An Ounce of Hate

Chapter 2

“No, no, no.” The yellow Unicorn muttered. “Do it again.”

The light blue colt screwed his eyes shut in concentration as his horn flared briefly, only to sputter out. Tears welled up in his eyes as the other young Unicorns around him snickered. “I can’t do it.” He whimpered.

The ponies had assembled in the spacious yard outside the school house. On the east side of the yard, the school loomed. On the northern and western end, the yard was closed in with a low wooden fence. But to the south, the large stone wall that encircled the village stood firm. Atop the wall stood two guards; a Unicorn and an Earth pony, both wore metal armor to protect their chest, flanks, and back, as well as a helmet for their head. The Earth pony had a short sword at his shoulder, within easy reach of his mouth, while the Unicorn was unarmed. His magic was his weapon.

The Unicorn guard laughed. “Come on Sunny, give him a break. Even Stem here can see you’re pushing him too hard.” He jerked his head toward the other guard.

The Earth pony in question nodded. “I might not be knowing too much of your magics,” he murmured in an accented slur. “But I do be knowing of training and forging, and what stress and overwork can be doing. A sword is useless if it do be damaged in the forge and will never serve well. Careful and easy, that is the way to be doing it.”

The yellow Unicorn, called ‘Sunny’ by his peers for his yellow coat, was anything but. “The day an Earth pony thinks to tell me how to teach magic,” he growled, but left his threat hang in the air unfinished. He rounded on the small blue Unicorn quivering before him. “And you!” He spat, causing the colt to jump. “Have you even been practicing?”

The young Unicorn nodded, blinking back tears. “Y-yes,” he mumbled. “But it’s hard.”

Sunny refused to relent. “Of course it’s hard.” He hissed. “The more difficult the magic, the more powerful it is. All new magic is hard.” He had taken a breath, likely to give him the air he’d need for another lecture, when bells rang throughout the town. It came from the northern end of the village, but soon they were joined by more bells. Even the massive bell tower at the heart of the village loaned its booming notes to the cacophony.

The Unicorn Guard shot a look at his Earth pony counterpart and frowned. “Get home, kids!” he ordered to the group of young Unicorns. “Find your parents and stay indoors until you’re given the all clear.” He exchanged another look with Stem and galloped off along the wall. Stem lingered to shoot a smoldering glare at Sunny before following.

Sunny turned to the assembled Unicorns and made a shooing motion with his hoof. “You heard him, get home. Hurry, go.” As his class departed, he shot a look at the small light blue Unicorn. “You too,” he said.  And for just an instant, his gaze softened.

The small Unicorn nodded. “Yes dad,” he mumbled, and broke into a clumsy trot, through the school house, and out into the village, where ponies hurried about in a barely contained panic. To the north, smoke was beginning to drift into the sky.

Sunlight slowly illuminated the stony room. On the worn wooden floor, a beam of light crept across the room, before landing on a discarded grey saddlebag, its pouches bulging. The light bounced off the bronze clasp and cast its reflection on the ceiling. The door leading to a balcony had a window in its upper half, where the beam in question streamed in from. Two more high placed windows let light into the room, one of them located directly over the bed that rested against the wall.

Grudgingly, I opened my eyes, only to close them again as I rubbed at them. I glanced down at my body and decided on two things: I needed a bath, and sometime soon I needed to get a blanket. The room was moderately warm, but the days were growing shorter, and soon winter would be upon us. I didn’t favor my health if I had to sleep in an old tower through winter with nothing to keep me warm at night.

I rolled out of bed and clambered to my feet, stretching as I did so. Multitasking, I unwound the bandages on my leg and flanks, while opening my saddlebags to pull out fresh gauze. I set the roll on the chest and looked over my injuries. The cut on my right foreleg stretched from knee to hoof and was still a light pink, with the flesh around it discolored in a bruise. The bone had been smashed, but a spell had sped up the healing process wonderfully. The bone wasn’t exactly fully healed, but I could stand to put my weight on it, for the most part, and a cast would have been more trouble than it was worth. Unfortunately, flesh was harder to knit together than bones, so the cut would remain yet for a time. The three cuts along the left side of my chest and flank started at my shoulder and trailed down a few inches from my hip, and were still red.

I limped to the bathroom before gingerly removing the bandages from my haunches. They came away moist, traces of blood on them, and I scowled. I must have reopened the wound at some point and would have to be more careful. The bathroom, I was happy to note, was clean and orderly. A bathtub sat against the right wall. The pipes and water faucet appeared brand new, like Celestia said they were.

With a chuckle, I turned the faucet and delighted in the sound of running water. My stay in the palace had spoiled me. I recalled a time when I had had to go down to a well if I wanted water for anything. But that seemed like a different world, really. One I would be loath to return to now. After a moment of indecision, I levitated the dark glass from my right eye. I wrapped its silken straps around the glass and set it on the sink’s counter. Lights and lines swam before my newly uncovered eye and I promptly shut it, feeling a wave of nausea creeping up on me.

