Done by a Single Night

Author's Note: Dreadfully sorry for such a late upload. I'm working on a really big story... that won't be published under my name for reasons that, well, you'll have to wait to find out. I'll still get 100% credit, but just in case you don't find it, I'll post a link when it's done.

Also, you have no clue how long it took to bold that guy's voice.

Or research the Tarot.

I'm making excuses. Again, really sorry. I'll try to juggle uploads on this to verify that I'm not dead or slacking. Or slacking dead.

North Ponyville - 2:36 A.M. - Present Time

"Who's there!?" Spitfire whipped her head around.

Nothing but the soft trickle of rainwater and a cold moan from the trees answered.

"Heh, military persona's gettin' to ya... I really need a break..."

She walked slowly over to the empty Wonderbolts HQ. She literally lived at the Headquarters all her life, and this was no exception.

It was in construction, however, so she had to live in a small lean-to outside the building. It was surprisingly comfy, as long as you had an oil lamp going.

Her stomach growled. Where's that backpack?

Last time she had it was back at- oh. Right.

She begrudgingly got up and went out into the cold rain again. She hadn't rested at all yesterday, and sleep was taunting her. The bag was back at the Boutique where she commissioned those uniforms, probably. At least it's a short walk.

Well, complaining won't do anything.

She walked down the old cobblestone road. Left, not right. Right is to the bar. Right.

The air around her simply whispered the same tones over and over, a dim hum that faded out and entranced the listener. Spitfire had to take extra care not to fall asleep.

But, there was something else. Like, a smoother whirl, but more fierce, like a bullroarer's-

THUMP.

Spitfire frantically tried to get up. Her hooves didn't move, the night not revealing the source. In addition, she couldn't move her wings, having landed on them.

The stress of staying awake too long was getting to her. She yelled at herself to stay awake, but there was something else here that stopped her. It wasn't magic, it wasn't fright, it wasn't anything she could describe.

As she slipped into a sleep, the last thing she felt was the frantic touch of cold, greedy hooves over her body.

Why would you even suggest that?!

We're all dead now.

I'm literally dangling from the roof on a string tied to my leg.

Twilight had this simply brilliant idea that we all try to cut their feet off and they'd fall down and we'd be able to finish them.

How in Tartarus would that even work?

Their legs are about as thick as trees! Even if it was easy to 'cut their feet off', that would do nothing! We'd still have like four more to do that too, and we're just ants to them! They'd just grab us and throw us into the wall!

But they didn't. We scratched their ankles with a toothpick, and they picked us up, and hung us from the roof like Hearthswarming ornaments before disappearing as if they had no other jobs.

I've got lucky streaks that I can count on, though. They're in my mane.

But I'm unable to do anything right now because of somepony's great plan.

"Okay, fine, I'll fix it," Twilight said next to me.

What, you're saying that as if it wasn't your fault!

She unhooked her disc and tossed it.

It nearly cut my leg off before curving up and slicing Fluttershy free, who would've probably cracked her skull open if she didn't have wings.

Twilight blushed and looked away.

Well... at least Fluttershy has aim.

Seriously, I'll teach that mare to throw if it kills me. Which will probably happen in the process.

So, we're here on the ground. The elevator is closed, and there's no way out. Great.

And there's no stairs, which breaks some law somewhere.

We're trapped. There's no way out.

Twilight tried exploding the walls, but they seemed to be either too thick or explosion-proofed. Why in Tartarus would anyone ever think of that? It seems like such a random thing...

I suppose we just have to wait.

I sat down and opened my saddlebag. Nothing but my two swords, Lexis's bottomless wineglass, and a magic rectangle.

I opened it up and ate it instantly.

Okay, I feel better now.

"So, what are we gonna do?" I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hoof. You know, that expression doesn't make sense, there is no defined backside.

"I don't know," Twilight said, twirling her disc around her hoof. "He doesn't sound like he'll be coming back."

"Maybe we could, um, try to dig a hole out?"

"No ways," I responded to Fluttershy. "Twilight can't blow a hole, we don't have anything that can cut rock, and I don't know how to make a wormhole. Wait a second... That's it!"

