Alicorn Students

by Palm Palette

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike
Length: 5237

Two students studying alicorn magic develop a rivalry. When Luna goes missing, this clouds Twilight's judgement. Can she put aside her pride long enough to help or will she waste too much time and be too late in the end?

Celestia summons Twilight to Canterlot so they can study the nature of alicorn magic together. Joining her is another princess from the Cantoribbean Isles. A disturbance in the castle forces Celestia to leave while the other two continue their studies. Later, Spike reveals that Luna has gone missing. Twilight wants to abandon her studies to help but a growing rivalry between her and the other alicorn princess clouds her judgement. Can Spike talk some sense into her or will they be too late to save Luna?

Published 2014-02-08 00:40:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-08 00:40:03 UTC

The Best Student

“Thank you for coming here, Princess Twilight.” Celestia leaned down and slid her horn into the massive door's locking mechanism. A yellow glow spread throughout the door frame and it creaked open.

“It's always a pleasure to be with you, Princess Celestia.” Twilight watched as her mentor turned on the lights to illuminate the dusty interior of the old Canterlot vault. “I'm so glad we'll finally have a chance to sit down and talk all about magic.”

The vault had failed at its primary purpose so in her spare time Celestia had set about converting it into a private training room. The dangerous and important artifacts previously stored here had been relocated to other storage facilities. The room was vast and mostly empty with a thin layer of dust on the abandoned shelves. A small white table around which only a few ponies could sit comfortably stood in the middle.

Celestia levitated three pillows and set them around the table. They were colored and patterned to match the pony they were for. There was a lavender pillow with a starburst pattern for Twilight, a white pillow with a sun on it for Celestia, and a blue pillow with a representation of the constellation Pisces. That wasn't for anypony Twilight knew.

“Please take a seat, Twilight.” Celestia beckoned for her to sit down and Twilight did do. Celestia herself did not.

“Who is that for?” Twilight asked. She motioned her head towards the blue pillow.

Celestia smiled. “You'll be meeting her shortly. Please wait here while I collect our guest.” She walked out and left Twilight alone in the room.

While waiting for Celestia to return, Twilight opened her saddlebags and spread out her books on the table. The Pony Mind was a book on emotional states and psychology. It had been written by Head Turner and was the book that Celestia requested she bring with her from Ponyville's library. It was an odd choice considering that the topic for this meeting was magic.

Medative Stances by Inner Light was more appropriate. Twilight dusted off the cover and read the description on the the back. She'd picked up this book while in the Canterlot Library with Celestia. Among other tips and techniques this book was most widely known for the chapter on 'silent' spellcasting, wherein magic is used without invoking the associated glow. Twilight set this book down and levitated her last one.

The Nature of Alicorn Magic, author unknown, was from the restricted section of the archives. It was the only known book on the subject and this would presumably be their topic of conversation. Twilight couldn't wait and opened the crusty tome to start reading.

She was interrupted by the grinding of the vault doors and put the book down. Patiently, she watched as Celestia opened the door from the other side and revealed her mystery guest. A regal blue pony with a wavy dark blue mane and a pearl-inlayed crown walked in next to Celestia. This was another alicorn who looked to be about Twilight's age.

Twilight stood up so that she could bow. “Greetings, Princess.” she said.

Celestia giggled. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, this is Princess Starlight from the Cantoribbean Islands. She'll be joining us in our studies today.”

“How do you do?” Starlight nodded towards Twilight, who flushed from her awkward prone position.

Twilight picked herself up and nodded in response. “I am just fine and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise.”

The three of them sat down in their respective seats. “Thank you for coming, my little ponies. I've brought you here to talk about something very important to the both of you: the nature of alicorn magic.”

Twilight's eyes twinkled a bit and she listened intently. Across from her, Starlight listened very intently and pulled out a notepad and quill.

“You've noticed by now that while you've retained all of your unicorn talents, as an alicorn you also have access to a magical reserve that is vast and deep. At this point, you've only touched the surface of its potential. The purpose of this lesson will be to help you unlock some of that.” Celestia gestured widely to draw their attention to the room. “I apologize for the austere surroundings but the privacy will help you concentrate once we move on to the practice session.”

While she looked around the room Twilight noticed Starlight taking notes. She glanced back at her empty saddlebags and wondered why she hadn't thought to bring paper and quills herself.

Celestia took a breath. “It is the nature of alicorn magic to hold dominion. This manifests in two forms. There's the physical form of an object that is both real and symbolic and the mental form of the emotional concept most closely represented by that object. For example, I hold dominion over the sun which brings forth light and joy and serenity. Do you know what you hold dominion over?”

