Chapters Twilight sat, motionless, on the balcony that overlooked Ponyville's serene landscape, the chilling breeze rustling her mane. Her solemn eyes, a cheery shade of lavender, did not express her mood as they were covered momentarily by fluttering eyelids.
The unicorn sat on the balcony, alone.
The unicorn sat on the balcony, and thought.
She thought back to the last few days in Ponyville. All had seemed quite normal at first, since Pinkie wasn't singing and the whole town wasn't cooped up in their respective homes. What she had planned for those days seemed normal as well, most of the bullet points consisting of "help somepony with something" or "finish a certain book for a friendship report." But as the day went on and the sun descended lower in the sky, the sweet things during Twilight's day became as sour as could be.
The studious mare cringed at the events of Monday, when Pinkie Pie- Pinkie Pie, the pony who was known for sharing and caring and making ponies smile- began sneaking her own ingredients into the competition's sweets. Nopony even noticed her, Twilight Sparkle thought grimly. She simply walked into Bon Bon's famous candy shoppe, a malicious smile upon her face, and walked a few moments later with an empty vial in her mouth. The same cruel smile remained.
On Tuesday, in the local newspaper, Pinkie's actions were revealed as an article told of strange tastes in Bon Bon's candies, including one similar to pony flesh. The reporter promised to have more coverage on the issue, including who was responsible, as Bon Bon denied all the questions in despair. Even to this day nopony- except herself, of course- knew the villain was in fact the one who would not be suspected at all.
But that was not the only event on Tuesday, Twilight reminded herself. Still reeling from Pinkie Pie's mischievous deed, she almost thought she was hallucinating as Rainbow Dash, mane a clear banner in the summer wind, flew out of the market with a bag overflowing with bits in tow. Something seemed a little off with her eyes, normally a mesmerizing magenta. They seemed shadowed by greed, clouded with rebellion. This time a witness was available, but she was of no use as the poor mare had just arrived and didn't know anypony's name.
Wetness threatened to overflow at the edges of her eyelids. How could her friends even think about doing these things?
Wednesday brought only more misfortunes, as a break-in at a premier galley in Canterlot was reported. Normally these things were kept only to the confines of the district it happened in, as most events weren't important enough for the rest of Equestria to know about, but this was special because it involved the most well-known gallery in, arguably, the three continents. A courier pony said two of the newest paintings, both involving fantasy worlds and handsome stallions, were taken as well a some older creations, all sharing these same traits. He also brought a security camera photograph of the pony as it ran from the scene, depicting a stunning white unicorn dressed in black. Later that day Twilight went to Rarity's boutique to check on a dress for an upcoming meeting, and her friend had seven new paintings in her possession. The unicorn replied, when asked, that she commissioned them when in Canterlot the day before.
But what had truly blown her away- after all the crimes, committed by the Elements of Harmony themselves- was Thursday. Not only because of the rude words said to her at the market, not only because she saw Applejack tip over Carrot Top's stock and laugh all the while. What had truly blown the unicorn away, what had convinced her the town was, in fact, crazy...
...Was Fluttershy.
It hurt her to think about it. The sweet, kind pegasus that wouldn't damage a flower! The memory still hung in her head, fresh as if it were yesterday.
She walked out of the crowded, mischievous market with a low head and light scratches across her flank. All that was left on her list that day was to visit the pegasus in question and help her with the animals that had just arrived.
Along the way to the cottage, she spotted Fluttershy walking right in front of her, with an unusually heavy saddlebag. She tried calling out to her friend, but she didn't listen.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight tried a new approach. "Need some help with those saddlebags?"
Strangely Fluttershy didn't answer, nor express her gratitude. She kept walking until both of them passed by the park, in which a grand barbecue of sorts was going on. The savory smell of hay on a grill was almost enough to make her ask to join.
Although she didn't answer her fellow Element of Harmony, Fluttershy made a sharp turn and began to speak with one of the stallions manning the grill. The family was obviously living in first class, as their clothing simply shimmered in the sunlight and the foals' coats were perfectly groomed (Though they played rough, so it all went to waste).
"Why hello there, miss!" the stallion exclaimed, holding up a hoof. "What can I do ya for? Maybe a salad, made by yours truly?"
