Chapters “Come on, it’s never going to work!” Crystal Night nudged my arm, whining impatiently.
“It’s not if you keep distracting me...” I rolled my eyes and pushed her away gently, “Just a few more minutes, we won’t be too late, your parents shouldn’t worry.”
“You have got to be kidding me. Do you know my parents? They worry enough for all of Equestria.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Star, we need to go right now before it gets too late!” She repeated, with more urgency this time.
I moved her away from me again, “Relax, Crystal. This is going to take longer the more you distract me. Just go over there, and sit down !” I rarely shouted, so when I did, Crystal listened. It was a good thing we were in a secret section of my house that nopony knew about. Since I had shouted, Crystal immediately backed away and sat down, annoyed. I closed my eyes and focused really hard. If I messed this up, oh, Celestia knows what would happen! I wasn't even supposed to be doing this in the first place, which is why we were hiding.
From the corner of the small room, I heard Crystal mutter, “What did I get myself into?” I smiled slightly to myself before concentrating again. Crystal was the one who kept asking me why I always went into my room after school and didn't come out until dinner or to hang out. I didn't want to tell her, but if I couldn't tell my best friend, then who could I tell?
Slowly, a dim glow filled the room. Even through my closed eyes, I could tell it was a bright red glow. I opened one eye slightly to look. In front of me was a swirling cloud of glowing, bright, deep red light. My eyes widened and I backed away. I could hear Crystal behind me, her wings flapping as she tried to get farther away, “Uh, is that supposed to happen, Star?”
“Um... well... that depends on if this is a bad thing.” I said, backing up more. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening.
Crystal gasped as the light grew brighter and the cloud got bigger and started swirling faster, “I think you made it angry, Star...” I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring Crystal. It was just a cloud, I couldn't 'make it angry'. I concentrated more than I had ever concentrated before in my life. A blue glow filled the room, along with the red, and I knew it was from my horn. I tried to reverse the spell, but abruptly the light from my horn disappeared, and there was a thud from behind me. The cloud seemed to collapse into itself and vanished as if it had never been there.
“What happened?” I opened my eyes and turned around to see Crystal on the floor, rubbing her head. Something was different about her, but I couldn't exactly place what it was.
After blinking a few times, she looked at me and gasped, “Oh my Celestia, where is your horn, Starry Inkwell!?” She was so shocked that she used my full name.
I quickly put my hooves on my head only to discover that Crystal was right. My horn wasn't there. I turned my head around to see if I had turned into a pegasus pony, only to see that nothing was on my back either. I turned back to Crystal and realized what had been different about her. “You don’t have your wings.” I said, shocked. Crystal looked and saw that I was right. She started to panic.
“Oh my Celestia, I don’t have wings!” Crystal shouted. She was completely freaking out.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to think of a way to explain this to my parents. Somepony screamed downstairs and a question occurred to me, “Um, Crystal, do you think that all of Equestria was affected by it?” I burst out of the secret room, and Crystal quickly followed me out, still frightened. I closed the hidden door, making sure it wasn't obvious to anypony that it was there, and I ran downstairs. My mom was staring into a pan that was resting on the stove.
When I got into the kitchen, she turned around, “Starry? Is it just me or are all three of us earth ponies?”
“Um, no mom. We’re all earth ponies. I was wondering why and I thought you might know, so-” I was interrupted by a loud screaming and a crash from outside.
All three of us ran outside to see a very confused pony pulling her head out of a pile of dirt, it was Derpy. She looked around with no quirky stare, confused, before asking, “What happened?” I looked around. Everypony was confused, either staring at their backs or using their hooves to try to find where their horns had gone. Everypony started gathering around the town hall. Nopony knew what was going on, and even I was confused. This was not supposed to happen.
A train pulled in and guards hopped out, followed by Celestia. None of them had wings or horns, including Celestia. I glanced around at each pony nervously. What if any of them found out that I had done this?
Celestia walked over and everypony gathered around her, except for me. I put my arm in front of Crystal, stopping her from going forward. Celestia cleared her throat and announced, “The spell that was used was a very dark, ancient spell. Whoever used it will be punished the second we figure out who it was. Since we don’t have magic, it will be very hard to reverse it. There is a way, and if you tell us now, you won’t get in as much trouble. But whoever cast it is the only one who can fix it. Anypony?” You could practically see the anger steaming off of her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Crystal turn her head towards me, but I kept my eyes trained on Celestia. There was a silence, so I asked, “How much trouble would the pony be in?”
“Are you admitting to the crime?” Celestia turned her head in my direction and asked.
“I’m just an earth pony,” it wasn't a complete lie; I was an earth pony at the moment. Luckily nopony that knew me turned to see that I was lying to the princess. “I’m asking in case the person who cast it doesn't want to tell anypony based on the trouble they’ll get in.”
