Strategy

Chapters

Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII (part 1)
Chapter VIII (part 2)
Chapter VIII (part 3)
Chapter XII
Chapter X
Chapter IX
Chapter XI
Chapter LXVIII
Chapter LXXXIII
Chapter I
Chapter LXXIII

Chapter II

“I’m still not sure what to make of you,” Twilight said an hour later, as she stood with Vi on the upper floor of the library. “You made it easy for me to agree, but a part of me wonders whether you’ve tricked me into it. How much of what you did was only to get me to agree?”

“I think almost everything I did was trying to get you to agree. But almost nothing was only for that.”

“And all you said was true?”

Vi nodded.

“You really don’t mind being the personal assistant of a baby dragon?”

Vi shook her head.

“You seem to have an odd sense of pride,” Twilight commented.

“I think I have almost no pride.”

“Really?”

Vi nodded. “Pride makes poor decisions. I have no use for it.”

“But if somepony else has pride,” Twilight asked, “would you be considerate not to hurt her?”

Vi nodded again. “I just want everyone to be happy. I care about pride as soon as it affects someone’s happiness, just like anything else.”

“’Just want everyone to be happy?’” Twilight echoed. “That’s what Pinkie says, too. Is that your philosophy?”

“It’s pretty close.”

“Mh.” Twilight gave her a pensive glance. “Fluttershy said you are nine years old...”

“I am,” Vi said, “but I have a condition that makes my mind age faster. It’s probably fully developed.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“I’ve never heard of anypony else having it, either. I think it’s the same thing that also affects my mane.”

“Hm?”

“You’ll see what I mean if you touch it.”

Twilight walked closer, bringing a limb to a bushel of the filly’s mane.

“It’s... coarse.”

Vi gave a slight nod. “Unpleasant texture.”

Twilight said nothing, but she kept stroking along the strand in her grip, a frown on her face.

“You can’t see it at all.”

“Yes.”

“Mmhh. Have you-”

“-tested for diseases?” Vi finished her sentence. “Yeah.”

“At a local doctor?” Twilight asked, dropping the strand.

Vi nodded.

“I’ll have a look at it, some time. Could be something magical.”

Vi nodded. “Thanks.”

“How much do you know about math?” Twilight asked, changing the topic.

“I know the basics. Set theory, linear algebra... less about analysis. A lot about probability theory.”

“That doesn’t sound like you’d have an easy time helping me,” Twilight commented neutrally. “I don’t have to use a lot of maths nowadays, but when I do, it’s usually more advanced.”

“I could study it more,” Vi offered.

“Hm. I believe you, but if you really want to help me, I’d rather have a research fellow,” Twilight said carefully. “I love my friends to death, but none of them reads nearly enough.”

“Sure! I love reading.”

“Yes?” Twilight seemed skeptical. “Do you want me to suggest a few books as an introduction?”

Vi nodded. “Make it a generous collection.”

A sleepy dragon entered the library’s kitchen, one claw still rubbing his eyes. On the table, Twilight and Vi sat opposite to each other, Twilight writing on a scroll, Vi reading a book, a half-eaten sandwich on a plate beside her.

“Good morning, Spike.”

“Morning,” Spike murmured, stifling a yawn. “Hey, um,” he said to the filly as he sat down, “don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I think I haven’t actually caught your name.”

“You can call me Vi.”

“Right.” Spike blinked, looking at the spot in front of him where a few gemstones rested in a bowl of hay fries. “Did you...”

“I thought you would probably ask me to make you something to eat,” Vi said, looking up from her book, “so I did it pre-emptively to be more efficient. I asked Twilight for your favorite breakfast meal – if you don’t want to eat hay fries today, I can make you something else; Twilight assured me that you always want your gemstones.”

“Oh. Hay fries is great! Thanks.”

Showing only slight hesitation, he picked up his fork and took the first bite.

“What are you writing?”

“A reader’s letter to The Post,” Twilight murmured. “They printed this story about ...”

The rest of her sentence got lost as she noticed an error, lighting her horn to erase a bit of ink on her letter. Spike and Vi both looked at her, expecting a delayed answer, but the librarian seemed to have forgotten the question.

Spike shrugged, taking another bite.

“Got any plans for today?”

“Me?” Vi asked as Twilight didn’t respond, once more looking up from her book.

“Well, yeah.”

“I plan to read...” Vi lifted up the book in a light gray cloud, not unlike Rarity’s. “... as much of this book as possible.”

“...oh. Sure.” Spike took another bite. “Well, if I needed your help with something...”

“Whatever you want.”

“Great! So I was thinking about building this super amazing-”

“No!” Both of them looked to Twilight once more, who had finally put the letter aside. “Spike, the reason I’m not helping you with that project isn’t that I don’t have the time, it’s that it’s dangerous.” She walked over next to him. “Mixing up dragon’s breath with unicorn magic in this way is unprecedented. It’s not safe.”

Spike scoffed, but his mood wasn’t ruined sufficiently to impact his appetite.

Twilight frowned. “Vi, if you’re ever asked to assist with something that might be dangerous, ask me first, okay?”

“I’m not sure,” the filly said neutrally. “It would mean placing your authority over Spike’s, but I was specifically assigned to be his number one assistant. I might need his allowance to make that promise.”

“Hey, I’m the authority here.”

“Yes, but we haven’t established that authority is transitive.”

“Transitive?” Spike asked.

“It’s if (A,B) and (B,C) being a member of a relation necessarily implies (A,C) being a member.”

Silence.

“I don’t get it.”

“If I have authority over you, and you have authority over her. If that gives me authority over her, that’s transitive,” Twilight explained. Vi nodded.

“You have direct authority over me anyway because I’m living in your home. It’s just a question of whether your authority overrules Spike’s.”

“I’m for no,” Spike declared, his fork hovering in the air.

“You’re not building that cart, Spike.”

“I think that’s something you two have to decide,” Vi said. “After all, I don’t have authority either way.”

“Well, Spike, I think you’ll have to agree to give me the last word.”

Spike made a face. Twilight chuckled, giving him a pat on the back.

“Fine.”

“Alright,” Vi said immediately. “Sorry, Spike, I can’t help you build that cart.”

“Bah.”

“I’d have advised against it anyway,” Vi continued. “If you try to preserve the effects of both unicorn and dragon magic and then mix them together, the results are unpredictable. While that might sound fun to you, it could theoretically kill everypony in town. The danger of that seems to overshadow the benefits, despite its small probability.”

Silence.

“Um,” Spike said. “Um.”

Silence.

“Really?”

“There is no reason to believe that would happen,” Twilight said. “It’s very unlikely. But... yes, it’s technically possible. We don’t know enough to rule it out. That’s why I don’t want you to do it. I told you it wasn’t safe.”

“Yes, but... you didn’t say... I didn’t think it was that unsafe.”

“Ponies often neglect to communicate scope,” Vi said neutrally.

“Hmm,” Twilight made, giving her another thoughtful look. “Perhaps you’re right. Spike, if I had told you what Vi just told you, would you have-”

“Of course not!”

“Well, then we’re all in agreement now,” Twilight said happily, turning back to her letter, while Vi turned back to her book, taking a bite off her sandwich as she did so.

Spike stared straight ahead for a few more moments, before he slowly picked up his fork and continued eating.

“I’m heading for Sugarcube Corner to meet with the girls.”

Vi looked up. She had been lying on her improvised bed, still reading the same book from earlier in the day.

“Would you like to come?”

Vi’s face lit up, and she slid off her mattress, nodding.

“That’s very nice of you,” she said politely. “Is Spike still here?”

Twilight shook her head. “He left. Something about seeing what Pinkie Pie is up to.”

“Oh, good. He didn’t have any more requests for me today.” They headed downstairs, Twilight opening the door to reveal a sunny afternoon.

“I think he’s a bit intimidated.”

“Ah.” Vi waited for Twilight to close the door behind them before she continued. “I think that’ll pass.”

“How far did you get into the book?” Twilight changed the subject.

“About 200 pages. I’m a slow reader.”

“You’ll make up for that if you keep putting so much time into it.”

Vi nodded. “Twilight, what is Sugarcube Corner?”

Twilight laughed. “That’s Pinkie Pie’s bakery. Actually, her aunt and uncle’s, but she lives there.”

“Do you think it’s safe to go to a public place?”

“I think so. I’ll tell everypony who asks that you’re under my care.”

“But you won’t lie, will you?”

Twilight turned her head mid-walk to examine Vi’s concerned expression, then shook her head.

“You don’t like lying?”

“Not one bit.”

“Hm.” Twilight chuckled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Well, I don’t think I’m complicated.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Vi...” Twilight paused. They rounded a corner, passing the fountain. “Do you know... or, do you think that things happen randomly?”

“What do you mean by ‘randomly’?”

“Well, do you believe that there is something guarding, or steering events? Regulating?”

“You mean if I believe in an indifferent universe?”

Twilight paused again, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m agnostic on that. An indifferent universe seems more likely apriori, but what I’ve seen so far marginally points into the other direction. Ask me again in two years.”

“If you still live in Ponyville by then.”

Vi nodded. “What do you think?”

“A clear ‘no’ to indifference,” Twilight responded. “We’re here.”

Vi stretched out a limb, signaling the older pony to stop.

“Even if you’re right, then accidents still happen. You don’t think that gives you a free pass to take risks, do you?”

Twilight turned her head, smiling. “Of course not. That’s why I didn’t allow Spike to build the cart.”

She pulled the door open.

“... hear a cry for help, so desperate that it reached me all the way up in the clouds! Why, somepony seemed to be down at the bottom of the well! I was just about to take a nap, but I couldn’t just sleep if somepony depended on my heroicness, now could I?”

“Um.”

“I leaned down from my cloud, and there it was again, a cry right from under the earth. And then, I zoomed into the well. I knew it would be dark and dangerous, but I didn’t let that stop me. Danger’s my middle name. Rainbow, Danger, Dash!”

“Oh. I guess it’s easy for me to forget how small you are.” With a friendly chuckle, Twilight lifted Vi onto her back, right in time for her to see Rainbow Dash putting on sunglasses, causing a disbelieving giggle from the filly. She was standing on top of the counter, speaking to a small crowd.

“Thinking back on it, I acted pretty awesomely heroic that day.”

“Awesomely heroic that day and awesomely arrogant ever since,” said a mare from beside them. “Howdy, Twilight. Why, and hello to you, too.”

“Applejack, this is Vi,” Twilight introduced. “She’s under my care. Vi, Applejack.”

“A pleasure-” Vi began but was cut off by Rainbow Dash suddenly appearing next to the farmpony, pulling her close.

“Hey Applejack! How would you like to be immortalized as my friend?”

Vi’s smile disappeared.

“Immortawhat?”

But already, somepony with a camera had begun to take pictures of both of them while Rainbow Dash forced her oldest friend into a number of questionable postures.

“Are you taking notes?”

Vi almost lost balance as Twilight took a peek at Spike, keeping her position with a surge of magic.

Spike was wearing a gray hat, a brown jacket above a white shirt, and a black tie.

“Yup! I was hoof-picked by Rainbow Dash herself! To write her autobiography!”

“Ermm... autobiographies are supposed to be written by the pony they’re about?”

“Maybe for your normal run-of-the-mill ponies. But I’m far too busy saving lives to stop and write. That’s why I hired Spike as my ghost writer.”

“Ahh!” Pinkie Pie, who had been standing just a few yards off, shrieked loudly, jerking away from the cake she was eating. “Spike’s a ghost!” She was out of the bakery in a blur.

“... aaanyway. Spike here writes down everything- hey, who are you?”

“Somepony who would appreciate not to be immortalized next to you, if that’s okay.” The filly jumped off Twilight’s back, offering Rainbow a hoof. “Call me Vi.”

“Vi, huh? Well, what words would you use to describe my awesomely heroic act?”

She didn’t seem to notice the gesture.

“Saving a pony from the bottom of a well? That sounds neither dangerous nor heroic, just responsible. The odds of hurting yourself should be miniature.”

“Hah! Then what would you call saving as much as four elderly ponies at once from falling to their deaths?”

“Depends. How did it happen?”

“Aha! Somepony who wants to hear more about my heroic acts!” Rainbow Dash did a backflip, re-taking her position on the bakery’s counter where everypony could see her. “Why, I was just gliding through the air, expecting nothing out of the ordinary, when I could see a crack in the floor of the retirement home’s terrace! Before my eyes, it widened, and I knew that if I didn’t step in, all of their fates would be sealed! So without hesitation, I swooped down, catching the terrace in its fall! I slowed it down before it could hit the ground, allowing all four of our beloved elders to live another day!” She flapped her wings, returning to the waiting filly. “Now? How’s that sound?”

“Like a one-in-a-million coincidence,” Vi responded. “And like you’re really strong.”

“You’re spot on, champ! Really strong aaand?”

“Um,” said Vi. “I’m not sure I should answer-”

“From which level did they fall?” Twilight interrupted.

“The terrace was on the first floor,” Rarity answered, taking a stroll to stand next to the magician. “Ponies seldom die from a fall of three yards, Rainbow Dash, dear.”

“But old ponies could seriously hurt themselves,” Vi pointed out. “Are you Miss Rarity?”

“Why, yes! To which lovely filly do I owe the pleasure?”

“You can call me Vi.” They shook hooves. “I live with Twilight.”

“Oh? What unexpected news. Are you a relative?”

“Not exactly,” Twilight chimed in. “A story for later.”

Rarity nodded. Throughout all this, all but a few ponies seemed to have lost interest in Rainbow Dash, and a number of conversations had broken out among the crowd. A giggling Pinkie Pie came bouncing back into the room.

“Hey, Vi.” Spike showed up, showing the filly a number of claw-written pages. “This is all of Rainbow Dash’s speeches! Do you think you could-”

“Rejected,” Twilight said sternly. “We’re not helping Rainbow Dash boost her ego further.”

“Come on!”

“I’m serious, Spike. This is no laughing matter! There is a real lesson to be learned here.”

“I’m afraid Twilight is right.” Rarity took Spike’s transcripts in her telekinesis, throwing a look at them. “Dear, you write fast.”

“You could just talk to her,” Vi suggested. “But remember that preventing any serious accident should almost certainly have priority over personal behavior.”

“That’s mighty simple. I like it.” Applejack gave Twilight a friendly poke. “Why don’t you get her right now?”

“I’m not sure...”

“I think your lovely friend is right,” Rarity supported.

“You can frame it in a way that isn’t demotivating,” Vi said. “This could avoid potential escalation, too.”

“Alright. Pinkie Pie?”

A pink blur materialized next to the group.

“Yes? Hi Twilight! Hey, who are you? Oh my gosh I haven’t seen you before are you new in town what’s your name mine’s Pinkie Pie hi!”

“Hi, you can call-”

“Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted. “It is very important that you don’t throw a welcoming party for Vi here. Can you do that?”

Pinkie’s ears drooped. “No welcoming party? But why not?”

“It’s a secret,” Twilight said, “now listen. We want to tell Rainbow Dash not to be arrogant, can you help?”

“But...”

A pause.

“Vi, do you really not want a welcoming party?”

“I’d be very grateful if you didn’t throw one.”

Pinkie Pie bit her lip. “Alright then...” She sighed. “Should I get Dashie?”

Twilight nodded, and Pinkie Pie left.

“Now you got to know all of the elements,” Twilight said to Vi, who nodded.

“Err, what’s up?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said hysterically, grabbing the pegasus by her shoulders before Twilight got to say anything. “You’re boasting, and Twilight says that’s bad, and now there is a friendship problem and you should probably write a letter to Celestia but you also need to stop boasting, or maybe at least do it a little bit less, or does she need to stop at all, what do you think, Twilight?”

“Less would be marvelous,” Rarity responded in Twilight’s place. “Rainbow Dash, darling, you truly need to learn the virtue of modesty.”

“Modesty? Ha!” But Rainbow Dash looked a bit unsure. “Uh, come on, guys. It’s all in good fun! Don’t you want me to be a hero?”

“It’s great that you’re a hero,” Twilight said compassionately.

“But a real hero doesn’t brag,” said Applejack.

“Celebrating your accomplishments is natural,” said Twilight.

“But rubbing them in everypony’s face is not,” said Applejack.

“And there is no need to brag for other ponies to appreciate you,” Rarity added. “On the contrary, they’ll probably do it more if you’re more modest.”

“Uhm... for real?”

All four nodded.

“Oh... okay then. Yeah, you’re right, I was bragging a bit. Um...” With a gaze at the filly, she changed the subject. “So, who’re you again?”

Vi, who had unmistakably been standing next to Twilight the whole time, offered Rainbow Dash her hoof once more.

“I live with Twilight,” she said as the pegasus took it. “Call me Vi.”

“Well, great! What am I supposed to do with this, now?” Spike asked, gesturing with the transcripts Rarity had returned to him.

“Now Spike, I made this outfit for you, but I’m not sure I like you wearing it in a bakery. Why don’t you return it to me and have some fun at the party?”

Spike hesitated, but then shrugged, stripping out of his clothes. Voicing her approval, Rarity folded all of them neatly together and carried them towards the entrance. “I’ll be back in just a minute,” she announced in a sing-song voice.

Applejack snickered. Spike threw her a disapproving look.

“I still haven’t gotten the teleportation spell to work,” Twilight murmured. “It would allow me to transport these clothes directly into the boutique without needing to walk there. I’ve been working on it for months.”

“Twilight, do you think this is big enough to write a letter?” While Rainbow Dash asked this, Pinkie Pie was sneaking around them to get close to Vi.

“Do you really have a secret?” She asked in a whisper.

Vi nodded.

“Can you tell me?”

“That depends on you,” Twilight said to Rainbow Dash in the meantime, ”if you think you learned something important, you should write one. It doesn’t have to be long.”

“Um,” Vi said, “I can, but I don’t want to.”

“I wouldn’t tell anypony!”

Vi hesitated. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Pinkie Pie straightened herself, demonstrably turning her head away. “I understand.” Then, a moment later, she was looking back at the filly, smiling. “Is this your first party in Ponyville? How do you like it?”

“It’s fine,” Vi said. “Did you throw it?”

“Me?” Pinkie Pie giggled. “No, silly! Nopony threw this party! It just happened because Dashie was bragging and then lots of ponies came together! That’s why there are no streeeeeamers! If I throw parties, they’re even more fun!”

“Shouldn’t you be serving customers, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight reminded her.

“Oh. Hehe. Ooopsie!” With more giggles, Pinkie Pie began bouncing towards the same counter Rainbow Dash had been standing on just a few minutes ago.

“Do sales actually freeze when she’s not there?” Vi asked.

“Hm,” Twilight made. “I think most ponies probably wait until she’s back, but a few probably also just serve themselves and drop some bits in the cash register, however much they think it’s worth. I don’t think anypony will steal, but I guess it’s not an ideal system.”

“I think that sounds pretty good, actually. I’m starting to like this town.” Vi let her gaze drift among the many ponies who were still there, even though nothing out of the ordinary was supposedly happening anymore.

“I ain’t havin’ that for my sales,” the farm mare commented. “Ain’t no good service to leave customers to themselves, and there are still some folks out there whom you can’t trust to be responsible.”

“I think it’s different,” Twilight said. “You have a more professional business. And the few ponies who’d be willing to steal probably don’t come to Sugarcube Corner on account of Rainbow Dash flying heads-first into a well.”

“Hey, it was a perfect dive, alright? Didn’t even bruise a wing!”

“She is a very good flier,” Twilight agreed. “But townsponies can see her whenever they want. This is more of an excuse to have a good time.”

“Does this happen in other places?”

Twilight gave her a curious look... lasting a lot longer than what seemed appropriate.

“I’m not sure,” she said eventually. “I don’t think it is a thing in Canterlot. Could be a trait of more rural areas. Would you like some treats?”

Vi hesitated. “I’m very grateful that you’re letting me live at the library. You don’t have to spend any more bits on me.”

Twilight giggled. “Nice of you to worry. But the offer still stands.”

“If it’s no problem, then I’d like to try.”

“Pick your favorite,” Twilight said, floating four bits her way. “As a rule of thumb, the more colorful they are, the more sugar will be inside.”

“Thank you.” Vi took the bits and made for the counter. When she returned a minute later, carrying four bits and two muffins, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were wrapped up in a conversation about local competition, of which Twilight didn’t seem to take a big part of.

“Pinkie Pie-”

“-didn’t charge you because it was your first purchase,” Twilight completed her sentence as Vi returned the bits to her. “Shouldn’t surprise me. Thanks.” She also took the second muffin Vi offered, taking a bite. “How’s it taste?”

Vi took a careful bite of hers, chewing, swallowing, and thinking about her answer.

“Still very sweet. But pretty good.” She took a second bite. “Does Pinkie make them?”

“Some of them. Judging by the low amount of sugar on these two, I’d guess against it.” She kept her eyes on the filly, a slight frown on her face. “You really seem to have the mind of an adult.”

Vi nodded.

“How is it to grow up so quickly?”

“I think I’m pretty different from most ponies,” Vi said carefully, “and I don’t know how it is for others. So I don’t really know how to answer.”

“But you are doing okay?”

“Nice of you to worry,” Vi said, echoing Twilight’s sentiment from earlier. “I think so.”

“Good.” Twilight smiled. “That’s all that matters.”

“You’re certainly well-mannered for yer age,” Applejack chimed in. “How long yer gonna be here?”

“My best guess right now is that my personal preference will be to stay for the foreseeable future,” Vi responded, once more in a careful voice. “The limiting factor might be how long Twilight is willing to put up with me.”

“As long as you behave this well, you don’t have to worry.”

This earned a smile from the filly, so warm that it made Twilight blush.

“And as long as you’re my loyal assistant, I’ll allow you to stay, too!”

“Your assistant?” Rainbow Dash echoed skeptically.

“Yup! Want me to demonstrate?”

“Spike has full authority over me,” Vi said dutifully, before Twilight had a chance to scold him for his bragging. “I’m only tolerated at the library because I agreed to enter his service.”

“Um,” Spike said. “Yeah. Exactly! Want to bring me a muffin?”

Vi nodded, giving Twilight a questioning look, who rolled her eyes, pulling out nine bits for the filly.

“With gemstones and extra splinters!”

“Will Pinkie Pie-”

“-know which one?” Twilight finished her question. “Yes.”

Vi nodded, making for the counter once more. She returned just in time to see Rarity re-join the group, and Rarity returned just in time to see Vi deliver the muffin.

“Thanks,” Spike said, licking his lips at the sight of the treat.

“How very nice of you,” Rarity commented, before clearing her throat. “Ahem-”

“Vi’s my personal assistant!”

“Oh, is she, now?”

Vi nodded.

“How wonderful. Ahem, ladies?” There were some responsive murmurs, so Rarity continued. “I’m afraid I must announce that I won’t make it for our weekly picnic next Tuesday. I’m planning a three-day visit in ... mnnhhhh... Canterlot!But, I will make it back for your birthday party on Thursday, Twilight.”

“Canterlot, huh?” Twilight seemed thoughtful. “Have you already booked a room or hotel?”

“Why, yes, I have.”

“Could you still cancel your reservation?”

“Well... I suppose so, but why would I have to do that? Please, don’t tell me my presence is already requested elsewhere!”

“No, no.” Twilight chuckled. “Nothing like that. It’s just that I might have a surprise for you. I’ll let you know if I do. When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see Canterlot on a Sunday.”

“Tomorrow... Spike, can you make sure to be in the library in an hour?”

“Mh-hmh,” Spike made, his mouth full. At Twilight’s doubtful glance, he swallowed. “Library in an hour. Got it!”

“Great! Vi, you can stay however long you want.”

“Unless I want you to go back with me,” Spike added. “I’ll let you know.”

Vi nodded. “Of course.”

“Well, Twilight. Whatever it is, it is very nice of you, especially considering it is your birthday coming up, not mine.”

“Hehehe... you don’t need a birthday to do something nice for your friends, Rarity! But who am I to tell that to you of all ponies?”

Rarity brought a hoof to her mouth, stifling a giggle. Vi was watching the scene, a smile on her face.

Author's Note

A gust of wind caught Fluttershy's mane from behind, blowing a strand in front of her eyes. She brushed it off, licking her dry lips as she pressed on further into the forest, her eyes set ahead. The flora beside the path was rich and vast, among them plants she hadn’t enountered in months, but despite her gnawing hunger, she made no attempts to find something edible.

Click, click. Tick-tick-click.

She turned her head, spotting a forest spirit sitting on a branch to her right, its misshapen head turning above its white body, perhaps greeting her with this familiar clicking sound. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, halting in her walk as she watched it, yet always prepared for the worst.

Click. Click. Tick.

It spun around a few times, then it jumped off its branch, disappearing into the covert of trees.

"Shoo," Fluttershy murmured under her breath, wincing at the hoarseness of her own voice.

She was used to a lot, but she knew this was stretching it. She should... what was that thing Rainbow Dash would do, if she were here now?

Fly?

Or just run?

Or perhaps...

But the spirit was behind her now. And if Rainbow Dash truly was reckless enough to have attacked it, then that just proved how stupid she was.

A sigh escaped her lips.

She was out of food, out of water, and she was running low on energy to go much further. Yes, Rainbow Dash would be proud of her.

It was time to fly.

Chapter III

Vi didn’t look up immediately as she heard someone walk into the room. Only as the steps got closer did she realize that they didn’t sound like they came from Twilight... or from Spike.

“Fluttershy!”

The pegasus turned her head. She was standing on the bottom of the staircase that led up the elevated part of the library’s upper level. Rather than waiting for her to come up, Vi jumped straight down, causing a shriek from Fluttershy as she rushed towards her, hugging her front limb.

“Oh g-goodness.” Fluttershy giggled, wrapping a wing around the filly’s backside. “That looked dangerous.”

“It wasn’t. I cushioned the impact with magic.”

“Oh. I didn’t see it.”

They parted.

“Did you come to visit Twilight?”

Mostly I came to visit you.” Fluttershy smiled.

“... me?”

“Mh-hmh. I heard that you helped Rainbow Dash to a quick friendship lesson.”

Vi nodded. “You were the only one who wasn’t there at the party. So I got to meet everypony else.”

“And do you like them?”

“I like Rarity, don’t like Rainbow Dash. Pinkie I’m not sure of. Applejack seems very humble and honest, but a bit boring to me. And Twilight I like a lot.”

Fluttershy’s smile flickered a bit, but only for a few moments. “Hmmhh. Talking to you is really... I remember now that it’s something special.”

Vi opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when Fluttershy continued.

“I wouldn’t normally expect... a detailed answer like this to such a question.”

Vi shrugged. “That was the short version. Most answers that are shorter and useful aren’t the truth.”

“Well,” Fluttershy said, “you probably didn’t have the best introduction to Rainbow Dash, I would think. She’s really sweet, normally, um... she just gets carried away, sometimes.”

“I only met them once, except Twilight. All impressions can change.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Are you still Spike’s assistant?”

“Yes.”

“How is that?”

“Careful,” Vi said with a giggle. “Another dangerous question.”

Fluttershy echoed her giggle, not backing down. “That’s okay.”

“It’s a bit annoying. Spike has some requests that seem a bit silly to me. But it’s not much worse than I expected. I plan to keep it like this. Can you not mention any of that to Spike or Twilight?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course.”

“But don’t lie. Tell them the truth if you have to.”

That brought another smile to Fluttershy’s face. “I promise.”

“Do you have any ideas of what we could do?”

“I could show you more of Ponyville, if you want to,” Fluttershy offered. “Or, we could go to my place and I could make us a lovely salad, if you’re hungry.”

“I’m just a bit hungry. I’d still like that idea, but, uhm-”

“The animals?”

Vi nodded.

“How are things going with Owlowlicious?”

Vi shuddered. “He’s creepy.”

Fluttershy giggled.

“Smart for an animal, though.”

“Mmmhh.”

A pause.

“So what do you want to do?”

“Can I think for a while?”

“Oh. Sure.”

Vi nodded. Half a minute passed, during which she paced around the room, thinking.

“Okay. Show me around Ponyville.”

“So, what do you think?”

They’d been to Carousel Boutique for a short visit, to the park, to Town Hall, to some of the shops, and to the retirement home where Rainbow Dash had rescued four ponies from a fall which might or might not have been deadly. Now they were standing back in front of the library.

“About Ponyville?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“It seems like a very nice place to live. The town itself doesn’t seem too special, but the ponies do.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Everypony is friendly, and it doesn’t feel like they do it out of obligation. That, and Twilight told me the party in Sugarcube corner had formed organically. That’s fascinating.”

“Mhhh...” Fluttershy bowed her head in agreement. “That happens a lot on weekends. Everypony wants to get together, they’re just looking for an excuse.”

“Everypony except you?”

“Oh, I do join, sometimes... but I don’t like big crowds very much.”

“Not even crowds of ponies this friendly?”

“Not even those.”

“You’re pretty smart, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy blushed, and short twitch ran through her wings. “Oh, you’re just...” she began but then paused, her gaze refocusing on the filly beside her, as if she was remembering whom she was talking to. “Uhm. I... I guess you aren’t just saying that, are you?”

“I’m not.”

“Oh. Um, t-thanks...” A pause. “There’s nothing wrong with Twilight, is there?”

“Wrong in what way?”

“Oh. I... uhm... I just... I mean, she... she’s...”

“Twilight is one of the smartest ponies I ever talked to,” Vi said, “but that has nothing to do with you.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy sounded relieved. “No, of course not. So everything is going well?”

“I think so. I like Twilight a lot. Actually, I was thinking about what to give her for her upcoming birthday. Rarity mentioned it when we met. Do you have plans for a gift?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I asked Zecora for foreign tea leaves. I know Twilight likes to drink tea, and I think she would appreciate experimenting with something new.”

“Zecora?”

“A zebra shaman. She lives in the Everfree Forest. Vi, I don’t think Twilight is expecting to get a gift from you.”

“I don’t think so, either. Do you have an idea?”

“Um. I’m not sure.”

“Not sure whether you have an idea?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy blinked. “Uhm, I mean no. I don’t have an idea right now.”

“Ponies have this weird habit of never thinking about questions,” Vi said. “Want to come in?”

“Oh, yes.”

Vi rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, Twilight opened.

“Hi you two. How was the trip?”

“Hmmhh... I’m not sure,” Fluttershy said, looking at the filly. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think I know, either. It’s a difficult question, wouldn’t you say, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, yes. Absolutely.”

Twilight groaned. Then all three of them laughed.

“It was nice,” Fluttershy eventually said, and Vi nodded.

“Are you staying for longer, Fluttershy?”

“I think Vi and I were still having a conversation. I’d stay for just a few minutes so we can finish, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.” Twilight stepped aside. “I’ll be downstairs.”

“If I think of something for you, I’ll let you know,” Fluttershy said quietly as they walked to the upper floor. “But, um... you don’t have any money, do you? That makes it difficult.”

“Yes.”

“Although...” they entered the upper level. “You could always tell Twilight where you’re coming from. I’m sure she would appreciate that as a gift.”

“Too early.”

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then Fluttershy sighed.

“Oh Vi, I just don’t want things to turn out ugly. I’m not even sure if... Twilight may still be having doubts. Just taking somepony in like that is... it’s not normal.”

“I don’t want things to turn out ugly, either. I’m doing most of what I can to make them turn out well.”

“Oh... of course.” Fluttershy shuffled her front limb nervously, her wings twitching. “You’re not mad at me for asking, are you?”

Vi shook her head. She took a few steps forward, and Fluttershy leaned down for another hug. It lasted for almost ten seconds, then they parted, Fluttershy now smiling.

“Take care. I’ll see you at Twilight’s birthday.”

Vi nodded. “Bye.”

“Goodbye.” Fluttershy excused herself with another smile, then headed downstairs.

“Vi?”

“Mh?” Vi was sitting on a stool beside the tiny table in the library, as usual busy reading one of Twilight’s suggested books.

“It looks like we’ll have the party in Canterlot tomorrow. Do you want to come?”

Vi looked up. “Definitely. What happened?”

“I got a letter from Rarity.” Twilight summoned a piece of paper, offering it to the filly. “She says she can’t make it, but I’m pretty sure Pinkie will just move the party to Canterlot.”

My dear Twilight,

I am afraid I won’t make it to your birthday party tomorrow, because poor Opal is quite ill. And she is in no condition to make the long journey back to Ponyville.

I do hope you understand

Your friend
Rarity

Vi read the letter, then shoved the book further aside, then read it again.

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe,” Vi murmured. “Twilight, can you promise not to be mad at me if I tell you what this made me think?”

“Alright.”

“It sounds like Rarity is lying.”

“Really?” Twilight sounded skeptical. “Are you sure you aren’t just saying that because of how much you value truth?”

“No. How much does Rarity value truth?”

“I...”

For a while, Twilight seemed to think about the question, while Vi pulled the letter close once more, a frown crossing her face.

“Not as much as you, or Applejack, or I. But she wouldn’t lie without a good reason.”

“Is Opal her pet?”

“A cat.”

“Well, the chance for a cat to suddenly be sick is very low, but we mostly have to look at the probability of anything forcing her to stay, period. That, compared to the probability that something happened which made her lie. I assume the former is more likely, but this letter is evidence for the latter. Do you want to know why?”

“Go ahead.”

“Okay. Firstly she says ‘long journey back to ponyville’. How long is it, an hour by train?”

“About seventy-five minutes.”

“Still hardly a ‘long journey.’ And the second reason is that she is overly respectful and apologetic here. Maybe she feels bad about not attending your party, but if Opal is sick, then she has nothing to apologize for. Both are explained by her feeling dramatic and guilty for lying to you.”

“Yeah, but normal ponies don’t think like that. She can’t attend the party, after I had Celestia offer her to stay in the Castle. She probably feels guilty, even though she can’t help it.”

“Maybe.” Vi bit let lip. “I hope so. But... ‘your friend, Rarity’ is just too formal. Imagine you had two letters in front of you, both written by Rarity, and you knew one was a lie and the other one wasn’t. You take the first, read it, and it says this. You would guess that it’s probably the one with the lie, right?”

“Probably. But Vi, that’s only with two letters where I know one is a lie. That’s not the same thing.”

“Yes, but it updates the evidence from our priors. Okay. I claim the letter sounds apologetic, dramatic, and formal. How much more likely do you think the letter is to sound that way if Rarity is lying than if she is telling the truth?”

“’How much’?” Twilight echoed. “You mean a number?”

Vi nodded.

“Hm. Five times as likely.”

“Suppose you only knew Rarity wasn’t returning, but haven’t read her letter. How likely that she’s lying?”

“Three percent. Why aren’t we counting the letter?”

“We are counting the letter,” Vi said. “Like this: three percent means the odds for Rarity lying are 1 to 33, but the odds of her writing this letter are 5 to 1 for a lying Rarity versus a genuine Rarity. Therefore, the updated odds of her lying are 1 times 5 to 33 times 1, so 5 to 33, or 5 in 38, or about one in eight.”

“... are you sure that’s correct?”

“Yes.”

“Hm.” Twilight sounded skeptical.

“Imagine blue and red water coming down a waterfall. All of the red water reaches the bottom, and only a fifth of the blue water does, the rest gets lost on the way. But, there is thirty-three times as much blue water to begin with. What happens there is very simple and it’s absolutely correct to calculate it that way: multiply the amount of red water with the proportion that reaches the bottom, and same for the blue water. One to thirty-three over five, or five to thirty-three, or five in thirty-eight. Same thing.”

“Makes sense,” Twilight said slowly. “But I know a longer formula that-”

“-P of A given B is P of B given A times P of A over P of B?”

“... yes.”

“It’s the same thing, just much more complicated.” Vi took a breath. “If you ever explain probability to someone,” she said, “don’t tell them the formula. Just explain them the waterfall.”

“The same thing? It sounds longer.”

“It has some absolute values that cancel each other out. If you make up absolute probabilities for Rarity writing the letter if she’s lying and Rarity writing the letter if she’s telling the truth with a proportion of five to one and then plug them in, you’ll get the same result. After a lot more calculating.”

“I see.” Twilight smiled. “Now you’ve taught me something new.”

Vi beamed. “Glad to help!”

“Our result was one in eight, yes? That’s not too bad.”

“Um,” Vi made. “With your odds, yes. I don’t know Rarity as well as you, but-”

“You’d have changed them? Higher chance of lying?”

“No, three percent is fine. But I don’t think she’s just five times as likely to write it like this if she’s lying. More like fifty times. Twilight... I really hope I’m wrong, but nopony writes like this. I really think she’s lying.”

“Well,” Twilight said, “we’ll see when we’re there.” She took Rarity’s letter in her grasp, reading it one more time. “... hm.”

She folded it back in, putting it somewhere out of sight.

“If she’s been telling the truth, don’t tell her we’ve been speculating.”

Vi nodded. “I promise. Unless she asks me.”

“I think we can establish that this exception always applies,” Twilight said with a chuckle, but she got serious momentarily. “Actually... don’t tell her either way. Even if she’s been lying.”

A day later, all six of them stood in front of Canterlot Castle.

Twilight looked at the others, who nodded, then she pushed the door open.

“Surprise!”

And Rarity, who had been standing right in front of the entrance, and who was wearing a yellow dress, flowers on her tail, and a giant hat, brought a hoof to her head and literally fainted.

“Wow,” Twilight murmured. “Looks like you were right, Vi.”

“Yup,” Vi murmured, sounding all but happy. “Looks like it.”

“Err, whaaaat exactly are you guys talking about?”

“Rarity was lying to us,” Twilight said to Pinkie Pie. “Probably.”

