The Tragic Story of Twilight Sparkle, or Twilight

Chapters

α
β
γ
δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
ι
κ
λ
μ
ν
ξ
ο
π
Prologue

α

Appearance

Ponyville was your average small Equestrian town, with only about two or three hundred ponies residing, the roads unpaved, the weather more controlled than most, everyone living in happy comfort. To the east, Whitetail Wood, to the west, farms which supplied the town and more with all sorts of fruits and vegetables and other plants, from wheat and hay, to corn and carrots. Past that lay the Everfree Forest, which ran by laws not understood by anyone in ponydom. It was a busy day. Loud. Bustling. Nopony outside could hear the sounds from the library.

"Twilight!" Spike cried. "There's nothing to be sad about! You've got to get over this... this... whatever it is you're going through!"

"Spike, you just don't understand!" said Twilight, her head in her pillow.

"Then explain it to me!"

Twilight growled in frustration, but rolled over so she was facing the ceiling.

A few seconds passed, and Spike waiting for her to speak. She didn't, so tentatively, he moved towards the bed before sitting down on it and looking at Twilight's face. She was looking out the window, her face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Twilight...," said Spike again. "Come on. Whatever it is that's bothering you, you can tell me. And... if not me, you have lots of friends. They'd all be worried to know you're feeling like this."

A pause. Finally, Twilight sighed and looked at Spike. "They can't help me. Nopony can."

"What do you need help with?"

Twilight sighed again. Her eyes moved away from Spike, but just shifted towards the ceiling. She was deep in thought.

"Ever since I was a little filly, I wanted to learn," she began. Spike felt like he had heard this before, but didn't want to interrupt. "It was more than just magic, I wanted to learn everything. And I learned all ponies have to teach about magic, and science, history and geography. Everything. I've been a student all my life, I've read all the books back in Canterlot, I've read all the books here in the Ponyville library."

"Sounds like you got your wish!" said Spike hopefully.

"No. I haven't."

"What do you mean?"

"After all that learning, you know what I've learned?" Twilight didn't wait for Spike to reply. "I've learned I haven't learned anything. And nopony can teach me, because nopony else knows anything either."

"I... I don't understand." His words came out as an honest plead, for her to tell him what was bothering her. He was desperately worried for her, and needed some way to help her. He couldn't help her if he didn't understand.

"Spike... you've been with me all this time. Having assisted me all these years, you know almost as much as I do. Tell me Spike, why do the clouds move on their own in the Everfree Forest?"

Spike shook his head. "Nopony knows that Twilight. But everypony knows that nopony knows that. I know you didn't expect to learn that."

"Maybe. But alright, fair enough. Tell me instead, why do clouds float in the air?"

"Well... uh. I don't know."

"Nopony knows. Nopony knows how. We make clouds, we move them around every day and use them to make rain and shade and everything else, but nobody knows a thing about them! What about magic? I can cast all sorts of spells, but I don't know a thing about why they work the way they do. Every spell ponies know was created by just haphazardly slapping together or modifying old spells and hoping something happens. There's no real system to it! There's no understanding, not anywhere!"

"I... if you think that, I guess you would be the one to know."

"I know it Spike. And that, is why I'm so sad. Can you help me with that Spike? Can you tell me anything new?"

"I can tell you about the cool thing I found behind the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse?" offered Spike.

Twilight just scoffed. "Just go away Spike. Go do something. Anything. You can take all the money you want and do whatever. Just leave me alone."

Spike sighed and shook his head. He might have been hurt and insulted if it wasn't for Twilight's tone of voice. She didn't sound angry or frustrated. She just sounded defeated, like there was no hope left for her. And Spike didn't know any way to help. But maybe others would. Spike turned to leave, but he wasn't going to go have fun. He was going to gather up Twilight's friends, and see if they could help.

Twilight heard the bedroom door close, but she didn't turn to look. She just didn't care to. She had never felt so miserable in her life. So utterly alone. Her entire life's work had meant nothing. What would Rainbow Dash think, if she was to wake up one day and learn that the Wonderbolts would never, ever, accept her? Or Rarity, if she suddenly became aware there was no fashion industry in the world she could be a part of? A small part of her, ever so small, thought about just ending it all right there and killing herself. But that would be selfish. She had friends who needed her, and the Princess valued her input. If nothing else, she should stay and be around as just another body to do the necessary work to keep civilization running.

In a fit of utter desperation, Twilight did something she had never before thought to do. Those quacks who casted curses or talked about creating zombies or talking to ghosts, among those stories were tales of spirits and demons, gods or whatever. Unscientific mystical forces that could be appealed to.

Twilight opened herself up to them. If there was anything out there like that, and if they could help her, she wanted it known that she was asking.

Hello.

Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin. Instead she just screamed and jumped out of the bed. She saw nothing around her out of the ordinary.

It came as a small whisper, a voice that seemed to originate from a world away, yet so close it was like one of her own thoughts.