Starlight raised her forelimb up.

“Yes, Starlight?”

“I hold power over the lights in the night sky. I can make them twinkle to serve as guides for sailors who would otherwise be lost at sea. This gives me dominion over the emotions of trust and acceptance.”

“Very good, Starlight. You got it exactly right on the first try.” Starlight beamed from the praise. “How about you, Twilight?”

“Uh...” Twilight studied, but she hadn't been expecting this. “I don't know,” she admitted. She felt bad. How could she not know?

“It's okay, my little pony. I can't expect both of you to know right away. Twilight, you've used your alicorn magic once before. What do you remember about that?”

“Well, it was purplish and inky like dark ma-a-augh!” Twilight held her head in a sudden realization. “Shadows that are both there and not there, darkness that grows in fading light, the transition from light to dark. I-I hold dominion over the emotions of – ulp – fear and apprehension.”

“Very good, Twilight. Now–”

“Augh! I don't want to make ponies afraid of me! This is terrible.” Twilight flopped her head on the table and buried it under her hooves.

“Relax, Twilight. It's not like what you think.” Celestia placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder who looked up at her.

Twilight straightened herself out. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“Now then, I think–” Celestia raised her head and looked off blankly. “I think something happened.”

“Huh? What? What happened?” Twilight looked around. There was a knock on the vault door.

Celestia rose to answer it. When she opened the door a guard whispered something in her ear. She nodded and waved him off. “Twilight, Starlight, I'm sorry but I must go. There's been a disturbance in the palace. Please stay here and continue your studies. I'll return when I can.” With that she walked out and left them alone together.

“Well that was a bit rude of her to just up and leave like that,” Starlight said.

Twilight sighed. “She's always been doing stuff like that. She can't say 'no' to any sort of important visitor. To be honest I'm more worried about that 'disturbance.' That doesn't sound like any of her normal reasons for leaving.”

“I'm sure she'll handle it.” Starlight flipped open the tome on alicorn magic and turned to the first chapter. “Hmm... Celestia went over this part.” She flipped a few pages. “Ah. There.”

Twilight got up and walked around the table so she could read over Starlight's shoulder. The other alicorn grunted at her presence but didn't say anything. Twilight tried to follow along but Starlight kept turning the page before Twilight had finished reading the previous one.

“Um, would you mind slowing down a bit?”

“What? Are you a slow reader?” Starlight asked.

“Well, no... It's just hard to read over your shoulder. That's all.”

“In that case–” Starlight created a viewing screen with her yellowish magic that displayed a magnified view of the page she was on. “–better?”

“Yes, thank you.” Twilight returned to her seat and read in silence. Starlight still turned the pages a bit faster than Twilight was reading, but she could catch the last few words as the page was being turned so it wasn't enough to complain about.

This book was clearly written in the Banishment Era so Luna was never mentioned. Thus, it was basically about Celestia. There was only passing mention of other alicorns. The original crystal princess, Carnelian Quartz, was said to be full of optimism and that's all that was said about her. The author, whoever he was, expressed his frustration at the lack of test subjects many times. Twilight wondered who he might have been, perhaps some student of Star Swirl's?

Regardless, the info that was there was fascinating. All ponies, regardless of type, are magical beings. The energies that flow through them are part of the natural world. Unicorns can tap into those energies directly and due to this magic's origin in the natural world the energies tend to be primal and elemental.

Alicorns, though, are ascended beings. In addition to the natural order, life itself generates its own magic. Self-awareness, intelligence, and even the simple act of observation are all magical in their own way. This creates a second, deeper pool of magic beyond the first. Because of its nature, it is rife with emotion. Most unicorns cannot reach that deep, but alicorns are connected to it directly.

When a pony 'ascends' into alicorn status, their emotional state at the time drives the point at which this connection is made and they gain nearly absolute control over said emotion in the process. This is said to be the alicorn's 'domain' and no two are exactly alike. Celestia had been right in saying that power over fear wasn't a bad thing. If this was correct, Twilight could suppress it or simply passively sense it in other ponies or possibly creatures. But... she wasn't comfortable with the thought of messing with other ponies' minds.

Starlight turned the last page and closed the book with a 'thump.' She levitated a scroll. “Well, that was the reading material... check! Next, make a list of the types of spells to test... already done, check! I guess it's time to move onto the field test.”