Fluttershy smiled, a devious smile which Twilight came to recognize across all of her friends' faces. She flared her wings, closed her eyes and landed a hard blow on the stallion's chest, knocking him onto his hind legs with a loud crack. His pupils rolled backwards and he fell onto the merciless cement. A tiny trickle of blood ran from his skull onto the hot ground.
The pegasus proceeded to pick at his pockets while the rest of the party's attention was on a speaking mare in the front of the park. Twilight watched in horror as she moved with ease from the small pocket on his chest to the much larger ones covered by his tailcoat, fetching piles of shiny bits and other miscellaneous items.
"Fluttershy?"
She looked up from her handiwork with a grim scowl. "Help me already!" she whispered, baring her teeth.
Scared to the point of screaming, she had no choice but to grab some of the items already retrieved by Fluttershy and hold onto them as she dug out at least half of the stallion's life savings.
"Please don't, stop..." Twilight silently begged, hoping the mare wouldn't direct the attention to her and Fluttershy. "Occupy them a little longer..." She thought of the consequences Fluttershy would receive for assault, and what she would receive for aiding her.
The pony, a brilliant silver with a mess of white hair, smiled and adjusted her glasses. "Another round of applause for Ink Scribble, for getting her work put in the exquisite Canterlot Gallery!"
A loud round of applause arose from the audience, directed at a blushing mare with a party hat.
She looked back at Fluttershy, who was now tearing the clothing off the unconscious stallion in animal-like fashion, using her teeth with vicious precision. At first the action seemed intimate, as if Fluttershy had other plans for him, but as she looked closer it was apparent the fabric was laden with flecks of silver and gold.
"Not only did she get her piece in, it was also stolen!" the speaker persisted.
Instead of the silent sound of mourning, the group actually cheered louder for Ink Scribble, who buried her blushing cheeks in a glass of wine.
"Such a pleasure! Now, who's hungry?"
She gasped and looked nervously at Fluttershy, still collecting patches of his coat. "Hurry up, Fluttershy-"
Her friend looked up and her eyes became shadowed with rage. "Shut up and grab more stuff!" She went back to pulling the fabric from his almost bare chest.
Then his eyes opened, blinked twice, and caught sight of Fluttershy's mane above his chest. "Now what do you think yer doing?" he asked drowsily. Fluttershy's eyes shot daggers and she shushed him before continuing.
Twilight heard the group rise and yell for food- the only problem was, the chef had been assaulted and the food was burned to a crisp.
"What is the meaning of this?" the mare's voice cut through her mind, and she glanced at Fluttershy. The pegasus stared back at her, and in a yellow flash bolted for the Everfree Forest a few miles away, a portion of her findings in her mouth. The rest was with a surprised and scared Twilight, who was given a fashionable bracelet and put on house probation.
She looked down at the bracelet, which was adorned with two lights- one lime green and one a bright scarlet, the former off. She already learned that the red one had two purposes- one to show the bracelet was firmly locked in place, the other being blinking rapidly to show the wearer of the bracelet had stepped outside his or her limitations. The green one she had no idea what it represented.
The unicorn turned her attention to the view below her humble balcony, draped in shadows, thanks to the setting sun. She sighed and held her weary head up with a hoof as she watched ponies walk and talk below. Their coats came from the corners of the color spectrum, with an equal amount of pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies up and about at this hour. Coming from the Town Hall was a tired Mayor Mare, her steps weary as she headed towards one of the few bars in Ponyville, The Dirty Stable. The town was dealing with a financial crisis, so it was obvious what her reasons were to have a few drinks.
She also spotted Lyra and Bon Bon, both mellow ponies most of the time, sitting on a bench under an early streetlight that couldn't wait for the pitch-black of night. Their faces were tinted red with anger, and they went back and forth viciously with sharp tongues.
"Don't you know I'm in a desperate time?!" Bon Bon nearly shrieked. "A little kindness would be appreciated!"
Twilight saw Lyra begin to cry, the salty tears easily seen thanks to the light directly above her. "I have a life too, Bon Bon! Things aren't going swimmingly for me either!"
"That's no excuse for abandoning me when the Equestria Daily team came to question me about the candies!" Bon Bon's curls bounced as she spoke.
"I had a concert! You know, something that is incredibly important to me and gives us the roof over our heads?" The unicorn's eyes were ablaze with rage.
