Chapters THUD!
The loud noise had come from something heavy and thick landing violently against the door to Twilight Sparkle’s library. It had done absolutely no damage but it definitely disturbed the slumber of the lilac unicorn, who up until this point had been sleeping soundly, dreaming sweetly of Celestia-knows-what that was causing her to blush slightly. Twilight tossed and turned, not wanting to rise from her comfortable bed but also not wanting to disregard who or what might be waiting outside her front door. Conflicting thoughts aside the librarian unicorn came to the first logical conclusion.
“Spike, could you go see if somepony’s at the door?”
The purple baby dragon, stretching his way out of his small nest-like bed, reluctantly stumbled to his feet and carefully made his way down the stairs still half-asleep. His feet shuffled along the ground as he approached the door, still wondering why he even got up. He reached for the doorknob slowly, gripping it weakly in his exhausted state. As he turned it the sound of each mechanism on the knob was ever so slightly audible to his sleep-dulled senses. The door creaked open, and he glanced around outside at the snow-coated Ponyville seeing nothing of importance. Then, he took notice to what was lying right in front of the door: a rather large tome, bound by leather and decorated with gold letters which spelled out ‘The Legacy of Grimoire Fantasia’.
“Nopony here, Twi,” Spike called out groggily. “Just an old book.”
“Book?!”
With that single word Twilight found herself bounding out of bed and tripping down the stairs, crashing headfirst into a pile of old novels. Spike jumped at the sound of the collision, landing right on top of Twilight in the pile of books.
“You could have just teleported down here, you know,” Spike stated with a yawn.
“No time for that!” Twilight exclaimed jumping up from the pile of books, causing Spike to fall into it in her place. The baby dragon completely disregarded anything else Twilight would do at that point and decided to simply return to his slumber among the dusty old stories.
“Now, let’s see what we have here,” Twilight mused, levitating the book out of the icy embrace of winter and onto a table in the library. After shutting the door with a spark of her horn’s magic, she eyed the mysterious book and to her own surprise, not only was it padlocked, she hadn’t heard of the book or the entity of its title before.
“Grimoire Fantasia? Why haven’t I heard that name before?” she asked to nopony in particular, considering it was barely sunrise and the only other conversation partner she would have had was already snoring underneath volume after volume of his favorite graphic novel: ‘Colt Pilgrim versus Equestria’.
“I need to do some more research on this.”
With that, Twilight was off, searching through book after book for any information regarding this “Grimoire Fantasia”. She went through dozens of different books; from history texts to magic lore...none of which held the name this mysterious tome bore.
“I don’t understand it!” fumed the lilac unicorn. “I’ve been searching for hours, and I can’t find this Fantasia in any book!”
In her utter frustration she glanced out toward the window, noticing that Ponyville was now filled with daily activity.
“I know!” she proclaimed. “I’ll ask my friends! Maybe they could help me find out who or what Grimoire Fantasia is!”
Twilight geared up with her thick winter jacket, boots and scarf and exited the library quietly closing the door behind her as not to wake up Spike. The hustle and bustle of the winter season was prominent in Ponyville today, with the residents going back and forth from shop to shop, picking up various presents and making orders for the holidays winter brings around. The first of her friends she took notice to was Rainbow Dash, who sat on a branch in a nearby tree examining the clouds closely.
“Good morning, Rainbow!” shouted Twilight. The cyan pegasus, caught off guard by her friend’s sudden greeting, fell backwards off the branch and crashed into a bush.
“Uh...oops?”
The rainbow-maned pegasus stumbled out of the bushes, shaking leaves from her mane and tail and standing up straight as if nothing had gone wrong. “I, uh...I meant to do that. Yeah.”
Twilight giggled as she walked over to her friend. “So, what were you doing up there? It didn’t look like you were taking your regular nap.”
“No time to nap today, Twilight!” the pegasus declared proudly as she pointed a single hoof up at the clouds. “I’ve gotta check all the clouds so I know which ones to replace later tonight. We’ve got a big snowstorm coming in around sunset.”
Twilight had almost forgotten about that. This snowstorm was supposed to be the biggest Ponyville, maybe even Equestria, had ever seen. Rainbow was in charge of making sure the clouds over Ponyville were set in place. This was her biggest job yet, and as usual when it came to her weather duties, she didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“Before I let you get back to that,” Twilight said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Uh, sure, Twi. Shoot.”
“Would you happen to have heard the name ‘Grimoire Fantasia’ before?”
Almost instantly, Rainbow Dash froze up on the spot. Her entire body began to stiffen to stone, but she managed to start slowly backing away from Twilight.
“Uh...I just remembered, I have to, uh...check the clouds over Sugar Cube Corner! Yeah! Catch ya later, Twilight!”
Before Twilight could say another word, Rainbow was off, leaving her trademark prismatic trail behind her. “That was certainly odd,” Twilight thought aloud. “What about that name could leave Rainbow Dash of all ponies so terrified?”
She shook it off for the moment. “I can’t let it bug me. I’ll go ask somepony else. Maybe they’ll be able to tell me why Rainbow freaked out like that.”
The next closest place for Twilight to go was Rarity’s boutique. As Twilight had known and expected even prior to the holidays, Rarity had gone all out to make her boutique the most beautiful sight in all of Ponyville. Lights were strung up all across the front door, beautiful winter-themed dresses were displayed in the windows, and a large majestic tree stood in the center of the room, lit up wondrously and visible to all who entered the boutique. Twilight knocked on the door, and received a simple one-word yell in reply:
“Comiiiiing!”
In a few moments the door was magically opened by the white unicorn standing just inside, a snug scarf wrapped around her neck.
“Twilight, how wonderful to see you!” exclaimed the fashionista unicorn. “Please, come in! I can’t have you standing out in that wretched cold, even if you are bundled up!”
“Thanks, Rarity,” Twilight said, making her way inside as Rarity shut the door behind her. “But I really can’t stay long. I just had a question to-”
“Just a moment, dear,” Rarity interrupted, wrapping what appeared to be a scarf similar to her own, but in a smaller size, around the neck of her younger sister, Sweetie Belle.
“How does it fit, Sweetie Belle?” she asked.
“It’s really soft and comfy!” Sweetie Belle answered.
“Excellent!” Rarity proclaimed, giggling ecstatically as she carefully lifted the scarf from Sweetie Belle. “I’m finally finished! My Winter Youth line is ready to be shipped off to Canterlot!”
Sweetie Belle began walking up the stairs and Rarity turned back to her bookworm friend, simply smiling. “Now, what was it you needed to ask me, Twilight?” she inquired as she moved the scarf across the room toward a table closer to her register.
“I was wondering,” Twilight managed, “if you’ve ever heard of Grimoire Fantasia?”
Rarity froze up just as Rainbow Dash did, releasing the scarf from her magic’s hold.
“Twilight,” Rarity said flatly. “Where did you hear that name?”
