The Mysterious Case of Twilight Sparkle

Chapters

Time Off
Tell Me What You Know
Experimentation
Results: Inconclusive
A New Day

Time Off

Author's Note

Here's the first chapter for the new story, enjoy!

Time Off

“What?! Why? Did I do something wrong?” Twilight exclaimed, her wings nervously spread outwards.

Princess Celestia, the ever kind mentor to the younger princess, smiled and shook her head. “No, not at all Princess Twilight. Princess Luna and I have come to an agreement is all.” She looked to her side, where her younger sister sat patiently. The two nodded in agreement. “You and your friends have done so much for the land of Equestria, even before your coronation where the safety of its citizens became your responsibility. You have brought understanding to the citizens on my sister and her actions, you have reformed the spirit of chaos himself, fought an Ursa Minor, saved Canterlot and possibly all of Equestria from the likes of Chrysalis and Tirek. You have earned a vacation, at the least.”

Twilight had the decency to look sheepish as she listened to her role-model list the accomplishments of her and her friends, but she needed to prove her worth. “It was always my duty, as one of the element bearers.” she said, watching as Celestia stood up from her throne and slowly walked to her. “Now that I am a princess, I need to do more. I can’t just take time off.”

Celestia leaned down so that her muzzle was near her former students ear. “Take the time off, believe me, it doesn’t happen very often.” she whispered, before taking a step back and giving Twilight a soft smile.

Twilight looked up at the princess of the sun and saw the sincerity in her eyes. Not far behind was Luna, the princess of the moon, nodding her head in agreement.

The young princess sighed and bowed her head slightly. “Well, I guess some time off couldn’t hurt.”

Celestia rose her head and a smile graced her face. “Good, then it’s agreed. You will take a month off from princess duties and enjoy the time you have with your friends.”

Twilight nodded slightly. “I understand.” she perked up a bit “I’m sure the girls will be happy to hear, and now I can catch up on some personal experiments I’ve been meaning to run!” she bowed quickly and quickly ran to the window, muttering out a quick “Thank you, Princesses!” before spreading her wings and flying away towards her home.

Five ponies and a small dragon sat around in a crystal castle, each sat in a chair customized for them specifically.

“I’m so bored!” came the annoyed voice of Rainbow Dash. “Why are we waiting around here for Twilight anyway? Who know how long this princess business is gonna take!” she exclaimed, flaring out her wings in annoyance and waving her tail back in a huff.

“Rainbow Dash, do calm down.” Rarity said in response to her friends brash outburst. “As you said, we’ve no way of knowing how long this meeting will be, or what matters are being discussed, but what we do know is that Twilight was summoned with urgency and we have to be here for her in case she needs us upon her return.” she said, using her magic to lift a file to her hoof.

“If you’re so bored, you can leave. But you’ll miss Twilight.” Applejack said, raising the hat that was covering her face.

Rainbow sighed. “Can we at least do something?” she asked.

“Oh oh oh, games! Let’s play a game!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping out from behind Rainbow Dash, almost giving the poor mare a heart attack.

“Oh, that sounds fun. Um, what game did you have in mind?” came the soft voice of Fluttershy who was silently curled up on her seat.

“Yea, sounds like fun. I finished reading my comics so I’ll join in too.” Spike said as he hopped down from his mini-throne.

There was a collective group of nods and murmurs of agreement from each of the rooms inhabitants as they all agreed that they needed to do more than just sit there, for the sake of their sanity.

“So what game do you have planned?” Rainbow asked as she turned towards Pinkie Pie who had a huge, and disturbing, grin on her face.

She tuned and began to rumble through her tail, searching for something in the tangled mess of pink hair. It didn’t take long for her to turn back around with a glass bottle in her hooves. “Spin the bottle!” she exclaimed.

A silence took over the room as the other 5 inhabitants quietly stared at their pink friend.

“Uh, Pinkie, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m pretty sure none of us here wants to make out with another mare.” Applejack said, not catching the dual blushes from both Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! Here!” she said happily as she put a small magnet into the bottle and put the cap back onto it. “Spike, hold this!” she exclaimed as she gave the young drake a matching magnet to hold. “There, problem solved!” she said happily.

“I, you, what?” Spike asked as he tried to comprehend what was happening. The dragon let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he saw the doors open and in walk a purple alicorn princess that was like a sister to him. “Twilight! You’re back!” he said as he dropped the magnet and ran to his oldest friend.

“Hey Spike, hi girls, what are you all up to?” she asked as she saw all of her closest friends sitting in a circle on the floor.

Pinkie jumped up, standing on her two hind legs and hiding the bottle behind her back. “Just playing a game, hehehe, so, how was your meeting?” she exclaimed.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her friends antics, but wrote it off as Pinkie just being Pinkie.

“Turns out that the princesses just wanted to check up on me and tell me that I earned a vacation. I’ve earned a month off it seems.” she said with a sigh.

“Well, you don’t seem very excited about it darling.” Rarity observed.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have earned a break. Especially since it seems like something happens to us every week, but I’ve never seen any of the other princesses take a break.” she said with a sigh, her head and wings drooping slightly. “It makes me feel like I’m not as important.”

“Twilight, we’ve been through this already, you know you’re plenty important as a princess.” Applejack said as she walked over to her friend and placed a hoof on her back. “Plus, look at it this way, Princess Cadence is pretty important, but none of us knew she even existed until the wedding.”