"H-hello?" Said Twilight, uncertain.

Hello.

"W-who are you? Where are you?"

I am. You might call me a knowledge spirit. I come here to help you. I see you want my help. I offer to raise you up from your ignorance, to shed light to the darkest unknowns, to teach you everything I can.

Twilight couldn't believe it. Every bit of knowledge in her mind was telling her that what was happening was impossible, that she had just gone crazy. Yet, she didn't feel like she was insane. For the first time in several days, she felt hope.

"Why can't I see you?"

Put simply, I am a being from a higher plane of existence than you. It is impossible to interact physically with your universe, however information can be shared, the barest of affinities made present to connect your mind with mine. In that vein, if you wish, I can make myself visible to you, though I will be present as only a spectre, unable to interact with the world you would see me in.

Twilight hesitated to speak. But this was her chance, and she tried her best to steel herself. "Let me see you. It'd make me more comfortable."

A slight fuzz came into view in front of Twilight's eyes, and slowly it formed into the vague shape of a pony. It straightened and sharpened, until eventually, Twilight was looking at what could be seen as a normal pony, a unicorn, like herself, male, with a white coat and bright yellow eyes, with a mane and tail to match. His cutie mark was visible, and was merely a simple bright orange circle with a yellow glow around it. It almost reminded Twilight of the Princess's sun cutie mark, as it looked like a less stylised sun.

"What's your name?" Asked Twilight, horribly nervous. She still wasn't completely sure she wasn't going crazy, no matter how hopeful she was.

An image appeared in her mind suddenly.

meΦ+(S/T)ω= 2πHiLΣs

"Mephistopheles," repeated Twilight. She tried to make sense of the symbols. Though some were familiar, she had no idea what they were supposed to represent. "What does it mean?" she thought out loud.

"It is a simple equation to determine the number of rotations around the Earth of any of the celestial spheres given a time and the number of epicycles, assuming constant variables. The first variable, M-subscript-e refers to the mass of the spheres by way of its atomic components, multiplied by Phi, referring to the frequency of the circular Xi flow it's following, plus Speed divided by -"

"I don't understand any of this!" shouted Twilight.

"You will," said Mephistopheles.

“What do I owe you in return?”

“Nothing. It’s all yours. Do with it what you want. I have faith in you and your species.”

β

Revelations

"You said she was depressed, not that she was dyin'!" shouted Applejack. Spike worriedly moved from the bedroom to the kitchen bringing in pots of warm water and small towels to try and make Twilight more comfortable.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had left to fetch Zecora. Rarity had gone to call a nurse. And Pinkie was off... doing whatever Pinkie did. Only Applejack and Spike remained to keep watch over Twilight.

When Spike returned with Twilight's five friends, he can come to find her collapsed on her bedroom floor, mumbling nonsense every now and then. He had no idea what had happened, and nothing they would wake Twilight. She was also running a high fever, and sweating heavily.

"Do you think we should tell the Princess?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," said Spike. "She's just a little sick, we don't need to bother the princess over something like this. I'm sure she'll be fine if we just give her some rest."

Spike swallowed hard. He hoped she would be all right. Truth is, he was scared, and would have liked nothing more than to run to the princess for help. She'd know what to do. But he also knew that the Princess was busy and shouldn't be bothered with every little thing. Maybe if Twilight didn't get better after a long time. Then he'd send a letter.

Twilight suddenly shook.

"All Xi flows are defined by two properties, "frequency" and "charge," while the...," she said, before beginning to mumble again.

"What is it she's saying?"

"I don't know," said Spike.

Soon later, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy arrived with Zecora, carrying a bunch of bags filled with strange plants and containers. Silently they watched as Zecora set to work, boiling stuff, and feeling around Twilight for who knows what sort of signs. Then Rarity returned, bringing one of the nurses from the Ponyville Urgent Care Centre. She took a worried glance at Zecora, who merely ignored the nurse, before also checking signs.

"So?" asked Spike. "What's wrong with her?"

"The atomic make up of standard terrestrial silver is 12^4w, 3^6f, 4^8e, 32^4w, 64^2a...."

Both Zecora and the nurse stood still as they listened to Twilight's incoherent ramblings. They waited a few more minutes to see if Twilight would say anything else, before the nurse finally answered Spike.

"I'm... not really sure," she said. "She's not sleeping. I'd say she's in a coma, except she's talking, and coma patients don't talk. She also has a fever, but by all other appearances she's fine. I just don't understand it."

Zecora nodded. "There's nothing more to say, so as you see, with this pony, I must agree.

"Oh, there must be something one of you can do," said Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry... we don't know much about comas. Since she's talking, I'd hold out hope that she'll just wake up from it soon. If not... there's nothing I can do. Just keep watch over her."

Zecora nodded again. "Maybe if you talk to her, and keep her company, that will help her make a quick recovery?"

"Well of course we weren't just going to leave her here!" said Rarity. "If that's all we can do, that we'll do it!"