“Uh...it’s on this book that crashed into my door this morning. Why-”
“Twilight, you must simply stop reading those dusty old books,” Rarity interrupted, pushing the lilac unicorn toward the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve quite a number of things to take care of before this new line goes out!”
“But Rarity, I-”
“No time to chat!” she shouted, stopping Twilight yet again as she forced her back out into the snow. “I’m very busy! Ta-ta! Ciao! Arrivederci!”
“I just-”
SLAM!
The door crashed closed in Twilight’s face. ‘This is curious,’ she thought to herself. ‘Two of my own friends hear this Grimoire Fantasia name and go into a total panic! I’ve got to get to the bottom of this.’
Twilight’s next stop on her investigation was Sugar Cube Corner where, not to her surprise, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. Of course, the sweet shop was just as decorated as the boutique. Pinkie Pie did work there, after all. Unlike the boutique however, the lights were based on a theme of baked goods and fit with the holiday treats the Cakes and Pinkie were known for creating: cakes and cupcakes, gingerbread colts and snowmare cookies, and candy trees with frosting frock and gumdrop ornaments. Before Twilight could even think about knocking on the door, a familiar pink blur bolted out of the bakery to greet her, bouncing around the unicorn ecstatically.
“Hiya, Twilight! How are ya? Are you good? I’m feeling fantastic today! I mean it’s not every day we get to bake all these wintry treats! I mean, wouldn’t it be great if we could?”
“Pinkie, I-”
“Oh, you’ve just gotta try my new gingerbread recipe! It’s totally amazing! At least, that’s what the Cakes are saying, but I want everypony’s opinion so I can get it just right!”
“Pinkie, I need to ask-”
“Oh! I’ve also got a new, super-big candy tree recipe I need to try! It’s got gumdrops and candy canes and frosting and all sorts of yummy good things on it and-”
“PINKIE!” Twilight shouted as loud as she could.
Pinkie’s movement came to a fully frozen halt. “Aw, c’mon, Twilight! Reason for the season is to be as super-excited as possible! That and hanging with your super awesome friends all the time!”
“I completely understand, Pinkie,” said Twilight. “I just needed to ask you something. Nopony else has been able to help me with this so far, though.”
“I’ll try my best, Twilight!” Pinkie happily exclaimed.
“Do you know anything about somepony named Grimoire Fantasia?”
Unsurprisingly, Pinkie suddenly froze up.
“Why do you all keep doing that?” Twilight asked. “What’s with this-”
“Oh, would you look at the time!” Pinkie exclaimed nervously. “I’ve got to, uh...plan a party for Dashie!”
“Rainbow Dash’s birthday isn’t for another three months.”
“Uh...G-Gummy! It’s Gummy’s birthday!” she stuttered.
“Gummy’s party was two months ago.”
“Uh...my party! I’m planning my own super-special-secret birthday party! Don’t tell me about it! Bye, Twilight!”
As expected, before Twilight could utter another word, Pinkie Pie had taken off back inside Sugar Cube Corner. ‘This is getting to be really unsettling,’ she thought. ‘That’s three for three. What is it about this Grimoire Fantasia that has my friends so terrified? And for that matter, why doesn’t the name show up in any of my other books?’
Twilight shook this thought for the moment, taking notice to the sun’s steady descent off in the distance, and made her way over to Fluttershy’s cottage. She knew that the shy pegasus was currently tending to a few animals having trouble getting set up for the winter. The outside of her home looked normal but through the window, her fireplace was visibly raging, which is unusual for Fluttershy, and some creature with brown fur could be seen curled up in front of the cozy hearth. Twilight hesitantly knocked on the door, not sure what the furry beast inside may be. A low roar came from inside but the sound of a sweet, consoling voice silenced it as the door opened, revealing the cream-coated pegasus standing in front of what appeared to be a rather large brown bear resting in front of the fire.
“Oh, Twilight! How nice to see you!” Fluttershy exclaimed as loudly as she was capable of, which was fairly quiet. “Please, come in. It’s really cold out there.”
Twilight reluctantly entered, keeping her eyes on the bear. She’d seen that bear before, too. She didn’t remember just where, but she knew him from somewhere.
“Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy spoke softly, breaking Twilight from her train of thought. “I see you’re a bit nervous seeing a bear in my home.”
Fluttershy calmly walked over to the bear and lightly stroked the top of his head, earning a satisfied grumble from the beast. “Twilight, this is Ivan. Remember when you thought I was hurting that bear that one time during your ‘entire-town-in-total-chaos’ moment? This is the bear.”
“O-oh,” Twilight stuttered with a sigh of relief. “So...it’s safe?”
The pegasus nodded. “He’s a real sweetheart, too,” she added as Ivan lifted his head up, giving Fluttershy a friendly lick on the cheek. “See? He’s perfectly harmless.”
“Uh, Fluttershy, can I ask you something?”
“Of course, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “I don’t know how well I can help you since I don’t know as much as you.”
“I was wondering, would you happen to have heard the name Grimoire Fantasia anywhere?”
As if it was an epidemic, Fluttershy froze up on the spot just like all the others. To Twilight’s surprise though, even Ivan buried his face behind his paws in fear.
“Uh...T-twilight...I kinda have some other things to get done, so uh...I need you to leave...if that’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said in a hushed panic.
Twilight sighed. She wasn’t going to be able to press Fluttershy any more, nor did she want to. “Okay. Sorry,” she said, exiting the cottage and closing the door behind her with a quick flash from her horn.
“What is going on around here?” she thought aloud. “Why does everypony know about this Grimoire character but me? And why are they all so terrified of...whatever it is?”
As she pondered this, she continued on back toward her library. Then, it hit her. There was one pony that had to be honest with her no matter what: the one friend she had that would have to tell her the truth, whether she wanted to or not. She didn’t feel right using her own element against her, but she felt she had no choice. She then bolted off toward her next destination: Sweet Apple Acres. If anypony would tell her what was going on, it was Applejack. Celestia’s sun had almost reached the end of its descent, so she would have to be fast. With an increase in speed she managed to arrive just as Applejack was closing the door to the barn. She stopped directly in front of the farmer pony, panting heavily.
“Whoa there, sugarcube. What’s with the runnin’?”
“I need...to ask...you...something,” Twilight answered in between deep breaths. “Nopony else...has been able...to help me.”
“Why, sure ah’ll answer yer question, Twi. Watcha need?”
“I need to know,” she replied, finally breathing normally, “what you know about the name Grimoire Fantasia.”
Unlike the others, Applejack didn’t freeze up on the spot. Not entirely, at least. Her expression shifted to that of horror, to which Twilight sighed.
“Not you too, Applejack.”
“Listen, Twi,” Applejack began. “Ah can’t lie to ya. Ah do know the name yer talkin’ ‘bout.”
“Oh, finally!” Twilight exclaimed in relief.
“But ah’m also bein’ completely honest with ya here when ah say ah’m really not able ta tell ya anythin’ about ‘im.”
“Why?” Twilight simply asked.