The earth pony mused for a moment, the only sound in the air being her heavy breathing. "...Are you saying your concerts are on a higher pedestal than my business?!"
"They're a lot better than your rancid sweets, that's for sure. How did you even get your cutie mark if everything in your store tastes worse than dirt?" Lyra blinked back a large tear, hoping to appear stronger than Bon Bon, who was slowly collapsing.
Her friend's face underwent a metamorphosis from fury to sadness. She struggled to get her words out as the tears flowed. "...Says the pony who claims she can play the harp!"
"I can! You've seen me perform!"
Bon Bon sighed, trying in vain to control her steep breathing. "You know what, Lyra?" She rose from her seat, stepping in her own pool of tears. "Just go. " A hoof pointed the way down the road.
Lyra stuck out her tongue in childish defiance, refusing to rise.
Bon Bon grumbled loudly, and with a final, fiery look at Lyra, she galloped into the sunset without looking back.
Twilight watched in awe as the lone unicorn stared at the unoccupied wood where her partner once was, as if she could simply use her mind to will her back. Her face contorted back into one of blind rage and she stood up from the bench and into the streetlight.
"Witless foal... She'll come crying back to me within a day." She suppressed her rage by kicking a small stone across the road, where a select few ponies were still out.
Just as she began to stalk into the shadows of an alley, another shadow came from within to meet her. It held a small, empty pouch in its mouth, and before Lyra could react she was hit by a hard hoof and knocked to the ground, drool already pooling by her mouth. Twilight wanted to help somehow, to put the shadow pony to justice, but the anklet and the distance stood in her path. She could only watch in horror as Lyra, unconscious, was first purloined of her available bits and dragged into the depths of the alley, limp and lifeless.
Twilight Sparkle, face long with sadness, straightened her back against the wind as it picked up and gave her slender body goosebumps. The wind's effects on her skin were like her memories' effects on her mind, as well as the current events.
"I'm not going to stand for these horrible crimes- neither should anypony."
She stood slowly, her mane whipping in the wind, outlined in the dusky sky. A determined look was now plastered on her face, leaving no evidence of the bright and cheerful pony she once was.
Twilight Sparkle, head already hatching a grand plan, lowered her head and disappeared into the library, the bracelet emitting soft beeps as she walked.
Twilight's anklet ticked flatly, a pattern that embedded itself so deep into her mind that she even forgot it was there. Even then, between the soft hum of the sewing machine and loud clopping of hooves outside, she could barely hear it.
Although Rarity's passion, and profession, was sewing and crafting, Twilight prided herself on the tiny bits of knowledge she had on the subject from watching her friend. Her stitches were off and slightly skewed, but it would do.
A single bead of sweat fell from her brow onto the sewing machine, the last time she used it being when her mother let her help sew a dress when she was just a filly. She found the process rather silly back then, but now she was thankful to get that experience.
While her hooves worked furiously at a bolt of fabric, her mind wandered to her parents, both living in the upscale area of downtown Canterlot. She hadn't sent a letter to them lately, since nothing usually happened that needed to be brought to their attention. She pondered how they would think about their daughter, Celestia's student, put under probation for assistance with assault. What their expressions might be for such an announcement. She cringed at the thought.
There were more important matters at hoof, though.
She kept a close eye on the nearby pattern as she dismissed her earlier train of thought. "Sew 1A to 2B, then hoof stitch the result to main body," she read aloud. "Repeat with 2A and 3B."
The pattern itself was not hers, but a forgery of one of Rarity's more practical suits. The seamstress often left out instructions and copies of her patterns months after making them, so it was easy for her to replicate them both, with a few changes of course. She didn't have the color fabric Rarity used, but that didn't matter as her outfit had a much different purpose.
Twilight found herself humming above the clatter, tune of which nearly brought tears to her eyes. She remembered the words clearly; although the last time she heard it was over two years ago.
"Thread by thread, stitching it together..." Twilight began to sing, matching her movements in time with the rhythm of the oh-so-familiar song.
"Twilight's suit, cutting out a pattern snip by snip..." She finished sewing 2A to 3B, making a single sleeve that, when tested, extended to the bottom of her hoof and covered it. Shaking her head, she took the nearby scissors and cut a jagged line across the tip, leaving just enough room for a portion of a hoof to be seen. "Perfect."
