able to keep an eye on her. And it was a good thing she did - Applejack's uneven hoof-falls nearly caused a trip once or twice, and there were times when she simply stopped walking for no apparent reason but to take in a breath or two and look at a bird far away. But Twilight, loyal as ever, sauntered on behind her, breaking pace when she needed. The barn was open, as it usually was this time of day. Applejack would normally be found hauling cartloads of juicy ripe fruit in and out of the storage building as needed, either returning them from a fresh apple-buckin' or delivering them to market to sell. Today she hauled in her own weary, shivering body, hooves dragging in the dirt, eyes barely open. Twilight followed closely in, and shut the doors behind her. They were alone. The barn gave a sense of space. It wasn't a particular sort of space, that is, too little or too much, but just 'space' in general. There was adequate room for contemplation, plenty of running grounds and fresh air that filtered through the slats in the roof, but still, it felt homely and comfortable. It was a nice place to be in a storm. A drop of rain hit the roof. Twilight noticed a rag lying on the ground next to a small pile of straw, and lifted it easily with her magic. Floating the cloth gently over to Applejack, she started to rub her face down with it, wiping away the streaky, drying tear-stains. "T...Twilight!" Applejack yelled, pulling her face away. "That there's the cloth ah use to clean the plough!" Twilight stopped, and then looked closer at the rag, which was stained with old dirt and soil. Applejack's face too, now had a slash of soil running straight across one of her cheeks. It was so ridiculous, so silly, that Twilight couldn't help herself but laugh. Soon, Applejack joined in too. The shared laughter eased the tension tremendously, as Applejack threw herself into a bale of straw and stretched her muscles a little. "Heh heh... ah... well," chuckled the filly, wiping the dirt off her face with her leg, just like she usually did, anyway. "Thanks for nothin', Twilight." "Oh, it was my pleasure," came the joyful response, as Twilight herself settled down next to Applejack. "So... what did you want to talk about?" Applejack licked her lips. "I... well..." she started. "You know... I've always been honest wit' ya, right, Twilight?" "Of course, Applejack." "And I'd never tell ya a lie. Although..." Applejack tilted her head, and started staring into the far corner of the barn. The sunlight that beamed through the roof slats started to break up as the rain came down harder, and the patter of water on ceramic tile echoed throughout the room. "I... guess it's not really a lie if I just keep a secret, right?" "No, of course not, Applejack. Everyone has secrets. Even I just told you one earlier, remember?" Applejack closed her eyes as a heavy wisp escaped her lips, as if that memory just ran a knife over her heart. "Yeah... I remember, Twi. 'Course I remember." "I'm... guessing I know what you're going to tell me, Applejack," said Twilight softly. It was kind of obvious, really. The whole scene didn't really set up for a particular surprising revelation, and even if it had, Princess Celestia's warning served as the clearest portent of what was about to occur anyway. "How long?" asked Twilight. She supposed it was best to just get into it without have to drag it out painfully. "Maybe 'bout a month after we met," said Applejack, still staring at that corner. "At the start we were just friends, and it was pretty excitin' and all, what with the Elements of Harmony and all that, and all those other fun adventures we had. "But ah think it was 'bout the time when them Parasprites came, I think. I can't rightfully tell now," her gaze defocused, not really looking at anything except the past. She scratched her head. "I don't think you knew, really. To you we was just pals, but... well, I'd always hoped, y'know? "But now you just come out with this. Just... outta th' blue, Twi. No warnin' or nothin'. It... I just took it hard, tha's all. I'm sorry, Twi. I really am." "Now now now, wait," Twilight waved her forelegs around. "You've got nothing to be sorry about, ok? In fact, I suppose I should be the one who's apologizing. "It's just that... well, I've been with Princess Celestia a lot longer. And please believe me when I say that you're a fine, lovely pony, Applejack, and if I wasn't with anyone else, I'd be honoured to be with you." "Aww, that's mighty kind of you just t' say so," choked Applejack, the tears starting up again. "Ah... ah guess that's jus' the way it is." "I'm sorry," said Twilight again. "But... we'll always be friends, right?" "Yeah... yeah, we will," muttered Applejack in a half-hearted way. "But... you know, I ain't never felt this way 'bout no one else afore." "Yeah, it's called love, Applejack. It happens. If this is your first time, especially, it's going to be pretty hard." "No, you don't get it! Ah really ain't never felt like this afore. Twi, you're... you're perfect," she sobbed, the waterworks starting again. "I... I don't... wanna have 'ta... have 'ta...." She couldn't even complete her sentence, breaking down into a wailing fit of staggered breaths and coughs. Twilight could do nothing but try to give Applejack a hug. "Come on, Applejack. Come on. You're the strongest one of us. Come on," she held her tightly. "Please. Don't do this to yourself. It'll be ok, alright? I promise. There'll be somepony else." "There ain't never gonna be somepony else!" Applejack nearly screamed. Twilight jumped a little at the outburst; it was that sudden. "Never, never, never!" She buried her face into Twilight's chest, still sobbing uncontrollably. Her hat, having been pushed off, fell to the floor behind her, revealing her striking autumn hair all tied up in a ponytail. Twilight sniffed her braid. It smelt faintly of cloudy apple juice, freshly squeezed. It wasn't intentional, but Applejack's head was in her face. She didn't feel very comfortable. To be honest, it was quite awkward. She made a decision. "Look... I'll... stay with you the night, alright?" Twilight said, "No funny business. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but I'm gonna stick by you and see you through this." "Would'ja really?" sniffed Applejack, pulling back and looking up at Twilight with watery pupils. "That'd be... that'd be nice." "I think that's the least I could do." Well, sorry Spike, guess I'll have to tell you some other time. I don't think I'm coming home tonight. I don't think I'm coming home.
LOYALTYL O Y A L T Y It hadn't stopped raining the entire night. The wind picked up, bringing a slight fog over the town, and still, even in this early morning, the drizzle fell in patches, maintaining the puddles that mired the landscape. Twilight was snoring to herself, nestled in a cocoon of hay. Applejack was already awake, leaning over her and staring at her through gentle eyes. "Twilight, I just want to say, I love you," she said softly to her, as she lay resting. The previous night had been fun. They talked for hours, laughed, reminisced, and all that friends do. Applejack slowly came to terms, and had to face the inevitability. As they drifted off to sleep, Applejack stayed up for a while longer looking at the stars through the rain and the clouds, and let her mind take her away for just one final night, but it had to end, and she knew it did. "I just wanna say to ya... thanks for everything," she said. Twilight stirred a little, and her breathing lightened up considerably into a calm purring. "It's been a pleasure. It's been fun. You'll always be m' best friend forever, Twi." Applejack nodded to herself. "And ah know whatcha said last night 'bout there being other ponies an' all, but to me, y'all always be my one and only." Twilight's eyes finally opened, just in time to see the blurry shape of Applejack heading out the door with saddlebags in place and lasso around her neck. She had her hat back on as well, and she was pulling her cart behind her. "Goodbye, Twi! Thanks for being my friend!" she called, mostly to herself, as she left. "No probwelm," Twilight mumbled, smiling to herself. That went well, she thought. That went really well. And she fell right back to sleep, the worries of the day left behind. -- <3 -- By the time Twilight Sparkle had risen for good, it was mid-day. She surmised the time to be around 4, mainly because the big clock in the town square had just struck 4 times. She astounded herself with her analytical prowess, sometimes. She threw on her own baggies, which she had left in a random pile the night before, and threw open the doors to a bright new day. Well, one down. Four to go, eh? Well this wouldn't be that bad. Hopefully it'll all be as easy as how it went with Applejack. She glanced over into the fields of apple trees that peppered the distance, knowing that Applejack would be hard at work somewhere amongst the boughs, collecting the day's take. She'd see her later at the town square, and everything would be as it always was. A whizzing sound came from high above; an object dropping at such speed that it made little rat-ta-tat noises where it intersected with a falling raindrop. "Eeek!" screamed Twilight, jumping back. The pumpkin missed her by centimetres, but she still caught some of the fallout. Seeds and wet pumpkin flesh dribbled down her side, and a piece of shell lay ingloriously on her head. "Oh hey!" came a voice, just as fast, also from high above. It landed just short of Twilight, as those blue wings and rainbow hair came to a sudden complete stop. "Whoops, sorry!" Rainbow dash reached up and pulled the hat off Twilight's head. The face behind it honestly made her want to put it back. "Heh... heh heh... guess I didn't miss