“Can’t tell ya much on that either,” Applejack said in reply. “Look, Twi...wherever ya got the name from, just forget about it. That’s a bad place for anypony to go, ‘specially a unicorn such as yerself. Ah ain’t big on magic know-how, but ah reckon there’s still some bad magic revolvin’ ‘round that name.”
Applejack glanced around suspiciously. “Ah gotta get inside, Twi. Big Mac don’t want any of us out in the storm. Just remember what ah said. Don’t look any deeper into that Grimoire feller. It ain’t safe.”
Applejack walked off toward her house, leaving Twilight to head back to her home underneath Luna’s majestic moonlight. Having not discovered enough to help her in figuring out who Grimoire Fantasia is or was, she returned to the library with her head hung low. Spike, who had woken up around midday after Twilight left, had just finished picking up any books the two had knocked over in the morning. He immediately noticed Twilight’s defeated state and slowly crept over to her as she just fell flat onto the floor, not caring enough to get up.
“Twi? You okay?”
“No, I am not okay, Spike,” she replied almost immediately. “I asked all my friends, and almost all of them gave me the same reply. The only one who gave me anything more was Applejack, and she told me to stop looking into this stuff because it was dangerous.”
“So you’re giving up?” Spike asked expectantly.
“Of course not, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping up off the floor. “Books aren’t dangerous. That’s just ridiculous.”
“Tell that to the dragon that cleaned up pile after pile of the ones you crashed into this morning,” he mumbled under his breath.
“The book can’t be dangerous, but whoever Grimoire Fantasia is or was must be. If only I could find the key to this book...then I could see just who he was.”
“Why don’t you try unlocking it with your magic?” the baby dragon asked. “Don’t you have a spell that can do something like that?”
Twilight’s eyes widened. Of course! How could she have forgotten her endless array of spells? One of them must be able to help in this situation! No words spoken, she bolted up the stairs, knocking over another pile of books that just happened to conveniently topple over on Spike, burying him once again.
“Of course that happened,” he grumbled irritably, rising up and stacking the books back up again one by one. Twilight returned seconds later, this time much more calmly, as she set one of her own books down next to Grimoire Fantasia’s.
“Now, let’s see if I can find it again...”
Twilight magically flipped through the pages, quickly heading to the ‘S’ section of the book.
“Safety Shield, no...Secret Compartment, no...Showtime Sparklers, definitely not. Who am I, Trixie? Ah, here it is! Skeleton Key!”
The page displayed the image of a key designed to look like a pony skull.
“This spell will allow the wielder’s magic to materialize into a semi-physical skeleton key, giving them the ability to open any lock.”
Twilight read the spell over several times before looking back to Grimoire’s book. She concentrated and her magic sparked to life, enveloping the padlock and working into its mechanisms.
“Almost...got it...”
As Twilight felt the lock begin to open a powerful and mysterious force took hold of her magic, launching it back at her, sending her flying across the room and crashing violently into the bookshelves. The sudden sound caused Spike to look up from his work toward the source of the crash where he saw Twilight almost embedded in the bookshelf, her hair slightly burned from a magic backfire of some kind.
“Twilight!” he screamed, rushing over in a panic. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Spike,” she replied, struggling through the magic-induced pain racking her body. “I didn’t expect that book to have magic protection, though.”
“Maybe you really should call this an unsolved case, Twi,” Spike said, helping Twilight out of the rubble that used to be one of her fantasy-fiction shelves. “You might get hurt even worse if you keep trying!”
“But I can’t now,” Twilight said, stepping back toward the book. “Now that I know that somepony doesn’t want me to read this book, I have to find out what’s inside!”
“But you can’t open it without the key!” Spike exclaimed. “And you can’t open it with magic! How are you gonna-”
Three knocks on the library door interrupted their dialog. Who would be coming to the library this late at night? Hesitant, Twilight walked to the door and carefully opened it with a violet aura of arcane energy revealing a familiar light azure unicorn with a wand spreading a wave of magic dust as her cutie mark.
“As much as she does not want to, the Great and Powerful Trixie believes she may be able to assist you.”
“Trixie? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, a slight tone of annoyance emanating from her question.
“If you must know,” the showmare began “Trixie came back to this backwater town to demand an apology from its foalish residents. However, Trixie saw the explosion from a particular book she had read of once before and noticed that it had originated from none other than your home, Twilight Sparkle.”
“You mean you know what this book is about? Who Grimoire Fantasia is?”
“Perhaps Trixie does, perhaps she doesn’t,” the light blue unicorn said with a smug grin.
“Tell me, then!” Twilight demanded.
“Beg.”
Twilight stared at Trixie, practically doing a double take. “Pardon?”
“Beg Trixie for the information she may or may not have.”
“Trixie, we don’t have time for this!” Twilight yelled. “All my friends flew into a panic after hearing the name ‘Grimoire Fantasia’, and I just want to find out who he is!”
“If you really need Trixie’s information, then you will beg for it, Twilight Sparkle. You will beg and declare Trixie the strongest unicorn alive. It isn’t that hard.”
Twilight couldn’t continue arguing with Trixie. She knew she’d keep this up for as long as she wanted until Twilight folded. Sighing in defeat, she said, “You are the strongest unicorn alive. Please tell me what you know.”
Trixie scoffed. “Come now, you can do better than that.”
Twilight’s expression shifted from annoyance to anger. “Trixie!”
“Oh, very well!” Trixie shouted, annoyed. “Trixie will tell you. But you are not off the hook yet, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She turned her attention to her number-one assistant who up to this point had been completely silent. “Spike, go on up to bed, okay? I’ll deal with the bookshelf in the morning.”
“You got it, Twi,” Spike managed through a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head and began progressing up the stairs.
Turning her attention back to Trixie, Twilight asked, “So, what do you know about Grimoire Fantasia?”
“Grimoire Fantasia was a unicorn of great magic,” Trixie began. “He was initially one of Starswirl the Bearded’s students, along with two others, one you happen to know rather well. You just so happened to have played them in the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant.”
“Clover the Clever?” she asked before another question plagued her. “Wait, you saw that? Since when were you in Canterlot?”
“That’s not important. What matters is who the second unicorn was who studied under Starswirl. Her name was Hocus Pocus, and she is Trixie’s ancestor.”
“You mean THE Hocus Pocus?” Twilight beamed. “The same unicorn that perfected long-range teleportation travel?”
“The very same,” Trixie replied. “But again, that is not important. What is important is Grimoire’s fate. He began to abuse very spells Starswirl had been teaching him for his own gain. Not wanting his name tarnished for having this criminal as his student, Starswirl requested that Celestia banish Grimoire from Canterlot entirely.”
“Wait, hold on a minute,” Twilight interrupted. “Celestia knows about Grimoire too? Why isn’t anypony telling me anything?”
“Because he’s dangerous, you foal!” Trixie exclaimed. “He stole a spell from Celestia’s own books! Ripped the page right out!”
“What spell did he take?” Twilight asked, listening intently.