Twilight let a small giggle escape from her. “You’re right Applejack, thanks.” she said with a voice light with laughter brimming around it.

“So what do you plan to do with your time off? Flying lessons?” Rainbow asked with some hopefulness. Twilight was a pretty good flying companion. Better than Fluttershy at least.

Twilight shook her head. “Maybe later Rainbow, I have something I’ve been meaning to get to for a while now.” she said, then turned her attention to Pinkie Pie, who was still hiding the bottle behind her back. “For now, if you girls will excuse us, I need to speak to Pinkie Pie alone.”

The pink pony in question stood still as sweat began to pour from her body. Her friends made their way out of the room, and she could only think of why she was in trouble. Twilight walked up to her friend and sat down in front of her, ignoring her antics and getting down to business.

“Pinkie, I need you to tell me everything about what happened with the mirror pond.” she said sternly, scientist mode activated.

Tell Me What You Know

As Twilight waved a goodbye to the larger group of ponies that she called her friends, she led Pinkie away from the main chamber of the castle. Away from the space where anypony could walk in, looking for guidance from Princess Twilight, and interrupt this moment. She couldn't have that, not now, when she had her mind so dead set on what she wanted to do. No, instead, she led Pinkie down a set of crystallized stairs and into a large room with various instruments of scientific purpose.

A memory flashed through the mind of the pink pony, one of her attached to a big machine as Twilight tried to figure out how her Pinkie sense worked. A shiver ran down her back at the thought. It was all fun and games that time, but the mood of this room was totally different. It was darker, and the machines all looked much more sinister, with sharp jagged edges that jutted out at various angles. There were also tools and other scraps that lay haphazardly around, which seemed out of place for someone that loved organization as much as Twilight Sparkle did.

"Excuse the mess." Twilight said as she saw her friend looking around at the mess of wires and metal strewn about her lab. "I haven't really had time to clean with all my duties, and it's far too dangerous down here to have Spike clean up. We all know how clumsy he can be sometimes." she said, her ears lowering slightly as she felt a small pang of guilt for talking bad about her friend like that. "I just have a few questions though, don't worry, we won't be down here long." she continued.

Pinkie turned her back to the room that was giving her an ominous and sickly feeling, and faced Twilight. "Well, ask away Twilight. What can Auntie Pinkie do for you?" she asked, returning to her usual chipper self.

"Do you remember the incident with the mirror pool?" Twilight asked, taking a slight step closer to her friend.

"Pinkies everywhere sounded like a better idea than it was." Pinkie said, ears drooping and hair slightly deflating.

Twilight adopted a sympathetic look at her friends sad expression. Sadness looked so out of place on Pinkie Pies face, and it brought discomfort and sorrow in the same way that her smile would bring happiness to all who saw it.

"Don't worry about that now Pinkie, there was no way you could have known all of that would happen. None of us blame you." she said, offering a smile to her friend. "Do you think you can talk about it, or are you uncomfortable with the subject?" she asked. Sure, she wanted to find out all she could about the pond, but not if it brought harm to those she cared for. The thought alone brought a shiver that shook her whole body.

Pinkie slowly regained her usual form, and took a breath. "What do you need to know?" she asked simply, wanting to get this done as fast as possible.

Twilight let a tender smile cross her face to show thanks to her friend. "Do you remember how many copies you made?"

Pinkie stuck her tongue out and scrunched up her nose in an attempt to focus her memories from that day. After a few moments, she sighed and looked at Twilight. "Sorry Twilight, there were way too many. I didn't even make all of them myself. You didn't count them when you were zapping them?"

Twilight sighed as well. "No, I was too focused on trying to find the real you to pay attention to much else. It's fine though, I have other questions."

"Shoot away." Pinkie shrugged.

"How did you feel when you made the first copy?" Twilight asked, her horn now glowed with magic as she levitated a notepad and quill from the nearby table so she could take appropriate notes. This was a scientific investigation after all.

"I was super-duper happy!" Pinkie said ecstatically as she remembered seeing the first Pinkie copy she had made. It was like getting a new sister after all these years, and one that was just like her. "Yea! What the writer just said!"

Twilight let her quill come to a halt. "Excuse me?" she asked, confused as to what her friend was talking about.

Pinkie giggled. "Oh, nothing Twilight."

Twilight watched Pinkie for a moment, trying for what felt like the billionth time to wrap her mind around the pink enigma, before she resumed her note taking. "Ok so you still felt like the same old Pinkie then?" she asked in order to confirm her observations thus far.

Pinkie nodded. "Yep yep yep."

"And how would you say you felt after, let's say, the tenth copy?" she asked.

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin and squint her eyes together. "I would say that I felt like jello."

Twilight stopped her note-taking once more. "Jello?" she asked, not understanding at all.

"Yea, I felt like my insides were there but I was all wibbly-wobbly!" Pinkie said, emphasizing it by standing on her hind legs and rubbing her hooves over her stomach.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, but continued jotting down her notes. "So would you say you still felt happy?"

Pinkie sat down to ponder this new question. "I was happy, but I was starting to get a little worried." she replied.

"Uh-huh, just as I thought." Twilight muttered as she wrote something down.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked.

"One last question Pinkie, then we can stop talking about this." Twilight said, no longer bothering with taking her eyes off of the notes that floated before her. "When the final copy was made, we could all see how sad you were. You were nothing like the usual Pinkie Pie, which is why none of us knew it was you. But, when the copies were all gone, you were pretty much back to your usual self. Did you feel happier as each clone was zapped away, like a piece of you was returning bit by bit?" Twilight asked, urgency in her voice as she asked the big question that would solidify her theory.