I used Lexis's weird paint thing, covered my hooves, and slammed them together explosively.

"You do realize you can't take your friends here, right?" The white mare said almost instantly when I arrived. "And that you aren't getting any closer to escaping by coming here."

"Nah, I'm bored. Plus, ditching them will make them think I'm gonna go get help. And morale is everything!"

"I suppose."

"So... do you have any ideas about how we can escape?"

She grinned. "No clue."

"...Thanks."

"Well, since you're here, I might as well annoy you. Do you have an object for me to destroy?"

Knowing her, I should probably hand over something before she-

"Too late! I'm choosing it."

She levitated my bag out of my reach, and made it rotate above us as she looked through it with leisure.

"No, you'll need that... and that... why don't you keep any junk on you? C'mon! Everypony needs useless trinkets! And th- what's this?" She took out the golden dagger.

"Hm? Oh, I got that as a second sword from some... guy."

She twirled it in her hooves by the tips carefully as if it were a bomb. "I... haven't seen this in a long time." She set it down on the table, and for a second, I thought it flashed into a different form- a ruby-tipped golden sceptre.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and Lexis was frowning. "I... yes, that would be it."

"What?"

"Leave, Dash. Your friends have found a way out."

With a wave of her hoof, the walls around me vanished, and I was back in the basement, sitting on the floor like an idiot.

"I've got it!" Twilight yelled right as I stepped back in.

"We can leave? Oh, that was quick."

"Wait, no, that won't work."

"Dangit."

"...Maybe, if we channel enough latent magic from the leylines, we could get a way out!"

"Brilliant. Wait, I thought you said magic doesn't work."

"Not if we use Persona magic."

"...Okay..."

Twilight closed her eyes. The glowing form of a robed unicorn appeared into the air. His hat wasn't any less infuriating.

She looked at him. "Hey, Kitalpha... can we have some help here?"

He blinked and stared at the crystal ball in his hooves. It was filled with a thousand glowing specks, like the universe was crammed into a goldfish bowl. But that's not important, what really is important was his hat. Man! I felt like ripping his hat to pieces! There was just something about it that made you-

"Help must be initiated with a request. Your query has insufficient detail. What do you seek? A sandwich? The knowledge of how to get the Water Waltz in Pony Fantasy 6? Or do you wish that-"

"Umm, an escape route."

He waved his hoof over the orb. A glowing circle appeared on the floor, which opened up like a whirlpool.

"Do not enter yet, however." He said. "Any opening requires two ends. I have taken it implied that you want one end of the portal in close proximity. However, the other end, you have not specified."

"Ponyville."

"Where in Ponyville? It is quite large, albeit small compared to much bigger towns such as Canterlot, but it still has quite the-"

"Err, my library."

"Where in your library? It may not be as large as Ponyville, but it certainly has many complicated-"

"Blue rug. Thirteen centimeters from the left side."

"Left from which perspective?"

"Entering from the front door."

"Front from which perspective?"

"...Screw it, just put it in the middle of the blue rug."

"Fine, it shall be so." He waved his hoof over the orb again, and disappeared into mist.

"Does this happen all the time?" I asked Twi.

She hung her head in her hooves like she had a headache. Which she probably did."Unfortunately so."

We jumped into the portal and fell through.

"Wow. Man... I... wow. This is certainly unexpected." I looked at the scene around me. "This rug is a lot softer than I thought it'd be."

"...Err, yes. I suppose so."

"I don't know about you ponies, but um, I have to go see if my animals are fine... I don't know if they're okay, I mean, time is all weird there and stuff, so um, if you don't mind..."

"Sure Flutters. See you later."

"B-bye..."

Floating about two inches off the ground, she went out the door. Graceful as ever. Minus the knives and glowing vials of unspecified liquid she had strapped to her belt.

"Well, I'm bored." I muttered. "I wonder what's changed since we've gone."

It was almost the second I walked out the library when a frantic Scootaloo ran up to me.

"Hey, what's up, Squirt?"

"Dude, Rainbow Dash, did you hear? Spitfire's in the hospital!"

"Wait, WHAT?" My voice was about an octave higher than it usually is. It was painful to hear.

