En Fuego

Chapters

Part 1: Nice Work, Fluttershy
Part 2: The Pond Shall Not Have Her
Part 3: Dammed and Determined

Part 1: Nice Work, Fluttershy

It was another gorgeous day at Sweet Apple Acres. The sun shone happily down on the endless expanse of apple trees, whose fruit-laden branches swayed in the spring breeze. Two ponies were walking down one of the countless rows; an orange earth pony with a hat, and a pale yellow pegasus, the latter of which was pulling a simple wooden cart along behind her.

“It's such a lovely day,” Fluttershy chirped quietly, her pink mane swinging around as she glanced at the scenery. She jumped a little with every squeak from the cart's wheels, and her friend couldn't help but snicker.

“Don't think the cart's gonna bite ya, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a grin. Every so often she had to pause, raising a hoof to bop her hat back down onto her head after a gust of wind tried to take it away. Fluttershy appreciated the breaks; even though the cart was empty, she looked positively exhausted. “Y'all all right? We ain't even started the buckin' yet and ya look like ya might keel over.”

“Oh, I'm fine,” she whispered, looking rather embarrassed. “I'm just not used to pulling my cart on the ground. The grass is a lot more...” she trailed off, staring ahead as she searched for an appropriate word. “Friction-y?”

The earth pony busted out laughing, dropping her head and shaking it with the peals. “What in tarnation is friction-y?”

Fluttershy blushed, but smiled as her friend chuckled. “You know what I mean,” she said, making an attempt at mock annoyance. They fell quiet and continued trotting, coming to a halt about five minutes later at a stand of trees whose branches were absolutely saturated with apples. “Oh my, I didn't know a tree could have that many apples,” she gasped, walking under one and staring up through the canopy. They were so laden, the entire stand was bending to one side or another. “No wonder you wanted to harvest them.”

“Yep,” Applejack replied, frowning up at the mass of fruit. “Park your cart over here for me, I'll buck this one first,” she added, pointing a hoof at a tree across the row whose limbs were empty. Fluttershy nodded, halfway dragging it over to that trunk before emitting a squeaky series of pants and unhooking herself. “Uh, y'all okay over there?” the earth pony asked, tilting her head.

“I'm fine,” the pegasus replied, trotting back over with her wings stretched. “I, um, I accidentally harnessed myself too tightly, that's all.” She made an unhappy face at the smile that crossed Applejack's lips. “Don't laugh, I'm not used to carts.”

“Aw, I'm just teasin',” Applejack apologized, shuffling her forelegs. “Hey, ya wanna give this one a kick? I can pull the cart around.”

Fluttershy blinked at her, then at the tree, then shook her head. “Um, I don't think I could do it as well as you,” she admitted, dropping her head and cutting her eyes up at the earth pony. “You're much stronger than I am.”

“Shoot, these trees are so heavy y'all could probably sneeze on 'em and make 'em shed,” Applejack encouraged, walking over and giving her a heavy pat on the back that caused her to cringe and squeak. “Er...my bad. Come on, give it a try!”

Reluctantly, the pegasus shuffled over and eyed the tree for a long while. Applejack swished her tail back and forth as she waited on her to kick, but after some time had passed it appeared the action would never come. Clearing her throat, she decided to move things along. “Just turn and whack it, sugarcube, nothin' to it.”

“Are you sure I won't hurt the tree?” Fluttershy asked, turning and pinning down the earth pony with a surprisingly serious gaze.

“Uh, well...” she replied, her mouth hanging open slightly with surprise as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. “I ain't never thought about that. I'm fairly sure the tree don't mind it. Heck, it's probably in a bigger pickle havin' ta hold up so many apples.”

A wide-eyed Fluttershy considered this possibility for a moment, then accepted it and nodded. “That's probably true. Okay, here I go,” she whimpered, turning around and backing up to the trunk. It still took her ten seconds to unleash the one-legged kick – although unleash was much too strong a word. Applejack made a face at the gentle movement, hardly able to hear the woody noise it generated. After withdrawing her leg, she stood there awkwardly and glanced around, her cheeks tinged red. “I don't think it—” An apple detached, plunking her on the head and interrupting her words. “...worked.” She frowned down at it as it rolled to a stop on the grass. “Ouch.”

“Nice try,” Applejack offered, an awkward grin on her face as she trotted over. “I'd best do the buckin', else we might be here for a while. Uh, no offense,” she added, her tone apologetic. Fluttershy simply nodded her acquiescence and moved back a few steps. The earth pony only glanced at her target before loosing a mighty kick, so strong it sent her hat hopping off her head for a moment. A storm of fruit fell down almost instantly, and Applejack was struck several times. “Shoot! I shoulda asked Rarity for her saddle umbrella,” she exclaimed, rubbing her head where it had been bonked. “Oh well. Y'all can help me pick these up.” She turned to where Fluttershy should have been, but saw only a pile of apples. “Hey, Shy? Where'd ya run off to?” The earth pony blinked when the pegasus poked her head out of the pile.

“Ouch!” she whined, grimacing and tilting her head wildly as she tried to free herself from her fruity prison. She fell still after a few tries, sporting an unhappy look on her face. “I'm...I think I'm stuck.”

Applejack dropped her ears in apology and trotted over to help extricate the poor pegasus. “Oops. Pardon. I thought y'all had backed up more than that.” She used her strong forelegs to brush apples off the top, until enough weight had been removed for Fluttershy to shake the rest of them off herself. Now free, they went to work collecting them, and fell into the quiet concentration of accomplishing the task. This went on for about ten minutes before the she turned to the earth pony with an odd glint in her blue eyes.

“What's up?” she asked, dropping an apple into the cart and adjusting her hat. “Ya look like somethin's botherin' ya.”

Fluttershy shuffled a foreleg, staring at the ground briefly before raising her eyes and frowning. “Don't you think Twilight's been awfully tense lately?”

Applejack gazed off across the hills as she went over her most recent encounters with the purple unicorn. She flicked her tail idly as she went over what details she could recall, and finally decided that Twilight hadn't seemed any more neurotic than usual. “Naw, not really. She's always a bit stressed out, anyways. I think that's just her nature.” She watched as the pegasus went back to the tree to pick up more fruit and followed.

“I'm not so sure,” Fluttershy replied, her words muffled by the stems of several apples. “I'm worried about her.”

A light frown set in as Applejack continued collecting fruit. “I'm sure she's fine. We've all got our little oddities. Twilight bein' a bit high-strung is one of hers. I wouldn't fret about it none. Besides, if she had a problem, she'd tell one of us.” Fluttershy came to a stop in front of her, dropping her cargo and turning around. The earth pony was stunned by the look she bore.

“Like the time she ran out of friendship lessons?” Fluttershy said, flapping her wings as she walked back over to Applejack. “Or the time she tried to figure out how the Pinkie Sense worked?”

Applejack began to sweat under her stern eyes, and backed slowly away. “Okay, so she ain't the most open pony. I ain't either, sometimes.”

The intensity melted away into something closer to worry. Fluttershy stopped approaching and sighed, slumping her shoulders and dropping her head. “I know, I just wish she would tell us more often when she's bothered or upset. She tries to solve so many problems by herself. Doesn't she understand we're always here for her?”

“Sugarcube,” the earth pony sighed, moving up to give her a gentler pat on the back. “I'm sure she does. That's just one of her quirks is all.”

“Quirks?” Fluttershy blinked, turning again so she could face the earth pony. “What do you mean?”

“Well, take Rarity for instance,” Applejack began, doffing her hat and shaking her mane out before putting it back on. “Y'all know how she likes ta have everything in a certain place in her shop, right?” She watched the pegasus nod. “That's a quirk. Or, how Pinkie bounces everywhere instead of walkin'. That's a quirk. Come ta think of it,” she said, tapping her chin as she squinted up at the sun. “I think Pinkie might be a quirk.” She chuckled a little before returning her gaze to Fluttershy. “They're just little things unique ta each one of us.”

