The Curse of the Wolf-Pony

Chapters

Rule Number Two: Caffeine is Your Friend
Rule Number Three: Grating as the may be, keep someone around who challenges you
Rule Number One: Always Have Backup

Rule Number Two: Caffeine is Your Friend

Twilight Sparkle clutched a mug of the gods’ own ambrosia tightly in her hooves. Oh, black nectar, how it completed her. Should she compare it to a summer’s day? No, for none other caressed her tongue with such sensations, both gently smooth and coyly bitter, nor lit her veins on fire with such wholesome energ—

“Good morning, sleepy head!” Ah, there was the pink menace, materializing out of nowhere, chipper as ever even without sleep. Sleep that she had deprived Twilight of with her unending nocturnal antics. By the gods she was tired, now she was ending clauses with prepositions!

Twilight sighed into her mug. “No, Pinkie, good mornings come after sleep. You know, that activity that adults do at sleepovers?”

“Phhblt!” Pinkie rasberried in derision. Wait, rasberried? Was that a word? Actually, it didn’t matter. Coffee mattered, so Twilight took another sip. “Fillies sleep at sleepovers because they get in trouble if they don’t! Mares party the night away, and face the morning with a smile! We’re able to make bad decisions, and enjoy them. So why not do so, and carry on through the consequences with a smile?”

Twilight tried to fix Pinkie with her most disapproving glare, but failed when her eyes drifted back down to her mug. Now she was glaring at her coffee, and it didn’t deserve that. It was nothing but good to her. “I don’t like philosophical Pinkie. She attacks before my coffee. Cogent arguments come after coffee.”

“Oh, yes you do! Philosopher Pie makes chocolate chip pancakes!”

A sip of coffee loosened the knot of tension at the back of Twilight’s neck. The thought of chocolate also helped to turn her thoughts down a mildly less murderous track. Chocolate had caffeine, and dark chocolate was even more teasingly luxuriant with her tastebuds than coffee. “... I might be persuaded to like her, if she uses dark chocolate chips.”

“Ha! I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me! The way to a pony’s heart is through their stomach, don’t ya know? I’ll be in the kitchen. Get your tummy ready for some grade-A flapjacks!” Pinkie bounced into the kitchen, and only received a grunt from Twilight that turned into a moan of pleasure as she took another sip of coffee.

The rasp of claws on hardwood let her know that Spike was coming down the stairs. The last couple years had seen the pudgy baby dragon grow into a lanky young drake. He didn’t exactly fit in his basket any more, so they had turned the spare bedroom into a private space for him, complete with a nice hardwood desk, a handmade gift from Macintosh. Big Mac, now that was a stallion who appreciated good coffee. It was he who had taught Twilight how to make the especially potent blend she was drinking, which Spike referred to as, ‘motor oil spiked with black magics.’ He didn’t know what he was talking about. Her coffee was perfect.

“Morning, Twi. Nice... ponytail, bun-thing?”

“What? Oh, right. Pinkie insisted we braid each others’ manes.” Twilight’s voice took on a harder edge. “At 3 o’clock in the morning.”

“I’m glad I bought those earplugs,” he said, laughing. “You had fun, though, didn’t you?”

A small, reluctant smile broke Twilight’s scowl. “Yes, I suppose I had fun. Waking up after only a couple hours of sleep is putting a bit of a damper on my mood.”

“Understandable, we all know how much you like your sleep. How come Pinkie’s hair isn’t done up?”

“Because hair, and pink madmares.”

Spike paused for a moment. “Oh, right, you haven’t finished your coffee yet.”

Twilight only grunted in response, which again turned into a quiet moan of pleasure as she took another sip.

Spike held his face in his palm. “Right, you haven’t finished your coffee yet. I’ll help Pinkie in the kitchen, leave you two alone, give you some privacy.”

Twilight heard him mutter something along the lines of, ‘that filly has a problem,’ as he left, but she let it slide. She was alone with her wonderful coffee now, and all was right in the world. Alas, it was gone all too soon, but she could feel it doing wonders for her mood. Shower was done, mane not a mess, and breakfast was on the way: she could open the library. Pinkie really did do a good job. Normally, Twilight’s mane was complete mess when she woke up, but the coiffure had held. She would have to thank her when she was done in the kitchen.

No sooner than she had unlocked the door and started shelving books deep in the shelves did her expected first customer of the day enter the library. Were it not for his predictable behaviour, Twilight would never guess it was Repose, nor would she know he was there were the hinges not in need of a good oiling. In fact, his near silent hoof-falls had surprised her the first time he had visited. The stallion’s gentle steps contrasted sharply with his sheer size, rivalling Big Mac in height and musculature.

Twilight could feel her heart quickening. As mild mannered as the stallion seemed, he had, ‘a monster caged behind his bones,’ as Luna had said. A wolf-pony was in the middle of her library, in the middle of Ponyville, and her only back up was a mildly mad baker and an adolescent drake; that was definitely breaking a rule. Still, he had saved her life, and as scared as she was, she owed him the benefit of the doubt.

So, with a deep breath, she stepped out of the shelves and towards the front desk. As he had every two weeks for the last few months, Repose stood at the front desk carrying his borrowed books. Dirt from the road coated his untrimmed fetlocks and the worn cloak obscuring his cutie mark, though his reddish-brown coat and unkempt mahogany mane were mostly clean. He may have been a hermit, but he always put a bit of effort into being presentable when he visited, especially after she started offering him tea.

“Good morning, Miss Sparkle,” rumbled his gentle baritone. “Nice hair do. Shelving some books?”

Twilight looked him in the eyes and smiled. “Thank you, and yes, I thought I would get to work right away today.” His eyes were their usual dark brown, rather than the bright yellow she had seen in the forest. “A friend of mine spent the night, and she’s making breakfast right now. Pinkie doesn’t need any help in the kitchen, so I might as well get some work done while I wait.”

“Ah, don’t want to bother you when you have company. I’ll just renew these books and be on my way.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re more than welcome to stay for breakfast. Pinkie would have made too many pancakes even if I hadn’t told her you would be here this morning.”

Repose scratched the back of his head. “I’m a bit predictable, aren’t I?”

“I would say dependable. Not many ponies would trek all the way from deep in the Everfree every two weeks just for some books.”

“Well, it’d be awfully rude to not return them on time after you let me borrow them without an official address. I could stay for breakfast. Thank you”

“Excellent! Pinkie is anxious to meet you.”

Repose’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really?” he asked as his weight shifted to his hind legs, eyes darting to the door. “Why would she want to meet me?”