Twilight was surprised to see that Starlight had been taking notes while reading at that pace. “Wait, can I see that list?”

“Uh, sure.” Starlight passed her list over. Twilight read through it and noted each item. There were ten in total, and almost all of them breached privacy.

“Perhaps we should add another item at the top: 'Debate the moral implications of this type of magic.' ”

“Hmm? Well I'm always up for a moral debate, but the point of this study session is to learn how to use the magic and not to debate about it.” She held the quill in her mouth and looked off in thought. “I guess I can add that after the last item.” She scribbled the entry onto the list. “Done.”

“Maybe we should at least review the supplemental materials first?” Twilight asked. “If we're going to mess around with emotions then that psychology book will give us a better understanding what we're messing with. And the meditation book–”

“I've basically already memorized those.” Starlight shrugged.

“...yeah, me too.” Twilight slumped down. Apprehension gnawed at her stomach. She wasn't just apprehensive about the magic, she was also worried about what was taking Celestia so long. She wished her mentor would return. This magic would be a lot easier to ingest with her guidance and it wouldn't hurt to know that everything was okay outside too.

Starlight didn't want to wait, though. “So it's settled then. We'll–”

Both ponies looked up when they heard the clacking of claws on the stone floor.

“Spike! Am I glad to see you. Wait–” Twilight looked up at the main door. It was closed. “How did you even get in here?”

“Oh, I just took the service entrance.” Spike was carrying with him two dinner plates. He set them out on the table.

“The 'impregnable' Canterlot vault has a service entrance?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Yeah. It wasn't even locked.”

“Augh! No wonder this place was crawling with changelings during the invasion.”

“Psst.” Starlight whispered in Twilight's ear. “I don't mean to be rude but what is he?”

“Oh, sorry, I should introduce you to each other. Starlight, this is Spike. He's a baby dragon and my personal assistant. Spike, this is Princess Starlight from the Cantoribbean Islands.”

“Wow, you have a dragon servant. Perhaps you're cooler than I thought.”

“Uh, thanks?” Twilight took lid off her dinner tray and started munching on her flower sandwich. It was a local delicacy.

“Assistant, actually,” Spike corrected. “And you're from the Cantoribbean? I heard the dragon migration went through there last year. Did you see any? What were they like?”

Starlight eyed her sandwich suspiciously. “Uh, well, we did see them, yes. They were big and scary and, uh, they stopped at the active Mauna Whinny volcano.” She looked down at his big pleading eyes. “And we stayed far away from them... very far away from them.”

“Oh.” He looked crestfallen.

“It's okay, Spike. We'll find out more about them eventually.” Twilight gave him a hug to cheer him up. “Do you have any news from Celestia?”

“No. Nopony's heard from her since Luna went missing.”

“Luna's missing!?” Twilight's head shot up. “That's terrible news! Come on, Spike. We'd better get to the bottom of this.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.” Starlight stood up to block them. “Celestia specifically told us to stay here and study.”

“How can you think about studying at a time like this?!”

“You don't seem to think about studying at all!”

“What!?” Twilight looked back at her, shocked.

“I heard that you were supposed to be Celestia's best student, but you haven't shown it at all. You don't bother to take notes; you're slow at reading; you'd rather make excuses than practice magic–”

“Hey! I'm great at studying. I've been doing it my whole life.”

“Well you certainly could have fooled me.” Starlight snorted.

“Uh, girls? Aren't you worried about the princesses?” Spike asked.

“Spike's right.” Twilight turned to look at him. “As much as I'd like to stay here and study, I've go to see what I can do to help.”

“Not so fast. It sounds to me like you're just making up an excuse not to do any work.” Starlight blocked them.

“I'm not. This is important. Look, you might be a guest here, but I have have real responsibility. If Celestia and Luna both go missing then everypony turns to me for guidance. I really don't want that to happen. And besides, if it comes time to lower the sun and there's nopony around who can do it...”

“Okay, okay. You've made your point.” Starlight stepped aside. “But there's still no reason to abandon your studies.” She held out her list and copied it to another scroll. “Here. You can practice your magic while making inquiries about the missing princess.”

Twilight took the list and rolled it up. “Thanks, but–”

“I bet I can finish the list before you can! It'll prove that I'm a much better student than you.” Starlight grinned and narrowed her yellow eyes.

That challenge caused Twilight's eye to twitch. “Oh, you are on!”