“Do I have a quirk?” Fluttershy asked, looking more worried than curious as she pawed at the grass.

“Aw, sure. Y'all don't like bein' around a buncha other ponies,” she said, smiling gently as she turned to go back to the tree. “That's not a bad thing, it's just the way ya are.”

The pegasus pursued her, taking to the air and fluttering slowly. “Are you saying that Twilight worrying so much is just the way she is?” Applejack nodded, and that caused Fluttershy to gasp. “That's not healthy for her! I read in one of the spa's magazines that too much stress is bad for you!”

Applejack groaned faintly, wiping her forehead before bending down to start picking up more of the apples. “Sugarcube, she's fine. I wouldn't worry none.”

They continued to work in silence, but the earth pony could feel the concern radiating from her friend as they busied themselves. Soon, the little cart was stuffed to overflowing, and Applejack let out a relieved sigh as she admired their progress.

“I'll haul this one back ta the barn,” she said, hitching herself up to it and pulling it around before heading off. “Y'all just wait--” She blinked at Fluttershy's anxious face and lost her train of thought. “Somethin' the matter?”

The pegasus fluttered over, bearing a heavy frown as she went. “It's still bothering me!” Applejack watched her as she hovered in circles – it was the winged pony equivalent of pacing. “I really think I should have a talk with her.”

Shaking her head, the earth pony finally admitted defeat. “Y'all ain't gonna let it go, are ya?” A shake of Fluttershy's head confirmed the obvious. “Well, I ain't gonna keep ya if y'all are so worried. Go on ahead, I'll bring your cart back later.” The pegasus clamped to her in a brief hug and was gone, fluttering lazily over the tree-lined hills at her top speed of not particularly fast. Applejack watched her go with a smile, adjusting her hat and getting back to work as she faded out of sight.

Twilight Sparkle pranced at a snail's pace around the main room of the library, her hooves emitting faint clops on the wood as she traveled. Her gleaming violet eyes swept slowly over the shelves. After examining each, she pulled a random book, looked at the title, and put it back. Once she reached the windowed side of the space, she turned and took a wider look at the shelves, gave a firm nod of approval, and smiled. Her horn glowed, and from across the way a scroll and quill flung themselves at her. She took the quill, drew a checkmark on the parchment with a flourish, then sent both back to a nearby desk.

“Re-shelve every book in the library: check!” she declared, her snout rising up slightly with satisfaction. She looked down and awaited a reply, but the dragon from which it should have come was busy dragging himself along the floor with shaky arms. “Spike? You're supposed to say 'check'. You know, to double-check my check?”

“I can't feel my claws,” the dragon whined, struggling to haul himself into a chair. “I can't even feel my scales.” He finally succeeded, slumping against the wooden back and panting for breath. With every exhalation, a glowing green ember drifted from his nostrils that faded out after a couple of seconds. “Please tell me we're done for the day.”

Twilight looked up at the wall clock and gasped slightly, trotting over to the dragon afterward. “Not quite. There's one thing left.” She whirled around and posed, clearing her throat and trying to look as studious as possible. “Spike, take a letter!” That facade collapsed with the dragon's obnoxious, pouty groan, and she spun again to smile gently at him. “It won't be long, I promise.”

“Fiiiiiiiine,” he grumbled, producing from some unseen space a quill and special parchment. He tapped the quill to ensure it bore ink, then positioned himself in his usual writing posture. “Ready.”

“Dear Princess Celestia,” the unicorn began, walking back and forth in front of her assistant as she spoke. She listened for the end of the quill scratching before continuing, but realized it had stopped a lot sooner than it should have. She dropped her eyes onto the dragon and saw him giving her an odd look. “What?”

“Is this a friendship report?” he asked, setting parchment and quill on his lap before folding his arms.

Twilight blinked, raising her foreleg in surprise at his tone. “Yes, why do you ask?”

“What in the world could you have learned from five and a half hours of sorting books?!” he exclaimed, throwing those arms up above his head.

She shot him a playful grin and turned back around. “If you'll let me finish the letter, you'll find out.” She ignored his loud groaning and resumed her pace, glancing over to make sure he had taken up his implements again. “There will not be a friendship report this week.”

“Excuse me?” the dragon blurted out, face twisting into an unhappy frown. “I thought you said this was a friendship report?”

Twilight turned again, regarding her assistant as she swished her tail idly. “Well, it's a report about friendship reports, so, technically, it's a friendship report report,” she explained, smiling a tiny bit at herself. Spike was not amused, however, and she made a face at his unpleasant demeanor. “Spike, if I don't tell the Princess not to expect a report this week, how will she know not to look for a report that isn't coming?”

He was about to attempt to set her straight, but slumped over in surrender and began scribbling. “There will not be a friendship report this week,” he droned as he laid the words down on the paper. “There. Fine. What else?”

“That's all!” Twilight replied happily, trotting away for a few steps before stopping and looking back over her shoulder. “Oh, wait. I forgot the 'signed, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle'.”

“I got it,” he waved, scribbling again. When he had finished, he rolled up the parchment and wrapped the special seal around it, then expelled a burst of peridot flame that sent it on its way. “Can I go take a nap, please?” he asked, nearly falling out of the chair as he tried to stand. The unicorn used her magic to help him up.

“Of course. I'll wake you for lunch,” she said, smiling again as she watched him drag himself up the stairs to their living quarters. A knock from the front door snapped her back to attention, and she trotted over to answer it. On the stoop stood an anxious looking Fluttershy, wings spread and eyes glittering with worry. “Good morning!” she greeted, stepping back for the pegasus to enter then falling in behind her after she shut the door. “I thought you were helping Applejack today?”

“Um, I was,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. They went over to a pair of large, puffy red pillows and sat down. “I couldn't concentrate. I was worried.”

Fluttershy worrying was like Celestia raising the sun in the East, and as such it didn't surprise the unicorn a great deal. She still put on a slightly concerned face, however. “What are you worried about?” she asked, being extra careful to leave off a 'this time' as she spoke.

The pegasus raised her blue eyes and managed to frown even more. “You.”

The concern instantly became confusion as she dropped her ears and blinked. “Me? Whatever for?” she asked, shifting on the pillow to get more comfortable.

“You...um, well, you've seemed a lot more stressed lately than usual.” Fluttershy closed her wings as if to protect herself, expecting to be scolded or laughed at.

Instead, Twilight stood up and walked a distance away as she reflected on her behavior. Only two terribly stressful things had occurred recently. The first was the fiasco that had she and her friends sprouting six legs – something the Princess still teased about occasionally – and Pinkie possibly being a fire hazard. Those incidents were two months in the past, however, and Twilight hadn't given them a further thought until that instant. Otherwise, her life was as it usually was: reading, studying, writing to the Princess, and whatever adventures she ended up on with her five best friends. Satisfied, she nodded once and turned to Fluttershy once more. “I'm fine. There's nothing going on that's bothering me.” The pegasus gave her a look she'd never seen before – disbelief.

“Twilight, sometimes you don't tell us if something is wrong,” she said, her voice firm and gentle simultaneously. She also stood, walking over to stand with the unicorn before continuing. “Are you sure everything's okay? You've been staying in here a lot.”

She tilted her head for a moment, then started to laugh lightly. “Oh, I've been studying for a couple of exams coming up, that's all.” Confusion crept back onto her face as Fluttershy let out a whisper-quiet gasp. “What?”

The pegasus stood up straight and gave her friend a worried gaze. “Are the exams important?”

“All exams are important,” she replied, tilting her head. By the look in her eyes, the unicorn could tell she wanted a clearer answer than that. “These two aren't any more important than the others were, I guess?” she added, pinning an unsure inflection to her words. She watched as Fluttershy began to walk in circles around her. “Really! I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about.” The pegasus kept walking; her silence was beginning to introduce anxiety where none had been. “Is there? Is there something to worry about?”