“I recently learned that Pinkie has an interest in Zen Philosophy, so I told her it took up a fair portion of your book selections.” It wasn’t a lie, and Repose visibly relaxed, shifting back into a more neutral stance and a mildly interested facial expression. “Even with the large number of earth ponies in the area, not many take an interest in the topic. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion on your privacy, I’m probably not supposed to tell ponies about another’s book borrowing tendencies.”

“Oh, not at all. I look forward to meeting her—”

“Hello!” Pinkie popped up in between them. A quick glance to the side showed Twilight that the table was set and generously supplied with chocolate chip pancakes. “My name’s Pinkie Pie. What’s yours?”

Repose had stiffened and closed his eyes at Pinkie’s surprising introduction. Twilight could feel her heart rate picking up again; maybe he didn’t have as tight a hold on the monster as she had assumed. Thankfully, he took a deep breath in and out of his nose and opened his eyes with a smile. “Repose. Pleased to meet you, Miss Pie.”

“Oh, just call me Pinkie. Do you like chocolate chip cupcakes, Repose?”

“I love them.”

“Great! I’ve made plenty! I hope you don’t mind dark chocolate, Twilight doesn’t have any other kind here.” Pinkie leaned towards him and spoke in a faux-whisper: “She has a bit of a caffeine addiction.”

Twilight’s ears pricked up in indignation. “Well… the evidence does support that.”

“So Pinkie, I hear you have an interest in Zen philosophy?” Repose asked as they moved to the table. Pinkie, as usual, started talking faster than Twilight could follow and dragged him to the pancakes, sweet, dark chocolate pancakes, with just a bit of butter—dragged him to the pancakes, leaving Twilight to finish up at the front desk. Spike came out of the kitchen as she was organizing some books and laid a claw on her shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Twilight.” His smirk told her snark was incoming. “The first step to overcoming addiction is admitting you have a problem.”

“Coffee is never the problem, it’s the solution. Besides, if for some reason I cannot get my hooves on some, I can always conjure it.”

He patted her on the shoulder and shook his head. “Ah, we were so close to making some progress. Come on, you can finish up here later. Have some breakfast.”

“All right, smarty pants, I’ll do it later.” She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled him. “Thanks for always looking out for me,” she whispered. “Even if you’re a sarcastic prick about it.”

He returned the hug with one arm, his smile holding just a hint of a smirk. “Always.”

As much as she hated to, Twilight couldn’t help but snort in laughter. “Come on, you, let’s grab some pancakes before Pinkie eats them all.”

They headed over to the table and found Pinkie and Repose in an animated discussion of Zen. Twilight and Spike sat down to enjoy their pancakes, letting the two of them continue their conversation. It carried on through breakfast, long past the last pancake and through several pots of tea. Twilight didn’t mind the drain on her tea supplies. Hopefully, the longer he spoke with her, the more comfortable he would become with Pinkie and the more likely he would be to react well when she eased him into the topic of helping him with his secret. It was looking good; Pinkie had kept the conversation going strong on both ends, instead of monopolizing the conversation, and had moved the topic to their shared interest in meditation. As much as she cared for Pinkie, Twilight still found it difficult to imagine her sitting still and quiet for long.

“I prefer to focus on my breath, I can’t do the whole, ‘let your thoughts just pass by, release them,’ thing,” Pinkie stated as she buttered another scone. Seriously, where was she putting all of that food? “If I don’t focus on something I’m just all over the place.”

Repose nodded and took a sip from his cup. “Watching your thoughts and just letting them go is pretty hard, takes a lot of practice. It’s how I like to meditate though, find it very calming.”

Pinkie rested her chin on her hoof, lips pursed and brow crinkled. “That makes a lot of sense, actually. I imagine it’s good practice for just letting go of the anger and hunger?”

The room went silent, and Twilight could feel her heart quickening once again. Did she actually just blurt out that she knew he’s a wolf-pony, like it was nothing? Repose wasn’t reacting, though. He was just sitting there, face expressionless. Finally, he just cradled his cup of tea in his massive hooves and stared into it, as if he wished he could hide there.

“Yes. That’s how I do it.”

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie was kneeling next to him, hoof on his shoulder. “So what’s your real name?”

He didn’t look up. “Heart Wood.”

“Well, Heart Wood, I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

Heart Wood tried to shrink into his tea, hunching his shoulders and bending his neck further down.

“Please look at me?” Heart Wood slowly turned his head to find a pair of big, bright blue eyes pleading with him to open up. Poor stallion, he didn’t stand a chance.

“Thank you for saving my life.” Pinkie pulled him into a hug, and at first, he didn’t react. Then he slowly set down his cup of tea and returned the hug, burying his muzzle in her voluminous mane.

“You don’t have to deal with this alone anymore. We’re here for you.” And that is when the giant stallion began crying. He squeezed Pinkie tight, and she hugged him just as hard in return, massive sobs racking his body and tears streaming into her mane.

“Well,” Spike whispered to Twilight, “neither of us expected that.” She didn’t respond. “Twilight?”

The lavender mare was sitting stock-still, staring straight ahead, and clutching a shattered tea cup and the tea it had been holding in her magical grip.

“You okay?” he asked, tapping her on the shoulder. She blinked, then turned to look at him.

“Yes Spike, I’m fine.”

“Oh, good. I just thought you were super stressed or something, seeing as you shattered that tea cup, and the only thing holding the tea is your magic.”

“Oh. I guess I should clean this up then.” Twilight got up and slowly walked to the kitchen. Spike rolled his eyes and got up to follow her. In the kitchen, he found her with her forehead resting on the edge of the counter.

Spike crossed his arms. “See, this is why I asked. You don’t look okay.”

“Of course I’m not okay!” she whispered forcefully, turning to look at him but keeping her head on the counter. “I was just present when Pinkie sprung upon a wolf-pony that she knew his secret—like it was no big deal! How was that not the least bit stressful for you?”

Spike just kept his arms crossed and fixed her with a stern stare. “Because I trust Pinkie. As good at friend as you’ve become, she is much better at reading ponies that you are, Miss Spends-All-Her-Time-Studying, or hanging out with the same five ponies and one dragon. She spoke to Heart Wood for an hour before she did that, so I am one hundred percent sure that she thought that through after thorough observation.”

“She could have told me she was going to do that!”

“Oh, of course, I forgot about Pinkie’s telepathy. How was she supposed to tell you that discretely? Do you two have a secret sign-language I’m not aware of? Two blinks and scratching your rump means you’re going to try something outside the plan?”