after all, huh," said Dash, tossing the fruity remnants off to the side. "But it's a good thing I flew into you! There's something we totally gotta talk about, but we gotta go somewhere first!" "What?" said Twilight, rubbing goop off her nose. This was a little different than she had expected. In fact, Rainbow Dash didn't seem to be affected at all. Maybe Princess Celestia neglected to inform her that that whole magic deal she talked about didn't necessarily have to affect everypony. Well, it could also just be that Rainbow Dash was far too stubborn to admit. That was also an option. It was hard to tell with that one. "Look, I got something to show ya, ok? It's really cool, and I know you're gonna love it!" Dash yanked on Twilight's leg. "Come on!" "Alright, I'm coming!" said Twilight, breaking into a fast trot to keep up with the speedster. "Hey, mind if I ask you a question?" "Shoot!" "Well... what happened yesterday? I mean, everyone just bolted off suddenly, and you probably don't know about this but Applejack kinda... had an episode. I just spent the night with her, and she's in pretty bad shape." "Oh, that's a shame," Rainbow Dash threw it aside as casual as that. "She'll get over it. Don't worry!" Ah, this now. That was odd. Twilight's senses started to prick. "Anyway, about yesterday? Sorry about that too! I just had to go... get some stuff ready, like the pumpkin. Well, so much for that though! Actually, I don't wanna spoil nothin' for ya, but it's got something to do with this super fun thing I just got to show ya!" "What is it?" "You'll see, come on!" Rainbow Dash sped into a run, just to get there all the more faster. It seemed like she was just that eager to show Twilight this magnificent gift. Twilight struggled to keep up. She had to dodge giant puddles, bushes, and other strange objects that lay in her path. This was a path that was obviously not well-travelled. In fact, you could barely call it a path at all. Rainbow Dash seemed pretty familiar with the route, though. Although she wasn't even flying at the moment, none of the obstacles even slowed her down for a second. She had no idea where Rainbow Dash was leading her, but it was definitely not anywhere she'd ever been before, and it was certainly not somewhere that many ponies would go searching after unless they already knew it was there. They finally came upon a small rock-face in the middle of the forest that they had been running through, and against the side of the natural wall was a crudely-built shack of some sort. It would actually be a shack if it didn't simply open to a set of stairs that led underground. In fact, it was small enough to be called a shed, even. But behind its red-painted door was nothing more than those stairs that didn't struggle to keep itself hidden. Twilight felt that the little building that was placed over the top was just some sort of afterthought, as if it was just added there to make things 'cooler'. She wouldn't put it past Rainbow Dash to do something like that. "Well... here we are!" exclaimed Dash proudly. "Check it out. Isn't it sweet?" "Where... are we, exactly?" Twilight nervously chuckled. "Oh, just some place in the forest that I found one day. It's no biggie. Just head that way," she gestured with a wing. "And you'll be back in Ponyville." "Alriiiight..." said Twilight, peering down the stairs. The stairs too, were crudely made. Simple planks propped up against what appeared to be a steep stone chute. "And this is...?" "This is..." Rainbow Dash jumped up high and landed in front of Twilight, her forelegs spread open in presentation. "Rainbow Dash's super secret fun club house!" "A... fun club... house?" "Alright, it's a cave. But it's cool! Trust me! Go on, it's alright." She dragged Twilight again, pulling her toward those rickety-looking steps. "Is... this safe?" "Yeah! Sure it is! I made it myself! You can trust me, come on. Anyway, plenty of other ponies come down here all the time." Twilight gingerly took that first step onto the first wooden plank. The support struts poked out at odd angles, and the nails weren't even beat all the way completely in. It didn't look like it actually attached to the rock in any way or form. But, it was sturdy. She put her weight onto the board, slowly, and in fact it did not shake, or shudder, or waver. She tried to look down further into the entrance to see how deep it went, but the darkness enveloped the chute past the 5th step. Her horn blinked once; twice, and then burst into light as a glowing orb danced around it in a slow waltz. It seemed like there wasn't any need to see beyond the 5th step, because right there was the bottom already; it didn't go that far, and the view beyond her was amazing. It was a natural cave, even larger than Applejack's barn. It seemed that the whole rock face was actually some sort of hollow mountain feature, and it seemed to have been there for a very, very long time. Stalagmites and Stalactites grew in random locations, drops of water running off them every once in a while. The rest of the cave, however, was quite dry indeed and it did not feel clammy. It even had a sort of natural air conditioning; the howlings of an underground wind channel somewhere far toward the back of the cave betrayed a few other openings, and gave a promise that the air inside would never be stale or still. A large 'phhomp' sound echoed off the walls, and Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash lighting up some gas lanterns that had been placed strategically around the cave. Without the need for her own light, she cut hers off and started exploring around. "Rainbow... this is amazing! How far does it go?" her voice sounded hollow and lonely in the vast expanse of the cave. "Oh, I don't know. We never really explored past the river," Dash continued lighting lamps and a few torches that she stuck into brackets on the wall. "There's a river?" "Yeah, small one! No one wants to go down there, though. Not that we really need it yet!" Twilight quirked an eyebrow to herself. Impressive, indeed. But it was just like Rainbow Dash to overlook the true beauty in things. The cave was finally completely illuminated. The soft warm glow of the flickering lights caused shadows to dance in every corner, and even with all that Rainbow Dash had done, it was still not enough to brighten up the furthest reaches of the cave. What it did light up, however, was the dirty, stained center of the cave, where most of the activities obviously took place. The dirt was disturbed in many places, and the stones were more worn. A lot of dancing... or something... took place there, surely. Also there was that huge pot. It stood in a bed of firewood; precociously threatening to fall over and roll away. It was quite large indeed; Twilight felt that she could get in and hide if she rolled up enough. I mean, if one would be inclined to get into a cauldron in the first place. "So... what do you do here?" She circled the room and came back to Rainbow Dash. "We have... fun. We play... games." she answered, avoidingly. "Well... why here? Why couldn't you play outside? We play games outside all the time." "Yeah but you know, some kinds of games you can only get here!" Rainbow Dash pointed to a table that was set up in the corner. "Like look! Air Hockey! Totally sweet!" Twilight walked over. "Um... Dash, this isn't an Air Hockey table. It's a regular table. And this isn't a puck. It's a stale cookie. And there are no paddles." "Heh heh... alright, you got me. I can't get anything by you, can I?" Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Alright, I just want it to be a surprise, so just wait for the others to arrive, alright?" "Others?" "Well yeah, it's not a secret fun club without others, right?" Well, obviously. "Anyway, they'll be here soon, so don't you worry! Just relax." Twilight relaxed. Or tried to. Something was still a bit off, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. And it wasn't a few minutes of silent regard that the first member of this super secret fun club arrived. "Scoots! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash called suddenly. Twilight turned and locked eyes with Scootaloo, who fluttered down carrying a large pack on her back. Well, of course it was Scootaloo. "Didja bring the stuff?" "Yeah, of course I did, Rainbow Dash!" she said proudly, swinging the pack off and dumping it on the table. She upended it, and out poured a few large chunks of cheese, some strange bottles, and what looked like black cloths. "Just like you asked!" "Yeah, totally sweet," Dash said, pushing the cheese into a corner, and looking at the bottles with intent. "'86, huh? Good year." That was when Twilight cut in. "Dash, is that what I think it is?" "Yeah, it's cider. We're gonna have a party, Rainbow Dash style." "And what about..." She tilted her head toward the little filly, who was now busy pushing the oversized cauldron upright with her entire body and not having much progress. "What, her? Oh, she's..." "I'm 25!" Scootaloo shouted from the distance. "That's right! Just like we practiced." Rainbow bumped the air with her fist. "So don't worry! Anyway, it's a special occasion. We even got you this and everything!" Twilight didn't like the idea, but well... it was a special occasion, right? But for what? She looked down to what Rainbow Dash was offering her. It was a black cloak. It had a hood that covered the face nicely, and had a little lightning bolt sewn into the flank area. By the time she looked back up, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were already getting into theirs. "Ah..." "It's part of the ceremony! Go on, just put it on!" Twilight did as asked. You don't really want to question things like this. She bit her lower lip, though. She wouldn't