“He stole a spell to grant eternal life. He cast it upon himself and wreaked terror upon Equestria. Being unable to die and being far too strong for Celestia’s soldiers to take down, Starswirl, Clover the Clever and Hocus Pocus stood against Grimoire themselves. Using his own magic against him, they supposedly sealed him away in the far reaches of Gryphon territory. Grimoire’s last words before being imprisoned in a crystal of raw magic were ‘I am sorry for what I’ve done. Never forget my legacy.’”
“But I still don’t get why everypony tries to avoid talking about him,” Twilight mused.
Trixie sighed in disgust. “Must Trixie explain everything? Your friends refuse to talk about him because of the stories they heard as foals. A group of Grimoire Fantasia cultists took to the streets of Equestria’s smaller towns, spreading stories about Grimoire’s return. The reason you didn’t know about it, Twilight Sparkle, was because you were sheltered by the princess herself. If you hadn’t been her personal student, you’d have known why everypony else was so unwilling to speak of him, let alone hear his name again.”
Twilight looked to the book then back to Trixie. “I want to find him.”
Trixie stumbled back in shock. “Are you mad, Sparkle? Did you not hear a single word Trixie just finished telling you?”
“I heard every word,” Twilight said, walking over to the book and putting her hoof atop it. “But it’s this book. It’s his old spell book, isn’t it? This has the pages he stole from Celestia locked inside.”
“Correct,” Trixie stated matter-of-factly. “Spells he took from Celestia, Starswirl, Clover, Hocus and many other unicorns. But it is locked. Grimoire himself had the only known key, and it is rumored that it was left at his sealing site so nopony could ever use his magic again.”
“If Celestia’s spells are in this book, she’d probably want them back,” Twilight continued as if all she’d heard from Trixie was ‘correct.’ “We need to get that key.”
“We?” Trixie inquired rather furiously. “Are you actually insisting Trixie would be willing to assist you, Twilight Sparkle? You’ve truly gotten desperate this time. Why would I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, ever help a peasant like you?”
“Didn’t you say Hocus’ spells were in here too?”
“Are you hard of hearing?” Trixie asked sarcastically. “Yes, Trixie did.”
“Then don’t you want to learn one of the spells of your ancestor?”
Trixie’s expression shifted from anger to that of irritation. “Are you suggesting that Trixie...does not know a spell? You have the gall to call the Great and Powerful Trixie unprepared?!”
“Well then, if you know one of Hocus Pocus’ spells, then go right ahead and cast one,” Twilight said with a grin.
Trixie grumbled crossly. Twilight called her bluff. “Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” she finally said. “Trixie will aid you in your quest, but not to learn such simple foalish spells. Trixie will do it for the glory of retrieving Celestia’s lost spells and personally returning them to her in her very throne chamber! The Great and Powerful Trixie will be deemed Equestria’s hero!”
“Of course you will, Trixie,” Twilight said after a deep sigh. “Be ready to go tomorrow at noon. I need to pack some things before we set off.”
“Very well. Trixie must do the same. The Great and Powerful Trixie bids you farewell for now, Twilight Sparkle. Do not be tardy come Celestia’s sunrise.”
Trixie proudly marched out the door and promptly slammed it behind her in a blue glow of magic. Twilight sighed as she shuffled her way through the piles of books on the floor and up the stairs to her room where Spike was, to her surprise, peering out the window overlooking her bed.
“Spike, what have I told you about spying on other ponies?”
“You only said not to spy on Rarity,” Spike replied quickly, pointing out toward the ground below. “Besides, look down there.”
Curiosity piqued, Twilight gazed out toward where Spike had pointed and could not believe her eyes. There in plain sight was Trixie, curling up into what appeared to be nothing more than a cardboard box. At that moment, she felt something she never thought she would feel for a showboat like Trixie: guilty. Trixie had stormed into her house, demanding Twilight praise her, and left in a similar huff, and there she was, sleeping out in the cold of an unforgiving snowstorm.
“I thought Trixie had some kind of traveling trailer or something,” Spike mused.
“She did,” Twilight noted. “Is she really doing that bad?”
“Well, it’s not like she’s nice to anypony,” the baby dragon hissed. “She turned Rarity’s mane green, tied up Applejack with her own rope and threw Rainbow Dash around in her own tornado! Who’s to say she doesn’t do the same thing in every town she goes to?”
“Well, yeah, she did do all that,” Twilight muttered half-dazed, still concentrating on the Poor and Homeless Trixie outside her library. “Spike, I want you to go out there and invite her in.”
“What?!” yelled the baby dragon in shocked reply. “You actually want her sleeping in here? Are you nuts?”
“Are you seeing her, Spike? Look out there. She’s miserable.”
“You know she won’t accept an invitation from you. Heck, she seemed lackluster to even offer you help earlier.”
“Then don’t extend it from me. You invite her in.”
“Aw, come on, Twi! Do I really-”
Spike was cut off by his adoptive big sister’s stare, which was a conflicting combination of a plea and a demand. He sighed in defeat as he walked out of the room muttering ‘I’ll get my sweater’ under his breath. In truth he didn’t really mind going out in the cold. It gave him an excuse to wear the sweater Rarity had made for him after the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant. Slipping on the warm hoof-crafted ‘bundle of woven love’ as he’d called it, Spike turned the knob and pushed the door open, closing it as he stepped outside into the still-building storm.
As he approached the box he immediately noticed that Trixie was turned toward the inside, unable to see anypony coming. It was a pitiable sight. The self-proclaimed Great and Powerful Trixie was living in a box outside of a library run by the pony that unintentionally ran her out of Ponyville. As Spike drew nearer, his anger toward her became replaced with legitimate worry. Twilight had ultimately rubbed off on him. He could not hate anypony in need. As he didn’t know what else to say his question was simple.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Trixie nearly tore the box apart in her panic, shuffling around to get a good look at her inquirer. “What is it to you, whelp?”
“I dunno,” Spike shrugged. “I just figured you wanted somewhere warm to sleep, like in a bed.”
“Trixie does not need your sympathy, dragon,” the showmare snapped. “Trixie knows your game. Twilight Sparkle sent you out here, didn’t she? She sent you to mock Trixie!”
“You can think whatever you want, but I came out here because I saw you freezing your flank off in a box, and Twi’s whole ‘nopony left behind’ attitude has really rubbed off on me.”
Trixie scoffed through a shiver. “Trixie is perfectly fine sleeping here. Why this is so is none of your business. Now, begone!”
The baby dragon sighed. “Look, don’t tell Twi I told you this, but she sent me down here to invite you in. If you stay out here, you’re gonna freeze to death, and Twilight won’t like that. ‘Swallow your pride and just come in. The library’s never locked.’ That’s what she’d probably say.”
Spike turned around, crossing his arms to amplify the warmth as he walked back inside the library and closed the door. Trixie stared down into the snow where Spike once stood, remaining focused on the claw marks. She stared for what felt like hours when it was merely minutes. The conversation remained stuck in her mind. Why would Twilight invite her in like that? She hated her, right? She had to. They all did. They were all jealous of her. What else could it have been?
