PonyQuest

by Clockwise Gear

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, Nightmare Moon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Discord
Length: 5026

What if Equestria became an RPG?

Everyone knows how the Elements of Harmony defeated Nightmare Mood and Discord. But what would happen if they teamed up? Would the Elements still be able to defeat them? Of course they would; that wouldn't be any fun. But what if the rules of the game were changed? What if Equestria became an RPG?

Published 2012-04-23 12:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-26 15:27:03 UTC

The Eclipse

Chapter 1: The Eclipse

“…And in related news, in a surprising Night Court ruling, Princess Luna has decided to decrease import taxes on salt coming from Prance. The time is now 7:55, so here’s Cumulo Nimbus with today’s weather.”

The blue earth pony stepped from behind the desk on the stage, allowing a white pegasus pony to take her seat.

“Thank you, Fast Fact. Hello, Ponyville! How is everypony today!”

The small crowd standing around the Stage Left Stage, myself included, was silent.

The weatherpony forced a grin. “Okay then, straight to business. Today calls for sun most of the day, with a bit of cloud cover arriving at five. It will readily warm up until noon, where the temperature will peak at 75, then lower again until it reaches 60 at eight tonight. All in all, a pleasant day.”

As the newsponies continued their reports, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. So nopony heard the blast? Good. My peace of mind ensured, I trotted back to the library. It looked the same as ever on the outside, but on the inside…

I braced myself and opened the door.

The floor had gigantic holes in it, looking more like a liability waiting to happen than a structural necessity. The bookshelves lining the walls were destroyed, the books themselves intact thanks to the Keep It Together spell I had put on them. Wall decorations were piles of ashes (or slag, in the case of my first ponyshoes), and the curtains were nowhere to be found.

I poked my head over the edge of one of the holes in the floor. Below, Spike, my number one assistant and surrogate brother/son, was rummaging through piles of scrap debris for anything salvageable. “Nopony heard the explosion, so I guess the soundproofing spells worked. Any luck finding my Nova Catalyst?”

Spike stuck his head out from the pile he was rifling through. “Not yet. What were you even doing that caused this much damage?”

////==Hours earlier, but not many…==////

The glow of my horn faded as I laid the last of the Silent spells around my basement laboratory. They weren’t because what I was about to do was illegal (it wasn’t), but because it was still early in the morning and I didn’t want to wake anypony. My spelling completed, I turned to my workbench. In the center sat a jar half-filled with a violently pink liquid. Pinkie Pie had come to me the day before with the stuff, and had pestered me into making some. When I asked what it was, she refused to answer. I tried telling her that this would make my job nearly impossible, but she cited a Pinke promise to not tell. For some reason, I grudgingly accepted. Thus far I had not succeeded, though I had a hunch that I was near a breakthrough.

I got to work mixing, heating, and crushing various substances, adding them to an empty flask. I had almost finished carefully adding a few drops of nitroglycerine when

“HI TWILIGHT!”

“Gyaagh!” Pinkie Pie’s sudden appearance caused me to lose my magical grip on the vial of explosives, dumping the entirety of its contents into the brew.

“How’s the science going? Ooh, pretty!” before I could stop her, Pinkie zipped over to the table and stuck her muzzle almost entirely into the flask. To my horror, the small container began to shake and turn green.

I had just enough time to pull my friend behind me and cast a shield around us before

BOOM

////==Now==////
“Oh, you know, just a bit of alchemy.” I forced a smile as hard as I could.

Spike crossed his arms. “Uh huh. And Rarity hates fashion.”

I glanced at my wrist.
“OhheyisthatthetimeIjustrememberedApplejackwantedmyhelpwithsomelemonssoIshouldgobye!”

Before Spike could protest, I was out the door, running to Sugarcube Corner. I need to find out what that was Pinkie wanted me to make. If it’s supposed to be anything like that last attempt… I shook my head. Don’t be ridiculous, Twilight. Why would she have anything that dangerous? I found myself on the bakery’s doorstep. Guess I’ll find out.

Before I could open the door, it was wrenched open from the inside, causing me to faceplant into the floor. I looked up into the face of Ponyville’s premier party pony.

“Well who else could it be?”

My friend’s odd line threw me for a loop. “Pinkie?”

“Right as rain!”

“Uh… Are you okay?”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s just that you seem to be answering questions I haven’t asked yet.”