say that it wasn't beginning to get weirder and weirder by the minute. Soon, another robed figure appeared at the top of the stairs and made her way down. She wafted over the floor, hit her head against a stalagmite and fell down upon her rump. "Ditzy! Glad you could make it!" Rainbow Dash squealed. "Ditzy here is one of our best members. She's really fun!" Scootaloo started to put the cheese and cider into the cauldron. "Ok, Rainbow. I'm sorry. Surprise or no, I really have to ask. What is this 'fun' club about? What do you do here?" Rainbow smirked. "Alright. I hear ya. Can't stand the wait, huh? Can't say I blame you. Just because you're you, I'll let you know." She leaned toward Twilight slowly, and whispered in her ear. "This is a love club." For what must have been the eighth time in the past two days, Twilight jerked back. "A what?!" "A love club! You know, we get together, eat a little fondue... we have crackers AND bread... and we... have a little fun, you know? Fun!" "Wh... what? What? What?" Twilight rattled off, backing up and hitting a rock formation for herself. "But... Scootaloo... and Ditzy?! Ditzy? Really? But her eyes, I mean how can she even... coordinate?" "How do you think her eyes got like that in the first place?" shrugged Dash. "She's one of our more active members." Twilight shook her head. "No... no, this isn't really what you do here, right?" she giggled with stress on her voice. "That was just a really bad, really tasteless joke..." "Oh no, not at all. You're gonna love it!" The fire beneath the cauldron burst, and grew in size as it was lit. Ditzy fluttered unevenly to the side where she sat, waiting for the cheese to melt. "Wh...why have you brought me here...?" Twilight stuttered. "Well, to tell ya the truth, Twilight, we really never intended to." Dash nodded, with her eyes closed, as if it were a bad thing. "But you see, when you gave that proclamation yesterday? Well, I was gobsmacked! I didn't know you were up for, you know, this kind of stuff!" Twilight's jaw hung open. "And I know, you're shocked, but it's cool! It's no problem honestly, and well," she leaned in closer again, "There's a few members who always ask me about you, you know? If you'll ever join. You're pretty popular here!" Two more hooded figures clambered down the stairs and stopped momentarily to stare at Twilight before joining Scootaloo and Ditzy at the pot. The shadows made it hard to pick out their faces, and if they had any reaction whatsoever about Twilight's presence, it was hidden from view as well. "Ponies... talk about me?" Twilight stammered. "That's... not... right..." "I know!" exclaimed Dash. "They shoulda just asked you directly, right? But anyway. It's cool, It's cool," she kept repeating. "I had to rush off yesterday to prepare all this just for you! Well... minus one pumpkin." The ponies had started to arrive in clusters now. In all, there seemed to be about ten members, all of whom lay in a circle around the bubbling, hot cauldron, all of whom were watching Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle having their little conversation a few steps away. Twilight tried to find something to say but ended up gaping like a fish. "Listen, Twilight, today's your first day, so you get to go through... initiation!" Dash nodded proudly. "And initiation is the best part." No. "What we do is cover you with cheese..." No. No no. "And then we eat it off you..." No! "And then we all have a turn initiatin' ya one by one!" NO! NO! NO! "It'll probably take about six hours, but you can last that long, can't you?" Twilight screamed. No. No no no no no. This was insane. This was not happening. She turned suddenly, tripped up in her cloak, and landed, sprawling to the ground. "Unf!" she called out, as a sharp rock scratched her chin. But she didn't wait to check it out. Scrambling to her hooves, she rushed as fast as she could to the exit, barging outside and taking in the evening air. The rain had started again, washing off the scratch and stinging it in the process. Twilight winced. From behind her she could hear Rainbow Dash rushing after her, calling out after her. "Hey wait! Was it something I said?!" Her voice was faint, but she was definitely getting closer. Oh gosh, oh gosh, which way did she say it was again, back to Ponyville? The rain made it hard to see, and the darkness of the forest didn't help a bit either. Could she even trust Rainbow Dash with what she said earlier? She had no reason not to, but she didn't feel like she could trust Rainbow Dash ever again. Never mind! Just run! Think later! She took off, not casting the spell of light in case Rainbow Dash would use it to track her and drag her back to that pit of debauchery. And deep into the forest she ran, dodging branches, trees, and so much more. And ran she did, ditching the cloak and her bags at her earliest convenience. Running. Away from something she knew but didn't know. The foreign in the familiar. The strange sense that she had missed so much, and this odd feeling when she thought back on all the times she had been with this... this pony who harboured such a secret. She didn't know where she was running to, but she wasn't going to stop. Not yet. Not just yet.
GENEROSITYG E N E R O S I T Y She didn't know how long it had been since she started, but she knew that the end was in a place that she hadn't counted on being. Panic had caused her to dart around without thinking, and now with the chance to regain her senses, she found her options had severely limited themselves. She had stopped, in the middle of a dark area of forest. The sun had set a while ago, and all that was left were a few streaks of lightning to temporarily cast familiar shapes upon the scene around. She didn't feel like running. She didn't have the energy, the spirit, or the heart. She stood there, resigned to her fate. The thunder roared and lightning once again lit up the scene. Amidst the rain, tapping on leaves and branches, and the trees that eventually closed off all sight in a radius around her, was Twilight Sparkle, wet, cold, and miserable, standing in the middle of a patch of familiar blue plants. Her horn had stopped working a few minutes ago. Without magic, she now didn't even have the chance to make her way back using the tools she normally would have at her disposal. The poison joke laughed at her, and robbed her of her powers. Clinging to her ankles like tiny little hands reaching up through the ground just for a chance to stroke her luscious skin, they sapped of her the individuality that would be a most welcome ability in dire need. She waded through the patch, shivering, sniffing, alone. She was... scared. She looked up, drops of rain hitting her in the face and eye, running over the cut on her chin and washing her down to her soul. A few more steps were taken, in whichever direction, as Twilight proceeded carefully through the dense brush, stumbling over a rock or root whenever it happened to be just right to do so. "...light..." She froze. Her eyes widened. The skin on her back dropped ten degrees in temperature, as her hair prickled up and the wind died down. "...Tw...l...t..." Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What was that. What was that? It came from behind her. Definitely. Maybe. All sounds faded away as she heard what appeared to be her name being called in the middle of nowhere. And then the roaring pour of water came back as her senses were regained. It was accompanied by a high pitched buzzing that Twilight knew was just in her head. It was the kind of warning that she gave herself when she knew that she just shouldn't be somewhere. "... ig..t..." She did not want to turn around. She closed her eyes, letting the water run down her body. A twig snapped. Audibly. Clearly. "Celestia... please..." she said to herself, barely over a whisper. "Help me... please..." "Twilight" the voice intoned. It was directly in her left ear. Twilight's eyes bolted open, but only saw it for a second. It was a figure. Dark. Illuminated by the moon. It had pallid skin, and was barely in the shape of a pony, but it was pony-ish at the very least. It stood there without moving, featureless, emotionless. It had no eyes. That was enough. Twilight took off from a standing start, her legs racing to keep up with her beating heart. It wasn't clear which one was moving at a faster pace. It was only that one split second of sight, that she caught it, and out of the corner of her vision, but whatever it was that she saw there that was calling her name, she let her imagination fill in the blanks. And usually that is the worst thing one can do in a situation like this. But the voice. There was no avoiding the voice. It wasn't male, it wasn't female. It wasn't anything she ever heard before. It sounded like the grating of carrots. It sounded like the purring of cats. It had that strange roughness to it, and a distinct warbling that sounded like someone trying to talk underwater. It clearly wasn't pony. It clearly wasn't real. That's right. It's not real. It's just that horrible poison joke, doing another nasty on her. She laughed, suddenly and harshly, as the thought of it ran through her head. Yes, nothing to worry about, nothing to wo... "Twilight" She turned so quickly that she ended up careening into a tree, hitting herself hard on the chest and knocking out whatever little breath she had left. It wasn't that running wasn't easy for her, but she really had nothing left to supply the oxygen that her entire body was screaming for. She wheezed, propping herself up on her front leg, body dangling in the back, trailing in the mud. Through dizzy eyes and blurred vision she saw that figure again. It was right in front of her this time, walking slowly toward her with spasmodic