Twilight Sparkle looked across the desk at her progress; the body was complete, albeit a little sad-looking, and all four leggings were done. Taking a final, long look at the sewing machine, she shut it off for the moment being and uncovered three rusty, bent needles and a spool of dusty thread from the leftover fabric that adorned her desk.
"Making sure the fabric flows nicely..." she continued, brushing a stray hair out of her face.
The unicorn levitated all the pieces into the air before organizing her work space, keeping the instructions close by her side. "I don't want to sew a hoof to my back. That would be embarrassing." she thought aloud, reading the next part over three times before beginning to sew one hoof.
The process was long and tedious, as she had to go back four times to get the legging firmly in place before she could even begin to sew. After a while the monotonous beeps of the anklet, combined with the frantic patter of rain outside, began to make the unicorn feel as if she was under a trance in which the sounds tortured her frail mind. Finally she succeeded in getting the first one fully attached, and in her burst happiness looked at her faithful wall clock. It took her thirty minutes to get the accursed object sewed to the body.
"Good thing I'm on probation." Twilight muttered, fetching the next legging from the desk.
After three hours of work, little sleep and a few sweet verses of songs, Twilight Sparkle's creation was done.
It looked like a veil of night, and not at all seen when placed next to any shadows. The stitches were less than perfect, but the blasted thing held together so Twilight was satisfied. On a few dresses Rarity would embroider the wearer's cutie mark somewhere out of sight. and so did she. A lopsided, monotone star, complete with all the points, was placed strategically beside the inner thigh, were nopony would suspect it.
She even made a mask, fashioned from a veil Rarity had once given her as a Hearts Warming present. It fit snugly over her face, leaving only room for her luminous eyes to peek out into the world.
She looked at herself in the crystal-clear mirror, seeing a lavender unicorn with a passion for academics and friendship. Her mane was tangled in a few places thanks to a tussle with a particular needle, and her tail was ragged from hitting the side of the desk for so long. It was a habit of hers, one Shining Armor usually mocked as everypony could tell when she was focused.
"So long, Twi," Her words echoed throughout her home, every branch feeling a little reverberation. The clothing, plus a stray hat she picked up from the cluttered floor, was engulfed in a magenta mist and she galloped into her bathroom, shutting the wooden door, despite Spike being fast asleep and the door being locked. After a moan, a groan and a satisfying snap, an unfamiliar figure strolled out of the bathroom, dressed in a dark shade of purple and wearing a dapper fedora and a tight, dark mask that only revealed her somber eyes.
The figure moved gracefully from each wooden panel to the next, a long cape covering most of her back, and she paused briefly at a simple mirror above a simple dresser. The same stoic face looked back at her.
"Hello, harmony."
Twilight levitated to her position a rusty crowbar, its use only to stand in the corner as a decoration. For all she knew this action would snap the poor thing in two, but it was vital that she had nothing that would attract attention to herself.
She lowered the flat end so that it rested in the tight space between the soft fur and cold metal. It tickled her skin, just the slightest bit. Then she yanked.
"Sweet Celestia!" she cried out of impulse, her voice mingling with the frustrated beeps of the anklet. Sharp pain rushed through her leg, and she dropped the crowbar onto the wooden floor. It bounced a few times, each bringing a lower sound that resembled ice shattering.
Her attention quickly turned from the crowbar, which after four bounces was still, to the blasted anklet. The crimson light blinked rapidly for a few long seconds, and she thought she could hear the distinguished sound of the police dashing to her home.
Slowly, like a gift from above, the anklet's light turned off, the sounds stopped. It released its strong grip with a hefty sigh, and the lime green light flickered on.
The sound of feet down the stairs rang into the night, and the outline of Spike could barely be seen in the half-light. Fatigue clouded his eyes and he barely had enough energy to stretch his tired arms, let alone get down the stairs in one piece.
"Sorry Twilight, but I got hungry during the night. Do we have any ice cream or did you eat it all yesterday?" he yawned.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and rubbed his eyes repeatedly. When he finally opened them, he wasn't expecting to see darkness and a missing unicorn.
