Chapter 1: A Study in Ponyville
Star Swirl the Bearded. It is a name practically synonymous with magic. He provided Equestria with many revolutions of magic, and is truly the one responsible for making magic what it is today. However, with all the praise Star Swirl gets, it is easy to overlook another highly important historical figure, Clover the Clever.
Due to the disregard for preservation of historical documents that Equestria once had, it is hard to place which spells came from the work of Star Swirl, and which came from Clover. However, an old journal of Star Swirl was recently uncovered, and it has revealed some interesting information. In particular, one entry has Star Swirl discuss one specific spell from Clover, a spell known as Arbeger’s Sequence.
According to the journal, this spell is less of a spell, and more of a technique, designed to allow a caster to skip directly from the beginning to the end of a spell, theoretically allowing for instantaneous spell casting. However, such a technique would still require the caster to have a mental imprint of the entire spell, and Star Swirl even goes on in the journal to detail his experimentation with Arbeger’s Sequence, mentioning how he can’t cast spells any faster than around a half second.
While it would only really be useful for the likes of competitive casting, the idea of instantaneous spell casting is still quite a fascinating one. Hence why it is disappointing to note that this journal is the only time a historical document has ever mentioned anything of Arbeger’s Sequence, seemingly implying that it has been lost to the winds of time. It is sad to know that such a promising technique has been lost, but at the same time, this is but one of the many interesting thing’s revealed by the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded.
“Well that was a load of shit.”
It’s amazing, it really is. I pride myself on reading, to the point where I’ve read everything in the official Canterlot library twice, and as a proud self-appointed critic of literature, I can safely say that that was one of the stupidest things I have ever read. A technique that allows for instantaneous spell casting? The concept is ludicrous! Skipping from the beginning to the end of a spell? What’s that even supposed to mean? If these numbskulls were going to fake finding an old journal that belonged to Star Swirl, couldn’t they at least do their research first? That’s not how spells work!
Those were the thoughts that coursed through my brain as I read that old book. Looking back, it’s kind of funny to think that that’s how it all started. The events that changed my life forever, started by an old book. Oh, right, introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and boy, do I have a story to tell. So please, sit back and relax. After all, we’re going to be here for awhile.
So I sat there, wondering why I had bothered to waste my time reading that, when all of a sudden, a question began overtaking my every thought. And so, in a moment of weakness, I allowed my thoughts to become public as I openly muttered this single question. “Wasn’t I supposed to be doing something today?”
Okay, maybe I’m making this out to be a bit more important than it actually was. Regardless, it was then that Spike, my assistant, friend, and I think technically son, entered the room, and proceeded to answer my question, albeit in a rather rude manner.
“Twilight! Would you stop reading those dusty old books already! We’re going to miss Moon Dancer’s birthday party!”
It was then that I realized that I had, in fact, forgotten Moon Dancer’s birthday. Now, Moon Dancer was without a doubt, my best friend in the whole wide world, so naturally, I was a touch displeased at this revelation.
“Oh fuck, I forgot!” Those were the exact words I had exclaimed, all the while running out the door as fast as I could, while simultaneously using my magic to grab Spike, as well as the presents both of us had gotten for our dear friend. Spike had gotten her a small teddy bear, while I myself had gotten her a picture of us and the rest of our group of friends. Looking back, neither gift could really be considered special, but I wasn’t really thinking of that at the time. Really, I wasn’t thinking of anything as the world seemed to blend together into a colourful mush as it flew past me. I never knew how long I was running for. I simply stopped when I registered a familiar voice.
“Twilight! I’m so glad you could make it!” It was a phrase coupled with a look of pure disbelief from Moon Dancer that made me question how late I was. Although I decided to dismiss it.
“Please, I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” It was a lie, but one I had hoped I wouldn’t get called out on. Leave it to my good friend Minuette to dash those hopes.
“Which I suppose is why you’re five minutes late, right?” If looks could kill, I would have become a murderer right then and there. Luckily, if nothing else, I am observant, and a comeback came to me rather quickly.
“At least I showed up! Where the heck is Lyra?” I had exclaimed, and by the fact that they all took this moment to look around, I supposed none of them had noticed that our mint-green friend was absent. Although Lemon Hearts quickly came to a solution.
“Oh, right. She said she was leaving for Ponyville.” The exchange that followed, in hindsight, is rather hilarious.
“Ponyville? Never heard of it.” It had been true at the time, although naturally, it wasn’t for much longer.