***

When they left the vault, the activity outside was decidedly below panic level. Some of the guards looked apprehensive, but the ordinary folk continued on as if nothing had happened. They probably didn't know. Starlight pulled out her list and walked off. Twilight glared at her.

“Okay, Twilight. Let's ask the guards to see if they know anything,” Spike said.

“There's no time for that. I can't let her get ahead of me.” Twilight unfurled her copy of the list. “Let's see, the first item on the list is to tap into my alicorn magic. I've already done that when I made that potion with Zecora, so... check!” Twilight continued walking and passed the guards.

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“Item two, clear your mind and sense for the presence of your emotion in your general area. Hmm...” Twilight sat down and closed her eyes. Ponies walked around her. “This sounds like it calls for the Humdrum meditative stance. Humm...”

Spike hopped off Twilight's back and ran back to the guards to ask them questions.

Twilight sat there wondering. Her humming wasn't enough to drown out the clip-clop of passing hooves and those wandering around her must think her an idiot. She was distracted, but determined to do this. She felt a prickly sensation build on her horn but that was it. Was that what she was supposed to feel? Was she doing this right? None of the ponies around her had any reason to be afraid, did they? Twilight stopped humming and gave up. She'd come back to that item later.

Spike had been waiting for her to finish and hopped back onto her back. “Twilight, the guard said that a sinkhole opened up in the gardens. They think it's stable, but the hole leads down to the abandoned crystal mines. That's probably where Luna disappeared to.”

“Not now, Spike. I've got to practice this magic. Let's see... Item number three, follow your newfound sense to one of its sources. Shoot, I'll have to skip that one too for now. Item four, use your power to heighten the emotion in a pony. That should be pretty easy.”

“Twilight, can you forget that silly list for now and get back to business?”

“No, Spike, I can't. This is a matter of pride. I can't let that foreign floozy take my title of best student.”

“Would you even listen to yourself? You–” Spike slapped himself in the face and dragged his face down in frustration when Twilight deadpanned. “Gah. Well at least head to the gardens, please.”

Twilight turned around and trotted in that direction. The arching stone architecture of Canterlot's palace loomed over her. The old vault was situated in the top of a spire on one of the upper levels. The gardens were far below, but that wasn't a problem for the winged alicorn. When she reached the edge of the palisades, she jumped off and coasted down below.

The gardens were beautiful at any time of the year since they always had flowers in bloom from different seasons to liven up the place. Right now the narcissus (daffodil) were in full bloom and peppered the place with lovely patches of yellow and white. Swinging vines also seemed to be in season too. Or they could be snakes... Twilight wasn't going to touch them and find out.

The only ponies that she could see here were some guards stationed around the sinkhole. They must be there to shoo away curious ponies until the hole can be repaired. Twilight summoned her dark purplish and bubbly alicorn magic and zapped one that wandered up to look over the edge.

“Aaah!” He reared up and backed away from the hole. The other guards responded by taking flight and looking down into it. The captain barked orders and they all looked at the frightened guard. He shrugged and they resumed their posts, albeit more vigilantly.

“And done.” Twilight checked the item off her list.

“Twilight, what was that spell?” Spike asked.

“Hmm? It was just a basic fear spell.”

Spike held his arms out in front of him and his mouth hung open in shock. “What the- Gah! Twilight, just what kind of magic are you studying here?”

“It's alicorn magic. It's based on emotions.”

“But... fear? I–” Spike's voice trailed off and he shook his head. “Why?”

Twilight rolled up her list. “It's just what I'm naturally inclined to. Every alicorn has an emotional element, and that one's mine.”

“Geez, Twilight, doesn't that bother you?”

“I can't let it bother me if I'm going to win this studying contest. Item five calls for suppressing my target's ability to feel said emotion.”

“Are you sure you should be doing this? I mean, learning new spells is great and all, but shouldn't you at least get consent first before you start casting them? I don't know who that guard was but I bet the others think he's silly for crying wolf over nothing, and it wasn't even his fault.”

“Uh...” Twilight went silent and glanced down at the ground. The rounded smooth stones were polished from hundreds of years of use. In truth, she wasn't too keen on this.

“Would you rather be doing this or look for Luna?” Spike asked.

“Luna, of course. I–” Twilight twisted her neck to look at him. A faint smile crept up her face. “Thanks, Spike. You set my priorities straight. Come on, let's see what this sinkhole is about.”

Twilight trotted over to the group of guards. “Sirs? Do you know anything about–”

“Woah, Miss. Stay back.” Two guards landed in front of her and spread their wings to block her. “Something down there spooked 'ol Stalwart right fierce. You shouldn't get any closer.”