As Zecora and the nurse left, Spike and the three ponies couldn't help but wonder where Pinkie had gone off to. Though they had learned to trust Pinkie, sometimes they still worried that she didn't take anything seriously.

"Ponies are a subset of the genus Equus, a genus which also includes Zebras and Donkeys...."

"Well, either that's just a coincidence or there's hope yet that Twilight'll be okay," said Applejack.

"All I understood out of that was 'Zebra' and 'Donkey,'" said Rainbow Dash.

"Me too. But Zecora was just here, so maybe she has some idea of what's going on around her."

Later that day, Pinkie returned. She was carrying a gigantic amount of flowers and balloons and decorations, and immediately set to work decorating Twilight's library with them.

"If we make everything look super fun, Twilight's sure to want to join us, and then she'll have to wake up!" said Pinkie.

Everyone else smiled and nodded as they began to help Pinkie decorate, happy at the sentiment. When they were done though, Twilight continued to lay in bed, saying all sorts of strange things randomly.

As the day went on, ponies filtered in and out to see Twilight and give their well wishes. Twilight was a well known and respected pony in Ponyville, so when word got around that she was ill, she had no end to the visitors and well-wishers. But by the end of the day, when the visitors began to finally dwindle, the five friends had to finally leave.

"We'll come visit every day," said Rarity. "It's the least we can do."

"I just hope she snaps out of it soon," said Applejack. "I just hate seeing her like this."

Spike kept the decorations up, hoping the good will would help.

"I hate to worry them," said Twilight. She was floating, looking down at herself and Spike, aware of everything that was going.

"It is necessary for safe and quick absorption of so much information. Your body will remain undamaged. It is merely suffering from the absence of the air aspect of your pnuema, and a subsequent overabundance of choleric humour which is throwing your overall Xi out of alignment. If you were not here, your pnuema not removed, you'd go insane from hyperclarity and the overabundance of sanguine."

He was always emotionless. His face never changed, but was forever locked into a state of passive stoicism. It was unnerving in its way, but Twilight found she was becoming used to it.

"I can't believe I understood that."

"And much more you have left. Let us continue."

For seven days, Spike, along with Twilight's five friends, cared for Twilight. They changed her bed sheets, spoon-fed her soup and gave her water to drink, turned her over so she wouldn't develop bedsores, washed her, brushed her tail and mane, and kept her company. Far worse than the chores was seeing a previously wonderful and energetic pony reduced to such a state. Each one of her friends couldn't help but think long about all the time spent with Twilight, fearing that they were the last they'd get before Twilight simply died in her never-ending sleep.

Spike worst of all. He remembered the day she had hatched him. He remembered living with her as a hatchling, before he knew anything. He remembered all the chores and errands he had to do for her, but which he took great pride in. All the fun they had together playing, when neither had to work or study. She was his best friend, closer and more important to him than anybody, and the fear of losing her was unbearable.

The others had taken notice but couldn't do much to help. They understood. They all suffered.

Finally, Spike cracked and sent a letter to the princess. She was the princess, if anybody knew what to do, she would.

She arrived personally. No guards, no chariots. She just showed up at the library. Ponies from around town stood in wonder at the princess's sudden appearance.

"Take me to her," said Princess Celestia. Spike and Twilight's friends bowed and did so, eyes full of worry.

The princess looked at Twilight for a moment, before her horn glowed. Magic enveloped Twilight, and for a moment everyone thought it was going to be as simple as that. But several seconds later, the magic died away and Twilight remained as still as ever.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. There's no life in her. No spirit. I know of no way this could have happened."

"There's nothing you can do for her princess?" asked Fluttershy. She knelt her head down as she spoke a forlorn expression on her face.

"Not at the moment," said Princess Celestia, a fierce expression on her face. Her entire body was stiff and proud, determined. "I'll find some way. There's got to be something, somewhere, that can she some light on this. If not here in Equestria, maybe somewhere else, in other lands."

"That won't be necessary princess," came a familiar voice.

All except for the princess gasped. Celestia merely looked shocked.

Twilight was awake.

γ

A Prometheus Born

Twilight got out of bed. She felt gross, sweaty and smelly. Her muscles were sore from disuse. At the same time, she felt better than she had ever felt in her life. Powerful. Invincible. The entire cosmos had been opened to her. Nothing was unknown. She could do anything, be anything.

"Twilight!" shouted Spike. He ran up to her and hugged her tight. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight patted his head with her hoof. She heard him sniffle slightly. He was crying. She smiled down at him, then looked up at her friends. They all looked pretty much just as Spike did. Unbelievably happy. Her smile brightened.

Then she saw the princess.

"My most faithful student, I'm so happy you're alright," she began. "But don't you think you should rest? It was only a moment ago that you were sick."

Spike finally let go. Twilight leaned forward and gave him one last nuzzle before looking back up at the princess.

"I'm fine Princess. I've never felt better. Though, I think I need a bath."