The tub was soon filled with warm, and thankfully clean, water. I lowered myself into the tub and sighed. The ache in my side faded, as did the soreness in my leg. Nothing was more therapeutic than a nice soak in the tub, I mused. Resting on the rim of the tub was a bottle of what I assumed was soap. It would seem the tower had already been mostly stocked (my lack of blankets for the bed aside) so it was a safe bet, which proved to be right when I opened the cap.

While I was pleased to have found soap, so I wasn’t doing little more than making my dirty coat soggy, the flowery scent was so cloying I felt my stomach turn. I bid farewell to my sense of smell and poured the sweet smelling liquid onto my coat. Magic made bathing much easier as I lathered myself up with the soap. Quite frankly, I couldn’t imagine how the Earth ponies or Pegasi managed to do anything without magic. Maybe it was just different, since it was all they had known. They probably learned to make do with what they had and I was simply incapable of thinking of their methods.

I shrugged to myself. After taking a deep breath, I plunged my head under the water, and held it there for a moment. Before long I broke the surface with a gasp, drawing in sweet air, and shook my wet mane out of my eyes. Once more did I curse its length and contemplate cutting it myself, only to reconsider like I always did. A sharp spell was too much work and sloppy, while scissors were tricky for me. Plus, it has always ended up looking terrible whenever I did it. In retrospect, it made sense. I was good at destruction and magic, other ponies were good at growing crops, playing music, and trimming manes.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my own thoughts. Strange, it’s like we have marks depicting our own talents. It was a bit healthier than talking to myself, I guess, but not by much. At least I wasn’t having a two sided debate with myself.

By now, the water was growing cool and I was as clean as I was going to get without breaking out some obscure cleaning spell. I climbed out of the tub and turned to pull out the plug, but paused. The water had a faint pink tinge to it, much to my concern. It would appear I had better replace my bandages soon. I hurriedly let the water drain and watched it, while shivering and dripping.

I gathered my energy, focusing it into my horn. Then I let it trickle down my neck, down my legs and torso, and finally my tail. The water ran off, wrung from my hair, leaving a puddle on the stone floor. It made sense that in the room with water, the wooden floors would be replaced with something far less likely to rot when said water got on it. With a thought, I replaced the dark glass back over my right eye and carefully opened it. The shifting lines were gone, as was the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hurried back to the bedroom and levitated the gauze roll near me.

Surrounded in a white aura, a length of gauze unrolled, floating at the ready as I sifted through my saddlebags once again. I needed the jar of salve buried in its depths I had finally realized. I found the black jar eventually, and pulled the lid off. A glob floated out of the container and smeared itself across my right foreleg. Two larger spheres followed it, to be applied to my flank and haunch. The cuts tingled and felt warm, but I focused now on winding the bandages around my flank first, then down to my haunch. Satisfied with my work, I focused my magic to a fine point, pressed it, and sliced the gauze neatly. A second length wound around my leg and was severed as well.

I carefully stretched to ensure I hadn’t wrapped the gauze too tightly. Satisfied with my handiwork, I hobbled down the stairs, mindful not to open the injury on my haunch any further, and to not hurt my right foreleg any more than it already was. As I walked past the chest, I levitated my cloak out, fastening it around my neck, and let its familiar weight settle across my back.

I paused on my way down to make a closer inspection of the second floor of my tower. As I had glimpsed, it was a library of sorts. Most of the shelves were sparsely stocked, but what books there were appeared to be in good condition. Some were visibly old, their covers faded and pages yellowed, while others appeared to have been fairly recently printed.

The topics of the books were varied, ranging from astrology to magic, to geography to chemistry. I even recognized a few titles, but most of the books were foreign to me, as were their authors. There was a thin layer of dust on the shelves and books, I noted with some interest. My room had been dust-free, as if they had been cleaned before my occupation. The library had obviously not received the same attention.

But there was nothing for me here, so I continued on down to the first floor, feeling my stomach rumble emptily. I made a more thorough inspection of the kitchen now than I had last night. Day light streamed in through the small windows set in the walls, too small for a pony to fit through, I couldn’t help but notice. The stove was metal, not a stone one, as I had previously guessed, and was surprisingly hooked up to a gas source. I wouldn’t need magic to work it then, not that that had ever been an issue. I suppose it was easier hooking up a stove to gas, than it was to put wires into a solid stone wall, which could explain why I had no electricity. In the cupboards beneath the counters were pots, pans, bowls, and glasses. In the drawers just above there were knives, measuring spoons, whisks, and a few other objects I was admittedly unfamiliar with. I wasn’t much of a cook.

I was looking for some sort of food storage area when I noticed a door beneath the stairs. I magically eased it open, curious when it swung open without a creek. The hinges had been recently oiled then, but I paid that no mind when I saw the shelves in the small closet. There were cans, boxes, and other packaged foodstuffs. I grinned with delight when I saw a container of canned peaches. I wasted no time in applying a bit of magic to pry the can open and dump the sweet peaches down my gullet. I burped happily, unconsciously raising a hoof to my mouth, and noticed some apples on a lower shelf.

