Bright Green Monster Realm, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Undeath

Chapters

Lesson 1: Monsterization
Lesson 2: Undead
Lesson 3: Demon
Lesson 4: Evocation
Lesson 5: Glamour
Lesson 6: Reagent
Lesson 7: Spirit Energy
Lesson 8: Wonderland
Lesson 9: Alchemy

Lesson 1: Monsterization

Mon-ster-i-za-tion \man-stər-aj-ze-ʃən\

The process through which humans (in particular those of the feminine persuasion) are transformed into members of the mamono species, usually through demonic energy overwhelming a person's spiritual energy.

Twilight didn't want to open her eyes. Unconsciousness was a seductive mistress, lulling one into a false sense of security with promises of fantastical dreams and restful slumber.

But wake she must; the various slow, ebbing pains wracking her body keeping her from total darkness. She opened her eye just a crack, and light assaulted her vision. She immediately regretted it.

"Euuurgh..."

"T-Twilight?" a scared, but familiar voice sounded. Twilight grew concerned- Spike sounded scared for her. Why did Spike sound scared for her? That didn't make any sense, she didn't have any truly dangerous experiments planned anytime soon...

Against their pained protests, Twilight opened her eyes. She lay in the nursery wing of the Canterlot College's castle- an area she wasn't incredibly intimate with, but knew well enough to recognize. The pure white walls and the scent of over-cleanliness were also a dead give away. Off in the corner, Spike stood- shaking nervously, like a leaf in the wind. The young boy looked ready to bolt, and clenched his fist as Twilight let out another pained groan.

"Spike? What happened?"

It was as if the weight of the world fell off of Atlas' shoulders, the way Spike's face melted with relief. He rushed over to Twilight, crushing her in a hug with much more strength than a 17 year old boy should have. Twilight could've sworn she heard her spine crack as the air rushed from her lungs.

"Twilight! Oh thank god, you're not a zombie!"

Twilight was about to remind Spike for her need to breath, before she was struck by a curious realization: she didn't feel the burning sensation in her lungs associated with asphyxiation. In fact, she felt fine- aside from the kid's vice-like grip grinding her ribs together.

It took Twilight long enough to process this that Spike finally had his fill of reunited hugging and released her. Twilight shook her head.

"What do you- zombie? Spike, what's going on?"

She held a hand to her chest, a nervous habit from getting worried and an attempt to calm a fast paced heart. Twilight blinked again with another realization.

"Spike, why can't I feel my heartbeat?"

Spike grimaced, looking down, "Well, uh... it's a bit of a story."

Hours Earlier...

Life in Canterlot was good for Spike. Even as a ward of the state, he was well taken care of- hell, with the princess as a pseudo-parent and Twilight as the sister he never had, life could even be described as great. Aside from the occasional magical mishap from Celestia's "Most faithful student" (Twilight's words, not his), Spike was free to spend his days joking with the guards, learning the standard subjects, and pursuing a burgeoning talent in storytelling (As much as Twilight would balk at labeling his various comics as 'story'.)

Then came the boom.

It barely shook the room Spike was in, but it was enough to spill the ink over a page's worth of work. Her cursed loudly, springing from his seat to avoid getting any over his clothes and glaring out the window in the direction of the tower he knew Twilight used for her magical studies.

His scowl quickly changed to an expression of fear, as the dark wriggling mass of blackness that surrounded the parapet was definitely outside the realm of Twilight's normal magical mistakes.

Slamming the doors open, he ran as fast as his adolescent legs could carry him. Guards in the halls were already on high alert, and a few roaming dignitaries stood in their places in fear. As he crossed the skyway from one tower to the adjacent one, he spotted a familiar figure, dressed in pure white and golden regalia, marching with purpose and with just the slightest hurry of fear- a rare thing to notice about the royal lilim, Spike thought.

"P-princess Celestia?" Spike called as he hurried to her. Her white spaded tail flicked with recognition, and the ruler swiftly turned to see his approach. She let out a breath she didn't realize had caught in her chest, before swooping down and hugging the boy close.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright. When I saw the explosion was in Twilight's study, I feared-"

Spike lightly smacked one of her arms, and Celestia blinked before she noticed the poor boy turning blue between her bosoms.

"Need... air..."

She immediately let him go, taken aback, "My apologies! Sometimes I forget my own strength."

"Happens to the best of us," Spike coughed out, before standing up straight, "Come on, we gotta make sure Twilight is alright!"

Celestia nodded, and the two resumed their hurried pace into the tower. Rubble dotted the stairway; wasting no time, Celestia grabbed Spike around the waist and unfurled her wings, white and grand like a bleached raven. They took off like a rocket, skipping the endless upward spirals altogether.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Spike wasn't exactly used to flying, and with the stone roof still mostly intact and directly between them and Twilight's study, Spike saw his life flash before his eyes. He could almost hear the imminently approaching "splat" that would signal it's end.

Of course, being a lilim, Celestia was made of stuff sterner than stone. The two of them burst through the barrier, Celestia slowly and effortlessly alighting onto her feet as Spike shakily dropped from her grip. Ground, sweet sweet ground. Oh how he could kiss it. But prostrating before stable flooring would have to wait, as Spike quickly saw how gone to hell Twilight's study had become. Desks were cracked in two, pages of notes fluttered about like a miniature tornado. Twilight would flip if she saw the mess she caused.

The woman in mention stood in the center of the room. Or well, more like floated slightly off the ground in the center of the room. Black wisps of energy danced off of her, coalescing into a solid orb of blackness behind her. Bright black light, however that could even exist, shone from her eyes as she mumbled words unknown to Spike. The young man's worry for his surrogate sister grew, and Celestia gritted her teeth.

"Twilight?"

Immediately her focus snapped to Spike, and he felt an almost primal fear well up inside. This was not natural- and definitely not good either. Celestia immediately stepped between the two, as a golden orb of magic started growing between her forward curling horns.

"No! I will not allow any more to fall to your whims, elemental of darkness!" She shouted, as she shot a piercing light at the encroaching inky tentacles. They hissed and evaporated, and Twilight- no, the creature possessing her- tilted her head quizzically. In a blink, she was over to them, and Celestia had barely a moment to block the blow before returning in kind. Spike stood back, scared stiff as the two blinked in and out of existence, trading magical blow for blow. Every tendril of liquid night was matched in kind by a ray of light, and soon enough Celestia burst upwards through the broken roof. Raising her hands high above her head, she let out a harsh war cry as light coalesced in her palms, shining like a miniature sun-

"Okay, I'm calling bullshit."

Spike blinked as Twilight stared deadpan at him.

"What?"

"There is NO WAY I fought the Princess one-on-one like that! Even if possessed by an elemental Dark Matter," Twilight said, closing her eyes and raising a finger, "For one, Dark Matter possession does not do much to enhance the victim's physical traits. Second, Dark Matters are slow and ponderous in their movements, they can't just blink around like that."

She then opened one eye and sealed her final argument, "And third- as much as she probably could, Celestia would not, and I quote, 'use the Spirit-Bomb on me'."

Spike slumped, "Way to take the fun out of it..." He sighed, "Fine- we found you all wrapped up in that Dark Matter's... stuff. Celestia couldn't banish it without banishing you too, and you'd already taken in a LOT of Demonic Energy. So..." he frowned, trying to find the words.

"... So Celestia sealed what she could of the Dark Matter where she could," Twilight finished for him, "...In me."

Spike shrugged, "Welcome to the life of a monster girl, Twilight."

Twilight thunked her head against the wall, "Oh god, Shining Armor's gonna kill me..."

Lesson 2: Undead

Un-dead \ən-ded\

adj.

Not possessing the typical markers of life- including cellular regeneration and duplication- while maintaining some form of animation.

"What was the one thing I told you not to do?" Shining Armor said, as he stood at the foot of Twilight's cot. She shrunk a little under his stern gaze.

"...Raise and-slash-or join the ranks of the undead?" She answered with slight hesitation.

"And what did you do?"

She sighed, "Raised and-slash-or joined the ranks of the undead... but it's not my fault!"

Shining shook his head, "Where did I go wrong with you? I thought being a paladin would provide enough of an example to live by," he said, looking up towards the ceiling with an overly-dramatic tear glimmering in his eye, "I just wanted a little sister that wouldn't turn to the dark side of magic. Was that too much to ask?"

Twilight threw a pillow at her actually genetically related brother. He didn't even bother to swat it aside as it hit him in the face, before gasping, "Already she seeks to overthrow the order!"

"Quit being such a stooge," Twilight whined, "And stop talking like you raised me on your own! Mom and Dad were both here earlier, and they were happy that I was still ali- er... kind of alive?"

Shining rolled his eyes, kneeling next to his sister and giving her an affectionate head pat, "Don't worry, Twily- even if you are an abomination against the natural order, at least you're my abomination against the natural order."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he chuckled, "Be careful, that might fall off."

Twilight quickly stuck her tongue back into her mouth. Right- she couldn't exactly heal the normal way anymore. That could get... interesting later on, to say the least.

Deciding not to go mad with the revelation of the true consequences of undeath so early on, she asked, "Was anyone else hurt when everything went down?"

Shining shook his head, "No- it seems that explosions happen in that wing of the castle often enough that people tend to avoid it," he said with a wink, earning another pout, "So there were no casualties from the collapsing rubble."

He then frowned, thinking before he decided to ask the next question, "What exactly were you doing in there?"

Twilight closed her eyes and lifted a finger, and Spike groaned internally- the typical Twilight lecture stance. Now that she was some kind of immortal zombie, she'd be terrorizing the citizens of Equestria with it for all eternity. Spike feared for the future.

"I was merely attempting to access a different sort of power source for a more advance omnipresence spell- my personal reserves of spirit energy, while pretty impressive, were nowhere near the amount of power I'd need to perform the type of scrying I was looking in to. Obviously no one would approve of a blood letting ritual or an outside pact, so I decided to look into the elemental planes for a less costly form of acquiring energy."

"And you chose the elemental plane of darkness because?" Shining said, quirking his eyebrow. Twilight shrugged.

"Demonic energy is the most plentiful base energy in the planes- and the most malleable! It's not like I was going to get anywhere with this by summoning an Ignis to do my bidding. Intangible concepts are just better for intangible spells."

Shining Armor and Spike both sighed. Typical Twilight.

"Did you at least find what you were looking for before you went all intangibly possessed in your lab?" Spike snarked. Twilight glared at him.

"Actually, it just so happens I did-" Twilight froze mid sentence, as her eyes shot open with surprise.

