Spike jogged through the streets of Ponyville. He was on a quest! His quest involved locating the best chocolate chip cookies in town, and that quest would soon come to an end. Sugar Cube Corner was right in front of him, the sweets shop extraordinaire. He reached for the door with a laugh of victory, but the door pulled away from him.

More accurately, he was floating away from the door. "What the?" He twisted in the air to see Moondancer floating him towards her. "Uh, hey? Is something up?"

"We have work to do." She dropped him in front of her and continued on. "Come, Spike."

Spike stood there, mouth hanging open as she moved off, apparently having nothing further to say on the matter. "What's wrong? This isn't like you."

Moon waved for Spike to catch up, but didn't slow her march.

"Moon!" He hurried to her side. "Seriously, what's the rush? Did Celestia send a letter?"

"She can wait." She lifted a scroll with her magic, but her eyes glowed a fierce white glow. "You and I have work to do, and it's all the more pressing."

"Moon? What kind of work are you talking about?"

Moon swerved to stare a Spike a moment, but she looked away quickly. "How do ponies do that?"

"Do—" Spike rolled his hands over one another. "What exactly?"

"Stare." Moon frowned at the thought. "It's not as easy as they make it seem to be." She shook off that thought. "My investigation of the social dynamics of ponies is advancing too slowly, Spike. I have a plan to make a serious advance."

Spike held up both hands. "Moon, I think you're skipping a few steps."

Moon shook her head once. "Nonsense." She lifted Spike up with her magic. "I am capable of making great leaps of logic." She placed Spike on her own back. "Today, we will make great strides. If you would, chronicle it for reporting to Princess Celestia. My hooves will be busy setting up and running the test." She smiled to herself. "Yes, Spike. We're going to test the limits."

Spike was more than a little worried about all this. He'd never seen Moondancer like this, even though it was still unmistakably her. That was when he noticed something dangling off her neck. He leaned around for a better look at the new jewelry. "When'd you get that? Looks, um, neat."

"Yes." She lifted the pendant up with a hoof, staring at it. "I got it today. A gift for me from a concerned friend. She knew I could make good use of it." She let it fall against her chest. "But that is not involved in this test. First, I wish to test how willing ponies are to put themselves out to assist other ponies." She looked into a window. "I see a dress shop here. Perfect."

"Moon, where are we going with this?" He adjusted himself as he sat on her back, riding along as she walked.

"This is the residence and workplace of one Rarity." Moon looked in the window, past the displays, to the pony working industriously inside. "She will make a fine test subject. Will she help, and if so, how much?" She moved to the door and opened it, the bell chiming brightly at her entrance.

Spike held on tightly as Moondancer trotted into the store of Ponyville's resident unicorn fashionista. "Rarity? I bet she's really busy. We shouldn't bother her."

"Bothering her is exactly the point. Rarity!" she called on the way in. "There is a problem that you could assist with."

A voice from another room called back. "Just a moment please. Opal you naughty girl." She stepped out, looking distracted. "How may I help you two?" Her accent was a more refined Canterlot one, her usual fare.

Moon threw her head behind herself. "I heard a pony call for help, and I'm not entirely sure where, but I can't go look for them because of my precious little brother." She gestured at Spike on her back, who blushed furiously.

"Uh, hey again." He wriggles fingers at Rarity, glancing at Moon.

"Calling for help? Well, we can't allow that, now can we?" Rarity charged past them for the outside. "Come along, let's see what manner of help we can be, dears."

Moon looked over her shoulder at Spike and smirked. "See? She's out to help before she even knows what she's helping with. This bodes well."

Spike gave Moon a dubious look, but held his peace.

Moon followed Rarity out, closing the door behind her. She pointed. "I think it was that way." With Rarity trotting off, she went in another direction. "Now to arrange a pony where she is looking." Her horn began to glow.

"That's mean, Moon!" He frowned at her. "What would Celestia think about this?"

"I have my orders to study this place, and study its residents." She pointed her horn towards a random stallion who was passing by them, and his eyes glowed the same shade as hers as she lifted him into the air. "You are about to experience an accident."

"Wha? Ow!" He cringed as his leg was yanked in a direction it didn't want to go in. "Moon, What'd I do to you?"