Losing all sense of control and forgetting about the ice cream, Spike lunged at the nearest pile of assorted fabric patches and rummaged through them, looking for anything that could serve as a clue to where she could have gone. "Not very far, I hope," he thought, "she has her anklet on!"
After pawing through the fabric and finding nothing but a rusty needle and a long strand of thread, Spike hurried to the oak desk and scanned the objects on the surface- a sheet of instructions that didn't make a lick of sense, another needle, an old sewing machine, and a strip of pure white elastic. Nothing that could help him.
But the baby dragon couldn't help but wonder why Twilight Sparkle, usually studious and academic, would be sewing. The thought seemed odd, and he couldn't wrap his head around the possibility that she crafted something instead of going to Rarity.
He stifled a cry. It was as if Twilight had simply disappeared.
Spike was about to head back to bed with a weary heart when he spotted a small light, a fluorescent green, shining underneath the desk. He crouched down, knees bumping the cool floor, and reached for the object. Upon closer inspection he found it was a silver anklet, with two lights- one on, a crimson one off. He shook it to see if a note would pop out, or a message would play. Nothing.
But the anklet looked familiar...
"It's Twilight's!" Spike jumped for joy, hitting his head on the desk and making the wood rattle. "Yes yes yes-"
His eye caught another peculiar object hidden in the shadows below the desk- a rusty crowbar, one end tinted red. He crawled out from under the wood and stared in despair at the unlocked bracelet, one light staring back at him. "If her bracelet is here..." he began.
Spike paused, his mouth agape and eyes wide. In his surprise he dropped the item, and it landed with a metallic thud in a mess of embroidery materials.
"...Twilight? "
She dashed from rooftop to chimney with ease, leaving no tracks as she went. Her breathing was silent against the night, and her eyes stood out as a vivid lavender. The hat upon her head fluttered at the slightest touch of the breeze, yet it had not fallen in the stormy conditions of which she was in.
A singe raindrop caught her flowing eyelashes and she whisked it away with a single bat, sending it to the ground far below. Her eyes were focused on one thing in particular, and she wasn't about to let a tiny raindrop hinder her sight.
In the distance, lying in his back in the abandoned park, was a feeble pegasus colt with tiny wings strapped to his back. His pure white coat, smudged slightly with dirt from the current tussle, was easily seen, even in the middle of the storm. A large shadow loomed over him, the back turned towards the swiftly approaching Twilight Sparkle. As she got closer, the unicorn could clearly make out the conversation-
"Get away from me, you rapscallion!" the colt growled. She heard the sound of missed blows hitting the grass with a thud.
"Nice try." a female voice responded calmly. The repetitive sound of another short scuffle.
"W-why are you doing this? What did I do?" he asked.
Twilight didn't hear the mare's response, as one piece of fabric caught on a loose stone and her bare hooves slid loudly over the edge of one home, pieces of the accursed brick falling down with her. She tried to regain her stealth (And breath), then hopped onto the next rooftop with ease.
"That's not a valid reason, scamp!" the colt objected.
The unicorn neared the edge of the final shop before the park, and she sprang with the agility that was reminiscent of a cat onto the scene. She narrowed her eyes and landed gracefully on the back of the scoundrel that was tormenting the colt. "Step away, criminal scum!" she lowered her voice slightly, in case this pony was familiar with her speeches.
The mare huffed and slyly used Twilight's momentum to fling her from her back to the wet ground, where she rested beside the colt, who looked at her with surprise. "Who are you?" he whispered.
She did not answer.
The towering pegasus mare whipped drops of rain from her mane, sparkling pink as the light from a strike hit it. Her wings flared and her eyes shone a shadowed amaranth pink, the edges tipped with fury. "Oh look, a daring hero coming to short stuff here's rescue." she mocked. "Oh no, I'm so scared! I'm practically shivering!’”
"What's your name, hero?" she taunted, circling Twilight and the colt. She stopped at the tips of the unicorn's hooves and smiled.
Twilight obliged to use her hooves to talk; she reared her hind legs up and mustered all her strength in order to buck the mare's chest, making her scream and take a hard tumble. "Ack!" she exclaimed as her wings flapped on impulse and her neck hit a rock. A firework of pain shot through her body and she gasped for breath, leaving Twilight to scramble onto the moist dirt and help the colt up. He looked shaken, but not at all harmed.