Celestia considered for a moment, “If they admit now, we can fix it and it’s not a problem. But, if they wait until much later, then it becomes a problem. We could fix it now, or later.” Celestia paused, waiting for anypony to take the blame. After it was evident that nopony was going to say anything, she sighed, “I will be visiting everywhere in Equestria trying to see who it was. If they’re really smart, they’ll know how to reverse it, and probably do so before I find them. Goodbye now. Hopefully this problem gets solved quickly.” Celestia and her guards walked back to the train and boarded again before the train pulled out of the station and off to it’s next destination.
I turned and galloped back inside my house, and Crystal was about to follow me when her mother emerged from the crowd and hugged her. I didn't wait to say goodbye, I just continued inside and running upstairs. Nopony could know I was the one who did it. It was just an accident. I didn't mean to do anything bad. My mom started chasing after me and followed me to my room, “What’s wrong, Star?”
“I was just thinking...” I quickly thought of an excuse, “None of us know how to cook without magic, so how are we going to eat? It would be too much to ask of Crystal’s family to let us eat there until this is fixed. It’s going to be hard without magic, isn't it?”
My mom frowned, “Yes, but we’ll be fine. I’m sure the pony that’s responsible for this will probably know how to fix this,” I had no idea how to fix this, but I couldn't tell her that. “Crystal’s mother might be happy to let us eat over there some nights, but I could also try to cook sometimes.” Sighing, she got up and left. I couldn't think straight. The world was spinning as I suddenly understood the enormity of the situation.
No magic. No flying. Nopony to help me except Crystal.
I fell backwards onto my bed and let out a huge sigh. I needed to start reading, trying to find some answers. I tried to use my magic, but then I remembered. Sighing, I got up and trotted to my bookshelf. I grabbed a book between my teeth and set it on my desk. I pushed the cover open with my hoof and tried to flip to a page. It didn't work too well. After a few more attempts, I finally got it. It was slow work, but I eventually got the hang of it.
My mom came upstairs hours later, "Dinner's ready. It's not the best, but it's ready," she saw what I was struggling with and walked over. "Star, I know that until the princess figures this out, it's going to be hard. I might have overcooked some of our dinner, thinking I had moved the pan away with magic." She said, trying to comfort me, showing that even she was making mistakes. It wasn't exactly working.
I nodded sadly and continued trying to turn a page, but I kept crumpling it over and over. Finally, when I thought I had gotten it, the page slipped off my hoof and I was back where I started. I sighed in anguish and rested my head on the table, "I give up..."
"Just get Crystal to help you, she's been reading like that for years! Now, come and eat," I followed my mom out of my room and tried to shut the door using magic. Frustrated, I kicked the door and it slammed shut, a little louder than I had anticipated. "Starry Inkwell, do not slam the doors!" My mother turned around and shouted at me.
Taking a few deep breaths, I resisted the urge to yell that at least she wasn't the one who caused this. Nopony could know. It was bad enough that Crystal knew. She might tell somepony if the situation got too stressing for her. "I'm sorry, mom." I went downstairs and ate dinner slower than usual. Even though I knew I should be in my room looking for the spell to reverse it, I didn't feel like eating. Or going back to the difficult way of reading.
As I ate, I thought of why I didn't just tell Celestia earlier. Because I would have gotten into trouble for trying the spell? No, that wasn't it. I didn't mind getting in trouble, I actually liked the fact that somepony knew I did something wrong. I kept thinking, but nothing came to mind. I took the last bite and finally the answer came to me. It was because I didn't want to admit that I had failed. I had been made fun of enough to know that I couldn't admit in front of Equestria that I, Starry Inkwell, had failed.
The only thing I was good at was reading and writing, and a lot of ponies at school had made fun of me for it. I was good at magic, but every time I saw somepony watching me try, I got nervous and messed up. The only ponies who had seen me perform magic were Crystal and my parents. Crystal’s little brother might have seen me, but I’m not sure. I practiced all the time, and I thought that maybe if I had done this spell, everypony would finally believe that I could use magic.
But then things went wrong.As I struggled to carry my dish to the sink, I decided that before I could learn how to fix this, I had to learn what went wrong. I quickly said goodnight to my mother and headed upstairs. I softly closed my bedroom door and headed to my secret room, where I hid every book that had any information about the spell. I closed the hidden door and started to read, determined to figure out what went wrong before the next morning.
I exited the hidden room and saw the clock. It was twelve o’clock at night, supposedly nighttime, but the sunlight was blinding me through the window. Abruptly, something hit me.
Celestia didn't have her magic. The sun wasn't going to set, and the moon will never rise. It was going to be ‘morning’ until I fixed this.
Add that to my never-ending list of problems to solve.