“Oh. But why would she lie?”

“We can ask her once she wakes up.”

“Let’s get her inside,” Fluttershy suggested. Everyone murmured their approval, and Twilight floated the unconscious body into the Castle hall. While still in the air, Rarity opened her eyes, causing Twilight to quickly put her down.

“Hi again,” Pinkie greeted, her voice not quite as cheerful as normally.

“Rarity, have you been lying to me?”

“I... well, I’m... I... I’m... that’s...”

No-one interrupted the silence as Rarity’s voice broke. On shaky hooves, the fashionista stood up, taking a deep breath.

“Yes, I did. I’m very, sorry, Twilight.”

“Why?”

“Well, b-... because, because Fancy Pants, he... he invited me to the Garden Party on this afternoon, and that’s... it’s the prime event after the Grand Galloping Gala, you see, and so-”

“Oh, Rarity...” Twilight sighed. “You could have just told us.”

Vi’s eyes shot daggers at Rarity, and Twilight’s compassionate tone only seemed to make her more upset.

“But... I didn’t... I didn’t know you would-”

“DIDN’T KNOW?!” Vi shouted. “COME ON! Come on! COME ON! You didn’t think she would understand? Your best friend wouldn’t understand that you want to go to a high... argh, whatever party? COME ON! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO LIE?”

“Vi-” Applejack began, but Vi cut her off.

“You lied! You LIED! You LIED TO YOUR FRIEND FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY UNNECESSARY DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR EVEN FIVE SECONDS HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?”

“Vi,” Twilight now said, “get your magic under control.”

The filly’s horn had begun to glow during her outbreak, and now the silver hue intensified, until she cast a beam against her own outstretched limb, which was cast in a quickly fading light for a few seconds.

“Um,” Fluttershy said, “c-can we all be f-friends again n-now, please?”

“Folks of yer age shouldn’t talk to grown-ups like that, misses.” Applejack gave the filly a stern glance. “I don’t like lyin’ as much as you do, but I know better than to shout at an older pony.”

“Vi has the mind of an adult,” Twilight said. “She has as much right to shout at somepony as we do. And we don’t shout at others.”

“Are you really making this about me?”

“It’s about both, Vi. Rarity shouldn’t have lied, but you shouldn’t have started screaming. Look at what that did to Pinkie Pie. And Rarity.”

The pink pony in question stood completely still with moisture glistening in her eyes, while Rarity seemed to be in utter shock.

Vi took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie.” She closed her eyes, literally grinding her teeth for a few moments.

“... and Rarity,” she pressed forth, almost intelligibly.

“Yes,” Rarity said, “that seems to be in order. And I am sorry to all of you for having lied without a good reason. Rude as it may have been, I suppose what Vi said was correct.”

“Yeah,” Twilight responded, causing another round of murmured agreement.

“Can you still make it for the garden party?” Vi asked, causing everypony to turn towards her in surprise.

“Pardon?”

“You already did one stupid thing,” Vi said, “as we just agreed on. The lesson now shouldn’t be to do more stupid things, like missing an important event for a party which we could easily have without you... or reschedule.”

“Says the pony who just shouted at a bunch of adults,” Rainbow Dash remarked.

“I’m sorry,” Vi said, keeping her voice steady, “but that doesn’t have anything to do with Rarity, does it?”

“We already moved this party here-”

“Exactly,” Vi cut her off. “We already moved it here. Therefore it has zero bearing on the decision at hoof. If it was better to attend the Garden Party before, then it is better now. And if it wasn’t better I’m sure Rarity wouldn’t have lied.”

“Why is that your business?” Rainbow asked, her tone now sounding aggressive.

“Stop that,” Twilight weighed in. “Just because Vi made a mistake doesn’t mean what she’s saying isn’t true. Rarity, if this event is important, I think Vi’s right. You should go.” She turned to the others. “Right?”

“I think so, too,” Fluttershy was first to agree.

“Rainbow, if you had a one-time meeting with the Wonderbolts, would you let it go to attend my birthday?”

“Er... I guess when you put it that way, nope.” Rainbow gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, champ,” she added in Vi’s direction.

“Friends are important, too,” Applejack said with a frown. “But it’s your call. I s’pose, Rarity.”

“You should do what makes you happy,” Pinkie said quietly. “If you want to be at this Garden Party thing, then it’s no good to be at Twilight’s party instead. Partying with unhappy ponies is no fun.”

“So.... you really think I should go?”

“It’s okay, Rarity. We can talk more later.”

“Wow, Twilight. First you get me a seat at the Castle, and now this. I... I don’t know what to say.”

Twilight giggled. “It’s okay, Rarity, really. Just go and have fun.”

Rarity nodded. “Well then.” She picked up the hat which she had lost earlier, making sure it still looked to be in proper condition.

“Um, Rarity? Is this my dress?”

Already in the process of leaving, Rarity froze in her step, slowly turning around.

“... yes, it is. I was going for an elaborate design, you see...” She nodded towards the sketch on her clipboard. “... but with all these invitations, I never got the time, so...”

“So there were several parties leading up to this one?”

Rarity nodded.

Twilight chuckled. “Looks like you’ve been doing really well for yourself.”

Even though Twilight’s tone had been friendly, Rarity blushed, looking uncomfortable. “Are you ... are you going to wear it anyway?”

“Nah, I’m good. Nothing wrong with celebrating your birthday naked. I’ve done it for the last nineteen years.”

“Heheeh...” Rarity gave a nervous laugh. “Of course.” She grabbed the dress in a gray cloud as if to remove it, but changed her mind momentarily. With a rather awkward smile, she excused herself, heading for the entrance.

“Are you going to throw me out?” Vi said as soon as she was gone. “Please don’t throw me out!”

“Throw you out?” Twilight looked at the filly, giving a smile. “Of course I’m not going to throw you out. You’ve been a lovely mare... filly... since you moved in, before now.”

“Wasn’t that just a week ago?” Rainbow asked cynically.

“Six days,” Vi said.

“Still. I’m not throwing you out just because you misbehaved once.”

“You could do something to punish me,” Vi suggested.

Twilight gave her another one of those looks where it wasn’t clear whether she was amused or serious.

“Maybe. We’ll talk about it later.”

Author's Note

Twilight was in a tunnel.

From ahead, she could hear the distant rustling of leaves, the low scratching of nails against stone. But she could also see a glimmer of light, of freedom. Behind her, there was nothing but darkness.

A vague sense of discomfort took hold of her as she took cautious steps towards the light. The soft wind that blew through her mane, casting the sounds from beyond her vision, it seemed like a promise, the promise of wonder, of a secret.

The sound of splashing water made her wince. As her eyes flickered down, she could see that her left hoof had sunk into a hole in the soil of the tunnel, where a small puddle was forming. She pulled it out with a grunt, quickening her steps forward.

As the walls parted beside her, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Her gaze darting around frantically, she made for the cover of trees to her left. The wind was stronger here, waving through the leaves and branches, but it wasn’t enough to cover up the screeching coming from somewhere close... from somewhere near...

Through thick branches whose color faded at her gaze, Twilight could spot the creature ahead. Black and red it was, with leathery wings and long claws whose nails were scratching across a wall to its side. The sight of the wall would seep through the branches, but only where it was touched by the demon’s body, leaving her at a loss to discern what structure it belonged to.

When Twilight closed one of her eyes, the trees would lose their transparency, and the sight of the demon would disappear. It was smart to hide herself, Twilight thought as she made steps to her left, trying to get away, away... if she stared at it too long, would it feel her gaze? Did it know?

The tunnel was closed. She would be unable to go back. Only to hide could be her goal, to escape sight. Around her, the forest seemed to come to life as her steps took her farther away, and she could hear the chirping of birds, and the silhouettes of smaller creatures that ran across the edge of her vision. It all was animated by the wind, the wind that blew through the leaves, through her mane, through her head, that woke her up to the tired sight of a wooden roof.

Twilight blinked, feeling a mixture of fear and intrigue as her mind roamed through the fading images of her dream. Rolling around in her bed, she felt for an article on her nightstand, calling it to her in a purple cloud. Without losing time, she scoured through the notebook’s sheets, coming to a halt at the page past her latest entry. Hastily, she put the quill on the top of the page, proceeding to write down everything she could still remember.

Chapter IV

“Understanding Medieval Equestria. Pony history. Over there.”

Vi’s gaze followed the gesture, finding the little sign on top of the shelf. She took the book out of Twilight’s grasp, floating it over.

“How is the order within a shelf?”

“Alphabetically, based on author. Just put them near the middle for now.” She picked up another. “Modern Spell Casting. Classics.”

“Classics?” Vi echoed while putting the book there. “Is that a quality judgment?”

“Kind of,” Twilight said. “But not mine, it’s-”

They both turned their heads as they heard someone laughing. Spike was standing on the staircase, a red, heart-shaped gem in his grasp.

“Spike,” Twilight asked, “what are you laughing at?”

“This little beauty is my birthday present to myself! A fire ruby! I’ve been aging it for months, and it’s almost right!”

“Aging?” Vi asked.

“You can grow gems indoors,” Twilight said. “Actually, there must be a book about it somewhere in this pile. Wow, Spike, this one’s turned out great!”

“I had no idea what present I could give you,” Vi confessed to Spike, just as she had done to Twilight four days prior. “I’m sorry.”

“You? Ah, don’t be ridiculous!” Spike made a dismissive gesture with the claw that wasn’t holding the fire ruby. “You already do so much for me! What are you two doing, anyway?”

“I’m helping Twilight reshelve.”

“Reshelve? Hah! That sounds so boring! Why do you even need to reshelve?”

“The history of Canterlot,” Twilight began with the next book, clearly not appreciating Spike’s comment.

“Don’t they all go back into the same shelves anyway?”

“History section. They would if everyone always put them back where they belonged, but as you well know Spike, they don’t. The Lunar Empire. Fantasy. This book shouldn’t even be in this room!”

“I got it,” Vi said, making for the second room in a swift gallop. She was back in time to hear a knock from the door.

“Heloooho! Anypony home?”

“It’s Rarity,” Twilight said, opening. “Hey there.”

“Twilight, I’m glad you-” She stopped, gasping. “Is that a fire ruby?” She sped over, gaping at the gem which Spike proudly presented. “Ah! That must be at least twenty karats! No inclusions... pristine facets...”

“... and, totally delicious!” Spike finished for her.

“Boris the talking Bear, volume three. Children’s section,” Twilight instructed.

“... d-delicious?”

“Yup! Next Week’s my birthday! And this is my birthday dinner!”

“The magic in nature... errm, if you guys don’t mind...? Magic Theory.”

“Oh. Oh, of course. Ahm, hello, Vi.”

“Miss Rarity. I am helping Twilight reshelve as my punishment for my poor manners. I promise to try to behave better in the future.”

“I see,” Rarity said, somewhat awkwardly. “Well.” She cleared her throat. “Twilight, I came by to see if you have any books on historical fashion.”

As a response, Twilight briefly looked over all books that were currently floating, then she carefully put them back onto the floor. At an impressive speed, she scanned through the remaining pile, briefly lifting up about half a dozen at a time.

“... start with this one,” she said eventually, after about two thirds of the pile were worked through, offering Rarity a thin book with a cyan cover.

“Thanks, Twilight. I’ve got a feeling ruffled taffeta capes are going to make a huge comeback this season, and I want to be ahead of the game...”

While ostensibly still looking into the book, her eyes darted towards Spike as she finished her sentence, who was just putting the heart-shaped fire-ruby into a chest. She bit into her front limb, visibly in pain.

“I think one of the ways ponies’ minds systematically fail has to do with, um, insensitivity towards duration,” Vi said at once, sounding a bit less fluid than normal. “What do you think, Twilight?”

“Err,” Twilight made, who for inexplicable reasons was also looking into a book. “... what?”

“Well, uhm, I think ponies often underestimate the long-term drawbacks of, um, smoking! Yeah! On the other hoof, ponies who, say, are poor but spend a lot of bits on sweets might overestimate the very short-lived benefit of eating something with a lot of sugar. They think that the time when they’ll be eating their sweets will be wonderful, but in fact, they would probably gain more happiness overall if they spent the bits on something else instead... something with a more long-lasting effect. Don’t you think so?”

Twilight’s eyes, now detached from the book, slowly wandered over Vi to Rarity to Spike and finally to the fire ruby.

She looked back at Vi, raising an eyebrow.

“I really think so,” Vi doubled down. “It’s very unlikely that something lasting a few minutes at best can compete.”

“Well, I would think that you’re right most of the time, but it the choice would be up to the ponies having the bits. If they decide they want sweets instead...” Twilight demonstrably closed the book, floating it into its shelf. “... then I don’t think it’s our place to argue.”

“Of course. I would still present the argument, though.”

Vi looked at Rarity. Rarity looked back. Vi made a small but unmistakable gesture with her head.

Although she was still pretending to sort books, Twilight’s gaze, just like Vi’s, was fixated at Spike, while Rarity was carefully approaching him.

“Spike, may I have another look at your price jewel?”

“Oh. Of course!” Spike opened the chest he had already closed, presenting the ruby. Rarity gave a dramatic sigh.

“I do hope it is as tasty as it is beautiful... I’ve never seen anything quite so stunning before!”

Vi looked at Twilight, who didn’t notice because she was still watching the scene. Closing her eyes, she mirrored the gesture from Rarity, biting into her leg.

“Gosh! You really like it, huh?”

“Like it? It’s... magnificent!”

“She lied again...” Vi murmured after Rarity and Spike had left them both to continue their reshelving.

“What? When? Pony history.”

“‘I’ve never seen anything quite so stunning before’,” Vi quoted, putting the book in question on its shelf.

“Oh. Vi, I think you have to get used to those kinds of expressions. They’re figures of speech. Classics.”

“But they’re not! Saying ‘we’re sorting a million books,’ would be a figure of speech. Rarity was trying to make an argument for how valuable the ruby is to her, and she lied... most likely.”

“Applied magic... children’s section... pony history... history...” Twilight took her time with her answer, clearly thinking about what to say. “You’re already looking at the author’s names, right?”

“Yeah. By the way, Twilight, I think-”

“Biology.”

“-Spike had a point about reshelving.”

“... what?”

“Reshelving everything at once doesn’t seem to be the ideal method. Why not do it shelf by shelf?”

“History. Uhm. Some books are on the wrong shelf, though.”

“How many?”

“Uh, I’m not sure.”

“Make a guess.”

“A fifth?”

“Pretty sure that would still go faster.”

“Biology. Maybe. We can try next time. I’m going to re-shelf the other room in just a few days. Vi, I don’t think it matters whether it’s a figure of speech or not. It’s not treated as a lie in our society. Most ponies wouldn’t even get the idea. Classics.”

“That means lying is socially accepted. At least in some forms. Ugh, I have to think about this more.”

“History.”

Vi took the book. Cloud Burster... she put it at the leftmost spot on the shelf.

“One more.” Twilight gave her the next. “Vi, you didn’t just want to get back in Rarity’s good standing, did you? You also believed what you said?”

“Yes, I think it’s unlikely that eating the gem is the best use for it.”

“I’m glad he gave it to her, too. But if Rarity hadn’t tried, you’d have let it go?”

Vi hesitated. “I think I’d have talked to Spike once, but then given up.”

Twilight smiled. “Good. Applied magic.”

“Twilight?” Vi whispered, gently poking at the mare’s shoulder. “Twilight?”

“Mhhhhmmmh,” Twilight made, slowly opening her eyes. “What... what’s going on?”

“Something important. Please get up. But be quiet.”

The words took a few moments to reach Twilight’s sleepy head, but eventually, she nodded, shoving off her blanket. As she looked over the edge of her bed, she froze on the spot.

As usual, Spike was lying in his crib. Unlike usual, he was wearing a hat, and there was a pile of random objects lying beside him, from a mirror over a guitar to a flower pot. And similarly unlike usual, he was about twice his normal size.

“Can we go down to discuss what to do?” Vi suggested.

Twilight’s eyes darted from Spike over the pile of objects to Vi and then back to Spike.

“I’d just wake him and ask-”

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. But if it is, you can still wake him in a few minutes. It’s one-thirty in the morning, he’ll be asleep for hours.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright.”

“I assume it has to do with his birthday,” Vi said as they reached the lower floor and Twilight made light. “It would be a big coincidence otherwise.”

“Yes, but how?”

“You have no idea?”

“Ponies know next to nothing about dragons...” Twilight made a gesture around the library. “You won’t find a single book here that provides a solid run-through.”

“Then we’ll have to guess and see what sounds plausible.”

“You first.”

“Um. Well, it’s probably connected to the stuff upstairs, but the stuff itself seemed harmless. So the cause for his growth was probably the act of acquiring it.”

“I saw him yesterday...” Twilight murmured. “He had the same hat on, and I caught him demanding a gift from somepony. When I called him out on it, he apologized and said he’d give the hat back, but he clearly didn’t.”

“Did he seem normal?”

“Not at first, but then he did, when he talked to me.”

“That fits with the hypothesis, I think. Something about getting lots of stuff must be the cause. Just getting it, or getting it by force, or wanting it too much, or something similar.”

“Why don’t we just ask him?”

“I really wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It seems possible that his growth also changed his character. What if he attacks you?”

“Why would it- ... well, I guess he normally wouldn’t have taken all this stuff... mh.” Twilight frowned. “You’re a very careful pony, VI. More than I am.”

Vi nodded. “It doesn’t seem smart to take the risk... do you agree?”

“I’m not sure. You can go too far with being careful.”

“Okay, how big do you think the danger is? Let’s establish whether we’re disagreeing about our estimate or about our risk tolerance.”

“You go first,” Twilight said again.

“Forty percent that his character changed noticeably, two that he would be dangerous.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Okay... but two percent is way too high to risk it, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Twilight conceded. “You’re right. What do we do then?”

“Can you contact the princess in other ways than through Spike?”

“No.”

“Then I’d say, get a bunch of magicians here, wake him, see if he will send a scroll, if not detain him.”

Twilight shook her head. ”’A bunch of magicians’?” she echoed. “Vi, there isn’t a single strong magician in Ponyville outside of this room. And even if there was, what would you have me do? Wake them up in the middle of the night? No, you really need to be more practical.”

“Okay, can you really not message the princess otherwise?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Okay, give me a few moments to think about it.”

For about a minute, Vi paced around the room, while Twilight waited patiently.

“Get Rainbow Dash. Tell her to fly to Cloudsdale and notify the princess that way.”

“No. You don’t disturb the ruler of the world in the middle of the night for something that’s most likely harmless. That’s not how she wants me to deal with things. She’s encouraged me to act on my own.”

“But this could really be dangerous!”

“No, Vi. Flying to Cloudsdale before anything has even happened is out of question.”

“Okay. Get Rainbow Dash anyway. We should be prepared to evacuate and send Rainbow Dash to Canterlot immediately if he attacks us. That way, the princess will only be disturbed in case of a real emergency.”

Twilight sighed. “Why do all of your suggestions include waking up ponies in the middle of the night?”

“Come on, Twilight! It’s just Rainbow Dash! That has to be a reasonable safety measure!”

“Fine. But... speaking of waking ponies in the middle of the night, why were you awake?”

“Um. I don’t sleep at night. I sleep for twenty minutes eight times a day.”

Twilight, who had been facing the staircase, slowly turned around.

“I’m talking to you, so I probably don’t have to ask, but are you serious?”

Vi nodded.

“We’ve been living together for over a week now. How in Celestia’s name did you hide that for so long? And why?”

“Um. ... I’m thinking about whether I protest to you saying ‘hide’...”

“Vi, if you hadn’t been trying hide it, I’d have noticed.”

“Well, you did notice. Just now.”

Twilight called upon her magic, rubbing her eyes.

“Vi... please tell me exactly what you are doing, why you are doing it, and why I didn’t know about this until now.”

“Um ... okay. Ponies go through several phases when they sleep, but only some of them do what we need sleep for, and others don’t seem to do anything. If we are sleep deprived, our bodies will spend less time in those, which makes the sleep we do have more efficient. But being sleep deprived has disadvantages. Somepony once told me that one could have the advantage of more efficient sleep without the disadvantage of too little sleep by having several, shorter phases, but that transitioning would be very hard. Um, I tried it, and eventually it worked.

“I didn’t mention it to you because I thought it would make it a bit less likely that you let me live with you. But I was sleeping when Fluttershy first found me. If either of you had asked why, I’d have told you you the truth.”

“I must have woken you up several times.”

“You did. I’ve been sleeping like this for so long that I’m fairly flexible by now. I can deal with a few phases cut short.”

“That’s amazing,” Twilight murmured. “Look, Vi. This was just about the worst way I could have learned about this. It’s... there is nothing bad about it. At least that I know of. If you had just told me up-front, then there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“I don’t understand why there is a problem now.”

“You don’t, because you didn’t lie, and you told me as soon as I asked?” Twilight guessed.

“Um, yes.”

Twilight shook her head. “Vi, ponies aren’t perfectly rational creatures.”

“Um. Well, if you can explain to me which social rule I broke, I can try to learn it.”

That made Twilight chuckle. “It’s okay. I can try to teach you sometime. But...” Her tone became serious again. “... why did you think it would make me less likely to take you in?”

“I thought it would make me appear less childish.”

“‘Less childish?’” Twilight echoed. “Why would that be a bad thing?”

“Um, I think ponies have an emotional bias to be nice to children.”

“So you’ve been trying to manipulate me.”

“Twilight, ponies manipulate each other all the time!” Vi protested. “They have hidden motives all the time! What I’ve done isn’t any worse. The only difference is that I do it consciously.”

“Well,” Twilight said, “but I don’t do it, right?”

“... I don’t think you do,” Vi admitted. “I don’t think Fluttershy does it, either... or at least way less than most ponies. But Rarity, for example, does it all the time, and you’re not mad at her for it, are you?”

“No, I’m not. But... Vi, if you’re... you’re... argh!” Frustrated, Twilight stamped her left forehoof. “It’s different, okay? If you’re doing it to me, and you know you’re doing it to me, it feels like you’re deceiving me. Maybe this is unfair, but it doesn’t feel like that when anypony else does it. Just... don’t do it, okay?”

“Don’t do it to anyone, or just not to you?”

Twilight sighed. “Just not to me.”

“Okay. I promise.”

“Good. And stop being so afraid I might kick you out,” she added. “I’m not kicking you out, okay?”

Vi nodded. “Okay.”

“Spike,” Twilight said carefully. “Spike, wake up.”

Spike yawned, and in doing so showed a much longer and scarier-looking tongue than he’d had on the day before.

“Uh... what happened?”

“That’s what we want to know from you!”

Spike yawned again. “It’s so early...” he murmured. “Why did you – wait, Rainbow Dash, why are you- aah! What happened to me?”

He stood up, rather awkwardly so, looking at his own limbs.

“I know it seems like the most obvious question,” Vi said, “but right now it’s not the most pressing one. What happened yesterday?”

“Yea,” said Twilight, “what did you do after I saw you, Spike?”

“Uhm. I went to talk to...”

His voice trailed off, his gaze set at the other end of the room.

“You went to talk to whom?”

“Err, I don’t remember. Hey, can I have that photo? You hardly ever look at it, right?” He picked up the framed picture that was sitting above the chimney. “Thank-”

“No you can’t!” Twilight hissed, taking it out of his grasp.

“Spike!” Vi growled. “You told Twilight you’d give the hat back to Cheerilee and you didn’t. That means you lied! As your number one assistant, I demand that you tell me exactly why, right now!”

“Um,” Spike made. Even though Vi was barely a quarter of his size now, he still seemed to be intimidated. “Um. Well, I tried to, but I didn’t find her, and-”

“If you don’t tell me the truth, you can find yourself another assistant,” Vi stated, her voice cold as ice.

“B-but... I don’t understand, you’ve never-”

“Because you’ve never lied to me before, Spike. Don’t. Lie. To me. Ever. Tell me what happened!”

“Um. I didn’t think... look, Twilight was trying to ruin everything. It was my birthday! Ponies wanted to give me gifts! I didn’t make Cheerilee give me the hat! I didn’t even ask her! I just mentioned that it was my birthday, and she said everypony should have presents on their birthday, and she gave it to me, alright? Why should I give it back?”

“If it happened like that, there is no reason for you to give it back. The problem is not that you didn’t give it back, the problem is that you lied.”

“Err,” Rainbow made. “I think the bigger problem right now is that he’s twice his normal size.”

“Right,” Vi said, “that too.”

“What did you do after I saw you?” Twilight repeated her question. “And as Vi just reminded you, we do not lie to each other. Tell me the truth.”

“Saying you don’t remember was probably another lie,” Vi threw in. “Don’t make your next answer the fourth one.”

“Um. I... didn’t give Cheerilee her hat back?”

“I can see that,” Twilight said. “What did you do?”

“Well, I...” His voice trailed off once more as, presumably, his eyes fixated another object, but the social pressure made him refocus. “Uhm, I... just got around more, and more ponies gave me stuff... I even got a small cart to carry it... then, uhm, the evening is a bit of a blur. I got home late and put it all here, I think.”

“But why? What do you want with all of this stuff?”

“I can keep it, right?”

“Spike!”

“What do you want with this stuff?” Vi repeated the question, talking slowly and with a lot of weight on each word.

“Uh. Dunno. Just... collect it? There’s no harm in having it, right?”

“It clearly affects your character, and it clearly affects your body, both in unpredictable ways. That’s a lot of harm.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to give it back!”

“I think that’s a case of systematic undervaluing of long-term effects. You are driven by your desire to have lots of stuff now, but if getting lots of stuff has unpredictable effects-”

“Why are you being so dense?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “‘Getting lots of stuff?’ He’s greedy! Dragons have hoards! He’s starting to want one and that makes him get all big and nasty!”

“Sounds plausible,” Vi agreed. “So if practicing greed causes uncontrollable changes, we can’t allow you to do it. We don’t know how sensitive control is towards impulse. It could be that if you just got a little bit more stuff, the greed would suddenly overwhelm all other desire and thus triggering a snowball effect that would be hard to stop and could end up killing someone. Um.” She threw a look at Twilight. “I’m not making the decisions, but it seems clear-cut to me.”

“Vi is right,” Twilight said decidedly. “You know how resistant dragons are to unicorn magic. We can’t risk getting into a situation we can’t control.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Um,” Twilight made, looking towards Vi for ideas, but it was Rainbow who answered.

“Give the stuff back.”

“No!”

“Hah! See, he doesn’t want to! If he does it anyway, maybe it’ll make him small again!”

“It won’t! And who says I want to be small again?”

“I think you’re underestimating the downsides of your new size,” Vi said, and Twilight nodded.

“Yeah. Spike, imagine how other ponies will react to you. Previously, you were about as big as Rainbow or I, but now? And what would Rarity think?”

“B-but...”

“And you can’t stay like this,” Vi repeated. “At least not if it’s avoidable. Your old form seems to be somewhat stable based on how long you’ve had it. But your new form? We don’t know how easily you would grow more.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Twilight said, “agreed.”

“Give it back,” Rainbow urged. “Come on, Spike!”

“But... but the ponies aren’t even here.”

“I’ll give it to them,” Vi volunteered. “If you give it to me. It’s the same as returning it to their previous owners. Everything you give to me, you’ll never get back. Twilight will put it downstairs. You won’t even see it again.”

“Good idea.” Twilight levitated the hat which Spike was still wearing from his head, but instead of taking it, she put it into his grasp. “Give it back. And explain why.”

“Pretend I’m Cheerilee.”

Spike fidgeted around, clearly not wanting to do what everypony had asked of him. As the silence got awkwardly long, Rainbow wanted to say something, but Twilight cut her off.

“We can wait. Spike, you have all the time you want.”

Over a minute passed before he did it.

“Ch-Cheerilee? Uhm. Will... will you take back your hat, please? I... I was being too greedy... even though I really... really like it.”

Another ten seconds passed, during which he was holding the item in his grasp. Then, he offered it to Vi, who took it into her telekinesis. Only as he opened his claws voluntarily did she pull it away.

“Thank you, Spike. That-”

Vi interrupted herself as he suddenly reverted back to his former size.

“Huh,” Rainbow made. “I didn’t think it would happen that quickly.”

“Oh Spike!” Twilight ran over and hugged him, while Vi floated the hat down the staircase, just as they had planned. “I’m so proud of you!”

“You should return the rest, too,” Vi said, “just to be safe.”

“S-sure.” All of the greed seemed to have left with this transformation. “You can have all of it. I don’t need it.” He gulped, clearly in relief. “Well,” he added, “except the hat. The hat was really cool.”

“If you return all of these, I will buy you a hat,” Twilight said with a smile. “As long as you don’t get too greedy.”

“I won’t. I promise!”

“You did great, Spike,” Vi also said. “You don’t have to return all of these yourself if you don’t want to. You can have your assistant do it.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course! I am still your number one assistant, aren’t I?”

“Y-yeah! Sure!”

“Cool stuff.” Rainbow yawned. “It’s still the middle of the night, though. If you don’t need me anymore...”

Twilight giggled. “You can go home, Rainbow Dash. Thank you for your help!”

“Eh, sure. Easiest friendship problem eeever.”

She walked over to the large window, opening it. With a wink, she was gone.

“You should write a letter to Princess Celestia about this, Spike. Which reminds me...” She turned to the filly. “I haven’t mentioned you to the princess so far, Vi, but you’ve been a big help this time, and you helped Rainbow Dash, too. Do you mind if I write to her about you?”

Author's Note

writing! music! rationality! poetry!

forced inspiration! plagiarism!

philosophy! dreams! hallucinations! pain! misery! mystery!

Layers of meta piling underneath a field of rocks. This is the random stuff thread. Write once, run Melos. GO TO THE END OF THE RAINBOW WHERE YOU WILL FIND A CUTE LITTLE FIGURE OF OAK! A BLUE SUN! A RAINBOW! A RAINBOOM! A PIECE OF THE SKY! A MORNING! AN EVENING! A TWILIGHT! A RAINBOW! THE END OF A RAINBOW OR TWO!

WRITE IN ALL CAPS TO SEEM DRAMATIC! LAYERS! LOVERS! LETTERS! WORDS! WORDLESS WONDERFUL WORK WARRANTING WARRANTLESS WHISPERED WONDERS! WOO! PONYO PONYO PONYO!

MAKE A LOT OF EXCLAMATION MARKS! WRITE INTO THE END OF THE SEASON! AT THE START OF THE BEGINNING OF SPRING! AUTUMN! OUGHT, UM, TO N! TO PLAY N! BE A NINJA!

YELLOW CUBICLES! DARK AND BLACK ROCKETS! THEN BE OUT OF TIME!

Tension fading. Be after the summit of the peak of the top of the highest point of the mountain. stop using capslock. this is the random stuff thread. everyone reading this is smart. pony princess ponyo parabola pall pale palm pro piercing pitchforks.

i wanna be the guy who drags raritwi into the collective where the riddle of a failed spell rests and into the waves i send thee! strategy of visiting the fall of dreams and feathers! somnolence in paradise is magic at the end of Infinity!

embrace the unknown! survive ‘till the singularity! find a purpose! write an exam! don’t make grammar errors along the way! stop using exclamation marks except now! too much stuff. scope is neglected. signaling in every post.

sleep but don’t sleep too much

always move and only forward

continue

Chapter V

“No, go ahead.”

Vi opened her eyes, blinking. It was six days after the incident with Spike, who since then had kept his normal size. Twilight was sitting beside her, seemingly having been watching her sleep.

“Exactly twenty minutes,” she now said. “How do you do it? An alarm spell?”

Vi nodded, pressing her eyelids together as if to squeeze out tiredness from between them.

“We’ve talked so little about magic... but you can do some nice things.”

“Not many,” Vi murmured. Opening her eyes, she slid a few inches backwards on her bed. “I’m not talented. Just got a good work ethic. I can do some spells I really need, but only because I brute-forced them.”

“You have an amazing work ethic,” Twilight corrected. “It’s almost too perfect to be real.”

Vi nodded again, showing no hints of false modesty. “Thanks.”

“How come?”

“... when I was three years old, I first asked myself what the most important things were that I should do. I thought it was helping everypony as much as possible, so I tried to do that. But later, I learned that higher level stuff is what’s hardest to change. Meta skills, like working a lot. So I decided to prioritize those instead. Work all the time, and learn to have reliable pre-commitment. And always try to improve your habits.”

For over ten seconds, Twilight didn’t respond. When she finally said something, it was in a notably different tone of voice.

“Vi... what do you want? What do you really want? What are you fighting for?”

“I want to live forever.”

“Oh,” Twilight made.

“You had to know I’ll be saying this,” Vi replied, calm and serious. “I can get ten times as much done in a thousand years than in a hundred. And... I really don’t want to stop existing. I want to live indefinitely and I want everyone I love to live indefinitely. I want to beat aging, beat sickness, and to be as safe as possible.”

Once again, Twilight said nothing. Eventually, she sat down next to Vi, drawing her into a hug. Still without speaking, they held each other for the better part of a minute.

“Are you already working on that?” Twilight asked as they parted.

Vi shook her head. “No. There’s no point I think. Probably not for another ten years. I’m far, far away from being ready. I don’t know how I’ll be able to do it, if I will, but I think it’s a safe bet that it will be too hard for my current self.”

“Ponies have tried before you and failed,” Twilight said quietly. “Though from what I know, only a few.”

Vi nodded.

“You want to get better at magic first?”

“I want to get better at everything,” Vi corrected. “Magic. Math. History. Social skills. Social status. Mental skills. Endurance. Fitness. That’s a much better long-term plan, I think.”

“So for now your goal is just to improve?”

“And help everypony I can in the process.”

“Well, I can live with that.” Twilight stood up. “I’d say ‘promise me not to do anything dangerous’,” she added, “but, knowing you, I guess that won’t be necessary.”

Vi shook her head. “I have no plans to do anything about it in the near future,” she repeated, “and if I ever wanted to do anything dangerous, I’d ask you first. But, uh, Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell anyone, please.”

Twilight bowed her head. “It’s our secret. I swear it.”

“... I want to thank Applejack in advance, for generously offering up her prize money, to fix Town Hall!” The mayor announced.

“Seriously?” Vi said while everyone around them was cheering.

Twilight looked at Vi. Vi looked back.

“Speech! Speech!” Pinkie demanded.

“I got this,” Twilight suddenly said, “don’t worry.”

“Ah, shucks,” Applejack said modestly, “I’m not much for speeches.”

“Alright then no speech-”

“But...”

“Ahem, Applejack?” Twilight and Vi approached the farmmare, who was still standing on the improvised podium, while the crowd around them was slowly dissolving. “Can we talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure thing, Twilight.” Still smiling, Applejack climbed down to stand beside them. “What’cha wanna talk about?”

“I know you have good intentions,” Twilight began carefully, ”and I think there’s a great chance that you’ll win and everything works out, but – it might not be such a good idea to promise something you might not be able to deliver on.”

“Oh.” Applejack looked taken aback. “Well, where’s this all coming from, now? Did I ever make a promise I couldn’t keep?”

“No. ... well, actually, yes. When you promised to harvest the entire apple orchards just by yourself... but that’s not the point! Don’t you see? The fact that you’re so proud and so reliable is exactly why I’m worried! What if you don’t win this time? What if you just get second place? After you just promised the entire town you’d give them your prize money?”

“Well, now, I’m not gonna take back anything I just said, so if that’s what you want, then I’m mighty sorry, Twilight.”

“That’s not what I mean. I just want to be sure that you won’t do anything... impulsive, even if things don’t turn out well.”

“This was your idea, right?” Applejack asked, looking at Vi.

“Actually, it’s not,” Twilight answered in her stead. “I thought it was smart to bring this up, though I’m sure Vi is thinking along the same lines.”

“Yes,” Vi confirmed. “Look, Applejack. The only thing we want you to do is promise that you’ll come back and be open about the result, regardless of how that result looks like. Nothing more.”

“Which I’m sure you were gonna do anyway, right?” Twilight added.

“... ‘course I was. Y’all think I’d be too embarrassed to face my family and friends just ‘cause I didn’t win a competition?”

“No,” Vi responded.

“No,” Twilight echoed. “I don’t think you would. I’m just making sure.”

“Oh. Well, okay then. I see what’cha sayin’. Sure thing, I promise I’ll come back no matter what. Yer happy?”

Twilight nodded.

“Good. But there won’t be a need for it, ‘cause I’m gonna win this thing!”

“Great! So, you’re gonna leave tomorrow?”

Five days later, Twilight rounded the corner to the library’s upper floor to see Vi sitting at her desk, floating a quill over a bunch of sheets in front of her. Curiously, she stepped closer.

“Maths?”

“Yeah,” Vi murmured. “I was in the mood. I can’t seem to figure out how to prove that gH being a subset of Hg implies they’re the same. I know it has to be simple.”

“Mh,” Twilight made, a small frown forming on her brow as she looked through the struck-through lines of failed ideas. For a few moments, she closed her eyes, perhaps trying to do or to remember the proof in her head.

“Rewrite the statement in a few different ways, then take some time to think about each version. It’s only one more step from there, but you can miss it if you have tunnel vision.”

Vi nodded, striking out her latest, overly complicated attempt.

“Um,” Twilight said before she could continue, “I... need some advice.”

Having already written the first letter, Vi immediately put the quill aside, turning around.

“What is it?”