"Uh... Twily?"

"I need to talk to Princess Celestia right now!" She shouted, tearing off her bed sheet and rushing the door. Shining stood up and tried to block her, but the undead nerd was now a lot tougher than she looked. He bowled over like so many pins as the door flew open, the pitter-patter of her bare feet echoing on the marble floors. Spike knelt down next to him, offering a hand to help him up.

"Now that was kinda sad."

Shining grumbled as they both gave chase after their sister. Hallways twisted and turned, and the surprisingly quick zombie kept her lead on them.

"Since when is she this fast?" Spike said between gasps for air.

"I think you just need to exercise more!" Shining joked, none the worse for wear despite still being in his paladin armor.

"S-shut up!"

As they rounded another corner, they saw before them the massive oak double doors, inlaid with the golden insignia of Celestia's rule- a sun wreathed in massive coronas. Twilight stood before them, and with an exhale she pushed through.

Celestia sat on the throne, talking in hushed tones with her dark haired personal assistant. She quieted as Twilight drew her attention.

"I think we can discuss the reconstruction at a later time, Raven." She said, as she stood and started towards Twilight. Raven nodded, and took her leave. Soon enough, the two mamono women stood inches apart, Twilight staring hard up into Celestia's eyes. Shining stepped through the opened door.

"I tried to stop her, your majesty-"

Celestia held up a hand, before kneeling in front of Twilight. Her normally placid expression was marked by regret, and she downcast her eyes.

"Twilight... I am so sorry." She said, "I wish I had more time to properly banish the Dark Matter from you, but its grip was already too strong-"

Twilight interrupted, "It's okay, Princess. I'm just glad to be... around."

Celestia shook her head, "Your humanity is yours to decide what to do with. I should not be so quick to cast it aside for you, my dearest pupil. I-"

The princess was quickly shushed by a hug, which she eventually returned.

"I forgive you." Twilight said, before finally letting go, "Besides, I think I can learn to live with it. Err, metaphorically speaking." she quickly corrected. It was quickly dawning on her how living-centric most average idioms were. That was going to be her biggest adjustment, she felt.

Celestia nodded, before taking a deep breath, "Thank you. Was there something you wished to speak to me about?" She asked, standing back up, "You seemed like quite the woman on a mission when you threw open my throne room doors."

The steel immediately left Twilight's posture, and she scuffed a foot on the floor- it was only now that she noticed she wasn't wearing more than just an off-white night gown.

"O-oh, I uh- I didn't really mean to interrupt like that. I just got a little caught up in the moment and- is this a bad time? I mean I can come back after you finish speaking with your advisor..."

Shining and Spike shared a look. Definitely still their Twilight.

Celestia shook her head, "Please, Twilight- speak your piece."

Taking a deep breath, Twilight steeled her resolve and spoke.

"Celestia, the great evil known as Nightmare Moon is returning to the land."

Nobody's face betrayed any emotion for a few solid seconds.

"Who?" Spike spoke up, before Celestia replied in the most even tone she could muster.

"Twilight, where did you hear that name?"

"I was researching into Oneiromancy," She started, swallowing despite lacking the need to do so anymore, "And the name just kind of... cropped up. I couldn't find reference to it anywhere else, so I tried to find out more about it through an advanced scrying spell, and..." she gestured to herself.

"This happened."

Celestia slowly nodded, before sighing, "I was hoping not to involve you in this, my dearest pupil- but it seems fate has other ideas."

Stepping a few paces away, Celestia drew a few symbols into the air, glowing with a bright yellow power. They swirled together, forming a shimmering portal in the air depicting a dark creature- as beautiful and terrifying as a goddess, but inverted to be as dark and evil as Celestia was bright and good.

"I battled Nightmare Moon many centuries ago- sealing her away before she could enact her plans to bring about a dark age for all of these lands, before they were even known as Equestria," She said, and the image shifted to a ruined stone castle buried deep in the heart of a wild forest, "It was an imperfect spell- I had hoped to buy enough time to find some way to purge the darkness from her heart, but even a thousand years later my efforts have proved fruitless."

Celestia sighed, looking at Twilight, "I may be a lilim- a daughter of the Queen of all Monsters herself. But my power is not limitless, Twilight. Your visions of her- how much time would you guess we had before her return?"

Twilight bit her lip, "If I was a betting woman... I'd say the rise of the full moon, in a few weeks' time." Twilight nodded. It seemed typically dramatic, and thematic enough to Nightmare Moon's perceived powers.

"I am inclined to agree," Celestia said, "Twilight, I know I have no right to ask this of you- and I understand wholeheartedly if you should choose to refuse. Canterlot is your home and the world is dangerous, even here in Equestria."

"Whatever you need, I can do it Princess." Twilight said, stepping forward with determination. Spike nodded.

"Yeah- she may be a total shut in, but Twilight's not one to back down from doing what's right!"

"Protecting and serving runs in the family," Shining added, placing a comforting hand on Twilight's shoulder. Celestia nodded.

"I fear so," Celestia said, "In such a case- Twilight Sparkle, I charge you to go out to the ruined Castle of Everfree, and find some way to delay Nightmare Moon's return."

Twilight nodded, "Your will is my command, Princess."

"We swear we'll do everything in our power to help, Princess." Shining said. Celestia shook her head.

"I'm afraid I need you here in Canterlot, Shining Armor. Should the unthinkable happen, I will need you to command the troops- and more importantly, Cadence will need you. I fear what would happen should you get hurt while on a mission of my request."

Shining opened his mouth to protest, but closed it with a blush at the mention of Cadence's name, "I-I see, your highness."

"Now hold up," Spike said, frowning, "I can get Shining Armor staying, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna stick around doing nothing! Twilight's your number one student, but I'm her number one assistant!"

As if to try and make the argument final, Spike hugged Twilight's nearest arm in a death grip, with the cutest of determined expressions plastered onto his face. Celestia's heart melted a little at the sight- these young punks, thinking they were in charge around here. She knelt in front of him, and his nerve nearly wavered. She sighed.

"When did you suddenly become such a brave young man?" She asked, before kissing him on the forehead, "Alright, brave young knight- go and slay evil."

Celestia looked up towards Twilight, "Keep him safe?"

"Promise."

With a nod, Celestia stood up, "Alright then- Shining Armor, you are dismissed. You other two, go pack whatever provisions you plan to bring and return here immediately. I have only a few more things to say before you start your quest."

Snapping a quick salute, Shining returned to his duties, and Twilight nodded, "Don't worry, Princess- I won't fail you!"

Lesson 3: Demon

De-mon \dē-mən\

The most malevolent of infernal monsters, resulting from the monsterization of souls who have committed willing atrocities, or are consumed by an unfathomable rage during the process. While tempered towards humans with much less malice due to the current Demon Lord's influence, they will not hesitate to cause harm to others.

For the second time that day, it truly hit Twilight that she was no longer human.

Standing in front of a full length mirror in her room- her actual room, not her currently destroyed study- she put a hand to her pallid face. It still clung to that dark shade of umber stubbornly, but Twilight felt as if someone was sucking the vibrancy from it. Blood cooled and pooled, her flesh graying as it congealed into a the viscous ichor that would give her a reflection of life.

The thing that vexed Twilight most was her confusion as to what kind of undead she ended up being. She neither hungered for blood nor had any aversion to sunlight- that crossed vampire right off the book. And she was very certain she wasn't a lich either- the slight coldness of the room sended tingles up her spine in a way that only having your soul bound directly to your body could do. And that very much couldn't happen if a phylactery was created at Twilight's monsterization.

On the other hand, she was FAR too 'lively' to be a mere stock zombie; she had studied the effects of that particular transformation before (under strict guidance and with permission from Celestia herself, mind you)- it would usually take months of recuperation and feeding upon spiritual energy to regain a baseline amount of sapience, and even if Celestia somehow herself provided all that energy in one go (which was HIGHLY doubtful despite her skill, simply due to being a creature of demonic energy instead), that wouldn't-

"Hey, are you okay?"

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts, looking towards the doorway as Spike leaned on the frame. Twilight sighed.

"I... don't know. If you haven't noticed, I've kind of been through a lot in the last two days."

"You're telling me," Spike said, sauntering into the room and flopping himself onto Twilight's mattress. She frowned.

"Shouldn't you be packing?"

"Already done."

"Double checked? Triple checked? Remembered to bring a toothbrush, extra socks, a sweater in case it gets-"

"I'll be fiiiiiiiine," Spike whined, flipping over onto his stomach, "I'm not you, Twilight- I don't need a checklist for every single thing I do, I'm practically an adult! If I make a mistake, then it's on me- but I'll make do with what I got."

Twilight blinked, blushing a little, "I don't make checklists for everything..."

Spike looked towards Twilight's personal desk, and the long flowing scroll that threatened to slip off of it. Even from a distance he could make out the listed words "Extra socks, toilet paper, extra toilet paper, extra extra toilet paper, spare quills, portable skillet"- after that Spike's head gave a dull throb of annoyance.

"Uhuh."

With a groan, Twilight pointed towards the door, "Just let me pack in peace, please?"

Spike rolled out of the bed, hopping up onto his feet before crossing the room to her. He put a hand on her arm, noting that she was feeling more and more room-temperature by the hour.

"Everything will be okay, right?"

Twilight hesitated, before nodding, "Yeah... everything will be okay."

Twilight's nerve was starting to weaken the closer she and Spike approached the throne room doors again.

She was scared. And she wasn't afraid to admit it- in fact, it was probably just as courageous to admit one was scared than to imply false bravado in the face of one's fears like a fool. Just two days ago she was a student of magic with a bit of promise. Now she was a walking dead with the possible fate of the world on her shoulders.

No pressure.

As Spike pushed open the doors, Twilight ran through a few mental exercises to calm down. One and one were two, two and one were three, three and two were five, five and three was eight...

She had gotten to around 610 before her attention was drawn away from calming sequencing to a pair of scrolls in Celestia's hands, one in the usual tan of vellum, while the other was a curious scarlet tone.

"Before you head out, I have a few things to go over with you," Celestia started, "First of all, what with the old castle residing in the Everfree forest, you should safely assume the journey to be perilous."

Twilight and Spike both nodded, "Yes- I was actually planning on stopping in one of the bordering townships to both supply up and possibly hire on other adventurers to act as bodyguards- under a pretense of course. We don't want to start a panic with the populace if word got around that an ancient evil was set to awaken before the end of the month."