Twilight turned back to face the counter and mumbled something.

“What’s that?”

“I said you’re right. I’m sorry, I’m being silly.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Pinkie’s the one you weren’t trusting. I’m sure they think we just went in here to give Heart Wood some privacy, so no need to tell her you were being a crappy friend.”

“Gee, thanks for that.”

Spike’s stern glare softened, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not going to apologize, because you need someone to say these things, but the only reason I’m being so stern is because I worry about you.” Twilight looked up to see Spike had his eyes scrunched shut and the bridge of his nose pinched between his claws. Why was it that males found it so difficult to talk about their emotions?

“You put yourself under too much pressure, and don’t trust anyone to handle anything you feel is your responsibility. You can’t help everyone, and you can’t always plan for everything you and the girls deal with. You need to learn to trust them to handle some things on their own, and let the manure fall where it will.”

Spike found himself wrapped in forelegs and a pair of purple wings. “I’ll try, Spike.”

“Good. Now let’s try to get this overly-emotional morning back on track. The last train to Canterlot leaves in an hour.”

Twilight released him and returned his smirk from earlier. “Why the hurry? Is your manliness feeling threatened by all the emotion?”

“No, nothing like that. You’ve got somepony here who has spent I-don’t-know-how-long hiding from the world about to agree to not hide, and I think you should go before he can change his mind.”

“Good thinking, Spike. Let’s get this done.”

“I’ll go pack your bags. You take care of convincing a reclusive wolf-pony that going to Canterlot is a good idea.”

Now that she could do. She might not have been the best pony to tell Rep—Heart that they knew his secret, she might not have been the best pony to comfort him, but she was the pony to persuade him to go to Canterlot with them and meet Princess Luna. No pony could present a series of cogent, rational arguments like she could. She would have him convinced in no more than a half hour, allowing for time to address any questions or concerns he might have regarding her arguments, giving them plenty of time to pack.

Pinkie and Heart were sitting on the floor, talking quietly while he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief embroidered with Pinkie’s cutie mark. He sat up just a little more straight when Twilight walked out of the kitchen. “Thank you for the privacy, Miss Sparkle. I’ve… been dealing with a lot of stuff for the last few years.” He paused when Pinkie rested her hoof on his and returned her smile. “Pinkie says we’re going to Canterlot?”

Twilight stopped in her tracks. She opened her mouth to respond, closed it, opened it again, and paused for a moment. “Right, that we are. The train leaves in an hour. So, I guess I’ll go help Spike pack. Do you need to go home to pack, Pinkie?”

“Nope, I’m all ready, and Woody’s good to go too.”

“Excellent. I’ll be right back with my luggage.” She headed up the stairs to her room, but found that Spike was just finishing with the packing. “My, that was fast!”

“I’m fairly practiced at this, Twi. All done, and by the ‘Royal Business’ checklist.”

“Thank you, Spike. I’m sorry to leave you out of this, but do you mind staying here to look after the library?”

Spike shook his head. “Not at all.”

Twilight paused for a beat. “Really?”

“Really. It’s just a train ride to Canterlot. Besides, if Pinkie trusts him, then I do too.”

“Okay. I’m glad to hear that.” Twilight picked up her suitcase with her magic and headed towards her bedroom door. “I should be back soon, Spike. I’ll let you know if I have to stay longer.”

“Twilight?” She stopped and looked back at him. The poor thing was shifting on his feet, brow creased with worry. “Be safe. You have a tendency to fall into crazy situations.”

She smiled at him, with just the faintest hint of a smirk at the corners. “Always.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, Canadian Thanksgiving happened while I was having the most trouble with this chapter. I really struggled with how to introduce Pinkie to a wolf-pony who controls his curse by controlling his emotions.

I may have lost track of how much coffee and black tea I drank while writing this. So yes, I may have pulled out a bit of myself while writing this interpretation of Twilight. Trust me, that ends with the caffeine addiction. Here's a link to the caffeine content of chocolate, if you're interested, as well as Zen Buddhism.

For those who are a fan of the show, there's a Big Bang Theory reference in the dialogue. 1000 internet points to the person who finds it. For anyone who takes issue with the changed dynamic between Spike and Twilight, that comes from Spike being older. Lastly, if anyone is wondering what the chapter titles have to do with anything, it will come up.

Rule Number Three: Grating as the may be, keep someone around who challenges you

Twilight Sparkle was unimpressed. Yes, it was a beautiful day—the combination of clear summer skies and a cool breeze would normally lift her spirits—but the visibly nervous wolf-pony walking beside her kept the morbid possibilities ahead of her front and centre in her mind. It wouldn’t do to have Heart wound up before they even reached the train station, and she needed to be able to focus during the ride.

Goodness that sounded heartless. This was definitely one of the harder parts of being a princess; knowing when to turn off the by-example leader and turn on the equine empathy. That’s what Heart needed, and that’s what he would get.

“You seem nervous, Heart. Is everything all right?”

The large stallion rolled his shoulders, his ears held flat and his mouth a firm, flat line. “Bit nervous, Miss Twilight.”

“Are you worried to be around so many ponies after so long alone?” She ran through her mental checklist: wings just slightly spread, eye-contact maintained with sympathetic expression, head tilted to indicate interest and focus, all for maximum display of empathy.

Heart hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Never been comfortable around bigger groups, and keeping a rein on my feelings keeps the…,” motions to his chest with his hoof, “monster in his cage.”

All right, she could do this. Stop and turn to him, make eye contact, and touch his shoulder to establish an emotional connection. “I have complete faith in you, Heart. You have demonstrated exceptional self-control so far, and I have no doubt you will perform admirably on the ride to Canterlot.”

There. A compelling, logical argument plus the thorough use of empathetic body language equals one comforted pony. Wait. Something was wrong. No. Oh no. It didn’t’ work. His smile was forced, strained. It should have worked! Every book she had ever read on psychology said that should have worked, but his smile was forced and his body was tense. How could she fix it? Okay, don’t panic, keep smiling, she would figure out something…

“I believe in you too, Woody!” Pinkie had hopped in front of both of them and was beaming at the taciturn stallion. Twilight pricked up her ears and focused her full attention on the two of them; if Pinkie was successful in comforting Heart, she needed to know how.

Heart turned his head and cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I know you care about ponies, silly!” Pinkie wrapped a hoof around his back and guided him forward again, somehow walking without any difficulty. “What kind of pony hides himself away from the world for years because he might hurt somepony? One who cares too much to let himself hurt anypony, that’s who! I saw you shatter your hoof, paw, thingy on that rock when you were saving us. That must have hurt! You did that to keep your control, didn’t you? Do wolf-ponies have super healing, or something? Gasp! Do you have super powers? Spill the beans, mister!”