"Yeah! Come quick!"

I didn't have time to waste. I picked up Scootaloo and flew over to the hospital as fast as I could.

"She'll be in room seve-"

"Ah, thanks. Bye."

I flew through the halls, carrying Scootaloo underneath me like a basket.

Nurses complained as I barely dodged fancy metal tables.

This was serious. What if Spitfire was badly injured?

"Or she could just have feinted from minor dehydration," my inner Twilight Sparkle said.

Shut up. She also could have been hit by a train.

"Very unlikely."

But still possible.

Anyways, where was I? Did she say room seventeen or seventy? Or just seven? Seventy-six? Seven-hundred?

Nice one, Dash.

I set Scootaloo down and looked around. "There!" she yelled, and pointed somewhere.

I followed her hoof to see an orange tail whip around a corner.

"Spitfire?"

She nodded. "I'm sure of it."

What was Spitfire doing outside of bed?

Is it really that big of an overreaction?

Then why is she in the hospital?

I hurried over.

Oh, that's the room number.

I opened the door and walked in.

And Spitfire's suddenly in bed again. Well, at least Scoots was right.

"Yo! Spitfire, what happened?"

Her voice sounded weak. "Not much, just have a bit of a cold."

She coughed a few times. I was worried, but I had to agree, it didn't exactly look like anything serious.

"Err... then what's the hype about?"

She flipped her mane with a hoof. "I was sleeping outside in the rain all night yesterday. Didn't have a choice, somepony knocked me out."

"Wait... what?! Di- did you see who it was?"

"No."

"Did you get stolen from?"

"Err, kinda. Exactly half of all my things were stolen. Very meticulous thief, to the Bit at that."

I exhaled in relief. "Well, at least you're okay."

"Another fangirl?" I heard someone say behind me.

I turned to see a pegasus mare with a fiery mane like Spitfire's, and a coat of electric blue. I estimated her to be a bit younger than me, but not by much. She wore flight goggles on her head, and had a loose-fitting sash over her shoulder that identified her as a very high-ranking Wonderbolt.

Spitfire sighed. "Missy, she's a friend. It's fine."

The mare smiled and offered a hoof. "I'm Misfire, Spitfire's sister. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

I shook it in turn. "I'm Rainbow Dash, head of the weather team here. Nice to meet you too, Miss Fire."

"No," she said, laughing. "Misfire. One word."

"...I... um..."

She looked down to her hooves, sadly. "Yeah... Anyways, why don't we get to know ourselves better? Wanna grab a bite at the Cerulean Diner?"

"Heck, why not. Bye Spitfire!"

"See ya."

I turned around to find nopony there. I hadn't heard a single wingbeat.

Spitfire laughed. "Let's just say Missy really likes doing things the most... 'efficient' way possible."

"Where is she?"

"The restaurant. Well, by right about..." she waited a few seconds. "Now. She's there already."

"What?!"

I jumped out the window and flew over.

How could she fly that quickly? No wonder she's a Wonderbolt! I mean, she is like, Spitfire's sis and all, but that's ridiculous! And she was about as quiet as Fluttershy at the same time!

I really needed to figure out how she did that. Not even Spitfire can fly that fast.

I pulled up to a stop by the diner to see she had already sat down at a table.

"Oh, hey there Dash. Took the liberty of reserving a table."

I panted for breath. "How did- but I- It... all... wh-"

She chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You look tired. Have a seat!"

As soon as the waitress arrived, I drained my glass of water, coughing. "Seriously... that was fast... you don't even look tired!"

"Everyone tires, I just try not to show it."

"That calmly?"

"Practice."

"I... wow. I honestly need to relearn how to fly, and from you at that..."

As I said that, her eyes flickered. Her smile faded, and she stared off.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing, just remembered something..."

Our lunch arrived without a word from Misfire.

Through the whole sitting, she simply looked down.

I figured as much that something was wrong.

I finished my sandwich and nudged her. She looked up. "Hey, um, you look sad. Wanna race?"

She flinched, and looked scared. Not in a This-Movie-Is-Scary way, but more like in an In-Front-Of-The-Bloody-Sacrificial-Altar sort of way.