In response, Pinkie Pie stuck a hoof in her ear and wiggled it a bit, a look of concentration on her face. “What’s up?”

I mentally filed our conversation under “Pinkie Pie” and pressed on. “It’s about that compound you asked me to synthesize.”

The pinkest of Pies looked at me suspiciously. “What about it?”

“Well, I know you can’t tell me what it is or where you got it, but can you at least tell me what it does and why you need it?”

My friend’s face brightened. “Oh, that’s simple! We use it for mining!”

I raised an eyebrow. “Mining?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Mining. You use mining explosives… in the kitchen.”

“Of course not, silly! We use it on the rock farm!”

My confusion doubled. “Then what do-“

“Well how else do you think we get the seeds? You gotta mine ‘em!”

The mention of the Pie family’s odd profession gave me pause. “I… guess that makes sense?”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Pinkie took a deep breath. “Shale my mommy is having a foal soon so she can’t work the farm and Slate my daddy is taking care of her so he can’t help either which leaves just me Inky and Blinky and the three of us can’t run the farm by ourselves especially since our marble patch got infested with quartz meaning it could crack before it grows up so it would be super-duper-awesome if you could come and help out and Rainbow Dash and Rarity and Fluttershy and Applejack already said yes!”

“Well, I-“

“Great! See you later!”

Before I could say anything else, Pinkie Pie had already zipped out the door on her way to who-knows-where. I mentally sighed. I better go tell Spike he’ll be alone for the day. I wish I could stay and help clean up, but Pinkie hasn’t really left me much choice. I trotted back to the library and poked my head through the open door. “Spike?”

There was a clatter, and Spike dropped to the floor from the ladder he had been using. “Sorry, we’re not – oh, it’s you.” He crossed his arms and glared at me. “Ready to tell the truth?”

I sighed. “Sorry Spike, but I made a Pinkie Pie Promise, and you know how seriously she takes those.”

My favorite dragon huffed. “Fine. I guess that’ll have to do.”

“Aw, thanks Spike, you’re the best assistant ever!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Hey, did you do something to your scales? You look extra-draconic today.”

“Well actually, I took some amethyst powder and-” Spike’s eyes widened as he pointed an accusatory claw at me. “Now wait just a second, you’re just trying to butter me up.”

I tried my best poker face “Who me? I never…” Spike’s face told me he wasn’t buying it. “Okay, you got me. Pinkie Pie asked me for help on her family’s rock farm, so I’ll probably be there for the rest of the day. I would appreciate it oh so much if my number one assistant would clean the library while I’m away.”

“But it’s your mess!”

“I’ll bring some geodes back for you!”

“You think bribing me with food will work?”

I grinned. “Spike, I hatched you. I’ve literally known you your whole life. I know how these things play out.”

Spike sagged his shoulders in defeat. “Yeah, I know. They better be good geodes!”

I gave the dragon a hug. “Oh, thank you, Spike! You have no idea how much easier this makes things! And don’t worry, I’ll have Rarity check the geodes before I take them.”

“You better. Now get going before I change my mind.”

I ruffled his headspikes. “Thanks, number one assistant!”

////==The Pie family rock farm==////

“Remind me again why we’re pushing these rocks around?”

I sighed. “Because with Shale’s pregnancy and Slate looking after her, Inky and Blinky can’t run the farm by themselves.”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “I know that. I meant why can’t you and Rarity just magic ‘em where they need to go?”

Applejack paused her pushing of a sizeable chunk of granite. “’Cos some things jus’ need ta be done tha right way, sugarcube. ‘Member Winter Wrap Up? ‘Sides, quartz does weird stuff ter unicorn magic. If Rar’ or Twi’ tried movin’ these here boulders, it could spread even further, ruinin’ tha crop.”

Dash and I stared slack-jawed at our friend’s unprecedented display of mineralogical knowledge.

Applejack shrugged. “Whut? ‘S just somethin’ I heard Pinkie talkin’ about with Rarity. ‘S why she ain’t out here bustin’ her rump.”

“Rarity has a very important job, Applejack.”

“Huh. Gem polishin’ don’t seem to important ter me. Ain’t they already shiny?”

I was about to remind my friend about the finer points of rock farming when suddenly Rarity.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and I all shouted in perfect sync. “Rarity!”