Curious, I levitated one over to me. After careful inspection, I could tell it hadn’t gone bad at least. After a tentative bite, I discovered they were moderately fresh still. I suppose Princess Celestia had told more than just Twilight of my task and had sent someone to prepare my new residence for me, aside from simply putting some furniture in. I absent mindedly ate the apple while wondering who could have been behind the preparations, when I noticed a clock hanging on the wall above the window, which was in turn above the kitchen sink. It happened to chime just as I noticed it. 9 A.M. it read.

It would appear I woke up fairly early, compared to yesterday. But then again, I had gotten to bed earlier than normal as well. I quickly finished up my apple, a quick search lead to the discovery of a waste basket beside the far counter, which I promptly dropped the core in. My hunger sated, I trotted out the door, taking the time to dispel the lock spell, and unlock the actual lock itself, but paused when I realized there was no way I could lock it normally and carry the key with me. I had left my saddlebags upstairs and had no other method of carrying it. I set the key on a small stand located conveniently next to the inside of the door, and closed the door behind me. Another locking spell would suit my needs just fine. With the door magically sealed, I set out.

From the little I already knew of Twilight, she was very productive. It was likely she woke up early to get a start on… well, whatever it was she decided she needed to do. Given the choice, I would ordinarily sleep in until noon and perform my own work late into the night. I was less likely to get bothered by somepony at midnight, so I didn’t have to think up an excuse to ignore them and keep to myself. It was more of a problem in Canterlot, since there were many ponies who took it upon themselves to pester me with something. Some who thought they were doing me a favor by letting me know what the latest Canterlot fashion was, or other scholars who wanted my advice on a topic. I was, after all, the Court Wizard, and well known for my understanding of magic. I still am, I guess, but what is a Court Wizard who isn’t at court?

Still a wizard, I decided with a shrug. You could take the wizard away from the court, but not the court from the wizard. I was here at the request of the court, after all, and still had whatever authority that granted.

By now I walked amongst the buildings of Ponyville now, no longer in the outskirts. Once again I was reminded of the distinct lack of stallions, at odds with Canterlot and even more so than my home village. Another thing that struck me as odd was the lack of guards patrolling the streets. The absence of a stone wall had confused me, but I had assumed Ponyville was unbothered by the inhabitants of the Everfree Forest. But having no ponies capable of fending off an attack? That seemed recklessly foolish. Truly, this village was filled with oblivious, naïve ponies.

With a shake of my head to set my mind back on track, I realized I was at the library. I walked up to the door and hesitated. I debated between entering and announcing myself, or knocking. Simply barging in seemed rude, so I reached out with my left hoof and gave the door a loud knock.

Muffled voices came within for a few seconds, before Twilight finally shouted. “It’s open, come in!”

Slowly, I opened the door and was surprised to see Twilight already had guests, whom Twilight stood between and eyed warily. To her left was an Earth pony with an orange coat, straw colored mane and tail, both with a red ribbon tying it at the end, and a worn hat on her head. She glared at a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow hued mane and tail, who returned her glare with one of her own. The orange Earth pony had three apples on her flank, while the blue Pegasus had, interestingly, a colorful lightning bolt descending from a white cloud.

“What’s going on here?” I ventured meekly. The two mares paused their stare down long enough to glance at me, the Earth pony’s nose crinkled at my appearance, while the Pegasus showed a glimmer of curiosity, before returning to glower at each other. The tension in the room was almost palpable as the two ponies eyed each other dangerously.

The rainbow maned Pegasus wove a hoof in my direction, not bothering to look at me. “Don’t worry about it shrimp, it’s nothing.”

I scowled at her, but my retort was swept aside by Twilight. “Rainbow Dash!” she chided. “Don’t be rude! That’s Dusken, my tutor. Remember I told you about him?” The Pegasus had the decency to blush and look abashed. Seeing her friend suitably cowed, Twilight nodded. “That’s Rainbow Dash,” she reiterated, jerking her head in the now silent Pegasus’s direction. “And this is Applejack.” She pointed a hoof at the orange Earth pony.

The pony in question tipped her hat to me. “Pleased ta meet ya Dusken.” A frown tugged at her lips, but she perked up, giving me an obviously forced smile. “Ah apologize on behalf ah Rainbow Dash here. She’s got no sense ‘o manners.”

This caused Dash to jerk her head up and resume glaring at Applejack. “I’ve got manners!” she squawked indignantly.

“Ya called him a shrimp!” Applejack rounded on Rainbow Dash, eyes narrowed. “That takes a distinct lack ‘o manners ta do!”

“Well, just look at him!” Dash shot back, jabbing a hoof in my direction as she leaned toward the other pony. “He’s tiny!”