Celestia nodded, "A smart course of action- I have marked a few of the nearest villages on this map," she said, holding up the plain scroll before handing it to Twilight. She carefully took it, unrolling and scanning the marked areas- the location of the castle clearly labelled in red ink, with small red dots indicating a sparse collection of towns that are both on the way from Canterlot to the Everfree Castle and close enough to the forest itself to provide good supplies.

"This second scroll is of utmost importance," Celestia said, bringing Twilight's attention back.

"What's with the red paper?" Spike muttered, and Twilight softly elbowed him.

"Ow!"

Clearing her throat sternly, Celestia continued, "Now, Twilight- I'm sure you know that you are not my first student."

"Oh, I had no delusions otherwise," Twilight said, "Even with the small amount that have tutored under you personally, the entire College is technically your domain. I may have a few special privileges, but I don't consider Moondancer or Minuette to be any lesser on the scale of tutelage."

A warm smile grew on Celestia's face for a moment, before she continued with her somber tone, "Well, not all of my former students have been as... open minded as you have been."

Celestia steeled herself, closing her eyes for a moment as a few painful memories surfaced, "A few years before you, I had another student whose studies I was overseeing on a more... personal scale. She was a prodigy- a magical genius. Her skill at evocation could probably rival that of a few magically inclined mamono when she was still human."

Twilight frowned nervously, glancing from the scroll back up to her teacher, "Why are you telling me this?"

There was a moment's pause, before Celestia continued, "Because, Twilight- I have a secondary mission for you. This student, while brilliant, lacked... many things. Compassion being primary among them. When I discovered some of the experiments she had been running..." Celestia shook her head, "I was furious with her. But I was also too late, and she had succeeded in performing a self-directed monsterization."

Twilight gasped, "How is that possible? Unless an outside party is involved, most all monsterizations result in succubi-"

"-With a few very, very important exceptions," Celestia finished, "Can you list them?"

Thinking for a moment, Twilight held out her hand as she counted down her fingers, "Well... incredibly virtuous souls tend to become angels and Valkyries, intense amounts of dark elemental energy can result in a Dark Matter- not to mention a myriad of other infection based mamono- and then if the person has committed some truly heinous acts, they become...."

Twilight's eyes slowly went wide, as she stared at the scroll- it was sealed in wax, imprinted with a symbol very similar to the Zippangu mark of balance, but wreathed in flames.

"... Demons."

With a sad nod that spoke volumes more than any words could offer, Celestia held out the scroll, "This scroll is bound to my former disciple's soul. Whoever breaks the seal has contract dominion over her."

She looked Twilight in the eyes, "Twilight, I want you to help Sunset Shimmer return from the path she's gone down."

Spike gulped, "Isn't that... a little heavy for a first mission? I mean... we're kind of already fighting the clock on a crazy moon goddess."

"That is true," Celestia said, "However, as Twilight mentioned earlier- the Everfree is dangerous, and hired bodyguards are useful, if not at all cheap. So long as you have this scroll, she is bound to you and your bidding."

Very gingerly, Twilight took the scroll, inspecting it all over. The red coloration was most certainly not a dye- the material felt just slightly more fleshy than your average vellum. A warmth emanated from it, and Twilight looked back up to Celestia.

"Do I just... open it? No pricking thumbs to seal the deal?"

"Blood has long since been paid, and is most certainly owed from her now," Celestia answered, before taking a step back, "We mustn't delay any longer."

Twilight nodded, gulping as she slipped her thumb under the edge of the scroll near the wax seal. In a swift motion, she split the wax in twain, unfurling the contract. Letters in a script she didn't quite recognize burned on the page, as if glowing with the light of hell-fire and magma, shifting as she tried to understand them. There was a blast of heat, and the same symbol cracked and etched itself on the floor before her. Oddly enough, Twilight was reminded of Celestia's own insignia by it's design- was that intentional? Some rune carved specifically for Sunset's seal?

Another flash, accompanied by pained screams as Twilight shielded her eyes. Brimstone stung her nose, and when looked back she was horrified by what she saw.

She really was a demon. Her skin an almost burnt shade of red with hair literally aflame. While Celestia's infernal heritage granted her a feeling of grace and subtlety, Sunset was jagged and rough, leathery wings sharply edged and swooping horns that were notched like a saw blade. Her tail swished, almost like a cat ready to pounce, and she shakily stood from from the fetal position she was laying in before.

Sunset's eyes met Celestia's, and for a moment there was silence.

"YOU!"

She screamed, streaking towards her teacher as Twilight held up a hand, "Stop!"

Sunset froze in her assault, clearly struggling to move forward but unable to. She clenched her fists and turned around- Twilight swore, if looks could kill she'd be dead again all over. Sunset spotted the scroll in Twilight's hand, and gritted her teeth.

"... As your will commands."

Unable to immediately act upon her vengeance, Sunset finally noticed where she stood, glaring at it's odd familiarity.

"Fifteen years and you still haven't redecorated the place," She said, glaring in Celestia's direction, "I think I can still see the scorch marks where I nearly roasted you, Princess."

She spat out the word, as if it tasted foul on her tongue. Celestia, for her part, was more than a little shocked.

"How could you possible know how long it's been?" she asked, and Sunset growled.

"I counted it," She said, walking in a circle as far as Twilight's command had let her get to her former teacher, "Every second, of every day, trapped in that abyss you would rather put me in than kill me off as a mercy."

"I had no intention for you to even be aware-"

"Save it for someone who cares!" Sunset shouted, and Twilight had had enough.

"Hey! She is obviously your better as far as magic is concerned, otherwise this conversation wouldn't be happening!" She rebutted, "Show her some respect!"

Sunset whipped around, and truly looked over Twilight. Her initial bravado waned as she fell under Sunset's microscope, and a moment later the demon laughed.

"This is what you replaced me with? Some brain-munching, ass-kissing troglodyte?"

"Well, this 'brain munching troglodyte' is the one holding your scroll," Twilight countered, and Sunset's smirk immediately vanished from her face.

"Yeah!" Spike said, emphasizing Twilight's burn by holding out a hand to high five. Twilight didn't leave him hanging.

"Alright, I fucking get it- you've got me by the short hairs, what am I even doing here?" Sunset said, doing her best to steer the conversation away from her embarrassments.

"I'm so glad you asked," Twilight said, her sense of snark slowly returning, "We've got you here to save the world!"

Sunset blinked once, her face falling flat, "Oh, joy."

Author's Note

Well, it's getting off to a bit of a slow start, but now plot it happening! Let's hope I can keep this story chugging along!

Lesson 4: Evocation

E-vo-ca-tion \ē-vō-ˈkā-shən\

The school of magic concerned with converting energy into a desired physical effect, most commonly in the form of damaging elemental effects such as fireballs, lightning bolts, and ice storms.

Spike considered himself a pretty patient person. Being practically raised with Twilight kind of required it- she was always getting him into trouble, usually through experiments both mundane and magical. And despite her royal graces, Celestia was still a mamono- and having her as a surrogate mother could also be kind of... awkward.

He was honestly surprised how little time he spent in Celestia's personal "marshmallow hell", as he called it sometimes. The woman must have developed some extreme self control when it came to humans.

Still, the headache from Twilight and Sunset's bickering was growing worse by the second. Not even a few minutes on the open road and the two had started taking verbal pot-shots at each other- and that was three hours ago.

"And so you 'accidentally' summoned a Dark Matter? Puh-lease, if you even knew half as much as you claimed to know about magical theory you could have easily set more than a dozen completely common wards to prevent that from happening!"

"Oh, well if you're SOOOOO great at covering your tail, then how'd you end up stuck in that scroll, huh?"

"That's a completely different issue! Even with all the Power Infernal at my fingertips, Celestia's still a god damn lilim- I'm not afraid to admit when I've been outclassed! Still, I could have easily wiped her smirk off the face of the planet if I had gotten the drop on her!"

"In your dreams- Celestia is the single most powerful and benevolent ruler I've ever had the chance to meet! She's got more power in her pinkie finger than you could hope to match!"

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a shambler!"

"You scorch-marked floozy!"

"Bitch!"

"Oh, now you-"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!" Spike screamed, and a flock of birds cawed as they flew away from the angered kid. Both Twilight and Sunset froze under his emerald green glare, as he literally started snorting fire.

"You two have been going on and on and ON about every minor thing since we've left! 'Ooh, lookit me I'm a big scary demon!' 'Waah, you made fun of my teacher you meanie!' 'Bluh bluh bluh my ego's bigger than a minotaur's tits- I don't CARE! I swear to GOD if you two can't get along until we reach town, so help me I'll have to figure out how to seal Nightmare Moon back myself using the roasted remains of Twilight's notes because I'll have scorched the earth where you stand!"

A second later, Spike covered his mouth in shock- he never really snapped like that before. Sure, he's gotten angry, but he was pretty good at keeping it in check. The last time he went nuts like that he nearly burned down his room, and that wasn't exactly a moment to be proud of.

Sunset let out a low whistle, "Well, at least your boyfriend's got some backbone."

"He's my brother," Twilight mumbled, before sheepishly scuffing the ground, "I-I'm sorry, Spike- you're right, I shouldn't have lowered myself to her level-"

"Hey!"

"No, no- I shouldn't have shouted like that, I lost my cool-" Spike started, both of them trying to talk over each other and stammer out their apologies at the same time. Twilight sighed and opened up her arms.

"Awkward sibling hug?"

Spike nodded, "Awkward sibling hug."

Sunset gagged as they hugged it out, "And to think I almost had a modicum of respect for you. What a twerp."

"Yeah, well you're stuck with us either way," Spike said, and started marching forward, "So, which town are we stopping at again?"

"Well, I've been narrowing it down while we travel," Twilight said, pulling out the map, "And I think at this upcoming fork in the road, we should head west towards Ponyville- it's a bit of a small town, but it's the closest direct route from Canterlot to Everfree Castle."

Spike raised an eyebrow, "Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes- primarily a farming town. One of the oldest in the lands, it was founded before Celestia herself set up Equestria as her domain."

"Huh. Neat."

"But it's also a country town, and we don't want to cause much of a scene," Twilight continued, looking over at Sunset, "And not to be rude or anything, Sunset, but you kind of... stick out."

Sunset growled, "Oh, what do you care about some yokels' opinions for? We'll be in and out in a few minutes, tops."

"You clearly underestimate how fast a bunch of farmers can pass out the torches and pitchforks," Spike said with a shrug. Sunset rolled her eyes, before waving a hand and conjuring a drab cloak.

"Fine, will this suffice, your royal pain-in-my-ass?"