“Oh. I... see.” Twilight made no motion to advance. She did want to talk to them first, but she still wanted to look at the hole.

Spike sniffed at the air. He recognized the faint scent of urine. “Psst, Twilight,” he whispered in her ear. “I think you really spooked him.”

“Not now Spike,” she hissed back.

Twilight examined the guards. They wore the full regalia of the sun with their plumed helmets, star patterned gorget, and matching golden hoofplates and body armor. These were Celestia's royal guards. “Sirs, have you heard anything from Celestia since she left to investigate Luna's disappearance?”

The two guards looked at each other and their captain flew down to land next to them. “It's okay. She's qualified to know. She's Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess! ...sorry.” The two guards bowed and got out of her way.

“Oh, he heh. It's okay. You don't have to bow, really.”

The captain raised an eyebrow, but otherwise remained stoic. “Princess, the signs indicated that Luna was taken down this hole. For whatever purpose, we don't know. Celestia took a look down there, but she returned moments later. She said she had to find an expert and flew off to the west. That was hours ago. She hasn't returned yet.”

“An expert? What do you suppose she means by that?” Spike asked.

Twilight rubbed her chin. “I don't know. I guess we'll have to take a look down the hole ourselves.”

The sinkhole wasn't too big. It was only about a few pony widths wide. The depths looked unnaturally dark and Twilight couldn't see much past the rim of the hole, even when she tried illuminating the place with her magic. It didn't work. “There's some kind of darkness spell obscuring what's down there.”

“Aaaaah!” Screaming and crashing broke through the bushes nearby as something ran through with reckless abandon.

“What was that?” Twilight turned around and caught sight of a tail disappearing through the underbrush. “Come on, Spike, let's see what's going on.” She chased after it through the foliage.

“I'm already on your back.” Spike cringed and wrapped his arms around her neck more tightly as low-hanging branches scratched at his face and sides. “Wouldn't it be easier to fly above the vegetation?”

“But I might lose the trail.” Twilight ducked under a branch that whacked at Spike's head. Thankfully, they left the garden and her target huddled in the shadows of a stone alcove and curled into a quavering ball. “It's Mr. Greenhooves, the gardener.”

Spike spat out some leaves and brushed some twigs off his scales. “What's wrong with him? Why's he so terrified?”

Twilight tentatively approached him and when she did so they heard him repeat, ‘They're out to get me,’ over and over to himself.

Twilight flattened her ears and growled. “Spike, do you know what happens when you remove somepony's ability to trust?”

“Uh...”

“That's what. He's turned into a paranoid, quavering mass.” Twilight sighed. “He's too old for this, he'll have a heart attack if we can't get him to calm down.”

“What? But how?”

Twilight pulled out her list. “I guess it's my turn to mess with his head. I'll have to try number five after all.” Twilight summoned her dark and creepy alcorn magic but rather than zap him with it, she sort of did that in reverse. It was like she made of tractor beam out of her magic that sucked his emotions towards her. When it hit her she turned pale and shuddered. Mr. Greenhooves slumped down.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Spike asked.

“I – whoa.” Twilight shuddered. “That was intense. Nevermind me, how's he look?”

Spike hopped off her back and ran over to him. He snorted but didn't say anything when Spike asked him questions. His eyes were dull and downcast. “He's looks seriously depressed.”

“I was afraid of something like that. Spike, stay here and keep an eye on him. I'll have to find Starlight and get her to reverse her spell.”

Twilight took flight without waiting for an answer. Starlight couldn't be far. The thick foliage of the garden canopy obscured the ground so Twilight had to fly low and follow the stone pathways. While flying, she yelled the other pony's name in hopes of a response.

She didn't get one, but two richly dressed unicorns pointed her in the direction of the well. There, she found Starlight in a deep meditative stance. She didn't respond to her name so Twilight picked up Starlight's copy of the checklist and motioned as if to tear it. “So I guess you won't be needing this, then?”

“Aaah! Don't touch that – oh, Twilight. Did you finish your list already?!” Starlight broke out of her meditation and pulled her list to safety. Twilight noted that it was checked off up through item number six. She'd have to be careful.

“No, but I need you to reverse the spell you put on the gardener. He's a complete wreck. Why did you do that to him?”

“Oh.” Starlight's face fell downcast. “I was just practicing number five, but I wasn't sure if the spell was working or not, so I kept going. I guess I wound up overdoing the spell. He ran off before I had a chance to fix it.”