Pinkie had to think hard about that one. When she was gathered together with all of her copies, she was so preoccupied with trying to prove she was the real Pinkie that she hadn't paid much attention to what she was feeling. She remembered feeling sad when all her copies were running wild, and she was really happy when they were gone, but her memory was a bit fuzzy. "Wait..." she said, recalling that long day with more clarity than she had ever done before. Yes, she could remember it now. She didn't notice it at first, but when about half of her copies had been zapped away, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and a growing darkness has been snatched from her heart. "I...yes. I felt much better when they were all gone. Happier. More like...me." she said as she slowly came to the realization.

Twilight quickly finished writing her notes, and levitated the pad and quill back to the table from where she got them. She walked to her friend and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Thank you Pinkie, are you ok?" she asked, concerned for her friend whom she just made relive a traumatic experience.

"I...yes Twilight, thank you." Pinkie said with a small sniffle as she licked a stray tear from her cheek. "So did you get everything you needed to know?" she asked, still unsure of what Twilight was getting at with all of this information.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and I couldn't thank you enough either!"

Pinkie couldn't help but smile. Bringing happiness to her friends lives was what she lived for. "Great! So, what did you find out?" she asked.

"There's something weird about that pond, obviously, but I never had the time to investigate it with everything that happened." Twilight said. "I could always think about it though, a mind is a terrible thing to waste so I'm always using mine. I was able to piece together that each copy you made in the pool wasn't actually a copy, but a piece of you! Of course, I had no solid evidence of this, and I do still have tests to run, but I am sure that I'm right."

Pinkie tilted her head to the side. "I don't get it." she said simply.

"Twilight took a moment to gather her thoughts before she launched into her explanation. "Well, you see, all ponies are born with potential. We think of this as our special talent that eventually shows itself through our cutie marks, but that isn't the only potential we all have. We all have the potential to be good or evil." she paused to take a breath. "Most ponies don't realize it, since we generally all get along, but nopony is ever really born to be good or evil, it's all up to how our lives play out. How we are raised, our environments and our friends."

"But Twilight, I've never felt evil." Pinkie said.

"My point exactly!" Twilight exclaimed with a burst of excitement. "You've always had people who loved you by your side. Your parents and sisters were fully accepting of your choices, and they loved you. Everypony you meet instantly becomes your friend. But take someone like Trixie. She isn't truly evil, but she can be a pretty big bully at times. She doesn't seem to have many friends or people she can rely on beside herself, especially since she travels all the time. That loneliness makes her bitter." Another example came to mind and Twilight smiled. "Now take Tirek. He was raised learning that if he wanted something, he had to take it by force. He had a brother who betrayed him at one of the most crucial moments of his life. Look at him now, a being of rage and hate, forever trapped in Tartarus."

Pinkie mulled this new information over for a moment. "Ok, sure, it makes sense. But what does this have to do with the pond Twilight?" she asked, still missing the crucial part of the explanation.

"Yes, right." Twilight said, blowing a strand of hair from her mane out of her face. "I believe that the pond has some sort of magical quality to it that actually splits a ponies potential. Maybe not down the middle, but it tears off a chunk of what makes that pony whole in order to make the copy. The only reason all of your clones were so happy and good natured, albeit a bit mischievous, was because you have such a high potential for good. That's why you felt less and less happy with every copy that was made, they were literally sucking all the good out of you and leaving only a depressed husk." Twilight took a deep breath as she finished her rant of an explanation.

A silence passed over the two ponies as they each mulled over the new information they had learned today. But, finally, Pinkie spoke up.

"Ok, so, now what?" she asked.

Twilight stood up and began walking to the door, which she opened with her magic. "Now, I plan on getting some rest. It's been a long day and I'm going to need it if I'm going to be running tests tomorrow."

"What kind of tests?" Pinkie asked as she followed her friend out of the room, watching as Twilight used her magic to not only close the door but make it disappear as well.

"I'm going to the pond to run tests in order to find out what gives the water it's magic quality." she paused and turned to Pinkie. "Can you do me a favor and not mention this, or my lab, to any of the girls or Spike? I really don't need them running amok in there." she asked.

Pinkie held a hoof up and did an all too familiar motion. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she chanted the familiar words of a Pinkie Promise and winked at Twilight.

"Thanks Pinkie. Now, let's get something to eat, I'm starving!" Twilight said as she made her way up the stairs, listening as Pinkie listed off the specials Sugar Cube Corner had today.

Author's Note

The story goes on!

Hope you all enjoyed, don't forget to tell me what you thought! :twilightsmile:

Experimentation

Caves, Twilight hated caves. They were dark and damp, uncomfortable, and, worst of all, she never had the luck to find some big scientific breakthrough within one. That would change soon though, if all went according to her plan. Who know what wonders she could uncover with what she had planned. Removing all the evil from a pony, it’d solve so many problems. There would no longer be any fighting, she and her friends could rest easy knowing that they would no longer need to risk their lives for the citizens of Equestria.