"Better than nothing," Twilight nodded, and checked the map again, "We should be able to reach Ponyville in about an hour, and barring any complications we should be able to set up camp at the edge of the Everfree Forest before nightfall."

"Set up camp?" Spike whined, "But- can't we stay at an inn? It's literally right by the edge!"

"We're gonna have to get used to roughing it, Spike," Twilight said as she rolled up the map again, "Fortunately I brought plenty of field guides on the basic and advanced concepts of camping!"

Spike smacked his forehead, and Sunset raised an eyebrow before turning towards him, "Is she serious?"

"Unfortunately..." Spike grumbled. Sunset blinked once, before turning towards the heavens.

"Of all the ways you could punish me, you stick me with the most shut-in, basement dwelling nerd to ever exist... what did I do to deserve this?" She asked out loud.

"Blood sacrifice, dark forbidden magics, demonic self-monsterization, attempted assassination of royalty," Twilight started to list off, before Sunset raised her hands.

"Fine! I get it! Shut up!" she shouted, drawing the hood of her cloak tighter around her. Silence fell upon the group for a few moments as they continued to walk. Spike tried to whistle a small tune, but it fell flat. Sunset snorted.

"So- scorched us where we stood, huh?" Sunset said, and Spike grimaced.

"Maybe I was a little hasty with that..."

"Don't sell yourself short, Spike," Twilight said, "I've seen some of your own magic lessons with Celestia- it might be a bit cripplingly overspecialized, but you're a natural at evocation."

Spike rubbed the back of his neck, blushing, "Aw, shucks- it's just a little fireworks. I've seen you do much cooler stuff with other elements."

Sunset groaned again. Both with and without conversation, it seemed this trip was going to be a total pain...

The sun was starting to edge closer to the horizon by the time the trio made it to the edge of town, shining it's afternoon rays in their faces. Twilight found herself constantly shielding her eyes with her hand- of all things to not pack, a hat seemed to be the most annoying one to forget. For the first time in her life, Twilight considered hiring a milliner.

"Looks cozy," Spike said, eyeing the town in the distance.

"Looks boring," Sunset retorted, scowling.

"Looks like exactly where we're going," Twilight said, garnering no further arguments. The road into town swiftly went from dirt to cobbled, with a large sign saying "Welcome to Ponyville!"

The thing that surprised Twilight the most was how varied the people were- a good mix of humans and mamonos of all sorts of ilk; walking, flying, and slithering about on their business. Maybe the town wouldn't be as close minded as she assumed? Most of Canterlot, aside from the obvious exception of Celestia herself, was human- and they weren't exactly the kindest sort.

"Psst!"

Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder, and quickly turned around- but nobody was there. Oh no, she was not falling for this game.

"Spike, come on, that's totally juvenile." Twilight said, glaring down at her younger companion. Spike raised an eyebrow, looking around.

"What did I do?"

"Oh, don't play innocent- the old 'tap on the opposite shoulder' trick is literally one of the oldest in the book," she said, before feeling another tap.

"This way!" the voice whisper, and Twilight whipped around quickly- catching only the slightest glimpse of magenta and pink stripes before they vanished from existence.

Spike grabbed her arm, "Twilight? Are you... all there?"

Twilight shook her head, "No, I... huh. That's weird."

She then blinked, noticing they had made it more or less in the central square of the town, where a large wooden bulletin board stood. There were a grand total of two notices, and Twilight's curiosity got the better of her. She carefully took one down, reading it over.

Public Service Address:
Citizens of Ponyville to report the following systems to medical authorities:
-Sudden changes anatomy
-Increased/Decreased proportions
-Unusual growths
-Any effects deemed 'weird' or 'unreasonable' by species
If you can provide assistance, please contact the mandragora known as Fluttershy on the southeastern edge of town.
-Your Mayor

"Well this isn't good," Spike said, and Twilight looked over at him- his gaze directed at the other notice, "Some kids went missing about a day ago," he finished, pointing at the sign. Twilight saw the picture of them- a young centaur, a harpy, and a human. Spike looked up at Twilight, and she frowned.

"Spiiiike..."

"We have like, two whole weeks Twilight! We can afford a little detour, right?" He said, "I mean, their families have gotta be worried sick, if someone snatched me you'd hope someone would help look for me, right?"

Twilight grimaced, before sighing, "Spike, as much as I'd like to, we're talking about the potential end of the-" she quickly looked around, before lowering her voice, "-The end of the world, Spike."

"Well... didn't you want to hire on some other adventurers for the trip into the Everfree?" Spike asked, "If we're going to find anyone like that, they'll probably be seeking out jobs like that, right?"

"It's just a bunch of brats, why should any of us care? It's not like they're my family or anything," Sunset spoke up, a flat look on her face, "We've got priorities here."

Twilight turned around, glaring at Sunset. She then shoved the paper she was looking at into Spike's arms, "Spike- take Sunset and find this Fluttershy person. I'll look into the other quest and see if we can't help."

Spike let out a whoop, and Sunset's jaw dropped, "Oh, come on- are you SERIOUSLY doing this just to spite me?"

"Clearly, unlike you," Twilight started, turning towards the notice board, "I have the capacity to care about others, and Celestia ordered me to help you become a better person. Consider this lesson one."

Sunset growled, and one of her fists caught fire. Twilight turned back to her.

"And I order you to not cause any trouble or harm to anyone so long as you are with Spike, alright? As far as you're concerned, he is acting in my full capacity in my absence."

Sucking in a long breath, Sunset extinguished the fire on the exhale, "As... your will commands it."

Twilight nodded, as Spike dragged Sunset off to the other edge of town.

"So, I'm your boss for now, huh?"

"As much as I loathe it, yes."

"Sweet- carry me on your back! I'm tired of all this walking."

"Oh, for the love of-"

Their conversation quickly faded off, as Twilight looked over the other notice. Two addresses for contact were listed- Sweet Apple Acres and the Carousel Boutique.

"Alright, time to check out the farm."

Author's Note

What, you can't honestly expect me to straight up follow the plot of the pilot- that's been done to DEATH. Gotta keep things fresh somehow.

Lesson 5: Glamour

Gla-mour \ˈɡla-mər\

A specific subset of naturally occurring illusion magic in a few mamono species- particularly those of non-humanoids being able to pass themselves off as human at a glance.

Twilight had been noting many new changes in her senses since monsterization- though if she had to classify the most immediately noticeable one, it would be scent. And out in this backwater town, she really had to admit- the fresh air was actually a nice change from the somewhat stifling atmosphere of Canterlot. Nowhere was the sweetness of the air more potent than at this "Sweet Apple Acres". It almost made her regret not spending more time outdoors.

Almost.

Creaking open the gate, she made her way to the farmhouse proper while clutching the paper. The door stood before her, slightly intimidatingly.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Knock, you dummy."

She rapped her fist against the door, and waited. It took only a scant moment before she heard a shuffling inside; a moment later, it swung inwards.

Standing in front of her had to be one of the tallest men Twilight ever had the chance meet- hell, probably the tallest PERSON, and she knew Celestia! The princess' legs went ALL the way up, you don't even understand. And the way his barrel chest only barely contained itself in that flannel did things to her that-

Okay grabbing that thought, squashing it, and shoving deep and far away where it would never see the light of day again.

Apparently Twilight's struggle to maintain composure took long enough to garner an eyebrow raise from the man, and she quickly cleared her throat.

"Oh- sorry, I uh- m-my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I, uh..." Words failed her for once, and she merely held forward the notice. His eyebrows shot up only a little, before he swapped the wheat grass he was chewing on to the other side. He stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door behind him before beckoning her to follow. Confused, Twilight obliged.

A short walk around the back of the farm led to a dirt trail, and a dirt trail led to the beginning of an orchard- an apple orchard, Twilight noted with dull amusement.

"So, uh- I mean, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, and I just wanted to talk about the quest?"

"Ayup."

"So, maybe you could- uh, slow down? Or just stop leading me to god knows where?"

"Nope."

Twilight huffed, her walking resembling more of a pouty march as she tried to match pace with this giant of a man, "I'll have you know, I'm kind of Princess Celestia's personal protege! I don't have time for wild goose chases like this!"

All that got was a look of moderate surprise across her guide's face, before he stopped for a moment.

"Well, I'm glad you're not totally unreasonable-"

He held up a hand, and cut her off with a short "Shh."

Twilight was about this close grabbing this guy by the shirt so she could reach up and smack him a couple of times. Though maybe he'd catch her hands before she had a chance, lifting her up to his lips and-

"No, no, no, no no nonono- no TIME for that nonsense!"

The sound of a loud "THWACK" in the distance snapped Twilight out of her thoughts, and her guide nodded once and headed towards the sounds. Twilight followed with a sigh.

"Is there a reason you're just leading me around?"

"Ayup."

Twilight had to do everything she could to suppress her screaming, before they rounded another corner. A blonde centaur, buxom (though considering centaurs, this was the norm) and wearing a rather distinct hat reared back her hind hooves and kicked the stuffing out of one of the trees. The shockwave rippled up the tree, shaking all its full grown fruit free off the branches and into a few waiting baskets. She wiped the sweat from her brow, a scowl of determination plastered on her face.

"Ahem."

She turned in surprise, letting out a breath, "Mac, I swear if'n I weren't related to ya, I'd say your ma must've been a ninja. What're ya doin', sneakin' up on me like that?"

Mac nodded over at Twilight, who stood there more than a little astounded. Behind the centaur, there must have been dozens of bare apple trees- all of them with similar baskets under them. How had this woman managed to clear almost half an orchard in a single day? That kind of dedication to a job-

"Mac, I don't have to take care of every unwelcome solicitor now, do I?"

"Nope," Mac said, and nudged Twilight in the arm. Twilight frowned.

"I'm not- I saw the poster on the billboard in town. You're the owner of this place, right? Applejack? I just thought I could... offer to help?"

Immediately the frown melted from Applejack's face, replaced by a relieved smile, "Oh, thank heavens- sorry for assumin' worse of ya there, ma'am. Just been..."

Applejack looked over the orchard with a hard expression, "It's been mighty stressful, past few days."

Twilight nodded, "I understand- I've got a little brother, I can't even imagine what it would be like to... you know."

Applejack nodded, "I reckon so. Here, I'll lead y'all to the barn, we can talk all civil-like there."

Mac brought out a few glasses of water, and Applejack took a long swig.

"So," Twilight said, awkwardly holding the cup as she didn't really feel thirst anymore, "How long has she been missing?"