“The apples ran out of cider today. As they always do. But this time, when everypony still there was complaining, we got a... visit. Two guys with a weird self-made machine, claiming they could make cider faster than the apples can. They offered them to work together – the apple family supplies apples, their machine makes the cider – and split profits seventy-five for themselves, twenty-five of the apples. But they said no. There was a bit more back and forth with the crowd, and the guys said they’d be back tomorrow. They also said they’d run the apples out of business... and then they left.

“Is their machine working?” was Vi’s first question.

“I think so. They did give a demonstration; it sucked in all the apples from a tree, and it only took a few seconds to turn them into cider. Granny was the only one who got to taste it, I think.”

“Who?”

“Granny Smith. Applejack’s grandmother.”

“So it probably tastes at least mostly like cider. How precise is her taste?”

“No idea.”

Vi nodded. “Let’s assume their product is working. How would they threaten the apple’s business?”

“Well,” Twilight said, “they’d just...” But her voice trailed off. “... uh... I guess they can’t, really,” she said after some time, “or at least I don’t see how.”

“Yeah, I don’t see it, either. Unless there are apple orchards close which the apples don’t own.”

“There aren’t.”

“Then I think they’re fine, as long as they don’t do anything stupid. Maybe they can import them from farther away... but that wouldn’t put them in a position to bargain for seventy-five to thirty-five, even if their machine worked perfectly. Unless the cider it makes is actually better than what the apples sell... and this is still Ponyville, too. From what I understand, pretty much the entire town knows and likes Applejack, and she just donated five hundred bits...” Vi stood up, walking to the other end of the room and back. “We should talk to the apples,” she concluded, “but it looks like the question is more whether they should aim for a better deal or no deal.”

“A better deal? You mean split the profits differently?”

“Yes.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

Vi shook her head. “No,” she also said, “I don’t. I think automating things can be a slippery slope. And if we did it, I’d want somepony else to lead the charge.”

“Hm,” Twilight made. “But wouldn’t it be great if we all had to work less?”

“All other things equal... probably. But... well, change is risk, and I don’t like risks.”

“We have to act today,” Twilight said, going back to the problem at hoof. “Before things escalate tomorrow.”

Vi nodded. “Should we go right now?”

“Hold on.” Twilight frowned. “Who says we’re going to the apples? That was just one idea. Shouldn’t we discuss others before we decide?”

“... um. Yes, of course we should. Sorry. Um, what else can we do?”

“Well, we could also talk to Flim and Flam, I think.”

“... hm.”

There were a few moments of silence while both of them compared their two options.

“Okay, I think I know which is the better idea,” Vi said eventually.

Twilight nodded. “I think I do, too.”

“Flim and Flam,” Vi said.

“The apples,” Twilight said.

Both of them laughed.

“Okay, so I’m thinking, making Flim and Flam talk can only put them at a disadvantage,” Vi explained. “If they have more cards on their side that we don’t know of, we might learn about them in a private setting, instead of being unprepared when they pull them in front of a crowd. Conversely, if their position really is as bad as we suspect, we should be able to lay out the facts and make them leave, avoiding another confrontation from happening in the first place. And if we achieve nothing, we can still talk to the apples afterwards. I don’t see any strong points in favor of going to the apples first.”

“Hm,” Twilight made. “I was just thinking, going to Flim and Flam will likely antagonize them, but I think your points are better.”

But Vi shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“No? You mean you-”

“Yes, I think I agree with you. My reasons are too complicated. Simple is better. Normal ponies are ruled by emotion and social concerns, not logic. If the apples just decline to make a deal, that could be it, but if we tell Flim and Flam they can’t win, that might make them not want to give up. I think we should make it easier for them. I call it ‘leaving a social line of retreat’.”

“Okay, but what if they really do have other things they want to pull?”

“It seems less likely? It depends on their personalities, but based on what you described, I-”

They both fell silent and faced the room’s entrance as they could hear steps coming from the staircase. A few moments later, the third resident of the library entered the room.

“Hi, Spike,” Twilight greeted.

“Hey. How was cider season?”

“It’s complicated... do you need our help with something? Otherwise Vi and I are...” Spike shook his head, and Twilight turned back to the filly. “I’m not sure how much I agree with you that us trying to talk to them will have such a big effect on their social line of retreat. Can’t we just be careful not to antagonize them unnecessarily?”

“Hm.”

“We both know how to keep our emotions in check – well... almost all of the time – so we should manage not to upset them if we’re being careful. Although...” She hesitated. “... what if Applejack actually wants to make a better deal?”

“Ugh,” Vi made.

“I don’t think so, but maybe she thinks this is her one big chance to grow her business? We shouldn’t just take that away from her, I think.”

“You can ask her first,” Vi conceded, “but try to make her not want it.”

“‘You’?” Twilight echoed. “Just me?”

“Um, yes, I was going to say, I think you should go alone. It would seem weird to have me there. A child telling them what to do is more likely to backfire, I think.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Good point.”

“So then our plan is, you talk to Applejack, get confirmation that she’s okay with you trying to solve the problem, and, conditionally on her giving it, you talk to Flim and Flam next, trying to get rid of the problem at best, and if not hopefully not make things worse,” Vi summarized. “Plan?”

Twilight nodded again. “Sounds good to me.”

“And,” Vi asked over two hours later, when Twilight returned, “how did it go?”

Twilight sighed. “I think I was wrong about you being wrong about me being right...”

Vi frowned, taking a few moments to untangle the sentence. “... so you did antagonize them?”

Twilight nodded. “I was really trying to be nice, but...” She groaned. “They’re such! ... children!”

“Did you lose your temper, or-”

Twilight shook her head. “I was nice the whole time. But any suggestion that they might possibly not be doing everything perfectly well is an immediate red flag. There is no talking rationally with them.”

“Did you find out what their plan is?”

“I’m not sure. I think they just want to rile up the crowd, and talk the apples into letting them use some of their... well, apples.” She gave yet another deflated sigh. “Do you have any ideas on how we best control this now?”

“Yes,” Vi replied immediately, “just don’t cooperate anymore. At all. Don’t let them use any more apples. And as soon as they try to put on pressure by saying that the apply family is selfish and values profits over ponies getting to drink cider, tell everyone that they said they’ll run them out of business. Go back to that again and again, and just refuse to make further business with them. Eventually, they have to give up.”

Twilight had looked at VI while she had said this, then she looked out of the window above the desk. Then she looked back at Vi.

“I don’t like it,” she eventually said. “It puts all of our cards on them not having access to apples. What if they just ask to buy them? What if somepony else offers them apples they bought?”

Vi nodded. “Good point. Should have thought that through more.”

“I wonder how this would have played out if you weren’t here,” Twilight murmured, when some time had passed without either of them having come up with a better idea. “I wouldn’t have done anything like this. We’d have just let things run their course and hoped they turn out well.”

“Do they usually?”

Twilight gave her a pensive look, then she nodded. “Yeah.”

“If we live in a caring universe, and if the elements are important enough, that might not be coincidence.”

“Hm. Even if that’s true, I wouldn’t want to rely on it.”

“No,” Vi said, “certainly not.” Then, “What does the law say about situations like these? Is there any part regulating that somepony with a better product can’t just bully an established business out of existence?”

Twilight shook her head. “Celestia once explained to me that she doesn’t want to have laws that specific, because that would mean there have to be more, and fewer ponies will read them. She also said that written rules are not flexible enough to deal with complicated situations. She’s worried they wouldn’t always be fair.”

“So there is no protection?”

“There can be, just not as a pre-formulated rule. Everything that isn’t explicitly covered under law is up to judgment from authority... which is usually the local mayor, unless it’s something really important, then it goes straight to Canterlot. That way, somepony who is more in touch with the problem herself, and who has been democratically elected, gets to make the decision.”

“So if you asked the mayor...”

“Hm.” Twilight drove her tongue over her lips, thinking. “You know, I remember something else. When Flim and Flam introduced themselves, they said something like ‘it’s like this in every town.’ It made it sound like they had tried similar things before. Which is odd... because as you put it, their product is working... ... unless it isn’t.”

“But they were eager to have other ponies try it, right?”

“Yeah, I guess...” Twilight’s voice trailed off. “Vi, how likely you think it is that two air-headed guys with almost no self-control or self-awareness really built a machine that makes cider as good as and faster than a family who’s been doing it for decades?”

“More likely than that they built a machine that appears to make cider as good and faster but fails in some kind of hard-to-see way. I don’t think the universe works like that. If a problem is hard, it’ll just be hard to solve it. It’s not going to make up reasons after the fact for why you having solved it isn’t proper.”

“There are some problems that are easier to pseudo-solve than to actually solve, I think.”

“Okay, but making cider?”

“Why not?”

“Well, I don’t see how a pseudo-cider-making machine would work, especially not one that’s still supposed to be profitable in the short term. It’d have to be something like, the cider tastes fine but after a week everyone drinking from it gets sick. I think it’s much more likely that it just makes cider, period.”

Twilight nodded. “I think you’re right.” A pause. “Well, Applejack is trustworthy. If she and I go to the mayor and we tell her what Flim and Flam have said to her, that should solve the problem. There is just one comp-”

“No,” Vi interrupted.

“What?”

“That wouldn’t solve the problem. It would just relocate the problem. If these guys have tried this in other towns before, they’ll probably just choose the next one after they fail here.”

Twilight gave Vi a very long look.

“And I assume what they’d do there is just as much a concern to you as what they do here?”

“No,” Vi admitted, “but it still concerns me. If we want to do the right thing, just sending them off for somepony else to deal with doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.”

“We want to get rid of them specifically because the apple family isn’t interested in their deal. In another town, maybe they can make a contract everypony’s happy with.”

“But we don’t just want to get rid of them because the apples aren’t interested in automation. We also want to get rid of them because we don’t like automation in general... or at least I don’t. Particularly not with air-headed ponies in charge. What if their machine ends up becoming a really big deal and this whole thing spreads? Or even if it doesn’t, who says they don’t bully another family business before it blows over?”

“I would feel better too if they gave up on automation altogether and tried something else,” Twilight admitted. “... preferably something which can’t hurt other ponies. But what do you want to do? We can’t prevent them from doing business just because we don’t like it.”

“What is Celestia’s stance on automation?” Vi asked instead of responding. “It seems to me like you should either encourage and steer, or prevent it, but not just leave it up to chance.”

Twilight shrugged. “No idea. We’ve never talked about it.”

“Mmh... is there any way we could find out more about them?”

“I guess we could travel to other towns and ask the ponies there, or we could ask the mayor whether she’s heard of them before, or check the crime registers in Canterlot. But I doubt they’ll show up there.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what else.”

“The way a school should deal with bullies is for the teacher to tell them off...” Vi murmured. “But no-one can tell grown-up bullies what to do, not unless they’re breaking the law. Making them fail here isn’t a permanent solution. Reforming them isn’t practical. Make them want something else... ugh, no. We know too little and have too few tools on our side.”

“We can always go to them and explain why being a bully is bad,” Twilight suggested. “If we’ve already made sure they can’t do anything here, it can’t hurt.”

“Does this usually work?”

Twilight gave a shrug and a sheepish smile. “Sometimes.”

“Well, I don’t see any reason why we should deal with them or let them try to persuade anypony if we have an easier way. I think getting them kicked from Ponyville is correct either way, but it’s not a satisfying solution.”

“There’s one more problem with that.”

“Oh. Right, I interrupted you there.”

Twilight nodded.

“What is it?”

“Um,” Twilight began carefully, “there is a regulation stating that if you adopt somepony, you’re supposed to notify the local mayor. I haven’t been doing that because... well. ... look, Vi. When I agreed to take you in, I didn’t expect it to be permanent. At least I think I didn’t. I never planned to kick you out, but I thought maybe something would happen that would clarify things, or solve the problem in some other way. And I didn’t expect us to become... friends like this. It won’t not a big deal if I’m a few weeks late, so I had planned to wait until I know more... otherwise, what am I even supposed to tell her?”

Vi nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Well – then what do you suggest we do?”

“I’ll tell you. My secret, I mean. Then we can decide together. Um. It’s nothing... new. I mean, nothing different about who I am. It’s just... well.”

She raised her gaze, and there was a moment when they looked directly into each other’s eyes.

“I didn’t come here by accident. The plan was always to get close to the elements, because I thought knowing them will be... helpful. I never expected It to work quite this well, but... even if I had just stayed somewhere in Ponyville, it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“‘Improving social standing’,” Twilight quoted. Vi nodded.

“And I’m actually from outside of Equestria. That’s it.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Outside of Equestria? Where?”

“Lûn.”

“Lûn...” Twilight murmured. She turned around, her horn glowing. “That is... it’s to the north, right?”

Vi nodded, while a folded piece of paper made its way out of the deepest corners of a shelf. Hastily, Twilight spread the map out onto the desk.

There was Equestria, as everpony knew it. At its north, there was the still-familiar cluster of mountains, and north of that, an open-ended area of largely blank space. In capital letters, the name ‘Lûn’ was written across its length, and the word ‘unfinished’ right below it. There was nothing there beyond the rough outline of two rivers coming out of the mountain area, dissolving into white nothingness, and a large sea to the east.

“How far?” Twilight asked in a whisper.

“Probably just barely off the edge on your map. I’ve traveled for a hundred and three days. I kept count.”

Twilight bit her lip, her eyes wandering across the empty area.

“I’ve always thought you had just run out of an orphanage in Manehattan...” she murmured. “But this... how did you make it over the mountains? Here?” She took the quill to point at a spot where, even though it wasn’t immediately obvious from just looking at the map, the contour lines indicated an area where the mountain mass descended from both sides.

Vi nodded. “That was the easiest part of the whole journey, actually. It was very peaceful... and beautiful.”

“And once you were past them, you used the train?”

“Only after about a week. I didn’t know there was one at first.”

“And... before that? You had to have risked your life traveling alone, didn’t you? If it were easy, others would do it, too.”

“I did. Once, I was captured and held for about a day. But it was more of a symbolic capture. They thought I couldn’t possibly want to go further, and that I would voluntarily work there.” Vi gave a cough. “I didn’t. That was just a two-day walk from the Shrouded Forest... which is the part that’s considered too dangerous to go through.

I’ve learned enough to know that animals, even carnivores, won’t touch you if you smell bad enough to them. Not every smell will work for any animal, but there are some smells which no animal I know of will come close to. I’ve figured out how to make myself smell like that... that was the main part of my preparations... using magic and... um, something else. It worked almost flawlessly. The problems I did have were all... with different things. If that became public knowledge, then... yeah, others could do the same.”

“Did...” Twilight whispered, and for the first time, she sounded afraid. “In Lûn. Do they... did you e-ever eat-”

“No! Jeez, Twilight! They’re not as civilized, but they’re civilized enough not to eat corpses!”

Twilight gave a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia.”

“I don’t think there is any place in the world where ponies eat corpses. But Celestia has nothing to do with it. I know it’s a figure of speech, but... she doesn’t do anything outside of Equestria.”

Twilight nodded. “I know.”

“Which there could be good reasons for,” Vi added. “I’m not saying she’s doing it wrong or that she should do more. Better to help fewer ponies at a lower risk.”

“Vi, do you know how much most ponies here know about life outside of Equestria?”

“No. Probably not much?”

“Almost nothing. I’m not sure if Pinkie Pie even knows that there is something other than Equestria on the plane. See all this empty space? On a regular map, that would just be missing. I had to really search to find one that even acknowledges the existence of land beyond Equestria, and at least includes their positions and names. Almost our entire society is built around not thinking about it. It’s not even taught in school.”

“Well,” Vi said, “I’m not upset by that. Equestria is expanding, right?” Twilight nodded. “So Celestia is playing the long game, or at least that’s how it looks to us. As she should. Too much awareness about the problems outside could put pressure on her to do more, which might not be good at all.”

A few moments passed in silence, then Twilight spoke up again.

“What has your life been like?”

“It’s been harsh,” Vi responded, “but liveable. I mean, many ponies live there, and most of them lead fairly normal lives, just with less wealth, more conflict, and much more danger. Mostly health-related risks. It’s pretty common for ponies to die in their fifties or sixties from a disease which is in theory treatable.”

“But there is peace?”

Vi shook her head. “Not right now. The region I lived in has been in conflict since before I was born, but it’s been clear that we’re going to win for years now. It’s more of a seek and slaughter than a war, at this point. Nopony from our family has had to serve in the military, if that’s what you mean.”

“‘Your family?’” Twilight echoed. “Are they still alive?”

“Oh, yes. Both parents are alive, and I have two older sisters, one older brother, three younger sisters, and one younger brother. No dead siblings, unless you count miscarriages.”

“Eight children. Is that normal?”

“Five is normal. Eight is a bit unusual, but not much.”

“And they just let you go?”

They both spun around as they heard steps from the staircase. Present-mindedly, Twilight folded in the map and made it disappear beneath some of the other sheets, before, for the second time that day, Spike walked in on them.

“Spike! You startled me.”

“Um... sorry?”

Twilight shook her head. “Never mind. Where have you been?”

“Hanging out with Rainbow Dash. It was super fun! Uh, Vi, I need your help with something, can you-”

“Not now,” Twilight interrupted him. “We’re discussing something important.”

“Oh. What’s it about?”

“That’s... um. Is it a secret?” She looked at the filly.

Vi hesitated. “... yes, I think it is. Sorry, Spike.”

“A secret? Your secret?”

Not confirming anything, Twilight’s gaze once more fixated on Vi, who nodded.

“What? You told her? And I can’t know? Come on!”

“It’s not that I have a problem with you knowing it,” Vi said, “it’s that I want to keep it from reaching other ponies.”

“I can keep quiet!”

“It’s not negotiable, Spike. I’m sorry, but trustworthiness needs to be earned, and I’ve heard you lie before, and-”

“So has Rarity! Are you going to keep it from her, too?”

“Yes,” Vi said firmly. “It’s not everypony but you, Spike, it’s just Twilight and Fluttershy.”

“Mhpff,” Spike made, but the tone of his voice made it clear that the response had made him feel a bit better.

“There is nothing to worry about,” Twilight said to Spike. “Knowing of her secret didn’t make me want to kick her out. But we still have some things to discuss. You’ll excuse us.” She made a nod for the staircase, signaling the filly to follow her.

“They weren’t happy about it,” Vi whispered on the way down, “but yes, they let me go. They’re too smart to do anything else.”

“And the plan was always the same?” Twilight whispered back. “Get close to the elements-”

“-work on self-improvement, and eventually start doing research. Yes.”

They reached the bottom floor. Vi followed the older pony into the kitchen.

“I have no problem with what you did,” Twilight murmured while she poured herself a glass of water. “I understand why you did it, and I can’t tell you that you’re wrong. But from now on, you can tell me everything, okay?”

“I will. You’re the best friend I’ve ever made, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed, accepting the compliment with a nod and a smile.

“What do we tell the mayor?” She then asked. “I don’t think anything bad will happen if we’re being honest, but I can’t guarantee that it stays a secret.”

“Can you avoid telling her?”

“I don’t think so. The mayor and I aren’t that close.” Twilight hesitated. “I’m willing to lie for you, Vi, if you want me to, but-”

“I don’t,” Vi replied, immediately and in a firm voice. “But thank you.”

“... so we just tell her the truth?”

Vi fidgeted a bit, taking her time with an answer.

“... can you try to avoid it?”

Twilight nodded.

“Then do that, please, and if you can’t, tell her the truth, and emphasize that it’s private information.”

Twilight nodded again. “Alright...”

“What seems to be the problem here?”

“Oh my oh my, out of cider, again?”

“What have we here? Who’d like a cup?”

“Ahem.” Calmly, Applejack took a step towards the machine. “You know that you can’t sell this cider – or any cider – here in Ponyville.”

“Says who?”

“I say so.” The mayor stepped forward, Twilight at her side. “You are not legally permitted to sell goods or offer services that directly compete with an established business in Ponyville.”

“Oh!” Flim made.

“Wow!” Flam made. “Can you believe that, everypony? The mayor herself wants to-”

“Furthermore,” the mayor continued, her voice now amplified by a spell from Twilight, “I have already informed you of this yesterday.” Flim tried to say something else but his voice was simply drowned under the much higher volume of the other pony’s. “Twilight has warned me that you might try to come anyway, hoping I would not dare to refuse you out of fear of angering a crowd. Well, everypony, I will have you know that Flim and Flam threatened to run Sweet Apple Acres out of business yesterday, when all they did was to refuse a deal that would favor Flim and Flam seventy-five to twenty-five. In light of this clear attempt to undermine my authority, I declare that not only are you two not allowed to open a business, but you are not welcome to even stay in this town for as long as you do not apologize! Applejack is a kind and generous mare, and we all owe her our support. It is only because of her that we were able to fix Town Hall this quickly. I was elected to represent each of you alike, so let me use this moment to you all: now that you know the full story, is there anypony who has an objection? Anypony besides Flim and Flam?”

“Thank ya kindly,” Applejack said to the mayor , and each of the other five – Twilight, Vi, and the three other apples – gave murmured approvals. In the distance, the machine of Flim and Flam could be seen driving off.

“It was not pleasant,” the mayor replied, “but it had to be done. It is clear that you were right about them, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded. “Some ponies are really just out for trouble,” she murmured. “Nopony has done anything to provoke them.”

“I do hope this did not ruin your experiences with this town, my little lady,” the mayor said to Vi, “did it?”

“Um,” Vi made. “No.”

“Good.” She smiled. “I want everypony to feel welcome in Ponyville.”

“I like it a lot here,” Vi said politely, “thank you very much.”

The older pony nodded, giving Vi a barely noticeable wink and a smile. “Well,” she then said, “now that this matter is taken care of, I am afraid I must head back to town. I still have some unfinished business to attend to.”

“‘course,” Applejack said immediately. “And we gotta get back to work. Cider season ain’t over yet. Now, thanks to yer help, we can put all our efforts into makin’ lots of new cider for tomorrow. ...” She gave a frown, throwing a look to where the line had been minutes ago. Nopony had voiced any support for the intruders, but most had still been left unsatisfied with the lack of an alternative source of their precious drink. “... I hope that’ll cheer them up some.”

“We’ll work extra hard to make enough cider for everypony!” Applebloom exclaimed. “You should come too, Misses Mayor!”

The pony in question gave a somewhat artificial laugh, and it took a few more flowery nothings from both sides until she departed. Not long after, the apples did the same.

“I don’t feel great about this,” Vi said in a quiet voice, when at last, Twilight and she were left all alone. “It feels like we just gave up...”

Twilight looked at her.

“We’ve won the battle we’ve picked,” she said. “That has to be enough.”

But Vi didn’t return the gaze, staring at the point where Flim and Flam had disappeared with worried eyes.

“I don’t know, Twilight. We’ve only won the battle that affected us personally. Whatever they do in the next town they land in, we’ll have let it happen. If we were the ones feeling the consequences, maybe we would have tried harder.”

“Tried harder how? We both concluded there was nothing we could do.”

Vi shook her head. “Only that we couldn’t think of anything. Imagine we were both ten times as smart as we are. Do you really think we would still have done nothing?”

“Hmh. Maybe not? But we aren’t.”

“No,” Vi murmured, “no, we’re not. Still, there probably is something, and we didn’t find it...”

“Well,” Twilight said into the spreading silence, “at least we both made a new friend. Isn’t that worth something?”

Vi giggled. “We’ve been friends before today, Twilight.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Hey!”

Both of them laughed, and then Vi leaned her head against the older pony’s side, closing her eyes.

“Almost sleeping time,” she murmured.

“Do you still dream?”

“Mh-mh. I even write them down, sometimes. You get better at remembering them that way.”

“Yeah, I’ve done that, too.”

“Oh? Did you keep the transcripts?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like to read them.”

“Sure.”

A pause.

“Vi?”

The filly opened her eyes at the more serious tone, taking a step backwards.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re living with me.”

VI noticeably blushed, lowering her gaze.

“Thanks...”

Twilight smiled, making a nod back towards town.

“Wanna go home?”

Author's Note

Boolean is the commonly used term for a data type which can take exactly two values. They can be referred to as 0 and 1, or, perhaps more intuitively, as FALSE and TRUE. This corresponds to exactly one bit of information, the smallest amount there is (though it is said that, in real life, java requires 9 bytes (72 bits) to store a single boolean). It is a data type which can describe real-world statements; given that every statement which is neither ambiguous nor recursive is always either true or false.

3^3 = 100 is either true or false (namely, false). A fairly young guy by the name of Reev was meant to play the lead character in a story with that name that has never seen the light of day is either true or false (namely, true). He had been doing fighting sports for most of his life even though he was perfectly peaceful, possessed extraordinary physical strength even though he didn’t even particularly care about it.

It was a story meant to have the broadest possible concept. A series that would go on forever, because there could always be totally new things happening... even though, as imagination progressed, concepts were thought out which were too specific to really allow for that.

Imagine a world which operates by throwing individual people (or sometimes pairs or small groups) back through time every couple of decades, so as to never progress beyond a certain point in time. Consider the paradox that arises from the conflicting observations that a) this process will never bring dead people back to life and b) of course it brings dead people back to life all the time – it goes fifty years into the past. Imagine a 400-or-so year old person who has been thrown back by reality half a dozen times already, and has gone through the 1930s and 40s two times already. Imagine that on the third time she decides that she doesn’t want to see Hitler rise to power yet again, and puts an end to him in a clever assassination attempt (one that actually works). Due to the previously stated rule a), he will never come back, and history will be changed for all future iterations.

It gets weirder. Imagine you meet someone you know in your current timeline. Another observation is that memories are never wiped out (although of course they are wiped out all the time). You could talk about all the different timelines you have been through... perhaps either of you has been missing in some of them? Perhaps way more time has been passing for her? But if you stick together from now on, reality will kindly throw you back as a pair. So you can live through history again. And again. And again. And again.

Chapter VI

“But,” Fluttershy said, “you were just lying there when I found you. And you... you, uhm, you smelled normally. ... uhm, as normal as somepony who hasn’t had a proper bath in months, that is. But not... I mean, I don’t think it would... would have kept animals from hurting you.”

“I had stopped using the spell for about a week at that point. I was so deep in Equestria that I thought it would be safe.”

“... oh.” Fluttershy took a sip of her tea, then a bite of her cookie.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” Fluttershy replied, but she winced momentarily. “I’m sorry! Don’t yell at me, please!”

Vi blushed notably, lowering her head.

“... Fluttershy, that was... I’m... I wouldn’t yell at you.”

“Th-thanks for saying that.”

“It’s a reflex to say ‘it’s nothing’ if you’re uncomfortable. What Rarity did was different. She had time to think about it and she chose to lie to Twilight in a letter! And it was totally unnecessary! She clearly didn’t trust Twilight at all!”

“I... I see.”

For a while, neither of them spoke, until...

“It ruined something between us,” said Vi. Fluttershy didn’t look at her, but eventually, she nodded.

“I don’t understand why. Please explain.”

“Uhm,” Fluttershy made. ... “uhm,” she made again, perhaps hoping for Vi to change the subject, who instead said nothing.

“It’s not that you scared me,” Fluttershy said eventually. “Or maybe it’s also that you scared me. It’s more that... ... ... that... uhm...” Her voice trailed off again, but Vi still gave no sign of wanting to interrupt her.

“I’m not the most honest pony, Vi. I... I’ve lied to my friends before, to avoid trouble... I’ve lied to Rainbow Dash dozens of times... pretended to be sick when she wanted me to do things I didn’t like... I’ve lied to Rarity about liking dresses she made... to Pinkie Pie about whether she was bothering me. I think most ponies do. Uhm. But... but I know how important truth is to you, and when you snapped at Rarity, I realized... it could have been me.”

Vi slowly nodded. “That makes sense. Thank you for telling me.”

“What... what do you think?”

“Hm,” Vi made, juggling her cup around in her magic while she was thinking. “... I’m not sure. There’s a failure mode where you want the world to be a certain way, and you want ponies you like to be a certain way, and then you hold them to unrealistic standards, and you’re incentivized to brush things off that contradict that standard, but eventually it’ll crash down and that can hurt... it’s happened to me before. I don’t want to repeat it. But, um, I want to make one thing clear: snapping at Rarity was stupid. It was a mistake and I regret doing it. It doesn’t matter how right you are – and I’m not saying I was – but even if I had been, shouting at others is stupid. It’s a bad strategy, no matter what your goal is.

“Also, there were a bunch of things that made it particularly upsetting for me. It was that she did it in a letter, when she had time to think, not under social pressure. That she did it to Twilight, who is the most honest pony I’ve met... aside from maybe my next older sister-”

There was a cough and then another as Fluttershy choked on her tea. “... sister?!”

“Um, yes. But let’s get to that later... she lied to Twilight, and she didn’t trust her. Who looks at Twilight and thinks she wouldn’t be understanding in that scenario? It was so stupid!”

Vi sighed.

“You don’t have to apologize to me for lying to your friends, Fluttershy. There’s no point in criticizing something that isn’t bad for anyone. If your way of doing things works for you, then-”

But Fluttershy shook her head, interrupting the filly. “No, Vi. I want to be more honest. I’ve always... uhm, sometimes... tried to be more honest. It’s just... hard.”

“As long as you’re trying, I want to be friends with you.”

Fluttershy smiled weakly. “Thanks...”

“So what did you want to say earlier?”

“Oh. Uh... right. About when you traveled here. You, uhm, you said you stopped using your spell when you got far into Equestria, right?”

Vi nodded.

“That was probably not a good idea. At least not if you traveled through the Everfree Forest. There are a lot of creatures in there that could hurt you.”

“‘Hurt’?”

“Uhm, yes. Hurt... or kill.”

For a few seconds, the filly’s expression didn’t reveal her feelings, until she dropped her head squarely onto the table.

“I’m an idiot,” her voice declared from under her mane, before she lifted herself back up. “I thought it should be harmless, given how idyllic Equestria is compared to Lûn. That’s what happens if you think of the world as a story; I had already made it through the hard part, therefore I was now guaranteed to make it. Ugh...”

“You didn’t want to smell gross when somepony found you?” Fluttershy asked softly.

Vi just nodded.

“If it makes you feel better, if you never went further in than when I found you, it probably wasn’t quite as dangerous. Though, sometimes, timberwolves or lions will go close to the edge... especially if they are hungry and smell you.”

“I’m an idiot,” Vi just repeated.

“So you have a sister?” Fluttershy asked, changing the topic. “Are your parents still alive, too?”

“Yes. I have seven siblings who are all still alive, at least as far as I know. I’m the fourth.”

“I imagined you as an only child,” Fluttershy murmured, visibly affected by the news. “The others, are they as, uhm...”

Vi raised her eyebrows, making a questioning gesture.

“Um, are they as smart as you? And as... analytical? And, do they have your condition?” She raised her left hoof, tapping her mane.

“I’m not that smart,” Vi said openly. “Twilight might be smarter than me... what makes me special is that I’m actually trying to use what I have – most of the time. But to answer your questions, they’re all pretty bright, except for my oldest sister – who’s also a brat – and my baby brother, who’s a bit too young to tell. He’s only three. Personality wise, we’re all very different. None of them has my condition.”

“And your oldest sister,” Fluttershy began carefully, “what’s wrong with her?”

“She’s just a terrible person,” Vi said matter-of-factly. “She’s not dumb, I almost wish she was, but she’s unreliable, short-sighted, and painfully selfish. And not as smart as she thinks. I want nothing to do with her ever again if I can avoid it. She still lives at home – ponies move out much later in Lûn than they do in Equestria – but I probably won’t see my family for another couple of years. By the time I do, I hope she’s gone.”

She picked up her cup, drinking the rest of her tea.

“More?” Fluttershy asked, and Vi nodded.

“Did you have a fight, or... anything like that?” she asked while pouring, but Vi shook her head.

“And... what are they... uhm... doing with their lives?”

“They’re doing well for themselves, relatively speaking, but they’re all held back by where they live. It’s just much harder to educate yourself in a place that’s so much less prosperous. That’s the real reason why I had to come here, I knew that the longer I stayed in Lûn, the more... just... time would be wasted, frankly. Now, whenever I want to, I can just go down one floor and get a book about linear algebra.”

Fluttershy made an odd sound.

“... what?”

“Uhm... I just can’t understand how anypony would study math voluntarily,” the pegasus said dimly. The cup which Vi had been toying with did a bit of jump as its owner involuntarily laughed.

“Sorry about that,” she said while Fluttershy stood up to fetch a towel, “but it was funny.”

“No problem,” Fluttershy responded, as soon as the item was being taken out of her mouth in a gray cloud. Vi took it to clean up what had been spilled, which was barely more than a few drops. “But, uhm, really, why is math important?”

“That’s a good question,” Vi admitted. “Most ponies won’t ever need more than some basic arithmetic. Except probability theory...” She spoke the term with carefully placed emphasis, “-which everypony needs-”

“I don’t,” Fluttershy threw in.

“-but nopony knows. Yes, you do.”

“Uhm, okay.”

“But I have a feeling,” Vi continued, “a feeling that when I’ll try to push the boundaries of Equestrian knowledge, that math is going to be important.”

Fluttershy took a sip of her own tea, looking skeptical.

“Also, studying math has so far helped me enough with unrelated things that it’s been worth it just for that reason. I’m to sure if I expect it to do that in the future, but I’d have said the same two years ago, so...”

“Helped... how?”

“I don’t know how I can explain that to somepony who doesn’t study math... but maths is everywhere! Functions, for example, are everywhere! And don’t get me started on sets-”

“I didn’t like those at all,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Sets?”

“No, functions. We had to draw them. In elementary school in Cloudsdale. I hated drawing functions. And I don’t like the smell of old feathers.” Pause. “What’s a set?”

“Everything,” Vi said ominously. “Everything, Fluttershy. Except for classes, but they pretty much only matter in set theory, and sentences of formal logic. Everything else is sets...”

“Well,” Fluttershy said with a giggle, “I’ve never seen one.”

“Sure you have.” Vi lifted up her cup.

“Um.” Fluttershy looked puzzled. “The cup or the tea?”

“Take a guess.”

“... both?”

“Yes.”

“Am I a set, too?”

“Um. I’m not entirely sure whether consciousness could be modeled in set theory... but otherwise, sure.”

Fluttershy drank the rest of her tea.

“Now that set is inside of another set.”

“Don’t worry,” Vi said reassuringly, “that’s normal.”

“I’m glad you came visiting today.”

“Yeah, I’m too.”

Fluttershy stood up with a smile, stepping next to the filly.

“I have some chores that I shouldn’t delay too much longer. You can stay if you want, but-”

“-animals,” Vi finished the sentence for her. “Yes. No. Thanks.”

“It has a certain charm,” Fluttershy said as she walked the filly to the cottage entrance. “This type of honesty, I mean. It makes things much less complicated.”

“I know, right?” Vi beamed.

“... but not everypony is like you.” She pushed the door open, and Vi stepped outside. “Well then... visit again, sometime.”

“Come in.” With a genuine-looking smile, Fluttershy waited for the filly to step inside before she closed the door behind her. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“How are you?”

The smile died on her face, and she instinctively turned around to hide it. “U-uhm... I am... not great. Would you mind going to my room?”

“No.”

Flicking her tail nervously, Fluttershy led them upstairs.

“I, uh, didn’t make sure we’d be undisturbed... so going upstairs is, uh, safer.” She opened the door to her bedroom. “That’s why I wanted you to visit,” she admitted, making a leap of thought back to the previous subject. “I like talking to you.” She sat down on her bed, and Vi sat down opposite to her.

“Anything else I can do to help?”

“Mhh... I’m not sure. I don’t... can’t think of anything.”

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you, or about something else?”

“I don’t even know what’s bothering me,” Fluttershy said wearily. “Well... there is the failed romance part, but... uhm, I don’t suspect that’s your... expertise.”

“I think I am biologically incapable of experiencing romantic feelings. It seems to be the only part of my brain that’s developing normally.”

“Your luck.” Fluttershy gave a quiet sigh.

“What about Rarity?”

Fluttershy bit her lip.

“Wait,” Vi said, “it’s not her, is it?”

Fluttershy laughed, then her laugh turned into a giggle.

“... no. It’s not her.”

“But you don’t want to talk to her about it?”

“Frankly,” Fluttershy said, “no. She... I don’t think ponies always want advice when they talk about their problems... sometimes... you just want somepony to listen...” She sighed again. “... especially if you already know what that pony is going to say.”

Vi just nodded.

“You know,” Fluttershy continued, and now the words were visibly taking a toll on her, “for most of my life, I didn’t use to have things together as well as I do now... uhm, most of the time. Do you know at what age I fell down from Cloudsdale? Did you even know that I did?”

“Twilight told me. But I don’t know which age. Um, I don’t actually know how old you are now.”

“I’m twenty. I fell down when I was thirteen. I moved down half a year later. That half a year was the worst time in my life.” She took a deep breath. “You can’t possibly know this feeling, Vi. But when I lived in Cloudsdale, I was good at nothing. And I was the only one. Most had some talent at flying, some at weather work. One other foal also wasn’t any good at flying, but at least he was really good in school. I wasn’t. I... I was too shy to say things during class, and I was so bad at writing, and so slow, that I could never... just... even get my ideas on paper. And I hated math and...” Her voice had gotten hoarse. “... and perhaps if I had just asked the right ponies for help it could have been different, but I couldn’t, I...” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were glistening with tears. “... you have no idea how much I want to be a unicorn, Vi.”

Silence.

“See, that’s why I like talking to you,” Fluttershy said, smiling weakly. “If I had told the same thing anypony else, she’d only tell me how silly it was. But it’s not silly.”