pacing. It was an uneven gait - one leg following after the other, but at random intervals, like a spider examining its surroundings. Somehow, it managed to stay upright, and even manage to catch up with Twilight with its slow saunter. "Twilight" it said again. Twilight didn't know if the word 'said' was appropriate. She strained to see, but the creature definitely did not open its mouth when it spoke. The voice came from it, but it didn't say it. She still swore it didn't have eyes. She struggled around the side of the tree, using her teeth, forelegs, whatever she had at her disposal to clamber around to the other side, where she could catch her breath. The thing behind her hit the tree. She could hear it. There was a slight clonk. And then... silence. It did not seem to be attempting to reach for her around it. And maybe it didn't want to, either. Twilight knew she was stuck, and perhaps this was part of the idea. She couldn't go left or right. It would be able to know. The only way to go was straight away from the tree in the opposite direction, leaving that horrible monstrosity behind her. Was it... a trap? She didn't have time to think. The waiting was destroying her as the seconds ticked by. It was a strange mystery. She didn't want to hear anything, but yet, she did. She didn't even know now if that thing was still there. Maybe it was in front of her now, waiting in the darkness. Maybe it was above her, waiting in the tree. "Twilight" The voice confirmed its location, and her plan of action. She took a few more final, rapid, deep breaths and pushed herself off the tree as hard as her aching legs could take her, and ran from the location deeper into the woods. Thunder crashed. Lightning roared. She ignored it. The ground around her hooves turned softer. No longer were there small rocks or boulders which defined the forest ground. It seemed to be a path now. Dirt and mud, it was a well-travelled path, cut out between orderly rows of trees. In fact, and Twilight had just noticed, the trees were much more sparse now. Spread out, and even, almost as if they were... Planted! She looked up in hope. Apples. Yes! Apples. Oh Celestia, thank you, thank you. She had brought her here, back to the farm. It was the farm, right? Definitely. Twilight peeked back over her shoulder. No one. That thing wasn't there. Oh thank goodness. Thank goodness. She slowed down a little bit. Still looking and peering around cautiously, but nothing immediately catching her attention. It was still very hard to see anyway. The farm was never really lit up that much at night. The sound of crickets protesting the weather became clearer, but that only meant that she was back in a familiar place. It was all going to be ok. It was all going to be ok. She jogged along the trees, not paying attention anymore to the ground in front of her because she knew Applejack didn't leave things out, especially not in the rain. That's why she never expected it when it hit her in the eye. She came skidding to a halt under a particularly tall tree, mud pushed up all over her body and face. The mud, seeping into her wound, reminded her again of the scratch she had. She coughed, muddy water filling her nose and mouth, assaulting her senses, and bringing her to look back at what she walked into. It was this long thick strand of... something. Twilight squished closer for a better view. Rope. That's all it was. It was tied around the trunk of the tree. Twilight reached up to touch it, just as one does when one is curious about something. The lightning lit up the bark. It had been tied over something. Something carved into the bark of the tree. She strained to read what it said, waiting for the moon to peek through the clouds and give her the opportunity. ApPleJack ♥ TwILiGht SparKlE was crudely carved into the tree with a jackknife. The rope had been tied in a way that it crossed out Applejack's name. Twilight's heart sank. It couldn't possibly be. It just couldn't. She stepped backward, her rear leg hitting what she later would find to be a wooden cart, toppled over backward and laying upside down in the soil. She was already crying as she trailed her eyes upward, following the rope to a branch, and following it down to the shadow of a corpse swinging gently on the end of a lasso. "No... No...!" Twilight wailed. "Why!? Why?! Applejack! No!" Her voice turned to breathy squeals as everything was sucked out of her from repeating that same mantra over and over for far too long. She dropped to her back, holding her hooves over her temples, as she stared up at the body. It looked serene. It looked happy. If it were any other day, she would look even better than normal. "This... is... not..." Twilight struggled against her choking sobs. "What... I... wanted!" The sheer ridiculousness of what she said just hit her. Of course, it wasn't what she wanted. None of this was what she wanted. Princess Celestia... this... magic. What was it? It was horrible. Every part of it. It was only two days ago but she now wondered what possessed her to eagerly tell the world of this forbidden relationship. "Twilight" Oh no... enough. Please. I beg you. Whatever is out there that still has some good left in them. Please let this not be what I think it is. Please. Dear Celestia. Dear Luna. Dear Powers That Be. Please. Please. The creature stood there, with the rope separating itself from where Twilight sat, throwing up over herself in the mud. It took a step forward, the rope pushing against its face as if it were not even there. The corpse above quavered with the pressure, heavy under the weight of water soaking into languished flesh. Twilight turned, struggled behind the cart, and started to run yet again. There was simply nothing else she wanted to do besides this. She wanted to run away from this all. From the horror and the nightmares. Yes, that's what this was. It was a nightmare. She was still asleep, in Applejack's barn, and she would wake up and that would be that and... "Twilight Sparkle! Over here!" This time she opened her eyes to something that gave her more than the calm of relief. At this point she would take anything. Especially Rarity. "Quick!" Rarity yelled, "Oh you poor darling! We've been looking for you forever! Hurry and get to the boutique!" Twilight fumbled toward the voice. It was Rarity, alright, standing there under her saddle-umbrella, a lantern being floated by her horn. It barely worked in the storm, but it guided well enough. She stood at the edge of the fence which separated the farm grounds from the path that led up to the barn, waving Twilight over. "I don't know what's been happening, darling, but it's been madness around here! Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and I have been looking for you ever since you disappeared yesterday and oh my, you do look dreadful! Come in out of the rain, quickly! You'll catch your death of cold!" Twilight was so happy to hear Rarity's long-winded speeches that she wished she could just listen to them forever. The nightmare was ending. At least by this account, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were doing alright. They raced to Carousel Boutique, Twilight shaking off most of the mud before entering. "Oh my dear, my poor dear," Rarity said, gathering up a bunch of fresh, clean towels. "You look absolutely terrible. What happened to you?" Twilight took some time to regain her senses. It was nice to be out of the rain, and especially nice to be in a warm, cosy place like Rarity's. The events of the past day still weighed heavily on her mind, but at least now she had the opportunity to settle down and let them sink in at their own pace. "It's just... I don't know where to begin," said Twilight. "It's impossible. Everything that happened... is impossible." "Take your time, while I get you some nice hot tea," said Rarity, gently pouring Twilight a fresh mug. The mug had flowers on it. Twilight ran everything through her head. she didn't even know what she should say. Applejack? That would be traumatizing. Rainbow Dash and the fact that half the town were members of some weird cult? No. Maybe not now. "There's some sort of thing in the forest," Twilight decided. "It's... like a weird... non-pony pony. And I think it's after me. It's been chasing me all night, and it keeps..." She shuddered. "Saying my name." "Oh?" said Rarity, her back turned to Twilight as she worked on the tea. "Yeah and in this really weird voice too, like almost mechanical..." "Well," came the reply. She should be more concerned. She really, really should be more concerned. "Rarity?" "I'm sorry I'm not perfect," huffed Rarity. "What?" "I know the voice is a bit strange, but it was the best I could do, and I think for a day's work it was quite good, wouldn't you agree?" she turned around with the cup of tea hovering beside her. Twilight gulped. Nothing went down. She had run dry ages ago. "Rarity... do... you know... that thing?" "Of course I do. I made her with my own two hooves!" She held them out for effect. They were bruised. Cuts lined Rarity's perfect white skin, and open sores scarred her flesh. "Theeeeese hooves!" "Rarity! What have... you been doing!?" The door behind Twilight slammed shut. In the full light of the boutique, she could now clearly see what had been chasing her. It was one of Rarity's mannequins; the ponies upon which she draped her fashions. This one had torn free from restraint and was now walking amongst their midst, like a flaccid mockery of life. Extensive work had been done to 'prepare' it. There were huge tears in its side, sewn-up cuts of various widths and thicknesses, and altogether it looked like a patchwork of cloth and stuffing. The worst part about it was that it had the same pale, white, flesh colouring of