The next day, everything felt different. There was a sort of sadness around everypony, except for the ponies that were earth ponies before I screwed up. Everypony also seemed exhausted since the sun must have kept them awake last "night".Their lives were continuing normally, but a lot of ponies had to get accustomed to life without magic. The pegasus ponies were having an easier time than us unicorns, but they were still struggling. I could see it with Crystal. No matter what she did, after doing it she always looked around, befuddled for a few moments. I think that losing her wings would be like me losing my legs. It just wasn't going to work.
The same day, she was at my house and as we were heading upstairs, even I expected her to be flying above me, racing me to the top. Today, she was next to me, “So it’s up to the two of us to find out what went wrong, then fix it, before anypony learns that you cast the spell. By the way, I love how you just lied to Celestia.” Crystal rolled her eyes.
“Not entirely,” I didn't explain to her what I meant. I opened the door to my room and closed it right after Crystal got inside. My mom was decorating somepony’s house for a birthday party they were having, so we could talk freely without her questioning us. My mother loved to decorate, it was her special talent. “But other than that, you’re right. I found this book last night, or whatever you want to call it. It’s where I got the spell.”
Crystal sat on the ground and I set the book in front of her. Slowly, I flipped to the right page, and I continued explaining, “There’s an entire chapter on what to do if your spell goes wrong. There are a variety of things that can happen. Of course, what happened when I cast the spell was the worst of all of them, and the hardest to fix. There is a way to fix it with magic, but that could only have been done while it was happening. I tried to stop it, but it didn’t work. This book tells me how.”
“It’s a little late for that,” Crystal muttered, scanning the page. “Is there a way to fix it without magic? I can’t find it...” she turned the page, “Never mind. It says it’s pretty dangerous. Well, to quote it directly, it says ‘your adventure to fix this will definitely be the most perilous journey anypony in Equestria could take’ so I’m not sure how I feel about that.” she looked at me.
“Well, there’s nothing else. See, I’ve planned it all out. I’ve packed for me, but you still have to-”
“Whoa, hold on! Who said I was going anywhere?” Crystal stood up. She seemed fairly angry. I guess she thought that somehow she was going to get out of this.
I used my hoof to point to a sentence in the book. “The book says you’re coming, ‘You need somepony to go with you, or you will never return. Two ponies is the minimum.’ Crystal, you’re the only pony who knows that I was the pony who cast the spell, you have to come. I can’t do this without you.” I smiled at her, hoping she would agree. I didn’t even think that she would argue with coming. She was always the one who wanted travel all over Equestria.
Finally, she sighed, “Okay. I’ll go. Maybe it’ll be exciting. There’s a list,” Crystal looked down at the book, “and it’s a list of stuff that we apparently need to reverse the spell. Where are we supposed to find these stuff?”
I sat in front of the book, “Well, the book explains how to find stuff and use them to reverse the spell. You have to get them in a certain order and put them in a certain order before it actually works. It’s all complicated. Now, when my mom gets home I’ll ask her if we can go on a little trip together. The book said that it takes two weeks or so to find everything, so I’ll just ask my mom if we can go for a month. You have to ask your parents, too. You’re old enough now to be gone for that long.”
“What about your dad?” Crystal asked. “He deserves a say in all of this.”
“Hmm.” I thought for a minute. "We won't leave until he gets home. He won't have a choice, because he'll say no."
Crystal laughed, "That's true. If I know your dad, he'd say no to you coming to my house for two weeks. So we've just got to get everything... then what?"
Sighing, I shook my head, "Nopony knows. The pony who did it always avoided talking about it with anypony. So, when we do get the items, I'll put them in the correct order by myself. I don't know how bad it's going to be. Or if it is bad."
Crystal shrugged and opened another book, scanned the table of contents and found the page she wanted. "There is a spell that has the same results, but different process and a different way to reverse it."
I nodded, "That's probably the spell that Celestia thinks somepony cast. Is it really dark and ancient?" Crystal nodded. "I don't think Celestia would lie to us, so that was kind of a given."
"What now?" Crystal closed the book and looked up at me.
"Now we hope our parents let us go."
"Are you sure you want to go? You aren't used to life without magic, maybe you should wait." My mother said, hours later when she finally got home.
I had all of my arguments planned out in my head, "That's the thing, mom. I've always wanted to experience Equestria without having magic, and now's the perfect time. If I wait any longer, somepony might fix it before I have the chance with Crystal."
She thought for a minute, "Why don't I come with you?"
"Because I need to learn how to live on my own."
"Crystal's going with you, though." My mom persisted. I thought this was going to be easier than it actually was. I imagine Crystal was having a harder time.
"She also needs to learn how to be on her own. We'll have help, but we need to know what it's like to be away from family. It's just for a month, but we will probably be back sooner. More like three weeks. Please, mom, we've been planning this for a while."
My mom finally gave in, "Okay. You can go. Where did you say you were going, again?"