“It’s still a rude thing ta say,” Applejack said stubbornly, lowering her head. Their foreheads were almost touching; I half expected one to head butt the other.

Rainbow Dash had opened her mouth to reply when Twilight forced the two apart, coming to stand between them. “Girls!” she shouted. “Enough! Let’s get back on topic here; you two still have things to talk about.”

Applejack jerked her head away and scowled. “Ah’m through talkin to her,” she growled, fixing Rainbow Dash with one last glare before headed for the door. “Ah’m leaving.” She paused and tried to give me a sincere smile. “It’s, uh, nice meetin’ ya Dusken. Ah suppose Ah’ll see ya ‘round sometime.” She sounded uncertain, her pleasantries hollow.

“I suppose you will,” I returned levelly. Another of the Elements of Harmony, only this one was a country bumpkin rather than a possibly insane loud mouth. She lingered, giving me a measuring look, before shaking her head and leaving. She slammed the door behind her with a loud bang.

“Good riddance!” Rainbow Dash shouted after her, then slumped to the ground, scowling with her hooves crossed before her chest. “How was I supposed to know anyway?” she muttered angrily.

So far, the Pegasus had made a very poor first impression of herself, but my curiosity was piqued. “What didn’t you know?” I asked.

Dash wallowed in sullen silence, so Twilight answered for her. “She was practicing her Sonic Rainboom technique over a field Applejack hadn’t cleared already. The shockwave knocked a bunch of apples down that weren’t able to be harvested, since all the insects had gotten to them. Applejack wasn’t too happy about that.”

Sonic… Rainboom? The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I swept the thought aside. “Well, it was an accident, wasn’t it?” I frowned. “Why not just apologize?”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the floor beneath her legs and remained silent. “Because her reaction was to get angry,” Twilight explained on her behalf once more, prodding Dash in the back of the head with a hoof. “Rather than say she was sorry, like she should have, she said it was Applejack’s fault for not clearing the orchard faster, or picking the apples as soon as they fell.”

Oh sweet Celestia. I suppressed a groan when Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I didn’t mean to say something like that!” She protested, looking around at Twilight and I. “I just… I was uncool,” she relented. “That was an accident too.”

“Then say as such,” I said with a shrug. Why some ponies had to make mountains out of mole hills was beyond me.

Dash frowned at me. Even though she sat down, she was still eye level with me, I was vexed to see. “But what if she doesn’t forgive me? What if she stays angry…“ She trailed off weakly, looking down again, trying to compose her words.

I growled, cutting her off. This farce had gone on long enough. A white aura surrounded her and jerked her head up with a yelp, forcing her to look into my eyes. Well, an eye, and a dark piece of glass. Twilight looked equally startled and I noticed her horn glow briefly. “This is a pathetic display,” I snarled. I released my hold on her, causing Twilight to release her own magic she had readied. If she had tried something, I would have been loath to give her the first of her lessons in such a manner. “So much disharmony amongst the supposed Elements of Harmony over some damn apples? If there’s any truth to your so-called friendship, come clean, admit you were being stupid, and put this idiocy behind the two of you.” She bristled at my tone, even going as far as to open her mouth, but I promptly forced it shut with magic. “If you truly are friends, she’ll understand. If you aren’t, go on with your life and hate the pony because she got angry over some rotten apples. There’s more important ways to be spending your time, I’m sure.”

Twilight looked at me in shocked silence, but Rainbow Dash nodded, causing me to release my hold on her jaw. “Yeah…” She mumbled. “Yeah,” she said more firmly. “You’re right. She has to understand.” She climbed to her hooves and grinned. “It was just a bunch of dumb apples, but I don’t hate her, and I don’t think she hates me. Thanks Dusken.” She tilted her head away from me, but looked at me sideways. “Y’know, you’re really not a shrimp. I mean, you’re not that tiny.”

“Rainbow,” Twilight chided softly, but I chuckled at her words.

“I think I see how this all started,” I said, amused. Rainbow Dash frowned, not following, but I just shook my head and chuckled. “Apology accepted.”

Rainbow Dash looked flustered and like she was about to argue, but stayed silent and nodded. She then pointed a hoof at my right eye. “How did that happen?” she asked, changing the subject. She was almost a head taller than me, but stretched her neck down to look at my side. “And that?” she indicated my bandages.

“An accident,” Twilight answered tersely for me now, for which I was grateful. I had half expected her to echo the question, but was pleasantly surprised by her change in attitude.

Picking up the tone in her friend’s voice, Rainbow Dash moved on. “So you’re here to tutor Twilight for Princess Celestia? For a teacher, you don’t look very…” She took careful consideration, now wary of offending me, I was surprised to realize. “Experienced,” she settled on.

“Oh, he’s a year or two younger than me.” Twilight broke in. Rainbow Dash and I shared a gasp, but while her eyes widened, mine narrowed.

“How could you know that?” I demanded. My younger years had been a blur, and I could honestly say I wasn’t even sure how old I was myself. How could a stranger I know nothing about, know more about me than, well, me?