“They pity me,” she thought aloud. “It isn’t jealousy. They hate me because of how I act. I can act normally when nopony is around...but before a crowd...if even one pony is in front of me, I turn into that again. That showboating magician dad was takes over.”
Trixie stared through the low window into the inviting library. “Swallow my pride...what is there to be proud of?”
The shivering showmare walked slowly toward the library door. Using as little magic as she could she turned the knob and carefully pushed the wooden construct open. Trixie passed through the doorway and shut the door behind her. With her energy expended and her body almost frozen, she collapsed into the pile of books that, luckily for Trixie, Twilight had left lying about.
“So she finally came inside?” Twilight asked already nestled up in her bed.
Spike crawled into his own, not even bothering to take the sweater off. “Yep.”
“How’d you convince her?”
“I told her to swallow her pride,” he answered through another yawn. “Said it’s probably what you would have told her.”
“And you didn’t directly mention my invitation?”
“Of course not, Twi,” Spike lied with a dismissing wave of his claw. “What kind of friend would I be if I went back on my word like that?”
Twilight smiled. “You’re right. Sorry I doubted you. Well, let’s get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Twilight and Spike began drifting off into slumber as the snowstorm continued to rage outside. Hopefully, Twilight thought as she closed her eyes, it will subside before morning. The harsh blizzard would make the trip difficult, and she figured Trixie would make a big deal out of it too. Nevertheless, now was not the time for those thoughts. She left it for the morning and allowed herself to sleep.
The next morning began as per usual for Twilight and Spike. The lilac mare dragged herself out of bed and down the stairs, taking note of the fact that Trixie was still fast asleep with her head lying atop Spike’s visual novels. She chose not to wake the sleeping mare and immediately began magically lifting up the books in the pile that Trixie had not fallen asleep on. The showmare did not shift, no matter how close the books came to touching her. Within minutes, Twilight had finished cleaning up all books that Trixie did not block from her access.
At that time, Trixie had begun to wake of her own accord. Her eyes flickered open as she came face to face with Twilight Sparkle and proceeded to close them again. “You’re having that weird dream again, Trixie,” she mumbled.
“Um...I’m pretty sure you’re wide awake, Trixie,” Twilight stated, poking Trixie’s left foreleg.
The showmare’s eyes shot open once more, finally taking notice to the fact that Twilight was not a conjuration of her dreams. She stood up swiftly, hiding a blush behind her mane as she pushed Twilight away rather angrily. “Get your hooves off Trixie, Sparkle. Trixie is perfectly capable of waking up herself.”
Twilight could barely stifle a giggle. “Well, considering you passed out on my books, it seems to me you had no problem falling asleep either.”
“Trixie does not need your mockery or sarcasm,” the showmare scoffed. “As you know, the Great and Powerful Trixie is only helping you for the glory of returning Celestia’s long-lost magics.”
“Well, you could at least pretend to be pleasant,” Twilight muttered, picking up the remainder of the books. “This journey isn’t going to be easy.”
“Do you take Trixie for a foal? Of course Trixie knows it’s not going to be easy!” the showmare shouted.
“That wasn’t the part I meant for you to pick up on,” Twilight grumbled.
“Trixie heard the first part. She just chose not to acknowledge it.”
“But you just did that now,” said Twilight with a grin.
“T-that doesn’t count!” Trixie stuttered. “Do not try and trip Trixie up with fancy wordplay!”
“Whatever you say, Trixie.”
Twilight moved over to the table where Grimoire Fantasia’s book still sat, along with Twilight’s travel-size satchel buried behind stacks of notes. She lifted up the bag over her back and promptly slotted the book inside, tying the two leather straps into place. “All right,” Twilight declared. “I’m ready. I just need to make sure Spike knows what to do to take care of the library.”
“Very well. Trixie will be waiting outside. Take no more than several minutes. We cannot afford to waste time.”
Trixie swung the door open with her magic and was immediately buried beneath a mound of snow. Twilight was unable to hold back a roar of laughter as the showmare’s head popped out of the powdery white pile. “Cease your laughing at once, Twilight Sparkle! This is not amusing!”
“I’m sorry, Trixie,” the unicorn scholar managed as her laughter died down. “But you should have expected that.”
“Or p-perhaps,” Trixie said through a shiver, “you should have w-warned Trixie about it yourself.”
“Why don’t you warm up by the fire? I can push the snow away and make a path, but it’ll take a while.”
Trixie stomped out of the snow in a huff, shaking her coat clean of excess flakes as she sat down before the fireplace. Twilight’s horn lit up and she began to force the snow out the door and down a straightforward path. At the same time, Spike came treading carefully down the stairs, not wanting to trip up in his half-asleep daze.
“What’s with all the racket...?” he mumbled sleepily. Rubbing the sandman’s gift from his eyes he immediately took notice to Trixie lying before the fireplace. “Oh, you actually came inside! That’s great!”
“Trixie...chose to accept your generous offer only because it meant Trixie would not freeze to death...that is all.”
The young dragon gave Trixie a deadpan stare. “You know, you could try to be a little more grateful. If Twi hadn’t had me invite you in, you’d be buried out there with your box.”
“Trixie...supposes so. Trixie thanks you, then.”
“There!” Spike crossed his arms with an approving grin. “Now was that so hard?”
Trixie grumbled unintelligibly as Twilight walked in through the door, sighing in defeat. “Well, the train is completely buried. It won’t be freed for a couple of hours.”
“You must not be thinking at all, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie jeered. “Did you actually think we’d be traveling where other ponies could see us with the book?”
Twilight’s gaze met with the hard wood floor of the library. “I...guess I didn’t think about that.”
“We travel on hoof,” Trixie continued. “It is less of a danger to us if we take a path nopony would ever think of. We must be especially certain to avoid Celestia’s royal guard. If they find us and recognize you, it’s all over.”
“But...we don’t even have a map to go by! How will we know where we’re going?”
“You are lucky, Twilight Sparkle, as Trixie has thought ahead.” The showmare levitated her hat up off her head, revealing a map safely slotted in a fold of the hat’s insides. Trixie unraveled the parchment, revealing a full world map with a course marked by blue sparkle dust. “This is Trixie’s own personal world map. The path has been marked with Trixie’s patent-pending everlasting stardust cloud mixture. Using the very same formula as Trixie’s illusion cloud dust, Trixie has created an ink-like dust that can be used with any quill pen.”
Twilight pawed at the map, testing the dust’s durability before all else. “Wow, Trixie, I have to admit, I’ve never seen anything like this,” praised the unicorn scholar. “Ink without ink...this could revolutionize the world of literature!”
“Yes, yes, Trixie is a genius,” the showmare bragged, hiding how giddy she actually was having been legitimately complimented on something she’d done. “Now, take a look at the path. Trixie drew out as safe a trail as she could possibly find.”