Applejack wiped a dribble of water from her chin, setting the glass down, "'Bout three days ago. Near tore up the border of Ponyville and the Everfree searchin' for her. Mac here had to drag me back."

"You think she'd be in the forest?" Twilight asked. Applejack nodded.

"Reckon so. Bloom and her friends tend to get into all sorts of trouble, but usually it's just harmless kid stuff." She gripped the glass harder, as she frowned, "She was supposed to be at school, I thought- dammit, if Cheerilee told me they went missing earlier-"

Mac put a hand on Applejack's shoulder, and she sighed as they shared a look. Applejack nodded.

"Yeah, no use gettin' all upset about what was. Gotta focus on the present."

"You got all that just from a look?" Twilight said, before immediately clapping her hands over her mouth, "Wait- no, I'm sorry! I didn't-"

Applejack let out a guffaw, slapping her side, "Naw, you're good girl- Mac ain't exactly the talkative type nowadays."

Mac nodded, "Ayup."

Getting serious again, Applejack turned back to Twilight, "Still though- I don't mean to offend either, but y'all ain't exactly the most intimidatin' lookin' girl I've seen. And you're plannin' on scoutin' the Everfree for 'em?"

Twilight nodded, "I know its dangerous, but I have business in the forest anyways. And I'm not exactly alone either- I've got a pair of assistants with me, plus I was looking to hire some extra hands."

"Hmm..." Applejack put a hand to her chin in thought, before nodding slightly, "Alright then. If'n you're gonna offer to find my sis, then I'll come with ya."

Twilight was only a little shocked, holding up her hands, "Wha- no, I couldn't ask you to go in there with me! I mean-"

"Listen, y'all are doin' me a true service here, and an Apple repays her debts," Applejack cut her off, "'Sides, better to have someone ya can trust rather than a random mercenary.

Twilight stopped mid retort, huffing at the solid logic.

"Alright, fine- but I'm going to be leaving for the forest by tonight, so you should get ready."

"Sure as sugar, partner." She replied, trotting away from the table.

"Well... good then." Twilight stood up herself, giving Applejack an awkward nod goodbye and turning towards Mac.

"Erm... it was a pleasure making your acquaintance."

"Ayup."

Hanging her head, Twilight trudged towards the edge of the property. Stupid, sexy, laconic farmer...

Her mind occupied with internal ranting, the walk to Carousel Boutique ended quicker than Twilight thought. It wasn't easy to miss, that was sure- it had to be the single most overdecorated building in the town. A small bell chimed as she stepped inside.

"B-be down with you in just a moment, darling!" a voice hiccuped from the back.

Twilight took a moment to marvel at the sheer variety of garments available- and at a glance, high quality material as well. She rubbed a bit of dress between her fingers- that was spider silk, no question about it. Maybe she could get a sunhat or something so long as she was here- would be useful. Or maybe a cowl- ooh, a cowl with enchantment matrices inlaid to the fabric! That would be an excellent start for any adventuring caster, and while she was no seamstress herself she knew the ins and outs of enchantment. She just never had the chance or reason to craft any adventuring clothes-

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! I do so apologize for the wait," the voice called out again, as Twilight turned around, "I was- er, in the middle of a rush order that I simply could not delay."

Twilight blinked once, before rubbing her eyes- a glint of light catching her in the retina in a most uncomfortable fashion. Refocusing, the seamstress looked human- and an absolutely beautiful human, with skin like porcelain and strikingly blue eyes. For the second time today, Twilight was caught off guard by someone's pure physical looks- she really needed to rein herself in better.

"Oh, that's fine- I'm not actually a customer, I came because of the, uh, poster. In town. On the billboard."

She cleared her throat, at least thankful that she couldn't easily blush anymore due to being undead.

Rarity's customer service tone fell away immediately, a hopeful glimmer in her eye, "Oh, thank the heavens. Please, sit down- I suppose a professional adventurer such as yourself would wish to go over the details, yes? Hammer out a contract and such?"

Rarity sat on a bench in front of a mirror, and Twilight joined her, "Well, I mean I'm not exactly a 'professional adventurer', but I do want to help. Honestly, I just need to know where these children were last seen and anything helpful like that."

"Of course, of course," Rarity said, clasping her hands in her lap, "Well, it was morning, three days ago. Sweetie Belle was on her way to school- see, our parents tend to go off to... honeymoon, as it were on an incredibly often basis. That leaves Sweetie in my care for the most part- not that I begrudge them! Sure, she can be a bit of a bother more often than not, but I wouldn't just wish her to-"

Rarity had to take in a breath, her voice wavering a little, "On... well, on the day she went missing she had gotten up early to try and cook breakfast. It was an absolute disaster, and some... words were exchanged before she had to leave for school, and- and-"

The young woman burst into tears, and Twilight sat there for a moment dumbfounded. This was incredibly awkward.

"It's all my fault! I shouldn't have said those horrid things to her, and now she's gone!"

Twilight grimaced, before gently placing a hand on the sobbing woman's shoulder, "Um... well, everyone makes mistakes? You just have to..." she wracked her brain a moment to try and remember that piece of down-home country wisdom Mac had somehow silently communicated earlier, "... Not focus on what was, but live in the present?"

Rarity sniffled a little, looking up bleary eyed, "You really think so?"

"I, uh... have it on pretty good authority."

Nodding, Rarity dried her eyes with the back of her hand, "I suppose that makes some sense- oh, now I've gone and smudged my mascara everywhere..."

Twilight pat Rarity's shoulder a couple more times, "Well, now that you've calmed down a bit- is there anything more you can tell me?"

Rarity shook her head, "I'm sorry, darling- I didn't realize she was missing until well into the afternoon when she didn't come home. I haven't been able to get a straight answer from any of the Mayor's guards, it's been absolutely frightful."

"Well, that just leaves me with Applejack's Everfree Forest lead," Twilight muttered, and a frown crossed Rarity's face.

"What has that ruffian to do with anything?"

Twilight was a little take aback, stammering out a reply, "Well, I mean- her sister and another kid was with Sweetie when they disappeared, apparently somewhere near the edge of the Everfree-"

Rarity stood up, clenching her fists, "Oh, that little- I KNEW she was a bad influence on Sweetie! Dragging her around to get into trouble, and now she's got my sister missing!"

She stomped around the shop a little longer, fuming and tossing her hands about as she said a few more unrepeatable things about the Apples and their family. Twilight had just about enough.

"Well, they can't be all that bad- I mean, Applejack offered to accompany my party into the Everfree to help look-"

Rarity whirled around, "Oh, so NOW she thinks she can take the moral high ground from me! HA!" she stomped towards the door in the back, slamming it open and rummaging in the room for a moment before returning- bedecked in a scarf, hat, and a bulging bag monogrammed with a trio of blue gemstones.

"Let's see her try and out-sister me now!"

Twilight frowned, "Um, I don't think that will be necessary-"

Rarity pressed her face very uncomfortably close to Twilight's as she poked her in the collar bone, "I. Am. Going. To. Find. My. Sister."

Twilight gulped. She just hoped Spike was having more luck than her at the moment.

Lesson 6: Reagent

Re-a-gent \rēˈājənt\

A substance or mixture, usually magical in nature, for use in alchemical tonics, tinctures, and potions.

"Are we there-"

"Listen you little punk, if you start up with that absolute horse-shit I will-"

"What, 'scorch the earth where I stand'? Kinda already used that line."

Sunset grit her teeth. Why this? Why her? She would honestly take an eternity of suffering in that portal realm over having to deal with pubescent brats like this Spike character. Looking around the grassy 'edge of town' scenery, she frowned.

"We're lost." Sunset Shimmer stated.

"No, we're not." Spike said.

"We've passed this same stump three fucking times," Sunset snapped, pointing at the offending arboreal artifact, which soon burst into flames. Spike frowned.

"Well, looks like that's one less landmark for us to find the way back with. Good job."

Sunset's throat gurgled with a scream as she clawed at her face. This kid was a god damn INSUFFERABLE LITTLE-

"Hey, does that look like the cottage to you?"

She stopped, turning to look up the slight hill Spike was pointing towards- at a glance, it looked more like a tree than a house, with bright green thatch that hung nearly over the windows. It was no small wonder they missed it the first time. Sunset grumbled as Spike led the way. As they stood in front of the door, he paused.

"So, uh, should I knock? Or you? I mean- mandragoras have that eye thing..."

Sunset rolled her eyes, pounding her fist on the door.

"Well, there we go, then."

After a few moments of silence, the door creaked open- a single teal eye peeking out, before seeing Sunset and widening in terror as the door slammed shut.

"W-w-we're not t-taking visitors today! S-so sorry!" Saying the voice shouted would be like saying a tortoise was moving at top speed- it was barely at a conversational volume. Spike grimaced, before shaking a hand at Sunset.

"Er, maybe I better handle it after all."

Rolling her eyes, Sunset took a step back as Spike rapped on the door.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry for my- uh... friend? No that's not- anyways, we're not visitors! We actually saw the flier in town and wanted to help!"

The door creaked open again, a little more this time and Spike was able to get a good look at Fluttershy's face- she was pretty cute, if you were into wallflowers (Zing! Nailed it!), with a bit of a cherry blossom theme to the petals that made up her hair.

"O-oh, um... t-that's really kind of you, but..."

"Come on- don't you need some handsome adventuring types to go gather rare ingredients out in those dangerous woods?" Spike said, casually trying to strike a macho pose. He waggled an eyebrow, and Fluttershy giggled into her hand.

Sunset was fairly certain her eyes would soon gain enough centrifugal force to escape their sockets.

"Really, that's very nice- but I do already have a friend on the case," Fluttershy said, no longer hiding behind the door. She put a finger to her lip.

"Though... she's not exactly that great with flowers..."

'Now's my time to shine!'

"That's alright- I actually know a TON about reagents and stuff! My big sis is this total bookworm, if it's magical she knows all about it. So, you know, I've picked up on a couple things."

"Nerd."

"Twilight ordered you to be nice, Sunset," Spike said, witheringly before turning back to Fluttershy, "So- how about it? An extra pair of hands never-"

"INCOMING!"

Spike was feeling pretty thankful for his stellar constitution score as a voice barreled into him from behind, and he pancaked onto Fluttershy's living room floor. Sunset cracked a smirk, and started clapping.

"Encore! Do it again! Please!"

Groaning with only an intense amount of pain, Spike managed to turn his head and see his assailant- his first guess would have been harpy, but the arcs of electricity jumping off of her tiny body threw him for a bit of a loop. Though that DID explain the familiar smell of burnt ozone.