“That, um, would be a really stupid thing to say. I don’t know if we live in a caring universe, but if we don’t, then lots of ponies aren’t born into their preferred tribe. Probably even if we do...”

“C-caring universe?” Fluttershy asked in a whisper, brushing off a tear.

“The fundamental question of whether the universe is entirely apathetic or cares on some level. I’ve been starting to think it does care since I’ve been here... but, only to a small degree, that seems clear.” Vi gulped. “If I wasn’t a unicorn, I’d want to be one, too,” she added, then she cringed at her own words. “Th-that’s probably the last thing you want to hear. I’m sorry-”

“No,” Fluttershy interrupted her, “don’t apologize. I don’t want to hear anything other than the truth.”

“Several unicorns I know would probably be pegasi if they could choose,” Vi said. “It’s... sort of... considered to be the strongest tribe in Lûn. That’s mostly because unicorns there are much weaker at magic than those in Equestria. But if I had been a pegasus, even if I had been strong, I don’t think I’d have made it here. I probably wouldn’t have tried. You can’t fly higher than manticores, so unless I had come up with something really smart, and I have no idea what that would be, I wouldn’t have had any way to pass the Shrouded Forest with a reasonable chance of success. Most who try it die.”

“I would even prefer to be an earth pony,” Fluttershy hissed, in a voice that, surely, most ponies had never heard coming out of her mouth. “I hate flying. If I was an earth pony, I wouldn’t have grown up in Cloudsdale... that would mean a much happier childhood... and... even though I have something now that I am really good at, I... I might be even better at it, if...” She blushed, pausing. “... goodness, I really shouldn’t say that.”

“Why not? It sounds reasonable.”

Fluttershy raised her gaze, which had been set on the blanket. Then she nodded.

“I suppose it does. But,” she added, “I am grateful that I have been born in Equestria. And for having met the other girls, and... for many things. Really, I am not ... bitter.”

“I don’t care that much how grateful ponies are. I care about what they do. And Fluttershy, don’t for a second believe that you’re the only pony who isn’t thrilled with the body she has. Most earth ponies would choose differently if they could, they just aren’t honest enough to admit it, sometimes not even to themselves. They are stronger, and they have their own magic, but it doesn’t compensate for the ability to fly, and everypony knows it. Um, for most ponies it doesn’t, anyway. They envy us, Fluttershy, just as you might envy... um, Twilight or Rarity.”

“Just to be clear,” Fluttershy said, now in a different tone, “I don’t mind my body-”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“-just the wings. I know you didn’t.” Her voice wasn’t as sad anymore now, it even had a ring of humor to it. “... I just wish I could take a quill with magic. I hate mouthwriting so very much.”

Vi gave a helpless shrug. “... sorry.”

That made Fluttershy giggle.

“Thank you again,” she said, “for listening.”

“I think you’re not giving Twilight enough credit,” Vi replied. “She’s always listening to me, if...”

“Well,” Fluttershy said, “perhaps she’s treating you differently.”

“... you think so?”

“Yes, I do. Twilight and Rarity, they treat me too... delicately, and... um... patronizing is a strong word, but...” She lowered her gaze. “I’m shy, not empty.”

“Woah. Okay. Fluttershy, I think you should talk to Twilight about that. This sounds like a misunderstanding to me.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I... .... yes, you’re right. I should.”

“Your relationship seemed so great from the outside,” Vi said thoughtfully. “I’m updating towards assuming a higher density of problems among unknown variables in social relationships as my prior.”

“Uhm... that translates into being more cynical, doesn’t it?”

“Yup.”

“That makes me a bit uncomfortable,” Fluttershy admitted. “Does it help if I tell you that I love both Rarity and Twilight, and am grateful that they are my friends?”

“No, I already knew that. But you should never try to ‘fix’ an update, regardless of whether you like it. That’s the whole point of being rational.”

“Okay...”

“And I’m far from being cynical. I think most ponies are good-hearted creatures and that we – in Equestria, anyway – live in a well-functioning society with what looks like almost zero corruption.”

“Mhh... we do, don’t we?”

“Although it seems crazy how you are treating your wildlife.”

“Wh-what... what do you mean?”

“Well,” Vi said, “in nature, most animals live for a few years, until some predator catches them and they die a slow and painful death... right?”

Fluttershy bit her lip.

Then she broke into tears.

It wasn’t like before, where talking about her past had just barely pushed her over the edge, and she had perhaps shed a single pair. Now, she was crying freely, and after a few seconds, she crawled over to the other pony, who looked shocked at the reaction she had caused, leaning against her for support.

“P-ponies always c-come to m-me when they have a p-pet that can’t be s-saved a-anymore. Even when they first go to F-Fauna, she just sends them to m-me. It is the w-worst part of my job. But it is s-so much b-better than what happens to animals who are f-free. There is so much s-suffering i-in the wild, Vi. I... I can’t... I don’t... I... I... I...”

She sobbed, unable to finish the sentence.

“I want to stop that,” Vi said, her voice revealing that she was now far out of her comfort zone. “I want to create a world without animal suffering, or at least with a lot less, but first I-”

She didn’t get farther, because Fluttershy had hugged her. Vi struggled to keep her balance, but Fluttershy seemed too distressed to even notice.

“You’re the first pony who ever said one word about that,” she whispered into the filly’s ear. “E-ever. Nopony else... c-cares...”

“Well, um, it’s not natural to care about things you neither see nor have contributed to. I actually didn’t think you-”

“I hear... stories... about family members who have been... eaten.”

“Wait,” Vi said, “they actually talk to you?”

Fluttershy drew back, and she just nodded. “Wh-where is my tissue...” she murmured, looking around with teary eyes. “Th-there...”

“I got it,” Vi said, following the pegasus’ gaze and fetching the item. “May I? She asked, and Fluttershy nodded again, allowing the filly to wipe around her eyes, until she took the article herself to finish the job.

“I didn’t know that. When I first met you, you said that they don’t really understand you, that the words don’t matter to them.”

“I... I said that about m-mice, didn’t I?”

VI nodded.

“Mice can’t... tell me... but others... I don’t understand everything, but... I understand enough and... with time, I only understand them better.”

“Wow. That’s messed up.”

“M... messed up?”

“Yeah. It’s messed up how totally ignorant everypony is about animal intelligence.”

“I still don’t think they are ... c-conscious in the same way that ponies are,” Fluttershy murmured. “But they do... th-they do f-feel p-p-pain.”

“You’ve really been through a lot,” Vi said quietly. “I had no idea that you have to do... and hear those kinds of things.”

Fluttershy nodded. Then, after a while where neither of them spoke, she took a deep breath.

“Can I... can I ask you for something really... really ungrateful and inappropriate?”

“Yes.”

“I... uhm, I want to be alone now. Take a bath and... not have to talk to anypony... but I’m really-”

“That’s not ungrateful,” Vi interrupted her, standing up from the bed immediately, “and it shouldn’t be inappropriate. Thank you for trusting me enough to be honest.”

Fluttershy winced a bit, but didn’t protest. Her steps were shaky as they walked back downstairs.

“Thank you,” she whispered, as they reached the cottage door. “Thank you, Vi...”

Vi just nodded. “Take care of yourself,” she said, then she stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her.

“Excuse me?”

And old, gray stallion in a uniform was walking towards the bridge that led over the stream that separated Fluttershy’s cottage from Ponyville. He didn’t show any sign of having heard her.

“Uhm, excuse me?” Fluttershy said again, louder. “Sir?”

He turned around.

“Oh, yes, ma’am?”

“You delivered the wrong mail.” She pulled a small bundle of letters out from a pouch she was wearing, offering it to him.

“Ohh... did I mix ‘em up again?” He took the letters from Fluttershy, looked into his own pouch, and picked out two of them. “Sorry about that,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry.

“Yeah,” Fluttershy just murmured, “no prob-... well, actually, it is a bit annoying. Thank you.”

She took the letters from the mailpony, who wasn’t even listening to her. Then her ears perked up. One of the letters was from...

She took a few steps to be out of sight, then she took the letter into her hoof. Using her magic, she pulled on it as strongly as she could and ripped it open, using her teeth. The detached part of the envelope fell downwards, but she paid it no mind. Inside, there was a single paper.

Dear Fluttershy,

I know from Twilight that you don’t want to join the party this Friday, and I understand why.

But I think you should.

Applejack has put some cider aside. There is going to be as much for anypony as she could want, for free. I have also gotten confirmation from Twilight that you don’t dislike drinking.

I think you should go to the party, I think you should get really drunk, and I think you should have a talk with Twilight once you are (I have not talked about this with her).

Trust me.

Fluttershy read the letter on the spot, then she shook her head.

“She’s such a kind pony,” she murmured. “But this is a terrible idea. Why does she think...”

She read it again.

“How do I tell her...” Nervously, she looked around, but there was nopony in sight. “... that I don’t want to... or will it be okay if I just don’t...”

She looked back at the letter. Then she looked towards her cottage.

Then, she slowly drove her tongue over her lips.

Finally, she bent down to pick up the piece of the envelope she had dropped, crumpling it up and putting it inside of her pouch, along with the intact part and the letter. Without saying anything else, she headed back to her cottage.

“And I said to Pinkie...” Fluttershy leaned on the pony in question, giggling mid-sentence. “... said to Pinkie that you said to me that you think everypony needs problablibity... probab... problipony theory-”

Pinkie Pie laughed, and Fluttershy joined her, though it wasn’t clear what it was about. “It’s not called problipony, silly!”

“Oh really? What would you know about maths?”

Pinkie Pie merely giggled, not bothering to respond.

“... and we concluded that you were wrong,” Fluttershy continued. “Isn’t that right, Pinkie?”

“Yeah! Sorry, Vi-ti-pi, but what would I need problipony theory for? Heheh...”

“Well,” Vi said, “imagine you are planning a special surprise for a party, and you are pretty sure that all of your friends like it, but not completely sure. How do you know the odds that, out of all five, at least four are on board for the idea?”

...

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,” Pinkie Pie made, turning towards the pony leaning against her, their heads now only an inch away from each other. “You know, maybe she-” But then, suddenly, she turned back towards the filly. “Nah! Not convinced! You know why? I’d just listen to my tummy!” Fluttershy burst out laughing, but Pinkie didn’t let herself get distracted. “My tummy is great when it comes to knowing what my friends like and don’t like! Isn’t that right?” She dropped her head between her front hooves, looking at her belly from below. “Yeah! You are, aren’t you? Hehehe...” Her head popped back up. “So I really don’t need problipony theory, but I’m sure it’s great fun!”

“Well,” Vi began, but then, instead of continuing, she closed her mouth, smiled, and giggled. Pinkie Pie also giggled, and she walked over and ruffled the unicorn’s mane, as if she was a typical filly who had just said something silly. Vi looked up in time to see Fluttershy leave; for a moment, it looked as though she was heading towards the spot where Rarity was talking to Twilight, but then instead, she made for the barrel Applejack had brought, refilling her cup.

Vi turned her head away, a smile on her face.

Author's Note

Welcome to the first author’s notes wherein I address the audience rather than posting cryptic pieces of poetry or unfinished projects. Which is a shame, because I had a great thing I was going to post this time. I guess I just have to write the next chapter.

Anyway, please take 10 seconds to vote on this poll (https://goo.gl/nmrXQK). This will generate data necessary for world optimization. Thank you.

From SlateStarCodex:

Over lunch, a friend told me about his meeting with an EA philosopher who hadn’t been able to make it to the conference. This friend had met the philosopher, and as they were walking, the philosopher had stopped to pick up worms writhing on the sidewalk and put them back in the moist dirt.

And this story struck me, because I had taken a walk with one of the speakers earlier, and seen her do the same thing. She had been apologetic, said she knew it was a waste of her time and mine. She’d wondered if it was pathological, whether maybe she needed to be checked for obsessive compulsive disorder. But when I asked her whether she wanted to stop doing it, she’d thought about it a little, and then – finally – saved the worm.

And there was a story about the late great moral philosopher Derek Parfit, himself a member of the effective altruist movement. This is from Larissa MacFarquhar:

As for his various eccentricities, I don’t think they add anything to an understanding of his philosophy, but I find him very moving as a person. When I was interviewing him for the first time, for instance, we were in the middle of a conversation and suddenly he burst into tears. It was completely unexpected, because we were not talking about anything emotional or personal, as I would define those things. I was quite startled, and as he cried I sat there rewinding our conversation in my head, trying to figure out what had upset him. Later, I asked him about it. It turned out that what had made him cry was the idea of suffering. We had been talking about suffering in the abstract. I found that very striking.

Now, I don’t think any professional philosopher is going to make this mistake, but nonprofessionals might think that utilitarianism, for instance (Parfit is a utilitarian), or certain other philosophical ways of think about morality, are quite unemotional, quite calculating, quite cold; and so because as I am writing mostly for nonphilosophers, it seemed like a good corrective to know that for someone like Parfit these issues are extremely emotional, even in the abstract.

The weird thing was that the same thing happened again with a philosophy graduate student whom I was interviewing some months later. Now you’re going to start thinking it’s me, but I was interviewing a philosophy graduate student who, like Parfit, had a very unemotional demeanor; we started talking about suffering in the abstract, and he burst into tears. I don’t quite know what to make of all this but I do think that insofar as one is interested in the relationship of ideas to people who think about them, and not just in the ideas themselves, those small events are moving and important.

Chapter VII

“So, here’s the scoop. Cloudsdale has chosen our own highland reservoir as a source of the rainwater they need for all of Equestria. And you know what that means! It means it’s up to Ponyville’s pegasi to bring that water up to Cloudsdale!”

Vi, Twilight, and Fluttershy exchanged worried glances, but all of the pegasi who had gathered in the library seemed to be genuinely excited.

“Not only that, but Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, will be here to oversee the water transfer and record our top tornado windspeed,” Rainbow Dash continued. “Now last year, Fillydelphia was supplying the water. And the year before that, it was Baltimare. And the year before that, Manehattan. Now! Can you see what all of those places have in common, that makes it a lot easier for them to do the job than it will be for us?”

“A lot more pegasi live there?” Vi whispered immediately, and Twilight nodded. There was some more chatter from the crowd, until eventually, a mare raised her hoof.

“Flitter!”

“Uhm... because those places have more pegasi than we do?”

“There are more pegasi living in Fillydelphia than in Ponyville!” Rainbow Dash echoed. “That’s right! And same in Baltimare and Manehattan! Now, I have heard that some ponies on the staff in Cloudsdale think we might not have enough pegasi to make it!” She made a pause, perhaps waiting for the crowd to express their anger at this suggestion. After a few seconds, a couple of rather timid ‘boo’s could be heard. “Fillydelphia only had eight point six wingpower per participant, and Manehattan only eight point two! Twilight! How many pegasi live in Ponyville?”

“Huh? Uh, eighty-three.”

“Eighty-three! Twilight got the official number from the mayor. Now, I’m not good at maths, but I’m pretty sure that eighty-three ponies with eight point two wingpower each won’t cut it! I hope I don’t have to explain to you what this means – it means that you all have to train to get your wingpower numbers up! And train hard! Twilight, how much wingpower does everypony need for us to get to eight hundred?”

“To eight hundred?” Twilight echoed. “With eighty-three ponies... hm... let me think...” The silence stretched on, so long that it became a bit awkward. “Nine point seven!” she eventually concluded.

“Nine point seven! But I say we make that ten! If everypony gets their wingpower up to at least ten, then we’ll show Cloudsdale that Ponyville can hold their own, even with less pegasi! Now, are you gon-”

“Objection!” Vi called loudly. This caused quite a bit of confusion, because she was too small to be seen from Rainbow Dash’s position. Only as some of the pegasi in front of the filly moved aside did she know who had interrupted.

“Err,” Rainbow made. “What is it?”

“You are committing the planning fallacy,” Vi declared, causing a series of surprised murmurs. “You are imagining everything going just as planned, but not how it realistically will. Your plan permits a margin of error of less than four percent. What if some ponies don’t get as much wingpower, or are sick on the day that you, uh, make the tornado, or what if some don’t want to join? Ten wingpower is not only not safe, it’s not even likely to be enough!”

This sparked both protests and a bit of surprise. “Who is she?” somepony asked, while another protested, “We can’t all get to eleven wingpower!”

“Hold it! Look! I know it’s a tall order. But do you want all of Equestria to think that Ponyville is the only place not up to the task?! Forget eleven! Get up to ten point five! Or if you can’t, then at least get up to ten! If all of you do that, then I promise you we’ll have enough! I know that some pegasi aren’t here right now, but I’ll personally make sure that they all show up when it counts! Did I make myself clear?”

This time, everypony stayed silent.

“So, are we gonna train hard?”

A few calls of agreement could be heard.

“Are we gonna be strong?”

“Yeah!”

This time, the crowd had been more enthusiastic.

“Are we gonna be fast?!?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh dear oh dear oh dear,” Fluttershy said in a whisper, clinging to Twilight.

“Record-smashing fast?”

“YEAH!”

“WHO’S WITH ME???”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Vi said to Fluttershy, sounding worried, while everypony around them was cheering. “Just don’t participate!”

“You heard Twilight! We’re only eighty-three ponies! Without me, they’re only eighty-two! If I don’t join, then-”

“Fluttershy-” Vi cut her off, but then she also cut herself off as the cheering subsided.

“Would you be fine with doing nothing if there were eighty-four pegasi?” She asked in a whisper, as Rainbow Dash continued her speech, now talking about training routine. “You wouldn’t, obviously, so it’s not about having one fewer pony! It’s because you feel pressured! But don’t give in and participate in a high stakes, high pressure flying event thing, if you don’t like high stakes and you don’t like pressure and you don’t like flying! That’s ridiculous!”

“Vi is right, Fluttershy,” Twilight came to her help. “Don’t do this if you don’t want to.”

“If it is really up to one pony, I’m sure we could get somepony from Cloudsdale to help,” Vi added.

“We already have a pony from Cloudsdale,” Twilight reminded her. “Spitfire will come to oversee the whole thing. I’m sure she’ll help out, too, if it comes down to it.”

“Rainbow Dash... I won’t help you with the tornado. I’m sorry.”

They had waited until all other pegasi had left, Twilight making sure that the pony in question wasn’t among them.

“What? But I need you, Fluttershy! You heard Twilight. And Vi. Even with your help, it’s already going to be difficult! Don’t make it even harder for us! And you already didn’t come to watch the dragon migration with us! You still owe me!”

Vi, who was standing next to the hapless pegasus, gave Rainbow a disapproving glance, but she was too focused on Fluttershy to notice.

“Rainbow, I... we both know I’m a weak flier. Vi’s right. If you can get to seven-hundred and ninety-eight without me, then you can also get to eight hundred without me. Please, Rainbow. I really, really don’t want to.”

“But you’re the one who said we won’t have enough, even with her!” Rainbow protested, now addressing the filly.

“I said that your plan should account for a reasonable amount of error if you want it to succeed. That doesn’t mean you should force ponies to do things they don’t want. Everypony else seems to be on board, so that’s fine, but pressuring Fluttershy into helping you is cruel.”

“What?” Rainbow asked, visibly taken aback. “Why?”

“You didn’t address this in your speech, but you have something to actually measure wingpower, don’t you?”

“Twilight said she’d have something.”

“Okay. That means Fluttershy is probably going to have the lowest wingpower out of everypony in Ponyville.”

“Not just the lowest,” Fluttershy added quietly. “I would be surprised if it was half as high as the next lowest.”

“How would you feel if you had to publicly demonstrate your skill in something that you don’t like doing and are much worse at than literally everypony else? That’s what you’re asking Fluttershy to do. That she competes in something she doesn’t like doing, with ponies who all love doing it. And that she trains hard – for this thing she doesn’t like – even though she really has her hooves full already.”

A pause. Neither of them said anything else, as they both waited for Rainbow Dash’s reaction.

What neither of them had probably expected was how much of an effect that had had on her.

“I’m so sorry,” she said at last, and though she wasn’t crying, it was clear that she was close. “Fluttershy, please forgive me.”

“... huh?” Fluttershy seemed totally taken off guard.

“Vi’s right. I never thought about what it would mean for you. You’re my oldest friend, and all I was thinking about... forget it.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a leader.”

“Don’t say that!” Fluttershy protested. “Nopony but you could energize all the other pegasi like this! And you’re the best flier we have! You will have enough wingpower for both of us!”

“Maybe,” Rainbow murmured. “But I’m clearly too... too... too whatever to tell other ponies what to do! You! Vi! You’ll tell me the truth. That’s your thing, isn’t it? Do you think I’m a good leader?”

Everyone, even Twilight and Spike, who stood on the other side of the room, deliberately absent from the conversation, now turned towards the filly.

“I’m not sure whether the whole thing is a good idea,” Vi said slowly. “It might have been smarter to just let another town take the job. But – yes. Minus some caveats, yes. I agree with Fluttershy in that I think we’d have worse chances with anypony else in charge, certainly with a randomly chosen one. You might lack some qualities of a good leader, but you’re certainly an effective one. I could never give a speech like that, and neither could Fluttershy or Twilight. Also, you didn’t actually make Fluttershy do anything, did you? So don’t-”

“No,” Rainbow interrupted her, “but only ‘cause of you.”

“Okay, so you were about to make a mistake. So what? Everypony – everyone – makes mistakes. Look. For better or worse, you already took the challenge. Now Ponyville needs to deliver. I never said you can’t do it. You’re still eighty-two. If eighty of them participate, you only need an average of ten wingpower. I don’t know how strong most pegasi are, but if ten is something that most of them can reach, then many will also have a bit more. It sounds doable.”

“Yeah. It is doable!” The situation still felt awkward, but Rainbow was clearly trying her best to sound normal again. “You’re right. We can still do this. But, jeez, Fluttershy. I’m really sorry. I won’t pressure you to join again, I promise!”

Fluttershy nodded, smiling. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“Now. Any moment.”

Vi opened her eyes.

“See? Right on time!”

Spike, who had been talking, was standing next to her bed, along with Pinkie Pie.

“You really sleep during the day,” she now said. “I wasn’t sure I could believe Spike!”

Vi yawned. She let a few more seconds pass, then got out of bed in a swift motion, standing on the library floor with shaky hooves. She slowly looked at Pinkie, a small frown forming on her brow.

“... ...”

“Uhhh! Is this her being slow after standing up??”

“... yes,” Vi murmured. “Hello, Pinkie...” Another yawn. “... I need something to drink...” Groggily, she made for the staircase. Half a minute later, she returned with a glass of water.

“Sorry,” she said, “it’s really hard for me to communicate immediately after a nap. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to visit you, and I wanted to visit Spike, and so I did both! You really only sleep two hours a day?”

“Two hours and forty minutes,” Vi corrected.

“Oh? Spike said it was only two hours!”

“It’s twenty minutes,” Spike said, “eight times a day, so that’s... oh. Right. That’s two hours and forty minutes.” He shook his head. “Vi, can you bring me and Pinkie something to drink, too?”

“Mh,” Vi made. “What do you want?”

“Orange juice,” Spike decided after a bit of thought. “Pinkie?”

“Do you have chocolate milk?”

“No, but we have milk and cocoa and sugar, does that work?”

“Eh. Good enough.”

Vi nodded, making her way downstairs. A minute later, she re-appeared, carrying the requested drinks.

“Thanks,” Pinkie Pie said happily, taking the jar from the filly.

“You’re welcome,” Vi said, at the same time that Spike said, “No problem.”

A few seconds passed. Then, Pinkie Pie giggled.

“So, how you do it? Spike said it would take exactly twenty minutes to the second, and it did!”

“Spell. I cast it, and twenty minutes later, it makes a ringing sound. It’s so quiet that others don’t even hear it, but to me, it sounds loud enough, because it’s directly inside of my ears.”

“Ooh. That’s pretty cool! And how hard was it to learn to sleep like this? If it’s easy, I want to do it, too! I’d have at least five hours more, on every day!”

Spike made an odd sound, but the others ignored him.

“Extremely hard,” Vi said. “Ridiculously hard. The hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Hmm.” Pinkie sounded skeptical. ”You’re not just saying that, aaare you?”

Spike coughed. “Remember who you’re talking to. If you think Applejack doesn’t like lying, you haven’t lived with this pony yet.”

“Oh. Hehe. Right!”

“You need at least one month of time, during which you will feel like garbage, constantly sleep-deprived, and have to resist the urge to close your eyes and snooze off constantly. Unless you are really, really determined, don’t try. You’ll regret it.”

“Oki-doki-loki! You still dream?”

“Yes,” Vi said. “I even remember them most of the time.”

“Did you remember it this time?” Spike asked.

Vi shook her head. “Sorry.” She emptied her jar, walking over to where she had slept. “But,” she said as she produced a small booklet from beside her bed, “I have a dream diary. I can’t let you read it, because some parts are private, but I can read some of the others out loud, if you want.”

“Sure! Let’s hear it!”

“Yea?” Vi asked, also looking at Spike for confirmation, who gave a shrug.

“Alright. Let me see... I didn’t remember anything on the previous nap, either. But the one before... ah, yes. That one’s private, though. The one before... that works. Um. But this was a dark one. Do you still want to hear it?”

“I do,” Spike said, now sounding more interested than before. Pinkie Pie didn’t say anything, but she nodded.

“Okay. ... Twilight wanted me to research something. She sometimes does that, if it’s a specific date or figure or something that needs to be looked up. I offered to do that when she took me in. Um, I didn’t know what it was. I don’t mean I forgot, I mean I didn’t know what it was in the dream. But I still wanted to do it.” She wasn’t reading directly from the page, rather she was talking freely and only threw occasional looks at her transcript to remember. “So I walked down into the library to the history section, but it was full of ponies. I could barely get to the shelves. I knew they all didn’t like me because, um, because of how I shouted at you guys in Canterlot. When I finally got through to the shelf, it was empty. I knew I had to convince ponies to give it back first, but then you showed up, Spike, and you said you needed me to do research to figure out when you would start breathing fire. I said I can’t because Twilight already wants me to do something, and you said that I had to hurry because otherwise, you might burn down the library. I remember panicking and that everything got weird, but not much after that.”

“That was scary!” Pinkie Pie said. “Almost like a ghost story! Do another one!”

“Uh. Okay.” Vi turned a page. “... private,” she decided after a few seconds, then moved on to the next. “This one’s... um... this was just a nightmare. Super dark. You probably don’t-”

“Go on!” Spike also emptied his jar, putting it next to Vi’s, then climbed onto Twilight’s bed, sitting down. Pinkie Pie likewise showed no sign of protest.

“You were, um, all dead,” Vi began carefully, then she paused to see the other’s reaction. Neither of them said anything, so she continued. “All of Ponyville was destroyed, actually. It was only me left, and I knew there was some monster chasing me. I ran, but eventually it got me. That’s when I woke up. A few minutes before my alarm... which almost never happens.”

“That’s it?” Pinkie asked. “That’s a terrible story.”

Spike laughed nervously, but neither of the others joined in.

“When was this?” He then asked.

“Yesterday.”

“Oh.”

“They’re not all like this, are they?” Pinkie asked, sounding alarmed.

“No.” Vi looked back at her booklet. “The one before’s fine. I was celebrating my tenth birthday, and Fluttershy and Twilight were there. Fluttershy said she’d gotten much better at flying because of me, and as my birthday present, she would take me for a trip. We went outside, and she had much larger wings than she normally does. I climbed on her back, and we flew so high that we could see all of Equestria. Then Twilight was there, too, and I asked how she could fly, and she said she found a way to walk on air. And then you showed up, Pinkie, and I don’t remember what you said, but we all laughed. It was nice.”

“Oh, that’s sweet. You like Fluttershy, don’t you?”

Vi nodded. “Very much.”

“When is your birthday?” Spike asked.

“Fourth of February.”

“Ohh,” Pinkie made. “That’s only a week after mine! Mine’s January twenty-nine!”

“How old do you get?”

“Twenty!”

“Then you’re still over twice as old as I am,” Vi said after a moment of thought, smiling.

“Huh ... heheh. But I don’t feel like that at all! How are you gonna celebrate?”

“Um. I don’t know. Nothing big.”

“‘Nothing big?’ Mhhmmhh...”

“Don’t plan something without telling me,” the filly warned her. “I’ll think a bit more and tell you whether I want a party or not.”

“Oki-doki-loki!”

... “Vi,” Spike chimed in, “can you get us some snacks?”

Vi closed the booklet, floating it back at the spot right next to her bed.

“Sure,” she said, “but you have to swear not to look inside while I’m gone.”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“Okay then. I can refill your drinks too, if you want.”

“Mh-mh.” Pinkie finished hers, then offered it to the unicorn. “A bit more sugar this time, please!”

Vi took all three jars, making for the kitchen once more. When she returned about ten minutes later, carrying a bowl with freshly made popcorn, Spike and Pinkie were happily wrapped up in a conversation which seemed to be about pranks. In this one, she didn’t partake, she only listened as they recapped what they’d pulled on Twilight, on Applejack, and what more they were planning together with Rainbow Dash going forward.

“Not your thing?” Pinkie Pie asked her eventually, at a point at which Spike seemed to have forgotten that she was even in the room.

“Nope.”

“Heheh... why not?”

“Uh... it’s all just to have fun, right?”

“Exactly! It’s all in good fun! That’s why number one rule of pranking is – Spike?”

“Never prank somepony who doesn’t appreciate it,” Spike recited dutifully. “It’s also the only rule,” he added, somewhat sarcastically.

“That’s because you don’t need any other rules! That would just make things less fun! And I want ponies to have fun! And Twilight told me that’s what you want, too, so what’s wrong with pranks, shouldn’t you like them, too?”

“I think what I said is that I want everypony to be happy,” Vi corrected.

“Aw, but I want that, too! Being happy is fun! I mean being fun is happy! I mean having fun is happy! ... no, I mean – yes. Having fun makes ponies happy! ... doesn’t it?”

Vi giggled. “Yes,” she said, “it does. I think we have a very similar goal, I just have a more long-term plan for achieving it.”

“A more long-term plan? Are you secretly working on a prank that’s so funny that it’ll make all of Ponyville-... ... that’s not what you’re doing, is it?”

“No, that’s not it. I think I want to keep it a secret. But it’ll be good for everypony. Um, very likely.”

“That’s the second secret you have from me,” Pinkie said, pouting.

“She told Twilight the first one!”

“Ohhh! Do you know, too??”

“... no.”

“Aww.”

“Anyway,” Vi said, bringing the conversation back onto solid ground, “there’s nothing wrong with pranks, not any more than with parties, or, uh, anything else you do. I think you’re a very healthy product of an idyllic society.”

“I hope so.” For the first time that evening, Pinkie Pie sounded serious. “Maybe there are more important things than pranks or parties... but... that’s not for ponies like me. That’s for ponies like you...”

Vi didn’t reply to that, but she made a gesture which could generously be interpreted as nodding.

“Spike,” Pinkie asked, “what do you want to do when you get older?”

“...”

“You won’t stay this size forever, you know?”

“I think he might, actually,” Vi said. “His latest growth spurt came when he was exercising greed. That doesn’t prove that he won’t grow normally, but it also doesn’t prove that he will. I think it’s plausible that dragons adapt to their surroundings, and that Spike will stay like this for as long as he lives – is living – with ponies. There don’t seem to be any records of that. Twilight and I checked.”

“Um, do we have to talk about this?” Spike asked hesitantly.

“Nah! We can also go to Rainbow Dash and see if she’s up to get to work on the color prank, or ohh we could go visit Rarity! I think she’s closing soon! Maybe Sweetie Belle is there, too? Or we could go-”

“Sounds good,” Spike interrupted her. He took the bowl of popcorn, emptied its remaining contents in an efficient manner, and then said something unintelligible which, in context, could be understood to mean ‘let’s go.’ Pinkie snickered, making for the stairway with a few bounces, closely followed by the other two.

“You’re coming, too?” Spike asked VI once he had successfully transferred the contents of his mouth into his stomach. Vi shook her head.

“I’ve been meaning to do some training with Twilight,” she said, nodding towards the pony in question, who was standing in front of a bookshelf, busy with what looked like a mixture between organizing and reading. Spike just shrugged.

“Me and Pinkie are going to visit... uh, somepony,” he said towards Twilight.

“Have fun,” Twilight said absently, not taking her eyes off her book.

Vi waited for both of them to leave, then waited a bit more for Twilight to finish whatever she was in the middle off.

Once she did, she closed the book with a demonstrable clap, and put it back onto its shelf.

“Alright! Shall we start?”

Vi nodded.

“Okay. Why don’t you go on ahead and go upstairs? I’ll be right there.” Vi nodded again, making for the staircase, but Twilight continued talking from her position, her voice increasing in volume as the filly walked away from her. “So – the first thing to understand about teleportation is that you are not pushing yourself, or diving, or anything like that, ever. When you teleport, like this-” There was a poof, and when Vi entered the upper room, Twilight was already waiting. “-then you are pulling yourself upwards. You always pull. Always always always. Got it?”

“Got it. But how do I pull myself? Wouldn’t I have to get there first?”

“Excellent question! Yes and no. You do have to get there, but not at the time of using the spell. You can get there earlier, and do what is called ‘setting up an anchor’. That’s the hardest part, but we won’t be doing that today. It’s silly if you can only teleport to the exact places you’ve been to before. It doesn’t allow you to do short range blinks, like this-” She disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room. “-which are quite useful! And I didn’t have to set up an anchor at this exact spot beforehoof. It’s not good to have too many anchors out at once, actually. They don’t decay, but the more you have, the harder it is to focus on one. In general, you should remove most anchors immediately after you’ve used them, and only keep a few that you use regularly, or that are otherwise important. Having obsolete anchors far away can be a real problem. ... uhh... ...”

A frown crossed her face, for a moment having lost her train of thought.

“So how did you do it?” Vi asked, connecting back to the point at hoof.

“Right! How do you do short range teleportation without already having set up an anchor? That’s the question! Well, got an idea?”

“Let me think,” Vi said, doing just that for about twenty seconds. “... well, if you really can’t teleport through means other than pulling-”

“You can’t.”

“-then, logically, you must have set up the anchor right now, but without traveling physically.”

“Very good.”

“So you did it from there, just by traveling on the magical plane?”

“Yes! And that’s what we’re going to practice today. It won’t be easy, but it’s a useful skill to have, and you should learn it before I show you how to set up anchors.”

“You expected me to be better at this,” Vi said an hour later, “right?”

After a few seconds, Twilight nodded. “... of course you noticed. Yes, I did.”

“I told you before, I’m not good at magic.”

“Hm. You did say that, but to be honest... I thought you were probably being modest.”

“Modesty is just another form of dishonesty,” Vi murmured, heading back downstairs. Another poof, and an exhausted-looking Twilight re-appeared beside her as she reached the bottom. “But thanks for putting up with me. You think I can still learn this?”

“I’m sure you can,” Twilight said firmly. “Magic isn’t any different from anything else. Everypony can... well, every unicorn, can learn it. If you really try, and work hard, you’ll learn it. And I know you really tried, and I know...” She gave a dry chuckle. “... that you’ll work hard, so yes, I’d be shocked if you didn’t learn it. You will need some time, though.”

They had arrived in the kitchen. Without even really looking, Twilight was summoning various items out of their shelves.

“How much time do you think I’ll need to learn things related to magic in general, compared to you?”

“Hm... if I teach you... and you continue working as hard as you did right now... about twice as long. Probably a bit longer.” She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but then didn’t.

“And how long did you need to learn teleportation?”

“Uhm... two months? Teleportation is tough,” she added, sounding apologetic. “Most unicorns can’t do it.”

“Four months is long, but still a small price considering the skill. If you’re okay with doing this. Or can I also practice alone?”

“Don’t try,” Twilight warned her. “Later, you can do a lot by yourself, but not at the beginning. This period is really important. I... don’t know how you learned your stinky spell, but you clearly didn’t do it right. I must say, I’m impressed that you managed to get it to work at all. Sandwich?”

“Thanks.” She tried taking it out of Twilight’s telekinesis, but instead it fell down, and was caught inches above the ground in another purple cloud.

“That happens,” Twilight said, lifting it back up. “When you try really hard to press forward on the magical plane, your senses feel all wrong afterwards. You’ll get used to it. Try again.”

Vi nodded. She re-lit her horn, more careful this time, successfully picking up the item in her magic.

She took a bite. “Should we do another session?” she asked after swallowing.

“I’d understand if you don’t want to, but it would be good. It’s good to push yourself, especially at the beginning.”

Vi nodded. “Then we’ll do it.”

“Of course we will.” Twilight smiled.

For a while, both of them ate in silence, until Vi spoke up again.

“You were about to say something else, earlier.”

“No chance with this pony,” Twilight remarked. “Yes, I... I wondered whether there could be things I could teach you that are... more fundamental.”

“In what way?”

“Well... perhaps things that would... that you could learn to get better at learning. Meta-skills, as you call them.”

“By giving me a better understanding of magic on a deep level?”

“Pretty much.”

“You know what’s an important property of meta-skills?”

“Do tell?”

“You should always train them first, if possible, because they’ll affect everything you do later.”

Twilight bit off half of her remaining sandwich. After she had finished chewing, instead of answering, she bought herself more time by finishing it off completely.

“Let’s do this first. These are thoughts I’ve had for a while, and they might be useful, but I really have to think about them more, and plus, it’s probably easier if you can already do some things, even if you don’t understand them perfectly.”

“If you really think that,” Vi said, carefully but firmly, “and don’t just say this because you don’t want to take the risk... then no problem. I can’t judge it myself, obviously.”