Twilight glared at her. “Get up. You can keep talking on the way there.”

“Hey! I wasn't going to leave him like that, honest!” Starlight followed as Twilight led. They took the shortest path and flew over the trees. “I was going to track him down as soon as I could. You trust me right?”

Twilight looked back at the other alicorn, who looked a bit wobbly in the air. “Whoa, simultaneous wingbeats. Keep them synced or you'll flutter too much and crash.”

“Uh, thanks.” Starlight concentrated on her flying and Twilight decided to leave her alone until they landed. That was an odd position for Twilight to be in: that of giving flying advice.

“Yes, I trust you,” Twilight said as she touched down. Starlight smirked after she'd landed and caught her balance. “But I don't believe you.”

“Huh, what?” Starlight scrunched up her face in confusion.

“You're still using the aura spell aren't you? Item six?” Twilight asked. “Everypony in your vicinity is inclined to trust you.”

“Oh.” Starlight hung her head. “I guess when you know about it, it has the opposite effect.”

“Kind of, yeah.”

Starlight said nothing more and walked up to Mr. Greenhooves. He hadn't moved at all. Starlight's alicorn magic differed from her normal magical glow in that it emitted white bubbles that shone with tiny rays of bluish light. Her spell hit Mr. Greenhooves and he suddenly perked back up.

“Wha? What's going on?” he asked. He looked around in bewilderment until he spotted Twilight. “Oh, Twilight, let me tell you, it's been one crazy day!”

“Oh, um, well I'm glad you're feeling better,” Twilight responded. “You are feeling better, right?”

“Oh yeah, I feel better than ever. Why, I feel like I can take on the whole world!” He hopped up and pantomimed bucking an imaginary target to emphasize his point.

Spike walked up and whispered in Twilight's ear. “Now what's gotten into him?” She shrugged.

“Starlight, do you think that–”

“Buurp!” Spike's belch cut off Twilight's question. Out popped a letter. He opened it up and read it aloud. “Dear Twilight, I guess you and Starlight have uncovered the plot by now and are wondering about the status of that expert I went to retrieve. Unfortunately, we're a bit tied up at the moment. It should go without saying that it's very important for you to delay them until we can get there. That will, unfortunately, take a few more hours. Act with discretion. We cannot endanger Luna. Best of luck to you. -Celestia.”

“Huh? What does that mean?” Starlight asked.

“What does it mean?! I'll tell you what it means! We've gotten a new assignment and we're already behind on it! Come on, we have to save Luna!”

“Don't worry girls, I'll handle this!” The gardener suddenly bolted.

“Mr. Greenhooves, wait!” Twilight shouted, but he was already gone. “Gah! We have to follow him – again!” Twilight took off and Starlight followed.

“Hey, wait for me!” Spike yelled as he got left behind.

Mr. Greenhooves ran out towards the sinkhole. Then, much to everypony's surprise, he dodged the guards and jumped straight in. “Whee!”

“Mr. Greenhooves!” Twilight broke into a dive. Starlight swallowed and did the same. They plunged into the inky blackness. It clung to them, and blotted out their senses.

Twilight found herself rolling out of control and bounced off the floor. The darkness enveloped and trapped her in an inky ball with only her head left sticking out. Mr. Greenhooves and Starlight rolled next to her.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” A huge blue ape-like creature turned to greet them. He was surrounded by a pride of large predatory cats and an army of henchponies.

“Ahuizotl!”

“That's me, but I was asking bout you.” Ahuizotl grabbed Mr. Greenhooves' ball with the hand at the end of his tail. “Not that it matters, really. Within the hour, the Triangles of Refridgero will drain every last precious drop of magic from your precious Princess Luna and usher forth a new age of ice and snow!”

“You'll never get away with this!” Greenhoves spat in his face.

Ahuizotl cackled in howling laughter. He dribbled Mr. Greenhooves' ball until the pony was dizzy. “I should have come here sooner. The locals are so incompetent. Henchponies, lock them up. We've got a new age to bring about – an Ice Age!”

Twilight groaned to herself as she was rolled off. This was all her fault. She'd forgotten to reverse her own spell and left Mr. Greenhooves completely fearless. She looked at Starlight to see if she might do something, but the other alicorn was just as wide-eyed and terrified as she was. This was terrible. They'd failed in their task and now Luna was going to be sacrificed in a dark ritual. Twilight grimaced with the sting of failure. If only she hadn't wasted so much time on that needless studying. Celestia will never forgive her for this.