‘Maybe I can do even better.’ Twilight thought to herself as she walked down a sloping path in the cave. She could see the water of the mirror pool shimmering below her. ‘Maybe the evil in ponies is just the first step. I might be on the threshold of finding a cure to some previously incurable disease.’ she sped up her trotting speed, her wings anxiously twitching at her sides and a cart full of supplies and equipment was pulled by her magic as she had the fantasy of being behind the biggest scientific breakthrough of the century. An excited squeal escaped her muzzle as she finally came to a full stop in front of the mystical water.

She stared down into the crystal water, her reflection staring back at her. The air suddenly felt colder and an eerie feeling found its way into the pit of her stomach. The reflection in the pool was staring back at her like any reflection usually would, but there was something else, something dark and mysterious that she didn’t like at all.

“Must be this cave, it’s dark and damp, it’d creep anypony out.” she said out loud to herself, hoping it would help to steel her nerves a bit. After all, she had science to do.

Twilight turned away from the pool and began to rummage through the cart she had brought with her. Using her magic, she pulled boxes of various sizes that were all labeled according to what they contained. Twilight was known for being aggressively organized, so this was no surprise.

At the very bottom of the cart was a box that was much larger than the others. She pulled it out with her magic, all the while keeping the other boxes floating in the air. She did, with such ease, something that would take any other unicorn years of intense training and amazing focus. Without so much as a second thought, Twilight was able to use her magic to open each and every box and gently take out their contents. In the largest box was a foldable table that she set up and began placing all her other tools and instruments on top of.

Beakers and test tubes of various sizes were set in position, next to graduated cylinders and a burette, the only box still left unopened was one labeled “Specimen”. She now held a single object up with her magic, and gingerly placed it onto the center of the table. It was a small machine, with a few knobs and switches as well as some indentations at the top where she could insert test tubes for centrifugation.

Twilight surveyed her equipment, making sure she had everything she needed, before she grabbed her largest beaker in her magic and finally turned her attention back to the magical water that rest behind her. She slowly dipped the beaker into the pool and filled it to an inch below the brim. She couldn’t risk filling it too much and having some fall onto her, resulting in another Twilight running around and ruining things for her. Once that was done, she brought the beaker back to her makeshift workstation and placed it down, labeling it as “C.W.00” with tape and a marker.

Once she finished labeling the water, she retrieved a pencil and notepad that she brought along with her in order to record her tests and observations. She took a moment to fully gather her thoughts. One would imagine Twilights subconscious was as organized as her library had once been. Once she felt she was fully prepared, Twilight launched into scientist mode and began to scribble various notes and hypothesis.

Test #: 001
Components: C.W.00, Subject S.F.001.
Hypothesis: When subject S.F.001 comes into contact with C.W.00, it is predicted that subject S.F.001 will most likely be cloned and/or copied much like the Pinkie incident.

The notepad and pencil were placed onto the table, away from her designated testing area, and she turned her attention towards the previously unopened box labeled “Specimen”. Not wasting any more time, Twilight lift the cover from the box to reveal an assortment of small potted flowers, separated into sections consisting of specific types. She levitated a sunflower that had the label “S.F.001” on its pots base.

“Now, let’s begin the test!” Twilight said excitedly. There was no way she could hide her joy at the moment. It had been much too long since she could conduct experiments like this in her free time.

The flower got her full and undivided attention at this moment. She placed it down on the table, double checking the pot for any cracks or holes that would allow liquid to escape. That was the last thing she needed right now.

‘Now for the moment of truth.’ Twilight thought as she levitated the beaker of magic water to the sunflower and gingerly poured some onto both the soil, in order to ensure the roots came into contact with the liquid, as well as the petals and stem of the flower. The beaker was placed back into position and Twilight got her pencil and pad at the ready, patiently watching the flower.

There was no reaction for a few moments, and Twilight began to feel the pang of disappointment form within her mind. Then, almost out of nowhere, a bud began to form from the stem of the sunflower. Twilight's eyes widened as she witnessed the bud grow in size and another stem grow forward and carry the bud outwards, where it bloomed into a full grown sunflower.

Twilight couldn’t write fast enough.

Results: Sunflower was not cloned as expected but, rather, began to bud and grow at a rate exponential to usual.

Foreseeable possibilities: Faster growth of crops which would, in turn, end food shortages worldwide.

Twilight put the notepad back and looked back at the siamese sunflower she had just created. She almost couldn’t believe her eyes, and let a proud, although goofy, smile grace her face as she thought of the breakthrough she had just made with a single test. Various thoughts raced across her mind.

‘What else was possible with this magic liquid?’ she thought. ‘How has nopony else discovered this? Not even Princess Celestia and Luna themselves seem to know about this, or else they would have put it to use long ago.’

Twilight shook her head to free her mind from these thoughts, she had other things to do right now. She looked into her specimen box and decided to try the same test with a tulip. If the results were the same, she would move on to the next phase of testing.

Back in the Crystal Castle, five ponies and a baby dragon sat together talking about a certain princess that was nowhere to be found.

“I honestly don’t know where she is. All she told me was she was doing something important, and she needed me to stay here, then she left with a cart full of boxes.” Spike said, shrugging his shoulders.

Rarity spoke up. “It is very unlike Twilight to sneak off without alerting us to what she is doing.”

Rainbow Dash stepped up next. “Maybe she’s planning some kinda epic prank!”

“I find that unlikely. It’s Twi we’re talking about here, not a foal. She’s probably off studyin’ or somethin’” Applejack said sarcastically, receiving a scowl from her rainbow friend.

“Umm, maybe she’s just tired?” came the almost completely silent voice of Fluttershy.