Moon trotted along with an impassive expression. "You are serving Equestria as a whole. I almost envy you." She lifted him up and held him by a roof until he clung to it desperately. "Perfect." She released him, knowing he wouldn't want to fall on that bad leg.

Pony in need set up, she left the area, nodding with pleasure at his cries for help. "This should prove enlightening."

Rarity heard the calls for help as she was looking around, and came running. "Sir, are you in some sort of trouble?" She trotted over, just to recoil at seeing a pony clinging to a roof. "Oh my!"

Spike watched Rarity approach, then looked at Moon. "Why are you doing this? This is really weird and kinda mean."

Moon frowned at Spike's pointed questions. "I have to know what to expect of ponies. I was sent to understand social connections, and that is exactly what I'm doing. Their reactions will be quite enlightening. She has work to do, and only so much strength. How much is she willing to inconvenience herself to assist?"

Rarity looked around for a moment. "How'd you get up there?"

"I don't know!" He clung tightly to the roof. "But my leg! I think it's twisted." He let his back leg dangle. "Please, help!" He scrambled against the roof, trying and failing to pull himself up.

Rarity held up her own hoof. "Don't panic, darling. We'll figure something out."

Rarity had magic, but she did not have the strength to lift him. She paced around a few moments, then brightened with an idea. "Aha! One moment please!" She charged off for a nearby store. She returned with a sofa. "Everypony needs one of these for a good faint." She set it under the pony. "Now, when I count to three, drop down. I've put the couch here for you. You should land on that, instead of the hard ground. Are you prepared? One... two..."

The stallion let go early, perhaps too tired to keep clinging to the roof. He landed on the couch roughly with a yelp, but he hadn't broken anything new on the landing, making it a successful drop. Rarity looked over him with concern. "Now, your leg. Do not worry. We'll get help for that right away." She pulled out a large scarf and started to carefully wrap the damaged leg up. "It's off to the hospital for you, dear."

Moon nodded as the event unfolded. "Fascinating. She is taking the time to help him to the doctor, and paid for a sofa to catch him. They are barely acquaintances, but she's already spending valuable time and resources to see to his safety and well-being." She started trotting back towards home. "That's not something I expected. She has an appointment at the shop she owns and works in, but she's putting him before that."

Spike huffed from Moon's back. "Rarity's a nice and good pony. She wouldn't let somepony just get hurt like that. And you shouldn't be hurting them in the first place!"

Moon glanced up at Spike. "I know you're not fond of this method, but it will further our knowledge." She returned home and entered through the door, making a beeline for her study area.

Twilight waved as Moon trotted past. "Welcome back." She tried for a kiss, but Moon went forward without pause. "Busy day?"

"Indeed, though I am currently returning for an hour or two of study before going out again." Moon turned to her papers. "How is your own research going, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight blinked at the sound of her full name from Moondancer. "My research is advancing nominally, I am pleased to report, but the library is open, so it is paused so I can help ponies find their books. What research has your full attention?"

Spike hopped off of Moon and waved Twilight closer. "Moon has a necklace now, Twilight, and she's doing these weird experiments with ponies." He looked back at the studying mare. "I don't like them. They're mean."

Twilight cocked a brow at that. "Mean? I can't imagine Moondancer being mean to anypony. Can you tell me more about what you've been up to?"

She pointed at a hoof-written note. "I was testing the limits of pony social ties. I had hoped to see if they would help me when they were inconvenienced by my request, but they seemed all too happy to lend a hoof despite that. This speaks well of the strength of these bonds, even casually laid." Moondancer scribbled some notes. "More testing is required."

Twilight blinked a few times. "Moondancer. I think this kind of thing can be handled another way."

Moon looked back at Twilight, and Spike could have sworn her eyes glowed brighter at that. "I am approaching them in the most expedient and efficient way possible. The next test will reveal more needed data."

A soft hiss came from the door. Spike and Twilight both looked to see Trixie there, looking quite nervous. "Trixie is concerned about Moondancer." She approached slowly. "She was acting oddly after giving Moondancer that amulet, so Trixie has come here." She looked at Moondancer, in the thrall of her own work, then back at Twilight and Spike. "Trixie is not sure this is going well. She doesn't want Moondancer being harmed just for Trixie's curiosity. Though Trixie is happy she didn't put it on herself."