"Rainbow, I know I asked if you could please use the door to come in," Fluttershy started, quickly making her way to Spike and helping him up, "B-but, I meant more along the lines of... actually walking up and knocking?"

"Sorry about that, Fluttershy!" This 'Rainbow' person said, getting up and off of Spike. He wheezed- fresh air. Why must you so easily be taken away?

"I got those flowers you were looking for, though- look! Blue petals, red thorns." She smirked, holding out the herb with one wing. From his angle on the floor, it almost looked like some kind of bishonen hero offering the super moe protagonist a rose as a sign of love. Then he shook his head- where did THAT thought come from?

Fluttershy frowned, "Rainbow Dash, I said... red petals, blue thorns. That flower is... just gonna give you a rash."

Dash stood stock still for a few seconds, a nervous drop of sweat making it's way down her brow.

"O-oh."

"No wonder you were posting ads for help, this idiot's useless," Sunset said, and Spike finally made his way to his feet. Rainbow turned sharply towards the demon, snarling.

"Hey! It was a simple mistake, anyone could've mixed up those colors!"

"You've LITERALLY got the whole light spectrum in your hair, how do YOU mix up colors?"

"Because- s-shut up! Shut up is why!"

Spike and Fluttershy quickly made their way over to their charge/friend, respectively, to hold them back from each other.

"Dash, I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"Nice, Sunset! Twilight said nice! Come on, man!"

Dash frowned, turning away from Sunset with a snort, "Whatever, she ain't worth it."

Sunset just rolled her eyes- she wouldn't give the trigger happy harpy the satisfaction of a response. That would probably eat at her more than any kind of biting remark- she knew the type.

"I'm sorry for her," Spike said, turning towards Dash, "She woke up on the wrong side of the scroll this morning, you know how it is."

Clearing his throat, he extended a hand, "Let's start over- my name's Spike, this is Sunset, we're here to help with the plant collecting quest thingy."

Dash raised an eyebrow, narrowing her eyes in confusion at Spike's comment about Sunset before brushing her thoughts away.

"Alright, cool. Name's Rainbow Dash," She smirked, bumping his outstretched hand with the fist-like portion of her wings.

"Neat. So, what's the actual deal here?"

Gesturing to a small coffee table and some chairs, Fluttershy went into the kitchen of her cottage to brew up some drinks. Flopping into one of the seats, Dash started the tale.

"It was about a week ago, I think? People started getting sick in town, and not like your normal coughing and sneezing stuff either. Obviously some mean magical shit, we're talking single mamano being locked in their houses or else they'd rampage through the town looking dudes type feverish. Others started getting weird side effects- like a werewolf I knew suddenly got shaggier than a sheepdog, or some of the lizard people in the militia getting weird tongue growths. It's freaky."

Spike nodded, "Yeah, that's clearly some kind of witchcraft- is it like a curse?"

"See, that's what I've been telling everyone! Like- almost all these guys live near the river that passes out of the Everfree, and I say it's gotta be the witch that lives there!"

"I didn't know the Sabbath even had members in Equestria," Twilight said, frowning as she followed Rarity to 'a friend's place'.

"Well, I don't know if she's a proper witch," Rarity said, "But I've heard rumors about a person living in the Everfree. Nobody ever gets a good look at them, and most say that she's a bit tall for a witch."

"A Dark Mage then?"

"Possibly," Rarity brushed a strand of hair from her face, "Honestly though, I don't put much stock in it being some witch's fault. It's probably some weirdness from the Everfree. Magic runs wild there."

"So I've heard," Twilight muttered. The pair of them walked up a mossy path, and the sound of a crash brought Twilight's attention to the... cottage? In front of her?

"It looks more like a tree than a home, how do you even manage that?"

Rarity stiffened at the crash, fear crossing her face.

"Wh- Fluttershy! Are you alright in there!" She shouted, quickening her pace up the path. Twilight frowned, realizing now where they were heading.

"Sunset..."

Rarity rushed to the door, flinging it open to the sight of Spike clinging to Sunset's neck in a futile attempt to hold her back as balls of fire enveloped her hands, Rainbow Dash backed into the corner of the cottage's roof and Fluttershy quivering behind a sofa.

"Calm down! You're gonna wreck the place, it's like 100% plant!"

"Then she can burn down with the rest of it!"

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

There was a glint as Twilight's eyes slipped again, blinking rapidly as she wiped the sudden wetness of her eyes away.

"Sunset Shimmer, I told you to-"

Twilight stopped, finding both Sunset and the rainbow haired girl she was menacing stock still- poses unchanging. Sunset struggled in place, held by some seemingly invisible force, Dash doing much the same from her position off the ground. Rarity was helping Fluttershy to her feet.

"Are you alright, darling?"

"Y-yeah, just a little scared..."

"It's alright, there there."

Spike blinked, a little dazed- one moment he was hanging from Sunset's shoulders, the next he was suddenly on the floor, blinking spots out of his eyes. Holding a hand to his spinning head, he groaned a little.

"Whaaaaat the heck..."

Twilight frowned, cocking her head slightly- there it was! That same glint! She stuck a hand out, feeling a thin thread between her fingers.

"Some kind of magical wire?"

Filing that away for later, Twilight quickly walked over to Spike's side, helping him up.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"THAT BI-"

"Silence!"

Sunset's mouth zipped up quite neatly, but the order did nothing to stop the daggers being stared in her direction. Spike was a little woozy, but otherwise okay.

"Sunset had a little, uh, disagreement with Rainbow Dash's insinuations about the content of her character."

"Hey, if it looks like a demon, walks like a demon, I'm gonna call it a demon!"

"Always so crass," Rarity said, shooting a disapproving look in Dash's direction. Dash tried to shrug, but the near invisible bindings prevent much movement.

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry for almost letting Shy's house get wrecked, can I be let down now?"

"I don't think so."

"Hey, this is decidedly NOT my kink here! Come on!"

"Again, crass- I'll let you down when you've cooled down a little," She looked over at Sunset, almost literally boiling with rage, "Both of you."

Turning back to the other two, Rarity gave an apologetic smile at Spike, "Sorry for any discomfort there, the situation called for a little, er, expedience."

Spike barely registered she had spoken to him- the past ten seconds or so after explaining to Twilight spent in total awestruck silence at the girl in front of him. Gorgeous was an understatement- she was like a living diamond, a gem among rocks. His jaw worked loosely.

"Uh..."

Rarity frowned, walking over and pressing a hand to his forehead, "Oh dear, I hope I didn't overdo it- oh, I really must be more careful with whiplash."

Spike's face instantly colored, a squeak coming out of his mouth. Twilight frowned.

"Oh, brother..."

Clearing her throat, Twilight gave Rarity a questioning look, "Overdo what exactly?"

"Hmm?" Rarity stood up, blinking for a moment, "Wh- oh! Sorry, just a bit of magic I've picked up to help with the seamstress work- decidedly helpful with diffusing tense situations, is it not?"

"Uhuh."

"I take it you know these two?"

Twilight nodded, sighing, "Yeah- this is Spike, my little brother."

"Hi." Spike's voice cracked, sharply.

"And that's Sunset Shimmer, my... ward."

Sunset's resulting glare was definitely worthy of the "earth scorching" term.

Rarity looked from Sunset, to Twilight, and then to the surrounding mess.

"You've certainly got your work cut out for you with that."

"Tell me about it."

Lesson 7: Spirit Energy

Spir-it-En-er-gy ˈ\spir-ət e-nər-jē \

A mystical, metaphysical substance, generated by all living things except monsters and elementals. As opposed to the rigorous spell matrices and advanced magics capable of demonic energy, spirit energy is a simple source of power, usually limited to evocation and abjuration style abilities. Also unlike demonic energy, spirit energy naturally renews itself in a person, while a monster must consume spirit energy to convert to and replace their own stores of demonic energy.

"I'm in."

Twilight blinked, "Wait, just like that?"

Dash nodded, "Absolutely- that harpy kid, Scootaloo? I don't know exactly what her family situation is like, but I haven't heard any hubbub in town about her specifically. The kid looks up to me- it's the right thing to do, you know?"

"How... strangely noble of you," Rarity said, with a hum. Dash gave a grin and a thumbs up with her single, clawed digit at the wrist of her wing.

"It's what heroes do! Besides, like- if I were a little kid and someone I looked up to saved my butt- I mean, do you KNOW how awesome that would be? I'm gonna make that squirt's WEEK!"

"And there's the other shoe," Rarity muttered.

"There is safety in numbers," Fluttershy added, "And Spike said you were good with, um, alchemical reagents...?"

Twilight brightened, and Spike internally grimaced. His nerd-o-meter was reading critical reaction levels from the undead bookworm's general direction.

"Yes! Alchemy was one of the many schools of magic I studied back at Celestia's academy- I'm guessing you were trying to get some rosa sanitus for potion making?" Twilight said, gesturing to the mistaken flower that Rainbow had brought, now resting in a vase. Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes- the local apothecary has been running low for standard healing potions. It hasn't done much to combat whatever's wrong, but there's still some temporary alleviation..." Her words trailed off, as she started to realize everyone was looking at her, and she tried to hide deeper inside her sweater.

"Well, it wouldn't make sense to make too many trips into the Everfree," Twilight nodded, "Alright- so we'll search for the missing kids and keep an eye out for alchemical regeants."

"Whoopee, fetch quests." Sunset grumbled, earning a small nudge from Spike. Twilight stood.

"Alright, I'll let you gather whatever supplies you intend to bring, and you can meet me near the edge of the forest. One of the local farmers is also coming along- her sister's one of the missing kids."

Rainbow fist-pumped one of her wings, "Oh, sweet! AJ's probably the second most awesome person around here! Total badass, you definitely want her on your side when going into deadly territory!"

"Deadly?" Fluttershy squeaked. A moment of recognition flashed across Rainbow's face, before she slung a wing around her friend.

"Aww, come on Shy- I'll be around! Don't worry! Nothing's gonna happen to you, I promise."

Twilight let out a breath, heading towards the door, with Spike, Rarity, and Sunset following. The sun was definitely working its way down the sky, and for a moment Twilight stood there, letting the warmth of it heat her now non-thermoregulated body. It was strange- she used to coop herself up inside all the time, but the sun felt great on her skin right now.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" Spike said, interrupted Twilight's short moment of bliss.

"Huh? Oh- yeah just. Never noticed how good the... sun... feels." Twilight frowned at her phrasing.