Okay, that taciturn stallion was laughing as Pinkie lead him to the station platform, and Twilight had no idea how what Pinkie had done was different from her approach. This was getting ridiculous. She activated the elements of harmony, studied the magic of friendship, ascended to alicorn-hood through applying the magic of friendship, and now she couldn’t even comfort a pony in need.
“How’s it going, Star-butt?”

“Star-butt?” That voice was familiar. No one in the crowd was approaching her—oh, wait, that was a voice-throwing spell, and what was that? The faintest hint of a complex spell matrix, one she recognized. It felt like the invisibility spell which she had included in a paper for publication, but that matrix was both theoretical and unfinished—oh boy.

Twilight set her face in a tight frown, the corners of her mouth lifting in just the faintest hint of a smile. “Hello, Trixie.”

Lo and behold, a certain azure unicorn wearing a permanently cocky smile materialized in front of Twilight. Lacking her usual cape and wizard’s hat, she wore an uncharacteristically plain brown pair of saddlebags. Heart Wood simply sat down in wide-eyed shock at her sudden appearance while Pinkie clapped her hooves. “That was great! Twilight, how did you know it was Trixie? Did you guys set this up?”

“Thank you, Pinkie,” Trixie said with a bow. “No, we did not plan this beforehand. You got it in one, though, Sparky, what gave me away?”

“Trixie, you are quite literally the only pony in Equestria who would call me Star-butt. The use of illusion magic to mess with me only made it more certain.”

“Ah, I suppose I should have known better than to try and sneak an invisibility spell past the puissant Princess Star-butt, much less one which she wrote.”

Turning her attention to Pinkie and Heart Wood, Trixie paused, eyeing them up and down. Her cocky smile settled into a smirk. Now what was she grinning at?

“Greetings! I don’t believe we have met. While I’m sure you recognize the Great and Powerful Trixie—”

“Trixie, he’s been living as a hermit in the Everfree for nearly a decade. I doubt he—”

“And yet word of my grandeur has reached you even there! However, proper introductions will have to wait until I’ve caught up with Sparkle. It’s a long ride, plenty of time to talk, and we have a few minutes until the train arrives. Why don’t you take these bits and buy yourself and Pinkie a snack?”

Pinkie snatched up the offered bits and grabbed hold of the massive stallion, effortlessly pulling him towards the station café. “Oh, dinner and a show! What should we get, Woody?”

“Their pastries are divine!” Trixie called after the rapidly retreating pair. Looking back at Twilight, she found that the purple alicorn was staring her down with a cocked eyebrow. “What?”

“Why are you here, Trixie?”

“Sparkle!” Trixie held a hoof against her chest and put on a show of being hurt. “Are you not happy to see me? It’s been ages!”

“I’m generally ambivalent towards meeting my sarcastic, aggrandizing, pseudo-rival.”

“Pseudo-rival?” she exclaimed with a stomp of her hoof. “I’ll have you know that—ah, you’re getting better at this, Sparkle. I had thought you would be a little rusty with all the time since our last back-and-forth.”

“It has been a while, two years, nearly three? I didn’t get to be Princess Celestia’s personal protégée by being a slow learner, though.” Twilight rolled shoulders, hesitating. Trixie certainly didn’t need to hear this, but it was true. “I suppose you were a decent teacher, when it comes to verbal sparring.”

“Sparkle, I’m touched! I had no idea I had such a lasting effect on you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head, your ego is big enough already. Seriously, though, what brings you here, and where did that finished invisibility spell come from? You kind of dropped off that map for that last two years.”

“An excellent question! For I am no longer merely the Great and Powerful Trixie.” She took a step back, reared onto her hind legs, and illusionary pyrotechnics exploded into life from beneath her. “I am now Trixie, the Great and Powerful M.M.A!”

Cue the train station going still and silent, and, wait one moment, there’s the wide-eyed look of fear and realization; Trixie remembered where she just pulled that little stunt. Gingerly dropping to her hooves and walking over to Twilight, Trixie tried to shrink into herself while pressing up against Twilight.

“Regretting proclaiming your glory in front of a crowd of ponies you likely once tried to enslave?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t think you might be standing a bit close?”

“Yes, but I am operating under the assumption that the safest place I can be is as close as possible to the local purple princess.” Trixie winked and rubbed against Twilight’s side. “That, and your wings are really soft. Are you using a special conditioner?”

Twilight simply shook her head and gave herself a bit of space with a gentle flap of her wings. “So you went back to school. Congratulations! Master of Magical Applications is a prestigious degree.”

Straightening back up and adopting her usual air of bravado, Trixie rubbed a hoof against her chest. “Indeed it is, which also brings us to why I am here. I can’t give you the full details of my thesis out in the open, what with is being classified—”

“Classified?”

“Yes, classified. I can tell you, though, that it dealt with the practical applications of illusion magic, including the completion of that elegant invisibility spell of yours.”

She must have been in an excellent mood, offering a concession like that. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. With the success of my Master’s Thesis, I decided to pursue my doctorate. Who should insist on being my doctoral advisor but the pony who declared said thesis to be classified: Princess Luna herself.”

“I don’t think you could look any more smug than you do right now.”

“Not likely, no. It turns out having a moon on one’s flank is a common theme among those talented with illusions. Princess Luna has been treating my need to conduct field research as an excuse to send me on little missions where illusionary magic would be a considerable asset. Last night, I was briefed on your current situation and told to surprise you. She says hello, by the way.”

“Thank you. You didn’t quite surprise me though, did you Trixie?”

“No, but you recognizing the invisibility spell is more helpful for my research. That is how you figured out it was me, wasn’t it? You recognized your matrix.”

“I did. I suppose you’re happy that we’ve both studied directly under a princess?

“Oh, we have, haven’t we? I hadn’t even noticed.”

“Of course not. Did you send Pinkie and Heart Wood away just to tell me this?”

“So that’s his real name? No, I just felt they would appreciate some time with just the two of them.”

“Trixie, they just met. There isn’t anything going on between the two of them.”

“Please Sparkle, I could practically smell the chemistry between the two of them.” Trixie placed a hoof against her own chest. “One of us is a practiced stage magician,” she paused, leaning up against Twilight and booping her on the nose, “and the other is an adorkable book princess. I think one of us is possibly better at reading ponies.”