"Coming right up!" said Spike, and he eagerly ran towards the bathroom. The sound of the water running could be heard moments later.

"Princess, I have so much to tell you!" said Twilight. "But not right now. I'll send letters!"

Without waiting for reply she rushed to the bathroom and shut the door.

"I'm sorry Princess!" said Rarity. "I'm sure Twilight didn't mean any disrespect, running from us like that. She must not be quite herself, she - "

The princess raised a hoof and waved her off.

"It's fine," she said smiling. "Twilight appears healthy now, and that's all that matters. Though I am curious what happened to her to put her in such a state in the first place."

The others nodded.

"I suppose now that the danger has passed, I should leave. Tell Twilight I am pleased she's recovered, and I look forward to her future reports on friendship."

Twilight lay in the bath, Spike outside the tub keeping her company. Ideas formed in her mind like the thousands of bubbles in the tub. It was a long road ahead of her, but it'd be worth it.

For now, she was content to simply soak in the warm water and let her mind cloud.

"I'm so glad you're alright," said Spike. He was just sitting on a stool, still. He looked to be thinking. "I was so afraid you were going to... die."

Twilight frowned. "I know Spike, and I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm okay now though. You don't have to worry anymore."

She turned around and rose slowly. She got out of the tub.

"Spike, go out and tell the girls they can go home. We have a lot of work to do. Also, clean up those decorations. I'm awake now, we won't need them."

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Mephistopheles step forward.

"I suspect Pinkie will want to throw a party to your recovery."

Twilight mentally nodded. "Tell Pinkie she can throw a party later, but not now. After that, sharpen the quills and bring out several inkwells and sheets of parchment. And bring out a book of directories. There's a lot of work to be done Spike, we best get started now."

"I could tell you what you need to know," said Mephistopheles. "You do not need a directory."

"I would prefer to do some things myself," said Twilight mentally. "It's not too much extra work."

"Well uh... okay Twilight," said Spike, oblivious to the conversation between Twilight and the spirit. "Whatever you say."

He left the bathroom. Twilight's horn glowed, and a towel lifted up and began to dry her. She smiled in wonder. She knew how that worked.

She took her time, drying her coat, brushing her mane and tail, making sure to get the strands behind her ears nice and smooth, before she took a file to her hooves. Nopony had filed her hooves while she was asleep, so they were getting unshapely. Her horn as well, needed filing.

As time passed and she felt herself clean and neat, she left the bathroom and saw that Spike had done as she told. Her friends weren't there anymore, and there were no unruly decorations or flowers littering her bedroom. Down in the main room, Spike worked, setting down ink wells from the stockroom.

"Almost done Twilight," said Spike. Twilight nodded, and waited patiently for the dragon to finish his work.

No sooner than he finished setting everything, Twilight lifted a quill with her magic, along with a sheet of parchment, and began writing. Quickly, she jotted down a list of things for Spike to do. She needed time to work on other things, so she couldn't hound him all day giving him orders. He had to do it himself if she was to get anywhere. Finally she finished and shoved the list of chores to Spike, who looked at it and began reading. Twilight then picked up another bit of parchment and walked over to one of the free drafting tables and set to work designing a new place to live.

It needed to be next to a river, for it needed not only a supply of water for purification, but for cooling and power. It'd be nice to be near the Everfree Forest as well. It had very strong Xi flows all over it which would be useful for experimentation.

Silently she worked.

"Uh, Twilight," said Spike. Twilight didn't bother to look up or stop what she was doing.

"Yes Spike?" she said.

"You want me to buy all these things? Six pounds of cinnabar, fifty pounds of gold and silver...you have dozens of different plants and woods and stuff. How are you supposed to afford this? All this will cost a fortune!"

"Go to the bank, take out a loan. I'm sure they'll approve it. I'm well regarded after all. Also, get an extra one hundred and fifty thousand bits."

Twilight could hear the dragon cough and sputter.

"One hundred fifty thousand!? There's no way!"

Twilight sighed and turned around. The quill she was using continued to hover in the air.

"If there's a problem, remind them that I'm the Princess's most loyal and faithful student. I'm good for it."

Silently, she asked Mephistopheles if there was anything else she could do to get the bank to accept. The spirit-pony stood behind the drafting table, shifting his tail from left to right.

"The owner of the bank is particularly fond of gems. She also enjoys music and dancing. She would also prefer nopony find out that she's involved in underground gambling."

Twilight couldn't stop herself from audibly sneering.

"I won't resort to blackmail," she said inwardly. Mephistopheles shrugged. "It's up to you. I just give you information."

Twilight focused back on Spike.

"If the bank refuses even after all that, tell me and I'll go over there myself."

Spike nodded dumbly.

"Hurry Spike!" said Twilight, and without hesitation Spike bolted out of the library and hopefully, towards the bank. Spike turned back to her work.