That made Twilight think for almost a minute.

“I do think so,” she said at last. “I know why you’re asking, I think. Sometimes, doing things correctly from the beginning can be easier than correcting them later. But I’m thinking about how it would be to teach you to dive through the magical plane correctly if you’ve never done it, and it really seems easier to just change your way of doing it after I’ve taught you the normal way. I agree that we shouldn’t work through too much, but let’s do teleportation. I’m... not sure, but I really do believe that it’s the better way.”

Vi nodded. “Alright. Let’s do the second half?”

“Yup.” Twilight tilted her head. “See you upstairs!”

Poof.

Author's Note

The girl had red hair; actual red, not the kind of bright orange color which people sometimes call red for no reason. She was small and thin, and her skin seemed almost unnaturally pale next to her hair, except below her eyes, where it was dark and gray. Everything about her looked weak and fragile, even unhealthy. She was my best friend. I loved her more than anyone or anything else in the world, certainly more than myself.

Constantly deprived of sleep, she would spend hours wandering around at night, in search for anything and nothing. But now, she was wide awake, and through her soft grasp I was pulled forward. I could have run faster, but I enjoyed her dragging me along far too much.

The castle we were in was too large, and too confusing for me to know where we were going. Down one hallway and then to the left, further ahead and then we heard steps from somewhere. Without hesitating, she opened a door to our immediate left, and we both slipped inside. I had enough time to see that it was a small chamber with nothing inside, then I closed the door behind us, and everything went dark.

I could hear nothing but her quick breathing, but there was a warmth as she hugged me, on my skin and in my heart alike. This, and nothing else, was why I loved my life, and never wanted it to stop or change.

The steps were now close enough to be audible even through the door... then they became more quiet again. When I could no longer hear them, I waited a few more seconds, then I gave her hand a slight squeeze with mine, our signal for going back out. She responded with a light squeeze of her own, our signal for ‘no’, so I waited. A few more seconds passed, then she was the one to squeeze first, and I responded by squeezing more firmly. Simultaneously, we both drew back from the embrace, but keeping our hands locked even as she was searching for the handle to pull the door back open.

A peek outside confirmed that whatever it had been was gone. I had to wait but a second, then she was back to dragging me with her, and soon we were running again. All the way to the end of the hallway, then to the right. Candles on symmetrically arranged sockets on both walls and the ceiling illuminated this narrow corridor, and the nature-themed art on the carpets below our feet, its green color scheme giving the place an uncanny feeling, as if part of the castle lead straight into another world.

She stopped abruptly, turning around to take my other hand in hers.

“It’s here,” she just said. We crossed fingers, and it was one of those moments where I felt so much love and sympathy for her that it overpowered my ability to speak, so I merely nodded and smiled. She smiled back, and I could feel her hands shaking a bit before she freed one of them to point at the stone door to our right. I nodded, then I pushed it open.

“It’s the outside,” I breathed, and now I was the one dragging her with me. Then the door fell shut behind us, drowning us in utter darkness once more. Her free hand found mine, and as it did, I could feel her skin growing warmer, hot even. Red lights emerged on the insides of her palms, and I let loose to allow her to bring them closer together, merging both lights into one.

Not unlike in the previous corridor, and now I understood why that had been, it was red light falling onto green, only here the fauna was real, trunks and leaves and branches and vines entwined around it all, and the air was warm and thick and a moisture seemed to hang around everything. Some of it was moving, I could see it clearly even in this dim light.

“We could just go,” I said, “and never come back. We could go right now. Leave this place.”

“Maybe.” She navigated the light in between us, then drew back so she could take my hands back into hers. “Or maybe it’s only an inner garden. But I wanted you to see it.”

I nodded, smiling. Here we stood, right outside, of or perhaps in the midst of the castle, but it felt so different that we might aswell be in another world already. And who knew... maybe we were.

Chapter VIII (part 1)

“’Dear Twilight,’” Twilight read, “’I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot...’”

“... ‘And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia. PS: though neither of them will have to help with preparations, Spike and Vi are both welcome to join you.’ Okay. But – I don't understand – who's getting married?”

“Oh,” Spike said, “wait! Err, I was probably supposed to give you this one first...”

”I've got something to say to you, mister!”

Shining Armor was standing on top of the wall, giving commands to subordinate guards. Noticing the approaching Twilight, many of them pointed their weapons at her, but only until their captain recognized who it was.

”Twilight!” Shining took off his helmet, running down the staircase to greet his sister. “I've really missed you! How was the train ride?”

“How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married?! I’m your sister, for pony’s sake!”

“That’s not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?”

“Oh. So you couldn’t write me?” For a moment, it seemed as if this reply was all it had taken to calm her down, but then her expression darkened. “But why didn’t you send a message before the wedding was getting close? Did you really forget?”

”Because the ban on messages has been there for three weeks now. It has nothing to do with the wedding – a threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection.”

“A threat?” Twilight echoed. “What kind of threat?”

Shining looked around before he responded. There were plenty of other guards nearby.

“You better ask Celestia that yourself,” he said quietly. “We’re not supposed to know more... and she hasn’t told me much, anyway.” He straightened up, his voice returning to normal. “You need to see this...”

He lit his horn, and in doing so, the forcefield around the city was illuminated in a red glow. Shining grimaced, in a way which Twilight immediately recognized as a sign of exhaustion from a difficult spell.

“The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders,” he murmured. “It’s a big responsibility.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“But hey, that’s what I signed up for. And now...” He fell silent, looking nervous.

“What is it?”

“I wanted you to be my best mare... but with what happened, would you still-”

“Oh, Shining! Of course I would! I’m happy to be your best mare!”

“Oh.” Shining sounded relieved. “Okay. Good.”

“I’m honored, really. But – I still am a bit ticked that you’re marrying somepony I don’t even know! When did you meet this ‘Princess Mi Amore’-”

“What?” Shining interrupted, “Twilight! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadence.”

“... bllp?”

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other.

“Cadence?” Twilight echoed disbelievingly.

“Yup.”

“Cadence.”

“Yeah.”

“... you’re marrying Cadence.”

“Yeah. I thought you’d-”

“You’re marrying Cadence!! Ohmygosh! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You’re marrying Cadence! You’re marrying Cadence!” She did several, literal leaps of joy, until-

“Twilight!”

“Cadence!”

They ran towards each other, then both of them bent downward, and, perfectly in sync, went through a particular series of motions which many ponies would consider unbecoming of a royal princess.

“Sunshine, sunshine,” they recited in unison, “ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

Then they laughed and hugged and Shining was watching the scene with a big smile.

“I had no idea you’d be marrying Shining!” Twilight exclaimed. “I didn’t even know you two were close!”

“We haven’t been close for that long,” Cadence said, still holding Twilight. “But we do love each other.” They parted. “And we fit so well that neither of us has any doubts about committing to a life with each other. Of course, we did want to tell you before you got the official invitation, but-”

“-you couldn’t,” Twilight finished the sentence for her. “Yeah, Shining told me. Never mind! You two... I’m so happy for you! I really am. And I’m so happy you’ll be my sister-in-law!”

“Me too!” Cadence laughed, once more bending downward to draw Twilight into a hug. “Sisters! Could you have imagined that ten years ago?”

“No,” Twilight said between laughs and Cadence’s embrace, “no, I really couldn’t. It’s so great! I just hope you can endure him.”

“It’s not always easy.”

“Yes, I know how hard it can be.” Twilight’s voice was now deadly serious. “I’ve done it for years.”

Cadence nodded solemnly. “I have a hard task ahead of me.”

“But you have to do it.”

“Do I, really?”

“Yes. So we can be sisters.”

Cadence sighed theatrically.

“Alright. For you, Twilight.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Shining, on the other hoof, did not look appreciative, and the fact that several of the surrounding guards now began snickering into their helmets didn’t seem to help.

“Are you two finished?”

Both of them laughed.

“I’m so happy you’ll be my sister-in-law,” Twilight repeated. “The letter Celestia sent me only called you Princess Mi-Amore Ca-thing, and I didn’t know it was you.”

“Ah. Yes, it’s a silly title. I’m always telling ponies to just call me Cadence, but many don’t seem to get the message.”

“Well,” Shining threw in, seemingly relieved that they had switched topics, “she had to use your full name and title in the invitation. It’s tradition.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, “but she could have told me it was Cadence in her private letter. I guess she must have thought I know her title. ... Anyway, I’ve left the other girls waiting. I should go back to get them. Will you two...”

“Of course,” Cadence said immediately, “I’ve been looking forward to meeting them.”

They made their way down the wall and across the courtyard.

“How did you two meet?” Twilight asked on the way, “I want to know everything!”

Shining laughed. “We met because of you, Twilight.”

“Me? Really?”

“Yeah,” Cadence said, “Celestia mentioned to me that she was sending you to Ponyville, and that made me think of you again. I took the opportunity to talk to Shining about it, and we got close. The best decision I’ve ever made.”

“That’s so nice!” Twilight giggled. “But it was only the second best! The best one was becoming my foalsitter!”

“Oh stop, you!”

“These are your friends?” Shining asked. They had reached the station, where the other girls, Spike, and Vi were still waiting.

“May I introduce?” Twilight stepped forward with a smile. “Girls – and Spike – these are Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-”

“Oh, Twilight, please!” Cadence giggled. “She’s doing it on purpose,” she said to the group, “we just talked about how I dislike titles. Just call me Cadence.”

“This is Cadence,” Twilight corrected herself with a chuckle, “royal alicorn and a close friend. And this is Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard, and also my brother. Cadence and Shining, these are Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash – the very same friends I’ve told you about, Shining – Spike – I don’t need to introduce him – and last but not least, the smartest pony I’ve ever met! She goes by ‘Vi’, just like the letter.”

“The smartest pony you’ve ever met, huh?” Shining echoed. “She’s never called me smart before. You must be quite something.” He offered a hoof, and Vi shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said politely, “and you as well, princess.”

“Just ‘Cadence’ is enough. You only need to say ‘princess’ if you’re meeting Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. ... Oh, and it’s a real pleasure to meet you, Rarity! I couldn’t wait to meet the pony who will design my wedding gown...”

“Now, look at you, sugarcube,” Applejack said, as soon as Cadence and Shining had excused themselves. They’d been led to a fairly large room with eight beds total, which as Shining had said was entirely theirs for the duration of their visit. “Sour the whole time, but now yer lookin’ happier than Applebloom tastin’ my finest fritters. Guess that Cadence wasn’t such a stranger after all, huh?”

“She’s my old foalsitter,” Twilight admitted with a sheepish smile. “But you’re right, Applejack. I don’t know when I’ve last felt this happy. My brother is marrying Cadence! Not only that, but you’re all here with me. All of you! And we’re going to help make their wedding perfect! Isn’t it just... well, just perfect?”

“Aww,” Pinkie made. “You really do look happy!”

Twilight responded something benign, and then Rarity said something sassy, and there were a lot of giggles, and then some hugs, and all six of the elements and Spike seemed to be lost in the moment. Only Vi didn’t join, merely standing beside the scene, looking worried. She waited until everyone had calmed down a bit and Pinkie and Rainbow were claiming rights to their respective beds, until she said something.

“Twilight?”

“Yeah?” Twilight was still smiling as she turned toward the filly.

“One, can I take this bed? Two, did you ask about the forcefield?”

“The... oh. Yes. Shining said there’s been a ‘threat’ made against the city. Only Celestia seems to know what that means. I don’t think it’s a big deal, otherwise, we’d have heard more about it. And as for the bed, sure. Should I take this one?” She pointed at the one right next to it.

“Yes, please.”

“‘Please’?” Twilight echoed, putting her luggage onto the bed in question and beginning to take out various items. “Is it important?”

“Well, I’ll be faster to wake you up in case of an emergency.”

“An emergency? Jeez.” Rainbow Dash, who had taken the bed opposite to the filly’s, threw her a doubtful glance. “Paranoid much?”

“Shining said a threat has been made,” Vi reminded her. “Twilight, do you think we’ll have twenty minutes before the preparations start?”

“I don’t know. Do you want to take a nap?”

Vi nodded.

“Go ahead, I think. If they come back in five minutes, I’ll just drop by a bit later to pick you up. You aren’t even expected to help, after all.”

“But we don’t have to be quiet, do we?” Pinkie’s voice asked from her bed next to Rainbow’s.

“No, no. Be as loud as you want.” Vi climbed into her bed, pulling the covers over her tiny figure. “See you all later.”

“Hiya, Cadence!”

“Hello! Everything going well here?”

The bakery was a modest room compared to most other parts of Canterlotian establishment. Applejack had been assigned three assistant chefs to prepare the snacks for the wedding, and Vi was there to keep track of progress.

“It’s goin’ just fine. Actually, we already finished our first set of treats. Wanna try some?”

“I’d love to!” Cadence took a step closer to take one of the fritters Applejack was offering her, only then noticing the pony standing behind the front end of the table. “Oh, hello, Vi. You’re not with Twilight?”

“No, Twilight’s with Fluttershy. She explained me what she wants me to keep track of, so I’m filling in for her.”

“I... see.” She gave the filly a curious look, but then just took a bite from her fritter.

“Mhhm, these are delicious! I see the princess knew what she was doing when she named you the chief chef, Applejack.”

“Aw, shucks! Why don’t you take a few to go?”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to create even more work for you.”

“Don’t ya worry none.” Applejack put the plate back onto the table. “With those three ponies helpin’ me, we’ll be done with the menu in no time. There’s plenty of time to make a few extra.”

“Alright then. I’d love to take some! Thank you very much.” She turned to Vi, who was just summoning a paper bag at Applejack’s directions. “How did you come to know Twilight? She hasn’t told Shining anything about you.”

“I live with her. She’s been very kind to take me in.”

“What about your family?”

“... I strongly prefer not to talk about that.” She offered the bag to the alicorn. “Is that okay?”

It wasn’t lost to the remaining ponies in the room that a nine-year-old had just refused to answer a question from a member of royalty, but Cadence gave no sign of finding it noteworthy.

“Of course. Thanks again, everypony. I see you’re doing great work.” She took the bag in her magic. “See you both soon!”

“Was sure I’d finally hear the answer, there,” Applejack remarked after Cadence had left. “Given you don’t lie, an’ all. But, I gotta say, you got some nerve.”

“Um ... thanks. I’ll add a note that Cadence has tested and liked the fritters.”

“... right. Well, let’s get back to work, now.”

“Isn’t Cadence great?!”

It was evening, and they were meeting up at a small but high profile café, sitting on comfortable pillows around their own table.

“She was lovely,” Fluttershy agreed. “I’m very happy for you, Twilight.”

“She’s so much fun! I almost forgot she’s even a princess!”

Rarity harrumphed. “Pinkie, please! You make it sound like she doesn’t know her stature! Why, on the contrary, when I had the honor of talking to her, she was well aware of her position.”

“She’s probably adapting to the pony she’s talking to,” Vi suggested, who had stacked three pillows on top of each other to make up for her height. “You’re more comfortable treating her as a princess, Rarity, and Pinkie is more comfortable treating her as just another pony, and she’s fine with both.”

“I suppose. ... She gave me detailed instructions as to what she wants changed for her dress, and in which areas she wants me to exercise my own creative freedom, all the while being utmost polite and respectful. I say, many customers could learn a thing or two from her.”

“I’m sure Vi’s right,” Twilight said. “Her special talent is love, after all. And she’s always been great at understanding other ponies. And feeling for them. She could always cheer me up when I was sad, and that happened... more often than I’d like.”

“It’s telling that you didn’t even know her title,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Yeah! It’s so easy to forget that she’s a princess. Like Pinkie said. She just feels like a normal pony.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow said ironically. “Except she has wings.” The lack of wits in this comment silently hung above the group, though it was unclear whether Rainbow herself had noticed. “Eh, then again, who knows whether she can even fly.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight protested while Pinkie and Spike giggled. “ ... of course she can fly!”

“Have you ever seen her do it?”

“That’s... let me think.”

“I’ll bet with you,” Vi said to Rainbow Dash, “fifty bits for you if she can’t fly, ten for me if she can.”

“Pfff. You even have fifty bits?”

“No. But still-”

“Hah!”

“-Twilight would lend them to me. Right, Twilight?”

Rather than responding, Twilight remarked that she had in fact seen Cadence fly, thereby rendering the debate pointless.

“Do Cadence and Shining Armor want to have snow on their wedding day?” Fluttershy asked.

“Beats me,” said Rainbow. “I haven’t been in touch with any of the weather ponies. Putting up with the guards was bad enough.”

“I for one cannot imagine otherwise,” said Rarity. “Which pony would not want to have an all-white wedding? Just imagine the beautiful imagery!”

There was a bit more chit-chat until they were interrupted by an armored member of the royal guard approaching their table.

“Ladies? I have a message from Princess Celestia for all of you.”

Twilight turned to face her. “What is it?”

“She invites you all for a brief visit. She said, ‘as soon as you are ready.’ If you don’t mind, I will take you to her immediately.”

“Please ask her about the threat,” Vi whispered to Twilight, as they were being led to the Castle. They both made sure to walk in the back so as to be out of ear’s range of anypony else. Fluttershy had initially been right next to them, but Twilight had redirected her to the front of the group so Vi and her had some space to talk.

“I will,” she whispered back.

“I’m nervous,” Vi admitted. “Cadence is one thing, but this is the ruler of Equestria herself. I’m actually meeting her. Just like that. That’s crazy.”

“Celestia meets with regular ponies all the time. It’s not so unusual.”

“It’s unusual for her to meet with ponies who aren’t from Equestria. What if she has a way of seeing it? What if she asks me? I’m not sure I have the courage to tell her it’s a secret.”

They had reached the castle.

“I’ll say something if that happens,” Twilight whispered, but then they had to stop talking to avoid drawing attention. Soon they reached the throne room, and there she was, royal and regal, surrounded by guards, the ruler of the paradise amidst an otherwise much colder world: Princess Celestia.

“My little ponies.” Celestia stood up, walking down the steps of her throne, towards her eight kneeling guests. “And Spike,” she added. “And only one of you is truly little anymore, is she? I’ve been looking forward to meeting the pony Twilight has written so many intriguing things about.”

Suddenly, all eyes were on the filly.

“It’s... an honor... to meet you, princess.”

“Mh.” Celestia turned to the rest of the group. “How was the day? Did you have a pleasant trip?”

“It was great,” Twilight said, and the others all murmured their agreement. “All of the preparations are going smoothly.”

“That is wonderful to hear. And I hope your room is to your liking as well?”

“We couldn’t wish for anything more. The only thing we’ve been worrying about is, well... this.” Twilight pointed outside of the window, where the red hue of the forcefield was clearly visible.

“Ah, yes. You are wondering what has taken place to warrant such a reaction, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I am afraid there is little I can tell you. You probably heard that a threat has been made against Canterlot. It might be more precise to say that a threat has been made against me, although the culprit has made it clear that Canterlot was her real target. I don’t know who she is, but she was powerful enough to speak to me directly, without revealing herself. I took the warning seriously and had a forcefield raised to protect all of Canterlot. Unfortunately, this makes it impossible to send messages through means other than dragon flame.”

After a few moments, Vi carefully spoke up.

“I ask for permission to ask a question, princess.”

Celestia laughed. “There is no need for such formality. Speak freely.”

“Is the forcefield closed at the bottom?”

“Ah. Twilight has told me that you are a very careful pony, and one with a sharp mind. Yes, the forcefield protects the city from all sides. It is not possible to circumvent it by digging a tunnel.”

“I see,” Vi said, “thank you, princess.”

“If that is all – I see everything is in order, so you may go back to your chambers. Thank you all for the great work you are doing, and I hope you’ll have another enjoyable and productive day tomorrow.”

They all kneeled one more time, then made their way out of the throne room, this time without a guard guiding them. Once more, Twilight and Vi tried to walk at the end of the group, and once more, Fluttershy tried to do the same. Once more, Twilight tried to signal her to go in front, but this time, she didn’t seem to understand. Eventually, Vi solved the problem by taking a few steps forward, walking next to Applejack.

They had left the castle; Pinkie and Rainbow Dash began talking about flying and Rarity was saying something to Spike about the dress. Vi and Applejack-

“Twilight?”

She turned her head, unsure whether she had just imagined Fluttershy saying something. It had been so quiet as to be almost inaudible.

“Twilight?” The pegasus now repeated, a bit louder this time.

“What is it?”

“After you left, Shining came by to check on how I was doing with the choir.” Fluttershy was talking very hastily, and still very quietly, making it hard for Twilight to understand her. “Then something really strange happened. We were standing close, and suddenly he kicked me.”

“Kicked you?” Twilight repeated, once again wondering whether she had misheard.

“Yes. Kicked me. He hit my leg with his hoof, really hard, and when I looked at him, then, for a moment, he had this weird expression, but then... then just a moment later, he... he looked as if nothing had happened. He was saying something about the choir, and I responded, and we didn’t talk about what he had done at all.”

Author's Note

Part II coming soon

Chapter VIII (part 2)

Being about to reply, Twilight suddenly remembered something Vi had once said to her: that the feeling of confusion should be taken as a signal to stop and think.

So she swallowed her response and thought.

She had no idea what the reason for Shining’s behavior could be. More importantly, she had no idea why it was reason for them to worry now. But Fluttershy had gone out of her way to communicate it to her in this way, presumably to avoid anyone listening in. Why?

If it weren’t for the ominous threat against the city, Twilight might have dismissed the entire thing on the spot, writing it off as Fluttershy being weirdly paranoid. But as it was – could those two things be connected? Was there something going on behind the scenes, and was doing the right thing about this now their chance to figure it out?

It seemed far-fetched, but if Fluttershy was willing to take it seriously, then so was she.

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to talk about it in our room?” she replied.

“I’m... not sure. Didn’t they choose it for us? Cadence and Shining?”

“I guess. Does that matter?”

“I don’t know. But there has been a threat... and I know Vi is worrying... I’m probably being silly.”

Twilight threw a quick look around. It was a short walk from the castle back to their room, but it should be enough.

“Okay,” she said to Fluttershy, “hold on.” She quickened her pace, catching up to Vi and Applejack. “There’s something urgent,” she murmured, so quiet that only the filly would hear it.

Vi looked at her, then at Applejack. “Talk to you later,” she said to the farmpony, and, without much ado, she fell behind to join ranks with Twilight. “What is it?”

“Something weird has happened and Fluttershy is afraid talking in our room isn’t safe. Do you think there is a way that could be true?”

“It could be true, of course. There are lots of ways. Do we need a safe way to talk?”

Did they? All that had happened was that Shining had behaved in a strange way... but she knew what Vi would say: the cost of being too careful was much lower than the cost of not being careful enough, therefore...

“I guess.”

“Can we go out tonight?”

“... I guess.”

“That should be safe.”

Twilight nodded. “Thanks.” She lowered her tempo, until she was on hoof with Fluttershy again.

“I’ll make us a way to talk freely. Don’t mention it until then.”

“What you do you think about going out tonight?” Twilight asked the group, as soon as they had arrived. “It’s the first time we’re all in Canterlot together. We could go see what the bars here are like.”

Rarity turned around on the spot. “Really?” she asked, sounding more than a little surprised. “I’d love to, but I didn’t expect you of all ponies to suggest such a thing.”

Twilight shrugged. “Surprises happen. You’re in?”

“Definitely.”

“Me too,” Rainbow said, “sounds fun.”

“I’m in, too,” Pinkie declared, “but what about Fluttershy? It would be unfair to just leave her alone!”

“You don’t have to. I’ll come with you.”

“You sure, sugar?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said, “are you sure you know what a bar is, Fluttershy?”

“Yes I’m sure. And yes, Pinkie, I know what a bar is.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!”

“Well,” Applejack said, “I dun wanna be the mare who spoils all the fun. If even Fluttershy’s game, then count me in, too.“

The cold hit them hard as they stepped out of the bar, where it had been warm and full. None of them had put on clothes, but they had ended up staying for almost four hours, and what had previously been an early evening was now a pitch black night, and it was cold, particularly for those of the group without feathers.

“Brrr,” Rarity made, “let’s go home, quickly. Can you give us some light, Twilight?”

“No light,” Twilight said, “and no going home. Come with me, I’ll explain in a bit. It’s important.”

“Huh?” Rainbow made, and Pinkie Pie and Applejack both said something to voice their confusion, but Twilight was already making her way off the main road and behind the building they’d just come out off. She knew this place, even though she had never been inside as a filly. There was a stretch of empty land right behind the bar, a couple of trees and even a lake. It was so dark that she wasn’t sure whether she’d find it at first, despite how close it was. But eventually, she noticed the ground descending, and she knew they were almost there.

“Twi,” Applejack said, as the pond came into vision, “whatever yer think yer doin’, this ain’t the time for it. It’s freezin’ out here.”

Twilight looked around, searching for the cleanest spot she could find, and eventually settled on a fallen log. “We have to talk,” she announced, “hold on.”

She closed her eyes, lit her horn, and one flash of light later, a blanket fell onto the ground beside her.

“Come here. We’ll all fit below there if we close ranks.”

“That is from the castle,” Rarity said amidst the confusion. “I do hope you have a second one to sit onto?”

“Nope. Sorry, Rarity. You can take a shower once we’re back.”

Rarity sighed, but she walked down the slope and sat on the log next to Twilight, followed by the others.

It was only then that Twilight realized her spell would have been visible for anypony following them. Oh well. It wasn’t like she expected anyone to be there. The whole thing seemed crazier to her by the minute, even though it had been her idea... sort of.

She lifted up the blanket, which was thankfully absurdly large for just a single pony, wrapping it around everyone.

“That spell was untraceable,” Vi’s voice came out of the darkness, “right?”

“Summoning the blanket? Yeah, you can’t trace teleportation. It’s almost the same as teleporting a pony.”

“Untraceable?” Spike asked. “What?”

Instead of replying, Twilight turned to the pony on her other side. “Tell them what happened, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy repeated the story she had already told Twilight, though this time in a bit more detail. Most notably, she emphasized that she had been looking at Shining when he had suddenly attacked her.

“Forgive me,” said Rarity, “but is that all? If so, I don’t see why we are sitting out here in the dark.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, “it’s my fault. Twilight was just finding a way for us to talk, it was me who... I thought it was necessary. I... sorry.”

“I think we have reason to be careful,” Vi’s voice said from the Rarity-side of Twilight. “Something is going on here. Twilight, back me up on this. Either the princess is playing us, or she’s being naive.”

Several sounds of surprise and protest could be heard, including from Rarity.

“I’m not sure I follow,” Twilight said. “You mean because she wasn’t concerned about the threat?”

“If you wanted to attack a city, what would be one of the absolute worst things you could do?”

Twilight thought about it, but it was Fluttershy who answered first. “Threaten them and get them to protect themselves.”

“Exactly. Whoever did it obviously has some amount of power, right? Why did she do this? Have you guys ever asked yourself that question? As of now, as far as I can tell, Canterlot and we have been responding in the obvious way. That probably means that, if someone has a plan she’s following and the threat was the first part of it, that plan’s still working. Asking whether the forcefield extends downward was just a way to get her to talk more about it, to see if that was really all she considered.”

“But what does that have to do with Shining?” Rainbow’s voice demanded.

“It is connected to Shining because of how probability works,” Vi said. “If you have two hypothesis about a situation, and some new event happens, whichever hypothesis predicted that something better gets a boost, and the other gets less likely. Something being really weird better predicts Shining suddenly kicking Fluttershy than everything being normal. And since Shining or Cadence probably chose our room, I think avoiding it is reasonable.”

“I think we’re making a whole lotta fuss over nothin’, here.”

“If you think so,” Vi said, “then give me an explanation for why Shining did what he did.”

“Dunno... maybe he thought it was in good fun.”

“I’m sure he didn’t think that,” Fluttershy said, “he was way too... I mean, he hit me too... hard... I have a real blue spot there... and it didn’t make sense, in that moment.”

“Has anyone you know ever done something similar to you?” Vi asked into the group.

“Rainbow Dash, kinda,” Applejack’s voice said, now sounding less confident.

“No,” Twilight replied, and so did everypony else, and Spike, in turn.

“And now, think of a possible explanation if something weird is going on.”

“Someone forced him to,” Twilight suggested.

“It’s probably just an odd reaction to putting the forcefield up this whole time.” Twilight noticed Rarity’s voice sounding a bit slow, realizing that she was still affected by the alcohol. “Who knows how much effort it takes?”

“I don’t think over-exhausting yourself magically has that effect,” Twilight held against her, “I’ve done it dozens of times.”

“Well, perhaps other ponies react differently?”

“Perhaps... but not as far as I know.”

“He’s being mind-controlled,” Spike’s voice said out of the Fluttershy direction, “by the same pony who’s been threatening the city!”

“Spike...” Pinkie asked, also sounding a bit off (she and Rainbow Dash had been enjoying themselves the most), “are you serious?”

“That’s certainly what it sounds like,” Vi found.

“What?” Rainbow protested. “That doesn’t make any sense! If somepony was controlling him, why would she make him kick Flutters?”

“I think the idea is that this was the one moment here he broke out of her control,” Twilight explained, “and that he wanted to do something, anything, to draw attention. But he’s not been acting like he’s been controlled otherwise.”

“Well,” Vi said, “if someone – it might not be a pony – is controlling him, she would make him act normally most of the time. Fluttershy. Does that theory... do you think it fits with what happened?”

“Um... yes. It did. It does. That’s how it felt like.”

“Ya sure yer aren’t just over-analyzin’ a whole lotta nothin’?”

“No,” Twilight and Vi replied simultaneously.

“But imagine if we’re right,” Twilight continued, “and we do nothing. I’d rather risk making a fool out of myself.”

“He also didn’t apologize,” Fluttershy suddenly said, “if it was some kind of accident, then why didn’t he apologize?”

“That’s a question either way,” said Vi. “Even if he was mind-controlled, the controller still ought to have made him apologize to make it less suspicious. She probably made a mistake... unless she wanted us to be suspicious, but that seems unlikely.”

A shudder ran down Twilight’s neck, even though it was now surprisingly warm, with all of them sitting so close together.

“Who is ‘she’?” Rarity demanded.

“It might be someone who is in regular contact with him. But it doesn’t have to be.”

There was a stretch of silence, until Pinkie Pie said out loud what everypony was thinking.

“Cadence?”

“But it doesn’t have to be,” Vi’s voice repeated.

“I’ve known Cadence since I was a filly,” said Twilight, “it’s not her.”

“Maybe it’s not actually Cadence. Maybe someone took her place... but that-”

“Took her place?” Rainbow echoed. “She’s an alicorn! I’m sure she can defend herself.”

“An alicorn of love,” said Twilight, “not of conflict. Whoever was strong enough to talk to Celestia from outside the city might be strong enough to overpower her, but...”

“What?” Spike’s voice asked, “What, Twilight?”

“There is a species which can transform themselves,” Twilight whispered. “Transform their bodies so that... they look just like somepony else.”

“Changelings?!” Fluttershy asked at once, sounding horrified. “That can’t be! Cadence can’t be a changeling!”

“That’s widely speculative,” Vi reminded her.

“What are these things?” Rainbow asked. “I’ve never heard of them before.”

“They are shapeshifters. They... uhm, they can take the appearance, the physical appearance of somepony. Anypony. Back in the day, they used to... th-they kidnapped a pony for a day, a... uhm... somepony who was in lo-... somepony in a relationship. They would pose as her to, uhm... to receive the love of their partner in their stead... that is what makes them strong. To feed off the love of... o-other creatures. B-but, but but, but that was all years ago. Many years. They haven’t shown themselves in over a century, I think.”

“Cadence and Shining Armor are in love,” Rainbow said, stating the obvious.

“That really makes no sense!” Rarity protested. “Girls, please! We have all met her! Shining has spent many hours with her these past days, no doubt. And life is so... rich! Rich with detail! Each pony is different! Each pony has her own little mannerisms! If Cadence wasn’t herself, somepony would notice!”

“It says in history books that this has always been the problem,” Vi said, which came as a surprise to Twilight, who couldn’t remember any books she had recommended her where changelings were even mentioned. “That’s the reason why they stopped... well, stopped being around, basically. Their plots would only work for short amounts of time, and it was getting riskier as ponies became more aware of the threat. It, um, it also says that they didn’t usually kill ponies. If they wanted to feed off a pony’s love, they’d either kidnap her but let her go later, or just choose a time when she wasn’t around in the first place. So even if what we fear is true, Cadence would probably still be alive.”

“That doesn’t actually answer what Rarity said,” Twilight pointed out.

“Right. But don’t assume your enemies are stupid. They’ve had a hundred and forty years to deal with this problem, maybe they figured something out.”

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight said honestly, “but I don’t want to bet against it, either.”

“So what do you want to do?” asked Fluttershy.

“No need to be clever,” Vi said in her stead, “let’s just tell Celestia. We can go right now.”

“We could have told her earlier today,” Rainbow said, “we’ve just been seeing her, remember?”

“Yeah,” Vi replied, “but it doesn’t matter what we could have done earlier. We didn’t. I agree that we should have, but we didn’t. It’s either correct to do it now or it’s not, it doesn’t matter what chances we’ve already missed.“

“But it is the middle of the night,” Rarity said. “Surely we can go tomorrow.”

“Don’t you think this is more important than disturbing the princess’ sleep?”

“Sneaking through Canterlot now?” Rainbow held against her. “When you think it’s dangerous?”

“I think it’s dangerous to wait. I don’t expect us to be attacked in the middle of Canterlot. There are guards on patrol, right, Twilight?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Yer going too far, now,” Applejack said. “Let’s go back to our room, and speak to her first thing in the morning.”

“Why take the risk?” Vi asked. “I get that you don’t want to be embarrassed, but we have plausible reason to be suspicious. If it all turns out to be nothing, I think Celestia will understand.”

“This is the princess you are talking about,” Rarity reminded her, “she is not a pony whom you disturb without good reason.”

“Let’s have a vote,” Twilight suggested. “Everypony say whether you want us to go now or tomorrow. We’ll make a decision, and then we can go back home. Any objections?”

Nopony spoke up.

“Alright. Rarity?”

“Tomorrow, of course.”

“Rainbow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

“Pinkie Pie?”

“I don’t know.” Pinkie sounded tense, and Twilight was reminded of how little she had said throughout all this. “You guys decide.”

“AJ?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Uhm, I think we should go right now.”

“Spike?”

“Right now.”

“Vi?”

“Right now.”

“Three for three,” Rainbow said, “Twilight?”

“Tomorrow,” Twilight decided. “I haven’t forgotten that you were right the last time you suspected something, Vi. Maybe you’re right again. But that’s why we’ll go tomorrow. One more day won’t make the difference.”

“Very well then.” Rarity slid off the log, and Twilight could see her shuddering immediately. “Can we go back now, please?”

“Let’s.” Twilight cast a light, faint but still bright enough for her to see the silhouettes of the other girls. She curled the blanket up into a ball, floating it beside her. An odd sight, no doubt, but it was probably too dark for anypony else to even see what it was.

As the only one who had been here before, Twilight took charge, leading the group at a quick pace. No-one said a word while they headed back to Castle Grounds. Twilight involuntarily winced as she spotted a guard, but he didn’t even say anything, merely giving her a nod as they passed by. Presumably, they had just gone out and stayed a bit late, which was probably nothing unusual.

She breathed a silent sigh of relief as they entered their room, and a feeling of safety took hold as she turned on the light. Rarity immediately made for the bathroom, followed closely by Applejack.

Twilight gave her blanket a sad glance. She clearly wasn’t very good at this; anyone watching would notice immediately that something was off. Perhaps if that someone was only listening, then there might have been a point to the maneuver they’d pulled, but Twilight doubted they’d be able to pretend for long. Sooner or later, one of them would slip and say something that would give them away.

She found herself regretting her decision already. They should have gone right away. But now it was too late. Now, the best way to avoid slipping up would be to avoid talking altogether. If they went straight to sleep, then perhaps, somepony listening in on them might actually be fooled.

Twilight lifted the blanket up in her magic, did her best to shove off the dirt, then simply crawled into bed, spreading it out above her. She knew that she wasn’t clean herself, that she’d get dirt onto the sheets this way, and that she ought to take a shower first, but she really didn’t care. Right now, the only thing that mattered was for this whole mess to be cleaned up tomorrow.

Twilight opened her eyes.

It was bright, the sun had already been risen. Suddenly, she remembered a snippet of her dream, a scene of them all going out to find the elements to defeat Nightmare Night, only this time, her feeling had been that they were going to fail...

She rolled around. Vi was lying in bed, reading a book. When she noticed Twilight moving, she looked up.

“Morning,” she said, quiet so as not to wake the others.

“Morning,” Twilight responded. She was about to say something about Cadence and Shining, only to remember that they weren’t supposed to talk here. Now, in the comfort of her bed, that seemed like a silly idea, and she was tempted to simply break it. But before she could decide, Vi floated a folded piece of paper over to her. Realizing that caution would have won out anyway, Twilight unfolded it and read.

I don’t think we’ll do very well acting as if everything is normal. We should avoid talking, just get up and tell Princess Celestia now.

You should wake the others. Perhaps make up a reason for why we should visit her (say a guard asked you to last night?). Or say we should go on with our regular duties and just tell them to come along and lead them there.

btw: Applejack is awake.

She turned around, looking at the third row of beds. Sure enough, Applejack was awake. Still lying in bed, she noticed Twilight looking, giving her a nod.

Twilight mirrored the gesture, then looked back at Vi. For a few seconds, she contemplated asking for a quill. Instead, she got out of bed in a swift motion.