"Like I said- basement dwelling." Sunset said, continuing to march forward, "Are we heading towards the meeting spot or not? We've got more important things to do after this."

The other three glared at Sunset, but continued behind her just the same.

Twilight was starting to fidget. It couldn't be out of boredom- she had a fresh book out on the trunk next to her, but she was finding it hard to concentrate on it. And this wasn't worry, either- there was still ten minutes before the agreed upon meeting time.

Something was just... off. She didn't really know how to place it.

Or more likely, she just didn't want to acknowledge it.

"I haven't seen you get a case of jiggly legs like this since before your graduation exam," Spike said, sliding next to her. Twilight laughed, a hint of nervousness creeping in.

"Oh, y-you know. Just... kinda bored. Already read that book before, haha."

Frowning, Spike put a hand to Twilight's forehead.

"Well, you're still pretty- uhh... actually not sure what a zombie's body temperature is supposed to be. Is clammy normal?"

"Yes." Twilight lied.

"If you say so," Spike said, unconvinced. Twilight did her best not to look Spike in the face, focusing elsewhere- and for a moment, catching a worried look from Rarity before she too looked away.

A loud "Howdy!" broke the tension, and Twilight looked over to see Applejack trotting up the path, saddlebags strapped across her hindquarters and a sword at her side- though, upon closer inspection, it more resembled a heap of raw iron bashed into the shape of a blade than any sword Twilight ever saw a guard carrying around.

"Looks like I made it in time," AJ said, grinning as she came to a stop in front of the group, "Y'all waiting on anybody else?"

"Yeah- two others," Twilight said, earning a nod.

"Got ourselves a proper adventurin' party," She looked over, spotting Rarity and tipped her hat.

"Evenin' miss Rarity."

"Applejack." She responded, curtly.

"Didn't expect to see y'all here."

Rarity made a few scoffing sounds, almost as if to a beat, "What, a woman of my standing can't try and rescue her sister from... whatever's going on in a dark, potentially haunted forest?"

"Nah, that ain't what I'm sayin' at all," Applejack shook her head, "I respect that y'all are takin' the initiative to make things right yourself. That's just well and proper- glad to be seein' the real side of you."

Rarity's face twisted slightly, a blush coloring her cheeks before she turned away.

"Well... a lady has her reasons for things."

"I'm sure she does," Applejack said, nodding once more and trotting closer to Twilight.

"So, who all are we waitin' on?"

It took a full second for Twilight to register that AJ had said anything, blinking before looking up.

"Uhhhhhhhhh... Rainbow someone and Fluttershy?"

"It's Rainbow DASH!" Rainbow Dash said, making a three-point landing with a crack of lightning. Spike clapped, distracting Dash from her annoyance at Twilight long enough to take an exaggerated bow.

"Thank you, thank you, I'm just naturally awesome like that." Standing up to her full 5-foot-nothing height, Dash cleared her throat.

"I saw Fluttershy making her way over here, so we should be ready to go any minute now."

Twilight nodded, sucking in a deep breath of air and letting it out in sync with a wave of her hand- always a good way of calming her nerves. Now a bit calmer, she stood up.

"Alright. So, we have two goals while in the forest- most important, find the kids. Second most important, find the reagents Fluttershy is looking for. The rest of you don't have to worry about that, Spike and I are well versed in alchemical knowledge so you can focus on looking for signs of the children."

"Is she always this rambly?" Sunset asked aside to Spike, who shrugged.

"Usually only about stuff she's learned."

Sunset frowned. There was definitely something off about Twilight Sparkle, but she couldn't place her finger on it. And after thinking that, she frowned- why should she even care? At this point she should be number two on her shit list, right behind the princess.

Sunset shook her head, brought out of her thoughts with the arrival of Fluttershy. Quick greetings were exchanged, and Twilight turned to face the Everfree.

"Alright, people- into the abyss we go."

Lesson 8: Wonderland

Won-der-land ˈ\ˈwən-dər-land\

A monster realm subtype, governed by the lilim known as the Queen of Hearts. It is home to many unique mutations of mamono, including rare forms of draconic, mycellic, and feline monsterisations.

Twilight and Spike both shuddered as the darkness of the Everfree enveloped their group. Logically, Twilight knew that, while magically active, there wasn't anything in particular to be afraid of about the forest itself. It was just a geological anomaly of magic, nothing more.

The thought did nothing to stop her heart from almost beating again in fear. There was something about the atmosphere that just felt wrong.

"So, any of you hear the stories about the Everfree?" Dash said, stepping lightly between them. Spike shook his head, while Twilight frowned.

"Only a little bit of hear-say, honestly."

Dash grinned, sharp teeth glinting in what little of the setting sun passed through the treetops, "Yeah, I'm not surprised. Not a lot of stories about the Everfree..."

She walked backwards in front of them, wiggling the single digits on her wings to maximize the spook factor of her story.

"Because you can't get any stories... if there's no one alive to tell them!"

A whimper came from the back of the party, as Dash suddenly straightened up and peered over Twilight's shoulders; worry covered her face as she flitted off the ground and flew to the back of the group.

"Aww, no- Fluttershy not like that! I was just- it's made up! I was just doing a bit, please don't cry!"

Rarity and Applejack sighed in unison- Rarity blinked, frowning at the fact that she and Applejack agreed on something for once.

"Maybe we should, uh, save the scary stories for when we're NOT in the middle of Evil McMurder Forest, huh?" Spike said, tugging at the hood of his jacket. There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Yeah, scary stories can be fun, but boy this place gives ya the heebie-jeebies even without 'em!" Pinkie said, popping up next to Twilight, who nodded in agreement.

One second passed, and then Twilight screamed.

"WHO- WHAT- WHERE!?!"

"When AND why!" Pinkie responded, pink and magenta striped tail swishing behind her as she winked and did a cute pose. Spike grabbed at his chest, willing his heart to calm down, and Applejack reared back and whinnied.

"Pinkie, what are you doing here." Rainbow Dash asked flatly, earning snort from the bouncy girl.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh, my job? You're in a weird forest! You don't know where you're going! That's like, Cheshire Cat responsibilities 101!"

"You know what, fair. Asked and answered."

Twilight turned to Dash, clearly exasperated with one finger pointing at the offending newcomer, "WHO?"

Dash rolled her eyes, "It's just Pinkie Pie- she lives in town, works at the bakery. Party stuff? I think?"

Pinkie nodded as she slung an arm around Dash's shoulders, clearly ignoring the laws of object permanence by being not where she was one second earlier.

"Yup, that's me! Nailed it in one!" She nodded, grinning from ear to ear before slowly vanishing from sight. Up ahead, she popped out from behind a tree.

"You guys coming or what?"

The rest of the group continued onward, except for Twilight, who stood in one place, face contorted in a mix of anger and confusion.

"What!?"

"Come on, Twilight, we've got important things to take care of," Spike said, tugging at the sleeve of her robes. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Twilight straightened up, turned on her heel, and continued marching forward. Spike looked after her for a moment, worried about her mental well-being, before turning to Sunset.

"So... nothing?"

Sunset shrugged, "If she gets on that zombie's nerves, she's fine by me."

"Of course."

"River's up ahead!" Rainbow called, landing back on the ground from scouting ahead. Twilight nodded.

"And if we follow it, we might find this witch?"

Dash nodded, "My money's on it, anyways. It can't be a coincidence- weird magic shit in the town? Kids disappearing?" She punched her 'fist' into the other 'palm', "There's some shady fuckery going on, and I'll bet she's at the heart of it."

"Sooooooooo are we thinking evil enchantress with trances and dances type witch orrrrrrrrr?" Pinkie asked, hopping onto a fallen log and immediately going criss-cross-applesauce.

"It's... a possibility," Twilight said, choosing her words carefully as she gave Pinkie a wary look, "But I still don't think jumping to conclusions is the wisest choice here. No one's got an actual look at her, right?"

Rainbow frowned, looking away and scuffing the forest floor. Applejack shrugged, and Rarity shook her head, "No, can't say anyone has."

Twilight nodded, "Alright, so let's show a little restraint."

Pushing onward, Twilight led the group through a dense copse of trees, narrowing the path to nearly single file. The group huddled together closely, and Spike slipped an arm around Twilight's.

"Anyone else get the feeling that we're being watched?"

A shudder of fear passed over the group, before Pinkie leap-frogged over Spike.

"All the time! But look at this guy- he's got a moustache!" she said, hanging off of one tree and grabbing the leaves from one branch and shaking them. Her voice dropped a couple octaves.

"Don't be scared of me, I'm just off to the tree barber!"

"I think we prefer the term 'pruning'," Fluttershy giggled, putting a hand to her mouth as Pinkie's grin widened.

"See? I knew branching out into plant based humor would pay off!"

Everyone groaned, Sunset in particular yelling "That was bad and you should feel bad!", as the group finally emerged from the tighter woods into a small clearing- a babbling brook, just a few yards ahead, lined on both sides with bright blue flowers. Twilight let out a breath- out of habit more than anything else- before stepping up and placing her pack near a rock.

"Alright, it's nearly dark- we should probably take a short break before continuing on."

"Finally!" Spike said, flopping onto the ground. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"What happened to the strapping young adventurer, ready to go face evil back in Canterlot?"

"He died and became a tired, grumpy kid who's been walking all day," Spike retorted. Twilight laughed.

"Alright, rest up hero- we're back on the road in thirty minutes."

'Just five more minutes. Just five more minutes and we're back on the road, and you can focus on the mission, just stop thinking about it, focus on the mission.'

Twilight was starting to think she was getting better at hiding the white-knuckled grip on her book, when Pinkie's face popped up from above.

"So, how long have you been dead?"

Twilight yelped, flailing as she fell off the small rock she was sitting on. Pinkie hopped up.

"Because ya don't seem all too bothered about it and mopey, so I was thinking 'Oh, she's probably been dead for a while and dealt with the existential horror of undead immortality by now'- buuuuuut you're also SUPER jumpy and you do the breathing stuff still, so maybe you're just getting used to it? But also-"

"It's just been a few days!" Twilight called out, shakily rising to her feet. She felt hot- that was weird, she really shouldn't be feeling any which way. A ragged breath escaped her, and she shut her book before jamming it into her pack.

"Alright, I'm ready to get going, let's move!" She said, straining to keep a straight face. It was getting worse, and at an alarming rate- immediately, Twilight regretted acknowledging that, shutting her eyes and taking every ounce of willpower to force her focus.