There would have to be at least two levels to this house, as well as a basement level. It would need to be well insulated and ventilated. It needed to be large. She would fill it with hundreds of instruments and tools, and it needed room to accommodate them all. She'd need help in construction.

Absentmindedly she levitated another quill, and it jotted down several of her friend's names and the duties she'd need them to perform to help with this project. She was sure they'd agree to it.

At the bank, Spike held his list of items and the calculations for the amount of money it'd all cost, plus the extra one hundred and fifty thousand. He presented it to the clerk he was speaking with. She looked at it and rolled her eyes.

"This is a lot of money," she said. She was a pretty unicorn, wearing glasses and clip in her blue mane. But her eyes were sharp and Spike could see already he wasn't going to be able to settle this loan. "Why does Twilight need all this?"

Spike merely shrugged. "She didn't say. She just told me to remind you that she's the most loyal and faithful of all of the Princess's students and she's good for the money."

The clerk nodded. "I don't doubt that, but we can't just loan vast sums of money to all of the princess's students. If they were that loyal and faithful, and in that much need, surely the princess herself would give them the money?" She passed the note back. "I'm afraid that without a very good reason, there's no way this bank could accept such a loan."

Spike nodded, disappointed. He hoped Twilight wouldn't be too mad. Of course, he wouldn't mind too much even if she was. It was only a few hours ago that she was lying in bed, him worrying for her life. He still wasn't quite over the fact that she was alive and healthy again.

When Spike returned, Twilight has just finished the finishing touches on her house plan. rolling it up and filing it away, she proceeded to grab another sheet of parchment, throwing away her spent ink well and fetching a new one.

Spike saw there was already a small pile of empty ink wells.

"Should I go buy more ink?" he asked.

"Yes," said Twilight. "I see things didn't go well at the bank." Mephistopheles had reported so after it happened.
Spike dropped his list of items on a table and shuffled his feet. "Sorry Twilight, they dismissed it out of hoof."

Twilight wasn't nearly so annoyed as she thought she'd be.

"It doesn't matter, I'll go tomorrow myself. In the meantime, make those orders out anyway. I suspect that we can still get everything on credit."

Spike nodded, and set to work.

"Wait!" said Twilight. Spike jumped up in shock.

"First, get the ink! Bring a sandwich back after that! I'm starving! Get something for yourself too. Buy more parchment, oh, and a cupcake for dessert! Don't stop by Sugarcube Corner though, Pinkie's already planning a party and if she sees you she'll assume it's okay to throw it, and we're much too busy for that!"

Her commands were a jumble, and Spike had to think hard to reorder them in his mind into something that made sense.

He did what she said, only to come back to see half a dozen quills floating upon half a dozen sheets of parchment, all writing different things. He didn't think such fine magical control was possible.

Spike was suddenly worried. Twilight was different somehow. He wondered if she had come out of that coma all right after all.

"Spike, there you are!" she said, taking the sandwich from him and shoving a stack of parchment in front of his face. "Send those to Princess Celestia!"

Spike looked at the first page. On it was an incomprehensible diagram consisting of dozens of circles, some labelled with names and strange symbols, most not, with all sorts of odd numbers and calculations on them.

"What am I looking at?" asked Spike. He noticed she didn't even look up from what she was doing before answering.

"It's a diagram of the celestial bodies and their motions, the calculations used to arrive at this motion, planetary compositions, and so on and so forth. I'm sure the princess will have particular interest in it." She smiled, but it faded almost as quickly as it began.

"Their... motion?" Spike asked. He knew the Sun and Moon's motion were at the whim of the Princesses, but he never paused to think about what moved the other planets. He looked at the diagram again. His eyes widened.

"Twilight, there's more than five planets here!" he said.

Twilight again didn't look up. Her faced scrunched up in concentration, the way she usually did when she was working on something particularly difficult. Spike couldn't even guess what was occupying her mind so, she was obviously doing so many things at once. His brain hurt just thinking about it.

"The chart counts the Sun and Moon, as well as the sphere of fixed stars. Further, I have discovered two more planets past Saturn. I call them Uranus and Neptune."

"What?" said Spike, not understanding. "What's the sphere of fixed stars? Where did you come up with these names? How did you even have time to discover any new planets?! You've been in bed for the past week!"

"Don't worry about it Spike. It's all just a matter of... inspiration. The conclusions follow from the observations."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Spike did as commanded however, and with one great breath he sent the stack of unrolled parchments to the Princess.

After a few minutes, there wasn't a reply.

They worked late into the night. Spike sent several more stacks of parchments to the Princess. He cleaned up after Twilight's work. He made her dinner, and snacks when she got hungry, brought her things to drink, and cleaned away the empty plates and cups when she was done. She smiled and nodded at his diligence, but it was clear she wasn't paying attention to him.

Spike had seen her like this before, back in Canterlot. When she was studying for exams or otherwise completely caught up in something. It wasn't good for her. He hoped she'd set some time for her friends later.