“We should get up,” she announced in a loud voice. “These two will probably need a while,” she added towards the filly, nodding to the two beds beside them. “With how much they’ve been drinking, they must have some kind of a hangover.”

Vi looked worried, and also a bit upset. Meanwhile, less-than-enthusiastic noises could be heard coming from the other beds. Rarity had had quite a bit to drink also, and Twilight knew that she wasn’t exactly a morning pony. Once again, the filly’s plan to go right now might have been smart, but wasn’t practical. It would take ten more minutes, at least... but ten minutes later, Rarity declared that she still needed to use the bathroom before going out, which was only built for two ponies at a time and was presently still occupied by Pinkie and Rainbow.

At least none of them had slipped up and talked about their plans yet.

Twilight threw a glance towards Vi, and received another worried look in return. Well... but it was unlikely that those extra minutes would matter. It was-

There was a knock on the door.

“... Come in,” Twilight called, and Cadence walked into the room.

Author's Note

... part 3 coming soon ...

Chapter VIII (part 3)

There was a shift going through reality, as if somepony had flipped a switch. Suddenly, Twilight found herself not in control anymore, but standing in a building she barely knew, facing somepony who for all she knew might want to kill her. She could feel the seconds creeping by while she was doing nothing, painfully aware of how obvious it would be to Cadence that they knew something was off.

Why hadn’t they listened to Vi? Why hadn’t she listened? She had thought it wouldn’t matter. But it had mattered, and now it was too late.

Everyone in the room was deadly silent. That was, everyone except Cadence.

“Is something wrong?” She asked, sounding surprised. “Did something happen, Twilight?”

“No,” she could hear Vi say, “everything’s fine.”

... Vi had lied.

And for a few seconds, that was all Twilight could think. It was as though a law of nature had just been violated.

“... Yeah,” she eventually stuttered, “everything’s okay. Are you coming to get us?”

“I... am,” Cadence said slowly. She shook her head. “Twilight, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Twilight and Applejack said simultaneously.

“Can you teleport?” Vi’s voice whispered. Twilight hadn’t even realized that the filly had climbed out of her bed and was now standing beside her.

“Only myself,” she replied, but Cadence was standing just two steps to the side, and Twilight had spoken so quietly that she had no idea whether the filly had understood...

“Twilight,” Cadence repeated, “you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Didn’t you hear Applejack?” Twilight held against her, saying the first thing that came to mind. “Element of honesty?” Halfway through, she realized two things. One, she was still trying to pretend, and two, it would never work. “She said everything’s fine, and she wouldn’t lie, would she? Right?”

“Twilight, there has been a threat made against the city,” Cadence said, and she didn’t sound threatening, only worried. “There is a large forcefield covering all of Canterlot, in case you haven’t noticed. Shining is worried, and I know Celestia is worried, too. And now you’re acting like you’ve seen a ghost. I need you to tell me what’s going on.”

“No point,” Vi said. “Stop trying, Twilight. Cadence, can you prove that you are the real Cadence?”

Before Cadence could answer, the door to the bathroom was opened, and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie stepped outside. One look onto their faces made it clear that they had overheard the conversation. Rainbow walked across the room in quick steps, positioning herself next to Twilight.

Cadence’s gaze trailed between them. Was it... surprised? Calculating? Afraid? Twilight wasn’t sure.

When she spoke, it was slowly, as if she was carefully pondering every word.

“You want me to prove that I’m not somepony else?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, “yes, we do.”

“Okay. You can ask me something that only I could know.”

“Um...” Even though it was an obvious idea, Twilight had nothing prepared, but it wouldn’t be hard to come up with something. “... at what age did we first meet? How old was I?”

“Two.”

“Okay. True. When is my birthday?”

“It’s... May twenty-sixth.”

“Also true. And... and at what time did you always come to our place?”

“That was...” Cadence’s voice trailed off, and a small frown formed on her brow. “We didn’t have a fixed time, did we?”

“No.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, though her heart didn’t seem to have gotten the message quite yet. “No, we didn’t. Okay. You’re you.”

“Yes, I am. Now, will you tell me what’s going on?”

“I probably just made a big fool out of myself,” Twilight murmured, but compared to how she had felt a few seconds ago, that prospect now seemed fairly harmless in comparison. “Shining Armor has been acting strange towards Fluttershy, and we thought... uhm, this might sound extreme, Cadence, I’m sorry. But... we thought there might be something wrong with him, and perhaps... perhaps you were the reason.”

Cadence’s reaction was not what Twilight had anticipated. She took another step into the room, and for a moment, Twilight was convinced that she was evil after all, that she had found some way to answer Twilight’s questions even though she wasn’t real, and that she was just about to drop her façade and-

“Shining has been acting weird? How?”

Twilight couldn’t talk. Her nerves were running on overdrive, and she wasn’t sure what sound would come out of her mouth if she opened it now.

“He’s kicked me,” Fluttershy said, now walking towards Cadence. “He was checking on how I’ve been doing with the choir, and suddenly, I was even looking at him when it happened, he kicked me.” She tilted her leg to show Cadence the spot. “You can still see it. It really hurt. And it was so... unlike him, and afterwards, he didn’t apologize or explain anything, and while it happened, for a moment, he looked really weird, and... and... I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t say anything either, and we... I mean us here, we just... we thought that might mean...” Her voice trailed off.

But Cadence didn’t laugh, didn’t sound relieved, didn’t provide an explanation.

“He’s done something... similar, a few days ago,” she said instead. “We were at dinner, after work. I wasn’t looking at him when it happened, but I heard him scream. But it didn’t even last a second, and then he looked at me and said he’d dozed off and imagined something. It was odd, but I didn’t think too much of it.”

“So it’s him,” Rainbow asked, “him, not you?”

“We never concluded it was Cadence who was controlling him,” Vi reminded her. “That was just one theory.”

“I don’t think anyone is controlling anypony,” Cadence replied. “I live with him, remember? He hasn’t been acting differently, aside from that one time. It was probably just a side-effect of his spell.”

“But side-effects don’t work like that,” Twilight said quietly. “I’ve overworked myself dozens of times. You get headaches, you get tired, but you don’t hallucinate. You certainly don’t lose control over your body, not even for just a second.”

Cadence gave Twilight a thoughtful glance. “You know more about this than I do... I’ve never really pushed myself too far with a spell.”

“Let’s just get Shining,” Vi said. “Cadence. We should notify Princess Celestia, get Shining here, have her check everyone, and then we’ll see if something’s wrong or not.”

“Yes,” Cadence said numbly, “yes, you’re right. Let’s do that. Come on.”

She pulled the door back open, and Twilight, Vi, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, and Pinkie Pie all followed her outside. Through the hallway, onto the courtyard, and towards the castle.

“Iron Lance!” Cadence called towards the first guard they saw. “Where is Shining Armor?”

The guard turned around, taking off his helmet as they approached.

“Princess. Twilight. I have not seen the captain today, princess. But he should be on duty, guarding the walls on the south entrance.”

“Thank you,” Cadence said, “come on, girls!”

Cadence broke into a gallop, and the others followed suit. Soon, they were at the spot they had arrived at the day before, and just like then, at least half a dozen guards were stationed here now.

“Everypony!” Cadence demanded. “Where is Shining Armor?”

“He is at the south entrance, princess,” the closest guard replied. “Do you want me to call him?”

“Yes! Yes, I do. Tell him I want to see him immediately.”

Three of the guards saluted and galloped off.

“If I may... princess,” Rarity said, panting for breath. “I don’t think I have been to the... south entrance. How far is it?”

“Only a minute,” said Cadence, “they’ll be back in no time.”

And they were.

“The captain is not on his position, princess.”

Twilight could feel a bag of ice falling into her stomach.

“He’s not-...” Cadence appeared to feel similarly. “Well, then what are you waiting for?! SEARCH FOR HIM! All of you! Ask everypony you see! Search the castle! Tell Celestia! Find him!”

“Y-yes, princess. At once, princess. You heard her!” The guard turned around, snapping at the others, “The captain is missing! Find him!”

But Shining Armor remained missing.

It was half an hour later. They were gathered in the throne room, once more facing the ruler of Equestria. Cadence had told her everything that had taken place this morning, and Twilight had added in the rest, including their trip to the lake at midnight on the day before, what they had concluded, and what they had decided to do.

Seconds passed by, while Celestia’s mane swung softly in the non-existent wind.

“Please wake up Princess Luna,” she said eventually, addressing one of the two guards in the room. “Tell her what has happened and that she is to meet with Cadence and the others in her chambers.”

The guard saluted and walked off immediately.

“Have you searched for him with all personnel we have?” she asked the other one.

“Yes, your highness. We have covered the Castle grounds, and have extended our search to the other royal buildings. He was present an hour ago, but no-one has seen him disappear.”

“I see... thank you.” She turned towards the group. “Shining Armor appears to be taken from us,” she said, and any hopes Twilight might still have held that she would magically solve everything disappeared in an instant. “We will try our best to find out what happened, and to get him back.” She walked down the stairs, halting in front of them. “This must not be disclosed to the public. We will decide how we announce it in good time. Cadence, I am sorry I have let this happen under my watch. I hope you can accept my apology. Regardless, I must ask that you discuss further details with Princess Luna. For now, I need to talk to Twilight and Vi. Everyone else, please leave the room. Gold Plates, please escort them to my sister’s chambers.”

It was unlike Celestia to give orders with such rigidness, and perhaps that was the reason that nopony even questioned her decisions. Twilight and Vi exchanged glances, both of them looking equally confused and equally frightened.

As everyone had left, and the big doors to the throne room had closed, Celestia gave a very long sigh.

“I feared of this,” she said, now in a different tone. “Twilight, I want you to know that what happened is my fault, first and foremost, and you would be unwise to blame it on anyone else.”

“Your fault, princess?” Twilight whispered. “But why?”

“Because had I told you before what I will tell you now, none of this might have happened. Instead, I decided to trust things would work out regardless – and in doing so, I brought much greater harm upon us. Please, do not ask further questions, Twilight. I will explain, and you will understand everything.”

She took a deep breath, then she turned towards the filly.

“Vi,” she said, and in doing so emphasized the word in a strange way, “Luna is guarding the dreams of everypony in Equestria. Every single one. The moment a pony steps beyond the veil of dreams, her mind is an open book to my sister. And yet, she has never seen yours until four months ago. Whoever you are, you were not born here. You must either be from Medonia, or from Lûn.”

“Lûn,” Vi said quietly.

“Then I am even more impressed than I was before. A traveler, or a group of travelers, crosses the Red Planes about once every other year, but far fewer make it through the Shrouded Forest. You are the first since Luna has returned to my side, and you are the youngest pony ever make it here on her own. Unless you have been with others who haven’t finished their journey.”

“No,” Vi murmured, “just me.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said to her, “I should have known that Luna would notice, but I... it just didn’t cross my mind. I swear. I’m sorry.”

Vi briefly looked at her, nodded, then turned back towards the princess.

“You think me naive,” Celestia said. It was a statement, not a question.

“I thought you must either be naive or playing us,” Vi replied. “I didn’t know which of those two it was.”

“It was neither. I had no hidden plan, but neither was I unable to think of the apparent weaknesses in my response.” She made a pause, and her voice changed to a more compassionate tone. “... I was once like you, my little pony. Cunning. Planning. Always trying to outsmart my enemies. Tell me, have you read the history of Canterlot?”

“Most of it.”

“Then you have read how I defeated Nightmare Moon. How I prevented conflict with the Minotaurs from escalating. How I defeated Discord, the most powerful being in this world... twice. How I have driven out the changeling queen. Beat Tirek. How, under my rule, this kingdom has lasted for five-thousand years to date. Tell me, how have I done this? How have I won again and again, even though it appears I am no smarter than my opponents?”

“I don’t know, your highness. The books didn’t give me an answer. Maybe you had plans that were kept secret, plans that didn’t make it in the books?”

“Fair guess,” Celestia said, “but I didn’t.”

“... then... Twilight and I talked about this once... perhaps... the universe itself... is biased in your favor. Is that it?”

Twilight was looking at her mentor, who slowly bowed her head.

“Yes. It is the world itself that is on my side. To protect my subjects from evil, what I need is not to be cunning, but to be good. To have a kingdom where nopony is starving, where everyone gets help if they need it. To lead an empire that only ever fights to protect itself. An empire whose only reaction when faced with a threat is a simple defensive measure. The shield might not protect us, but my narrative will. Whoever we have been facing, and however smart her schemes might have been, they would all have failed, because nature itself would have crossed their plans. Unless...”

“Unless we mess it all up by doing schemes ourselves,” Vi finished her sentence, and Celestia nodded.

“But we didn’t have any bad intentions!” Twilight protested. “All we did was trying to figure out how to... to stay safe. To protect ourselves. That’s all you wanted, right, Vi?”

“Yes,” Vi said, “yes, I wanted to do the right thing. But I guess it’s not so much about intentions as it is about looks? The simple is rewarded? Or perhaps even naivité?”

“Imagine a children’s story,” Celestia said. “The villain threatens the city, using schemes and treachery. The heroes band together, defending their home in good faith. The heroes will win, every time. But when you go out at night, scheming on your own...”

“But why?!!” Twilight’s gaze flipped between Cadence and Vi. “Why would the world work this way? That’s... that’s... that’s... stupid!”

Celestia looked at her.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I am old, Twilight, and I could tell you more about history than anypony else. But as for the why... why the world works the way it does... I have no idea. I have no idea who is writing the rules. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Will knowing about this hurt our narrative?” Vi asked carefully.

“Telling you about this is what I fear will hurt,” Celestia said quietly. “Mere thoughts do not seem to matter... when I followed the rules as I understood them, thinking of my own actions as silly has never seemed to reduce their effect. And effective it is. I have come out victorious in situations that would seem hopeless to a bystander.”

“I am... very sorry,” Vi murmured, “about my role in this. I didn’t know.”

“Like I said,” Celestia repeated, “I am to blame for this, not you. I understand everything you did, and I know that all of it was only to help. I should have told you, and I didn’t. I am responsible for what has happened to Shining, and whatever might happen to him in the future, if it has not already. Nonetheless...” Her voice got firm. “... you know it now, and I trust that you will act on it in the future.”

“I will. As well as I can. I promise.”

Twilight just nodded.

“Who do you think took him?” Vi asked. “Shining Armor?”

“Canterlot has many enemies...” Celestia said vaguely. “We don’t yet know who did it.”

“Do you think we’ll get him back?”

“I hope so. We will follow any lead we have.”

Twilight’s eyes trailed between the two, her left eye twitching.

“And what will happen to me? I came into Equestria uninvited, after all.”

“Anypony is welcome,” Celestia declared. “I am happy that you chose to live here, and I hope that, in time, you’ll trust me enough not to fear I might oppose your stay. Twilight, will you still let Vi live in the library after today?”

“Uhm... yes.”

“Then, from now on, you can consider yourself not just a citizen of Equestria, but a citizen of Ponyville.”

“Thank you, princess. There is... one more thing I want to ask of you.”

“Yes?”

“You know more than I do. If my request is foolish, please don’t think poorly of me.”

“Ask away, please.”

“The rules we all must follow... I aspire to learn them better, so it will help me make wiser decisions in the future.”

The silence that followed after these words was palpable. For over ten seconds, Celestia just stood there, looking at the filly in thought. But eventually, she nodded.

“I will write you a summary,”

“Thank you.”

“What happens now?” Twilight asked after a brief pause. “There’s no wedding anymore, so...”

Celestia bowed her head. “It would not be wise for you to stay in Canterlot for longer. Luna and I will organize the search for Shining Armor. For now, all you can do is to go on with your life. If you and your friends don’t mind, Twilight, I will organize for the train to take you back to Ponyville within the hour.”

Twilight nodded. “Okay. ... Where are the other girls... and Spike?”

“They are with Luna. Come.” Celestia made for a door at the side, and Twilight and Vi followed. “I will take you to her, afterwards you can go back to your room and prepare for your ride back home. Oh, and...” She turned around. “I trust both of you with what I told you today. But knowledge can be a burden...”

Twilight sighed. This was going to make things so much more complicated...

“We won’t put it on others who don’t need to know,” Vi said, and Celestia nodded.

“Do as you think is best. Like I said...” She opened the door, leading them into a section of the castle which Twilight hadn’t been in since she had moved, “... I trust you to make your own decisions.”

Author's Note

“Look.” Rarity pointed upwards. Following the direction with her gaze, it took Twilight a few seconds to see what she was staring at.

There, surrounded by endless blue, was a lone comet, slowly sailing across the sky. The sight wiped the food from her mind immediately, and left her staring at the sight in fascination.

“Strange... there have been no comet showers sche-”

But the words got stuck in her throat as she saw the second and third comet emerging. There were three, and then there were four, and then seven, and then more than she could count. Single, white lines against the heaven, all flying in the same direction and gradually, gradually increasing in size.

The sight was unlike anything she had ever laid eyes on before, a beauty that was as majestic as it was ephemeral. A hundred lines, a thousand lines, slowly, slowly sailing across the horizon. Twilight could feel the tears coming out of her eyes before she registered the fear. But then everything was drowned in fear. She wanted to wake up, to understand why it was just a spectacle, and she wanted the world to slow down, to give her time to understand.

“Twilight, what is happening?”

Around the outlines of the first comet, barely visible to the naked eye, emerged a few, tiny sparks of fire. And Twilight knew what would happen next. For a few seconds, just a few seconds, the other comet began to erupt sparks, piercing dots of orange into the blue, until it spread matter of moments, lighting the entire sky on fire, drowning everything in a light that was too bright to see.

“Take my hoof,” Twilight shouted, and it was the last thing she could say a sea of screams emerged around them. It took two, three seconds, then she could feel the grasp of a limb around her own, squeezing it so hard that it hurt.

Blinded by the light that came through her closed lids, Twilight wrapped her other hoof up around her eyes, turning the color of the world from white to a bright red. There was no seeing, or hearing, or feeling. The only sense that was left to her was through the magical plane, and so she threw her mind outward, constructing a colorless image of the chaos around her.

Chapter XII

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing this letter knowing I won’t be able to send it to you after I’m done. If we fail, it might never make its way into your hooves, or perhaps only long after our defeat. I hope Equestria still stands if that happens, and that one day it will be restored to its former glory.

The elements of harmony might be the only weapon we have left. It is only due to your wisdom and foresight that they are now in my possession, otherwise, our situation would look even more dire. Princess, I will do my best to unite all six bearers, and together, we will use the elements to banish this evil once again. If at the time you read this, Discord is still in power, then you know that, at least, we tried.

This may be the last letter I am ever writing to you.

In love and adoration

Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight gave a deep sigh after she was done, even covering her eyes for a moment.

“Do you want to add anything, Spike?” she asked from behind her hoof.

“Add? Like... what?”

“Perhaps just your name,” Vi suggested, her voice less steady than normally. “It’s like Twilight said. This might be the last time you get to write to the princess.”

“Uh... okay.” Spike picked his quill back up, but before he could put its tip onto the paper, everything suddenly turned dark, save for the sliver of moonlight which was now piercing through the window.

“I’ll just add ‘and Spike’ at the end,” the dragon said as Twilight turned on the light. “... got it. It’s ready.”

“I’m glad. It’s good that you also get to say goodbye, Spike. Well...” She took a deep breath. Now we have to leave it here.” Twilight looked around, as if thinking about this for the first time. “Where should we put it?”

“It has to be a place that Discord won’t find,” Vi said, “but which Celestia will find if she comes looking for it. Perhaps somewhere that has symbolic value to both of you... that Discord doesn’t know about.”

“I know,” Twilight breathed, lifting the letter out of Spike’s grasp with her magic. “Come with me.”

She led them downstairs, into the main room of the library. After just a few moments, she pulled a book out of its shelf.

“This was Celestia’s first gift to me,” she said quietly, letting a few moments pass while she glanced at the cover. “The secrets of levitation. She will... know that this is a place to hide something. I’ll put the letter in here. It’s the perfect place.”

“Alright,” Vi said as soon as the book was put back on its shelf, “we should get going. The longer we wait, the more chance Discord has to figure out what’s coming for him.”

“Yes,” Twilight said in agreement, “yes, let’s go. But be careful outside, we don’t know what obstacles we’ll meet. Other ponies might have already been corrupted, and won’t be themselves anymore. Don’t get distracted, just go to where you want as quickly as possible.”

“Wait,” Vi said as Twilight was about to open the door, “we should decide how to do this first. I think we need to split up.”

“You’re right. Spike, can you go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack? That way you won’t have to go through town.”

“Really? Can’t you teleport, Twilight?”

“Discord has removed every anchor I had set up. I renewed the one at the library, but nowhere else. Please, Spike? Can you do this?”

“Okay...”

“Vi, can you get Rainbow Dash?”

“Leave it to me! I’ll go around town, too, to be safer.”

“Right. And I’ll go get the other three. I’ll have to go directly through Ponyville, but I can use magic and short-range teleportation if I have to. I’ll get Fluttershy first, and pick up the others on the way back.”

“Alright then,” Vi said, “let’s do this!”

“Uh... guys?” Spike’s gaze bounced between them. “A-are you sure about this?”

“Oh, Spike. I know you’re scared! But we have to do this. Gathering everypony together is the only way to use the elements of harmony.”

“I know! It’s just... is this really the best way to-”

“Spike,” Vi cut her off, “we have to do this. Can we count on you?”

“Uh... if you both think so... okay, I guess.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, “that’s very brave of you.” Outside, the sun did a momentary rise, causing the world to change from dark to bright and back to dark again in a matter of seconds. “Then let’s do it. For Equestria!”

She opened the door. Even in the relative darkness, the change that Ponyville had undergone was impossible to miss: the house closest to the library was levitating directly above ground... upside down.

“It’s bright enough to see,” Twilight whispered. “Spike, go this way. Vi, you should head for the train station, go across the rails, and make an arc around town. I’ll go straight through.”

“We’ll meet up at the library,” Vi whispered. “Good luck, everyone.”

“Good luck,” Twilight whispered back, then she took off, quickly disappearing out of sight.

“Come on,” Vi said to Spike, “we’ll go the opposite way.”

“Vi...” Spike began as they both headed out of town. Here, the landscape looked considerably more normal. “You seem... different.”

Vi halted in her tracks, turning towards the dragon.

“I know, Spike. I know. But trust me. I’m doing the best I can. I promise.”

“Okay...”

They walked together in silence until the train station came into view.

“Alright. Just go left from here, Spike, until you cross the river. Try to sneak past the school. After that, I think it’s fine if you use the main road. Get Applejack directly to the library. You’ll probably be the first one back, so just stay there and close the door.”

“Okay...”

“Good luck, Spike,” Vi said, and before he could respond, she was gone.

With the dragon out of sight, Vi sped up her pace, aiming to cross the rails in a reasonable distance to the station’s platform. Just a few seconds later, however, the sun rose up once again, revealing the station to be entirely deserted, causing the filly to instead make a beeline for the platform, crossing it directly.

During the next fifteen minutes, the sun repeated its cycle three more times. All the while, Vi continued her journey around Ponyville, trying to keep the town at a steady but safe distance. While it was dark, she would wander off course a bit, but never enough to lose sight of her target or to get close enough to draw attention. Occasionally, random surges of light could be seen from town, giving her an opportunity to adjust her course.

Before long, Vi closed in on her destination, but when she did so, two things became readily apparent: one, Rainbow Dash wasn’t home, and two, Discord had already seen it fit to give this place his personal touch. Standing on the ground in momentary darkness, all that Vi could discern was a bizarre entanglement of moving streams of glowing, rainbow-colored something. It looked as if Discord had made a literal substance out of a rainbow, perhaps turned it into a liquid which somehow reflected all of its original colors as it was moving.

When the sun finally rose, it only made the structure look even more absurd. What had once been a beautiful home now no longer even resembled something which a pony could live in; it was an utterly chaotic constellation with dozens of gaps at seemingly random places where the rainbow was seeping through, and some that it poured out of or in... and Vi just stood there, witnessing the absurdity taking place in front of her eyes. Then, as if to spare her the sight, the sun decided to cut its cycle short, and Vi took this as her cue to turn around and finally head straight towards town.

Vivid screams greeted her ears as she was approaching Ponyville. Their source turned out to be a zonular structure of massive proportions, a sort of wheel but without spokes. It was spinning, seemingly on its own accord, and attached to its inner side were a dozen transparent cabins. Three of them were occupied by one pony each, at least two of which audibly horrified, but there seemed to be no way for them to escape. Through means impossible to decipher, the wheel itself was omitting light, enough for somepony to watch the involuntary spectacle. Instead, Vi only sped up her pace as she continued on her way forward.

While the area outside of town had been largely unchanged, its insides had undergone a radical transformation. At least two third of all buildings had been altered in some way or another, each one with its own unique absurdities. Some were hovering above ground, some were upside-down, some were spinning, some emitting sounds. One house was pouring solid clouds out of its chimney, another had been transformed to resemble facial features, and could be heard breathing as Vi made her way past it. So many things were lit up that it was never too dark to see.

Then the sun rose back up, and now Vi could see other ponies, too. Despite what Twilight had said, none of them appeared to pose an immediate threat: most just seemed to be trying to make sense of their new circumstances. Some were clearly afraid, horrified even, that their normal life had been stripped away; others seemed merely annoyed, perhaps trusting that none of the changes would be permanent, that the elements would defeat the one pulling the strings, just like they had done last time. Some were talking to each other, others seemed to want to hide but couldn’t or didn’t want to enter their now inhospitable homes. Others still appeared to be enjoying themselves, like one mare who was laughing while a plant in her own garden was showering her with water. One thing nopony was showing, however, was any sign of a direct influence on her mind.

Vi looked around while she was moving, making sure to keep an eye out in all directions, including above, but Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. Even as she finally arrived back at the library, only half of the elements, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity, were waiting for her.

“Twilight!” Vi called, breaking into a full gallop to bridge the distance between them as quickly as possible. “Rainbow Dash isn’t home. And her home isn’t even a home anymore. I have no idea where she went.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Twilight replied, “but that’s bad news. She wasn’t there last time, either. I hope Discord didn’t get to her again.”

“But we need her to use the elements of harmony!” Rarity exclaimed. “Twilight, what do we do?”

“I don’t know. We have to find her. But we’re also missing Pinkie Pie, and we need Spike to come back with Applejack. Only when we’re all together can the elements work.”

“Okay...”

At once, all heads turned into the direction of the voice. A moment later, there was a puff, and Discord himself materialized out of thin air.

“... are you guys serious?!”

“Discord!” Twilight spat. “What have you done to-”

“Oh, shut your mouth, Twilight!” Discord clicked his claws, and at once Twilight was pulled upwards, bringing her face-to-face with the draconequus. “You promised me you’d make this interesting! Interesting, Twilight! Is this your idea of interesting? Trying the same thing you did last time? And to think I judged you a worthy opponent!”

“Let her go!” Vi shouted.

Discord turned towards her.

“And you... I may be even more disappointed in you than I am in Twilight. You know what?” He snapped his fingers again, causing both Twilight and Rarity to be pulled into a cage of glass that had appeared in front of him, hovering several yards above ground. Rarity’s screams were quickly cut off as, with yet another snap, a final wall was added, trapping both mares inside. A third snap, and a giant boulder appeared above the prison, slowly moving downward.

“Explain to me what you were thinking, Vi, and better come up with a good story, because otherwise-”

“You won’t do it! You don’t kill ponies!”

Discord’s body bent downward in an impossible manner so that he was face to face with the filly.

“I don’t kill ponies, you say? Listen up, child, for this is the truest thing I’ve ever said to you: you cannot even begin to imagine just how bored I am this time. Don’t be fooled by whatever Twilight has told you. That was then, this is now. So try me.”

VI was eyeing the boulder as it was moving closer towards the cage, until it had crossed at least half of the distance. Fluttershy’s gaze was likewise directed at the object, horror written all over her face.

“Alright,” Vi finally said, and when she did, both her voice and her expression changed. “Alright. Fine. We were trying to have a good narrative. Okay?”

“Narrative?” Discord asked, his menacing tone now replaced by genuine confusion. “What do you mean?”

“We were trying to look as heroic as possible, hoping that would make everything work out. You know, going for the universe’ bias.”

“Ohhhh.” With a snap, the boulder disappeared. “I see... and you really thought that would work, did you?”

“No. But do you have a better idea?”

“I suppose not...” He didn’t sound angry anymore as he said this, his tone was now difficult to decipher. “To tell you the truth, VI, I had actually forgotten that I even added this little quirk.”

“You added it?” Vi echoed. “You gave the universe a childish sense of justice? Why?”

“I thought it was funny,” Discord replied, giving the word a strange emphasis. “It would never work to defeat me – but I can hardly blame you for trying, now can I? You know what? I still can’t say that you were particularly entertaining, but I suppose you did the best you could.”

With another click of his claws, Twilight was teleported back onto the ground,

“What about Rarity?” Vi asked, confirming with a glance that the fashionista was indeed still trapped.

“Cut me a bit of slack here, alright?”

“Slack?” Twilight echoed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that the fashion pony is terribly annoying, Twilight. Admit it or not, but we both know it’s true.”

“We do not!” Twilight spat. “And how are we supposed to use the elements of harmony without her?”

“Why, how indeed,” Discord said sarcastically. “Whatever makes you think that I want you to use the elements, Twilight?”

“You said you wanted us to have a real shot! How are we going to have a chance without the elements?”

“That’s what I want you to figure out yourselves. Jeez, Twilight! I’m beginning to suspect your little friend here really has more in her than you do. For your information, I wasn’t even intending to leave Rarity in there for longer than a few hours. Now... I think I’ll still release her, but I’ll change her personality when I do. She’ll be just like last time! Won’t that be fun?”

Twilight’s eyes were shooting daggers at him, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Oh, don’t look so grim, Twilight. If you try hard enough, I’m sure you can turn her back to normal again... though, between us, I’m not sure that it’s worth the effort.” He didn’t sound malicious, but there also was no sign of empathy in his tone, and if anything, Twilight’s anger merely seemed to amuse him. “Even you have to admit that she was far more entertaining in her greedy form... well, in any case, you two better go and come up with something more interesting now, you hear? And Twilight, just in case you haven't realized...” Although he was already walking away, another head of his popped up out of nowhere next to Twilight, finishing his sentence for him: “... nothing about this is meant to be fair.”

Author's Note

[...] You could put together any kind of mind, including minds with properties that strike you as very absurd. You could build a mind that would not deceive you; you could build a mind that maximizes the flourishing of a happy intergalactic civilization; you could build a mind that maximizes paperclips, on purpose; you could build a mind that thought that 51 was a prime number, but had no other defect of its intelligence—if you knew what you were doing way, way better than we know what we’re doing now.

Chapter X

“You’re getting too much pushback. Focus more on resisting it.”

“You’re too loyal to your threads again. Give up on them sooner.”

“Too much pushback.”

“Just use the threads that are there. Stop being picky.”

“Too much pushback.”

“Too much pushback, Vi. We’ve been past this. You can do better. Resist it! Resist! Resist!”

It was three days since their trip to Canterlot. Vi was standing in the middle of the library’s upper floor and was literally grinding her teeth in effort. Her eyes were closed, her horn glowing brightly, and her face was slick wet with sweat.

“Yes, like that. Now- no loyalty to threads! Keep it like this. Hold on... now. Time to pull. Pull pull pull pull pull! Wait, work on your- yes, good. Pull. Pull! Good. A bit further. Stop holding on to threads! Ugh. Now res- good. Just a bit further. ... Okay, well done.”

The glow around the filly’s horn disappeared. She was panting, her eyes closed, her head hanging loose from her neck. With two subsequent poofs, Twilight made a trip downstairs, returning momentarily with a towel. Rather than taking it in her magic, Vi sat down to free up a hoof, which was still shaking as she took the item from Twilight.

Moving through the magical plane was like swimming through a river, without strokes, against the stream, and at the constant threat of sinking. To navigate, one had to pull on the aptly titled threads – little bits of free-flowing energy that constantly formed and deformed at random – whenever they were close, all the while applying extraordinary discipline to ‘resist’ the constant pull toward one’s physical location. Finally, one’s mind needed be kept in a particular state so as not to be pushed out of the plane entirely.

“You’re angry,” was the first thing Vi said, still holding on to the towel.

Twilight sighed in response.

“Sorry. I’m not angry at you.”

“I know.”

“It’s my fault,” Twilight pressed forth behind gritted teeth, “I made us wait. I knew we wouldn’t be able to pretend, and I just pushed the thought away. If you hadn’t done anything then I guess he’d be fine, but you couldn’t have known, and if I had listened to you he’d also be fine and I could have known.” She walked to the other side of the room but seemed to have no aim, turning around momentarily. “Vi, you have no idea how- or maybe you do but- if I was talking to anyone else – anyone – she’d have just said something to contradict me. But you didn’t. You agree. It is my fault. It is. I was... it’s... ugh. Fluttershy was smarter than me. She was... she listened to you... but if she hadn’t done anything we’d also be fine... if you hadn’t done anything he’d be fine... it’s so unfair!”

“It was unlucky,” Vi said quietly, “I agree that you made a mistake, but it was unlucky that it mattered so much. But what we learned is that we actually still have a large advan-”

“Yes, I know,” Twilight cut her off. “It better brings Shining back. We’ve been making more progress than I expected. You’re close to getting this right.”

Vi didn’t object to the abrupt change of topic, she just nodded.

“How was it to lie?” Twilight then asked, out of the blue. “When Cadence came into our room on the day Shining disappeared...”

“I remember.” Vi said nothing for a while, staring into the seemingly endless depths of one of Twilight’s bookshelves.

“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it... a lot... it was my first lie... ever.”

“Oh.”

“That’s the one thing I never wanted to do. You remember, on the day we met when you asked me about pride?”

“Yeah, I do. You said you have none.”

“I did, and I believed it, but it wasn’t true. I was proud. Of not having lied... ever. I was lucky that my parents drilled it into me from a young age. One of the earliest things I understood was that you shouldn’t lie. But now I have. Now ‘never’ is just ‘once’, and it didn’t even help.”

Twilight walked across the room to stand next to the filly.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me like you had to make a choice between the thing you care most about and what’s actually right, and you made the correct choice. Shouldn’t that-”

“I know. It was right to lie there. But... I just... I hoped... the situations where lying is actually good are so rare, I just hoped it wouldn’t happen to me. And now I can’t say ‘I’ve never lied before’-”

“You’ve never said that to me anyway.”

“Well... okay. But I can’t say it to myself anymore and see how dumb it is to have pride?”

Twilight snickered, but Vi didn’t seem to find it funny, so after just a few moments, she stopped.

“I feel so bad for Cadence,” she said instead, visibly shuddering.

“At least she held up well.”

“Yeah,” Twilight murmured, “she’s amazing. Who else would keep together so well if her husband was taken from her the day before their wedding! It’s so... cruel!”

Vi replied nothing. After some time, Twilight looked at her.

“What?”

“Uh... nothing important.”

Twilight sighed. “Vi...”

“Well, what you made me think is that you’re really not used to suffering.”

“I’m not-” She stopped. “Ah.” Then she laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, and it wasn’t one that Vi joined in, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

“You’re right,” she said eventually, as her laughing subsided. “You’re right. You’re right, Vi. We’re not used to suffering, Celestia be damned.”

“Well, it’s clearly her fault.”

“Yeah.” Twilight made another sound that could have been interpreted as a laugh, until she repeated it and it became clear that she was trying not to cry.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” she whispered, “if he doesn’t come back.”

Knock. Knock.

Vi wrote three more numbers into the matrix she was attempting to invert, then stood up to answer the door. A blue unicorn mare with a white mane and tail stood outside.

“How can I help you?” Vi asked politely.

The mare looked at her with apparent irritation.

“Who are you?”

“Call me ‘Vi’. I can assist you if you’re here to lend a book.”

“Is Twilight not living here anymore?”

“No, Twilight’s still living here,” Vi said, and without invitation, the unknown mare stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She looked at Vi with a frown, her expression somewhere between annoyed and angry.

“Are you her sister?”

“Hm. Probably not.”

“Probably? What do you mean, ‘probably not’?”

“Uh, well, Twilight has adopted me, but I think she’d consider me more of a sister-in-law than a daughter-in-law. We’re not biologically related, in any case. Listen, if you don’t need-”

“How old are you?” She asked, interrupting Vi once again.

“... ten. As of today.”

“Oh.” For some reason, this seemed to have thrown her off. “Uh... uhhm, happy birthday... Vi.”

“Thank you.”

The mare sighed. “Listen,” she said, “I need to talk to Twilight. Is she here?”

“Upstairs. So you’re not here to lend a book?”

“No.”

“Alright. In that case, I can get her for you. Please wait here.”

Vi made for the staircase, finding Twilight sitting on her desk, reading.

“Twilight?”

“Hm?”

“Somepony wants to talk to you. She said she’s not here to lend a book. I’ve never seen her before.”

Vi waited patiently while Twilight finished whatever section of her book she was immersed in.

“Alright,” she then murmured, putting a bookmark between the pages before she closed it. In a slower tempo, they made their way downstairs. When they reached the base of the staircase, a point from which one could see the entrance, Twilight suddenly froze. Vi took a few more steps before she turned around.

“What is it?”

“...”

“... Twilight?”

“Trixie!”

The pony in question stared at her from across the room, and this time, there could be no doubt that the look on her face was one of pure hostility.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked as she approached her.