“Um, if you say there isn't, there isn't,” she said, turning to face her friend as she swished her tail idly. “It's just that...well, sometimes you can overreact, and I worry about you when you get so tense.” She tacked on a faint 'sorry' to the end of her explanation, dropping her ears and frowning shyly.

This, of course, only served to make Twilight even uneasier. “Overreact? About what?” She peered at the pegasus as she started tapping her chin, gazing up at the ceiling as she mined her brain for an example.

Suddenly, her blue eyes lit up. “Oh! What about the time you caught on fire?”

Twilight's jaw dropped after she processed Fluttershy's statement, and it took more than a little effort to keep herself from flopping over onto her side with amazement. “The what?”

“The time you caught on fire,” the pegasus replied gently, approaching as slowly as she could with her wings spread in surprise. “Remember when you were following Pinkie Pie around? You got so angry after the hydra...thing...you burst into flames. I had the smell in my nose for two days afterward. You were terrifying.”

The unicorn was silent for a time, running over her almost flawless recollection of the day she attempted to slap an explanation on the power of Pinkie Pie. She noted being carpet bombed by Derpy's piano, plummeting head over hoof into the Apples' new cellar, and facing down the hydra that lived in the bog. Now that Fluttershy had brought it up, however, her final explosion of displeasure at the Pinkie Sense caused her mind to race with worry. She had caught on fire. In fact, she nearly exploded. Feeling a bit wobbly, she laid a foreleg across her face and sighed. “Yes, I remember. I guess that was something of an overreaction.”

“No kidding,” the pegasus agreed, nodding sagely. “Those health magazines the spa has say that stress is really bad for you. I wouldn't want you to get sick or anything.” Her glacial approach finally brought her to Twilight's side, and she placed a gentle leg across the unicorn's back. “Are y-you okay? You look a bit pale...”

“Fine!” the unicorn blurted out, causing Fluttershy to squeak with fear and withdraw. “Sorry. I'm fine, really!” Her nervous laughter did nothing to assure the pegasus, however, and the look on her face showed it. “Don't look at me like that, I'm fine, I promise. I was really upset at that moment,” she explained, trying to convince herself as much as anyone, “I think that was probably a one-time occurance.”

Fluttershy blinked, flapping her wings a bit to fan herself. “But what about the other time you caught on fire?”

“The what?!” Twilight's jaw again hit the floor.

The pegasus was gone in a smeared yellow flash of color, hiding under one of the fat pillows and peering out with fearful eyes. “Wh-wh-when you drank the hot sauce by accident!”

It took her a little longer to pull up this memory, one of her first in Ponyville. She managed to find it and analyzed it, blinking when she reached the impromptu party in the library. A grimace etched itself on her face at the part where she drank the hot sauce and went up like kindling. “Oh, right. I remember that.”

“I'd never seen that happen before,” Fluttershy said, feeling brave enough to emerge from her pillow armor and stand up again. “The smell was stuck in my mane for a week.”

Twilight's fear reached an entirely new level, and she began to pace under its weight. While she was confident that she could probably never lose her temper again like she had the day Pinkie drove her logic nuts, drinking hot sauce and catching on fire was a serious concern. It took all her inner strength to not engage in blind panic. After a minute, she heaved a powerful sigh and looked over at her friend. “Well, I don't like spicy stuff, and that was an accident.”

She nodded a little, moving over to stand with the unicorn once again. “Oh, yes. I'm just saying, I think you probably overreacted to that too, is all.”

“Maybe so...” Twilight glanced around, trying to slow down her mind before it ran itself ragged with anxiety. She finally settled on the wall clock and blinked. “Oh, I'd better start lunch.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy murmured, turning back toward the door. “I should get back and make sure Angel hasn't broken into the kitchen cabinets...again.” That last word was tinged with just enough frustration to be apparent, but the shy pony hid it with a smile. “Goodbye, Twilight. Please try to relax, okay?”

“I'll do my best!” She saw the pegasus out and shut the door firmly with her magic. As she stared around, she unconsciously pressed herself against that door and started to pant. “Sure, relax, just relax...relax in a structure made entirely of flammable material!” she screeched lowly. Only one thing stopped her snowball of terror: the growling of her stomach. “M-maybe I should eat. That will help me calm down.” Nervously, she trotted toward the kitchen, all the while trying hard to steady her breathing.

The act of cooking lunch nearly broke her, and eating it was hardly better. Spike drowned his hay fries in hot sauce, as usual, and the mere sight of it caused the unicorn to feel lightheaded. She excused herself abruptly to hide in her bedroom, and on the way magically yanked several books from the shelves. These now lay in a pile at her side on the bed. One was opened, perched between her forelegs as her eyes tore through the text. Several more lay scattered on the wooden floor.

“It has to be in one of these stupid books!” she growled lowly. Her hope was fading, however. She'd already demolished the information in her books on loan from Canterlot's library without finding anything useful, and she found herself now reading the bulk of her basic magic texts. She'd been going for so long, the sun was almost done setting, but she pressed on. It was the only thing keeping her sane at the moment. Once she'd dispensed with the book in her grasp, she set it aside and dropped her face into the purple blanket. “Nothing...I can't be the only one.” Her strained eyes demanded attention, and she rubbed them. “This isn't going to work.”

“Studying again, huh,” Spike had arrived, grinning as he trundled up the steps. “Geez, didn't we just sort all this stuff?”

“I'll get them when I'm done,” Twilight replied, still rubbing at her eyes. “I'm just trying to find an answer.”

“Does this have something to do with why you freaked out at lunch?” he asked while sliding into his basket bed. “'Cause you really freaked out.”

“No, I was just...never mind,” she sighed, spending a few seconds to blink the blurriness from her sight before looking over at the dragon. “I'm just a bit stressed out, is all.”

“Take a nap. Always works for me.” He punctuated his advice by lying down and getting comfortable. “I'm beat. Good night.” He turned over with a wave and left Twilight to stare at his back.

“Maybe you have a point,” she whispered, allowing her head to settle on her legs. “If I sleep, I can't be stressed out. And if I can't be stressed out...” She fell silent, grimacing at the image of herself on fire. “No no no, stop that. Sleep is good. Sleep is...sleep is calming...” She yawned, unable to stop her eyes from sliding shut. “Sleep is...” She couldn't even get the word out – it instead twisted into a strange snore as the unicorn went out like a light. All the tension in her shoulders departed, and for the first time all day she was at last calm.

Until the dreams started, that is.

Part 2: The Pond Shall Not Have Her

Twilight found herself trotting around the main floor of the library, but it was dark outside; so dark, in fact, she couldn't see anything through the windows. While that worried her a little, nothing inside the library itself seemed to be out of place. Confidently, she trotted over to a bookshelf and prepared to retrieve something to read, but a green filament of light traced a winding path across her vision and stopped her.

“What was that?” After several bouts of blinking and looking over her shoulders with no further sight of it, she shrugged and proceeded back to the shelf. Another green dot crossed her sight and caused her to gasp. “Again?” This time she looked around harder, walking about until she stumbled upon a sleeping Spike, nestled in his bed. He was snoring, and each time he exhaled, a green ember escaped his nose and wandered around through the air for a brief time. “Oh. It's just you,” the unicorn sighed with relief. She turned her back on him and walked away, hardly paying any attention to the ember that followed.

At least, until she noticed it wouldn't disappear. With wide eyes, she followed the persistent spark all over the main room, tracing a large, ambling circle for several minutes. She was wont to try and put it out herself at first, but after tailing it she began to grow uncertain and annoyed.

“Go out already,” she grumbled, swatting at it with a foreleg. It defied her attempt to quash it, swirling away in random arcs as the air moved around it. Grumbling, she gave up her attempts and glared at the emerald glow, watching as it floated around behind her and landed gently on her tail. The act caused her to roll her eyes and sigh. “Get off my tail, you.”