The three of us ran towards the scream. The three of us skidded to a halt in the south field. There lay Rarity on what we jokingly called her “drama couch.”

“Rarity! Are you all right?”

The fashionista looked up at me. “Oh, Twilight, it’s simply amazing! Look!” She levitated a small black gem from the table next to her over to me.

I took the stone with my magic and looked it over. “Looks like some hematite. Nice job on the polishing, by the way.”

“But that’s just it! It’s not a hematite, it’s a black opal!”

I tilted my head in confusion. “So?”

“So!? Darling, do you have any idea how rare these are?”

Applejack’s, Rainbow Dash’s, and my faces told her we didn’t.

Dash was the first to speak. “Pretty… rare?”

“Pretty rare? Darling, that’s like calling Fluttershy slightly timid. Even the Princesses only have a hooffull of these beauties.”

“Speakin’ a’ Fluttershy, where is she? Ah haven’t seen her all day!”

“Hey yeah, wasn’t she supposed to be helping Pinkie Pie with something?”

I glanced at the clipboard I had been holding. “According to my chart, Fluttershy and Pinkie should be planting geodes in the west field. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you keep working on that granite, Rarity you stay here.” I concentrated, and with a burst of magic, everything vanished for a moment, only to be replaced by a very startled Fluttershy, who “eep!”d in surprise and darted off behind a nearby boulder. After convincing her that I was not in fact a blink dog in disguise, she poked her head out.

“Oh, Twilight, you startled me.”

“Sorry. Where’s Pinkie Pie? What was that blast? Is she okay?”

“She said she was going to get some more seeds.”

This raised a warning flag in my head. “Fluttershy, this is very important: Where. Did. She. Go.”

Fluttershy quailed under my intense stare. “Uhm, something about… a mine?”

BLAM

The pegasus gave another “eep!” and fainted.

After making sure she was okay, I galloped towards the cloud of dust rising in the distance. I stopped at the lip of the crated that appeared to be the center of the blast. Looking down, I could see Pinkie Pie lying on her back, soot covering her coat. I jumped down into the crater, skidding my way to the bottom. “Oh my gosh! Pinkie, are you okay? What happened?”

Pinkie flipped onto her hooves, surprisingly unscathed and giggled. “Don’t worry, Twilight! I’ve been dealing with explosives for most of my life; it’ll take more than a little party popper to stop me!”

Relief washed over me at seeing my friend unharmed, but disbelief colored my face. “You call that a party popper? What happened?”

“Well I was just going to mine some more seeds when I had a doozy, which made me drop the jar, which blew up!”

“Hold up. You had a doozy?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Where was it? What was it about?”

Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I dunno for sure, but it seemed brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr!” her whole body shook with the force of the doozy. “There it is again! Whatever it is, it’s coming from Canterlot!”

“Canterlot? What could possibly”

I was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the moon in the noonday sky, shortly followed by the sounds of my friends’ hoofbeats as they ran towards me.

“Uh, just ter make sure mah eyes ain’t goin’ funny on me… y’all see that?”

I would have come up with a witty response, but my mind had taken this opportunity to take a vacation.

As we watched, the moon began to move closer and closer to the sun, a motion that filled me with an unknown fear. As the moon moved inexorably towards the sun, a kind of tension began to fill the air. Ever so slowly, the moon began to move in front of the sun, turning black as it did so. When the sun was halfway gone, the sliver of light emanating from it was too intense to look at, but for some reason I could still feel what was happening.

When the moon had fully covered the sun, there was a flash, brighter than anything I had ever seen or felt. Though I was looking at the ground, the light still dazzled me, and it was a few minutes before my vision started to return. I blinked spots from my eyes and looked around for my friends. “Is everypony okay?”

I heard various assenting mutters and groans.

Applejack was the first to speak. “Whut… whut happened?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head to clear my vision. “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening. Ever! Something must be wrong in Canterlot!”

Rainbow Dash was next to speak. “That’s not all that’s wrong.”

I was about to ask what she meant when I noticed that everything looked different. We were still on the rock farm, of that I was sure, but everything looked somehow sharper. The corners of the farmhouse were more angle-y, the rocks on the ground were more jagged-looking, and even the feathers in Dash’s wings looked like they had an edge to them.