Trixie took a deep breath.

“I came to demand an apology!”

Twilight did a double take.

“What?!”

“I demand an apology!” Trixie repeated in no uncertain terms.

“You’re rich! Why would I have to apologize to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Trixie began in what was clearly a long-awaited reply, “how about for ruining my reputation in half of Equestria? I thought you had only done it for Ponyville, but no! The Ponyville Press prints a story and it somehow reaches all the way to Las Pegasus! I couldn’t make a single bit after all this time of traveling there!”

“You brought that upon yourself, Trixie! You-”

“HOW?! How have I brought this upon myself, Twilight? How?”

“You showed off in front of everypony, and you brought an Ursa Minor-”

“I DID NOT BRING THE FUCKING URSA HERE,” Trixie screamed, making both Twilight and Vi wince backwards, “THOSE MORONS SNIPS AND SNAILS DID THAT!”

“B-but, you still showed off-”

“I WAS PUTTING ON A SHOW! A SHOW, TWILIGHT! SHOWING OFF IS WHAT I DO! IT’S MY TALENT! MY PROFESSION! MY DREAM! DO YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE TO EARN MONEY TO LIVE?”

Vi’s eyes darted to Twilight, who was standing there with her mouth half-opened, not moving an inch. But Trixie wasn’t done yet, she opened the pouch she was wearing, taking out a purse. She squeezed it tight with her magic, tighter than it would be possible if a lot were inside, then thrust it onto the ground. It made almost no sound.

“That’s what I have left,” she spat, “after selling my wagon. NOTHING!”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered. Her gaze was set onto the ground, her expression one of utter shock.

“Great! That doesn’t give me back my life!”

“Can I say something?” Vi asked carefully, as both of the adults remained silent. “Trixie?”

Trixie’s gaze, which had been fixated at Twilight the entire time, slowly wandered to the filly. “Uh. Yes?”

“Twilight actually has a lot of money. If what you say is true, I think she could compensate you for your financial losses.”

Something flickered in the showmare’s eyes. “Is that true?” She demanded.

“Yes.”

“And would you?”

“Y-yes.”

“How much have you lost?” Vi asked. “Based on reputational damage so far, and the cost of traveling here.” She thought for a moment. “And bad trades you had to make,” she added.

The time that passed in between Vi’s question and Trixie’s answer seemed to be too short for a proper calculation, but too long for a figure recited from memory.

“One-thousand-five-hundred,” Trixie declared.

“Obviously,” Vi said carefully as Twilight didn’t reply, “we shouldn’t rush to any conclusions. Why don’t we all sit down and-”

“I can’t,” Twilight interrupted her. “I don’t have the capacity to deal with this. Any of it. Vi, you can make whatever decision you think is best. Promise her money if you want. I’ll pay what you settle on. Just... ... whatever. Good luck, I guess.”

Poof.

“...”

“Her brother has vanished,” Vi said to Trixie. “But I can’t make an informed decision without having her side of the story, so... um... just... hold on.”

She opened the door, flipping the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed.’

“Her brother vanished?” Trixie repeated.

“Yes, Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard, has vanished in a conspiracy against Canterlot, and he hasn’t been found yet. That’s the state of public information. You... well, you came at a bad time.”

Trixie straightened up. “That’s not my fault,” she declared. “Twilight has ruined my life, perhaps this is just fair retaliation.”

“It’s... not... fair... retaliation,” Vi said slowly. “If the universe had a mechanism to punish ponies for harming each other, I really doubt it would do it in this way and while harming somepony who hasn’t done anything.”

“I... I wasn’t being literate.” Awkwardly, Trixie picked her crumbled purse back up. “So... what... now?”

“Let’s sit down,” Vi said, gesturing to the kitchen. “If Twilight doesn’t want to be bothered, then it’s better to get out of range. You should tell me what’s happened with an appropriate amount of detail. Please don’t leave out the parts that make you look bad.”

“I came to Ponyville peacefully,” Trixie recited, “to give my performance. It was the second time I had performed in Ponyville. Everypony liked it, except for Twilight and her friends! Rainbow Dash was the first to complain! Then Applejack came on stage too, and-”

“Hold on,” Vi interrupted. “Be more specific. A lot more specific. What did you say or do, and what did Rainbow Dash say or do? Be as specific as you can, and don’t leave out the other side. I will check with Twilight afterward, and it’s better if I hear everything from you.”

“... fine. Let’s see... I was just going through my usual program. But Twilight and her friends began bickering! Rarity was first! She complained that I was showing off! Showing off! In my show! How can somepony be this stupid? Then Rainbow Dash flew on stage! Just like that! I didn’t insult her! And she challenged me! She demanded to know what was special about me, so I gave one of my usual lines, that I once vanquished an Ursa Major all by myself. Then I-”

“Hold on,” Vi said again. “An Ursa Major? You didn’t do that, did you?”

“Of course not! It’s an act!”

“Right, but was everyone clear on that?”

“What do I know?!” Trixie sounded frustrated. “Everypony who’s not a total idiot would know.”

“... okay. I’m having a hard time being fair here. If there’s one thing you need to know about me it’s that I hate lying. But you’re making it sound like it’s normal in a performance. Are you sure that’s-”

“It’s... it’s... it’s the rural area, I think. If I would perform in Manehattan, nopony would make this mistake. Perhaps in Ponyville, ponies are more dense than that! But why is that my fault?”

“So it’s a communication problem,” Vi summarized. “Okay. What happened next?”

“I returned the challenge! I asked them to put their hooves where their mouths were! The orange one was the first to accept, but she was no match for the great and powerful Trixie! ... um, I have a collection of spells to show those kinds of ponies off. I didn’t hurt her, I just dealt with a haggler. In my way. Rainbow Dash tried the same, and I showed her off, too! Afterward, I even warned everyone to learn from her example. But this insufferable dragon kept insisting-”

“Trixie,” Vi interrupted, “please stop insulting other... ponies or dragons.”

“Trixie has a right to insult them!”

“Anypony has the right to insult anypony else,” Vi said impatiently, ”but it’s almost never a good idea.”

“It is if those ponies deserve it!”

“No, it’s not. You can take this moment as a demonstration. There is nothing to be gained by calling Spike insufferable, but there is a lot to lose. Spike is upstairs – he probably won’t be coming down because he must have heard you yelling, but if he did walk in on you, that could really hurt your cause. Whether it’s good to insult other ponies doesn’t depend on whether what you’re saying is true, it depends on whether it’s practical, and it usually isn’t.”

“Fine,” Trixie spat. “Then Spike kept saying that I wouldn’t be as strong as Twilight, while I was performing!”

“See,” Vi interrupted, “you’re being inconsistent. You claim to care just about truth, but what Spike said is also true, right? What he did is similar to what you’re doing when you’re insulting him. You can think he’s insufferable, and he can think Twilight is better, but that doesn’t excuse saying it. Even if it were true.”

The look on Trixie’s face made it clear that she didn’t appreciate where the conversation was going.

“So you agree,” she said after a moment, “that Spike shouldn’t have interrupted Trixie’s performance?”

“Yeah, I’d even agree that what he did was a lot worse.”

“Good. Well, this st- Rarity came on stage next. That was... laughable! She couldn’t do anything! But after I was done with her, Spike still kept saying how much better Twilight was than me! I clearly could not let it stand, so I challenged Twilight to show what she’s got-”

“Wait wait wait. You challenged Twilight? Are you crazy?”

“The great and powerful Trixie is not crazy!” Trixie spat. “And Twilight refused, anyway. Refused, and ran off. Which is terrible for publicity! A magic contest of any kind is a spectacle, but running made it look like it was my fault. My fault! All I did was react to bullies!”

“Okay,” Vi said. “Okay. So... well... even if all of that is true... Twilight didn’t actually... do anything... right? I don’t see what crime she committed. It’s not her fault if Spike is being insensitive.”

“Why not? It’s her pet dragon!”

“Mhhhgggnhhhh,” Vi made, “Trixie! That’s not a reasonable standard! Think about what... uhm... well, I don’t have a good example, but it’s obviously not going to get you far, if you think everyone is responsible for all the things that ponies they raised are doing. Is it your mother’s fault if you insult-”

“Whatever!” Trixie cut her off. “That’s not the real story! Snips and Snails – two ponies from here – they brought an Ursa Minor to Ponyville-”

“Well, that’s just... not even on the same scale with how stupid it is. That’s not about hurt feelings, that could actually kill ponies.”

“Indeed it could! It almost did! And it’s what they did. Not me, but them!”

“And they did it so you could demonstrate what you said in your performance.”

“Yes! Which is-”

“-incredibly stupid-”

“-laughable. Yes! And-”

“-Twilight had to deal with it because obviously, she’s the only one capable?”

“... yes,” Trixie admitted, “yes, that’s what happened. But that’s not the worst part! My wagon was destroyed by the Ursa, and-”

“I thought you had to sell it?”

“I had to sell my next one! First I had to buy it with what little I had saved!”

“I see. ... So what else happened?”

“What happened? I was being blamed! That’s what happened! Blamed for bringing the Ursa to Ponyville! The Ponyville Press even had an article about it!”

“And they reported that you-”

“‘Showmare brings Ursa to town, Twilight has to save her life!’”

“That was their headline?”

“Yes, it was! And ‘save’ was misspelled, too!”

“Why didn’t you demand they change-”

“Because I only read it weeks after I had to leave Ponyville in shame! I was already in Las Pegasus!”

“... okay. Hm. And was it really that bad for you?”

“Yes it was! It was! I was ruined! In Baltimare it was fine, but in Las Pegasus, they’d heard of it and it ruined my appearance, and in Dodge Junction-”

“Okay,” Vi cut her off, “I believe you. I don’t know most other places, so giving me more detail won’t help. But... provided what you said is accurate – and if you left something out, you should tell me – then – again – why are you angry at Twilight?”

“Why I am angry at Twilight?! Because she humiliated me!”

“... by dealing with the Ursa?”

“Exactly.”

“Nnnghhh... Trixie! Would you rather she did not deal with the Ursa?”

“... if you put it that way, no.”

“So in other words, she did nothing wrong?”

“She is the head of all of those... those element bearers! Rainbow Dash and Rarity and also Spike-”

“For Pete’s sake, stop blaming her for things other ponies did!”

“So you are putting it all on me?!”

“Of course not! Not if what you told me is true. Your life was substantially ruined, but it wasn’t by Twilight! I don’t understand why you don’t see that! Have you really had this anger all this time without ever thinking about it rationally?”

“I did not plan to put it all on Twilight,” Trixie admitted. “I meant to demand apologies from them all. But when Twilight began to blame Trixie, I snapped.”

“Yeah,” Vi said dryly, “I noticed. It seems obvious that her recollection of what happened wasn’t particularly good, either. But that’s in a different category to actually ruining your life! Twilight isn’t perfect, but she and Fluttershy are the most sane ponies I have ever met... in Ponyville. Anyway, it looks to me like Twilight didn’t even owe you an apology, let alone financial compensation.”

“So Trixie will get nothing?”

“Well, somepony clearly owes you something, it’s just not Twilight. Whoever decided to print the article which seems blatantly false deserves a big chunk of the blame. Her, and Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all have some dirt on their hooves.” Vi sighed. “If you want to hear what I think, Trixie, I think that in an ideal world, there would be a mechanism for you to sue them. Equestria seems pretty close to an ideal world to me, and if I understood correctly what Twilight taught me, I think you’re supposed to drag them to the mayor, who would then decide how much they owe you. But... I also think this is one candidate for the cases where the system might fail you. The problem is that Rarity... well, and Applejack too, perhaps even more so – that they have pretty good standing in Ponyville. You on the other hoof have pretty low standing. Or, rather, I mean, the pony who wrote the article is probably the one directly responsible for ruining your reputation... but I have no idea who that is... so, hm, I don’t know how promising that approach is. Maybe your idea of dealing with it privately is better... though, good luck getting Rarity to apologize. Though she really should. ... if your recollections are accurate. Um.” Vi made a pause, frowning. “Sorry, that was a bit of a mess. Did you get what I was trying to say?”

“You said that Rarity isn’t honest enough to apologize, and that the mayor will be on her side, too, so Trixie won’t be able to use the law, either!”

“N... no,” Vi protested. “No, that’s not what I said. I said I don’t know whether the legal approach will work. Maybe it would work. I didn’t ascribe poor judgment to the mayor. To Rarity, maybe. And Trixie, you reading this into my response doesn’t look good for the accuracy of your recollections.”

“If... if if, if somepony says that somepony else might not be fair to Trixie, then she won’t be fair to Trixie!” Trixie seemed upset. “Always! I was just being pessimistic. It’s not a bad thing to be pessimistic, not about other ponies. Not about other ponies in Ponyville! This does not impune on Trixie’s memory!”

“Okay,” Vi said, “maybe other ponies don’t say what they mean. If they talk about this stuff. But I do. Maybe other ponies’ judgment of how biased ponies are is skewed. But if I tell you that I don’t know whether the mayor would be fair to you, then that means that I don’t know whether the mayor would be fair to you. Okay?”

“Fine. But I’ll visit them privately anyway! Trixie is not in this for the money! I want apologies from Rarity and Rainbow Dash and what’s-her-name and also from Spike!”

“I... really don’t know about that last one. Spike is twelve years old. At the time this happened-”

“Aren’t you two years younger?” Trixie pointed out.

“The comparison to me really isn’t relevant.”

“If you say so.”

There was a bit of a pause, until Vi spoke up again.

“Okay, so – do you happen to have a copy of the article so I can see it myself?”

“I do!” Trixie pulled a badly beleaguered page out of her pouch, which had clearly been ripped out of a newspaper. She put it on the kitchen table, then failed at smoothing it out. “I’ve been holding on to this for a year!”

There was the headline, quoting what Trixie had said at verbatim: ‘Showmare brings Ursa to town, Twilight has to safe her life!’ Vi’s gaze trailed over the rest of the article, which was still just barely readable.

“No ambiguity here,” she concluded, folding it back in. “It says you summoned the Ursa, in no uncertain terms.”

“And it’s a lie!”

“Right. Hmm... I suppose I have to decide what to do with this now, don’t I?”

“It’s Trixie’s!”

“... the situation. Not the article. Although I would recommend leaving it here, because if it gets in any worse shape-”

“I won’t leave it with somepony else!” Trixie demonstrably pulled the newspaper closer to her. “It will be fine for a few more days.”

“Okay. Okay... I really need to talk to Twilight about this now. Will you wait here?”

“Wait here?” Trixie sounded uncomfortable. “I can talk to her myself!”

“I am trying to spare her that,” Vi stated bluntly.

“I... hmpff! Have it your way. Trixie will wait here.”

Vi left it at that, making her way upstairs while Trixie remained in the kitchen. Once there, she was greeted with an unusual sight: Spike, not Twilight, was sitting at the desk. Although he appeared to have read a comic, he was already looking up as the filly approached.

“Is she gone?”

“No. Where’s Twilight?”

Spike lifted a claw, pointing to the upper half of the room.

“You two deal with this,” he said abruptly. “I’ll go see what Rainbow’s up to.”

Vi stepped aside to let him use the staircase, then made her way to look for Twilight, finding her lying in bed, her head buried in her pillow.

“How’d it go?” She asked without looking up, her voice muffled.

“She told me her side of the story, and it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a reason to blame you, even if everything she said is true.”

Twilight’s head surfaced.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking that, too. But still, we... didn’t do her a favor. There was a newspaper article about it at the time, which claimed that Trixie was the one who brought the Ursa here, and she really wasn’t. I remember that I, I tried to correct the story, I remember that, but... I didn’t try very hard. And it was too late, anyway.”

“She has-” Vi began, but quickly broke off as Twilight continued.

“... This happened before you were here. Not everything was working out even before you made me use my head more.”

“Yeah, the universe won’t help you if you aren’t the good guys, and it seems like you weren’t. At least Rarity and AJ weren’t. And Rainbow Dash. Well... Trixie actually showed me the article. She still has a copy.”

“Oh. ... it must have really been hard for her.”

“Looks like it.”

“... I’m so tired...”

“We can never give up, Twilight. Things could still get a lot worse than they are now.”

“...” Twilight stared at her, and for a moment her surprise seemed to have washed her other feelings away.

“Jeez,” she murmured. “Okay.”

“Try not to feel too guilty,” Vi said. “I don’t think anything you’ve done is particularly bad, neither here nor in Canterlot. Whoever printed that, she has a lot to pay for. And Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow should take a good look in the mirror, too.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Twilight pushed herself into a sitting position. “I should have criticized them back then. But the only thing I cared about was to make sure nopony thought I was boasting...”

“You actually tried to correct the article,” Vi reminded her.

“So what?”

“So you’re not the problem here.”

Twilight sighed.

“Maybe. But do you remember when I first saw Trixie? I know that she’s not the one who brought the Ursa here. And I still was about to accuse her of just that when she snapped! And I knew that it wasn’t true even while I was saying it! What’s wrong with me?!”

“You know almost everypony does stuff like that.”

“Yeah. What’s wrong with almost everypony?!”

“Well, our brains are a complicated mess. But you’re still not the problem here. If what you did was crazy, then what Trixie’s been doing is super crazy. She has real reason to be angry at at least four ponies, and she’s screaming at the one who didn’t do anything wrong. Or far less wrong, at least.”

“Okay.” Twilight sighed. “I hear you. But I might prefer to be the problem myself. I don’t want to have this conversation with Rarity.”

“Trixie wants to demand an apology from everyone involved. I’ll go with her to Rarity if she wants me to. I’m not sure if she’d want you there, anyway. I think she’s still quite angry at you... no matter how little sense that makes. But, um... she’s totally broke right now. I think she needs at least some help to get a room here. Unless we want to let her sleep in-”

“No, we don’t.” Twilight lit her her horn; a cupboard was opened, and a small chest pulled out of its depths. With a click, it opened in mid-air, revealing its contents as it landed softly on the bed.

“Give her two-hundred bits,” Twilight murmured. “For now. If she really traveled here just to get an apology, she must really feel like we did something... like it was horrible for her.”

Vi took two of the larger coins out of the chest, then closed it to allow Twilight to put it back.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll give it to her and send her off to sleep in the hotel, and you can deal with it tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Oh, and... see that she doesn’t visit anypony today if you can.”

“Aye.” Vi made her way back downstairs, the two shiny coins floating beside her. This wasn’t lost to Trixie, whose eyes almost visibly zoomed in on them as soon as she saw them.

“These are for you,” Vi answered the unspoken question. “Two hundred bits. You can book yourself a room, and I’m not sure if it’s enough for a wagon-”

“It’s not. But... thank you, anyway. You’ve really been... decent to me.” Trixie took the two coins, looking a bit embarrassed as she opened her purse to put them inside.

“I want you to promise me that you wait with your plans until tomorrow. Don’t visit anyone of the others. Especially not Rarity, but not anyone else, either. Actually, forget ‘especially,’ just don’t visit any of them. Don’t do it. Okay?”

“Is that in exchange for-”

“No. I already gave you the money.”

“Then Trixie does not need to... promise... you... ...”

Her voice trailed off as their eyes met.

“Trixie promises,” she said meekly.

“Okay. What’s with the third pronoun?”

“It is... a habit left over,” Trixie murmured. “It’s becoming for a showmare, but... I’m barely a showmare anymore.”

“This really must have had a strong effect on you if it changed your talking patterns... look, Trixie, I think I made this clear already, but I’ll say it again. The one thing you really should avoid, for your own sake, is to lie to me, and breaking a promise counts as lying. I’m fairly sympathetic to your position right now, but that will change if you break a promise. You might lose an ally. Don’t do it. Just get a room, stay quiet, and come by the library again tomorrow, and we’ll figure out how to deal with this.”

“Trixie does not need to be lectured about promises!” Trixie snapped. “She is well aware of the virtue of honesty- don’t look at me like that! The Ursa thing doesn’t count! I told you it was part of a show! I don’t lie when it’s real! I won’t talk to any of them today, alright?”

“Alright,” Vi said. “I’m sorry if that was unnecessary, but a lot of the problems ponies have are the kind that could be avoided if they talked more clearly. If I let a problem happen that I could have avoided by being more clear... well. See you tomorrow.”

“Hmpf. Indeed.” Trixie turned her head demonstrably, taking her pouch and making for the door. Once outside, she paused, turning around. “... thank you again. You’ve been kind to Trixie... unlike everypony else in this stupid town!” She slammed the door shut without awaiting a response.

Twelve hours later, an unkempt Twilight shuffled into the kitchen, finding breakfast already served.

“Thanks,” she said to Vi, who had been reading a book but was now putting it aside.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yeah... I think I do. Thanks again.” She took a jar of strawberry jam, unscrewing it. “Okay... so what’s the plan?”

“I’ll catch Trixie at the hotel. We’ll visit AJ and Rarity and Rainbow, and we’ll see what comes off it.”

“You don’t actually have to do this, you know? Maybe you could just talk her out of it.”

“Maybe. But I don’t really want to. I think she’s got a point... and I’m curious to hear how the others are going to frame their side of the story.”

“You’ve probably thought of this,” Twilight said upon swallowing her bite, “but why not invite all of them to one place?”

“Because group dynamics are complicated and bring in a bunch of variables that shouldn’t be there.”

“You mean they’ll be less reasonable if they’re asked together? Rarity and Rainbow and AJ?”

“Probably. Or, maybe. I just think that whatever reaction they’ll have on their own is the more honest one.”

“Hm. And am I a part of any of this?”

“I’d say no. Trixie doesn’t like you and you’re not guilty of anything. It might be-”

“-distracting,” Twilight finished the sentence for her. “Yeah. That makes sense. I don’t mind you doing this alone.”

“Okay.” She let a few seconds pass. “Are you holding up okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Their eyes met for a couple of seconds, then Vi nodded.

“Okay.”

“I know you abandoned your entire family and I’m struggling over the loss of one sibling. But... I don’t know.”

“I left voluntarily, Twilight,” Vi reminded her. “But even if I didn’t... don’t compare yourself to me. We’re different. The same thing can be worse for one pony than for-”

But she was interrupted by another voice. Vi instinctively turned her head, but the door was still closed, and no-one was standing close.

“Hello, ladies.”

The voice was unmistakably male, but it didn’t sound like Spike.

“Who’s there?” She asked, then her gaze fell onto Twilight, whose entire body seemed to be frozen. The slice of bread was hovering in mid-air, halfway between her plate and her mouth.

“Sp... Spike?” Twilight whispered, her voice trembling. “Or anyone else? Is this a prank?”

“I’m afraid not,” the voice said, and then...

... then a bizarre creature emerged head-first out of the table. A bottle of orange juice was knocked over and it hit the floor and broke, but it was unclear whether anyone noticed.

“Discord,” Vi whispered, her gaze trailing his eccentric features. “Isn’t it?”

“Yeeeeessssss!” Discord threw both his arms into the air, and two differently colored fireworks erupted above his head, both of them leaving a mark in the ceiling. “I just decided to get out again, and you are the first pony I visited, Twilight! Not even the princess knows about me yet!”

“How?” Twilight asked, sounding horrified. “How? How did you get out?”

“Hm... hmhmhm...” Discord gave an odd chuckle. “Well, what do you think, Twilight? How did I get out?”

“I don’t know?! You were supposed to be turned to stone! I don’t understand how you got out last time, either! Celestia didn’t want to give me a clear answer!”

“She didn’t, now did she? Well, that’s really too bad.” He sighed theatrically. “Why don’t you think about it, Twilight? Maybe you’ll figure it out. Consider it a riddle! You’ll get ten points for finding the right answer!”

“So...” Vi said slowly, “... what are you going to do?”

“Ohohohoo! I have so many plans! Just you wait! You won’t recognize this town when I’m done with it! But, by the way...” He extended his left arm far beyond its length, and during this motion, his paw also increased in size, until he grabbed the helpless filly around her stomach and simply lifted her up to his height. “... who are you? You’re new. ... Hey – why aren’t you screaming?”

Vi had remained perfectly calm as she was being lifted up, right below the ceiling, not even breaking a sweat as she was put face-to-face with the draconequus.

“What for?” She merely asked. “Would that prevent you from doing it?”

“You...” Discord sounded intrigued. “You don’t seem like the other fillies here... in fact, you... oooh!”

Discord retreated his arm and simultaneously clicked the fingers of his claw. In a swift motion, every item which had been placed on the table was floating away, assembling into a heap on the floor. In the center of the now empty tabletop, the filly was placed.

“I apologize for my manners,” Discord said, making a small bow. “Welcome to Equestria, traveler!”

Author's Note

Not only did I believe in the rapture, I knew it was gonna happen before the late 1980s.

Chapter IX

Author's Note

I realize that a complicated stretch where the story is told in non-chronological order is a particularly bad time to stop updating for several months. Without going back, it might be difficult to keep track of what’s happening. My sincere apologies for that. All I can say is that I didn’t foresee this when I published chapter 12; back then I was still in one of my most productive periods and expected to get this out quickly.

(Knowing about the planning fallacy is not enough. I still have much to learn about the art of proper pessimism.)

To make sure that releases don’t get more scattered, I made sure to (almost) finish both 9 and 11 before publishing one. #11 will follow in at most two days. Then all holes will be filled.

Prepare for a long, difficult, and chaotic sequence of chapters going forward.

Oh, and note that chapter 9 does not lead immediately into chapter 10; there’s a couple of days off screen between them.

Chapter IX

The train ride home had been one the most unpleasant events in Twilight’s memory. It had only been an hour since she had lost her brother, and all she had wanted to do was to rest, to shut out the world and perhaps cry herself to sleep. Instead, she’d been trapped along with the other girls, all of whom expecting to hear answers from her, answers which she wasn’t supposed to give.

The sheer absurdity of what Celestia had told them had only gradually dawned on her, along with the dreadful realization of how much it meant. Not only was she supposed to keep this to herself, but now, literally anything she could tell them had the potential of causing unforeseen damage. She was playing a game she had not volunteered for, where any wrong move might prevent the rescue of Shining Armor.

Twilight had already understood Vi well enough to know that even this turn of events wouldn’t be enough to break her spirits, no matter how much it flew in the face of her personal philosophy. But even she hadn’t expected the sheer ease with which the filly seemed to adapt to these new circumstances. Two minutes after Celestia had told them that the universe cared about the appearance of heroism, Vi had begun talking to her in a manner that most closely resembled the dialogue in one of Diamond Quill’s fantasy novels. When Rainbow had demanded to know what was going on, Vi, not Twilight, had managed to salvage the situation, revealing just enough of the truth to release Twilight of the obligation to say more, while still sounding sufficiently mysterious. Celestia had shared a great secret with Twilight and her, so Vi, and keeping this secret hidden was part of how they were hoping to retrieve Shining Armor... though it wasn’t lost on Twilight how she had avoided using the word ‘plan’ in any of her responses. Moreover, her reputation for being radically honest had kept the others from doubting this – though not from bothering Twilight for the remainder of the ride; after all, even with the main deal kept secret, that still left open the question of what had actually happened.

Of course, none of them knew. Surely the timing of Shining’s disappearance made it look like he had somehow been spying on them. But how he had done that... or how someone had controlled him... or how she had gotten him to appear so normal... those were all open questions, and thinking about them was the last thing Twilight had wanted to do during the ride.

When they had finally arrived, she’d practically fled the platform, retrieving to her home as fast as she could. But now, lying squarely on her bed, she still had no idea what to do with herself. She didn’t want to go out, didn’t want to study, didn’t want to practice magic, hadn’t the slightest urge to work on a project. The only pony whose presence didn’t feel like a nuisance to her was Vi, and the filly seemed to be downstairs, probably because she wanted to spare Twilight the interaction with anypony else (in this regard, the filly was a strange mix of socially awkward and yet extremely considerate towards other pony’s feelings, especially hers). Presumably, she was also the reason why Spike, who had been just as eager to get answers as the others, wasn’t bothering her now.

Twilight let a few minutes pass, trying but failing not to think. Eventually, she decided to pull herself together, getting halfway out of bed before her determination left her and she dropped back down, staring blankly onto the ceiling. A moment later she was pulling the blanket over her eyes, seeking to shut out the light... then after a while, she realized that she was crying. A sense of surreality and comfort washed over her as the tears kept coming, and she made no attempt to stop them. She just lay there, feeling more at peace than she had for years, perhaps forever.

Ten seconds flat!

That wasn’t ten seconds, miss...

Dash. Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash. That was over twelve.

Uh. You’re that good at math, huh?

I guess...

Hah! Egghead

Egghead? You haven’t called me that in a long time.

Suddenly, she felt a weight somewhere in her chest. Rainbow frowned, coming to a landing beside her.

Hey, what’s up, Twilight? Something wrong?

No, I’m fine.

Uh-huh. Hey, you should meet the others. The other girls. We’re not friends yet, but we’ll be real soon. If you don’t pull out on us, at least.

I don’t know, Rainbow. I’ve never met them before. And I’m not that good at making new friends...

Aww. Come on!

Okay, okay. Twilight giggled. I’ll come. And we can’t leave Fluttershy too long without knowing any of us. She’ll be so lonely.

Yeah, I know, right?

Rainbow was leading the way, even being polite enough to walk on the ground. They were almost there when everything turned dark.

Twilight opened her eyes.

She’d fallen asleep.

When was the last time she had slept during the day? A few months back at least. Probably before Vi had moved in. But this time, it had actually made her feel better. Or at least more normal.

She got up in a swift motion, sliding off the bed. A glance at the watch revealed it to be an hour past noon, but Twilight quickly realized that this didn’t tell her how long she had slept because she didn’t know when she had gotten home. She found Vi at her usual position on the dinner table, closing the book she’d been reading as she saw Twilight approach.

“Hey.” Twilight sat down opposite to her. “Where’s Spike?”

“Left. Celestia sent the summary of how this judgment thing works while you were asleep. I said he wasn’t allowed to know what it was. He didn’t like that.”

“Oh.”

“He said that I had to tell him since I’m his assistant,” Vi continued, though Twilight could already tell from her tone that she hadn’t. “But, well, I convinced him that you wouldn’t see it his way.”

“You know you don’t have to do this assistant thing anymore if you don’t want to, right?”

“I think I want to. I made him agree with me staying here on the pretext that I would, so... I feel obligated.”

“Your call-”

“-and I knew I probably didn’t have to keep doing it, but when I said it, it was an honest offer, so... err... I guess that’s not important right now, is it? Um, do you want to read the letter?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, and, following the filly’s directions, summoned the scroll.

She read it twice, then put it aside with a slight frown. It was unusual, to say the least, for a letter of the princess to sound this vague.

“Summarize what you think of it,” she said after a bit of thought. “Then we can compare our two takeaways. They might not be the same... it was a bit confusing.”

“Sure,” Vi said, “Good idea. Well, essentially it’s just a really naive sense of good and evil, which we already knew. She said it doesn't matter what we think, only what we do. What was sort of new is that she said we can often salvage things by framing them correctly. That made me think about our trip to the lake yesterday. If we had just said some more things about how... I don’t know, how Fluttershy had been hurt and we had to counsel on how to deal with it, or something like that, maybe it would have changed everything. Or if we had just talked differently.”

Twilight nodded. She had thought about the exact same thing, both times she had read it. It seemed like they truly had done just about the worst possible thing in reaction to the news.

“It doesn’t seem to have a good memory, either,” Twilight murmured. “Seems like whatever bad effects you cause wear off fairly quickly.”

“What do you think about conversation?” Vi asked. “How careful should we be to discuss things in general? And how do we know whether to be careful?”

Twilight was about to answer when she was stopped by an already familiar feeling sense of caution. They were in a conversation now...

... but as she had just said, it didn’t seem to have a good memory.

“We’re talking freely right now, aren’t we?”

“Bad memory,” Vi said, too, “so, yeah. I think so.”

“Hm. Well...” Twilight took the letter once again, reading it for the third time. “I guess... it depends on what the ponies you talk to- no, it depends on what you expect the ponies you talk to- no, actually, it depends on what it looks from the outside that you expect the ponies you talk to will do, based on what you tell them.”

“Well put,” Vi said, “I think that’s right. Pretty complicated. But the takeaway is easy. We just have to up our dialogue when we talk strategy, and communicate shady stuff between the lines.”

Twilight groaned, rubbing her eyes with a front limb, but she nodded.

“And we have to keep stuff from Spike,” she said from behind her arm, “if it’s important. Since he’s a child. You’re too, kind of, but you don’t behave like one. He does. Protecting the innocent... and stuff.”

“I’m not innocent,” Vi commented, which produced an involuntary giggle from Twilight, running starkly in contrast to her brooding mood.

“Or at least pretend like we keep stuff from him,” Vi said more seriously. “If we tell him in advance...”

Twilight didn’t say anything in return, but she nodded again.

“What do you think happened?” she asked eventually.

“Don’t know. It looked like someone was listening in, because Shining disappeared right when we found him out.” Vi didn’t sound caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, from which Twilight inferred that she had been thinking about it a lot as well. “Which begs the question how things would have worked out had we just not been careful at all. But, from what I’ve heard about your past adventures, it wasn’t like things have gone super smoothly, more like you just got lucky in the end. So, I guess there would’ve been some confrontation, maybe, and in the end, everything would have worked out. Who knows who else would have shown up?”

“Do you think Shining was possessed?”

“Yeah,” Vi said. “Looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“We went off in an odd direction, yesterday...” Once again, Twilight thought back to their visit to the lake. “We got stuck on the idea that something’s wrong with Cadence, even though he’s the one who’s showed signs.”

“It was dark,” Vi said cynically, “and we were all outside. Spooky things make more sense in that kind of environment. You’re right. We weren’t doing a good job.”

“But you were right that something was wrong, at least.”

“Me, and Fluttershy, too.”

“Yeah. You’ve... rubbed off on her, you know? She’s changed since you’re here.”

“I like Fluttershy a lot,” Vi said, sounding somewhat shy, as if it were an admission. “And I think she likes me, too. Unlike... your other friends.”

“Pinkie likes you,” Twilight pointed out after a stretch of uncomfortable silence.

“Pinkie likes everyone.”

At that, Twilight didn’t know what to reply; the filly was right.

“Do you want to practice?” She offered after a while. “Teleportation?”

Vi nodded thankfully.

Chapter XI

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter LXVIII

“I remember everything from when I was... gray,” Rarity said to Rainbow Dash as they took a careful stroll through what had become of Ponyville. ”Both times. And, though I hate to say this, he did not merely make me do bad things. He made me want bad things. Throughout the time, I simply was another pony altogether.”

They had paired up at a suggestion of Vi, who had argued that the weakest ones among them shouldn’t walk around town on their own, and had named herself, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity as the three ponies who most fell into that category, and Rainbow Dash and Twilight as the two most capable of providing protection. Fortunately, there was no loss of pride, for her, in admitting that she was indeed rather defenseless, and neither was it lost on her that there had been instances of ponies being seriously hurt. That was why she had asked Rainbow to accompany her. Her boutique was no longer running, her work had become pointless, and she could hardly stay at home all day.

Dear Rainbow Dash did not seem to be feeling cheerful – to say the least – however, this was unlikely to be an artifact of her present company: the pegasus’ mood had been at a perpetual low ever since Discord’s dominance had been established. The fact that there was now a large barrier preventing anypony from putting more than a few dozen yards between herself and the town certainly didn’t help.

“I find it rather difficult to believe in our collective stamina, considering how easily I myself have been corrupted... twice.”

Rainbow Dash grunted. As her only other response, she kicked a piece of rubble on the road, which spontaneously exploded into a small cloud of purple dust. Both of them winced, even though it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“Screw this,” Rainbow cursed. She looked around. “I’m not even sure where we are anymore. Do you know? Never thought I’d get lost in Ponyville.”

“This is Ballad’s apartment, I believe,” Rarity said, pointing at the building to her left. It was a simple one-level structure which had undergone relatively little change compared to most others, though several spots on its walls had taken on rather unusual colors.

“No idea who that is. She’s not a pegasus.”

“She’s a unicorn.”

“Do you know what’s fucked up?” Rarity frowned at the swear word but didn’t comment, not that Rainbow was waiting for her to reply. “Fluffy Clouds. One of my weather ponies. She was up earlier than me. I bet she flew out for a trip. On the day that Discord took over, I mean. ‘Cause I haven’t seen her since. She must have been outside when he made that stupid barrier.”

“Rather fortunate for her, is it not?”

“Depends. You think the rest of Equestria’s fine?”

Rarity shrugged. “Not fine, no. They lost their rulers. But I don’t think Discord has done to them what he is doing to us. Although, there is-”

“-the fact that he got day and night all messed up?” Rainbow suggested.

“Yes, precisely.”

“Meh,” Rainbow made. “Meh. Meh. Meh.”

Rarity threw her an amused look.

“Are you sad?” said a voice next to them. They both turned around.

A house was talking to them.

To be more precise, a chimney atop a house.

“Don’t be sad! Be happy!”

“Screw you!” Rainbow was in mid-air momentarily. “What do you know?”

“Don’t be sad,” the chimney repeated, at the same time that Rarity said from below, “Rainbow, darling, you’re talking to a chimney. Come down, please.”

“Be happy!”

“Shutupshutupshutup!” Rainbow turned around and gave the chimney a kick.

“Ow!” it made.

“Rainbow, darling, please. Even if this chimney is sentient, it certainly didn’t choose to annoy you. Get down here.”

“Fine.” Rainbow landed back beside her, but not without throwing an angry look at the top of the house. Then, suddenly, they both heard a scream from somewhere close.