As if she realized what she said, Twilight looked taken aback. “Oh, Princess Celestia sent me a letter about you,” she explained. Sympathy filled her eyes and I frowned. “Just last night she sent another letter, explaining a bit about your past after we parted ways.”

My anger flared at that. “She had no right to do that.” I was surprised to find myself yelling, but didn’t care. I felt my face grow hot as I scowled at her. Rainbow Dash looked at me with her jaw hanging open, but I didn’t care about that either.

“She said you might not like that.” Twilight replied calmly. “She didn’t tell me very much because of that, but she had told me a bit. She figures you’re a little bit younger than me. She also said you were skilled at magic, ashamed of your grasp of dark magical lore, shy, secretive, easily embarrassed, and,” she paused, looking at me with an unreadable expression. “And, in need of a friend,” she finished.

“Horse apples,” I spat. “Nonsense, idiotic dribble.” I wanted nothing more than to reach out and throttle the small smile that now appeared off the Unicorn’s face, but restrained myself. “You’re going to be learning about dark magic, so first lesson: friendship causes no end of trouble and will likely result in painful failure. Drop the idea that every pony in the world is friendly and willing to make nice with you. You’re in for a rude wakeup call.”

“But the magic of friendship is powerful,” Twilight insisted. “It’s seen me through many difficult trials.”

“And it will get you killed in more difficult ones,” I shot back. “If you need to rely on anypony other than yourself, you’re destined for failure, and your magic of friendship relies entirely on ponies you have no way of knowing whether or not they will betray you.” She looked crestfallen, but I pressed on. Her hurt look put a damper on my temper, but I wasn’t ready to give it up just yet. “The sooner you figure out you’re the only pony you can count on, the faster we can get on with your lessons.”

She raised her chin defiantly, staring down at me. “Sometimes you do need to rely on yourself, but only doing that is unhealthy. Celestia mentioned that you have a lot to learn and I think I know what she means by that now. You might know about magic, but you know nothing about dealing with other ponies.”

I only snorted, unwilling to continue this argument. So now it would appear she had taken it into her head to teach me about, what, the power of friendship? It was so painfully cliché I almost gagged. It was a quaint notion, but one that was as stupid as it was pointless. This mare obviously refused to see my point, so I gave up trying to force it on her. She would arrive at the conclusion eventually; I just needed to lead her there.

“Whatever,” I spat. “Agree to disagree, end of discussion.”

She opened her mouth, obviously wanting to continue our argument, but sighed. “Fine,” she grumbled unhappily. We lapsed into silence, during which I awkwardly shifted my hooves. I was glad she dropped the subject, but now I needed an escape.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, obviously just as uncomfortable in the silence as I was. “So,” she said awkwardly, shifting from hoof to hoof. “You’re a little on the small side, but you’ve got magic going for you. That’s pretty cool.”

It may not have gotten me out of here, but it was a different topic. “Yes,” I said, face still red beneath my grey coat. “I suppose that is, ah, cool. But really it’s just something I kind of, y’know, do. Like how you can fly. I think flying is pretty cool too.” Twilight sighed once more, but I ignored her. She seemed content to go with the change of topic now.

At that, Rainbow Dash puffed up and grinned. “I am pretty awesome,” she declared. “It’s nice of you to notice. But you should really see me fly.”

“I’m sure it would be quite a sight,” I agreed, amused by her cocky attitude.

Her grin widened and Twilight giggled. “Careful now Rainbow, or your head won’t be able to fit out the doorway.”

“My head…?” Dash wondered, rubbing at her mane. “What are you talking about Twi?”

“It’s a metaphor.” I chuckled. “A figure of speech.”

“Oh,” was Dash’s response. “You eggheads…” she muttered but trailed off, giving me a wistful look. “Y’know, as far as eggheads go, you’re alright.” She reached a hoof out and mussed up my mane. She was amused by the dark look I gave her. She grinned as I attempted to set my poor mane to right. I couldn’t help but muse how my own mane was different from hers: stark white against all the colors of the rainbow.

Personality wise, we were different too. She was obnoxious, cocky, and loud. And I was… well, let’s face it, Celestia had described me with uncomfortable accuracy: shy, secretive, and easily embarrassed. Yet despite all that, I was getting along with her better than the children of my own village growing up; she was almost a stranger to me. Twilight on the other hoof, I couldn’t make up my mind about. She had annoyed and angered me by sharing information about me I wasn’t comfortable with telling anyone else about, and by foolishly clinging to her beliefs. The fact she asked so many questions didn’t help her case either.