Rarity, and three diamonds stitched into either side of its flank. A faux mane and tail, purple in colour, hung off its back and rear, but entirely drenched now and falling down to the side like straggles of seaweed clutching to the side of a shipwreck. It didn't have any eyes. "It took me hours, darling, but I finally made it work," Rarity said. "You see, the key was using a real diaphragm to get it to speak, although it still sounds a bit like Opal, as you've no doubt heard. Poor dear, really. But I'll get a better one soon, I promise!" "How... why...!?" Twilight looked frantically around the room, spotting a soggy, wet sheet covering a tiny red lump hiding behind the dressing cupboard. "Mmmph, well I was thinking about the other day, darling," said Rarity, bringing over the tea as if nothing were the matter. The doll stood there by the door, silently. "Oh, gorgeous thing, don't you think so? Looks exactly like me," Rarity remarked, as the doll caught her eye. "Anyway, I was just thinking to myself, how unbelievably selfish it must be for me to want to call you my own, but show nothing for it." "Your... your own?" "why yeeeeees, darling, of course!" sang Rarity, her picture perfect hair bobbing as she nodded. "Now of course your announcement was just a challenge, I could see that as clear as everypony else, but how could I be so terribly self-centered not to be around you as much as I possibly can? "I know I can't compare with the others, definitely, I simply have so much work to do. So that's why I made her." She stroked the faux Rarity with a hoof, some of its skin peeling off like flaking scales. "She will be there when I cannot, and that way, I can be around you twenty-four hours a day!" she gleefully tittered. "Isn't it brilliant?" she asked. "Twilight" the doll 'said'. "Oh yes, I shall improve its vocabulary, as well. So much to do. So much!" She daintily flowed back to Twilight. "So, do you accept, then?" "A... accept what?" "My love of course! Silly little pony." She bipped Twilight on the nose. "Ugh, mud." She wiped off her hoof carefully on one of the stray cloths. "You see, between me and those other four yokels, there wasn't any competition, so I never really needed to say anything, of course. But now that Princess Celestia entered the picture, why! I needed to... mmph, step up my game, as they say, colloquially." "But... how... Rarity... how?" Twilight groaned, weakly. Knowing that Rarity was behind this strange monstrosity wasn't making things any better. In fact, seeing it in full view was perhaps more unnerving than it had been chasing her around in the forest. "Oh, it was the strangest thing! Ever since you mentioned your... attachment to Princess Celestia, I just sort of knew." She shrugged. "I knew I had that spell lying around in my horn somewhere, just waiting to come out. "But anyway! There's no problem!" Rarity concluded, clopping her hooves together. "Now we three will always be together. Forever!" "Forever" the doll intoned. "Oh look, it learnt a new word! Isn't that precious?" Rarity trilled. Twilight had been inching her way to the window ever since Rarity started her tirade. Now. While Rarity was distracted. Quickly. Out the window. Twilight noticed a small bolt of cloth, half-processed into a dress, that was sitting there on the table beside her. She knew she had to do what was necessary. She grabbed the shiny blue silk and rubbed it vigorously over her face, letting the mud, tears, sweat and fear soak into it. And then with a flick of her head she tossed it across the room, letting it hit the wall and slog down. "Oh my gosh, Rarity, your dress!" She yelled, and dived out the window head first into the bushes behind the boutique. The screams that came from within could not compare to anything that Twilight herself had made that night. The cold, raspy, death wail of a pony who had just had her very soul ripped out of her own chest paled in comparison. As Twilight ran off into the distance of the town square ahead, the shrieking kept up until it was too, finally drowned out by the noise of the rain and angry winds. And perhaps till this day, she is shrieking still.
KINDNESSK I N D N E S S There were only two ponies left whom she knew well enough to help her. She didn't trust either. She needed to get out of town as quickly as possible, head up to Canterlot and reverse this if it was even possible. She travelled down the empty, dark streets of Ponyville, not a single soul out that night. She didn't know if they were simply just in due to the rain, or in due to other more nefarious reasons. She didn't care to find out. But first she had to do something about her horn. It was useless as it looked, and she now realised what a boon it was just to simply have magic. It would be about this time when she would decide to launch a research paper into how Earth ponies get by without, but really, now simply wasn't the right situation. With no means of defence, heading to Zecora's was out of the question. She needed to find someone who knew the cure. And there was only one doctor in Ponyville. Twilight skidded to a stop in front of the gate that opened into the Chicken patch that bordered Fluttershy's house. Behind her was the Everfree Forest, groaning and quaking, beckoning all to enter and be consumed. She had a hard time deciding which one would be the worst of two evils. But... It was Fluttershy. How could she possibly... Twilight steeled herself, and pushed the gate open with her rump. It squeaked. Rusty. The lights inside Fluttershy's cottage flickered. She was in. Twilight trod up to the door, and she couldn't even keep her hoof steady and she banged on the knocker, once... twice... three times. A nervous voice came from behind the door after a tense few seconds. "Who... who is it?" "It's Twilight," she said weakly. "Can I please come in?" The door burst open suddenly, and Twilight felt herself being yanked in, out of the rain, into a warm, fire-lit cabin room. "Oh, oh oh, Twilight!" meeped Fluttershy. "Oh I was so... so worried! I couldn't... even think!" She flustered around the room, knocking over knick-knacks and bottles as she gathered bandages, salves and other sorts of various items without even thinking about it. Twilight never managed to catch a look at herself in a mirror, but by Fluttershy's reaction, she must have been through hell and back. She certainly felt like it. But it was a breath of relief that Fluttershy actually seemed to be acting normal, as far as normal went for a pony of her timid nature. The medicatives were strewn across the floor in front of Twilight, who started to dry herself off in front of the fire. She lay, face on her side, sprawled out on the wooden floor of the cottage, just thinking of everything that she had gone through so far. And even now, she still cried weakly through bloodshot, pain-stricken eyes. She hadn't the strength to muster up a good strong tearful bawling, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. It wasn't just sadness that caused it, but a lot of everything else as well. She thought about the corruption that took place in the hearts of her best friends, and started to wonder if they were like that all long or some evil force had changed reality as she knew it. But at this point, did it even matter anymore? Applejack was... oh... Applejack... how could this have happened... Rainbow Dash, with her carefree and fun loving nature, now a sick dredge of society, Rarity and that thing... and now... Fluttershy hummed to herself, and smiled as she cleaned Twilight off, and dabbed her chin with a little bit of medicine, putting a little sticky bandage over it to finish. The bandage had yellow smiley faces on it. It was very apt. Twilight just said nothing. It was fine. She had enough of talking for the time being, and it was just good to be able to breathe regularly. Fluttershy finished off by dabbing at the edges of Twilight's eyes with cotton balls. "Phew, all done!" said Fluttershy, keeping her things away and setting items back up where they had fallen. "You must take care of yourself better, Twilight." "Oh, you have no idea what I've just been through, Fluttershy." "I'm... sorry." Fluttershy mumbled, looking down as if she had somehow failed Twilight. "I... wish I was there for you." A chill ran down Twilight's spine at those words. "Everyone can use a friend in times of trouble!" she continued. Oh, thank goodness. Just... a little overreaction there. But you couldn't blame her, could you? No, now's not really the time to take anything for granted. "So... what happened?" Fluttershy came by with a bottle of fresh carrot juice for her friend, which she took with grace, and settled down next to the fire alongside Twilight. "And your horn! Oh, did that nasty old Poison Joke get you again?" "Yeah... long, horrible story, Fluttershy." "Well don't you worry! Because you're safe with me now. I triple bolted all the windows, and the door is really sturdy!" "Errhh... I don't think that's really necessary, Fluttershy..." "Oh, no worries, you can open it at any time," Fluttershy assured. "It's not like I'm trying to trap you in here or anything." Phew. "So... I just want to... well... this is going to sound pret-ty weird, but... are you feeling alright, Fluttershy?" Twilight took the path of caution, as she weakly asked. "Me?" gasped Fluttershy. "Of... of course... is... do I look wrong? Is there something on my face...?" she shot up, looking worried as ever. "No! No! Not at all. Settle down, Fluttershy," It was Twilight's turn to reassure. "Just... checking, that's all. See... things have been... really terrible since two days ago. "I feel just awful," she understated, surprised at her own clarity despite all that occured. "It all started back when I made that