Not only did it not move, it started to glow brighter. Anxiously, Twilight began blowing on her tail and swishing it about, gasping as the glow only got brighter. Just as she was about to beat the ember out with a nearby book, her entire tail burst into a brilliant plume of orange flame. Screaming, she galloped at full speed toward the stairs in an attempt to reach the bathroom, but the fire got to her before she could even hit the bottom step. She was entirely aflame now, her vision warped with heat haze as she glanced about fearfully. After a second, though, her brain told her that it didn't hurt; she even raised her forelegs in turn to stare at them. Like the rest of her, they were burning rods of light, but shed no smoke. It was like she had become a phoenix. Confused, she took uneasy steps around the main room, casting an odd sort of red and orange glow as she went. Some time passed before she laid eyes on the slumbering dragon once again.

“Spike, wake up!” she begged from a distance, unwilling to touch his bed to rouse him. “Spike! I'm on fire!” The oddness of that statement stung her just long enough for her to notice the gentle wisps of smoke passing in front of her. “Wait a second. Smoke?” Turning around, she saw that one of the wooden supports was now consumed. “No! Spike! Get up, we have to go! Spike!” When she turned back, his bed was gone, replaced by a growing flame that leaped around and clung to the shelves. In an instant, everything around her was burning; the smoke became so thick, she could only see her hooves in front of her face due to the fact that they shone. Seized by panic, she threw herself into the center of the conflagration, searching for Spike. The smoke was too thick for her to see anything more distinct than a wall of smeared light, and soon the smoke forced her to withdraw up the stairs. The fire chased her all the way, until everything in her view was now laced with tongues of flame. Coughing and crying, she collapsed onto the floor and hid her eyes, heart racing so fast she thought it might explode. The heat increased around her until the very act of breathing scorched her mouth. With one last ragged breath, she steeled herself for the end...

...and immediately shot up in bed, panting for air and drenched in cold sweat. While her eyes adjusted to the dark, she heard Spike snore – apparently, she hadn't screamed in her terror – and her eyes bulged at the sight of a green ember that escaped from his nose. It vanished quickly, but that didn't help the nervous unicorn feel better. She slid out of bed and crept quietly into the bathroom, lighting the lantern with her magic and staring into the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her coat was shining with sweat.

“Just a dream,” she muttered to herself repeatedly, turning on the water in the sink and allowing it to fill. After it had, she dunked her face in it, generating a loud sploosh. “Just a dream!” She watched herself drip in the mirror. “Calm down. Calm down.”

Anywhere she looked, however, all she saw was flammable material. A tidal wave of dread slammed into her. “It's not safe for me here! It's not safe for Spike...I thought Pinkie was the fire hazard. It's not her, it's me!” When she looked at the bathtub, an idea struck her. Quietly, she trotted back out into her loft and opened her closet door, illuminating the space with her horn. An object on the shelf above caught her attention – a snorkel, something she'd picked up as a present from Pinkie Pie. She floated it down and attached it to her face before returning to the bathroom, shutting the door, and turning on the water for the tub. Once it was half full, she got in and laid down in it, frowning at the chill.

“Mmph,” she tried to talk to herself again, only to find the snorkel prevented her. “Hmph.” Frowning, she tried several times to find a comfortable position in the tub. Eventually, she ended up on her back, legs pointed at the ceiling. After several minutes her fatigue finally defeated her anxiety, and her eyes slid closed.

Three hours later, the encroaching sunlight caused Spike to stir, and grudgingly he slid out of his bed. He noted that Twilight's was empty – not unusual, as the pony had a hilariously random sleep schedule – and wandered down the stairs to go about fixing himself breakfast. When he didn't find her downstairs, however, his curiosity was piqued. After not finding her in the library's public space, nor in the cavernous basement, he began to worry.

“She usually leaves notes,” he muttered to himself, climbing the stairs with his arms crossed. Still feeling groggy, he wandered into the bathroom to splash his face. After hefting himself up to the sink, he glanced to the side and found his guardian. “There you are, Twilight.”

“Mmma?” she mumbled, shifting around in the tub before falling still again.

“Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to wake you.” He ran some water and ducked his head under the faucet, emitting a surprised noise as the liquid struck his scales. “Brrrr! That's better!” he exclaimed. After hopping down and toweling off, he wandered out and shut the door behind him. Thirty seconds later, that door flew open again. “What are you doing sleeping in the bathtub?” he asked, walking over and hauling himself up the side.

“Mmmpahph.” Twilight responded, her eyes fluttering open. It took her a moment to realize she had to remove the snorkel to speak, and decided to set the thing on her stomach. “I'm sleeping in here so I don't catch the library on fire.”

“Huh. I guess that makes sense.” Spike nodded his approval and dropped to the floor, once again departing the bathroom and shutting the door. Ten seconds passed before it flew open yet again. “Why in the world would you catch the library on fire?”

“Because I have a tendency to burst into flames at random times.” The unicorn sat up in the tub and yawned, using a hoof to move her dripping mane away from her eyes. “It's safest if I sleep in the bathtub until I can figure out how to prevent that from happening.”

The dumbfounded dragon blinked several times before sitting down by the side of the tub. “Geez, Twilight. What kind of magic have you been studying?”

“It's not magic, it just happens.” Twilight let out a long sigh and pawed at the water. “Apparently it happens if I become too stressed out, or if I eat hot sauce.”

“Hot sauce?” Spike cocked an eyebrow. “Is that why you hate spicy stuff?”

“This is serious!” she scolded him, standing up in the tub and levitating a towel over. “I cannot, under any circumstances, get anxious, upset, perturbed, put off, annoyed, flabbergasted, exasperated, or displeased! Who knows what could happen!” She dried off her head and threw the towel aside, looking down at the dragon. “What if I hurt you?”

Spike frowned hard at the tone in her voice and glanced up. “Twilight, I'm a dragon. I'm fireproof, remember?”

“Well, this is obviously magical fire!” she huffed. “I mean, ponies don't just spontaneously burst into flames like I have!”

“I don't even remember when this happened.” He stood up and turned to face her, scratching his head. “And seriously, hot sauce?”

“Yes, Spike! Hot sauce! Remember the first time Pinkie threw me a party and I drank that hot sauce by accident? There was fire!” Twilight was pacing now, causing the water in the tub to slosh gently.

“Oh, yeah! That was hilarious,” he snickered. “You even left a trail of smoke.”

“Not funny!” she growled, stomping her hoof and causing a noisy splash. “Do you realize what could happen? All the books in the library...the library itself! I've been entrusted with very rare texts for safekeeping! Not to mention what could happen if the fire spreads,” she shuddered bitterly. “No. I'm sleeping in the tub until further notice.”

“This is kinda ridiculous,” Spike pointed out. “And by the way, you're getting upset.”

“Shoot!” she spat, laying down in the water again. “I can't panic! Not in here! Everything is wood!”

Groaning, he hauled himself up the side of the tub a second time and watched her tremble for a moment. “Are you panicking about being panicky? Calm down. Hey, why don't I make us breakfast? You should eat, it'll help you think a little clearer.”

“F-fine, but I'm not getting out of this tub,” she replied, cutting her eyes up at him. “It's not safe.”

“Ugh, if you insist,” he moaned, throwing his hands up and allowing himself to drop down. He shuffled out a third time, allowing the door to remain open. Not long after, he returned with a glass of orange juice. “Here. Drink this. I'm going to go fry something. What do you want?”

“Eggs and toast, please.” She was lost in thought, trying to figure out why she had been able to combust without actually burning. She took the glass from him and floated it to her mouth. “That's nice...maybe you're right. I do need to eat something.”

“That's the spirit!” he smiled. “I'll be right back.”

He was gone again, and Twilight decided to sip from her juice and let her mind empty out. The smell of food wafted up the stairs in into her nostrils some time before the dragon actually arrived, carrying two plates. “May as well eat in here with you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, lifting hers over into the tub and taking a bite of toast. They ate quietly – besides Spike's usual loud gulping – and when she was finished she noticed that her head was a little more lucid. “I really do feel better.”

“See? Never helps to think on an empty stomach,” he affirmed, his mouth still full of hay fries.”