Eyes agape, she dashed out the door of the store.

I opened the door and looked out. She wasn't there to be seen.

Well, that was certainly... unusual.

Probably had to go run a quick errand or something.

I didn't think much of it as I went home.

"Rainbow Dash!" a booming voice shouted. It enveloped me like the thick folds of a blanket. A fierce wind blew in my face, and the world around me was dark. I couldn't see anything.

"Do you have** any *idea of what you've done!*"

I rubbed my eyes and got up. Under normal pretenses, a voice like that would've made me run and hide, but I was used to divine forces trying to rip my skull out.

I brushed off my coat and stood up. "No, not particularly."

"You think this a joke."

"No, I just can't take this seriously. Too cliche."

"Your friends are more than just simple ponies. They serve a grander scheme, one that your pitiful mind cannot comprehend."

"Hey, I'd never abandon my friends!"

"Yes, but can you say the same for them? You've done a terrible thing to Misfire. She curses your name, and wishes death, and a thousand years of suffering upon your head."

"...All because I challenged her to a race?"

"Yes."

"...Yeah, I don't buy it. Umm, still, what's the importance of this?"

I heard the sound of a deep breath, followed by an exhale. A glowing rectangle- not to be confused with a magic rectangle- fell from the ceiling. I was certain it wasn't Lexis's doing, too slow.

It was... a deck of cards. Where have I seen this before...

"I believe a friend bequeathed this upon you?"

"Err, yes, it was a gift, but I don't know what it is."

"This is a Tarot deck. There are seventy-two cards in it, each representing a different characteristic of a pony. This characteristic can be good, or bad, both sides of the coin in one card. Understanding of it takes twenty seconds, mastery takes a lifetime, but knowing its meaning... That is truly a hard thing to do. That's why you're here."

"I am?"

"Yes. The seventy-two cards, alone they represent mere things, but together... they represent life, death, and eternity itself."

"I don't get it."

"You will in time; that is your destiny."The cards shuffled and fanned themselves, their backs facing me. "I can see your fate, woven into the cards..."

Now, to think that something as big as my entire life could be interpreted through a bunch of cardboard slips kinda threw me off. Why would I believe that? Then again, I'd figured I should expect crazy things to happen.

"Err... what's it say?"

"Hard to compose in but a few words. One moment, please."

In the black darkness, I could see a white mist appear and spill out on the floor. It eventually morphed, and formed into the crude shape of a pony. His eyes glowed with a mad light, but the rest of his face was textureless and devoid of emotions.

He fell to the floor, and gestured for me to sit. The deck fell to his side.

The deck shuffled itself madly. All the while, he stared at me with his emotionless eyes. They were unnerving, and very shiny.

"That should be about enough. Just to show you I haven't cheated, you can cut the deck."

"How do you cheat at a Tarot reading?"

"The same way you cheat in Poker."

"...?"

"Right. You do know that modern playing cards were based off of Tarot, right?"

"Poker represents life, the universe, and everything?"

"No, that's what Solitaire is for."

"What?"

"Okay, so, onto your destiny."

The first card fell off the top of the deck. It fell down, revealing a dodgy- looking pony with a suave black hat. He was smiling, and above him floated a golden infinity sign. One hoof pointed up triumphantly, the other pointed down modestly. His cocky smile made me think he was up to something. Around him floated four objects.

The first was a sword. Around it flew zephyrs, chasing each other in dancing circles. It looked like a really convenient vegetable slicer.

The next was a stick. It was on fire, but didn't seem to be burning. Judging by the conspicuous ruby in its tip, and the fact that it was a lot bigger than the sword made me think it would be better to call it a wand.

Behind that was a really big coin. Probably had little to no mint value, that thing was gigantic. But oooh, it was shiny. If that was solid gold, it'd be worth a fortune.

Finally, and probably most boring, was a cup. Wow. A mysterious liquid sloshed around in it, and judging from the smile he had on his face, it could be anywhere from moonshine to kerosene, and millions of things more.