announcement to everypony." "The one where you said you were in love with Princess Celestia?" "... yeah..." If only taking words back were that simple. And the words to come were not going to be any easier. -- <3 -- By the time Twilight had finished accounting all the details from start to end, from her night in Applejack's barn until the time they ended up there in Fluttershy's house, Fluttershy was just as destroyed as Twilight was. She openly cried over Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash; her face looked so distraught, with quaking jaw and twitching eyes, that even Twilight felt guilty for telling the entire story to her. "S... so... e...ever...y... pon....y.... is...." she barely made it through the sentence, quivering in her horseshoes. She sputtered, coughing out flecks of spittle, and squeezed her eyes shut tight. "W... why... Twilight... why..." "I don't know," Twilight said. It was the truth. She didn't know. "I just don't know wh..." "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" belted out Fluttershy. "... wha?" "Those stories... they were so... so good," heaved Fluttershy, through short tight breaths. Oh... Oh colt. Twilight stood up in an instant. She was exhausted. What now? What could it be now? "Twilight..." Fluttershy giggled, through her tears and coughing. "That was wonderful. I especially loved it how you described Applejack." "Please... please don't hurt me," meeped Twilight, moving backwards. "Hurt you? Why... why Twilight, I could never..." Fluttershy looked down at her front hooves again, scratching them back and forth over the puddle of tears that she left. "Look, Fluttershy, I hate to have to run, but I really just need something from you, ok?" Twilight quickly took initiative. She had to get it, and get it now. "Do you still have that cure for Poison Joke that Zecora left us?" "Oh, yes," Fluttershy nodded. Oh thank goodness. "But... I... I want you to do something for me first..." the timid yellow Pegasus continued. Oh holy hells. "Twilight?" Fluttershy said softly, drawing up, dragging her heels behind her in a seductive, bashful way. "I would never hurt you... but... I... I want you to hurt me..." "No... that's insane... no... you're not right, Fluttershy. Something's happened and you're not acting normal," Twilight tried to reason. "Oh no, I've... I've always been this way!" Fluttershy insisted. Something inside Twilight's head clicked. Living on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Always taking care of Rarity's late cat. How she's such a good doctor. Angel Bunny. Oh. My. "Twilight, just... hit me. Just hit me right here," Fluttershy closed her eyes and nervously tilted her head back and away, exposing her right cheek to the stunned pony standing in front of her. "No!" Twilight shouted. "Please, Twilight! Please!" the meek yellow pony begged, wings tipping. "It has to be you... I love you so much, I made my choice... back then... I wanted to end it with the one I love..." "I thought you said you didn't love me!" Twilight complained. "I never said thaaaat," Fluttershy smiled, bashfully. "You just asked me if I was feeling alright, and... well... I am!" "Oh no. No no no." Twlight backed up a little more. "Please?" asked Fluttershy. "No! It's sick!" "Pretty please?" "No!" "With sugar?" "No!" "With a black eye?" "NO!" Fluttershy clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disappointment. "Alright," a snide tone had taken over her voice. "I guess it can't be helped." "Listen, Fluttershy, I just really, really need that Poison Joke cure..." Twilight couldn't even finish what she wanted to say. A strange sensation took over her as her muscles contracted in her right foreleg, and without thinking, her arm flailed out and slapped Fluttershy right across the face. "Oh my gosh, Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled, looking at her leg in staunch disbelief. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" Fluttershy's head had been snapped back with the force of the impact, although it was only a slight hit. She remained in that position for a while, the point of attack starting to blossom in red already. She brought her own hoof up to her cheek, gently prodding it and wincing from the pain. "Ah... yeah..." she turned her head back, slowly, deliberately, and faced Twilight again, eye to eye. "See? That... wasn't so hard, was it?" And again. That feeling. That strange odd feeling of irresistible beckoning shot through Twilight's head. The second time it happened, she managed to grasp a bit more of what it meant. The first time had taken her by surprise, but this time she caught a small glimpse of a flash of some kind... the image of herself... as if looking at the scene through a telescopic lens; of herself punching Fluttershy in the lower chest. Twilight Sparkle blinked. She slowly withdrew her hoof from the keeled-over form of Fluttershy, who was groaning in pain, punctuated with sporadic coughing. The dizziness was returning to Twilight's head. Split images of things in her vision once again overlapped each other as things started to fade in and out of reality. She stared at her hoof. She stared at the floor. She stared at Fluttershy as small flecks of blood started to dot the sides of her mouth, staining her pretty yellow skin. "Fluttershy..." Twilight whispered, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I didn't mean to..." "Un...ng...hh..." was the only reply. Slow groaning; a futile argument against the discomfort that she so desperately wanted, and received. The third time, and Twilight caught it all. It happened as if falling through treacle. It was laboured, and slow, and exhaustive, but no amount of struggle could remove the thick, dense shroud she was in. Fluttershy turned her head to look up at Twilight. And stared. Her eyes, so full of love, kindness and peace. Those eyes, slanted at the sides to make her look as if she was feeling guilty about everything. Those eyes that only saw the good in everything around her and brought out the best in everyone. Those eyes that bore deep into Twilight's mind. Those eyes that screwed further and further into Twilight's brain with a drill. Those eyes that drank Twilight in, and sucked her into a place where there was nothing else but those eyes. And again, Twilight felt that floaty feeling of separation. She pushed off the floor, where everything was a monotone of grey, and she was the only one conscious of the surroundings. She watched as she, herself, walked in half time to stand over Fluttershy where she lay on the floor. And she watched, as she raised her leg high... high in to the air, above the face of the whimpering, bloody pony. And she watched as the whimpering, bloody pony gave the biggest smile she had ever seen. It felt now like she was being pushed down a long corridor. Stars and twinkles of light zipped past at ludicrous speed as she flew back into the recesses of her own consciousness. And as the colour returned, she knew she had committed what Fluttershy commanded her to do with that horrible stare. She didn't want to look down. She knew what would happen if she did. Twilight just shut her eyes, as hard as she could, and lifted her leg off the mass of wet, bulging flesh that twitched and pulsated under her hoof. The only thing that let her know that Fluttershy was still alive was the scant giggling that haunted the cabin, and heavy breathing that sounded like it was being done through a plastic straw. She stepped backward, eyes still closed, with her head unequivocally focused on one single thought. Just keep your eyes shut, and get out. Get out. She backed up, step by step, slowly, shuffling so as not to trip, and tried to use her memory to reach the front door. "Twiliiiighhhtt... where aree..... you.... going....?" a voice gurgled, "I'm... still... here..." It was dark through shut eyes. Twilight had no sense of her surroundings, and as hard as she tried, she could not help but use the pathetic sounds of Fluttershy as a point of reference to where she should be headed. All there was in her head were those sounds of breathing. Those small wet giggles. At one point, those groans of pain intermixed with the sighs of pleasure, and Twilight couldn't tell which was which any longer. But still she crept backward, in the darkness of her own head. One thing that she knew for sure was that, at the very least, Fluttershy was in no position to chase after her. It was a few more steps, and she felt the door behind her. Quickly, she turned, opened her eyes only just for this last point - which was to yank the door open - and throw herself outside. She ran. Again. Running from everything and everypony. Running from her life, and for her life. And she did not stop. Through the wind and the rain, she did not stop. She had given up. She should have had a long time ago. She didn't even want to consider any other avenues. She went back to the library. "Spike! Spike!" She screamed, bursting through the door. The library was silent. No Spike was there to greet her with a friendly hug and a 'hey, Twilight!' The books felt cold and chilly. Remote and grotesque. Even to her. All the candles were out, and on the floor next to the small stepladder lay Spike's duster. Twilight bit her lip nervously in the same groove that she caused by biting it so many times before. Ok. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