Twilight worked as long as she could. She watched Spike collapse a few hours past nightfall. She was surprised he had lasted as long as he had. Owlowicious rose and took over his duties. He wasn't as good. She needed Mephistopheles to translate his sounds into something she could understand. He couldn't send letters to Luna, who was the one up now. He couldn't run errands, even if there were many ponies up now. All he could do was clean up around her, or maybe cook her something.

"You are fatigued," said Mephistopheles. "Your work is suffering." He had his simulacrum appear as if resting, though Twilight knew it was just for her benefit. He had no physical body, he was not composed of the same stuff she was.

"Fatigue is just one's Xi frequency lowering slightly. My body will produce the appropriate humours to keep me going. I must work."

"You know that is a temporary measure. You will suffer if you are awake for too long. The body can't produce enough, and if it could, there would be side effects. You know this."

Twilight sighed. She finished her sentence and put the quill down. She was running out of ink again anyway. And she knew he was right.

"Very well."

She went to sleep.

In her dreams, she walked along the streets of Ponyville. It was a different Ponyville, one shaped by her knowledge. The streets were paved, the town a city, the city covered in a dome woven from Air-Silver threads which filtered out unwanted weather and kept the temperature at a steady and comfortable 72'F. There was a local train station which didn't need to be pulled by muscular male ponies, but which ran automatically, having an engine which took fire from the light, heating the impure water and removing the air from it, which rose to its natural place, turning pistons and levers which charged the rails. The front was covered with Fire-Gold, the rails Fire-Gold as well, with uniformly spaced golden pins with cinnabar paint, strengthening the Xi flows along the rail and rarefying the air below the train. A pony could travel the circumference of the world in little over an hour on such a device. Ponies of all types flew over her head, and she knew that far above, Celestial Ships carved from the planets travelled the spheres. Nopony was hungry, for food could be produced without plants. Everypony was happy. It was a dream showing a world of her making, and she hoped she would never wake from it.

But she did.

It was nearly noon, and she silently cursed herself for sleeping so long. Spike was already up, in the kitchen. She could hear him cooking, and her mouth watered at the prospects of eating. She was very hungry.

"Morning Twilight," said Spike as she trotted downstairs. "I let you sleep in. I don't know how long you stayed up, but when I went to wake you, you looked beat."

"I appreciate the concern Spike," said Twilight. She looked down as Spike set a plate in front of her. Eggs, carrots, some toast with butter, daffodils. She dove in. It tasted wonderful, and it only improved her mood even further. She didn't dawdle on it though, and was finished with her breakfast before Spike had even had a chance to eat his own.

"First thing I'm going to do is go to the bank. I need to get this loan. Those orders you sent should have gone out by now, so while I'm gone, make room for it all somewhere. Maybe down in the lab. Move all the junk in a corner or something."

"Sure thing Twilight," said Spike. He saluted her.

She took a deep breath and stepped out into town. The sun was bright above her. It hurt her eyes. She hadn't been outside in over a week. She had forgotten.

As she kept her eyes down to keep the pain away, she noticed the happy faces giving her greeting and well-wishes. It seemed everybody was glad she was finally okay. She smiled and waved her hoof at them as they walked passed.

Arriving at the bank, she wasted no time in entering. It wasn't a very large bank. Ponyville was a small town after all.

"Which one was the one Spike spoke with?" she asked Mephistopheles. The spirit trotted behind her.

"That one," he pointed. She nodded absent-mindedly, and made her way to the offending clerk.

She didn't smile as Twilight approached.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Does she know why I'm here?" asked Twilight silently to Mephistopheles.

"Yes," he said.

"You know why I'm here," said Twilight. "And I'm pretty sure you're not going to give me what I want. So I want to talk to the owner. Where is she?"

"Glittery Gold is in her office on the second floor. I'm sure she wouldn't mind speaking with you, but I doubt her opinion will be different from mine. You are free to try to convince her, however."

Twilight nodded curtly. "Thank you."

On the second floor, Glittery Gold's was the largest and most adorned office. Clearly, this was a pony who valued wealth. Twilight filed that away along with the other things she knew about the pony.

"What is she doing now?" asked Twilight.

"She is looking over financial reports from a farm adjacent to your friend Applejack's farm. She is not terribly interested and will certainly accept a distraction."

Twilight took that as an invitation to just open the door and walk in without knocking. The pony named Glittery Gold looked up from her reports. Her eyes grew interested as Twilight walked up to her desk. From the inside, the office was lavishly furnished. Paintings, photos, and various trophies adorned the walls. There were lots of comfortable looking places to rest for visitors. There were jewels embedded in the walls. Small, unassuming ones, but they were there anyway. On one side there was a cabinet. Twilight asked what was in it, and Mephistopheles replied "Alcohol." He elaborated on the specific kinds, but she didn't really care about that. It was unusual enough for a pony to have it at all. Ponies looked down upon drinking.

"I'd like a loan," said Twilight, when she got close.

The pony smiled. "One of the clerks downstairs will be happy to help you with that."