"Oh," I hadn't thought of that part, "Everywhere, I suppose. Just traveling to places in Equestria, seeing what it's like."
She nodded a few times before asking, "When are you going?"
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. She said yes! "If Crystal's parents say okay, then I'll wait until dad gets home to tell him goodbye, then we'll be on our way." I smiled at my mom, and she smiled back, but sadly. She didn't want me to leave. But I had to.
After a few minutes of silence, somepony knocked on the door. I walked over to open it, and Crystal was smiling at me, "I can go! You?" She was wearing a satchel and she looked excited, ready to go.
“I can, but we have to wait for my dad to get home before we can leave.” I explained. She came inside. I closed the door and walked upstairs, Crystal following me. I put my satchel on and slipped the book into it. “Was it easy to convince your mom to let you go?”
“Surprisingly, yes. She asked a couple of things, but didn't argue with anything I said. Did your mom?” Crystal sat on my bed.
“She argued with everything, but eventually she let me go. Did your mom ask you where we were going?” I asked. Crystal nodded. “What did you tell them?” If she had told them something different, and our parents mentioned something, then they would worry because they had gotten two different answers. They would probably figure out that we were hiding something.
Crystal thought for a minute, trying to remember what her answer had been, “Oh yeah! I told them that we were going everywhere.” I nodded once. That was pretty much the same thing I had told my mom. We sat in silence for a while, waiting for my dad to get home.
As soon as I heard the front door open, I jumped up and galloped downstairs, skipping a few steps. Crystal was slow to realize why I left my room, but she decided to follow me. “Hey dad! Crystal and I are going on a trip for a month, but we’ll probably be back sooner.” I didn't wait for him to say hello to me. The second I said anything about leaving, he turned to me with a worried expression, “You never said where you were going, Star.”
“That’s because we're going everywhere. Just travelling around Equestria for a little while. I figured now was a good time because I think it will be fun to explore without magic. It would be a great way to learn how to live on my own.”
“If your mother said it’s fine, then okay. You can go.” He sighed.
I smiled at him, “Thank you so much! We’re leaving now, so bye! I’ll see you soon!” I said to my parents before leaving with Crystal. Once we were outside, I started to get scared. What if we couldn't do this? What if we never came back? I shook my head, trying to ignore the feelings. If we couldn't do this, Equestria would never be the same. No pressure, right?
Crystal started walking, “This is so exciting! Where’s the first place we need to go?” I started to walk also, and started thinking. I tried to remember what the book said the first item was. “I think it said we need to go to Canterlot for something. I forgot what we needed, though. I’ll look at it at the train station to make sure I’m right.
We started to canter, soon getting into a gallop; I was eager to get my magic back, and Crystal was eager to get her wings back. I could see it in her eyes.
Once we got to the station, I pulled out the book and checked, “We need to go to Canterlot and get... Well it says ‘Find a secret passage that has never been mentioned and go deep into it’s tunnels to find a tree. Solve the riddle and pick the correct fruit off the tree to continue.’ What secret passage?”
“Maybe we’ll notice it when we get there.” Crystal shrugged and sat next to me on a bench. “If we never figure it out, then we’ll have to be stuck like this forever.” That wasn't going to happen. I was going to fix this, no matter how long it took.
After a long, silent train ride, we finally got to Canterlot. I had been reading from the book more and learned that if we know what we are looking for, then we will know what the hidden passage was. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll find out soon enough. I looked up to see that we were pulling into the Canterlot train station. I adjusted my satchel and got off with Crystal.
“Now what do we do?” Crystal immediately asked.
“Just look for a ‘hidden passage’ according to the book.” I responded and started looking. We slowly walked around Canterlot, looking around in amazement at everything. We looked like tourists. Which, in a way, we were. The only difference was that we weren't on vacation. Eventually I saw something behind a large building, “Crystal, look!” I galloped down the side of the building, Crystal dashing after me. I abruptly turned left and Crystal stumbled before realizing where I had went. “It’s right there! No wonder nopony noticed it unless they were looking for it.”
Crystal looked around, confused, “I still don’t see what you’re talking about.” I sighed. Of course she didn't; we were in a dark alley behind some buildings, the never-ending sunlight barely visible in the shadows of the tall buildings. The last place I expected the passage to be was back here.
"Think about what the book said. ‘A hidden passage that that has never been mentioned’. Think, Crystal.” I knew she would eventually get it.
“The sewers ? Are you serious, Star? I am not travelling through the sewers. Equestria can deal with it.” Crystal turned around and started walking away. She was right, but wrong.
“Wait!” I cried. She circled back around to face me. “We aren't doing that. I read the entire chapter on the train ride and it says once you find the passage, you should say five words. Come here, Crystal.” I was scared of what would happen when I said the five words, I didn't want to find out alone. I looked into Crystal’s eyes and whispered the five words, “I want to see you.”
