Altering Harmony

"C'mon now, ya'll, we've gotta find Rarity!" Apple Bloom charged into the darkness, relying on her instincts in order to navigate, as she desperately searched for Rarity with her friends trailing closely behind her. The first place they checked - Rarity's personal room - was, unfortunately, no luck.

"This way!" Sweetie Belle took charge as she led the other two fillies to the storage room, the room in which Rarity store her dressmaking materials. As soon they entered the room, the sound of familiar sobbing reached their ears; her hope reignited, Sweetie Belle led her friends deeper into the room, finally stopping in her tracks when she spotted her elder sister packing up her materials.

Managing to catch up to Sweetie Belle just in time, the Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped in shock as Rarity turned to face them. Judging by her appearance, Rarity was definitely not in a good state: the eyeliner that she used was slobbered all over her cheeks, there were large black bags under her eyes, and her mane was in a disheveled state.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed sorrowfully as she ran up to her elder sister and embraced her tightly.

Rarity pushed her away, whirling around resentfully to finish packing her scarves into a small cardboard box. "Here to laugh at me too? Go on then, jeer all you want! I don't care anymore!"

"Of course not, Rarity!" Apple Bloom answered, her expression confused. "What made ya think that? We just came here to check up on ya!"

"Whatever," Rarity grunted harshly in response. "I'm fine... at least, now I am. I've finally realized how much work it is being a part of the fashion world. You have to deal with critiscm, sabotage, nasty rumors... I'm certainly better off having nothing to do with that world."

"But what about sharing your amazing work with other ponies?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Besides, Rarity, the ponies who try to bring you down are probably just jealous of your awesome work," Scootaloo added. "At least Rainbow Dash doesn't have those kind of fans. She's too cool for them!"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom snapped their heads in the direction of their friend, agitated at her response.

"Ya coulda just stopped at 'jealous of your awesome work', y'know," Apple Bloom muttered only loudly enough for Scootaloo to hear.

"My life is ruined! I'm ruined!" Rarity shouted dramatically. "I even missed Hoity Toity's fashion showcase!"

Scootaloo sighed, turning her head slightly to whisper to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, "Rarity's lost it too! There's no point in wasting our time and staying here; let's go to Twilight's, she's the last pony that would go crazy."

"No!" Sweetie Belle answered, the loudness of her voice catching Rarity's unwanted attention. Noticing that, Sweetie Belle lowered her voice as she spoke again, "You two can go see Twilight without me; I'm going to stay here with my sister."

"What are you silly fillies planning?" Rarity muttered to herself, continuing her frenzied packing.

"Alright then," Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah respect yer choice, Sweetie Belle. If that's how ya want it, then Scoot and Ah'll go on to meet Twilight at her library. When it's noon, we'll meet ya at the front of the Boutique. Ya agree?"

"Got it," Sweetie Belle replied. "I'll see you at noon then! Bye!"

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave her a small smile before they left the shop, leaving Sweetie Belle alone there with her sister.

Leading Scootaloo as quickly as she could to the Golden Oak Library, Apple Bloom soon approached her desired destination, Scootaloo standing behind her.

Knock! Knock!

A few moments - which seemed more like hours in their opinion - passed before Twilight finally opened the door.

"Hi there, can I help you with anything?" Twilight said, only a part of her face being visible as the door was barely open a crack.

"Uh, we kinda have a big problem on our hooves, Twilight," Apple Bloom told her. "Can we come in first?"

"Oh, sure." Twilight fully opened the door before stepping aside to let the two fillies enter. "Sorry about everything looking messy... I've been having some, I guess you could say trouble, lately."

"It's... not that... messy," Scootaloo tried to reassure her, taking in the bedraggled sight of Twilight's library. The shelves were of no use since all of the books were "organized" in large piles on the floor; Twilight herself looked a bit messier than normal: strands of her mane were popping out randomly, large beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, and dark circles could be located under her hollow gaze.

"Uh... ya alright, Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked, glancing sideways at Scootaloo. "Ah guess we could help ya... clean up while we talk, y'know. Help everythin' look dandy again." Apple Bloom gave a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, that would be great!" A small smile broke out on Twilight's face as she leaned down to pick up a book using her mouth.

Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo immediately remarked, "Can't you just use your magic instead, Twilight?"

Twilight dropped the book as soon as she heard Scootaloo's comment. Grunting loudly as she collapsed on her belly, she sighed, "I've been trying to use my magic, but it just... won't work!"

"What'd ya mean by that? How can yer magic not work?" Apple Bloom asked curiously, picking up a few books on the ground before placing them back on their respective bookshelves.

"Well... it all started out with me just having a hard time moving the books in general, but over time, I've been noticing that my magic just doesn't function anymore and there's no reasonable explanation, it's just... agh!"

"Must suck," Scootaloo shrugged. "I mean, what would happen if Rainbow Dash lost her wings? It'd make her so uncool!"

"Not everythin' is about Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom muttered just loud enough for her friend to hear.

"So, what brings you here?" Twilight asked them.

"Well, Rainbow Dash is looking at rocks! Rocks, I'm telling you, rocks!" Scootaloo responded furiously.

"Okay...?" Twilight blinked.