It wasn’t until I glanced to the sky that I noticed the biggest difference: both the sun and the moon had vanished, leaving a featureless grey expanse where the sky once stood.

The Bar

Chapter 2: The Bar

I sat down. Hard. If the sun and moon are gone, that must mean…! I shook my head. No. Can’t think about that. I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you okay Twilight? What’s going on?”

I looked over to see Fluttershy doing her best to comfort me. I sniffled and wiped a hoof across my face. “I have no idea. Like I said, I’ve never heard of anything like this happening. The only thing I can think of that would disrupt the natural order like this…” I trailed off, trying my hardest not to cry. You don’t know for certain, Twilight. Right now your friends need you here.

Fluttershy gave me a hug, which I returned gladly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the Princesses are alright.”

“Am I being that obvious?”

“Yeah- ow!”

“Hush, RD. Now ain’t the time.”

“But she asked!”

Despite myself, I found myself smiling. “No, it’s okay, Applejack. I needed that.” I disentangled myself from Fluttershy’s embrace and stood up. “Okay. Let’s assess our situation: the sun and moon are gone, for… reasons currently unknown. Additionally, everything looks slightly different now.” I began to pace back and forth, trying to put together the puzzle. “Where does that leave us? On the rock farm, of course. But what does it mean? And for that matter, how is anything still visible? With the celestial orbs missing, by rights I shouldn't be able to see my hoof in front of my face. And yet, I can. I just don’t have enough data.” I stopped my pacing and looked to my friends, who had surrounded me while I was thinking. “We need to go to Canterlot.”

“Whatever for, darling?”

“Right before…whatever that was, Pinkie told me she had a doozy that emanated from there.”

All heads turned to Pinkie Pie, who raised an eyebrow. “What? Do I have something on my face? Ooh! Is it frosting?”

In unison, all heads shook. “Iff’n we’re goin’ anywhere, Ah wanna check on mah family ‘fore we leave. Make sure they’re all okay.”

Pinkie raised a hoof. “And I’m going to stay here for a little to check on my family.” Her mane had gone flat, and I recognized that she was in Serious Mode.

“Okay. And Fluttershy, I’m assuming you’re going to go check on your animals?”

A nod.

“Rainbow Dash?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I really don’t want to leave you guys hangin’, but I should probably head back to Cloudsdale, if only to make sure it’s still there.”

“And I shall accompany you and Fluttershy to Ponyville.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. We’ll meet at Celestia’s Fetlock in about an hour.” As everypony went their separate ways, something tugged at the back of my mind, but I ignored it. Right now my priority was Spike.

As Rarity, Fluttershy, and I neared the pegasus’ cottage, I could see that the trees of the Everfree Forest had become even more densely packed, almost as though they were forming some kind of wall.

Rarity and I bid farewell to Fluttershy and continued on to Ponyville, where we split up, Rarity heading to her Boutique while I headed towards the library. Upon entering, I immediately noticed several things: one, the floor had a severe lack of holes in it, two, all the books had been replaced on the shelves, and three, Spike was sitting behind a cash register right next to the door.

He greeted me with a friendly wave. “Hi there! Welcome to the Books and Branches Bookstore! How can I help you?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Uh… Spike? What are you doing?”

The baby dragon looked surprised. “Sorry, do I know you?”

My other eyebrow joined its companion. “I should hope so! It’s me, Spike, Twilight!”

He raised a claw to his chin in thought. “Nah, doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry.”

“What are you… quit playing around, Spike! This is no time for games! Didn’t you see the sky?” I made my way to the stairs. “I need to get to Canterlot, and I don’t know if the trains are still working. I’ll need your help packing.”

Before I could open the door to my bedroom, Spike rushed over to block me. “Hey! You can’t go up there! Employees only!”

I turned to face him, incredulity on my face. “Spike, what are you talking about, this is a public library, and that’s my room!”

It was Spike’s turn to look confused. “Nnnno, this is the Books and Branches Bookstore. Nopony lives here.”

“What!? But I- and you-“ I could feel the anger inside me building. “This is serious business, Spike! Let me through!”

“I already told you, employees only! If you’re not going to buy anything, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“WHAT!?” That was the last straw. My rage exploded, causing my mane and tail to burst into flame, a phenomenon that had only happened once before and that I have yet to be able to explain.

Despite his fireproof nature, Spike took a few steps back. “Uh, miss? Are you all right?”