Falling. I was falling. I couldn't see anything, only Crystal’s frightened eyes. Darkness surrounded the two of us and I could see Crystal wanting to go home, but at the same time I could tell she didn't want to leave me. We were falling through nothing, into nothing. The wind was whipping my mane above my head and neck. I heard somepony screaming and realized that it was Crystal. She was probably more terrified than I was.
I struggled to find my voice, to reassure her that it’ll be okay. Nothing came. I couldn’t even open my mouth to let her know that I was trying to say something. If Crystal could see my eyes instead of focusing on the dark abyss below, it would probably show terror, just like hers. I didn't know how long this would last, or if it had an end.
Crystal kept screaming. The sound echoed through the nothingness. Abruptly, I slammed into the ground, Crystal crashing in front of me. I immediately hopped up and looked around. We were in a dark room with a single light in the middle of it. A soft voice came from the shadowy corner of the room, "You wanted to see me, yes?"
"I've made a huge mistake and I want to fix it." I replied bravely, hoping the voice couldn't hear my hidden fear. Crystal looked completely frightened, cowering next to me.
"Ah, you must be the pony who took everything from Equestria. Shame, shame. But, you came to the right place. I can help. You've already solved the riddle-it was finding the hidden passage."
A hooded figure emerged from the shadows and Crystal let out a high-pitched squeal that sounded like "Eep" but I tried to remain calm. I couldn't see anything about the pony, the cloak covered his entire body. "The book said something about-"
"Hmm." He interrupted me, "You must be a unicorn. And the name..." I almost answered him, but I realized it wasn't a question. He answered himself, "Starry Inkwell? Yes, that's it. You're a writer! Oh, I've always wanted to meet a writer!"
I was tired of this. Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "That's very nice. The book said that I needed to pick the correct fruit off of a tree."
The hooded figure laughed, "There is no such tree here. The tree..." The light clicked off and strong winds started blowing. I had to force myself to stay upright. Slowly, the wind started to fade. When it was officially gone, another light clicked on and there was a large tree next to the stallion. "The tree is here, of course! Your next question might be 'how do you keep doing this if I stole the magic from Equestria?' Well-"
"-I did NOT steal anything! It was an accident!" I stomped my hoof on the ground. "Which fruit is the right one?" I shouted at him. It was probably hard to take me seriously with my mess of a mane, but I was done with his distractions. I actually wanted Equestria to be back to normal.
"Fine, but I'll answer my question first. I'm not in a part of Equestria. I was deep underground at the time-and still am. Since I was so deep, the spell didn't reach me. And it's a good thing, too, or you would be stuck forever." He said, taking his hood off. His dark coat was illuminated by the light green magic glowing from his horn. His eyes were glaring at me. I saw them for one second before his magic disappeared and he tossed his hood back onto his face. "Celestia doesn't know I exist, so neither does Equestria. And if Equestria doesn't know I exist, it makes it even harder for a spell to find me. I’m Midnight Ace."
"That's nice. Now, which one's the right fruit?" I questioned him.
Before answering, he thought. "That depends on how you found out the answer to the riddle."
What did he say the riddle was? Finding the passage. How did I do that? "It was easy. I just had to think about it. Nopony talks about the sewers, and they are hidden very well in Canterlot. So there. Now, which fruit-”
“Not yet, Star. How did Crystal Night find the passage?”
Crystal jumped at the mention of her name, “I followed Star.”
Midnight Ace nodded before surrounding us in darkness again. It didn't last long, and there was no wind this time. But when there was light again, the tree was dotted with peaches. “The right fruit is the one that you really want.”
“I don’t like peaches that much.” Crystal muttered.
“Now you have to pick one!” Midnight clapped his hooves together excitedly, “The first pony to respond has to pick the fruit. And if you pick the wrong one, you’ll be stuck here forever.” The room lit up, blinding me as Midnight Ace shouted "Gather around folks! The show has just begun!" he slammed his hoof down onto a green button as rows of pony skeletons came out of the wall in rows of chairs. Suddenly, the ground beneath our hooves rushed towards Midnight and the tree. Gates went up around the three of us, trapping us in. The skeletons were creeping me out. Why did he have so many? He laughed maniacally.
Crystal’s face showed more terror than it had when we were falling. “Just pick the one that you want, Crystal. Walk around the tree and pick the one that you want most.” Crystal nervously walked forward and slowly started circling the tree. She stopped suddenly. She grabbed a peach between her hooves and yanked it off the tree.
Midnight nodded, “I have no way to tell which peach you really want, so I’ll trust you on that decision. Goodbye now.” The light flickered for a few moments before we were, once again, plunged into darkness. This time, though, we were floating upwards.