Twilight eyed the map and took notice to where they’d be headed. “...Everfree Forest to Las Pegasus...past the Diamond Dog’s gemstone mines...over the Swirling Sea, past the gates of Tartarus, through the gryphon capital, around the Gilded Claw feeding grounds and to the Stones of the Arcane? Trixie, how in Celestia’s name is this the safest path?!”
“Simple,” Trixie replied calmly. “All other paths that kept us out of Celestia’s radar led through dragon nests.”
“...I’ve got a few other questions.”
“Very well,” Trixie replied, annoyed. “Ask.”
“When did you draw this up?”
“Last night, after Trixie left,” the showmare replied. “Trixie uses this map to travel the world for her shows.”
“How long will this take us?”
“A few weeks,” Trixie answered. “This is not only the safest path, but the least time consuming. Any other paths would have taken us several months.”
“Why couldn’t we just teleport around all the dangerous-”
Trixie bolted toward Twilight and swiftly placed a hoof over her mouth. Their eyes met, and Trixie glared daggers at the lilac unicorn. “Do not even speak of using your magic, Twilight Sparkle. That is the most important part of this. You must not cast a single spell while we are on this journey. Your magic is the most recognizable in all of Equestria.”
Trixie’s glare intensified as her hoof descended from Twilight’s vision. “If anypony, or any creature at all for that matter, recognizes you as the Element of Magic, Celestia only knows what may happen, in both senses of the phrase. Word carries far, Sparkle. If we are discovered with this book at any point during our travels, Celestia will have both of us locked away. Teacher’s pet or not, despite your positive intentions, doing this would carry multiple counts of treason unless we return to Canterlot with the book in its original, pristine condition.”
“T-treason?!” Twilight stumbled back, tripping over a forlorn book and landing on her back. “I never wanted to go against Celestia! That wasn’t what I wanted at all!”
“You wanted to repair this book, Sparkle,” Trixie said with a shrug. “Trixie does as well, but at least she is willing to accept the risks of taking on this quest. If you cannot, then Trixie must go on her own.”
“I...I...” Twilight was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her mind was locked in a paradoxical conflict. On one hoof, if she just brought the book to Celestia, she’d have to answer a number of questions as to how she came across it and how she eventually found out what the book was, in which case, she’d be incriminating not only herself and to an extent Spike, but Trixie as well. Treason meant the worst possible punishment: banishment.
On the other hoof, if she took on this adventure, there was much more danger than treason involved. Passing through Everfree without magic was dangerous enough, but the safest path possible led the two mares through diamond dog territory, gryphon land and one of the shadiest cities in all of Equestria. Death was beyond likely, but Twilight argued in her mind which one was more worth it: death or banishment?
“Twilight Sparkle, you must make a decision right now. You could try to turn this book over to Celestia and pray that doing so does not seal your fate. However, if you actually wish to take a risk for once in your sheltered life, join Trixie and follow this path with her.”
“Twilight, you don’t have to listen to her,” said Spike, rushing to console his big sister with a half hug around her neck. “Celestia would never punish you for something you didn’t know anything about.”
“I...I know, but...this magic was stolen from her...”
“If she hasn’t gone looking for herself, then it obviously isn’t anything she cares about anymore,” Spike stated.
“Or she doesn’t know where to look,” Twilight mused in reply. The lilac mare pulled away from Spike and took a few steps toward Trixie. “I’ll go.”
“Are you certain?” Trixie asked, head held up high. “This seems to be a difficult decision for you. If you need more time, I-”
“I said I’ll go,” Twilight interrupted, stomping a hoof down before Trixie and startling the showmare slightly. “I need to find these spells. As the princess’ student of magic, this is something I just have to do. I’ve got no other choice.”
Trixie’s blank stare turned into an impressed grin. “Well...the bookworm has a backbone, it seems. Very well, then. If that is your decision, then we leave immediately.” Trixie turned back to the door and began walking out.
“Wait a minute.”
The showmare turned a full one-eighty degrees and glared at Twilight. “Oh, what now?”
“What are we going to do about food?” Twilight asked.
Silence. The showmare had been rendered speechless.
“...You didn’t think about that, did you, Trixie?”
Trixie’s expression shifted to an embarrassed red. “T-Trixie may have...left that minor detail out of her plan.”
“Minor? Trixie, dying of hunger is a lot worse than dying from...whatever else we’ll be dealing with out there.”
“Well, what do you plan to do about it, Sparkle?” Trixie asked. “I suppose you’ve got a better plan?”
Twilight thought for a moment, then as the idea clicked, she beamed. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
Twilight arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, satchel over her back, and noticed immediately that it was bustling as usual. The winter season was the most hectic time of year for the bake shop, but the Cakes and Pinkie Pie, with some extra help from the Apple family, managed to keep everything together and flowing rather well. Ponies were flying in and out with different pastries and cookies, and each had a smile on their face, just as Pinkie had always planned. Twilight trotted in hoping Pinkie had forgotten about her question last night. The line was rather long, but not nearly as bad as most other winter days had been. The wait was a mere fifteen minutes before Twilight was next at the counter and her hyperactive pink friend was invading her personal space.
“Hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie shouted happily. “How are ya today?”
“I’m fine, Pinkie,” Twilight replied with as believable a fake smile as she could put on. “Sorry about that awkward question I asked you last night. Water under the bridge?”
“Of course!” Pinkie chirped. “You were probably just stressed out again. No biggie! Now, what can I get for you today?”
“I need to stock on my usual breakfast order. I’ve got a big research project I’m working on and I probably won’t be able to leave my lab. Could I get a couple of weeks worth of muffins?”
“What kind?” Pinkie asked, leaning over the counter and pushing her face even closer into Twilight’s. “We’ve got blueberry, apple cinnamon, cranberry, banana nut, chocolate chip...”
“Surprise me,” Twilight replied.
“You got it, Twilight!”
Pinkie bolted into the kitchen as Twilight stepped aside to the pickup counter, where Applejack stood, greeting each customer with a smile.
“Well, howdy there, Twi. Ya feelin’ better after last night?”
“Oh, yeah, completely,” she lied. Twilight could feel Applejack’s eyes practically reading her soul.
“Twi, y’all know ah ain’t an easy mare ta fool. Ah can tell yer full of it.”
“What? Whatever gave you that-”
Twilight stopped her dialog dead in its tracks as the Element of Honesty’s eyes locked with hers. If she was any more nervous, she would have been sweating bits.
“Look, Twi...ah dunno what yer plannin’ ta do about...well, you-know-who, but if ah can’t actually stop ya...just be careful, would ya?”
“I’m not doing it alone,” Twilight admitted. “I have a bit of...unwilling help. A little showboat who’s just as curious as I am.”
Applejack shot her friend a skeptical stare. “Twi, yer not talkin’ bout who I think you’re talkin’ bout, are ya?”
“Yes,” the lilac unicorn replied. “Unfortunately. But she has a map plotted out with the safest path to find what we’re looking for.”
Applejack sighed in defeat. “Like ah said, ah can’t stop ya. Just be careful, ‘specially ‘round that little con artist.”