As suddenly as the anger came, it left. I sank to the floor, exhausted. “No, it’s… I’m fine. I’ll just be going. Sorry to bother you.” I walked out, the door jangling merrily as I opened it. When I stepped out, the strange half-light that permeated everything reminded me that I currently had bigger problems than a misbehaving little brother slash son. As I made my way to our appointed meeting place, I noticed something odd about the ponies of Ponyville.

Besides the fact that there were fewer ponies out and about than usual, some of the ones who were seemed to be going about their days as though the sun hadn’t just suddenly disappeared in an mysterious explosion of light, others seemed to be walking in place, and a few looked like they were walking around in the same pattern over and over again.

I trotted over to one of the ponies who were walking in place. “Excuse me.”

The buck turned to face me, but his eyes stared straight through me as he spoke. “Hi there!”

“Uh… hi. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a white unicorn with a styled purple mane around, have you?”

“Hi there!”

“Are you all right?”

“Hi there!”

His repetition of the same line with the exact same inflection was starting to creep me out. “Do you want me to get Doctor Cardio?”

“Hi there!”

“Ooookay then. I’ll just be… over there.”

“Hi there!”

I turned tail and ran to the first familiar place I could think of, Carousel Boutique. I slowed as I reached the door and knocked.

No response.

I tried again.

Nopony answered.

I was about to leave and look elsewhere for my friends when I heard a faint sound from inside.

“Hello?”

Once again, nopony answered, but the door opened a crack, revealing a blue eye, mascara running down the lower lid.

Seeing my friend in such a state was quite a shock. “Rarity! What’s wrong? What happened? Oh no. It isn’t Sweetie Bell. Please tell me it’s not Sweetie Bell!”

Rarity’s head withdrew from the gap, and the door opened.

I stepped in, and I immediately saw what was throwing my friend into hysterics. In the middle of the room was a desk, almost exactly like the one I had seen Spike sitting at in the Library. Behind the desk sat Sweetie Bell.

I turned to Rarity. “Let me guess, she doesn’t recognize you, has changed the name of your store, and is insisting that nopony lives here?”

She slowly nodded. “Well, she hasn’t changed the store’s name. How did you know?”

“I had a similar encounter with Spike at what is apparently now the Books and Branches Bookstore.”

“Oh my, Twilight, I’m so sorry!” She glanced over at Sweetie Bell, who seemed preoccupied with something in one of the desk drawers. “You’re just lucky he’s not-” She began to sob softly.

I had never told my friends about how I viewed my relationship with Spike, but I understood what Rarity was saying. I put a comforting hoof around her. “Hey, come on. Let’s go fix your makeup and go meet the others, okay?”

She sniffled a bit and managed a weak smile. “All right. No time for moping around, I suppose, what with…” She trailed off and gestured out the window. “All this.”

////==Ponyville (Mane St.)==////

And so it was that Rarity and I began heading to Celestia’s Fetlock, but not before managing to sneak past Sweetie Bell to claim Rarity’s saddlebags. As we walked, the niggling at the back of my mind returned, growing stronger the closer we got. It wasn’t until we reached the bar that I remembered: Ponyville doesn’t have any salt bars. I could almost hear the record scratch as my train of thought jumped the rails and crashed.

I froze, causing Rarity to bump into me.

“Something the matter?”

“Yes. Ponyville doesn’t have a salt bar.”

“Come again?”

“This building,” I waved a hoof at it, “It shouldn’t exist. If this is the result of the solar incident from earlier, then how did I know about it?” I whirled around, panicking. “Did the event alter our memories? If so, what else has changed? Everything we know could be a lie!”

My cheek suddenly stung as Rarity slapped me, bringing me back to my senses. My friend looked infuriated. “Twilight Sparkle! Calm yourself!”

I looked at my hooves, embarrassed. “Sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away there.”

Rarity arched a manicured eyebrow. “A bit?”

“Okay, maybe more than a bit. But think about it, it makes sense! If the… whatever that was earlier… altered our memories, then it follows that it could alter other ponies’ minds as well! What’s more, if my hypothesis is correct, and this building didn’t exist before, then it once again follows that the event is responsible for everything suddenly changing appearance!”