But then, she wasn’t completely to blame. Celestia had sent the letter, but likewise, I couldn’t find fault with her either. They both were only doing what they thought was right. Celestia and Luna had made me retell my entire pathetic life story, but to be fair, they were immortal Alicorn royalty who controlled the rising and setting of the sun and moon themselves. If it weren’t for Celestia’s meddling, Twilight would have known nothing about me that I didn’t choose to tell her myself. And honestly, when I was still learning about magic, I had asked plenty of questions myself. The only difference was, I had become jaded and just stopped asking, resolving to figure the answers out myself. She was still curious, reminding me of a small filly, which was ironic, considering she was evidently older than me.

But for good or for ill, what was done was done. “I heard Pinkie mention you,” Rainbow Dash continued. “Well, I didn’t know it was you, but she was throwing a welcome party for Twilight’s teacher today. She’ll be pissed if you don’t show up.”

“Party?” I gulped. The bouncing pink pony had been irritating while friendly. I’d hate to see what kind of hell she’d be upset. And really, she wasn’t so bad. I could stand to see her again, if she could just keep quiet. “Alright,” I was still unsure of social events- scared, really. I didn’t like being around so many strange new ponies. That’s why every invitation to a social gathering I received back in Canterlot went unanswered.

“I had completely forgotten about that!” Twilight exclaimed. “She asked me to bring you,” she pointed a hoof at me, “to Sugarcube Corner around noon. She didn’t want anypony to tell you about it. It was meant to be a surprise.” She shot a cool glance at Rainbow Dash who shrugged, her face innocent.

“Noon?” I mused aloud. “That’s about an hour of time to burn.” My thoughts churned. I didn’t want to spend another hour with Twilight, lest we start arguing again. Something finally came to mind. “There’s a book I want you to read, Twilight.” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’ll run back to the tower and get it. It’s important to your lessons.”

“And what are we supposed to do?” Rainbow complained. She had hopped into the air, her wings keeping her afloat, and crossed her hooves.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Go tell Pinkie Pie you convinced me to go to her party under the pretense of grabbing lunch, but I needed to run home first.” That should be enough for her.

Rainbow Dash made to complain more, but Twilight spoke over her. “That’s fine. Just make sure you’re on time.” I knew she’d be eager to get a new book to read. Her desire to read and learn outweighed her desire to argue with me some more, it would seem.

“I will,” I assured with a backwards glance. Then I was out the door and trotting back to the tower. For want of something to do, I turned my gaze skyward. A few clouds lingered in the sky, but a dark cloud bank lurked on the horizon. I knew in Canterlot the Pegasi were able to keep the weather more or less under control, so I assumed they did the same here in Ponyville. I didn’t know any schedule they might have had, but from the looks of it, there would be rain later.

The tower lay before me now, but as I was walking up the dirt pathway to the door, a slight movement caught my eye. Up on the balcony, I could have sworn I saw something shift in the distant door’s window. With a frown, I hurried to the ground level door and inspected the locking spell I had placed on it. It hadn’t been tampered with, so far as I could tell, and remained firmly in place. I quickly dispelled the enchantment and slowly eased the door open.

My horn glowed as I readied my magic for whatever could await me. The first floor was just as I had left it this morning. I crept up the stairs with trepidation, stealing glances behind me every few seconds, as well as to the sides. The second story library seemed to be untouched as well. I couldn’t tell if anything was amiss, since I hadn’t spent too long in this room, but I couldn’t imagine anything could have happened to the books.

Satisfied there was nothing to be found here, I finally made my way up to the third and final floor. Immediately I could tell something was off. The balcony door was partway open. I knew that was closed when I left, but had it been locked? Did it even have a lock? I looked about the room before making my way over to inspect the door. My investigation revealed that it did not, indeed, possess a lock. But I didn’t believe the door could have just drifted open on its own, since the latch would have held it shut against even a powerful gust of wind.

I eased the door shut and cast my gaze about the room once more, but did a double take of my bed. A dark brown blanket laid across it now. My saddlebags, previously resting on the chest, its bags filled, still lay on the chest lid, but were neatly folded. I cautiously levitated the chest open, but nothing sprang from its depths. Instead, I found my three books stacked neatly on top of each other, my scrolls forming a neat pyramid next to them, and the bag of bits slumped in the corner of the chest. I had kept a spare lens in my bag, and noted its absence. But as I looked up, something glinted from the small table by my bedside: my second lens, its straps folded beneath it.

Whatever had been in the tower was gone, it would seem. I was alone, so I released the magic I had gathered. I wouldn’t need to ignite or slice anything now. Not unless there were particularly menacing roaches around, but those warranted a different kind of concern. And they certainly wouldn’t have been responsible for moving my things and opening the balcony door.

I looked back at the blanket, frowning suspiciously, when something else caught my eye. I leaned in close, noting the blanket had a faint earthy scent coupled with flowers, and saw a pink strand of hair. My eyes narrowed and I levitated the hair up, inspecting it up close. After studying it for a moment, I nodded, my suspicions confirmed.