"Twilight, are you sure? You're... really not looking so great right now," Spike said, putting a hand on her arm. The touch was like electricity to her, and she jumped back- everyone stared.

"It's- I just- I... the woods! It's just these creepy woods getting to me a little, okay? I'm just a little scared!"

"God, you're such a wuss," Sunset said, crossing her arms, "Talking such a big game with that big stick of academia up your ass, but the moment a real challenge shows up, you just roll over and..."

Sunset's eyes widened, gears clicking into place as her jaw went slack.

"No- you wouldn't- oh my god, you fucking IDIOT!" she shouted, marching over to her as one fist ignited. Dash shouted, taking a move to step between the two but Sunset barreled past, pointing a flaming finger at Twilight.

"You absolute fucking moron, you've been trying to SUPPRESS that this whole time!? You monsterized less than a week ago and haven't taken in any Spirit Energy at all, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

A collective gasp emanated from the girls, and Twilight shrank back.

"I just- there's been no t-time, I can't-"

"Can't what, find someone to let off steam with so you don't turn into a mindless, dick-hungry shambler!?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk about irresponsibility, you're a LITERAL demon!"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT-"

Their shouting match was cut short by the sounds of crunching twigs, heavy panting, and a low growl. Immediately, all eyes were on the forest line, as a large shadowy figure crept forward. Yellow eyes glowed in the darkness, and a rattling noise accompanied the dripping, barbed tail as it snaked forward ahead of the rest of the figure. Soon enough, the musclebound manticore stepped out of the woods, licking her chops as she stared, almost blankly, at the group.

And with a single roar, she pounced.

Lesson 9: Alchemy

'Al-che-myˈ\'al-kə-mē'\

The school of magic pertaining to the combination of reagents to create a spell-like effects, usually through the use of potions, poultices, tinctures, and serums.

"Watch out!"

Twilight gasped as Sunset tackled her to the side, the manticore barely missing them by a hair. Twilight hit the ground hard, while Sunset continued to roll into a crouching position and immediately sprang back into action- fire bursting forth from her as she yelled. Shakily, Twilight got up into a sitting position; the rest of the group falling into combat as the manticore swung wildly.

"Twilight!"

Twilight looked over to Spike, who slid to a stop next to her and tried to help her up.

"It's fine- Spike, please you have to stay back from me."

Spike hesitated. For the first time, it really hit him how Twilight had changed now. All the little nervous tics of the past few hours stood out in his memory- but come on, she was his SISTER, that had to count for something.

Twilight finally made it to her feet, looking over the battle; Applejack and Dash switched in and out, trading devastating heavy smacks and flurrying blows to keep the manticore on her toes. Combined with Sunset going all out on the fire powers, the team seemed to have it handled-

Then Dash took a nasty tail slash across her side. With a yelp, she crashed to the ground, trying to get up- but the poison was making quick work of her. She groaned, and collapsed onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily.

"Dashie!" Pinkie popped up, rolling under the manticore's tail- Rarity soon took Dash's spot, jumping in with a high kick. Pinkie made her way over to her friend, carrying her over to Twilight and Spike.

"Man... this stinks..." Dash wheezed, her face flushed with red. Twilight grimaced- the manticore's poison was now doing to Dash what her own stupid pride had been doing to her over the past couple weeks, just at an accelerated rate.

"Just try to stay still, don't want the poison to spread quicker," Twilight said, kneeling down next to them and rummaging through her bag. She knew she had packed a few varieties of antidotes, there had to be something for her in here.

"Yeah, I think I'll just... lie here a bit." Dash replied, head leaning against Pinkie's lap.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

Twilight nodded, pulling out a vial of pinkish liquid.

"She will now- alright Dash, open wide."

"Jeeze, take a girl out on a date first, will ya-"

Dash's reply was cut short as Twilight shoved the antidote into Dash's mouth, her face screwing up from the fowl taste.

"EURGH!"

Back at the fight, Rarity and AJ were quickly losing ground- taking better care to avoid the manticore's tail but being put on the backfoot for it.

"We could use a little help here, y'all!"

"I'm working on it!" Sunset growled, trying to swoop back around- but the manticore was wiser to her magic now, and fended her off with cowering ferocity.

"Fluttershy, please do something!" Rarity yelped, as she barely ducked under the manticore's tail once more.

Fluttershy squeaked, having taken refuge behind the rock, "I- I can't! I don't know how to fight!"

"Can't you just hypnowhatsit her or something!?" AJ shouted.

"If she did that here, it would hit everyone- ESPECIALLY Twilight and Spike!" Sunset cut her off, landing in front of the group and raising up a wall of fire. The manticore jumped back for a moment, and Sunset continued to focus on her magic. Applejack and Rarity paled at that thought, while Spike stared through the wall of flames.

Dammit, he knew he could do more than just cower behind everyone else.

Breaking off into a sprint, Spike charged at the wall of fire, screaming as he pulled a dagger from his belt and green flames sprouted in his other hand. Nobody had the time to react as he shot a gout of flame through the wall, temporarily punching a hole through it as he jumped through. Twilight screamed.

"SPIKE!"

"YOU FUCKING-"

Sunset dropped the wall, moving to rush forward- before Rarity darted ahead of her. Spike was already in melee with the monster, who seemed almost desperate to pin the boy- of course.

A thread shot from her wrist, wrapping around Spike's waist and pulling him back just in time to avoid one of the manticore's poisonous barbs, and a glint of light sparkled off Rarity's form as her glamour dropped.

Eight, chitinous legs. Pointed ears. Two extra sets of eyes, set on top of the original sapphire blue ones. Another thread shot out, sticking to the manticore's tail, who growled and tried to swipe at her. Deftly, Rarity made her way around the manticore's back, sticking more and more thread to the brute as she wrapped her up into a veritable cocoon of webbing. With another roar, the manticore fell to the ground- struggling, but trapped. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, a sad smile painted onto her face as she looked back over her compatriots.

"I'm... terribly sorry you have to see me like this."

"So, you're an arachne?" Spike asked, as Fluttershy tended to everyone else's cuts and bruises.

"Jorou-gumo," Twilight spoke up, and Rarity looked over to her.

"And you figured this out...?"

"Just before we entered the forest- I kept noticing the glint from your glamour."

Rarity nodded, "Ah, yes I suppose that would give it away."

"You could have busted that move earlier and saved us all a lot of trouble, you know." Sunset groused, as Fluttershy nervously dabbed at a cut on her forehead.

"Yes, well... I haven't always been too eagerly accepted by strangers who know the truth."

Spike frowned, "Wait- but... I mean aside from me, everyone here is a mamono."

"There's an unfortunate bit of history the nation of Equestria has had with particular tribes of Jorou-gumo in the past," Twilight said, "Their natural ability to glamour themselves and hide in plain sight make them well suited for infiltration and-" Twilight caught Rarity's downward glance, and cleared her throat.

"Well, I'll just leave it at that."

"Well that's dumb," Spike snorted, earning a thankful smile from Rarity.

"Sometimes people can be fucking morons," Sunset said, and turned to Twilight, "Speaking of."

"Listen, I just-"

"No, you listen," Sunset said, standing up as Fluttershy quickly scooted back, "If you don't replenish your spirit energy, you're gonna go as crazed as that manticore," She pointed towards the (now knocked out thanks to a safely administered scream from Fluttershy) brute. Twilight looked away.

"I-I'm pretty sure there should be herbs in the Everfree that can replenish magic," Fluttershy spoke up. Sunset nodded.

"That works, but we don't have the time for that," she pinched the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth.

"I can't believe this- okay, I know a ritual for transferring spirit energy, and I've got more than enough to spare," She poked Twilight in the sternum, "BUT this is a one-time deal! I'm only bringing this up as an option because I'm already fucking bound to you, and if I want to have ANY hope of getting out of this god forsaken contract then I need you to not turn into a fucking shambler on me, capisce?"

Twilight gulped, and weighed her options- try and hold out longer in hopes that they stumble upon the herb by accident- or be subject to a magical ritual with a girl who turned herself into a demon.

The shake in her knees gave her a quick reminder of how desperate her situation was.

"Okay- alright, what do I need to do?"

"Just- follow me," She turned to everyone else, pointing a finger at them, "And NONE of you better follow us, either."

"No dice, I don't trust like that," Dash said, crossing her wings, "What's to stop you from trying something and getting out of... whatever contract you guys have the hard way?"

"She's magically incapable of harming me while under the contract," Twilight said, "But I appreciate your concern."

Dash shrugged, "Yeah, just... okay then. You're the expert."

Sunset snorted, before grabbing Twilight by the wrist, "Alright, come on."

The two of them quickly disappeared into the treeline, and silence descended on the group. Pinkie blinked.

"Oooooooooooooooooooh, I get it."

"Get what?" Dash asked, and Pinkie skipped over, whispering something in her ear. After a moment, Dash's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull.

"You're- that's- no way! She HATES her!"

"Silly Dashie," Pinkie ruffled her hair, "This is JUST like one of Fluttershy's animes!"

"Huh?"

"Well, it's a bit of a stretch, but Sunset IS almost overly vocal about her distaste for Twilight," Rarity murmured, and Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Aw, come on- ain't no way."

"I mean, I've known Twilight since... basically forever- she's never really shown any kind of interest in romance or anything." Spike mused.

"Actually, as much as I enjoy it we probably shouldn't gossip," Rarity said, "I would rather not incur Sunset's wrath should she walk in on the middle of it."

Everyone nodded, giving their various agreements. With a breath, Rarity reapplied her glamour, and crossed her legs primly. Spike scooted closer to her.

"So, does that work like a spell or is it more of a... natural ability?"

"I would describe it as spell-adjacent," Rarity nodded, "There's a certain bit of formula that goes into it, but all Jorou-gumo are intrinsically capable of using this type of magic."

"That's pretty cool."

"Thank you," Rarity smiled, "You're a very kind young man, Spike."

Spike blushed a little, scratching the back of his head, "Well, you know- being raised in a castle, kind of pushes a guy to be more... noble?"

Rarity laughed, putting a hand to her mouth, "Yes, a real knight in shining armor."

"Nah, that's Twilight's other brother."

After a few more minutes of idle chit-chat, Sunset and Twilight emerged from the thicker part of the forest once more- the undead nerd looking slightly disheveled, while Sunset had nary a hair out of place. Dash stared hard at the two of them, while Pinkie waggled her eyebrows.

"See?"

"I'm still not convinced."

Twilight cleared her throat, grabbing her pack and slinging it back over her shoulders, "Okay, I think we've wasted enough time- back on the trail, folks."