“What d’ya mean?” Applejack asked, Rarity and Rainbow nodding along, showing they would also like to know.

“W-well Twilight’s a princess now, and that comes with a lot of responsibility.” Fluttershy began, trying her best to not bury her face behind her mane. “She has to look over the ponies here, and help with things like the traders exchange. Plus she had to deal with all that stuff with getting the powers of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence, then fight Tirek alone. Let’s not forget she lost her home too. Maybe she just went to rest and relax a little with nopony to bother her.” Fluttershy gasped as she tried to catch her breath, she wasn’t used to talking so much.

All the other friends blankly stared at her for a moment before Applejack spoke up.

“Y’know, we never really spoke about all that stuff with her before.” she said, taking her hat off and holding it against her chest with her hoof. “We really do take Twi for granted, don’t we?”

All the other girls shamefully bowed their heads as they realized this was true, and Spike nervously rubbed his arm.

“We have done some things to help her, but I will be the first to admit that she has done so much more, and we owe her more than just gratitude.” Rarity said.

“She helped me study for my test, and never gave up on me, even when I did.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice held a strange solemn tone you wouldn’t expect from her. “The most I’ve done for her is some flying lessons. We’ve all saved Equestria a few times, but it was always Twilight coming up with the plan. She even fought a demon for us. She was winning too! But then, when he threatened us, she wouldn’t risk it and gave him her magic. She’s...she’s…” Rainbow scanned her specific vocabulary in her mind, trying to find a word suitable to describe her friend. “so awesome.”

Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike all nodded their heads. Twilight really had done so much more than anypony else they had seen before. Even the other princesses, with all their power and experience, seemed to have done less than Twilight had done in the short amount of time since she had moved to Ponyville.

“Maybe we should give her some room, let her relax a bit.” Applejack said, looking around at her friends to see what they thought about that.

“I agree. It’s shameful to us that Twilight would have to leave the castle to get some alone time. Yes, we are her friends and have a place here, but this is her home, not ours. She should be able to be at peace here.” Rarity added.

“Agreed.” Rainbow said. “Let’s go girls, no need to look for her. She’ll find us when she’s ready.”

The five ponies all made their way to the exit, none of them noticing the deep nervous breath Pinkie released.

‘I promised Twilight I wouldn’t tell them anything. It was a Pinkie Promise!’ she thought to herself as she walked behind her friends. ‘This is gonna be tough.’

Author's Note

Sorry for the absence, but here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Results: Inconclusive

Twilight paced back and forth around the cave, her hooves thumping against the damp floor beneath her. She gave a deep sigh, exhaling the air from her muzzle as she looked over at the table with all of her experiments on them. Everything had gone exactly how she wanted, every plant grew a new bud. In fact, further studies proved that tests actually exceeded her expectations, being that the new buds were actually better in every way than their predecessor.

So what exactly has Twilight in such a huff, if her tests all went well? The next step was the problem.

Her original purpose for these tests was to unlock the secret of the mirror pool, and in order to do that, she would need to run tests on a living being. On a pony. But who would be willing to have this experiment done to them? Her friends? No, she’d never risk such a thing. Ponyville citizens? Impossible, she shouldn’t even be at the mirror pool, let alone testing theories on it. They’d never stand for it after seeing what happened with Pinkie. So what could she do? It wasn’t like she could grab a random stranger from out of town. She was a scientist, yes, but not a mad one.

“It’s already decided I guess.” she said, gazing down into the reflective waters and catching a glimpse of herself, hair disheveled and eyes bloodshot. She turned from the pool and a cold chill ran down her spine as she saw her reflection grin at her from the corner of her eye.

She quickly turned back to the pool and stared at her reflection. It mimicked her every movement and feature without fault.

“I must be more tired than I thought.” she said. “I’m even starting to talk to myself.”

She looked over at her table with all of her tools and equipment scattered across, no longer in any type of order. She let her gaze lift to the entrance of the cave, it had been a week since she set-up her lab and the entrance was the least used portion of it. There was very little light shimmering through the opening, meaning that the sun was setting and night would fall across Equestria soon enough. She looked back down at her equipment and gulped, steeling herself for what she was about to do.

A lone carriage rolled through the empty road on the outskirts of Ponyville, surrounded by a magical aura that pushed and directed it. Inside of the cart was a small makeshift home that included a bed, closet and dresser. Atop this bed sat one Trixie Lulamoon, cape on back and hat in hoof. She stared at the hat with a blank expression on her face,knowing what she planned to do was going to be a blow to her ego, but one that she needed.

“Trixie has learned from her mistakes, and Trixie is willing to own up to them.” she spoke to herself. “Trixie needs to find Twilight Sparkle and make things right.”

The carriage rode onward, slowly making its way to Ponyville.

It took a huge amount of willpower, on Twilights behalf, to bring the vial of mirror pond water to her lips. Her heart was beating like crazy, from both fear and excitement. Her magic held the vial as well as the pen and pad she had been writing notes in the whole time she had been conducting these experiments. There was no way she could let this go undocumented, and she didn’t exactly have the pleasure of working with an assistant.

“Here goes nothing.” Twilight said aloud, closing her eyes and tilting the vial into her mouth. The water was cool, and somehow bitter yet sweet. She swallowed hard and levitated the vial to the table where she got it.

Her attention was immediately split between analyzing any changes within her body, and documenting them within her notes.