Now, from his stupid smile, he could either be A: Trying to sell me yet another fruit juicer, B: Trying to steal bits from my bag, C: Recite a cheesy pickup line, D: Do some stupid magic trick, or E: Laugh as he made me swallow a firecracker.

That smile... it made me torn between the decisions of slapping him, giving him a pat on the back, or yelling at him to get out of my house.

"This card is the Magician. Arcana one. He represents your present- all that you think of the world as it is around you, and what you aspire to happen."

"I'm being sold 'magic' sponges?"

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know if they're actually as absorbent as they claim. Anyways, the Magician means that currently, you've been given a new chance at life, to try to do it all over again, and harness hidden potential. Your talents have not been realized yet, and attaining that power will require an initiative."

I thought of all that had happened to me recently. It wasn't exactly miracles I was doing, and I was quite new at them, but that matched perfectly. "I... guess that makes sense."

"Whelp. Onto the next card. This one is going to be the Challenge- something you must overcome to achieve your goals."

He placed this card not on the Magician, but sideways.

This card was of a mare, who rested regally on her really red throne chair oh, screw this.

On the left and right of her, there were two pillars, one white, one black.

Her white-blue dress fell to the ground, where what appeared to be a crescent moon laid, half-covered with the trailing gown. On top of her head rested a three-tiered crown, the bottom one golden and flared like a rising sun, the middle of silver covered in thousands of dazzling stars, and the top one a dark blue metal with the crescent moon's favor.

She wore a veil over her face, but from underneath the cover of her eyes, I could see a satisfied smirk. Clearly, she knew something I didn't. And she would do anything she could to keep that away from me. You know, she kind of reminded me of-

"Luna?" I blurted out loud.

The dark pony tilted his head in thought. As he blinked, his form flickered. "...These cards are archetypes. It's entirely possible for you to be reading through them."

"Hmm."

"This card, like I said, is the Challenger."

"Bring it on, Luna!"

"If you ever challenged somepony like that to a fight, you'd probably be incinerated the instant those words were uttered."

"Nah, I hear that half of all Alicorns failed their magic combat tests."

"There's only two ponies from whom we could collect that data. And Luna was banished the day before she'd have taken her test."

"Yeah, but that's still like, fifty percent, right?"

"Touche. Anyways, this card is the High Priestess. Arcana two. Secrets, lies, mysteries, hidden knowledge. How do you know for sure she is Luna? Are you sure that's the real, natural moon, and not an artificially flavored one? Does she reach for a glass of lemonade or a scimitar? Is she really a pony, or, say, a cabbage in an outfi-"

"Thank you."

"She is the opposite of the Magician- while he was open with his intelligence, and knew everything he needed to, the Priestess is more... calculating. She bides her time. Maybe she knows what to do. Maybe she doesn't. But she has resources unrevealed, which she can tap at will."****

**"This card is... weird. Why is Luna standing on the moon?"**

****"Because it's awfully hard to swim on the moon."****

**"..."**

****"The moon represents ultimate wisdom. Usually such a goal flies high above us, unreachable. But the Priestess, she has the moon at her beck and call. She is able to, at will, use nothing more than pure knowledge. Aside from that, this card usually is a good thing- you have unraveled mysteries. Blah blah blah. But this time, it's what's called Reversed."****

**The card slowly spun around until it lay perfectly on top of the magician, so that it was upside-down. I stared at it blankly. "What's different?"**

****"If upright is 'good', then Reversed is 'bad'. But like the Priestess herself, the real meaning of this card is a bit... unclear. Dodgy bastard. It has a variety of interpretations. It could mean you aren't listening to your conscience. Maybe there's something you know that you're ignoring. Or, someone's keeping a secret. It could be you. Or, lack therof. A secret may be out. But I don't know."****

**"Wait, I have a question. If cards can be reversed, and playing cards are based off of Tarot, then how did-"**

****"So people couldn't read the cards, find the winning side, and rearrange their hand."****

**"?"**

****"You know, you can read your hand to predict the exact number of bits to bet."****

**"...Interesting."**

**He slapped me and threw another card down.**

****"Bam! You didn't see that coming!"****

**I rubbed my face. "...Okay?"**