She nodded once, setting her empty plate aside and draining her glass of juice. “Mhm. And now I realize how dumb it was for me to sleep in a bathtub.”

Spike frowned down at his own empty plate, but immediately smiled up at the unicorn afterward. “Great!”

Twilight's eyes were hard and determined, however. “I obviously need a bigger body of water.”

A whistling Applejack made her way through the streets of Ponyville, squinting up occasionally at the noon sun as it poked through the white puffs of cloud. On her back were her saddlebags, and in those were several books she was returning to the library. As she neared the door, a white leaf of something affixed to it caught her eye; when she got there and found it to be a note, she ceased whistling and raised an eyebrow.

“Ta whom it may concern,” she began, leaning forward and peering at the words, “The library is closed today until Twilight comes to her senses. Hoo boy, what'd she do now?” Applejack tipped her hat up and kept reading. “If y'all have any books ta return, please leave 'em inside the front door. Well, okay then.” Before the earth pony could, however, a line at the bottom of the paper caught her attention. “P.S., if one of Twilight's friends is readin' this, please come to the big pond north of town before she drives me crazy.” Those words caused her to tilt her head and blink. “I wonder what's goin' on?”

Concern was creeping onto her face as she poked open the door, then traveled inside just far enough to shed her bags and extract the books. She left them in a haphazard pile and wandered back outside, glancing at the note again. “I'd better see ta this,” she sighed, turning her gaze north and cantering off.

There was only one large pond north of Ponyville, and it was within the expanse of land owned by Filthy Rich and his family. When Applejack arrived, she found an exasperated Spike pacing around the bank, yelling intermittently at the water. The earth pony couldn't figure out to whom he was addressing his words; the pond appeared to be empty, save for a brightly-colored stick poking out from the center. Only when she reached the shore herself could she see through the reflection of the cloudy sky.

“What in tarnation?!” she exclaimed loudly. Perched on the bottom of the pond, eyes closed and a snorkel on her face, was Twilight. A school of small fish swam circles around her, scattering whenever she made any movement. She looked up and saw Spike, who had heard her outburst, running around the lake to greet her. “Um?” she asked when he ran up, pointing a hoof at the submerged unicorn.

“Just a second,” he panted, hunched over to catch his breath. “Thank goodness one of you saw it.”

Applejack sat down on her haunches and peered into the pond again. “I'm guessin' y'all left the note on the door?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, standing up straight and wiping his brow. “I don't even know where to start. I guess the short version is that she's hiding in there to stop herself from catching on fire.”

Applejack doffed her hat in amazement and blinked. “Where in the world did she get that notion from?”

“I dunno, she didn't tell me.” Spike also sat down and sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “I've been trying all morning to convince her to get out, but she won't listen. I couldn't go and get any of you guys, 'cause I was afraid she would fall asleep and drown.”

Tail swishing, Applejack looked around for some means to get the unicorn's attention. Beside her flank, she found a gray pebble. She scooped it up in a forehoof and flung it at the snorkel tube, bouncing it right off and causing Twilight to stir and rise to the surface of the water with an unhappy look on her face. She had to spit out the snorkel before speaking.

“Spike, I told you to stop skipping rocks, you might hurt the fi—oh, hi Applejack. What are you doing here?” she waved, generating a few splashes as her leg swayed.

“I could ask ya the same thing,” the earth pony replied, standing and walking to the edge of the water. “Where'd ya get the idea about you bein' kindlin'?”

“Fluttershy reminded me! Oh, I'm sure glad she did. It could have been a disaster!” Twilight nodded. “A pony that bursts into flames and lives in a tree? Scary,” she shivered. “It's okay now, though. I'm going to live in this pond until I can make sure the town is safe!”

“Ugh,” Spike groaned, slapping his forehead. “For the ninety-fifth time, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. You can't live in a pond! You're not a fish!”

“Hold on,” Applejack interjected, raising a foreleg in surprise. “Y'all got this from Fluttershy? The heck did she say?”

“It came up in our conversation yesterday about me seeming stressed out!” Twilight swam over and set her front half on the shore. “I had totally forgotten about it until then. Good thing she reminded me, I'm a fire hazard!”

“Y'all said the same thing about Pinkie, and that weren't true either,” Applejack chided her. “Now get outta there and dry off, ya look ridiculous.”

“I can't! I am a severe danger to everything!” The unicorn turned her back and swam away, dipping below the water once she reached the center.

“See what I've been dealing with?” Spike muttered, looking over at the earth pony.

“If this don't beat all,” she replied, rubbing her mane down and putting her hat back on. “Y'all hang tight. I'm gonna go get some help.”

Fluttershy hovered in front of a small maple tree, whose branches were filled with colorful songbirds. She listened to them sing until a particular cardinal on the fourth branch up emitted a harsh, shrill chirp that made the pegasus cringe. “Oh my. Um...we should try again.” Before she was able to direct the birds to start over, a team of ponies flew overhead, lead by Rainbow Dash. “Never mind. It's supposed to rain soon, you all should get home and get ready.” The birds scattered with happy cheeps and flew away, leaving Fluttershy to contemplate their chorus. “Perhaps I should have written something with fewer high notes.” As she turned in midair to fly home, her ears pricked at an echoing noise. Looking that way, she noticed an encroaching cloud of dust and blinked. The cloud soon became an orange earth pony.

“Fluttershy, we need ta have a talk!” Applejack said, sliding to a stop on the path and glancing up at her.

The pegasus was taken aback by her tone and squeaked loudly. “Is something wrong?”

Applejack moved the brim of her hat to fully regard her friend. “Dang right something is wrong. Twilight's at the bottom of Filthy Rich's pond, and she says you're the one that started it!”

“Wh-what? I don't understand,” Fluttershy replied, landing gently on the ground. “I only talked to her about being so high strung.”

The earth pony watched her descend, swishing her tail. “Did her catchin' on fire come up?”

Fluttershy stared off for some time as the wheels turned in her head. When the memory arrived, she squeaked loudly again and dropped her ears. “Oh, um...yes. It did.” She wilted under Applejack's stare and squeaked a third time. “I was only trying to point out how she overreacts sometimes.”

“Like now?” the earth pony groaned. “Come help me get her out before she hurts herself, please.”

“Right...” The pegasus took flight again, floating after her friend as they went down the path.

It took fifteen minutes to reach the pond. Twilight was in much the same position as when Applejack had first seen her – eyes closed, on the bottom, with a school of fish orbiting her. The fish swam over to Fluttershy when they saw the pegasus arrive, but the unicorn remained where she was.

“Applejack, I don't think Fluttershy is strong enough to pull her out of the pond.” He waved to them both as he came over, adding an apologetic look for the floating pony. “No offense.”

“None taken,” she smiled back, then looked into the pond. “Um, how am I supposed to get her attention?” She jerked back with fright as Applejack threw a rock at the snorkel tube again, causing Twilight to rise to the surface and glare around. “Oh my. Hello, Twilight.”

The unicorn waved with a pruney hoof and smiled before remembering to spit out the mouthpiece. “Hi! Welcome to my new house!”

“Um...new house?” Dumbfounded, the pegasus glanced at Spike and Applejack, each of whom shrugged helplessly in turn. “Twilight, why are you in the pond?”

“It's all thanks to you, really. I'm too dangerous to be wandering about town,” she replied, swimming over. The fish darted away from her and to the other side of the pond when she got close. “It was awful. I had a dream about burning down the library and everything!”

Fluttershy landed and sat down in front of her. “I'm sure that wouldn't happen again unless you got anxious...like now...” she whispered, but the earth pony heard it and gave her a sour look. “Sorry! I mean, you can't stay in the pond. I don't think the fish like it very much. And ponies aren't really built to live in water, anyway.”

“I've got plenty of spells to fix that,” Twilight replied with a smile. “I know how to give myself fins. Gills, even.”

“Oh...” Fluttershy glanced at the other two, who urged her on with hand and hoof motions. “Well, that's nice, but there's really no need to be afraid. I'm sorry I brought it up.”