Test: T.S.1
Subject: Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn, Equestria
Input 1: I have ingested twelve milliliters of C.W.001. As of now, there are no noticeable changes physically or mentally. I will continue to monitor and input details as they occur.

She jotted the notes down and immediately felt a twitch in her left hind leg.

Input 2: Involuntary muscle movement. Unknown if it is resulted from experiment, or potassium deficiency. Further testing is needed.

Twilight placed the pen and pad down onto the table and flexed her wings out. It was late, and she was incredibly tired. Of course, there was no way she would be able to get to sleep with the way her heart was beating at the moment. It was like a drum, getting louder and louder as the seconds passed. Her breathing slowly became more and more shallow as time went on, and her blood suddenly felt like ice within her veins. She grabbed the notepad with her magic, and dropped it on the floor as her head was suddenly filled with an immense pain.

She yelled and cried as her vision became blurry. Her eyes felt like they were being pushed out from inside of her head and her wings were flailing about uncontrollably. She couldn’t get any of her limbs to respond in the way that she wanted to, resulting in her falling to the floor and thrashing about violently, akin to an epileptic seizure. She gave one final blood-curdling scream and then was greeted to darkness.

It was late when Trixie arrived in Ponyville. The shops were all closed, save for a few that dealt with ponies of a more perverse nature. Trixie was having none of that though. She drove her carriage to the field where she held her show in Ponyville, the place where she first met Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and released the magic hold on it. The carriage stopped its movement and Trixie tied it to a tree with a rope she kept with her. She couldn’t risk the wind blowing her cart away while she slept after all. It was all she had.

She stepped out of the carriage and looked around at the empty field. This was basically what her shows were like these days, a lone magician with nothing but the wind.

“Even the wind is against Trixie.” she said with a shiver as the wind blew passed her. She used her magic to wrap her cape tight around her small frame, hoping it would help warm her even a little. “It’s much too late now, Trixie will have to find Twilight Sparkle in the morning.” she told herself, stepping back into the carriage where she at least had protection from the elements.

A layer of wood could only do so much though, especially when it had begun to rot and wear away. Trixie had had this cart for as long as she could remember, and refused to trash it or get a new one. It wasn’t as if she could afford to anyway, not with the way things have been going for her lately.

She lay on the bed and recalled the last time she had been here in Ponyville. It was when she had purchased the alicorn amulet. She sighed sadly at that. It had taken a big portion of her savings to be able to afford that thing, and she goes ahead and abuses it until she was taught a lesson in both humility and friendship. That was why she needed to find Twilight Sparkle. She wanted to properly ask for forgiveness and repay her debt of gratitude.

“...alive!” she heard a slight echo from outside. It sounded like somepony was yelling, but they were a bit too far to be understood clearly. She didn’t have to strain though, as the sound became clearer and louder. Whoever was shouting was getting closer, and it worried her a bit. A voice boomed from outside her cart. It was deep, yet unmistakably female. It sounded familiar, yet so very strange at the same time.

“And who might this be, camping out at night? Don’t you know how dangerous it is? Why, anypony could just come along and...and..” the voice erupted into roaring ominous laughter that left Trixie in a cold sweat.

“Wh-who’s there? Trixie isn’t s-signing autographs right now. Come back in the morning.” Trixie said nervously as she pushed herself into a corner of her carriage. There was an uneasy silence, where the only thing Trixie could hear was the deep and ragged breaths of the pony outside her carriage as well as their hoofsteps.

Finally, the voice spoke up. “Ah a face from the past, from her past, our past. For she is me and I am her. Who am I? Do I have a name?” Silence followed the question that Trixie could not answer. Suddenly a low growl came from the pony outside.

“I see, so it’s you. Oh that sounds delicious!” it said excitedly, laughs echoing once more. “But not today. Oh no not today. We must wait. Make the time right. Then…” the voice trailed into even more laughter that Trixie could now hear directly behind her. She could feel the vibration every laugh made, as if the pony at the other end were directly connected to her. “Then we can begin.”

There was no laugh this time, Trixie could only hear the sound of wings flapping that slowly disappeared as this apparent pegasus flew away. She raced to the door of her carriage and stuck her head out, scanning the sky to catch a glimpse of the mysterious pony that had scared her to her wits end, but they were gone.

She gave the empty field one last scan, before she closed the door and locked it tight.

Twilight awoke with a groan. Her body was stiff from laying on the floor. She looked up to the cave entrance and saw a glimpse of sunlight beginning to peek through, signaling the start of a new day. She looked around at her little laboratory. Equipment was strewn about haphazardly, and she had even dropped her notepad on the cave floor. She gave it a once-over and reviewed the noted from the previous night.

“Wow, I don’t remember anything beyond drinking the water. I must have been exhausted. Spike was right, I need to take a break from the break Celestia gave me.” she said as she levitated her pen to her notepad and began to write.

Input 3: Still no noticeable change from experiment.

Results: Inconclusive.

Author's Note

Enjoy.

A New Day

Spike stood on the small stool he used to reach things that were too high for him, he was a baby dragon after all. At the moment, he was standing in front of the stove in the new crystal kitchen. Everything was made of crystal and, sure it looked pretty, but you try living in a place that magnifies the sun's rays whenever the windows are open. Let’s not even mention the fact that the beam of light always seems to hit him in the eyes.