Rarity brought a hoof to her chin in thought. “I guess that makes sense, but who or what could do such a thing?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. If the entire world has been altered, that would take some seriously scary magical power, something on the order of both of the Princesses acting together. But I don’t see any reason for them to do something like that, which only leaves the option of some outside agent with massive magical potential.” I looked to my friend, worry in my eyes. “I’m scared, Rarity. The mere thought of some…thing that could change the world on a whim…” It was my turn to sniffle, and Rarity’s to put a hoof over my shoulder.

“Come now, Twilight. Let’s not worry about that right now. Shall we head inside?”

I mentally pulled myself up. “You’re right. No sense in waiting out here.” I pushed open the door of the impossible building and stepped inside, Rarity following.

The inside of the bar was made of a wood that at one point had probably been mahogany, but it had been stained an even darker color. Coupled with the dim magical lamps hanging from the ceiling, the atmosphere felt more like the inside of a cave than a place for ponies to socialize.

A pink earth pony with a darker pink mane walked over to us, swaying slightly as she did. “Heyyyyyyyy!” Her speech was slurred. “Wlc’m t’ C’lst’s F’tl’ck! C’n I getcha s’mth’n?”

Rarity gave me a Look. You know this pony?

I could feel the beginnings of a blush. “Hi, Berry. I didn’t know you were a waitress.”

Berry Punch waved a hoof, stumbling a bit. “Naaaah, I j’st… sp’nd s’mch time here th’t… hic… I… miaswell be.”

I glanced nervously at Rarity, who just shrugged. “Thanks, but I think we’ll be fine for now. We’ll be… over there.”

I led the two of us to a booth in the back that still had a view of the door. After a short wait, a waitress came and took our orders: Iodized for me, and sea salt for Rarity.

Rarity looked surprised. “Twilight, I didn’t know you licked.”

A feeling came over me similar to when I realized the building we were currently occupying shouldn’t exist. I furrowed my brows, frowning. “I… I don’t.”

“Then why-”

“I don’t know. This is twice now I’ve gotten this… feeling… of sharing somepony else’s memories. Except that pony is also me.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re all right, dear? I know you’re worried about… whatever that was earlier, I mean, I am too, but you’re starting to worry me.”

I sighed, slumping forward in my seat.

It was then that the waitress returned, bearing out salt. “One iodized for you, ma’am,” she set a shaker in front of me. “And for you ma’am, some imported salt from Prance.” She set an empty shaker in front of Rarity before taking a small box off the tray. She opened the spout, offering it to Rarity, who floated it in front of her, took a dainty sniff, nodded, and floated it back to the waitress, who poured a small bit into her shaker. “If you need anything else, just ask.” With a grin, she vanished.

Rarity slowly lifted her shaker and sprinkled a few crystals on her tongue.

I stared at the glass container in front of me.

The salt remained motionless.

Oh what the hay. Just one won’t hurt.

////==Four shakers later==////

“Why Twilight, I do believe you’re licked.”

I swayed gently in my seat, trying to keep Rarity’s face from being all wobbly. “No’m not. ‘S you who’s li… li… all bendy.” For some reason I found this incredibly funny and began cackling.

Rarity chuckled. “Such a shame the rest of the girls aren’t here to enjoy seeing how silly you look right now.”

I stared a bit at my friend, intoxication ruining my ability to make sense of her words.

Rarity clicked her tongue. “You are a silly pony, Twilight Sparkle.”

I gave a huff. “Yeah, well at least I c’n still do magic!”

“Beg pardon?”

Instead of responding, I began a spell. However, halfway through, something went wrong.

BANG

A spike of pain shot through my horn, sobering me faster than twelve cups of coffee. I could feel the stares of the other patrons.

“Oh dear, Twilight, are you all right?”

I shook my head. “No.” I rubbed my forehead near the base of my horn, willing the pain away. “Something is wrong, Rarity. Besides the sky I mean. The others should have been here by now, and none of my spells have ever backfired like this before. I’m beginning to suspect this might be a bigger problem than we thought. Maybe we should go look for them.”

Rarity tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You may be right.” She quickly knocked back the rest of her salt and pulled a few bits from her coin purse, leaving them on the table. “Let’s go.”

No sooner had she spoken than a translucent rectangle popped into existence in front of me. Text appeared on it, proudly declaring

[Rarity] has joined the party!

Before I could as my friend what she thought of this, the rectangle disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.