Twilight smacked Trixie’s hoof away from her nose. “I am not adorkable!”

Trixie only leaned against her harder. “You are so adorkable.”

Using one wing to hide her blushing and the other to bat away Trixie, Twilight kept moving towards Pinkie and Heart Wood. “You are a horrible pony.”

“That may be, but I do enjoy it.”

Luckily for Trixie—certainly not for Twilight, she definitely had an excellent comeback ready—the noise of the train rolling in and their earth pony companions joining them cut off their back and forth.

“Trixie, are you teasing Twilight again?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes, I have some catching up to do. I’ve been neglected my duty for some time now.”

Pinkie snorted and Heart Wood stepped forward. “Friend of yours, Miss Sparkle?”

“You could say so. Heart Wood, this is Trixie Lulamoon. Princess Luna sent her to accompany us.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Lulamoon.”

“Such a gentlecolt! The pleasure is mine. Ignore Start-butt’s snarkiness, she just doesn’t like it when I get the best of her. We’re friendly rivals.”

“So what have you been up to, Trixie? You haven’t visited Ponyville in forever, and Twilight never tells us about your letters anymore! Oh! Were you training to be a Night Guard super-spy? Are you Luna’s personal student now? Did you have to disarm a bomb with your teeth to save the Princesses? Did you—“

Trixie touched Pinkie on the shoulder. “Nothing quite so adventurous. Princess Luna is supervising my doctoral thesis. I went back to school, so I’ve been too busy to come for a visit for the last few years.”

Twilight motioned for them all to follow her toward the passenger car. “Remember the last letter I received from her, Pinkie? It read, and I quote, ‘Sparkle, I’m going to be too busy to write for a while. Next time you hear about me, I’m counting on surprising you.” Twilight paused to rear up on her hind hooves. “Yours, The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Hmpff. I don’t remember including an exclamation point.”

“Oh, there definitely was one.” Twilight stopped in front of the conductor. “Good morning, Stopwatch. I have three ponies with me, all on royal business.”

“And good morning to you, Twilight. I know Pinkie’s information, but could you please fill me in on the other two for the expense report?”

Trixie stepped up next to Twilight and tossed her mane. “I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am escorting Princess Twilight today.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Trixie, if anyone needs guarding, it’s you.”

“Who said anything about guarding?” she asked with a wink and a wiggle of her hips.

“Stopwatch?” Twilight asked with her hoof against her face. “I don’t suppose you could do me a favour and throw her off the train when no one’s looking?”

“I’m sure I could make it look like an accident.”

“Fantastic. I owe you one. This is Heart Wood. He is consulting on some magical research. Trixie belongs to Luna.”

“Thank you, Twilight. In that case, you will have to cover up any foul play yourself. As a government employee, I probably shouldn’t damage anything belonging to another princess. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course. Is that everything?”

“It is,” he answered, stepping aside. “You folks enjoy your ride!”

“Thank you Stopwatch, I’m sure we will. Let’s go everypony.”

Having taken so long to board, there weren’t four open seats together. There were two empty benches separated by only one row, and Trixie subtly hinted that Pinkie and Heartwood should sit together, winking at Twilight when the other two weren’t looking. Taking their own seats, it wasn’t long until the train jerked to a start and pulled out of the station.

Twilight turned to Trixie to find her smiling at her with a satisfied smirk. “What?”

“Brag to the whole town about my letters?”

“No, you silly pony. I just let the girls know when I heard from you, or saw you on a trip to Canterlot. We had all come to enjoy your visits.”

“Trixie’s smirk grew wider. “Of course you had. Who can resist the charms of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Most of the town, it seems, and it took the girls a while to warm up to you. Rainbow and Rarity are similar enough to you that they ended up enjoying trading barbs with you. Pinkie likes everyone, and Fluttershy’s incapable of holding a grudge. If you hadn’t performed at the school without your, ‘Great and Powerful,’ bit and won over Applebloom, Applejack probably wouldn’t have ever come around.”

“And what about you, Princess? What won you over to Trixie’s side?”

In spite of Twilight’s firm insistence that she was lucky to be tolerated, Trixie still goaded Twilight with a jovial tone and a satisfied smirk. No, Twilight wouldn’t play along this time.

“It’s nice to have somepony around who challenges me, one with whom I can discuss magical theory. I could always count on a letter from you to brighten a week of hard work and give me a boost of motivation, which is why I told the girls right away about such a disappointing letter.”

Trixie’s smirk faltered and her posture drooped. She finally seemed to realize that Twilight wasn’t joking around. “Disappointing?”

“Yes, disappointing.” To Tartarus with the silly posturing and jockeying for the upper hoof. Some things needed to be said, and it was time they came out. “I’m sure you noticed I paraphrased that letter a bit.” Twilight straightened her posture and cleared her throat. ‘Sparkle, I’m going to be too busy to write for a while. Next time you hear about me, I’m counting on surprising you. I’m moving, and my new address will be part of the surprise. Don’t’ worry, I’ll find you. Yours, The Great and Powerful Trixie!’ I can quote that letter exactly because I certainly read it enough times, trying to figure out what was going on. Friends don’t just disappear on each other.”

The azure unicorn shifted in her seat. “Trixie wanted to focus on her studies.”

Oh no. There she went, slipping back into the third pony without a trace of sarcasm or bravado. She was losing her. It didn’t work with Heart Wood, but it was worth a second try with Trixie. Twilight lightly rested her hoof on Trixie’s shoulder and attempted to make eye contact, both strong signals for empathy. “I would have understood that, of all ponies. I would have loved to hear that you were pursuing a master’s degree. Couldn’t you have told me?”

Trixie kept her eyes down, away from Twilight’s. “No. It was something Trixie had to do alone.”

“Why?” Twilight asked, her voice catching. Shoot, now she was going to cry. “Is that all our friendship is? This silly rivalry?”

Wincing at the catch in Twilight’s voice, Trixie finally looked up. “No! No, that’s why I kept to myself.” Really? She only got Trixie to open up out of pity when she’s about to cry? Fine, she would take what she could get, but Twilight really needed to work on making ponies comfortable enough to open up to her.

Unaware of Twilight’s meandering inner monologue, Trixie took Twilight’s silence as an invitation to continue. “I wrote a different letter first, but when I read it to myself I realized it was all about you. All I did was brag about getting into the Master’s program and boast about how I would surpass you with my thesis alone. I realized I wasn’t going back to school for me; I was just doing it to beat you. If I was going to do this, I had to do it for me. So I decided I was going to be the greatest illusion mage of our time, not to beat you, but because I could be. I cut off contact with you and dove headfirst into my research” Trixie snorted. “Even then, I couldn’t quite get away from you. I came across your paper on a theoretical improved invisibility spell, and I couldn’t help myself. I incorporated finishing it into my thesis, thinking that if I did, I would at least have something I could surprise you with when I did see you again. Live up to the bravado of that last letter.”