I still didn't completely understand why the spell didn't reach him. I decided not to question it, and just be happy that it didn't. Maybe it was only ponies that were above the ground that were affected by the spell. Then I realized: I now knew two things Celestia didn't. I knew who cast the spell, and I knew about Midnight Ace. It was strange, because I knew more, and less, than the princess. Celestia knew a lot more about magic than I did, but I knew more about what was going on. I wondered if I would ever tell anypony that I cast the spell, and that I fixed it. Maybe one day everypony’s magic would come back and other ponies would be able to fly, as if nothing ever happened. Only Crystal and I would know what had happened, and how long it took.
We were still standing behind the building where we had been. “That was easier than I thought. It hasn't even been one day, and we had already found one item.”
“Can we stay in Canterlot for a while? If the spell gets fixed too quickly after we go on ‘vacation’ people might get suspicious. We should actually act like we’re on a little trip together.” Crystal asked. I nodded; she did have a good point. After Crystal put the peach in my satchel, we trotted back towards the streets of Canterlot. “We should check into a hotel for two days. Then we can go to... where are we going next?” Crystal asked as she looked at every store or restaurant we passed, searching for a hotel.
“Um, I think it was Appleloosa. We should stay for a little while and look around some places. I've only been to Canterlot once before. It’s really exciting, Crystal.” I told her. “Have you ever been to Canterlot?”
“No,” Crystal said, still looking around, “and I didn't like my first impression.” She was probably referring to Midnight Ace. “But Canterlot is really great! Look-it’s Celestia’s castle!”
I laughed, “Crystal, you can see that from everywhere in Canterlot.” Crystal kept pointing out everything to me. Most of it was still the same from when I visited a few years ago. I had some family in Canterlot. For a moment I was tempted to spend the next two days with them, but my mom had to believe that I was actually trying to learn to be independent or she would question me.
Crystal stopped walking in the middle of the path, “What time is it?” I searched for a clock. When I found one, I saw that it was actually late. Crystal apparently also saw the clock, “I guess we’ll have to look around more tomorrow. We still haven’t found a hotel, though.”
“Since it’s late and it’s our first day, I’ll ask my aunt where we should go for a good hotel.” I suggested and started heading towards their house.
“You have family in Canterlot!?” Crystal seemed more excited than curious. I nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm. “You never told me this! What are they like?”
“They’re like family, Crystal. I've only visited here once, they usually come down to Ponyville for a day and visit.” I told her as I lead the way to their house. “I don’t see them a lot, though. They haven’t visited in a while. They’re probably not expecting us.” I said as I started walking up the path that led to their house. I knocked on the door and waited.
Inside, I could hear somepony telling another pony, “Go get the door.” “I can’t !” “Well I can’t!” “You’re going to have to!” “No!” “Did you invite anypony?” “No, now go get the door.” “I told you, I’m busy!” “Fine!” The same two ponies were arguing. I recognized my aunt and uncle’s voices. I knew that my aunt would be answering the door in a second.
Eventually somepony walked up to the door and opened it. I was right. My aunt, Morning Snow, did answer the door. Her hair was up, and she looked like she was getting ready for a fancy occasion. “Well, if it isn't Starry Inkwell! What brings you here? Where are your parents?”
“Hi, Snow. I’ve decided that I’m going to travel around Equestria. This is my friend, Crystal. I’m learning how to live without help from my parents. Where’s Uncle Gust?”
“He’s getting ready. Do you want to come?” Snow asked me.
“Where?” I asked.
Snow opened the door wide, letting us come in. “There’s a party at the castle tonight. It’s for the hope that we will get our flying back. And you’ll get your magic.” Snow and Gust, my uncle, were pegasus ponies.
“Who was it?” A tall, brown stallion walked out of a room. “Star! Long time no see! How have you been?”
“Good. The no-magic and no-flying situation is pretty bad, though. But it’s actually kind of interesting to try to live without magic.” I answered. “I would love to come to the party, but I have nothing to wear. Crystal and I didn't plan on going to any parties while we were here.”
Snow waved her hoof, dismissing the problem, “Don’t worry about that, we’ll make you both dresses.” I smiled my thanks and followed Gust into their living room. My aunt dug around in a closet for some fabric to make our dresses.
“Crystal, this is my uncle, Gusty Fog, and my aunt, Morning Snow. Snow, Gust, this is Crystal Night, my friend.” I introduced everypony to each other. “It’s really nice of you to make us outfits, Snow.”
She lifted her head out of a bucket, a bright blue fabric gripped between her hooves, “Oh, no worries!” She walked over to me and draped the fabric across my back. She looked at me for a few moments before taking the fabric again and leaving the room.
“How have you been, Gust?” I asked.
He was trying to put a purple tie on, “It’s been good in Canterlot. How has Ponyville been?”
Crystal answered, “It's been great! This is my first time in Canterlot, I’m so excited! I’m going to a party at the castle! I can’t believe it. What’s it called?”