Twilight shook her head and refused to yield. “Don't be sorry, who knows how much damage you've prevented. Besides, I can't take any chances, not until I figure out how it happened.”

Applejack was beginning to get frustrated. She trotted over and sat down on Fluttershy's left side. “Oh come on, Twi. Y'all are the best spell-weavin' pony I ever knew. It's not like ya can't prevent yourself from doin' it again, right?”

“I don't even know what to prevent!” the unicorn shot back. “Which reminds me. Spike! Go back to the library and bring me all the books so I can start waterproofing and sorting them, please.”

“All of them?!” he exclaimed with shock, eyes bulging.

She nodded to him as she treaded water. “Yes. Every single one. I hope the pond is big enough to fit them all.”

“But...I...” He melted under her stern look and began to shuffle away, defeated and mumbling.

Applejack stood up and stomped the grass, causing Fluttershy to shrink away and whimper. “Now wait just a second! Y'all can't be settin' up shop in ponds!”

Twilight aimed the same withering look at her that Spike had just received. “I am, and that's that. If you would be so kind as to inform the rest of our friends as to my change of residence, I have to practice my underwater napping.” She turned her back on them and started swimming away.

“Twilight, stop!” Fluttershy called. “You can't do this!” The pegasus also got that look from her friend, but took to the air and floated overhead. “You're very strong. You should...um...you should be confident about your ability to not catch on fire,” she added, her face twisting with the oddness of her statement. “Besides, you have us. We can help you! Somehow. I think?”

Twilight contemplated her words for a long while, and finally spun in the water to look up at the pegasus. “Maybe that's true...”

Fluttershy tapped her front hooves together and nodded. “It is! We're always here for you. That's what I wanted to say yesterday, but, um, you seemed to be in a hurry.”

The unicorn frowned and swam to the bank again. This time, however, she pulled herself out of the water and magically detached the snorkel. “I guess living in a pond is rather silly, isn't it?”

“Dang right,” Applejack agreed, rising and walking over. “Y'all just gotta relax. Ain't nothin' gonna happen.”

“And if it does, we're here to help,” Fluttershy added, flying over and landing. “Don't ever forget that.”

“You're right. I'd better get back to the library and stop Spike before he undoes all the reshelving work,” she laughed, shaking her head to rid her mane of the water. Her friends were dripping when she next looked at them. “Oops. Sorry.”

“Heh, don't worry none,” Applejack grinned. “Welp. I better get back. Gotta get the rest of them apples down.” She departed with a friendly wave.

Twilight waved back before glancing over at the pegasus. “Fluttershy, could you go stop Spike? You'll probably catch up to him faster than I will. Besides, I need to dry off or I'll make the path muddy.”

“Sure,” she smiled, taking flight and fluttering away.

The unicorn watched her go until she disappeared over a hill. Once she had vanished, she turned and looked at the pond. “You're both right. I might be the strongest pony of all. And I already know you'd all do anything to help me, even if you can't. That's why I have to do this.” She raised a foreleg in surprise as the fish started jumping out of the water. “Then again, you're right about the pond, too. That wasn't a very good idea.”

The sunlight broke through the clouds again, and glinted off something that caught the unicorn's attention. It was one of the new electric street lights that lined the road, and she followed the chain of them off into the far distance and up the mountain. When her eyes settled on the hydroelectric dam at the end, a twisted smile spread across her lips.

“This pond doesn't have nearly enough water to quench my power. I need something much bigger.”

Part 3: Dammed and Determined

Fluttershy sat on the library's front stoop, looking around with a slightly vacant smile. She decided to invite Twilight to go along with her and Rarity to the spa, but was beginning to wonder just where the purple unicorn was. Behind her, various unhappy noises came from the open door as Spike was replacing all the books he'd taken down from the shelves.

“I hope she's alright,” the pegasus murmured, her smile running away. “I thought she'd be back by now.”

A unicorn was coming, but it wasn't Twilight. Rarity pranced down the street with a self-satisfied grin on her face, but that expression shifted into something more gentle when she made eye contact with Fluttershy. “Darling!” she waved, cantering over and nodding. She looked through the doorway at the mess inside and blinked. “Reshelving day, I take it? Where is Twilight?”

“She isn't back yet.” Fluttershy looked away and up the street, tilting her head in confusion. “I'm not really sure where she is, actually...”

Rarity blinked and, after ensuring there was nothing on the ground to dirty her shimmering tail, sat down next to her friend. “Back from what?”

The yellow pegasus blushed with the thought. “Um, it's a long story.”

The unicorn gave her a reassuring pat on the back. “Do tell! We've got time before the appointment. Besides, you look rather concerned about something.”

“Twilight wanted to live in Filthy Rich's pond. I had to convince her to come out,” the yellow pegasus said, squeaking with surprise at the look of utter confusion in Rarity's eyes. “Oh. Wait. I should start at the beginning.”

“Yes, please,” she stared, idly primping a shimmering purple curl. “How did she end up there, exactly?”

Fluttershy looked down at the ground and sighed quietly, closing her eyes. “Yesterday, I talked to her about being so stressed out, and overreacting all the time. Um...I used examples that I probably shouldn't have.”

“Such as?” Rarity urged her, leaning forward to look over at the pegasus' worried face.

She cut her worried eyes up at the unicorn. “The two times she caught on fire.”

If Rarity had looked confused before, now she just looked stunned. She raised up and stared off into the distance, as if trying to find understanding in her surroundings. “B-beg pardon?” she stammered, rubbing her head.

“You remember Pinkie's first party, right? When she drank that hot sauce by accident?” The pegasus watched Rarity as she thought, then nodded after a moment. “That was the first time. The second was the day she followed Pinkie Pie around.”

“I must admit, that instance at the party was rather odd,” she said, trying to regain her dignified demeanor. “I'm still not sure what that has to do with her trying to live in a pond.”

The pegasus fluttered her wings briefly and sighed again. “She had a nightmare about burning down the library. I guess she thought she might be a fire hazard.”

“Well, this is certainly...something.” Rarity shook her head and tried to wrap her mind around the situation. “I'm glad you set her straight.”

Fluttershy nodded with a tiny smile. “I was hoping to invite her along to the spa with us, but she hasn't come back from the pond yet.”

“She'd better hurry,” the unicorn replied, looking up through the branches as the weather team hauled clouds through the sky. “It's going to rain soon, and I surely do not want the precipitation ruining my pony-pedi.”

“I'm sure she'll be back soon.” They both winced as a loud crash from inside rattled their ears. “Spike? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, standing and turning around to look in through the doorway.

“I'm good!” he called back, although that assertion was suffixed with an unhappy groan.

“Poor Spike,” Rarity giggled, covering her mouth with a foreleg. “I've nowhere else to be, so I'll wait with you.”

Fluttershy smiled and gave the unicorn a weak hug. “Thanks.”

And so they did, engaged in quiet conversation as they waited for Twilight to return. Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty, and as the sky grew cloudier both ponies became worried.

“She really should have been back by now,” Rarity stated, standing up and walking a short distance away. “What could possibly be keeping her?”

The pegasus came up to stand with her, glancing about anxiously. “I don't know. Maybe we should go look?”

“Let's,” Rarity nodded. “Something is not right.”

Before they could get going, however, Rainbow Dash dove from above and came to a stop, hovering a few feet above the ground. “Hey guys, you better get inside. Storm's gonna start in about half an hour.”

“Storm? I thought this was just a drizzle,” Rarity said, looking faintly cross. “It said so on the calendar.”

“Yeah, well, Applejack wants the wind to help knock down some apples, or something,” Rainbow shrugged, rolling her eyes. “We all just decided on the fly – heh, on the fly,” she paused, unable to help snicker at her pun, “to round up a storm and do all the rain for the week today.”

“Oh my. Um, Rainbow Dash, have you seen Twilight anywhere?” Fluttershy asked meekly, shuffling a foreleg. “I'm worried about her.”