Anyway, it was breakfast time and the young dragon was hungry. Sure, he loved gems like nobody's business, but they didn’t provide the nutrients a growing dragon needed to grow. The vegetarian diets of his pony friends didn’t really cut it for him either, he was a carnivore after all, it was just how it was. He would always try his best to avoid eating meat around his friends though, so it was rare that he got the chance to enjoy it, but, now that Twilight has been busy and the castle was empty aside from him, he had his chance.

A call to a specialized restaurant was all he needed to do to get what he wanted, and his shipment of various meats and poultry arrived late last night. At the moment, a juicy piece of chicken breast was being grilled and Spike couldn’t help but let his mouth water. The smell rose up into his nose and a shiver went down his spine, it felt like he was finally pleasing an addiction he had ignored for too long.

As Spike plated the succulent meal and placed it on the table, he realized he was missing one crucial thing, a drink! As he opened the refrigerator and reached for some apple cider, he heard a sudden clinging sound behind him, as if his fork fell from the table. Sure enough, when he turned around, both his fork and knife were on the floor, as well as a few stray purple feathers. Slowly his eyes trailed upwards, revealing a very familiar figure to him. There sat Twilight Sparkle, hair a mess and coat covered in dirt, hungrily gnawing at the meal he had prepared for himself. Usually he would roll his eyes with some frustration and make something new, because he knew his friend went long periods without eating when she was busy with something, but this was different. Twilight was a pony, she was strictly and herbivore, but here she was eating meat with a look of satisfaction plastered upon her face.

“Uh, Twilight.” Spike said, raising his claw up towards the table and gesturing towards the plate. “That wasn’t for you.”

Twilight gulped down the meat in her mouth and looked down at her oldest friend. “Oh, Spike! I’m sorry, I was just fine a minute ago, but then I smelled this...this…” she looked down towards the plate once more, which held only a few bites of chicken now, and licked her lips hungrily. “What exactly is this?” she asked, not even waiting for an answer as she ravaged the food once more, leaving nothing behind.

Spike shivered, there was something wrong and he didn’t like it. The way Twilight looked at him just now, her eyes were different. She wasn’t looking at him, she was looking through him, as if he didn’t exist.

“I-it was chicken Twilight. Meat.” he said, lowering his arm back down to his side as he waited for some kind of negative reaction from Twilight when she realized she just ate what was once another living animal.

Twilight looked down at her assistant once more and smiled, a smile different from the usual that sent a bad feeling into the pit of Spikes stomach. “It was delicious. You should make more for later.” she said before stepping down from her seat and walking away, leaving a confused Spike behind.

As Twilight left the room and made her way down the hall, she felt a wave of dizzying nausea crash over her. Her head felt like it was being spun around over and over again, and her stomach felt bloated and hot. She had to stop and lean against a wall to balance herself.

‘What’s happening?’ she thought to herself. Suddenly a fierce pain shot through her brain, and she had to clamp her jaw shut to restrain the cry she wanted to let out.

‘Weak! She’s so weak! How can this be the host? She’s weak!’ A foreign voice seemed to call out.

“What? W-who are you?” she asked audibly, looking around, searching for the pony or being this voice came from.

‘Your better half!’ the voice rang out once more before Twilight was hit with another surge of blinding pain. She fell to the floor, writhing in agony, before she was greeted with darkness as her own consciousness gave out.

Trixie awoke from her slumber, eyes wide as she leaped from bed, mind racing with thoughts on who the mysterious stranger that visited her last night could be. She still felt the fear, as if her mind had moved on but the rest of her being was stuck in that moment of time. It was a dark anxiousness that made her feel sick to the pit of her stomach, but Trixie wouldn’t let it get the best of her. She knew, better than most ponies out there, that the show must go on.

“Trixie must find Twilight Sparkle.” she said to herself as she used her magic to place her hat and cape upon herself. She was a showmare after all, and her costume was a form of advertisement. Surely she could benefit somewhat from this meeting, if the locals saw their new princess talking with The Great and Powerful Trixie!

She gave her head a few shakes. ‘No!’ she thought, ‘Now isn’t the time to think about my show, I came here to make amends.’

Trixie huffed at herself,looking at her reflection in the mirror, and made her decision. Utilizing her magic once more, she removed the hat and cape, becoming nothing more than a citizen.

‘Now,’ she thought, as she turned and began to exit her cart, ‘the princesses in Canterlot have guards posted all around them at every given time of day. I can only imagine the amount of security a lone princess like Twilight might have, especially when living in a place that attracts as much trouble as Ponyville.’

Trixie could see the glistening castle off in the distance. She felt a slight pang of jealousy as she saw the rainbow lights gleaming from the crystal branches of the artificial tree. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. Those feelings were in the past, Twilight had offered her friendship before, and now she was the princess of the subject, she would almost be obligated to forgive her and her past actions. Right?

Without realizing it, Trixie had already reached the front door to the castle, her hoof reaching outward to knock on the door. Realization struck and she gave her surroundings a glance.

No gate.

No guards.

No safety.

“Just what exactly is this?” she asked aloud to nopony in particular. “What sort of royalty has no guards posted for their protection? Should princess Twilight be attacked, her only means of defense would be...a door!”

She was absolutely flabbergasted. This had not been what she expected at all. Was Twilight considered a lesser princess compared to the other rulers of Equestria? The sisters in Canterlot had an entire army to defend them, and the prissy princess of Love in the Crystal Kingdom at least had a large squadron. But what did Twilight have? Nothing!

Trixie felt her ears perk up as she heard a voice come from the other side of the door.