LAUGHTERL A U G H T E R The back door of the library was open, letting the rain in. Someone had opened it only recently, from the looks of things, as not a whole lot was wet on the inside, and the lack of tracks showed that someone had left and not entered. The wind must have extinguished all the fires, and all the scrolls that normally lined Twilight's writing desk lay across the opposite wall like torn wallpaper, stuck there by the gusts that blew in through the open doorway. It was truly a shame that that doorway was Twilight's destination. She stepped silently. She didn't know why. Yelling Spike's name at the top of her lungs would have given away her presence ages ago, and if anything, walking cautiously slow wasn't really the best thing to do at a time like this. She peeked out the back door. There was only one reason why she wanted to do this, and only one reason for coming here in the first place. And it was gone. The large Air Balloon that was usually tethered in the small open patch behind Twilight's house was decidedly unavailable. Where it had been lay the sunken heart of one Twilight Sparkle, whose dejection managed to hit critical levels of lowness. She staggered back in, eyelid twitching. She dragged the door close behind her, struggling to do so without magic. She didn't even give it a thought as to why it was necessary. She was running on automatic, and she just felt the need to be behind closed walls. She sniffed. No magic. No Balloon. Options? She could walk. Walk to Canterlot? In the rain? With that Rarity thing out there? And no doubt Rainbow Dash and her weird friends would be looking for her too. Right? Or were they busy with their little fun club? How about just walking to the next town over? Yeah, that was an idea, Where was the next town over, anyway? Oh right, it was Canterlot. Hey, I know! How about we go out, and forget the whole thing ever happened, and we could just put on a brave face and just accept Rainbow Dash for who she was, and learn to live with Rarity's doll and leave Fluttershy very well alone and just forget about Applejack entirely? Time heals all wounds, they say! Heh Heh heh. Hahaha! It was so funny. Twilight Sparkle found herself laughing, against all logic. Against all hope, and in the face of everything wrong. She found herself taking the advice of somepony she knew a long time ago, but probably didn't know any longer. Just laugh it all away. "Heeheeheeee!" Pinkie Pie giggled, joining in. And then it all went dark. -- <3 -- "What's up, Twilight?" bubbled Pinkie Pie. The voice came from somewhere in front of her, but it was hard to tell exactly where. She knew she wasn't in the library any longer. The room sounded different as well. Of course all this could be explained by the burlap sack that Twilight had over her head. "Pffenkie?" Twilight said, muffled through the bag. "Iffat yfoo?" "Yeah, of course it's me, silly," she called. "Who else would it be? I'm the last one, you know!" Last what? Oh for crying out loud. It was already difficult to understand Pinkie Pie regularly, but... could Pinkie Pie even get any more insane? Was it physically possible? The bag was whipped off Twilight's head, and a cascading torrent of light overflowed her senses and blinded her. Wherever she was, it was very, very well lit. Slowly, the lights began to quiet down, as she got used to it. Unfamiliar blobs of luminosity began to take shapes, and it was a while before she finally realised that she was sitting at the end of the long dinner table that was up in Pinkie's loft. The room was as it had always been - decorated with streamers, party favours and other such embellishments, and a huge banner that stretched across the ceiling. For a moment, Twilight thought she had saw something, but as the letters focused more and more, it simply read 'Happy Birthday!!' in a large, comical font. Pinkie Pie was sitting at the other end of the table, wearing a party mask. It was one of those kinds that covered the upper face, breaking form with an over-abundance of plastic jewels and other such gaudy nonsensicals. The table was set for a celebration. Pinkie Pie herself was uncharacteristically calm. No sudden movements, no weird jerking, no walking on the walls. She just sat there. She did sound normal, but she was acting... normal as well, actually. The word 'normal' really does lose meaning in the context of Pinkie Pie. The next thing Twilight noticed was that she couldn't move. Well, not to say that she couldn't, but she was restrained. She was sat on the chair on her hindquarters, a rather uncomfortable position, in fact, and her legs were bound up in front of her; all four together. It was like someone had trussed up a turkey, and sat it nicely on a chair, and put a little party hat on it. Yes, Twilight was wearing a hat. One of those paper cone things. Cheap. Didn't really capture the feel of the situation. "Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Would you please untie me?" She didn't bother to ask why she was tied up. That question was a dangerous question because it would lead to Pinkie Pie saying things that she really probably would be better off not knowing. "Okie dokie lokie!" said Pinkie Pie, clambering off her chair and trotting over. Twilight blinked in surprise. "You're not really tied up tight, anyway," Pinkie Pie said, yanking at the rope. "You could probably just get out of it yourself!" The ropes came free. There wasn't even a knot to be had. Twilight just simply hadn't bothered. "Um..." Twilight said. "Because you were struggling in your sleep, I had to carry you here without getting my head knocked off!" Pinkie said, giggling again. "And how di..." "Oh, when I showed up at the library to get you to safety, you fainted!" "And the sack..." "Well..." Pinkie stared at Twilight. "That one was just for fun." It all... made sense, really. "You came to rescue me?" Twilight asked, rubbing her ankles. "Yeppers!" nodded Pinkie, bouncing back to her side of the table. "Well. You see. You know how the other day you told all of us how..." "Yes, yes." Twilight cut Pinkie off. She had enough of that. "Well, all of us started to act really funny, and my pinkie sense? It started giving me doozies! All day! And all night, too! I couldn't sleep, it was pretty funny. I was doozying so hard, I fell out of bed! And then I doozied all the way downstairs, and doozied in the toilet, and doozied..." "Pinkie." "Oh, right! And well, I knew something bad had happened, so I went out to take a look, and everyone was acting so funny all over! Applejack came to me to say goodbye for some reason, like she was going on a loooooong holiday, and I wish I could have joined her, but I had things to do, and Rarity? She was making this really creep-tastic doll thing, and I was scared of it, and Rainbow Dash was gathering ponies from all over town for some weird thing, and I didn't even know about it but I accidentally found her cave and ooooh yuck! They were eating cheese inside, without any toast! But she didn't see me, and I left and..." "Pinkie!" "... and I knew you were in trouble because everyone was trying to find you and you were missing, so I figured to find you first. But it looks like I found you last, but it really doesn't matter because you're safe now!" Was she? "Twilight, it's ok." she suddenly said, with a more serious tone than before. "It's really ok." "R...really?" Twilight asked. She pleaded. "Yeah. Look, everything's ok here. You can stay here until we find out what happened to your balloon, and then we'll both go up and talk to Princess Celestia. That was why you went back to the Library, right?" "Pinkie, you don't sound..." "Like myself? Yeah. Well. Guess what, Twilight? This is actually how I really am. I'm not really in the mood to keep up the whole 'fun and laughter' thing anymore. It's been a long night, as I'm sure it has been for you as well. Everypony else seems to have gone genuinely mad, and you don't even want to know how I just found Fluttershy a while back." "I... I know." "Well... then I don't have to elaborate," said Pinkie. Whether she was serious or funny, at least her incessant chattiness wasn't affected. "I suppose you think it was me or something who took the balloon in the first place, and to be honest, no. I didn't. I don't know who did. "When I realised that everypony else couldn't be trusted any longer, I made straight for your house. I only just arrived after you got in yourself, and I also went to look for the balloon. I'd like to get out of here as well, personally. "This place just isn't... as fun anymore," she smiled weakly. "It's magic," Twilight blurted out suddenly. "What is?" "I... oh Pinkie... I'm so sorry for everything... Celestia... she warned me. She did. I didn't listen. She said that if I told anypony about our relationship... bad things would happen... I didn't expect it to be this bad..." "Don't be silly," said Pinkie Pie. That made Twilight perk up and look at her stern face. "What happened was not your fault. Why are you apologizing for something that you just wanted to share? If it were any worse than what Princess Celestia could have foreseen, she'd have warned you more, wouldn't she? Did you maybe think that she didn't know the outcome herself?" Taking solid, logical advice from Pinkie. That was new. "What happened is terrible. It's a tragedy. It changed all of us. Look, it's turned me into you." Was that a joke? Twilight wasn't certain. Pinkie giggled a little bit. At least she wasn't changed entirely. "Well, look, Twilight Sparkle, what's over is over, but now we have to fix it. You and me together, alright? We'll take care of business, and everything will be as it's supposed to be." "Supposed to be? How can we ever do that? Don't you get it, Pinkie? Everything's ruined!" "Everything is not ruined!" Pinkie said. "With everything we've gone through together, don't you remember? Nothing, and I believe nothing can be undone! Don't you believe that we can see this through to the end?" It was frightening to see Pinkie Pie this charged up. Twilight nodded. "Yeah... Yeah! I do!" "So just take a little break for now, I think we both