“The Dance for Hope.” Gust answered, completing his tie.
Snow came came back in, but she didn’t have my dress. “Now for Crystal’s dress.” She started searching in the closet for more fabric. She pulled out a dark purple piece, then set it back in. “This should do it!” She grabbed a light pink piece and went into the same room she had took my fabric to.
After a few minutes, she came back out with two beautiful dresses. Mine was long and had small purple stars at the bottom, Crystal’s was pink with bright yellow hearts at the bottom. “Those are beautiful!” I smiled happily, “Thank you so much, Snow.”
“Thank you!” Crystal said. I took mine from her and put it on. Crystal put hers on. Mine fit perfectly, and Crystal looked beautiful, and she told me, “Star, you look wonderful. I’m ready for the Dance for Hope!” Crystal was extremely excited, I was sure she was just going to explode with happiness.
As Snow put her dress on, I checked the book to see if I was right about Appleloosa being the next place. I wasn't. We needed one more thing in Canterlot, and it was a lucky thing that we were going to the Dance for Hope.
The Canterlot castle was enormous inside. Even if we were only in the main entrance, I wasn't expecting this much space. I didn't know anypony there, except for Crystal, Snow, and Gust. I suddenly noticed that Celestia was standing at the top of the stairs, greeting guests. She looked strange without her horn or her wings, even though I had seen her in Ponyville yesterday.
Gust guided us up to her, “Hello, Celestia!”
“Hi! How are you, Gusty?” Celestia greeted him. “Who are these two ponies?” Celestia smiled at Crystal and me.
“I’m Starry Inkwell. This is Crystal Night, my friend. We’re from Ponyville.” I nervously smiled up at the princess. “Gust is my uncle.”
Celestia nodded, “What brings you to Canterlot?”
“Crystal and I wanted to explore Equestria. We decided to start in Canterlot. Do you know my uncle?” I asked. They had been talking like they were old friends.
Glancing at Gust, then back at me, Celestia laughed slightly, “We've talked here and there.” I wasn't sure what that meant, and my confusion must have showed on my face because Celestia laughed again. “We've known each other for quite some time. I even introduced him to Snow.”
My mouth dropped in shock. I turned to Gust and Snow, “You met because of the princess and you never told me!” Gust, Snow, and Celestia laughed. Crystal was just as astonished as I was.
Gust shook his head, “See you, Celestia.” He started walking off to the ballroom. We all followed him.
I was so glad Celestia didn't recognize me. "Hold on!" Celestia called to us. Spoke too soon. "Aren't you the pony who talked to me? But, you aren't an earth pony. Did you lie to me?" I pretended like I didn't hear her and continued walking, Gust and Snow were talking and didn't hear her.
I heard Celestia sigh, "See you in the ballroom." She turned back around to greet other guests.
Two pushed open the doors to the ballroom. And I thought the entrance hall was huge. The ballroom was probably twice as big as the entrance hall, even with the small orchestra on the stage, and the small tables dotted around the room. Soft music was playing and there were tons of ponies everywhere. They were all dressed up, their manes put up elegantly, and I felt terribly under dressed. Then I saw that not everypony was as fancy as some, and I started to fit in.
Crystal and I kept close to each other; Gust and Snow had wandered off somewhere in the room the second we had entered. I decided to just enjoy myself. There was a strange happy-sad energy about the room. Everypony was trying to be happy during a sad occasion. And I was the one who caused the sadness. But I was fixing it.
Eventually, everypony that was going to come, was here. Celestia came in and walked onto the stage, “Good evening everypony. Well, as good as ‘evening’ can get with the sun still up... I greatly apologize for that, but there’s nothing I can really do to fix that until this problem gets solved. Which I hope it will quickly. Now, everypony, it is time to dance... for hope.” Celestia smiled at all of us.
The orchestra played a little louder now, and everypony was now dancing with a partner. I didn't have anypony to dance with, so I just danced by myself. A strangely familiar voice from behind me asked, “Would you care to dance?” I turned around to see a dark green stallion holding his hoof out to me. I know I've heard that voice somewhere before. He was wearing a tux, bow tie, and fedora.
“No, but we could talk if you wanted.” I suggested.
“That would be excellent.” He smiled, somewhat creepily as we started to walk around the room, “You still don’t know who I am?”
“I still don’t remember who you are. I know I've seen you before.” I turned my head towards him. It was almost as if he was missing something. Then it hit me, “Midnight Ace!” I jumped away from him, but he just followed me, “What do you want? Where’s your horn?”
Midnight laughed, “I can ask the same of you. Where do you think my horn went?” I didn't feel like questioning him further. It was pretty much impossible to get an answer out of him. “I’m here to tell you something. I know why you’re here, Star. I can get it for you without anypony noticing. Because Celestia has her eye on you , it will be almost impossible to leave this room without anypony following you. I can get it for you.”