“Huh...oh, I saw her heading up toward the dam. I tried to warn her about the storm, but she just brushed me off.” Rainbow tapped her chin as she ran over the encounter. “Come to think of it, she looked kinda frazzled. Is she okay?”

“Th-the dam?” Fluttershy stared off past the cyan pegasus and took a deep breath.

“I'm sure she's fine,” Rarity interjected, waving a hoof dismissively. “Perhaps she went for a walk to clear her head a bit more.”

“It better get clear fast,” Rainbow warned. “It's gonna rain like heck. Anyway, I'm out. Got a few more clouds to arrange. Later!”

They watched her streak off through the sky, leaving a multicolored trail in her wake. When she had gone out of sight, the ponies looked at each other and blinked.

“Why would she be going to the dam?” Rarity started, her eyes gleaming with confusion.

Fluttershy's eyes were gleaming too, but with sheer terror. “We need to g-go find her, r-right now,” the pegasus said, taking to the air.

“Hmm? Is something wrong?” the unicorn asked. Fluttershy flew away from her without a further word. “Wait! Darling!” She took off at full gallop to catch up with the terrified pegasus. “Where are you going?”

“To stop Twilight from flooding the town!” she replied, breathlessly.

“Please, Twilight wouldn't do such a thing.” Rarity stared ahead blankly as she nodded, but the thought of what the purple unicorn had done the last time she wanted to fix a problem – the friendship report incident – made a bitter chill run down her spine. “Oh my word,” she shuddered, her eyes growing wide, “she absolutely would.”

“Which is why we need to hurry!” Fluttershy affirmed, her wings flapping furiously as they traveled up the road.

Twilight Sparkle was already at her destination, pacing around on the top of the structure and peering into the reservoir. She ignored the idle rumbling of the clouds overhead as she walked, her frizzy tail swishing angrily.

“I knew I should have bought that copy of Dams And You: How To Hold Your Water (And Lots Of It),” she hissed. “How am I supposed to flood the town and save everyone if I don't know how to open the spillways?”

A few ponies were standing off some distance in front of her, gathered in a little clump. None of them were wearing the garish orange safety vests of the employees, so the unicorn was confused about what they were doing. As she approached, a cream earth pony mare with glasses waved her over.

“Hurry, miss! The last tour for the day is about to start!” she called.

A grin spread across Twilight's face. “Perfect.” She fell in with the group as they moved along the curving path toward the other end, where they filed through a door into a narrow stairwell that spiraled down. At the bottom, they emerged into a space that surprised Twilight with its décor. It was a brightly painted room with shining terracotta tile on the floors. The walls were studded with pictures and plaques. “Huh? I didn't know this was in here.”

“These pictures depict the construction of the dam,” the guide began, walking to the left and pointing a hoof up at one large image. “The dam itself is of the arch-gravity type, which means the water squeezing on the arch compresses the material and increases its strength. The gravity part of the term refers to the sheer weight of the dam's concrete acting as the resistance that holds the water back.”

Twilight blinked at the explanation, then stared up at the picture. “Fascinating,” she breathed. The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement as they began to move on.

“It took almost four million tons of concrete to build the dam,” the guide continued, moving to a picture of the structure halfway built. “We used so much of the stuff, the limestone quarry in Baltimare ran out!” A light snicker was stuck to the end of her statement, and Twilight couldn't help but giggle too. The unicorn was fidgeting impatiently, but was bound by her standards to never interrupt anyone that was explaining something.

“Here's the dam when it was nearly complete,” the guide said, moving to the right and looking up at another picture. “When this image was taken, the turbines had just been installed and the spillways were completely drilled. Notice how low the water level is behind the dam. Once the gap was sealed, the lake took about seven weeks to fill up to the level you see now.”

“Huh.” Twilight was digesting the information, but caught herself, shook her head and grumbled as the tour began to move again toward another stairway. “Focus, Twilight. You need to pay attention so you can accomplish your mission.”

The group went down these new stairs, which spiraled on for what seemed like a mile. At the bottom they found themselves on a catwalk, which emerged into a large space with a rather loud, incessant hum. In here were four large turbines, using the water's flow to make electricity. The tour guide had to raise her voice to be heard over their operation. “This is the turbine room,” she said, nodding to the massive objects.

“Oooooo,” Twilight said, looking over the railing.

“Each one of these is capable of outputting twenty million watts, although Ponyville doesn't use nearly that amount of power right now. In fact, most of the dam's generating capacity is sent to the hospital, or to run the dam itself.”

“I wonder how heavy these things are,” a little green pegasus near the front said.

“You would be surprised,” the tour guide smiled. “These are called Pelton wheels, and they are extremely efficient. The wheel part only weighs a little more than a ton, but is made out of very strong metal. The wheel itself is hidden in the enclosure, but you can see the shaft that it turns to make the electricity.”

Twilight peered down again to see what the tour guide was talking about, then blinked at the sheer speed at which the silver tubes were spinning. “Wow. That's crazy.”

The tour wandered on through the turbine room and toward a door at the end of the catwalk. Behind this they found themselves in a long hallway with white floors and cinder block walls that traveled ahead, straight, for a long distance. Twilight peered up at the long light tubes and blinked. “Where are we going now?” she asked.

“This is the hallway that leads to the dam's operations center,” the tour guide replied, leading the group along at a leisurely pace.

“Finally,” the unicorn grinned to herself. “I can put an end to this madness and make sure the whole town is safe from my--” She blinked and fell silent when one of the ponies in the back gave her an odd look. “Um...don't mind me!” she waved, putting on her best smile.

When they reached the end of the corridor, they were standing in front of a wall with large panes of glass. Behind those panes were a series of consoles and the ponies tending to them.

“This is the nerve center of the whole dam,” the guide said, looking through one of the windows. “Everything in the facility is controlled from here, from how much power the turbines generate to the release of excess water through the spillway system.”

“Good. Now I can get this over with.” Twilight decided to make her move, but the tour guide was still talking. “Wait. I better make sure I don't miss anything.”

She listened as the guide went on an exhaustive explanation of the control room, pointing out which panels did what, how those systems worked, and even when they were used. The unicorn found out that the spillways were meant to keep the dam from overtopping, but there was a manual override that could, in theory, empty the whole reservoir if the spillways were allowed to remain open.

“How much water is in the reservoir?” Twilight asked, needing to make calculations.

“A little over one trillion gallons!” she replied happily. “It's the largest artificial body of water in all of Equestria!”

“Excellent,” Twilight muttered, her right eye twitching faintly. She looked around; the hallways here formed a 'T' shaped, and off to the left she saw a red door with a sign that said 'Control Room – Employees Only'. A wacky smiled twisted her lips, but before she could sneak off, she realized the guide was still talking. Politely, she returned her attention to the mare.

“It's hard to imagine a trillion of anything, isn't it?” she said with a smile. “Let me put it this way. A trillion gallons is enough to flood the valley that contains Ponyville to a depth of twenty feet! Imagine what that would look like.”

“It's beautiful,” the purple unicorn murmured. “And safe for everypony.”

The guide was still going. “Why, that would be enough water to submerge even Sweet Apple Acres all the way over the treetops!”

“Huh. Um...” Suddenly, Twilight felt a pang of uncertainty. A mental picture of Applejack rowing a boat through her precious orchard appeared, and it made the unicorn tremble for a moment. “She'd get over it. This is serious.”

The tour guide was still going, and her tone was starkly chipper. “The town itself would be totally uninhabitable for several months! Hundred of ponies would be displaced. Thousands of animals, too. All the trees would probably be uprooted and swept away by the wall of water!”

Twilight blinked a few times. “Wall of...?” A new picture sprung up, and this one depicted Fluttershy's cottage being carried off in a roiling sea, a horde of animals clinging to its branches as the pegasus shrieked bloody murder. “Oh, wow.”