“Pinkie.” I remembered she had been inspecting my balcony last night with some interest. But why would she scale my tower to break into my room, just to leave a blanket behind and tidy up? She really was crazy, I knew it. After ensuring the balcony door was closed, I cast another locking spell on it for good measure. I had to remember to keep that locked now, or else she might sneak into my room at night and scoop out my eyeballs. Or whatever it is mentally disturbed ponies do. I didn’t care to find out honestly.

Celestia have mercy, I needed to face her again I realized. At the party she was throwing for me, no less. With witnesses, at least, but she could have enlisted the help of her friends. Could they all be crazy? I stared intently out the balcony door’s window, where the Everfree Forest loomed off in the distance. The group of friends had already been in that forest on several occasions, could they have been driven mad by the magic that lurked within? They were the Elements of Harmony, surely that meant something. But then again, all the stories always had the evil, deranged ponies laughing manically, and Pinkie Pie was the Element of Laughter. Maybe that meant something too?

I ruled out her friends having been corrupted then. Rainbow Dash had been rude, but hardly evil, and Applejack had been distrusting, but I had the same reaction to most ponies I met as well. Twilight had been a trial on my nerves, but was far from menacing, and was the student of Princess Celestia besides. Celestia would have surely been able to tell something was off with her student. Unless Celestia was corrupted by something too, in which case the problem was far more serious than I initially…

What was I doing? I pulled myself away from the window and sat down. Not only was I jumping to radical conclusions, they were purely idiotic ones. Pinkie Pie hadn’t appeared sinister, but she certainly seemed mischievous. I suppose she could have done something to my room that I couldn’t see, a prank of some sort, but I needed to get to the bottom of it, otherwise it would keep me up all night. I gave the blanket a lingering look and started towards the stairs before I planted a hoof in my face. The whole reason I had come here was for the book to give Twilight.

The book sat at the bottom of the stack, which I levitated back into the chest. The book in question was the thickest of the three and without a doubt the oldest. I had woven preservation spells into the tome when I noticed the ink had started to fade in some places, as well as the binding coming loose. I doubted there was a pony alive from when this book had been written, and letting it simply fall apart would have been a crime.

Bending Reality To Your Will graced the cover in curling letters. A title that claimed big things, but for all its bluster, the content of the book was simply incredible. It covered different methods of casting magic, something most unicorns gave no thought to, myself included before I had read this piece of literature. A particularly skilled Unicorn could alter spells subtly, potentially increasing their potency exponentially, or extending the duration of an ordinarily brief temporary spell. Essentially, it taught the discerning Unicorn how to do more with less. And with dark magic, the less you had to use, the better.

I slung my saddlebags across my back, first sliding the strap connecting them under my cloak, and stuffed my book in one. After some consideration, I picked out a few bits, dropping them into my bag as well- just in case, plus two scrolls bound with a ruby and emerald band, respectively. The book dealt with the manipulation of spells, but had few actual spells in it. The two scrolls possessed two spells I had whipped up myself. They weren’t anything dangerous and still tread on the “normal” side of magic. One was actually outdated, containing problems I had sorted out eventually, but I had kept the scroll out of habit of hording. But all in all, I was proud of them, and wanted to get them into circulation. Ponies still talked about Starswirl the Bearded to this day, and the idea of ponies discussing the spells of Dusken Spellwroth made me grin. Just so long as they remembered the right things and didn’t focus too much on my frailty, awkwardness, and association with dark magic.

Shaking the frivolous thoughts from my head, I glanced about the room for another final time, and walked down the stairs. At the library I contemplated stocking the shelves with books of my own, but put that thought aside as well. I might not even be staying here that long. And whatever I did collect would pale before the books that lined Twilight’s house, which in turn didn’t hold a candle to the library back in Canterlot.

I continued down the stairs and out the door, pausing to magically lock it once again, and was on my way down to… oh. I stopped in my tracks, a frown across my face. I heard Twilight say it was at Sugarcube Corner, but… well, I had no idea where that was. I looked up and saw the cloud bank had moved quite rapidly and now the sky was grey. I was still on the outskirts, so there were no ponies around, but given how fast the sky was growing dark, the streets would likely be empty. I really wouldn’t want to be caught out in the rain either. I could have used magic to dry myself off, but couldn’t do much to keep from getting wet in the first place; stopping drops of water was hard for me without expending more energy than strictly necessary.

The dirt path wound slightly, while small patches of trees sprang up at random intervals. I was studying the sky, guessing how long it would take for the first raindrops to fall, and turned a corner, not seeing the shape hurtling towards me.

“Look out!” A voice cried out, before something slammed into me. Whatever it was wrapped its limbs around me and pulled me into a roll. My front legs were pinned to my side, but something was pressed against my face, keeping my head from bouncing off the ground. My hind legs however, weren’t held, so I was free to flail them however I pleased. And as it just so happened, with the next roll, my right hind leg slammed into the ground, crumpling beneath me with a flash of pain. Another roll and the hoof, I now realized, that protected my face bounced against my jaw, causing stars to dance before my eyes.