"That was amazing!" He smiled and looked upwards to see her eyes. "Thank you so much, miss!"
The flutter of wings in shadows- lavender against jet black.
Quick, shallow inhales and sharp exhales.
Blood roaring in her ears, her hooves tingling.
Eyes focused on the masked crusader and her helpless victim.
Silent, she waited for the worst.
Then she spotted a young foal- a colt. His lithe body tilted upwards in horror.
She stood up swiftly, eyes narrowed.
"That's it- I'm getting the Royal Guard."
The pegasus attempted to rise again, but her attempts were in vain as Twilight bucked her once more in the head. The movement made a satisfying rattle, and she fell back into the long grass.
Twilight and the colt still stood in the pouring rain, the droplets coming much faster now, as she decided it would be best if she stayed with him until a guardian was found. In the meantime he had told her his name- Dapper Pines, or as his friends nicknamed him, Speedway- and that he actually lived on a stray cloud that usually floated between Cloudsdale and Ponyville.
He huffed and puffed, inhaling a few droplets but not caring. "So I've told you about me, miss... But who are you? And..." Pause. "Why did you save me?"
Twilight looked down at the colt and flattened a thick strand of his mane that had been spiked by the wind. "That, you do not need to know." she responded.
"But I want to thank you!" He stared at her with huge, somber eyes. "And I want to tell my parents about how you kicked that ugly mare's flank!"
She laughed, a deep, throaty rumble that came from the heart. "Just tell them Harmony kicked her sorry little flank, okay Speedway?"
"Okay, miss." He dipped his head- whether it was because of sadness or respect she was not sure.
The unicorn was about to smile at him, but there was a sudden bright light and the fast flapping of wings. From the storm came a fleet of pegasus warriors, some in gold armor and some bearing wings of a bat and the mannerisms of a nocturnal creature. Two held searchlights as big as a pony, and in the lead was a familiar lavender pegasus with swift wings and a determined expression.
"Where is the scoundrel, miss Cloudkicker?" a burly pegasus holding a light called above the thrum of the storm. The clash of thunder drowned out his last words.
"There! The masked crusader!" Cloudkicker exclaimed, pointing him in the direction of Twilight and Speedway. The guard passed the message onto the second stallion holding a light, and together they covered Twilight in a sudden beam of white.
"What are they doing?" Speedway shouted as the pegasi dived towards them. He squeezed her leg tightly and pushed his face into the fabric.
"I..." Twilight suddenly understood their intentions and she, with great emotional difficulty, shook her leg in order to get a confused colt off.
"Now what are you doing?" he asked. A single tear welled up in his eye. "You aren't... Leaving me, are you?"
"I'm sorry." was all she said, and she was off, bounding towards a dumpster and climbing up loose bricks to get to the roof. She heard the cries of Speedway and his hoofsteps follow close behind, and she turned around as she got her body on top of the building.
"No! Please don't leave me! You've my hero!" he shrieked, loud enough to be clearly heard over the squadron of pegasi drawing near.
"Speedway, it'll be okay." she assured him. She turned her attention to the Royal Guard, Cloudchaser in particular. The mare's expression as gravity pulled at her cheeks was nothing short of hilarious, but the look of rage was there just the same.
"And to you, fair maiden, the criminal is not I! Look behind your shoulder, for scoundrels trail your tail! But have no fear, for
Cloudchaser, stunned by the words of the Purple Knight, landed on the building with a blank expression. She looked back at the assembled stallions and pointed a hoof in the opposite direction as they caught up with her. "Charge, Royal Guards! Catch her and put her in the slammer!" she exclaimed as they stormed past her, a flurry of gray and white, cutting a path through the ever-falling rain.
She however, stayed behind and sat on the chilly, moist stone.
"That pony had a familiar marking on her inner flank..." she mused. "I couldn't imagine something as intricate as that." She blamed her poor eyesight for many things, but this was not one of them.
Suddenly, the mare brought a hoof to her chin as she remembered where she saw the marking- more specifically, a cutie mark.
"The Element of Magic... Twilight, I believe?" The name sounded awfully familiar...
As the answer dawned on the young pegasus, so did a long streak of lightning and another sheet of rain that coated her long eyelashes.
"...Twilight Sparkle?"