Twilight turned to Moondancer. "What's this about an amulet?"

"An interesting piece." Moon reached under her neck to lift it up with her magic. "Trixie gave it to me. It has enhanced my rationality." She dropped the necklace to hang. "And my magic. With the two, I will complete my study of friendship much faster than I had been before."

"Maybe take it off?" Spike suggested gently. "Just for a little while?"

"Unnecessary." She waved a hoof. "It is not impeding my ability to reason or work." She scribbled some more, then nodded with a firm sigh to herself.

Trixie laughed nervously. "Trixie tried asking her to do that, with as much success. She is going to hurt somepony, perhaps herself, and Trixie is unsure what to do about it. This is far too dangerous. Trixie cannot even remove the amulet by force." She cringed at the memory of that attempt. "She is not wrong that her magic has been enhanced."

"I think we can handle it." Twilight moved to Moondancer and took a seat at her table. "Moon? I've been thinking about your studies. Have you ever considered using my methods?"

Moon looked up, blinking. "Which method do you mean? Explain." She tilted her head to the side, listening intently.

"Interviews. Surveys. You could ask ponies these questions directly. You could get a lot of answers for little risk or time wasted."

Moon tapped at her chin. "Interviews, yes. That is direct, but fraught with potential hurdles and difficulties. Placing the ponies in the direct situation skips likelihoods of deception. Anypony can say they'd do something, but actually performing the deed removes all doubt instantly."

Twilight considered. "Perhaps, but if I wanted your opinions on my studying, I wouldn't drop you into an impromptu test to see if you'd help or not. You can ask for opinions without tricking them."

Moon waved that off and trotted for the door, apparently done listening to that idea without even saying bye.

"Was it something I said?" Twilight watched Moon depart with a soft grunt.

"I bet that amulet is messing with her head!" He pointed after Moondancer. "It's not like her! We should get somepony who can deal with magic items."

Twilight gestured at herself. "I'm one of the few around I could say qualifies." She suddenly smiled. "Actually, there is one other pony. Trixie, Spike, let's go." She led them out of the library. She paused just long enough to flip the sign to closed before she galloped off with them.

Trixie took a deep breath, but followed them. "Where are we going?" She glanced at the sign. "What if she returns?"

The group hurried off to another house. Twilight knocked on the door as soon as she reached it. "Lyra! I need a classmate, now, kindly." She waited impatiently, bouncing from hoof to hoof.

Lyra stuck her head out of the window above. "Just a sec. Let me finish up this chapter." Her head vanished again, leaving Twilight and company waiting.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Lyra, this is no time for reading. We need you down here right now."

Lyra grumbled audibly, then came down and opened the door. "This better be good. What's so important?" She stepped outside and looked over them. "I take it you need me to do something with my magic?"

Trixie flipped her mane. "While we know Trixie has the Greatest and most Powerful magic, we need the assistance of other magic users."

Twilight brushed Trixie aside a few inches. "Moondancer got her hooves on a cursed amulet. It's making her put her research ahead of all other priorities, including civility. She's going to hurt herself, and she's already hurting other ponies. We need to stop her and get the amulet off her."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Moon? I thought she hated jewelry." She paused. "But that does sound bad. What are we going to do?"

Spike pointed at her horn. "Can you make us a spell to dispel that kind of magic? Or put her to sleep, or, I don't know, anything?!"

"I have a book on curses." Lyra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I could try a general dispel. It might not be enough, but we can always try more powerful magic if it doesn't work." Lyra clopped her hooves together. "I've read about that kind of thing. The best way to get it off is to get the user to take it off, of their own will. The trick is getting them to want to take it off." She looked at Trixie. "You gave the amulet to Moon? I'm going to guess you weren't planning to wear it yourself?"

Trixie blushed at that. "Trixie is willing to admit that was her intention, yes." She felt over where the amulet would have dangled. "It was supposed to be useful magic. Now that Trixie has seen it in action, Trixie plans to ask for her money back." Her lips flattened into a line.

Twilight sighed softly. "We don't have time to track down who sold that amulet to Trixie. We need to find Moondancer before she can mess with somepony else." She started walking, head low in thought. "Let's go."

Author's Note

Nobody expects Lyra, but she has joined the cause.

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