“It sounds like you’ve held on to this for a while.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly go about making any friends at school. I devoted myself fully to studying and my research. This is the closest thing to a vacation I’ve taken in nearly three years.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what to say, or if words would even do any good. So, she used a wing to pull her into a hug. “Well, I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Twilight.”

The two friends sat there for a moment, holding onto each other, both relieved at the closure brought about by their openness. It was starting to get a little awkward, though. Yes, this hug had definitely lasted a while. Twilight could feel the blood rushing to her face. Was Trixie doing this just to mess with her again? Fine, two could play at that game. Sweet and easy time was over.

“Those saddlebags clash with your obnoxious coat colour.”

“Ha!” Trixie let go of Twilight and laughed. “Good to see you’re not going soft on me, Sparkle.”

“No need to worry about that. You still haven’t told me how you perfected my invisibility spell.”

“Now that is interesting. What I ended up doing to cut down the energy cost and bypass magical resistance was design the matrix to charge any reflected photons with the altered image…”

Author's Note

You might be noticing hints of Twixie. That is because Twixie is life. Twixie is love.

In all seriousness, I ship Twixie like it's my job.

Rule Number One: Always Have Backup

Twilight Sparkle was in a world of pain, which wasn’t entirely bad; it was almost numbing, making running for her life just a bit easier. Her lungs were burning, her legs felt like rubber, and the migraine spreading from the base of her horn was letting her know with a harrowing intensity that magical exhaustion wasn’t far away. Even with the numbing effect of everything hurting, the flock of cockatrice would have likely caught up to her by now were it not for the two stalwart ponies helping her along on either side.

She shook her head. There was no time to focus on the pain, it was up to her to get them out of the Everfree. It was checklist time. Pinkie was fine, leading from the front and keeping them out of thick undergrowth. Applejack had a shallow gash along the side holding up Twilight, and Rainbow Dash had her injured wing draped over Twilight’s back (the cockatrice were effectively blocking any escape by flight). Neither of her support ponies were flagging, even with the pain of their wounds; they could be counted on for a burst of effort, should it come to that. Fluttershy was holding up well, but Barry the bear was badly torn up by cockatrice claws, taking the brunt of any attempts on his charge. He was holding up, but she wasn’t sure how much speed he had left in him, much less from where he had come. Worst case scenario, the angry bear could be counted on for a roaring last stand.

Magic? Nothing. Shooting down that last cockatrice had nearly sent her to her knees, it hurt so badly, and Rarity’s reserves had run out earlier. The fashionista was making up for a lack of magic with spinning kicks and dizzying punches.

If only she had spent more time studying combat magic, she could have used her reserves more efficiently, and they wouldn’t—no! No what ifs, no if only’s, she had to work with what she had. What did they have? Legs, and a bear, a very angry bear. So, run? Bah, that was a horrible plan!

Charging through a clearing, the sky was surprisingly clear of threats. Pinkie Pie planted all four legs and ground to a halt before reaching the other side, however, right ear and eyelid twitching madly.

“Whole lot of baddies that way, go left!” Pinkie shouted, darting that way. The group followed her, but her twitching started up again. Pinkie pulled a 180, zipping back through the group and heading the opposite direction. “Nope, this way!” My, it was easy to forget how quick that pony could be.

Barry and Fluttershy were a little slower turning around, bears not being the most maneuverable of creatures, and one of the leading cockatrice came eye-to-eye with the him. Barry crushed the creature with a massive claw and hurried Fluttershy along with the group, kicking some accrued stone from around his heel. Wild animals seemed to have a mild resistance to the cockatrice’ gaze, Twilight noted; she would have to remember that for later.

Pinkie ground to a halt once again, bright blue eyes wide in terror. More cockatrice were coming out of the woods, hemming them in on all sides. The monsters hesitated, though, hovering at the edge of the clearing and above the tree tops. Tangling with a highly skilled alicorn boasting above-average magic reserves would do that. Of course, a bear crushing a number of them could force some hesitation as well, so Barry deserved a fair bit of credit. It was obvious the bear was wounded, though, but the beasts didn’t know that she was low on steam, and she could use that. Finally, a plan she could work with!

Twilight steadied herself, nodding at Rainbow and Applejack to let her be. Taking a step forward and spreading her wings, she lit up her horn. At least she could manage of bit of light without excruciating pain.

“I am losing my patience!” she bellowed. She ran through a little checklist in her head: spread the wings to maximum width for a larger threat presence, and crank up the light. She bit her lip, pushing down the pain, boy, did that extra bit of output hurt, but they wouldn’t be able to see her flinch past the growing light. “Leave now, or I will be forced to demonstrate my full power!”

Nothing. The ones on the ground fluttered their wings, waiting, while those in the air just continued to hover. They were calling her bluff. It seemed cockatrice were much smarter than she thought. This was a bad plan.

“You’ve forced my hoof then!” Gritting her teeth, Twilight called to mind her brother’s shield spell. No one could cast it like he could, but if she could call up enough power, it could at least buy them some time. Shouting into the night, she pulled as much magic as she could from deep within herself and sent the spell through her horn. That shout quickly turned into a scream as her world shattered in bright light and unimaginable pain. At least the ground was soft. How did she get there?

Everything seemed to slow down. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack stepped over her, and there were some words between the two athletes about who could take down the most before the end. Rainbow bet her signed Spitfire poster, and Applejack bet her hat? She couldn't tell, she could barely feel her hooves, much less make out some nonchalant banter as the noisy flock descended upon them.

There was definitely the boom of the party cannon. The pastry-caked cocatrice flying through air confirmed that, if there was ever any doubt. Rarity shattered a beak with a strong right cross, keeping her chin and eyes down and her horn forward. Seriously, where did she learn to fight like that? Barry was going down, covered by the flying monsters, but a shrill shout paused the fiends in their assault on the brawny bear. Of course, there was Fluttershy, staring down a half-dozen of the monsters while Barry got back up and covered her rear for any beasts that might try and get around her death-glare. That still left several dozen of the beasts, by her count, but—oh, there, the pain must have been making her delirious. She could have sworn she heard a drawn out howl, rapidly growing louder.