“Hey, who’s making all that noise out there?” the voice said, before the door swung open, causing Trixie to take a few rapid steps back or else she would have been hit by it.

Trixie eyed her would-be assailant for a moment before she realized who it was and breathed a sigh of relief at finally seeing a familiar face.

“Ah, it’s you! Twilight’s assistant, the dragon! Spork was it?” Trixie said innocently, with a smile on her muzzle.

Spike stared uneasily at Trixie. “Uh, no, it’s Spike. And what are you doing here anyway Trixie?” he asked before pointing one of his sharp fingers at her. “Come to challenge Twilight again now that you’ve heard she’s a princess? Even if you can come up with a challenge you can beat her in, that won’t make you a princess too you know.” he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her expectantly.

Trixie could feel her ears droop as Spike words saddened her. Yes, she had a one track mind before, and only cared to defeat Twilight, to prove she was the better unicorn and magic user, but she had come back to change all that. She came back to start anew.

“No.” Trixie stated, with a stomp of her hoof. “The Great and Powerfu…” she stopped for a moment before continuing. “No, I have come here to apologize to Twilight for all I have done to her. I would like to speak to her if that’s possible.”

Spike eyes Trixie for a moment longer before he let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Fine, come on in. I’ll call for Twilight.” he said as he stepped into the castle and closed the door after Trixie made her way in.

Twilight slowly rose from the floor, her head ached and she had no idea what happened to her. “What was that voice?” she asked herself.

“Twilight, you have a visitor!” Spike’s voice rang from downstairs.

Twilight groaned as she forced herself to turn around and walk. Her body protested against every motion, but the metaphorical cloud in her head was beginning to lift. She made her way down the stairs and into the foyer where she would usually greet tourists and the like that wanted to meet her. She was met with a sight she didn’t expect though, as she spotted Trixie, sans her flashy apparel, standing with Spike.

“Trixie? Is that you? What brings you here?” she asked, confused. She had thought they reconciled after their last encounter, although no words had been exchanged. She thought they had a mutual understanding. Yet, here Trixie was once again. Except, this time she didn’t look smug as usual.

Trixie stepped forward, looking Twilight in the eyes before calmly bowing before her. “I apologize for my sudden appearance princess, but I have come to apologize and beg for forgiveness for my past discretions.” she said, head still bowed to the floor.

Twilight looked down at Trixie, confusion plastered on her face as she looked to Spike, her eyes pleading for help in this situation. Spike looked back at her and simply shrugged.

Twilight looked at Trixie once more and gave a soft sigh. She used her wing to cradle the mare's head and lift it up, allowing them to see each other eye to eye once more.

“Trixie, while I do appreciate the effort, there was no need to go through all this trouble. I forgave you a long time ago, and I was looking forward to the day where I might be able to call you my friend.” Twilight said with a smile. “I can tell you’ve grown, and don’t only think of yourself anymore. Maybe that day is finally here.”

Trixie smiled brightly at Twilight. “Princess Twilight, I would be honored to call you my friend!” she said happily as a warmth spread throughout her heart.

“First thing’s first then.” Twilight said, holding up her hoof to silence Trixie. “Drop the whole princess thing. I’m still Twilight, just say my name.”

“But what good is a title if you don’t use it?” Trixie asked, legitimately confused about the situation.

“Just because I was crowned as a princess of Equestria doesn’t mean I’ve changed as a pony. I grew wings, but that’s about it. I still study, I still meet with my friends and I still live in a way that makes me happy. That’s all I ask for in life.” Twilight said as she looked around at her new castle. “All of this was truly unexpected, and it’s all been thrown at me so fast that I really haven’t had time to deal with it all, but I’m working on something right now that will get my name known, not as a princess, but as a scientist.”

Trixie perked up at this. “So you’re working on a science experiment? Can Trixie....can I help?” she asked.

Twilight mentally slapped herself. Nopony was supposed to know about what she was doing!

“I don’t know about that Trixie, it’s pretty intense stuff.” she said, hoping to make the mare give up.

“If a 2.34 g substance at 22°C with a specific heat of 3.88 cal/g-°C is heated with 124 cal of energy, the new temperature of the substance would be 35.7°C.” Trixie said as she sat on her haunches and looked expectantly at Twilight.

Twilight could feel her jaw drop. “Trixie, where did you learn that?!” she exclaimed.

“Just because my career is a flop and I live out of a run-down cart, it doesn’t mean that I’m a dummy.” Trixie replied with a smile. “My parents paid for me to go to a very prestigious school, and I am actually qualified to work a career in thermodynamics. I just followed my passion is all. It was what my cutie mark was telling me.” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing of all.

Twilight just stared, jaw hanging loosely.

“Alright, I’m leaving. This is too much for me.” Spike said as he threw his arms up in a huff and left the room.

Twilight stared at her new friend for a few moments longer, before she closed her jaw and made her decision. Walking over to a nearby table, she grabbed a paper, a quill and some ink with her magic and wrote something down really quickly.

Levitating the paper to Trixie, she said “Follow these directions and meet me at my secret place tonight. Don’t tell anypony.” she emphasized that last order and Trixie nodded her head in understanding.

Twilight led Trixie back to the door and opened it for her to leave. The two exchanged farewells and she closed the door soon after.

“I don’t know if I just made things easier, or harder.” Twilight said with a sigh, before she began walking back up the stairs. She needed some rest before she got back to work.