“I know, AJ. I’ll be careful.”
Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the counter, startling both mares. “I’ve got your order, Twilight! That’ll be eighty four bits!”
Twilight levitated a cloth bag from her satchel and poured out a pile of golden coins. She was lucky. She had just enough to cover the order. Applejack pulled the gold coins into a box behind the counter and Pinkie presented Twilight with her order: three boxes of muffins, approximately five hooves wide and long and two hooves tall each. Twilight stacked them atop her back and held them steady in her violet magic aura.
“Good luck on your project, Twilight!”
With a nod of thanks, Twilight was off. She didn’t know how this journey would work, but she knew three things for a fact: One, she had a mission she felt she had to do. Two, she had a path to lead her way. Three, she had an ally, however unwilling, to walk the path with her. Thoughts of this treason she would be committing faded away as the vision of her intended goal was presented before her. She would return Celestia’s stolen magic to her. She would do wrong by her conscience to do right by her mentor. She would uncover the legend of Grimoire Fantasia.
“I still don’t get it.”
Spike broke the silence in the library, gaining the attention of the showmare who still rested before the fireplace. Trixie turned her head to the young dragon seated on a round wooden chair.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t get you,” Spike continued. “It doesn’t make sense. Why do you always act like you’re this super-great magician who has so much under her belt, and you’re nothing like that. Then Twilight showed you up without breaking a sweat, and you just ran off.”
“Trixie was not ‘shown up’. She simply did not wish to expend her magic before her next show.”
“Yeah, like I believe that,” Spike scoffed.
“Why do you care, anyway? You’re just a baby dragon. What does Trixie’s fate mean to you?”
“It means something to Twilight,” he answered. “So it means something to me too.”
Trixie sighed irritably. “You’re not going to let this go until Trixie talks, are you?”
Spike nodded. “Exactly.”
“Very well,” the showmare groaned. “If Trixie must explain herself to you, then at least promise her this...you won’t speak a word of this to Twilight Sparkle unless Trixie deems it so.”
“Fine, fine.” Spike waved an idle claw to acknowledge Trixie’s request. The showmare then took a deep breath, putting on the most serious face she could, and began.
“I don’t do it on purpose, you know.”
Trixie’s immediate change from third to first person caught the baby dragon off guard as he stumbled from his seat and listened intently.
“I don’t try to become an arrogant showboat every time I talk to somepony. It just happens. It’s how I was raised.”
“What kind of parents would raise you to show off, even if you didn’t have anything to really brag about?” Spike asked.
“I never knew my mother. My father, Hat Trick, always taught me to be loud and proud, even if I had no skills to be proud of. ‘Don’t ever come home empty hooved’, he’d say. ‘If you do, don’t even come back.’ That day came, of course. I left a show with nothing, so I never went back. But I continued to think that if I kept up that same act...that if there was even one pony watching me and I kept that show going, one day, it would pay off and I could come back home.”
Spike was utterly speechless. He could only stare blankly in shock. Then like clockwork, Trixie’s serious expression shifted back to her usual arrogant grin as she broke out in laughter. “Trixie cannot believe you actually fell for that! Oh you Ponyville peasants are so easy to fool!”
Spike threw his arms up in defeat. “I give up. You’re impossible. I don’t know how Twi’s gonna put up with you for however long she’s stuck out there with you.”
Trixie scoffed. “As if Twilight Sparkle is the one who is going to be suffering. The Great and Powerful Trixie wonders how she’ll manage through it all.”
Twilight came casually trotting back into the library with her baked purchases in tow. She set them on the desk next to the map and turned right to Trixie. “All right. Now we’re ready to go.”
“Finally,” groaned the showmare. “Let’s get going.”
While Trixie showed herself out, Twilight walked over to Spike. “Take care of the library and yourself while I’m gone. Especially yourself. I don’t want to come back to find out you pulled another ‘future Spike’ deal.”
Spike’s stomach churned at just the mention of the incident. “Don’t worry. No more ‘future’ anything for me. Ever.”
The librarian giggled. “Glad to hear. Now, if you need anything, you know that our friends would be more than glad to help.”
“Even-”
“Even Rarity.”
“Oh, thankyousomuch Twilight!” Spike shouted, leaping up to Twilight and wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug. The unicorn returned the hug and planted a light kiss on the dragon’s forehead.
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” Spike said, looking up from the hug.
“I promise,” Twilight answered as the two pulled away. “Well, Trixie,” she continued, turning back to the showmare. “Are you ready to go?”
“Trixie has been ready for hours, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie replied arrogantly. “She has been waiting on you.”
With her aura wrapped around them, Twilight lifted up half of the boxes of fresh muffins and latched them to her back with a hoof-crafted leather holding strap that seemed to be Rarity’s custom work. She then hoisted her satchel with Grimoire’s mystical tome in it and latched it onto her side. “Spike, the rest are for you. Don’t blow through them all in one day.”
Spike grinned as he opened the box and greedily eyed the fresh-baked contents. “I promise nothing.”
Twilight stared blankly. “Spike.”
The baby dragon looked up from the box and smiled embarrassedly. “Right, right. No splurging. I promise.”
Trixie tapped a hoof repeatedly on the ground as she stood at the library door. “Do not keep Trixie waiting any longer Sparkle!”
“Alright, I’m coming, hold your horses,” Twilight grumbled heading toward the door. “Let’s get going.”
“Trixie has been saying that for hours now,” muttered the showmare.
The two unicorns made their way out the door as Twilight made sure she could hear the lock click behind her. Releasing a breath of relief and slowly-growing nerves, the librarian set off alongside Trixie toward the outskirts of Ponyville.
“Moving around the backside of Ponyville will ensure that nopony sees us,” Trixie noted. “We have to reach Everfree Forest undetected. And absolutely NO magic, Twilight Sparkle. That much is a must. One spell out of you, and Trixie’s plan is ruined.”
“I know I kn-”
Twilight stopped suddenly as she felt something slip onto her horn. Glancing up, she noticed that a light blue glow had placed a strange gold ring on the magical appendage. After staring at it for a moment, just wondering what it was, she looked over at Trixie, still confused.
“Trixie cannot risk you even attempting to cast a spell, so Trixie has decided to use her backup plan immediately.”
“Trixie, what the heck is this thing?” asked Twilight, attempting to use her own levitation spell to lift the ring off to no avail. “Why...why can’t I use my magic?”
“It’s an enchanted ring, of course,” Trixie replied smugly. “Trixie’s own design. It will keep your magic from being used in spell form, but it will allow it to flow about naturally as not to cause a buildup in your body and kill you.”
“It blocks my magic? Wait...your own design?”
Trixie continued walking forward. “No further questions. Trixie demands we keep moving onward. We have no time to lose.”
The showmare continued forward, leaving Twilight standing frozen and confused for a split second before following. The path around the backside of Ponyville was abandoned, as it should have been. Nopony in Ponyville with an ounce of sanity would ever go close to Everfree. However, Twilight and her friends were rather well known for putting sanity aside to do some pretty crazy things. Regardless of this, the feeling in Twilight’s gut sank deeper still as she and Trixie continued their trek to the entrance to Everfree.