"Actually, to be honest, all yer buddies have been actin' mighty strange lately," Apple Bloom added, ignoring Scootaloo. "Rainbow Dash was looking at rocks with Pinkie Pie, Rarity gave up on fashion, Applejack ain't the Applejack Ah know, and Fluttershy's actin' like a bully."

"And now your magic is..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off as Apple Bloom shot a warning glance at her.

"Somethin's goin' on here, Twilight. Somethin' really bad." Apple Bloom sighed.

"I know, Apple Bloom. I was digging through books about it before I got carried away due to my... magical dysfunction." Twilight's voice grew quieter. "I found nothing!"

"Maybe we can help you look through all the books again," Apple Bloom suggested, offering Twilight a small smile.

"Uh..." Twilight chuckled nervously at Apple Bloom's idea. A moment later, the lavender unicorn was shoving the two fillies outside, and before closing the door completely, she said, "S-Sorry! I've got... other things to do than read boring, old books. Heh, heh."

"Boring, old books?" Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow just as Twilight slammed the door. "She would never describe a book like that!"

"It's true though, you know," Scootaloo giggled, "books are boring and old."

Apple Bloom sighed in frustration. "Really, Scoot?"

Eyeing each other for a few moments before trotting away from the treehouse in unison, Scootaloo suddenly tripped and landed facedown in the dirt. "Hey!" she complained, getting up with an irritated expression on her face. However, it was quickly converted to one of confusion when she realized that she had tripped over Spike, Twilight's personal assistant.

"Spike! Where've ya been? Somethin' bad's happenin'!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, surprised.

"S-Sorry," Spike responded, "I was at Canterlot the whole time on royal duty."

"Canterlot?" Apple Bloom said. "Ah heard it's mighty nice there. Anyways, the Elements of Harmony have been actin' strange lately. They're actin' like the opposites of their Elements!"

"That already sounds pretty bad," Spike mused. "How about Rarity? Is she okay?"

"Uh, sure," Scootaloo answered sarcastically, "she's crying at the Boutique with Sweetie Belle there to comfort her."

"Oh, that's go- wait... she's crying?" Spike's eyes widened in horror. "I need to go help her!"

"Now wait here, Spike," Apple Bloom said, standing in Spike's way just as he began to leave. "We really need yer help in reasonin' with Twilight; she said that her magic's gone and that her books were 'boring, old' ones."

Spike gasped, disbelief clouding his emerald eyes. "Woah, that's really bad. What do you plan to do then?"

"Ain't exactly sure yet, y'know. Lately we've just been confirming our theory of the Elements being crazy by checkin' up on all of them," Apple Bloom explained, "and it's pretty much spot-on!"

"We've gotta meet Sweetie Belle at the Carousel Boutique when noon comes," Scootaloo paused for a moment, glancing up at the sky before continuing, "and I'd say that based on my killer instincts... we've got about ten more minutes before we have to be there."

"Right," Spike nodded nervously. "I-I'm really sorry for being at Canterlot while something this important's been happening in Ponyville-"

"Don't worry, Spike," Scootaloo reassured him, laying a hoof on the baby dragon's shoulder, "just help us in reasoning with Twilight and we'll forgive you... even though we never really blamed you."

"Allow me then." Spike gave them a sheepish grin as he approached the wooden door, clearing his throat as he loudly knocked a few times on the door. "Twilight, open the door! It's me, Spike!"

"Coming!" Twilight's hoofsteps could be heard from inside the treehouse as she trudged through her piles of books in order to get to the front door.

As soon as Twilight opened the door, Spike's reaction was similar to those of Apple Bloom's and Scootaloo's. "H-Hi, Twilight," Spike stammered, taking in the sight before him. "Can I come in?"

"Well, of course, Spike." Twilight raised an eyebrow, suspicious of his strange behavior, as she stepped aside to let her assistant in. She almost shut the door when suddenly Apple Bloom and Scootaloo managed to wiggle in with some slight difficulty.

"Again?" Twilight grumbled in irritation, turning to the two fillies. "What do you want? I'm not going to accept your help!"

"If yer not goin' to accept our help, then at least help us instead!" Apple Bloom stared at Twilight, her tone frustrated.

Spike's gaze flicked nervously from Twilight to the fillies, then to Twilight, and back again.

"There's nothing in my books about it!" Twilight protested in response. "I've already read over them once; that's enough times already to tell you that I have absolutely no information whatsoever that will help you!"

"Now listen here, Twilight." Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, shoving her own face into Twilight's. "We all know that you want to read all those books again deep down inside. So, get on it!"

Twilight let out a loud groan before she attempted to use her magic once more. Her horn - only for a second, though - was surrounded with its normal violet glow before sparks began to fly off of it and distinguished the aura completely. "Ugh!"

Spike gasped in disbelief, stepping back and knocking down the stack of books that happened to be located right behind him.

The tumbling books created a domino effect on some other stacks that were near it, causing a boisterous ruckus. Twilight and the two filles immediately switched their attention to Spike instead, who had tripped over a stray book and was now on the ground, chuckling nervously.

"Look, girls, I'm not interested in reading those stupid books again! They're a waste of my time and I'm sticking to that!" Twilight snarled before stomping upstairs, leaving the others behind. "Just read them yourselves if you're so interested in what's happening!"

Spike, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo exchanged glances with each other skeptically.