“All the smaller buildings would be destroyed outright! Only the taller structures would have any hope of remaining where they were, but those would have their lower levels completely flooded.” The guide's happy tone was utterly incongruous with the grim picture she painted.

“Taller?” Rarity's boutique was the image her mind locked onto, and it was covered by flowing water halfway up. The white unicorn was at the top of her tower, screaming for help.

The guide was pacing around now. “Oh, and don't even mention downtown. Anypony that didn't evacuate would have almost no chance of surviving.”

“P-Pinkie?” She imagined the pink pony submerged in her loft above Sugarcube Corner, treading water just above her bed. Her cheeks were puffed as she held her breath, and the look in her eyes made the unicorn's heart sink into her hooves.

“It would be the biggest disaster in living memory, to be sure,” the guide finally concluded, “Anyway, time to move on! Follow me, please.”

The group headed away from Twilight, who was left staring at the red door with tears in her eyes. She took a sharp breath and tried to dry her face, but the water wouldn't stop coming. “I h-h-have to do what's n-n-necessary,” she said, her voice trembling. Her legs were equally unsure, and it took her a few seconds to start walking.

It was beginning to rain by the time Rarity and Fluttershy reached the top of the dam. When they found no sign of Twilight, the pegasus began to succumb to blind panic.

“It's too late!” she wheezed, fluttering in an anxious circle.

Rarity was equally nervous, although her terror went in a somewhat different direction. “M-my dresses are dry clean only,” she muttered, eyes bulging. She suddenly stomped her hoof on the concrete, scaring Fluttershy. “Where is she?! We have got to find her!”

“I d-d-don't know!” She tried to wail, but her voice wouldn't go above a raspy whisper. “Wh-what are we going to do?”

They saw ponies emerging from the far end of the dam and galloped over to them. Twilight was not among their number, and the two began to shake with horror when they looked down into the stairwell and saw nothing there, either. “Oh my goodness,” Rarity breathed. “It's really the end.”

Fluttershy simply fell where she stood and began to cry. Rarity laid down beside her and tried to put a positive spin on it. “At least we're safe up here, right? Even if the entire town is leveled...” she choked up and began sobbing as well. “We have to go in! We'll knock her out and tie her up!”

The pegasus was in no shape to stand, much less do violence to the purple unicorn, so Rarity took up the task and barreled toward the entrance herself. Just as she arrived, Twilight emerged, looking around at the weather and eating a sandwich.

“Oh, hi Rarity. Did you know this dam has a little diner for the employees?” she asked, smiling. That became a frown when she saw the look on the white unicorn's face. “Are you okay?”

“Think of the dresses!” Rarity bawled, clinging to Twilight with one foreleg while she laid the other dramatically across her purple curls. “They'll be ruined! All my work will be ruined! Spare my gifts to fashion! Please!”

“Um,” Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, weeping in the rain, and sighed. “She told you, I guess?”

“Yes, and you simply cannot do—oh no. You already have, haven't you?!” She get to her hooves and backed away, staring a hateful hole into Twilight. “And you're just going to have a nice snack while you watch the town die! I cannot believe you!” They both glanced over at the pegasus as she emitted a horrified squeak.

“Rarity, I didn't...” Twilight began, but fell silent when the white unicorn turned her back.

In fact, she was simply charging up for a lecture, and after a few deep breaths whirled to face her friend. “I understand that you want to protect us, but this is not the way to do it! Think of the animals!”

Fluttershy wailed fully at last. “My babies!” she cried, hiding her face and shaking with the sobs.

“Think of the apples!” Rarity continued, prancing around furiously. “The...” she trailed off and stopped in her tracks, her face going blank as she tried to fit Rainbow Dash into her rant. “Cloud...things! The cupcakes! My dresses!” She stalked over to Twilight and planted her snout right in the stunned unicorn's face. “How could you?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her sandwich before walking right past the emotional Rarity. “I didn't.”

“That does not answer my—what?” Both Fluttershy and Rarity became silent and still, watching as Twilight walked away. After a moment of collecting themselves, they took off after her. “Darling, you didn't?”

“Of course not,” she sighed. “Fluttershy, you were right. I do overreact. I was seriously considering flooding the whole valley, but then...”

“Guilt! Guilt stopped you,” Rarity interjected, blinking when Twilight shook her head. “What, then?”

Twilight's shoulders dropped as they walked. “A very, very thorough tour guide. I'm sorry, girls. I don't know what came over me. I just didn't want to hurt anypony.”

“Why didn't you come to us if you were so afraid?” Rarity asked, trotting ahead and stopping in Twilight's path. “You know we're always glad to help.”

She sighed again and finished off her sandwich, swallowing before she spoke. “I didn't know what I needed help with. I mean, how many ponies just randomly catch on fire?”

“Pinkie explodes all the time and doesn't cause any damage,” Fluttershy pointed out, shrinking away when Twilight snapped her eyes up. “I mean...sorry?”

“Why didn't I think of that? She blows herself up and all you get is pretty fireworks.” No longer slumped and melancholy, Twilight stood up again and shook the dripping water from her mane. “I probably can't hurt anyone in the first place!”

“Now that is simply a much better outlook, darling.” Rarity was smiling, at least until the point she tried to primp her hair. “My mane is ruined. Oh well. It was worth it to save Ponyville.” She then looked to the side and muttered unhappily. “The things I do for my country...”

“I just want to go home and sleep this off,” Twilight admitted, moving on again. “I'm really sorry for all the trouble I've caused.”

“Actually, we were going to the spa,” Fluttershy pointed out, taking wing and floating along. “Would you like to come?”

Twilight considered it for a moment, then nodded with a smile. “I could use the relaxation, I think. We'd better get going before Rarity faints, though.”

“Hmph!” Rarity tried to maintain the mockingly insulted look on her face, but broke down in a giggle. That laugh, however, stopped abruptly. “No, I'm being completely serious. This rain is ruining my hair. Let's go.”

About two hours later, Fluttershy was in the library again, watching Spike as he finished up replacing all the books he'd un-shelved at Twilight's request. The purple unicorn herself had already retired, even though the sun was shining. As she watched Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds through the window, a noise from behind got her attention.

“I think she'll be all right for now.” It was Rarity, who walked up and also looked through the glass. “The storm is over? Good. Well, this day was certainly...something,” she said, waving her forehoof around and smirking. “I'm heading home. See you later, darling.”

“Goodbye,” Fluttershy nodded, watching her depart. After she had gone, an idea occurred to her and she walked over to Spike. “Um, would you mind taking a letter for the Princess?”

“Of course not, just hold on a second.” He shoved a final book into the floor-level case under the window and dusted off his hands, sighing with relief. “I'm glad that's down for the second time in two days.” He turned to the yellow pegasus and reached behind his back, producing quill and parchment and sitting down on the floor. “All right, hit me.”

“Hit you? Why would I...” She stopped herself and made a face. “Oh, I understand.” After daintily clearing her throat, she began. “Dear Princess Celestia,” she said, but once more became silent at the look on Spike's face. “What?”

“I kinda already wrote that down. Speeds up the process a little,” he replied, wiggling his quill.

“Oh, okay.” Before she could continue, however, she had to collect her thoughts. That's when it fully hit her; she was nearly responsible, at least in an indirect way, for Ponyville being flooded and destroyed. The realization made her wobbly, and she also sat down on the floor and held a foreleg to her head. “Oh my...”

“You all right?” Spike asked, tapping the parchment with a claw.

“Yes, I'm just...never mind. Ahem. Dear Prince—oh, you have that already.” Fluttershy began to fidget nervously and glance around.

“Relax. Just say what's in your heart,” Spike offered with a smile.

“Right. Dear Princ—I'm so sorry, I keep forgetting you've already written that. Um...” She paused for the longest time, staring into space as she tried to consolidating her thoughts into something parchment-sized. When the phrase finally came to her, she nodded with approval. “Oh, I've got it now.”

Spike shook his head and grinned. “Great! What is it?”

She looked at him, ears dropped and blushing with embarrassment. “Today I learned to mind my own business.”