need one. Have some tea, I made tons of cakes, as usual, and just relax. We'll tackle the first problem a little later, alright?" Twilight looked at the table apprehensively. It was laid out, as she noticed earlier, for a sort of party, but then again, to Pinkie, it could just be dinner. There were cupcakes and treats of all kinds, cups full of oats and bran, and a full punch bowl overflowing with hot cocoa. Didn't seem like Pinkie had any other container to put it in, but who's complaining? Twilight struggled to fill a cup with the delicious warm drink as regular ponies do. She tilted her head carefully to fill it with a ladle, and remarked to herself how easily Pinkie Pie did this. She probably would never underestimate the power of magic ever again. Not for herself, and not when dire warnings were to be heeded. She sipped the freshly brewed chocolate milk drink, letting the warmth run down her throat and envelop her core. It felt really good. The heat radiated out from within and wrapped her body in a glow of pure chocolate goodness. It was the little things. Pinkie Pie had brought over a plate of assorted cakes. She even had them cut them up to be bite-sized so that Twilight needn't fuss with a knife. It was so sweet of her. So thoughtful and kind and lovi...ng... "Pinkie?" Twilight said, putting the plate down on the table. "Yeah, Twi-twi?" "I want to check... something with you. And this is going to sound really... weird, but I need to ask." "What's up, pony?" "Are you... in love with me?" Pinkie Pie stood there blinking at Twilight. "F...F....fwwaaahhahahahahahhahahahaa!" She suddenly cackled. "In... in love? Ahhhhh hahahahahahahaahhahahaa!" "Well, geeze, Pinkie, thanks for being subtle," commented Twilight. "Oooh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ahhhh hahahaha.. oh..." She clutched her belly. "Oh that's a good one... yeah... ok." Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "No." "Yeah, I got that." "Am I supposed to be?" "It's a... theme," Twilight said, emotionlessly. "Everything bad that happened seemed to be due to some twisted perversion of love. I don't really know if they actually loved me from the start or anything, but this is the result." Pinkie Pie drummed her hoof on the floor. She looked a bit uncomfortable, the same way that she did when Twilight first announced that she was in love herself, those days ago. "Pinkie? You alright?" Twilight noticed. "Yeah... yeah. I am." "What's wrong?" Pinkie smacked her tongue, and ran it over her puckered lips, popping them out again with an audible sound. She sucked some air in through her clenched teeth, making it sound like a snake going in reverse. "Twilight? I guess I ought to tell you." "What is it, Pinkie?" "I guess... and don't you freak out on me now," she put her hooves up as if to say 'whoa there'. "I have a secret of my own as well. And before you start thinking this is all going to end badly in some kind of horrible twist, no, it's nothing concerning you, and it's not going to lead me to do anything bad. Just to get that clear." Twilight nodded. Ok. At least she could follow this as long as it remained this calm. "Look... since the start... well, from a long time ago, really, I've always known that I was... different." "Yeah you can say that again," snorted Twilight. "No, hey, come on!" Pinkie pushed Twilight gently. "Seriously, ok?" "Alright, alright. I'm listening." "When I was young... and all the ponies were just going about... falling in love... making romance... I never was... you know, attracted to them. I just felt that they were friends, and believe me, you girls are the best friends a pony could have, but I never... really... was attracted to any of you. "I started to act out to try to hide it. You know. Being goofy, being silly, being overly girly. My therapist said that I was trying to over-compensate, but... meh!" Pinkie shrugged. "In the end I came to a conclusion. I couldn't really keep it in anymore, and I just had to be happy with who I was, and the pony on the very inside." "Pinkie? What are you saying?" "Twilight... I'm... straight." Twilight's eyes widened. "You're... what?" "I like... guys, Twilight. I like big strong buff chests. I like muscular arms. I like unkempt dirty hair. I'm... straight." "Wow..." muttered Twilight. "That's... something, alright. You know, if I had to guess that anyone was straight I'd have said Rainbow Dash..." "Naw, she's just butch," smiled Pinkie. "I can tell. Straydar." She tapped her head. "So really, if there's any worry that you have about me falling in love with you... that just ain't gonna happen! Sorry!" "Oh, don't apologize. Believe me. This is so much of a relief. I can't even tell you!" Twilight held Pinkie by the shoulders, shaking her back and forth. "But... but thank you for confiding in me! I know it's hard to come out of the closet, but..." "It's no problem. Just... keep it to yourself, alright?" "Of course!" Huh! Twilight went back to her chair and slumped in it. Huh! Imagine that. It was strange how things turn out, sometimes. The one pony you'd think would be the most dangerous somehow changes in a way that makes her the sanest. It's... a terrible affliction of irony if nothing else. Huh! Twilight shook her head to herself. It was the end of a long, tiresome ordeal, but they were finally on the way up. "So, Twilight, you ready to start fixing the problems?" "Yeah, definitely!" she said, renewed with energy and hope. "Ok so step one. All this nonsense about all the other ponies loving you. Let's get just one thing straight. Only one's gonna love you, and it ain't those weirdos out there." "Yep! Princess Celestia!" "Nope!" ... ... ... "Nope?" Twilight grinned. The edges of her mouth had started trembling, almost like an uncontrollable tic had seized her face and was yanking the strings of her smile. "P.p.ppp..pinkie... Pie...?" She warbled, like birdsong, she was so scared. "Yo... you said that you weren't... in love... with me..." "Oh I'm not, silly!" Pinkie Pie grinned, a genuine, hearty grin of friendship. "But Gummy is!" Pinkie pie held the alligator in outstretched legs, propping it up by its underarms. Its vapid gaze looked at the whole room at once, but never looked straight at Twilight. It flicked its tail, but made no other movements. It slowly opened its mouth, horrendous teeth sticking out at every angle, as if someone had gone in with a wrench, a project, and far too little time. Small shining beads of saliva peeled off the roof of his mouth, and flowed their way down thin strands to his lower jaw, like a macabre dance. "Wh...why does Gummy have... teeth?" asked Twilight, knowing it was futile. "Well... they grow back, stupid, duh." Pinkie rolled her eyes, "I thought you read a lot." Pinkie Pie walked closer to the shaking, quivering Twilight, who was bolted to the floor. Her legs refused to move. Her hooves refused to take that first step toward the stairs. "Now, Gummy tells me that ever since that day, he's been wanting so much for just one little thing. A big kiss!" She held the alligator closer, who opened his jaws wider... and wider... until Twilight's entire head could be encased within it. "Now, won't you make Gummy happy?" asked Pinkie Pie. Step. "Won't you just give him a little kiss?" Step. "Won't you?" Twilight closed her eyes for the very last time. She breathed in calmly, and let the feeling of serenity flow over her from head to hoof. She felt like she was lying on a cloud. She felt like she was spinning off into space as the world turned slowly under and away from her. A creeping feeling started from her face and travelled over her skin, and although it felt like a thousand insects were dancing over her body, she loved the feeling, and she loved how they were the only things left that cared. And for the last time, she closed her eyes.
LOVE (Epilogue)L O V E Spike stepped out of the balloon onto Princess Celestia's balcony. Up there, the rains didn't hit; the clouds were far below the range of the castle. Celestia stood there, looking down upon the cloud-coated city of Ponyville, and Spike hopped off the basket and joined her by her side. "I got here as soon as I could, Princess. What's the emergency?" She just kept gazing down at the town. Overlapping greys and blacks of storm clouds devoured the area, from Fluttershy's lodge to Applejack's barn. "That's some freaky weather, Princess," Spike remarked. "Why'd the Pegasus ponies do that anyway?" "Oh, it wasn't them," replied Princess Celestia. "It's a special occasion." She turned away and walked back into her room, where she, with dour face, stroked her horn upon a small wooden box that lay on her mantelpiece. The intricately carved case popped open, the lid and front panel chucking out its contents, which was a tiny black scroll upon which were written silver letters. "Princess?" said Spike. "Should I really be here? Twilight's missing and I really ought to go find her." "Oh, she's not coming back, Spike," Princess Celestia said sadly, but resolutely. "She's not coming back." She scanned the black scroll all the way from the top to the bottom, as if each entry of the list that lay upon it held dark memories for her. Every entry in the list was crossed out, save the very last, which read, simply, "Twilight Sparkle". She sighed for a while, as if that would have changed anything. Then with the glowing tip of her horn she ran that across the scroll as well, as a red, ragged line cut across Twilight's name. The box swallowed up the scroll like a tongue, and shut itself tight. "Princess?" asked Spike. "Is... everything alright?" "They just never listen, Spike," she said, careening her neck upward and stretching her back. "Mmmmnn... I try to warn them, but they never listen." "They never listen." The End -