“From what I hear, it’s a quiet little town to the south, although they’ve got a thriving music scene.” To this day, I still wonder whether or not that was a pun. Regardless, it had satisfied me. After all, Lyra was an aspiring musician, but she hadn’t been making progress, thanks to Canterlot having so much competition. So, I decided to end this line of conversation with three simple words.
“That makes sense.”
With this, I dropped Spike, and placed our presents with the rest, before proceeding to take a seat next to Moon Dancer.
“So, why exactly are you late?” she enquired. To anyone else, I would have lied, lied, and lied some more, but to Moon Dancer, I felt obligated to tell the truth.
“I was reading and lost track of time.” And with that, Moon Dancer tried, and failed, to hold back a chuckle.
“I guess some things never change. So, was it any good?” You must understand, Moon Dancer, like me, was a massive fan of reading, and was naturally interested in my endeavours.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” It was short, to the point, and was enough to brush off that line of questioning.
And then Princess Celestia fell from the sky.
She just dropped in, landing quickly, but still elegantly, as if it were nothing. The reactions were mixed. Moon Dancer and I were left dazed and confused as our brains tried to process what had just happened, while everyone else simply bowed on instinct. And then, because I wasn’t already having an emotional breakdown, Celestia decided to add a pinch of panic onto the clump of confusion my brain had become with a single phrase that gave birth to a colony of butterflies in my stomach.
“Twilight, may I speak with you in private?”
Allow me to explain. I’m princess Celestia’s personal protégé, so I wasn’t too concerned simply by her presence. Her wanting to say something to me? That’s a bit more worrying. After all, I don’t know why she wanted to talk to me. What if I messed something up and she was there to punish me? Her wanting to talk to me in private, implying it’s something she doesn’t want my friends to hear? I enter a full blown panic mode.
“Yes, of course! Anything for you princess,” was the pathetic excuse for a response I settled on. And in an instant, my view was surrounded by the unmistakable glow of magic, and next thing I knew, I was in a mysterious dark room, sitting at a small wooden table. Then, just to get my senses working again, Celestia practically pounded the table as she placed a picture upon it. It was a picture of a pegasus, and just like that, my brain went into overdrive. For the curious, my thought process was something along the following.
The eyelashes are very defined, and the stature is rather small, it could always be a very feminine stallion, but much more likely I’m looking at a mare. Her skin shows no wrinkles or other obvious signs of ageing. Her eyes don’t even have a noticeable sag under them, so she can’t be a day over 20, but she’s definitely not a filly either. If anything, she looks to be about my age. Cutie Mark is a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt. Okay, that’s a bit weird, but understandable. Clouds and lightning are quite closely related with rain storms, and rainbows are typically produced right after those, as a sign that the storm is over, so her talent is without a doubt weather control. Okay, so I’m looking at a pegasus mare who works on weather and is around seventeen years old, but why?
“This is Rainbow Dash,” Really? Rainbow Dash? Somebody should smack her parents for their lack of creativity. “she’s been missing for three months, and as such, has been declared legally dead.” My brain immediately protested.
“What? But a pony isn’t supposed to be declared legally dead until seven years have passed!” It was a simple fact of Equestrian law, and the idea of it being so blatantly ignored was appalling to me at the time.
“The process has been sped up in Ponyville due to a series of disappearances, all of whom were never found.” She said this with a stern, strait face that told me this wasn’t a joke. And then I panicked.
“Wait, Ponyville? But that’s where Lyra’s moving!” I practically screamed.
“Oh, good, then you have motivation to go along with my plan.” And then my stomach sank.
“Plan?” I asked as it slowly dawned on me why she wanted to talk to me.
“I’ve decided to hold this year’s Summer Solstice Celebration in Ponyville, but what they don’t know is that that’s a coverup. Twilight, I’m going to be sending you to Ponyville to investigate who’s behind these disappearances, and if anyone asks, you’re there to check if everything surrounding the ceremony is going well or not.”
In that moment, I knew my fate was sealed, but I decided to check anyway.
“Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“No.”
“I was worried about that.”
“Now prepare yourself, I’m sending you there now.”
“Wait, at least let me say go-” And then I was teleported.
“-odbye to my friends first!” I then realized I was no longer in the same dark room, and took a moment to survey my surroundings, to which I found I was no longer in Canterlot, a fact which I verbally displayed with a single, satisfying word.
“Shit.”
Unluckily for me, it wasn’t long before this was noticed.