This is it, I realized as I bounced a final time. Pinkie Pie’s come to do me in. I gathered my magical energy, focusing it in my horn. If some Earth pony wants to try something, she’ll learn what it means to cross a Unicorn. My attacker and I slowly slid to a stop, and I felt their grip on me vanish. I groaned, laying on my side, and craned my neck to look up at the devious pony, horn glowing bright. But to my surprise, a familiar cyan Pegasus greeted my view instead.

“Oh man,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. “I’m sorry.” I shook my head to try and focus my eyes, and I grumbled unintelligibly as I tried to force my shaking legs to bring me upright. “Here, let me,” she blurted, and I felt her forelegs wrap around my chest again, squeezing painfully against my injured side. I grunted by way of response. “Sorry,” she muttered again. She must have taken to the air as I left the ground, only to be lowered back down, my hooves now beneath me.

I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as I put my weight on my right hind leg. My knee and thigh were hurt, and if they weren’t already, they would definitely develop a bruise. I worked my jaw, sore from Rainbow’s hoof jarring it. Since it was apparent I wasn’t in danger, I let the magic flow out of me.

“Are you okay? Sorry,” she apologized again. Now she circled around in front of me, eyes filled with concern. “I was at the party and we noticed you were late, so Pinkie was getting antsy. We were supposed to have a storm today, and you didn’t know, so I said I’d go find you, and Twilight said you probably didn’t know where Sugarcube Corner even was, so I should lead you there, and so I flew down here as fast as I could, and,” she paused as I waved a hoof at her, urging her to calm down. I was still disorientated after the crash and fought to keep from swaying, and her babbling was doing nothing good for my headache. “I had to fly low because the trees blocked the path from above. I didn’t spot you in town, so I figured you were either at home or on the way. And then, well…” she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I found you.”

Probing with magic, I determined the injury on my haunch was still wrapped up, and hadn’t reopened. That much was a relief, but my knee was now the problem. As I gingerly eased my weight onto the leg, I shook my head. “I’ll live,” I said in a hoarse voice. “You’ll have to try harder than that if you’re going to kill me.” I smiled, perhaps a little bitterly, to take any sting out of my words, but Rainbow Dash still looked worried.

“Are you sure?” She peered at my leg with a frown. “It looks like you’re hurt. If you can’t walk, I could probably just fly you over. I mean, you’re so light—“

I cut her off with a violent shake of my head, which I immediately regretted when my skull throbbed with pain. I had gotten a little rattled in the crash it would seem. “Don’t touch me.” She gave me a hurt look, which wasn’t my intention, despite the circumstances, so I reworded my refusal. “No, no flying,” I corrected. I was wary to be airborne with this reckless Pegasus. Despite the force she hit me with, she appeared unharmed. She was made of sterner stuff than I, in that case, and I didn’t think I could survive another impact, especially if I met the ground first. “I’ll make it. Just tell me how to get to there, and I’ll be fine. You can go on ahead and tell them you found me. You can, uh, leave out crashing into me if you want.”

Rainbow gave me a guilty look and fidgeted in the air. “No, it’s okay. I’ll show you the way, I don’t mind.”

I considered her for a moment and sighed. She may have come off as a little brash and more than a little rude, but she made me reevaluate my opinion of her. She was still brash and rude, but she wasn’t that bad. It only served to confirm my belief she wasn’t a menace, just thoughtless.

“Alright.” I gave her a grin which she returned. “Then let’s get going.” I glanced back at my cloak and pulled it aside to ensure my saddlebags were undamaged. They were, for the most part, but then again, I wasn’t carrying anything too easy to damage in them. The book was protected with magic, the scrolls could suffer some wrinkling, and the coins would need to be hit much harder than anything I could take to be damaged. I tugged the cloak straight, as well as setting my mane and tail to right, and started to limp down the path, Rainbow hovering at my side. I quietly thanked Celestia my right foreleg had healed enough to use; otherwise this would have been a very slow and painful going.

As soon as one leg heals, another gets injured. I mused silently. I supposed it was safe to assume once my side healed, I’d go out and get the other side cut up, but reconsidered. So long as I kept away from the reckless ponies of this town, I should be fine.

But then I realized something; even though these ponies had already caused me physical injury and grated my nerves to no end, as a whole they were fairly tolerable. Twilight was too nosy for her own good and far too naïve, Rainbow Dash was rapidly proving dangerous to be around, though not willfully, and Pinkie Pie was… kind. She talked too much though, but was otherwise harmless, so long as I ignored her constant assault on my ears. I had a distinct feeling Applejack didn’t much care for me, but I could care less what a strange pony thought about me.

“I don’t suppose you can walk any faster?” Rainbow ventured. I gave her a flat stare in reply, and she got grinned sheepishly. “Right. Well, it’s going to be raining soon. You should probably be inside when it starts.” Now I nodded and, jaw clenched, willed my battered leg to move a little faster. Pinkie’s party awaited, and at it, answers to what the crazy pony was doing in my house.