“How do I know you aren't just going to tell the princess the reason I came?” I asked.
Smiling, Midnight stopped walking and looked at me. “You’re asking why you should trust me? Well, here’s your reason.” He galloped away and opened the door to leave the ballroom. He screamed, “What is that!” Everypony, including the guards, immediately stopped what they were doing to go see what he was screaming about. Once there was a large enough crowd, Midnight somehow managed to slip out of the crowd unnoticed and I saw him galloping down a hallway before he disappeared. I decided to just act casual and I slowly trotted towards the crowd, acting slightly afraid.
Celestia cleared her throat to get everypony’s attention, “There’s nothing there, don’t worry. Whoever screamed was probably trying to get us excited. Back to dancing.” The orchestra resumed playing, and I gave up on Midnight. He had randomly left and now he probably wasn't coming back.
I started walking around the room again and saw Crystal, “Midnight Ace is here. He was the pony who screamed. I’m not entirely sure what he’s doing, but he talked to me, then left.” I told her quietly so nopony could hear.
"Star, I do feel slightly guilty. I was the one who distracted you when you were casting the spell." Crystal muttered, staring at the floor in shame.
"Don't worry, we're fixing this." I whispered back.
"Correction: I'm fixing this." Suddenly Midnight Ace was next to me, hiding something under his tux. "Well I'm fixing this part, at least."
I turned to look at him, "Is that what I think it is?"
"If you think it's a certain element of harmony, then maybe." Midnight said so quietly I could barely hear him.
Crystal's eyes doubled in size, "Did you-"
"Shh!" I whispered, "I was wrong about Appleloosa being next, okay?" Crystal was taking deep breaths, trying not to panic. I returned my attention to Midnight, "Why'd you get it for me?"
"Oh, Star, you aren't the only pony in Equestria who wants their magic back. Mine disappeared the second I came above ground. This is the only help you're getting from me, but I do need to tell you something still." Midnight looked at me and leaned in close. Whispering in a barely audible voice, he told me, "That peach can only last for so long. The second the peach is rotten, the reverse spell will no longer work, and Equestria will be stuck like this." I felt something in my dress and realized that while talking to me, he had somehow managed to slip the magic element of harmony to me. Nopony noticed, not even me.
"So I'll hurry and find everything." It didn't seem much of a big deal to me.
Midnight shook his head, "Time is running out, Starry Inkwell. And if you cared to actually understand what the book was telling you, you would know that you can only collect the items once. If you get them out of order, the spell won't work and will return them to wherever they came from and you cannot collect them again."
I nodded. Midnight leaned closer to me and lifted his left hoof and looked down at the watch, "Time is running out." A chill ran through me. He was dead serious. Time was running out, what was I doing wasting time at a dance? I started to walk away, but Midnight stopped me, "I control how long you have, and the longest time is two weeks. One week and six days starting..." he looked at his watch again, "Ten minutes ago." He smiled before disappearing in the crowd.
Crystal was still in shock, eyes still widened, "You. Stole. An element of harmony ?" She whispered, incredulous. I just nodded in response. Crystal looked as panicked as she was when her wings disappeared.
I found Gust and Snow walking around the ballroom slowly, talking to each other. I made my way over to them, “What time is this over?”
Snow answered, “Midnight. Why?”
“Because it ended ten minutes ago and I’m getting tired. And I've changed my mind. We aren't staying in Canterlot. We’re going to get on a train and head to Appleloosa.” I told them.
“Okay. But there might not be a train leaving at ten past midnight, but let’s go anyways. If we can even get some sleep with the sun still up.” Gust said. Gust and Snow walked out together, Crystal and I followed behind.
When we got to their house, Crystal and I undressed, and then tossed our satchels on. After saying goodbye, Crystal and I headed to the train station. I pulled the book out of my satchel and made sure that Appleloosa was next on the list. I was right this time. I walked up to the counter and asked, “When is the next train to Appleloosa going to get here?”
The stallion looked at a schedule that was posted inside the office, “Five minutes. How many tickets would you like?”
“Two tickets, please.” I said. I slid the bits to him and in return he slid back my tickets. We waited for the train to come. We had one week and six days to get everything, which means that this won’t be as simple as I had thought. When we got on the train, I saw fourteen circles that looked drawn on around the peach in the center of it. One of the fourteen was shaded a different color than the rest. I didn't need to be a genius to know that It was counting down the days until the spell wouldn't work and Equestria would be stuck like this.
I gazed out the window and saw Midnight Ace leaning against a light post. He was tossing a peach up in the air, it was bitten into. Suddenly he looked up at me and stared at me. He winked just before a magenta pony walked in front of him, when she was past him, he had disappeared.
I laid down on the seat to sleep for the night. A world without unicorns or pegasi would last 13 days at the least and forever at the most. I prefer 13 days.