Twilight shook her head.

"Already tried that. You see, I'd like a large loan."

Glittery Gold's smile faded slightly.

"How large."

"Around the order of two hundred thousand bits."

Her smile faded completely.

"That is indeed a large loan. Why do you need it?"

"Does it matter? I need it. I am Princess Celestia's prized pupil, her most loyal and faithful student. I'm good for any loan."

Glittery Gold brought a hoof to her chin in thought.

"I don't think that'd be enough. Even loyal and faithful ponies make mistakes. What if, through no fault of your own, you're unable to pay it back? Why not just go straight to the princess, if you are so loyal and faithful?"

"I would prefer to not bother the princess with such base requests. Besides, wouldn't you prefer I give you the chance to make a decent profit off the interest?"

Glittery Gold's eyes narrowed.

"Is there anything she really wants?" asked Twilight to Mephistopheles.

"Nothing you can currently offer," he replied.

"What about diamonds or other gems? Rarity is good at finding them."

"She can already get as many as she wants. I'm certain she would not accept such an offer. The risk is still too much for her."

"I don't think I can help you," Glittery Gold said finally. "It's too risky. I can't do it."

Twilight was beginning to get annoyed.

"I would think somebody with your type of hobbies would be attracted to such risk."

Glittery Gold's complexion drained. Her previously shiny yellow coat suddenly seemed very pale.

"What is she thinking?" Twilight asked the knowledge spirit.

"She's trying to decide if you actually know anything, or if what you said is just a coincidence. She fears you know more than you should. She worries you'll start talking around town. Her thoughts are now on her own financial ruin. She's worried what would happen to her foals, for her husband is dead."

That snapped Twilight back to sense. She couldn't believe she had said that. Before she could try and say something else, Glittery Gold spoke.

"Very well then," she growled out. "I'll give you the loan. But I don't want to see you here again."

Twilight wanted to apologise... but she didn't.

Glittery Gold took out a piece of parchment and wrote something on it. She passed it to Twilight.

"Give that to one of the secretaries downstairs, they'll open an account here for you with the money inside. Now leave my office."

Twilight did so.

Back at the library, Spike was busy making lunch. She'd been at the bank longer than she had thought.

"Everything's taken care of with the loan," Twilight said. "When everything starts pouring in tomorrow, we'll be able to send cheques. In the meantime, I have these."

She levitated a few envelopes and gave them to Spike.

"Deliver these please. One's for Applejack, one's for Rarity, one's for Rainbow Dash. Try to avoid Pinkie Pie. After that drop these off to the post office."

This time it was a large stack of orders, requests, and other miscellanea.

Spike glanced at what they were for. "Jeez Twilight, what could we possibly need all this for? Are we building a house?"

"Yes," said Twilight.

Spike didn't know how to reply, so he merely nodded before walking out of the library on his duties.

"Um...." said Twilight. "What's Glittery Gold doing right now?"

"Drinking," replied Mephistopheles.

Twilights ears lowered. She didn't mean to do that. She just really needed that loan. It was all for a good cause. Everything was going to be fine for the poor bank owner.

The next day supplies started pouring in just like Twilight had predicted. Twilight's three friends, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had come over. Applejack had brought Apple Bloom along as requested.

"No what's all this about Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I must say I'm very confused as well," said Rarity. "It wasn't too long ago that we were worried sick about you, and now you want us all to come help you with some big project? It's all very sudden."

"Where's Pinkie and Fluttershy?" asked Applejack. "And why'd I bring Apple Bloom here?"

"Because I'm a big pony," said Apple Bloom, puffing out her chest.

"Girls, please," said Twilight. "I need your help with making something. I need to build a new house. This library's too small, and is too much of a fire hazard. I didn't ask Pinkie or Fluttershy to come because I didn't think they were suited to this task. I asked you to bring Apple Bloom because I heard she was quite the handy pony. I'm lucky it's summer so she can help all day."

Apple Bloom smiled at the praise.

"Build a house?" asked Rarity. "But dear, why? You live in such a lovely place already."

"As I said," said Twilight. "It's too small for my future needs. And burns too easily. Too many books."

Rainbow Dash laughed. "I didn't think I'd ever hear those words come out of your mouth Twilight. Haha, 'too many books.'"

Twilight was nonplussed. "I've read them all anyway. I don't need them. So anyway, will you all help?"

"Well, if you need it, of course we'll help," said Applejack.

"We're at your service," said Rarity.

"I guess," said Rainbow Dash.

"Alright then!" said Twilight, pulling out several large sheets of parchment. She knocked a bunch of stuff off the table in the middle of the room and laid the parchment down so everypony could see it.

Rarity only took a quick glance at it before speaking.

"This is... quite a house," she said. "This will take a lot of work. A lot of space as well. Where do you plan to build this?"

"I bought a plot of land on the river next to Applejack's farm. It's near the Everfree Forrest."