Wait, maybe she wasn’t losing cogency. The cockatrice had stopped their assault, hesitating in the air. They didn’t even react when Barry swatted a low-hovering straggler out of the air; they just waited, listening. Cockatrice were obviously social, given the several-dozen strong flock that was currently assailing them, but they didn’t seem to have strong social bonds. Perhaps they only congregated in such large groups in times of food scarcity, or perha—

Twilight’s divergent line of thought was interrupted by a black streak tearing out of the brush and colliding with a cockatrice, which promptly fell to the ground in two pieces. Either her perception of reality had sped back up to normal, or this new creature was impressively fast. She couldn’t quite make it out as it weaved around and, well, through the panicking cockatrice. It was rather large, about as tall as Celestia at the shoulder. It must have been some sort of canid, what with the howling, but she couldn’t make out any details—oh, now Applejack was helping her up onto her back—it was moving too quickly, if only it would slow down. Wait, was Applejack saying something?

“Sugarcube!” Excellent, her hearing seemed to be recovering. “Let’s take this chance and skedaddle!”

“Wait! I have to go through the checklist.” Checklists are important. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Twi, now let’s get mov—”

“Rainbow? Are you here?”

“Yes, Twilight, now—”

“Pinkie!”

“Present!”

“Fluttershy? How’s Barry? He good for a bit more running?”

“He’ll be okay Twilight, but we really have to—”

Twilight shifted on Applejack’s back to get a good look at their saviour, who had finally stood still long enough for her to get a decent look at him; or to tear apart the few cockatrice that had dared to gang up on him, it didn’t really matter why. From what she could see, he appeared to be a very large, melanistic wolf. “Mr. Wolf! Are you coming with us?” Oh, wait, she was being pedantic again. She could have just said that he was a large, black wolf, that’s much easier to understand.

The wolf turned to the sound of her voice, and for a moment, Twilight caught his large, expressive yellow eyes. She was sure she saw a flash of fear before he slammed them shut and covered them with a massive, clawed paw. He tensed up, then lashed out and crushed a nearby boulder with his other paw. She could have sworn the limb bent the wrong way, but it quickly straightened out, seemingly shimmering with reflected moonlight. “Run Twilight Sparkle!” he shouted in hoarse, growling baritone. “Safety lies far from me!”

He knew her name? She couldn’t remember meeting any wolves recently. “How do you know—”

Again, Applejack interrupted her. “Don’t argue with the fella, Twi. Let’s go! Pinkie, lead the way!”

* * *

“Interesting,” Luna stated, nursing her cup of coffee. “That was when you passed out, then?”

“Yes,” answered Twilight, fiddling with her cup of tea. “I realized that he was a wolf-pony when I wasn’t suffering from mild delirium.”

“You were so silly!” Pinkie set her face in a grim scowl, but with her eyes crossed. “Fluttershy? How’s Barry doing? Checklists are important!”

“I did not say that in the middle of the woods!”

“Nope, but you were thinking it!”

Twilight applied pressure to the bridge of her nose. “How did you even get in here? You didn’t come in with me, and the door is guarded.”

“I invited her. I was curious to see if she could sneak past my guards.”

“I get a victory pie for doing it!”

“Right. Wonderful. Congratulations, Pinkie. Back to the wolf-pony?”

“Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. I must disagree with you, however, on your assessment of the nature of this creature. My sister did not forward you to me without good reason. I am an expert on that which, in the modern parlance, goes bump in the night, and those cursed with lycanthropy are not capable of speech while transformed. They are ravenous beasts, mad with fury and unable to discern between friend or foe. There wasn’t even a full moon on the night of your misadventure. It is more likely that this fellow was a powerful shapeshifter of some sort.”

“I would agree with you Luna, but you didn’t see his eyes. In the last couple years, I’ve seen ponies in many frightening situations. He fought like a wolf-pony; all rage and unbridled fury. If I hadn’t been delirious with pain, I would have probably been scared out of my mind, and not…” Twilight’s cheeks reddened as she hesitated, “addressed him as Mr. Wolf and asked him if he would be coming with us.”

“The point being,” she continued over the resulting giggling, “ when he recognized me, called me by name, he was easily the most frightened I’ve ever seen any creature that wasn’t panicking or fleeing in terror. He crushed a boulder with one paw and shouted for me to leave because it wasn’t safe near him. I’m sure he’s a wolf-pony, one who has gained some sort of control over the curse, and I think I know who he is.”

Luna immediately stopped giggling. “Do go on.”

“There’s a hermit, living in the Everfree, that regularly comes to the library, though he always comes at times when there would be few customers.”

“But Twi, almost nopony uses the library. Isn’t it full of mostly scholarly books for fancy science ponies?”

“You’re right, Pinkie, it is. He knows this, too, but he still comes right when I open the library.”

“What makes you sure this pony is the one you seek, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Well, there’s the fact that he is the only pony that would be in the Everfree and would know my name. More importantly, however, and less circumstantial, are the books he’s been borrowing. For the last few months, he’s—”

“Wait, wait wait wait!” Pinkie interrupted. “Are you telling me there’s been a new pony visiting Ponyville for months now and you haven’t introduced me? How can I throw him a Pinkie Party if I don’t know he’s here!”

“Pinkie, he’s a hermit. He chooses to live alone, refuses to talk about his past, the most he will talk about over tea that I’ve offered him was the material he’s been reading, and all the information I have about him are a fake name and a pseudo-address within the Everfree. I am one hundred percent sure that he would not enjoy a party, no matter how toned-down or well meaning it’s execution.”

Luna peaked an eyebrow. “A fake name and a pseudo-address?”

“Yes. I needed to give him a library card, and for that you need a name and an address. He told me to call him Repose, and he gave his address as, ‘first hut past the stricken sycamore, bright clearing by the swamp, Everfree, Equestria.’ I was hesitant to lend him some of the books if he was taking them into the Everfree, but he assured me he had a cedar chest that would keep them out of the humidity. He was telling the truth too. If you read his books after he brings them back, they smell wonderful.”

Luna took a sip of her coffee. “You’ve been reading the books he returns?”

“Yes, they’re fascinating material, and it gives me something to actually talk with him about when we share some tea during his visits. You see, they all—”

“Ooh, Twilight, have you been having secret tea dates with the erudite hermit pony?”

“What? Pinkie, no! First of all, he’s been going over some rather interesting material. Second, if I was to start dating, I would prefer someone who could converse upon advanced magic studies easily, so they would almost have to be a unicorn, and Repose is an earth pony. Third, please stop interrupting me!”