“I don’t recognize that voice!” I spun around and found myself face to face with a pink mare who I could only describe as having a mane that exploded. I was so caught off guard by this that I forgot what language I was supposed to be speaking for a brief moment.
“Bonjour?” I muttered.
“Arrivederci!” she shouted in response before running off. With that, I was left to wonder what I had just gotten myself into. However, I wasn’t accomplishing anything by standing there, so I decided to start walking. I didn’t know where I was walking to, and I didn’t care. Before I knew it, I found myself looking upon a rather humble farm.
“Well howdy! What brings a fancy ol’ unicorn like you to a little ol’ farm like this?” The owner of that voice was an interesting character. You could almost smell the Appleloosian on her. And as if her accent wasn’t enough, she also wore a stetson!
“I’m here to check on the Summer Solstice Celebration.” I said, hoping for my sake that this Southerner was somehow involved with the event.
“Well I reckon that makes sense, after all, Sweet Apple Acres is providing the food.” And with that, all my worries were burned to a delicious crisp.
“Indeed, so, how is said food doing?” I questioned, trying to roll with what I’d been given.
“Well why don’t you taste for yourself!” And with that, and unidentifiable apple pastry was shoved into my mouth. Naturally, I was completely and utterly outraged by this completely unsophisticated act.
“Wow, that’s pretty good.”
Okay, maybe I lied, but if you were in my place, you would’ve done the same! That pastry was absolutely delicious! In hindsight, I’m disappointed that I didn’t give it the credit it deserved then and there.
“Well I’m glad you think so! My sister actually made that batch, and I’m sure It’ll make her day to know you liked it.”
Now that caught me off guard. Being incredibly overjoyed with someone liking your work is typically a more childlike behaviour, and the idea of a child baking something so delicious was almost incomprehensible. Before I could fully process this, she asked a question I was surprised wasn’t already brought up. “So, what’s your name?”
“Oh, right. Twilight Sparkle, pleased to meet you.” I don’t think I could have came up with a more generic greeting if I tried, but it did the trick.
“Feeling’s mutual Twilight, the name’s Applejack. And my sister’s Apple Bloom.” It was then that I decided to make a complete fool of myself.
“I assume your surname is Apple?”
“What? No, of course not. The surname’s Smith.”
To be fair, that isn’t something I could have known at the time, but none the less made me feel embarrassed, and so I decided to try leaving as soon as possible.
“Right. So, do you know where the next closest contribution to the Summer Solstice Celebration is?” To be fair, I still think that was one of my better excuses.
“Let me think. I believe the closest one to here would be town hall, which is where the celebration is going to be held. All roads in town filter into it sooner or later, so just follow the trail and you’ll reach it in no time.”
“Right, thanks, I’ll be on my way.” And with that, I went along my merry little way. However, as much as I wanted to simply walk to town hall as calmly as possible, life had different plans for me. And those plans came in the form of a large mob of ponies wearing black robes.
“Nocte quod amplectere!” they shouted in practically all directions. As much as I wanted to, I simply couldn’t bring myself to ignore them, and brought myself up to confront their leader, a white unicorn with an oddly styled violet mane.
“I’m sorry, what exactly is going on here?” I questioned, gaining immediate glares from all of them. I swear they would’ve attacked me right there and then if their leader hadn’t waved them off.
“We’re preaching, of course,” she exclaimed, with a smile on her face that I refused to believe was genuine. “Letting the good word be spread to the masses!”
“I’m sorry, this is a religion?” I sputtered in disbelief.
“What are you? New to town?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, well that explains a lot. The name’s Rarity Belle,” she chirped, proceeding to stare at me for about fifteen seconds before I realized that was my cue.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Yeah, I wasn’t exactly an extrovert back then.
“Well, I hope you enjoy our town, Twilight!” she exclaimed, throwing her hooves up in the air like she was expecting fireworks. “For your question though, yes, this is a religion. One started by me as a matter of fact,” she answered with pure ego dripping from her words. To this, I could only think of one response.
“And the basis for this religion is?” To which, I promptly had a book shoved in my face. A book which I was completely surprised to see.
“Predictions and Prophecies? You made a religion based on this old hunk of junk?” I exclaimed on instinct, gaining gasps from the entire crowd, and a quick response from Rarity.
“Well of course! Haven’t you read? Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape, and she shall bring about nighttime eternal!” And with that, the entire crowd responded in unison.
“Nocte quod amplectere!”