“Pick up the pace, Sparkle! I would like to get this done in a reasonable amount of time.”
Twilight was drawn out of thought by Trixie’s voice, immediately noticing that she had fallen behind by several feet. “Sorry, Trixie,” responded a semi-dazed Twilight. “I was just thinking.”
“You will have more than enough time to think once we’ve put an end to this debacle,” Trixie grumbled. “Now move it!”
“No need to get all grumpy,” Twilight mumbled under her breath as she caught up with Trixie and the two progressed onward still. After what Trixie would have so called ‘forever’, the two mares finally stood before the border between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Twilight felt the feeling completely drop to the base of her gut and twist about, filling her imagination to the brim with any number of possibilities.
‘Wolves, living plants, hydra...these woods could have just about anything waiting to tear a pair of ponies to pieces! But...I have to bring Celestia’s magic back to her. I just have to!’
Celestia’s sun hung just overhead as the two mares started their march into Everfree Forest. The loose branches of dead trees danced in the light wind. The only sound heard by the young mares was that of their own hooves crunching through the snow along the path and their own heartbeats as the darkness of the forest began to consume their vision.
“Trixie, please tell me you know at least one simple torch spell,” Twilight pleaded.
“Of course Trixie knows a torch spell,” scoffed Trixie. “What ridiculous notion would ever suggest otherwise?”
‘Everything I know about you,’ thought Twilight. ‘But I guess Trixie is full of surprises this time around...the magic-suppression ring, the map and the ink...she’s been busy since she ran away from Ponyville.’
Trixie focused her magic to the tip of her horn and sparked to life a simple ball of light above herself and Twilight. The sphere illuminated the majority of the area around them, far enough left and right to be able to spot any oncoming attackers, far enough forward to keep their path in view, and bright enough directly on them in order for them to be able to read the map.
“H-how much longer are we going to be here, Trixie?” asked Twilight.
“The path shouldn’t go on for more than another hour,” Trixie answered, turning her head to look at Twilight. “What’s the matter, Sparkle? Are you actually afraid of this place, after everything you’ve been through?”
“I am not afraid!” Twilight shouted. Just as she spoke, an echoing howl sounded across the entire forest, sending both mares into a panic that brought them both up on their hind legs with their forelegs wrapped around one another. After standing there for a few seconds, shivering in place, the two realized the position they were in and jumped back down to all fours, turning away from one another, both hiding an immense shade of red crossing their faces.
“...We should...keep going,” Trixie managed, continuing on the path forward.
“...Right.” Twilight followed, keeping an eye on the perimeter.
The snow-coated Everfree path seemed to go on for miles, but luckily the two mares had a bit of luck on their side. Nothing had attacked them or detected them and they had arrived before Zecora’s hut without so much as a distraction.
“Please do not tell me you planned on stopping in here, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie complained.
“I need to pick up a few things from Zecora,” Twilight replied. “Just a few potions in case of emergency.”
“Well, be quick about it,” the showmare snapped. “We’re making good time. Don’t louse it up.”
Twilight walked up the small hut and rapped on the door three times. It didn’t take long for the zebra to answer, and Twilight was immediately welcomed inside.
“Twilight, my friend, how might I help you this day? Do you need any potions to keep evil at bay?”
“Actually, Zecora, a few basic antidotes will do,” Twilight replied. “I’m just going on a little trip, and they might come in handy.”
“Cures to your ailments are something I can do, and because you’re a friend, not a bit it will cost you.”
“Thank you, Zecora, really, but I’ll gladly cover the ingredients...except I can’t exactly use my magic to get my money out right now.”
The zebra looked at Twilight with a confused stare before she noticed the ring, eyeing it curiously. “This jewelry of yours, it is not of normal make. It suppresses your magic, and it just cannot break.”
“I know,” Twilight replied. “It’s...well, I can’t really say-”
“The showboating magician that I saw outside...are you on a trip, and she is along for the ride?”
Twilight sighed. “Guess I can’t avoid telling you. We’re tracking down the key to a magic spell book that used to belong to a unicorn named Grimoire Fantasia.”
Zecora’s expression quickly turned to one of shock. “Please, Twilight Sparkle, repeat that name. I pray that it is not one and the same.”
“Grimoire Fantasia,” Twilight repeated as Zecora’s face remained the same. “...You know him too?!”
“Zebrica’s legends tell of a mage of great skill, but he used his talent to bend ponies to his will. Deep within his tome lay his darkest spell that caused such effects, even to zebras as well. Death and decay littered Equestria’s path, and not one single soul could escape from his wrath. Even the princesses, who did fight well, were not nearly strong enough, and in the end, they fell.”
“What kind of monster would be capable of such a thing?” Twilight inquired. “I mean, I knew he was bad enough to be sealed away, but to beat the princesses...”
Zecora nodded with a neutral, solemn expression. “Fantasia’s magic was beyond the divine, and he plagued all races...yours and mine. When Starswirl the Bearded confronted the beast, he had used all his spells and was spent, to say the least. Against Starswirl, Hocus and Clover the Clever, the three bright mages sealed Fantasia away forever.”
“So...he’s gone forever? We can just go get the key to the book and go home?”
Once again Zecora nodded, still serious. “If the spells are what you seek then you should find no confrontation. But if some ponies were to hear you possess the book, you may have a situation.”
“Who else could know what kind of spells the book has in it?” asked Twilight.
“Ponies with unique connections, power and no moral objections,” Zecora answered morbidly. “Should Las Pegasus be your way, let nopony lead you astray.”
A rather feeble earth pony stallion with a violet coat and black mane rushed his way through the slot machine-lined hallways of Las Pegasus at full gallop, making his way into the office of the Golden Apple Casino’s owner. He was immediately stopped by two much larger brown-coated earth pony stallions more than twice his size.
“State yer business,” spoke one of the titanic stallions in a deep voice tied to a southern drawl.
“I-I need to see the capo,” replied the puny stallion. “It’s about that book he’s been lookin’ for.”
“Sorry,” said the other. “No appointment, no-”
“...You got it, boss.”
The two stallions stood aside as the small earth pony shuffled his way into the room nervously. Seated behind a large hickory desk was another stallion around the same size as the guards. His coat was deep crimson, his mane a pure black and his cutie mark a golden apple with a triad of coins in the center of the fruit.
“M-Mister Apple Capone, sir.” the young stallion bowed before the capo.
“Rise, Grapevine.” Grapevine stood back up naturally and smiled nervously. “Now...what’ve ya got fer me about the book?”
“Well...it ain’t where it’s s’posed ta be in the museum,” Grapevine replied. “Somepony’s got it, and they’re lookin’ fer the key.”
Apple Capone gave his cowering associate a slight grin, looking down to his desk where a map of Equestria sat, marked off with several paths leading to the Stones of the Arcane.
“Excellent.”