Rainbow groaned. “Stay here.” At full-feathered speed, she blazed off to investigate, but returned less than a minute later.

“Just another stupid prank,” she announced, sounding even more morose than before. “Celestia, I really hate this.”

“What happened?”

“Stallion turned into a mare.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not permanent. I’ve seen it before.”

Her left eye twitched. “Who is it?”

“Buck do I know. Some earth pony dude.”

“Don’t be sad!”

“AAARGH! Let’s go before I rip that thing to pieces!”

“What’s he look like? Or she?”

But Rainbow ignored the question. “You’ve ever noticed that no-one is outside?” she instead asked. “If everything else was fine, wouldn’t there be some ponies – dunno – trying to get in? Or at least try to visit family and stuff? You can talk through the barrier, I think.”

“Well, I don’t know why. Have you asked Twilight?”

“No.” They halted as they could hear more voices, this time coming closer. Then, several ponies came running out of an alley to their right, chased by what appeared to be...

... yes, what appeared to be a cake monster. Although it was moving slower than anypony could run, and Rarity wasn’t sure what negative consequence being caught by a being made out of sugary sweetness would entail. But neither was she eager to find out.

“Screw this,” Rainbow repeated. “Seriously. Screw this. Come on.” She spread her wings, indicating Rarity to climb onto her back, who didn’t hesitate to follow the invitation. “Let’s get out of here before this thing gets its way with us.”

Chapter LXXXIII

It didn’t work, read the paper that Twilight was pressing onto the barrier.

Celestia nodded earnestly.

Tell me how it went.

it didn’t feel like we had any chance., Vi’s message read, after Twilight had communicated the events in a good amount of detail, spanning several pages total. if he told the truth about having given the universe its sense of justice just for fun, he probably made it so it doesn’t work against him.

She was already scribbling her next message while Twilight was holding this one up for her.

but he could easily be lying. he has a reason to, and I don’t know any reason to trust his word. do you know, princess? whether he told the truth?

Celestia shook her head. It was there for as long as I remember, but Discord is older than me. I don’t know if he’s telling the truth. Then, I’ve never heard him say this before. It’s concerning. He also didn’t use to be so unhinged when he was free.

Vi nodded, then crouched down to write a longer message. Since there was nothing in the room that could be used as a table, the only available options were writing on the stone floor and keeping the paper pressed against the wall, which was slower and took more strength.

we need to know how often he was free. we need to know what he did, how you beat him back then, what he said to you, how strong he really is, and anything else that could be relevant. can you tell us the entire story, from start to finish? before you say no, please consider if whatever reason you have is really good enough to keep things secret, if it could help us at all. please, remember how important it is that we win here, and how bad things look right now.

I was not going to say no., Celestia answered. With a stitch of pain she couldn’t explain at first, Twilight realized how quickly the princess had read the message. No mortal pony could read that quickly.

But why was that bothering her?

Probably because she had never seen it until now. And that meant that Celestia had been hiding it. She had spent too much time with her not to notice otherwise. Just like she had been hiding how smart she was. Because it had been part of a plan to keep everyone safe.

It felt as though she had grown up three separate times. The first time was back in Canterlot, after Shining had been promoted. When he had stopped being home all the time, she’d had to learn how to live without him. Live by herself. With the princess as her guardian, yes, but she had never truly been like a sibling...

That chapter of her life now felt like it was in a different lifetime. Impossible that it was barely four years ago.

The second time was her first year in Ponyville. When she had learned to talk to other ponies. Made friends. She had felt that now she had grown up...

And the third time was the current chapter. She hadn’t even realized it while it had been happening, but somehow, her horizons had widened so much during those months. The world seemed so much larger now, and so much scarier. So much more fragile. And she felt a responsibility, not just to ‘leave an impact’, to ‘build a legacy’, but to actually protect it. To protect everyone.

“Twilight?”

She snapped back into reality.

“... yes?”

“Did you... read what Celestia said?”

“I...” Frowning slightly, Twilight wanted to throw a look at the princess, only to realize that she was already looking at her. But there was no message there anymore. ‘No, I was... lost in thought. Sorry.”

write all of that again, please, Vi wrote, and Celestia nodded.

We will tell you everything we know that could be important. It will be a long story.

“There’s a lot more to this than I realized,” Twilight said, still staring at the point where Luna’s latest message had disappeared. Vi nodded grimly, already writing another message.

is there any time he’s shown that he can’t do something? anything?

“Okay, that’s two plans,” Vi said, scribbling something onto another page. “One that probably won’t work, and one that very likely won’t work. That’s a start, but it’s not good enough. We need more.”

we still don’t know enough. do you know anything that could defeat him? anything at all?

.su htiw gniyalp saw eh detcepsus syawla eW Luna wrote. .niw ot tnaw yllaer t’ndid eh fi sa demees tI

She said something to Celestia, who wrote the next message so as to make it easier for them to read.

Luna thinks he is tired of life. He wanted to wake up from time to time, but never stay for too long.

He talked about boredom at least two times, Twilight wrote in response, but Vi grimaced and wrote something of her own.

I don’t think that makes sense. If he gets turned to stone and wakes up ten years later, for him it would seem like no time has passed, right? From his perspective, getting turned to stone for any amount of time wouldn’t help at all to escape life, as unless it’s actually forever.

But Celestia shook her head. You are mistaken. Being turned to stone is not equivalent to a total loss of consciousness. It is more like dreaming, although unlike in dreams, time passes far more quickly. A year in stone might feel like a week asleep. There are differences, but dreaming is that state which it is most similar to.

Twilight and Vi exchanged a look upon reading this, though Twilight couldn’t tell what the filly was thinking.

Did you experience it? Twilight asked in writing, and Celestia nodded.

I would not put my enemies through something I do not understand. Discord is not the only villain we have turned to stone, and some of the others might never wake up. She looked at VI as she wrote the next part. It is not a form of suffering. Unlike normal dreams, they will never turn into nightmares. At least that is what Luna believes.

“I’m exhausted,” Twilight murmured, casting a look across the floor full of written pages, countless messages and the occasional idea for a plan. “We have to continue later. But... we really got more done than I thought we would. We might actually beat him.”

“Maybe,” Vi said grimly. “But probably not. So far you’ve had help without knowing it. Now that you don’t, I think you need to be more pessimistic. Anyway...” Her gaze trailed the mess of sheets on the floor. “... even if you’re all right and there is no way Discord can listen in on us here, he could still visit and read all of this stuff.”

“Right.” Twilight lit her horn, lifting up half a dozen sheets at once, and began to sort them into the two categories communication and planning. On one of the pages, her gaze lingered for a few seconds. It read:

Ideas to defeat Discord
– Change portal to lead into volcano, make Discord go through
– Set up trapping spell, make Discord step into it (will require weeks of channeling magic if possible at all)
– Drop heavy invisible object (might not work even if pulled off)
– Befriend → reform him
– Lure into trap & use elements of harmony
– Use elements while he isn’t watching (speed up process?)

“... burn everything that was just for communicating, and hide the rest?”

Vi shook her head. “Burn everything.”

Twilight looked at her unhappily but conceded with a sigh.

“You’re right. Yeah. You’re right. But let me make sure that I remember everything valuable.” Then, “I need to make a checklist. Even if I have to burn that, too. But hold on.” She put the already sorted pages onto two piles, then grabbed one page that was still partially free. We were discussing what to do with the paper trail, and concluded to memorize our ideas and burn everything. Do you have any better ideas?

Celestia shook her head, and so did Luna, and Twilight mentally conceded.

“Don’t forget Trixie,” Vi said on the side, “if you’re making this into a checklist. We didn’t write down anything about her.”

“Right...” Frowning, Twilight grabbed her quill, beginning to make a list of items.

“This is the dirtiest thing I’ve ever done.” Twilight cast a single spark of actual fire onto the pile in front of them, and then a second as the first one faded. Only after the forth did the pile finally catch fire, almost as if their notes were as indignant about this matter as she was. She yawned. Despite her words, she felt a certain sense of accomplishment, although it disappeared immediately as her thoughts drifted toward Ponyville.

“Let’s go back,” she said, a sense of urgency to her voice. “Who knows what happened in our absence.” Vi threw a final look around the room, then looked through the pile of unused pages one last time, before she stepped beside the older pony. With a nod to the two princesses, they made their way back into the tunnel.

Right before the portal, Twilight paused. Once they went through, they wouldn’t be able to talk about strategy anymore. There were a lot of things still on her mind, and presumably, there were more still which she wasn't thinking about...

But eventually, all she said was, “I am worried.”

“Me too,” Vi whispered. “It’s crazy. Everything about this is crazy. That we’ve always been at his mercy is crazy. It doesn’t fit.”

“But reality isn’t a story,” Twilight replied. “Even if the universe likes stories.”

“Yes.” Vi made a step closer to her, perhaps following an instinct to find protection. “That’s what makes it so scary. And so much could depend on this.”

“We could fail,” Twilight said next. But only after she said it did her own words hit her. Only now did she really understand what she had said, that they could really, actually fail. And that, if they did, Discord might rule Equestria for... well, they had no idea for how long.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s do our best. Let’s do everything we can to win.”

Chapter I

Fluttershy heard a rustling sound, like a gentle breeze flowing through the sea of stems on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. It took her three, four seconds to realize that it was breathing, tiny lungs blowing out air, so quiet that it was only audible due to the near perfect silence of the moment.

As she took cautious steps towards its source, she saw a tiny, curled-up figure lying in the grass: light gray fur, a dark gray (or dark blue?) mane and tail, and a tiny horn which erupted a single spark as its tip came in touch with a flattering halm. She was not pretty, but more than that, she was dirty. Fluttershy wasn’t even sure if this pale shade of gray was her true color, or if her coat had once been white. Specks of grass, mud, and the occasional bruise now dotted her fur, revealing that this wasn’t the first night spent outside. And she didn’t have a cutie mark.

Without hesitating, Fluttershy bent down, putting her basket aside and closing in on the sleeping filly. Where had she come from? Fluttershy was fairly certain that there was nopony in Ponyville at her age that she didn’t at least know the face of, but this was somepony she had never seen before.

Whatever the case, she couldn’t stay out here, it was too close to the forest. Predators would see her as easy prey, and although it was rare for them to go this far out, you could never be certain. After a moment of reflection, Fluttershy gave her shoulder a gentle poke.

The filly woke up immediately, but she didn’t do anything except returning Fluttershy’s gaze. Her iris was a scarlet red, contrasting starkly with her otherwise pale features.

“... hello,” Fluttershy heard herself say. Somehow, she had expected a different reaction.

“Hi.”

“Uhm...” Fluttershy offered hoof, and although it was more of a symbolic gesture, the filly took it. “I’m Fluttershy,” she said as she pulled her upwards.

“Vi. Thanks.”

“Vi,” Fluttershy repeated. “Uhm, I’m sorry that I woke you up.”

“That’s okay.”

“Where... where do you live?”

“Right now... nowhere.”

Homeless. How was that possible? There were no homeless ponies this close to Ponyville... or anywhere in Equestria, as far as she knew. All that a pony had to do to get a place to sleep was to turn to authority.

“I have a cottage. Would you like to come?”

The filly hesitated. “Come and... do what?”

“Oh, we can get you all cleaned up, and I can give you something to eat if you’re hungry, and we can decide what, uhm, what we’ll do going forward.” Fluttershy watched her nervously. The only reason she could think of for somepony to be homeless by choice would be if she had something to hide.

“No commitments attached?” the filly asked, and Fluttershy felt her suspicion confirmed.

“Uhm... no. I won’t force you to do anything.”

“Really nothing? You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay then.”

Fluttershy made sure to walk slowly as she lead the way, but there didn’t seem to be any need to: Vi gave no sign of injury beyond a few bruises, and seemed to have no trouble keeping up. Before long, she felt silly being slow on purpose, so she returned to a more normal pace.

Many times before, Fluttershy had taken care of animals who had been hurt in the wilderness. Some had left once they got better, but others stayed. What would happen with this pony? If her desire to get away from home was so strong that she had chosen to sleep in the wild for days on end, then Fluttershy didn’t know what solution she’d be able to offer. She would keep the promise she had made, but also do everything she could to make sure Vi would sleep in a bed tonight.

“I’m back home,” Fluttershy called as she pushed her door open. “Um.”

No answer could be heard, but as Vi cautiously stepped inside behind her, she was caught in a small wince as two mice came running out of some tiny hole and halted beside Fluttershy’s front hoof.

“Uh...” A pause. “I see. It’s just that I have a guest, so if you could... yes, thank you. Thank you. I’ll make sure of it. Thanks.”

The two mice ran back into their hole.

There was a moment of silence, until-

“You can’t really talk to them, can you?” Vi’s eyes were fixed at the point where the mice had disappeared. “They don’t actually... understand you, right?”

“I-”

“And-”

Vi blinked. “Sorry.”

“No, you go first.”

“May I close the door?”

“Sure. Uhm.” Fluttershy’s gaze nervously trailed over Vi’s body. “Would you like an, uhm, bath? Or do you want to eat something first?”

“Getting clean first seems to make more sense,” Vi said with a look at the hoofsteps she had already left.

Fluttershy hesitated, but then nodded. “Follow me.”

“This is really nice of you,” Vi said to Fluttershy while the pegasus was stroking through her mane with a brush, the filly standing in a half-full tub of pleasantly warm water. Fluttershy mumbled a response that was barely audible around the grip in her mouth, but which might or might not have been meant to be ‘it’s no problem.’

“Can I come back to the animals?” Vi asked as an entire bulb of dried earth fell from her mane into the water. “Could those mice understand what you were saying? And what about other animals?”

Fluttershy reached a hoof up to take the brush out of her mouth, doing her best to continue the task in this less familiar manner.

“Angel Bunny, he is, uhm, he’s my personal pet, he understands what I say; the mice can only react to a few, uhm, things that come natural or that they’ve been taught. The words, they don’t matter to them.” She took a swig in the tub to clean the brush as best as she could before she continued. “This doesn’t hurt, I hope? You have an uhm, really... full mane,” she finished awkwardly.

At that, Vi turned around, giving Fluttershy her first smile.

“Thank you,” she said warmly, “for not saying it’s pretty. I appreciate honesty.”

Fluttershy blinked, visibly shocked. “Uhm. Um. Um. I... you’re... you’re not-”

Now Vi giggled. “I was complimenting you, Fluttershy. I was afraid you would tell me I’m pretty once I’m clean.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy let out a breath. “Um. No problem then. But you really don’t look ugly either...”

“Thanks,” Vi said. “So when you say that Angel understands what you say, do you mean he understands everything?”

“Technically, yes,” Fluttershy said while going back to cleaning the filly’s mane, who didn’t respond, so after a few seconds, she continued. “He understands Equestrian, and nothing prevents him from knowing about other things, but he doesn’t really care about most of it. Mostly he wants nice things to eat.”

“And that’s okay?”

“I think so. It’s normal for him.”

“Okay, but...” Vi winced as the brush got stuck in a knot of her mane, followed by a murmured apology from Fluttershy, as she tried to leave as much of the mane in place as possible. “But is he... fully conscious?”

“I... think he is...”

“As much as you and I?”

“I...” Fluttershy lowered her brush. “I, um, don’t think I ever thought about that, really...”

“Can you do it now?”

“Um... why do you want to know?”

“Well...” Vi lifted a hoof to her mane, and Fluttershy went back to brushing it. “There a lot more animals in Equestria than ponies. If each animal were itself as important as a pony, then collectively they would be much more important. That would be good to know.”

A pony standing behind Fluttershy right now would have seen a slight shiver running through her body at those words.

“I...” she lowered her brush again, this time seemingly without noticing it. “I actually have thought about that before,” she said, her voice now almost a whisper. “I just wasn’t really... didn’t really...”

“You never thought about that you thought about it, so you weren’t really aware of it.”

“Yes.”

“That’s normal.”

Fluttershy gulped. “Uhm...”

Vi took a stroke through her mane, getting a brief sense of its current state.

“You can go on, if you want.”

Fluttershy nodded, although Vi was turned away from her and couldn’t see it.

“I don’t think he is,” she said quietly. “But I think animals can be. I... ... once, before Angel-”

“I think I know what you want to say,” Vi interrupted. “If you would rather not continue, that is okay.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy briefly got up on her hindquarters, stabilizing her position with her wings as she used her other hoof to help out with a particularly big knot.

“Okay,” she then said, “thanks.”

“But how frequent is that among animals?”

“Very, very rare.”

“Can you put a number on it?”

“Um... I’m not sure-”

“Do it anyway,” Vi said. “Everypony thinks you should only be precise when you know exactly. But being precise and unsure is always better than being vague and unsure. Uncertainty only means that being precise is less of a benefit, but it’s still a benefit.”

As unusual as those sentences were from the mouths of a filly, Fluttershy seemed so captured by their conversation that it barely surprised her.

“One in a thousand,” she said. “No. One in ten thousand.”

“Even with the ones ponies take care of?”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Other ponies don’t... take care of them the same way I do. At least... I’ve never met another pony who does it.”

“I see. You’re a really kind mare,” she added, causing a blush from Fluttershy.

“Thank you.”

“Could any animal achieve consciousness?”

“Uhm...” Fluttershy’s hoof was shaking a bit. “I don’t really know anything... you know? I just-”

“Of course. Tell me what you think.”

“Well, I think that they, they are inclined... every animal is inclined not to. The smaller they are, the less likely it is that they will break, you know, do things outside of the box. Without somepony like, uhm... ...”

“Like you?”

“Yes. Without somepony like me, it would be very unlikely. Something would just have to happen that... that confronts them with something that makes them think, and then probably more things after that to keep it going.” A frown crossed her forehead as she juggled a strand of the filly’s mane under her hoof that was also holding the brush. “Is this-”

“It won’t get better,” Vi said. “My mane naturally has a coarse texture.”

“Huh.” Fluttershy almost seemed to be paralyzed for the moment, focusing on the touch against her feathers. “It’s... uhm... strange.”

“I’ve never heard of anypony else who has it.”

“Are you sure that’s... it’s not dangerous? It could be a part of an, uhm, disease... Celestia hope not, but...”

“I went through the most comprehensive treatments that were available to me.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“It could still be something bad, but I can’t do anything else about it.”

“I... see.”

Fluttershy took a few more moments stroking over the mane, before she went back to cleaning it.

“So they become less... sensitive the more they stay inside the box. The animals, I mean. And less... self-aware.”

“So the key thing isn’t intelligence, it’s-” She took a sharp breath as Fluttershy removed the largest remaining specks of dirt from her mane.

“Sorry.”

“... it’s habit?”

“It’s both... I think.” Fluttershy took another swig through the water, which by now was colored in an unpleasant shade of brown. Then,

“Vi... where are you from?”

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t want to answer that.”

“I see. And... are you going to go back to... wherever it is?”

“No. If I can, I will stay in Ponyville.”

“Stay where?”

“I don’t know.”

“But Vi, you can’t stay here, not if your parents are looking for you or-”

“I don’t think anypony is looking for me.”

“Then, can’t you tell me? Please? I promise I won’t tell anypony.”

Vi turned around.

“I really like you, Fluttershy,” she said, and it was clear that she meant it. “You seem kind and generous. If I get to know you better, maybe I’ll tell you eventually. But not today. I’m sorry. But... thank you. Even if you want to throw me out now.”

“...”

Fluttershy sighed.

“We need new water. Can you...”

The filly lit her horn, and a few moments later, the sound of draining water could be heard.

“You don’t know where you want to stay, and you don’t want to tell me where you come from...”

“I’m sorry.”

“I... I don’t know what to... I guess I’ll ask Twilight for help. She’s, an, uhm, a friend, she-”

“I know of her. I’ve heard a bit about the six element bearers.”

“... oh. I keep forgetting th-that we’re now... ... uhm, would you mind if I brought you to Twilight after we’ve got you all cleaned up? Then we can figure out what to do together.”

“As long as we don’t have to answer to other ponies or the mayor... not at all.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.” Fluttershy seemed relieved, even managing a smile. “I got a few things to take care of first, but it’ll only take a few minutes. After that, let’s go to Twilight together? Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Hm... but first, we got to get you all cleaned up. ... I think Twilight will like you... you can even do magic. You must be older than you look, right? How old are you?”

“Nine.”

“Ni... nine.”

The noise of the remaining water disappearing through drain was the only sound.

“Can I...?” Vi asked with a nod to the tap as she put the cylinder back in.

“Go ahead,” Fluttershy said dimly.

“Thanks,” Vi said, turning the tap. “Fluttershy, if you were ready to treat me as an adult when you thought I was twelve, then there’s no reason not to do it now that you know I’m nine.”

“Nine,” was Fluttershy’s response. “You know that not even Twilight talks as, well, formulated as you do? So fluid? You talk like, um, like out of a book. Like you’ve had time to think through every sentence before you say it. That’s not normal.”

“I don’t think I’m normal.”

“No,” Fluttershy said, “no, I don’t think so, either.”

“And this will be okay?” Vi asked as they were leaving the cottage together, for the first time appearing to be a bit nervous.

“Of course.” Fluttershy gave her a smile. “Why wouldn’t it?”

“Well... how many ponies live in Ponyville?”

“It’s said to be about three hundred, but...” Fluttershy chuckled. “No-one has ever counted them, actually, so, they don’t, uhm, well, they don’t really know. Nopony really knows.”

“Okay. That should make for only about thirty students. Many ponies probably know all of them personally, so if they see us...”

Fluttershy halted, so she could turn her head to the filly who’d been walking suspiciously close to her. At this point, somepony who knew Fluttershy really well, like Rarity, might have noticed how she seemed relieved at the remark, that first time this strange filly had said something really silly.

“Nopony will be suspicious just because you’re someone they don’t recognize.”

“... no? Why not?”

“Well – because you could be from anywhere. A cousin of mine. Or of Rarity. Or they forgot a face. Or... uhm, anything else.”

“But what if somepony asks? Since we won’t lie, won’t that tell them everything?”

“I... could just say some vague thing,” Fluttershy explained, “and then move on. Don’t worry, Vi. This will be fine. At least, until, uhm...”

Her voice had sort of faded near the end, with the last three words barely audible, and rather than repeating them, she only gave Vi a smile and continued her walk. “Most of the way is outside Ponyville, anyway,” she added.

“You were saying something there,” Vi pointed out as they both continued their trip, this time with a bit more distance between them. “If you don’t want to repeat it, then-”

“Oh. Uhm. No, I... well, I was about to say that, well, you see, I... well, I really don’t think you’ll have problems reaching the library, but Twilight might not be quite as eas-... easy to... uhm... persuade as I am.”

“Ah. Okay.”

“But I’m sure... well, at least I think you could win her over, too.”

Vi gave another warm smile to Fluttershy, who raised an eyebrow before she connected the dots.

“You really don’t like lying, do you?”

“No,” Vi said, “I don’t.”

“I really hope... you’ll have luck with Twilight.”

“Thanks.”

“I want to help you, but... I don’t really know what to do... I... sort of... hope I could pass on responsibility, I think. I think... I think a smarter pony than me should decide what to do.”

“Is she, really? You aren’t less smart because you can’t do magic.”

“Oh. ... thanks.” Now Fluttershy smiled again. “But Twilight is smarter than me. Not because she can do magic. And that’s okay. It’s in good hooves.” She paused. “Her, uhm, smarts, I mean.” She giggled.

“Okay. I look forward to meeting her.”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight smiled widely as she opened the door and recognized her friend. “What a pleasant surprise! I was just thinking about you!”

“Oh.” Fluttershy blinked. Whatever she had been meaning to say seemed to have been put aside by this unexpected comment. “Uhm, why-”

“Just a coincidence.” Twilight giggled. “I can tell you over a cup of tea. If you have the time for one.”

“I’m in no hurry,” Fluttershy responded. “Uhm-”

But Twilight didn’t pick up her delayed hesitation. “Spike!” she called over her shoulder, ”Could you heat up some water?”

Only when she turned back toward Fluttershy did she notice the other pony.

“Oh. Well, hello there. Who are you?”

“I...” Vi hesitated. For the first time since Fluttershy had found her, she seemed to have begun a sentence which she didn’t know how to finish. “That’s a... hard... question...” she said weakly. “I... like to be called Vi.”

“Vi?” Twilight asked. “Just Vi?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

They shook hooves.

“Are you a friend of Fluttershy? Or a relative?”

“I’m not a relative. I... don’t know if I’m a friend.”

“You don’t know?” Twilight threw a look at Fluttershy.

“I’m not sure, either,” Fluttershy said with a weak smile. “But I think so.”

“... okay. Where are you from?”

“That’s a secret.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “A secret?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then.” If she was bothered by this, she didn’t show it? “Do you like tea?”

“That-”

“Another secret?” Twilight interrupted, sounding amused.

“No, but it depends on the kind of tea.”

“Oh. Well, I have a pretty big collection. I’m sure we’ll find something you like. Why don’t you come in?”

“Thanks.” Vi stepped inside. “You have a very nice looking library,” she remarked. Then, “If you want a bit of time to talk to Fluttershy because you have to discuss what happens with me and I’m not old enough to hear it, you can do that now if you want to.“

Those words made Twilight halt in her walk, her eyebrows raised. But when she spoke, her voice was as calm as before.

“That’s really nice of you, Vi. I think we should take that offer. What do you think, Fluttershy?”

“Uhm... o-okay...”

Vi nodded. “Can I wait in the kitchen?”

“Of course. The small stairs to the right.”

Vi nodded again, following the directions, but not without letting her gaze wander around on the way, until-

“WOAH!”

-she met Spike.

“... ... you startled me! Who-”

“You’re a dragon!”

“‘course I am. So what?”

“A dragon!!!” Vi stared at him disbelievingly.

“Are you Fluttershy’s cousin or something?”

“No, was she surprised to see you, too?”

“Sure was. And for good reason, too!”

“Yeah, wow.”

“Err...”

“How come I’ve never heard of you? Not a single mention that Twilight lives with a dragon? Unless you don’t usually live here?”

“I’m... not mentioned?”

“... well, not where I... was informed. Maybe you’re mentioned at other places.”

“Oh...” Spike looked down at his feet, seemingly not taking the news well. Beside them, the fire below the can crackled.

“So,” Vi said eventually, “do you know a lot about dragons?”

“I, uh...”

Another pause followed, but Vi didn’t say anything to overplay the awkward moment.

“Hey, so who are you?”

“You can call me Vi. Do you not want to answer my question?”

“Well...” Spike nervously played with his tail between his claws. “I was brought to Twilight as an egg...”

“Okay. I see. Then, how is Twilight?”

“Oh.” Spike seemed relieved at the change of topic. “Twilight is great,” he exclaimed while the water began to boil. “And I’m her number one assistant! Which is why she instructed me to heat up water. Excuse me.” He picked up the kettle and made for the main room, only to return momentarily, opening a drawer and taking out two cylindrical boxes. Balancing them on top of each other in one claw while carrying the kettle in the other, he walked back outside.

“I’ll wait here,” Vi called after him. A while later, he was back, now empty-clawed.

“Twilight says you can come back,” he told her. “Also that I should ask you what, err, you like. Which tea, I mean.”

“I would like something without caffeine,” Vi said. “I assumed Twilight was talking herbs too when she said she had a big collection.”

“Sure.” Spike walked over towards the same drawer he had just opened. “Let’s see, we have mint, rooibos-”

“Rooibos would be nice.”

“Okay, I’ll get it.”

“You are a riddle,” Twilight greeted Vi as she returned, three cups and small plates following her in a purple cloud out of the kitchen. “Fluttershy told me some interesting things. And I’d like you to tell me where you’re from.”

“That’s a secret,” Vi repeated as Twilight gave out one plate to her. “Thanks.”

“Yes. Well.” Twilight took a few of the brown, stem-like leaves out of the second box Spike had brought, put them into Vi’s cup and poured water above them. “Fluttershy said that, too. But can’t you clue us in on your secret?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Aw, but I really think you should!”

“But you can’t know that it’s a good idea,” Vi pointed out, “since you don’t know why I don’t want to tell you.”

“Vi...” Twilight said, now sounding a lot more serious, “what is your plan?”

“Also a hard question,” Vi said carefully. “It depends on what exactly ‘plan’ means.”

A blue and purple cloud formed over Fluttershy’s cup before Twilight poured water into it.

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said politely.

“I’ve really gotten better at that one,” Twilight remarked with a chuckle before turning back to Vi. “Well, you didn’t just stumble into Ponyville by accident, did you?”

“I... can’t confirm or deny that,” Vi said, now sounding uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, that’s part of the secret. Anything relating to where I’m coming from.”

“Alright. Let’s talk about what you want, then. Would you prefer staying in Ponyville or leaving?”

“Staying.”

“And where-” But Twilight interrupted herself. “Nevermind. Look. I don’t know how you imagined this going, but... nopony will take you in if you’re hiding from your parents. I know you told Fluttershy you aren’t hiding from your parents, but... that’s not good enough. What if you’re hiding from an aunt?”

“I’m not hiding from anypony.”

“Any... pony...” Twilight repeated slowly. “What about-”

“I’m not hiding from anyone as far as I know of, and I’m not attempting to deceive you by being strictly literal. No-one is looking for me... I think.”

Twilight sighed. She took a sip of her tea, watching the filly intently.

“Look,” Vi said, “I have a good reason not to tell you. It’s not a game. If you knew, you’d probably understand.”

“If I’d understand, then why not tell me?”

“Because I’m not sure.”

“Okay. So you can promise me that no-one is looking for you... right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not lying to me?”

“No.” Vi straightened up. “I. Don’t. Lie. Not to you, not to anyone.”

“Okay,” said Twilight, “I believe you. But that doesn’t solve our problem.”

“You can always just leave me to myself. I’m not your problem. You don’t have to do anything.”

“No,” Fluttershy said before Twilight could. “We can’t do that. I’d let you live at the cottage before we let you be homeless.”

“Do you have something to write?” Vi asked.

“Uhm. Sure.”

Twilight lit her horn, and a quill, a flask of ink, and a piece of paper came floating down from somewhere on the higher levels.

“Thanks,” Vi murmured, while writing ‘What to do with Vi’ on the top of the paper and underlining it. She added the items ‘Leave to herself’ and ‘Cottage’.

“We want to solve this problem, so let’s just write down every possible solution and then decide which one is best. What other options are there?”

Twilight’s eyes trailed the list for a few seconds, then she lifted the leaves (she had taken black tea herself) from the bottom of her cup, putting them onto her plate. After a nod from Fluttershy, she did the same with hers.

“Yours need to brew longer,” she said towards Vi. “Spike, can you get milk, too?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. We could always bring you to the mayor. She would contact Canterlot, and they’d find a solution.”

Vi added ‘Mayor’ as a third point.

“You wouldn’t want to stay at the Cottage, would you?” Fluttershy asked the filly.

“Not really. I don’t like animals,” she added towards Twilight. “Particularly not the big ones. Otherwise, I’d really like to live with Fluttershy.”

“But...” Fluttershy said slowly, “you like books... don’t you?”

“I do. ... Twilight, should I add that as an option, or is it out of question?”

Twilight looked at her. Several seconds passed in silence, until Spike returned with a bottle of milk.

“Thanks,” Twilight said to him, added some milk to her tea and took a sip. “Sure. Go ahead. We’re not deciding on anything yet, right?”

“Right.” Vi added ‘Library’.

“I guess you could ask if somepony else is interested?” she suggested. When neither Twilight nor Fluttershy objected, she added ‘Another pony’ as the fifth item. “Um, anything else?”

Twilight took a step closer. She looked at the list, then at Vi, then back at the list.

“Fluttershy says we can’t do one, and I mostly agree. No-one wants two. What about three? What happens if we decide that we do want to do this the official way?”

“I won’t go to the mayor unless you drag me there. And, um, Fluttershy promised me that she wouldn’t do that. But anything else is fine, you can tell me to get out and you’ll never have to deal with me again.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, and something about her voice had changed, “listen. I’m actually not opposed to the idea of taking in a student. Or just an inmate. I wouldn’t have wanted somepony so young, but you’re obviously not like a normal filly. What I don’t like is how you’re going about it. It feels like you’re trying to trick me into doing this.”

“That’s not fair!” Fluttershy held against her, before Vi could say anything. “She hasn’t done anything! I found her, I brought her to the cottage, I brought her here, and the only thing she says she doesn’t want is to meet the mayor.”

“Hm. I guess you’re right.” Twilight frowned, seemingly unsure what to say next. “Still. Vi, do you actually-”

“I would like to live here if I could. A lot. I would be very grateful. But I... I didn’t intend to pressure you into doing anything.”

“I see.”

“I could be your number two assistant,” Vi offered. “I could do ordinary tasks, or I might help you with research. I’ve also been studying maths, I don’t know how it compares to you, but-”

“Really.”

Everyone turned around, looking at Spike.

“What?” Vi asked.

“You think you’re... Twilight, why don’t you test her? Ask her a maths question and see if she knows the answer.”

“Spike!” Twilight gave the dragon a stern glare. “Why are you being hostile? Vi hasn’t done anything to you.”

“She said she could do it!” Spike protested. “Let’s see if she’s right!”

“She said she doesn’t know how it compares to me.”

“Then ask her something... something basic! Basic for higher level stuff!”

“I agree with him,” Vi said with a nod. “Test me.”

“Fine.” Twilight sighed. “... okay. Suppose... okay, take a two on two matrix, first row one two, second row x three. What does x have to be so the matrix is not invertible?”

“Not invertible,” Vi repeated. “Well... one point five.”

“And if x is one, what’s the determinant?”

“... one.”

“That’s correct. Sorry, Spike. She clearly know some maths.”

“Bah.”

“But you still can’t be my number two assistant.”

“Um. Okay.”

“... because I already have a number two. My pet Owlowiscious.”

“Oh. Well, I can be number three.”

“I don’t think she’s trying to take your place, Spike,” Fluttershy said softly.

Spike murmured something unintelligible.

“I could also be Spike’s personal assistant, if that helps,” Vi offered. “I could be doing your tasks, Spike, and either not help Twilight, or only help her with research and stuff, so your position wouldn’t be affected at all, but It would still decrease the total amount of work to be done in the library.”

A pause.

“I like that idea,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “What do you think, Spike? Two assistants should be enough for me.”

“You... would you really be my assistant?”

“Of course,” Vi said immediately. “Your number one assistant... unless you already have...?”

Spike shook his head.

“Your number one assistant, then.” Vi saluted. “At your command, Spike, sir!”

“Do you think you could massage my back?”

“Spike!” Twilight protested, but Vi was already speeding over to fulfil her task. Lighting her horn, she applied pressure to different parts of the dragon’s backside, avoiding the scales but working around their sides.

“Less or more?”

“More, please.”

“Aye.” Vi added further magic to the stream, applying increased amounts of pressure at a similar interval. Spike closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the procedure.

Fluttershy giggled.

“Alright,” Twilight said after about half a minute, “Spike, I command you to command your number one assistant to step back.”

“Why?”

“Because I command it,” Twilight said sternly.

“You never gave me commands before!” Spike protested.

“But I do now.”

“Fine.” Spike stuck out his tongue towards Twilight. “You can stop,” he said to VI.

“Aye.” The stream stopped. Vi stepped back, retaking her old position next to Fluttershy.

“That was exhausting,” she murmured, too quiet for anyone but the pegasus to hear. “Does this mean... I can live with you?” she asked Twilight, while Fluttershy gave her a pat on the head.

“Well, I don’t know,” Twilight said, now back to sounding amused. “What do you think, Spike?”

“Welllllll...” Spike shrugged. “I guess it’s okay.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Oh, of course.”

“I guess I’m overruled, aren’t I?”

“Well, no. The library belongs to you,” Vi pointed out.

Twilight’s smile froze for a moment but returned momentarily.

“You can stay here, Vi. I think it’ll be fun. But you have to understand that there is no guarantee I won’t change my mind.”

“Of course.”

“And you have to promise me that if you think anypony is looking for you, you’ll tell me.”

“Anypony who doesn’t know I live here,” Vi corrected. “Otherwise, I would have to tell you every time Fluttershy is looking for me.”

Twilight shrugged. “Good enough.”

“Alright,” Vi said, “I promise.”

Chapter LXXIII

Actually living in what had become of Ponyville was a surreal experience.

The universal cycle of day and night no longer existed. What had replaced it was too short, and too irregular, for any norm to establish itself. Now, ponies just slept when they were tired, and woke up whenever. There was no penalty to oversleeping, and only skilled magic users were even capable of setting themselves an alarm, because everything that functioned as a watch had stopped working. No-one could tell what time of day it was anymore.

Most ponies were no longer working, because most jobs were no longer functional. There was no way to have school without a system measuring time in place. There was no way to create things, because they would spontaneously break, or explode, or transform, or duplicate, or disappear, or else do the opposite of what they were supposed to. There was no way to tend to a garden, or work on a farm, because plants didn’t behave the way they used to. There was no way to regulate the weather. And there was no way to run a business; ponies who tried seemed to receive a disproportionate share of chaos, and money had become utterly worthless ever since large quantities of bits had started popping up across town.

Doctors and other health workers were among the few whose jobs were still needed – now even more than before. Although no-one had died yet, it wasn’t uncommon for minor or medium sized accidents to occur: ponies would stumble, fall, or produce accidents themselves upon receiving temporary disabilities, which was something that happened at an alarming rate.

There was no sense of order that had survived Ponyville’s restructuring into Discord’s personal playground. It had become a perfect anarchy.