“Okay, right, and this is important why?” To which Rarity delightfully informed me.
“That prophecy was written one thousand years ago! And the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year! You might not believe it now, but tonight, she shall rise. And then you’ll see! You’ll all see!” Then, to my surprise, she leaned in closer and whispered into my ear an extra phrase. “Ponies eat stuff like that up you know, and then once enough people have conformed, I’m going to start asking for donations.” And with that, she left, her entire cult in tow, letting out one final chant as they left.
All except for one, a yellow pony with a pink mane, who stopped to look at me for a couple extra seconds before running off to join the rest of them.
“Man, what weirdos,” a voice stated, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin as I swerved to come face to face with the pink one again.
“You! Who the heck are you?” I demanded.
“The names Pinkie Pie. Sorry about running off before, by the way. It’s a force of habit.” She said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
“Let me guess, social anxiety?” I replied, feeling that I had found someone I could connect to here.
“Nope! I always feel required to throw new ponies a party,” and there that feeling went. “I was going to do the same for you, but I figured by your face that you weren’t really a party kind of pony, so I decided against it.”
“I would’ve liked a party,” I responded, resulting in a giant grin growing across her face.
“Oh? Well then it’s a good thing I always carry around a sealed party in a cannon!”
“You mean a sealed party in a can?”
“Nope! Cannon!” she gleefully replied, pulling out a cannon. And then, she proceeded to fire it, releasing a sound of, oddly enough, not cannon fire, but party blowers.
And then the world devolved into madness.
A few hours and several dance offs later, I found myself finally attending the Summer Solstice Celebration.
“Ladies and Gentlecolts!” the mayor shouted, “Put your hooves to the floor for our glorious immortal princess. The one! The only! Celestia!” And in a flare of glory, Celestia popped into existence. What followed was fairly standard. A few speeches, an over dramatic sun raising that made me question how long we were partying for, and other typical procedures. That was, up until one point.
“May Twilight please step forward?” she asked, causing me to walk out without thinking. “Citizens of Ponyville, this here is Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I sent her here to find the identity of the infamous Ponyville killer. And so, Twilight? Do you have our answer?” I had forgotten I was supposed to figure that out, and in a panic, my brain went over every possibility I could think of.
Out loud.
“Well let’s see. An obvious one to jump to would be Rarity, the black robes would allow for easy disguises and her worshipping of Nightmare Moon could easily imply insanity. However, she admitted to me that she started that religion for a long term gain of money, so she actually isn’t likely. Something I noticed when looking over the files of Rainbow Dash, however, was a name, a name that meant nothing to me at the moment, but now means quite a lot. A name named Pinkie Pie. I noticed Pinkie remained happy and cheerful despite how her friend had been missing for over a month. Why would she be so happy when her friend is dead if she didn’t kill her? Would it be because it’s been three months and she’s accepted it by now? Probably. I don’t actually know where I’m headed with this.”
“So you don’t know?” Celestia said, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I don’t.” I replied, accepting my fate.
“Well, that’s disappointing. Anyways, that concludes this years Summer Solstice Celebration, have a good day.” And with that, she vanished again, and slowly, everyone left.
All except one.
“Well that was kinda rude of her, I mean, she just put you on the spot like that! How could she?” It was the yellow one, without her robe on, I could tell she was a pegasus.
“Oh, I saw you back in the crowd.” I mumbled.
“Oh, please, don’t associate me with them. I just joined because Rarity started it.” She practically begged.
“Oh, you’re friends?”
“Yeah, I suppose you could say that. I’m Fluttershy,” she nearly whispered.
“Charmed,” I joked. “So, why’d you stay behind?”
“I wanted to help you with the killings,” she said, seeming to gain more confidence in her stance.
“Oh? You know something about them?”
“Yes, I know that you should stay away from them. The last mare who tried going down that road met a horrible fate, and, of course,” she chimed while reaching her hoof out to me, and then proceeded to flick my nose with her hoof. Then she just walked away, turning one last time before fully leaving, to say one last thing.
“I’d hate to kill someone as funny as you.”
And that’s how I was left. Sitting there, contemplating how in the world that meek little thing could have possibly been the Ponyville killer. Wondering how I let myself get so distracted by partying as to not properly look into the killings. Pondering what happened with Moon Dancer and the others after I left. Trying to figure out how I had gone the full day without bumping into Lyra. And desperately attempting to craft a solution as to how I would redeem myself in the eyes of this town.
And then Nightmare Moon fell from the sky.