Pinkie slumped a little and offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry Twi.”

Twilight put a hoof on Pinkie’s. “Don’t worry about. Sorry for snapping at you.” The pink pony straightened back up. “Now, the books he’s been taking out. You both know that an earth pony’s magic is entirely internal, and manifests as increased strength and endurance compared to the other two tribes. If it is transmitted, it is almost always through touch or proximity, and focuses on soil, flora, and fauna. What you both may not know are the more esoteric applications of earth pony magic: Luna, because it happened in the last thousand years, and I don’t know if you’ve covered such a niche area in your studies so far, and Pinkie, because, well, I highly doubt you’re interested.”

Pinkie took a dainty sip from her tea cup. “I believe you speak of the Zen masters of Neighpon and Southern Zhongguo?” she asked with a faux-posh accent, a small smirk sneaking out from behind a faux-posh facade.

“Oh. Yes.” Twilight’s ears laid back against the side of her head. “I’m sorry Pinkie, I shouldn’t have assumed you didn’t know anything about them.”

It was Pinkie’s turn to rest a reassuring hoof on that of her friend’s. “Don’t worry, silly, it’s not like I act like a Zen master. I’ve been told I think like one, though. At least, that’s what a friend of my dad said when I was little. That’s why I started reading about them.” Pinkie’s face lit up with a mischievous smile. “Don’t let me distract you again, though, keep telling your story!”

“Yes, please go on,” Luna added. “I have never heard of these Zen Masters, nor of their innovative applications of earth pony magic.”

“Actually, it sounds like Pinkie is more qualified to explain this than I am. Would you?”

“Sure!” The pink pony turned to Luna. “You see, Zen is…” Pinkie hesitated, and held her chin with her hoof. She turned to Twilight with a small smirk. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Twilight shot a smirk right back at her. “Maybe.”

Pinkie’s smile grew wider. “Oh, you’re sneaky. I like it.”

Meanwhile, Luna was looking between the two of them with an eyebrow raised and a confused frown. “Is it that hard to explain?”

“Really, yes,” Pinkie replied. “Zen is, and it is being. It is understanding the self for enlightenment, but not really wanting enlightenment. It is… oh, this could take hours!” Pinkie frowned, but it… still felt like a smile? How did she—“I know! I’ll tell you some koans! What is the Buddha?”

Luna’s forehead only crinkled further. “Who? I’m not sure I under—”

“Three pounds of flax! What is the meaning of the Bodhidharma’s coming from the west?”

“Pinkie, I don’t know who that is eith—”

“The cypress tree in front of the temple!”

“Pinkie, I fail to understand why it matters why this Bodhi fellow came from the west, nor why the expected answer is so absurd!”

“You got it! She got it on her first try, Twilight!”

Luna’s forehead crinkling reached critical levels. “Pinkie, you are going to have to explain.”

“It doesn’t matter! It may as well have been so that tree could be planted, because all that matters is he did! The reason doesn’t change anything.”

“While being correct is gratifying, Pinkie, I still do not understand how this has anything to do with a specific lycanthrope’s choice in literature.”

“What Pinkie is trying to illustrate, Luna, is that one of the practices in Zen is a calm mind. Using this calmness, earth pony Zen masters have been able to access and use their innate magic. There was a tea master from the Warring States period of Neighpon who was sentenced to death. He could not be cursed, poisoned, or beheaded. In the end, he was allowed to commit seppuku, because that was how he wanted to die. I think Repose has used Zen principles to exert some level of control over the curse.”

“Interesting. Was this absurdity necessary for my understanding?”

“Kind of? Zen is really simple, but really complicated at the same time.”

“Noted. I will have to look into the subject myself. If you will excuse me, however, I must attend personally to the expedition leader who cleared those ruins for unescorted exploration. Missing an entire nest of cockatrice is a display of gross incompetence that will not be tolerated. I will leave you to contact Repose yourself, but bring him to Canterlot as soon as you can. I may be able to help him.”

“Thank you princess. He should be returning some books soon. I will talk to him then.”

“You are sure?”

“Yes. He never fails to return books on the day they are due.”

“Excellent. Pinkie, you may pick up your pie in the kitchens. Feel free to finish your tea at your own pace. Until next time, girls.”

With that, the princess of the night left her room, nodding to the night guards at the door. “Oh, and Twilight?” she asked, stopping just past the guards. “Do be careful. He may mean well, but he is still caging a monster behind his bones. Monsters do not like being caged.” Without waiting for a response, she continued on her way.

Communicating wordlessly, as close friends so often do, Twilight and Pinkie both stayed seated to finish their tea.

“This is really good tea, Twilight.”

“It is an excellent blend. You can only get it at a certain shop here in Canterlot. We can stop there, if you like, on our way to the train station.”

“Sounds great!” Pinkie took a sip from her tea, then looked Twilight in the eye with unusual seriousness. “I want to be there when Repose returns his books, Twilight.” There wasn’t a hint of a smile in her voice.

“Oh. Ok.” It wasn’t often that Pinkie spoke to anypony with such a tone. “Can I ask why?”

“Well, he saved my life too, remember. He also sounds like he really needs a friend. We’ve never heard about him from Zecora, so he must spend all of his time alone. That’s horrible!”

Twilight sighed and set down her tea cup. “Pinkie, this isn’t like Cranky. Repose is probably choosing to be alone to protect other ponies. He doesn’t want somebody to throw him a party or bake him a cake. He just wants to stay away from other ponies to keep them safe from him.”

“I saw his eyes too, Twilight.” Tears were welling up in Pinkie’s eyes, and a hitch had snuck into her voice. “He’s scared and fighting a horrible curse. No one should have to do that alone. I’m not going to set off the party cannon when he steps in the library. I just want to help him.”

Twilight got up off her cushion and hugged her friend. “That’s very kind of you, Pinkie. Of course you can be there, though it should be just the two of us. We could even have a sleepover so you’re all ready there.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Pinkie hugged Twilight extra tight before bounding for the door. “There’s so much we can do! We can make smores, tell scary stories, braid each others’ manes…”

Author's Note

Zen is cool beans. Random fact of the day: it was encouraged by the Hojo regents in thirteenth century Japan because its basic attitude towards the question, "what if you die? is, "well, shit, I guess I die then. I'll deal with it." Makes for very scary samurai.

Also, I apologize in advance if anyone takes umbrage with my butchered explanation of Zen Buddhism. A thorough explanation would be a chapter on its own, and that was all uninformed audience members or Luna need to know to understand what's going on.