"What about the supplies?" asked Applejack. "Lot a lumber gonna go into this."

"It's all taken care of. I'm having things delivered to the site as we speak.

"Where did you get the money?" asked Rarity.

"What's with the thousand questions?" asked Twilight, more forcefully than she intended. Rarity shrank from her words, and Twilight suddenly felt terrible.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to shout. I'm just really eager to get started. Just trust me, everything's been taken care of. We just need to get to work."

"Well all right then," said Applejack. "Let's get to it."

The plot Twilight has selected was around one hundred by one hundred acres, a very large amount of land. It was mostly level, sturdy but infertile soil, rocky and difficult to work. The rocks it did grow weren't even useful. Which is why nopony had bought it. But it was perfect for Twilight.

It was backbreaking work. Despite Twilight's wishes, Fluttershy and Pinkie would come by often to help as well. Pinkie mostly just tried to keep up morale, while Fluttershy did the little things. Together, Twilight supposed they helped a little, but it wasn't a big boost in productivity.

It wasn't long before Twilight had to hire specialists. She needed metalworkers to set up the boilers and the forge. She stressed the importance of following her plans exactly, and the workers indeed followed her instructions without too much fuss.

After it was too dark to work, Twilight would go back to the Library and write more to Celestia or Luna.

After a month, and half way through her new house's completion, she finally got a reply. It was from Celestia, and it said only a few words.

I would like to see you as soon as possible.

δ

Questions

"She wants to see me?" said Twilight to herself. She paced back and forth in her library. Spike was gone, running some errand or another.

"It's what the note says," said Mephistopheles. "I can tell you what she wants, if you'd like."

"No, no," said Twilight. "I'll just go find out for myself. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." She stopped pacing. "When she said 'as soon as possible' did she mean that literally?"

"She meant as soon as possible."

Twilight then closed her eyes and concentrated.

Normally teleportation was difficult under even the best of circumstances. Not many unicorns could do it. It was in fact, a very complex process that could only be done because ponies had a certain biological capability to do it, like fish had the capability to swim like they did despite the complex physics involved. Having such an understanding of the physics of teleportation as she did, Twilight was able to teleport distances which, before, would have been deemed impossible.

Teleportation was an amazing thing when you got down to it. First an Affinity was constructed between two points, one's current location, and the location one wished to be in. One's constituent Atoms were then completely deconstructed, the Pnuema removed from the body and free floating, the Xi flows of the body instantly duplicated over to the second point due to the established Affinity. When one's Atoms are deconstructed, the Affinity point for the starting location breaks down as nopony is there to keep it up, and where there was once two unique Xi flows, there is once again only one, in a different location. Atoms combine from the surroundings to form a new body, and the previously free-floating Pneuma jumps to a familiar home. The violent motion of the Pneuma causes momentary disorientation, but in the end, one is in a different location nearly instantaneously. If it wasn't so natural for pony's bodies, their brains and minds so built for it, the process would be fraught with complication. Still, in the back of her mind, Twilight could think of odd possibilities and horrible repercussions, like building an Affinity between three points and tearing one's Pnuema in two, or stopping the deconstruction of one's Atoms and removal of one's Pnuema and creating a Pnuema-less copy of one's self.

Affinities were not endless, the Xi flows that constructed them could wind down, and so there was a limit to how far a pony could teleport. At least normally. Twilight understood the mechanics enough to extend Affinities indefinitely. With enough calculation, she could teleport herself to the Sphere of Fixed Stars if she wanted, though such would be suicide, not from a fall but from the amount of energy it would take, and the lack of surrounding Terrestrial Matter. It would be too exhausting, one's Xi flows would degrade beyond sustaining life, and the body that formed at the other end would be malformed and incapable of hosting one's Pneuma.

And so, instantaneously, Twilight transported herself from her library in Ponyville to the Princess's chamber in Canterlot.

"Twilight!" came a voice. Twilight opened her eyes. She was dizzy and her vision was slightly blurry, but it cleared up quick enough. She blinked a few times and saw herself right in front of Princess Celestia, who was resting on a large soft-looking cushion. Twilight thought about it and realised she'd never seen the princess in such a candid position.

"Um...you wanted to see me Princess?" said Twilight.

The Princess stood up. "I only just sent that letter. How is it you're here already?"

"It's complicated."

The princess's face went stern. "As are a lot of things around you recently. Which is why I called you. I've been reading your letters Twilight. Fascinating, at least, what I can decipher of them. But I couldn't help but notice there have been no friendship reports. Just graphs and tables and monstrous calculations, complex explanations for the simplest of phenomena! It's clear to me you haven't been spending time with your friends."

Twilight felt her face grow hot under the princess's disappointment.

"I'm sorry. But I have been spending time with my friends. We've been working on my new house. I sent you a letter about it, since all major constructions have to be filed in Canterlot."

"Yes, I remember... I think. But this all seems to be just more work. Where's the fun, Twilight? What have you learned about friendship in all this time?"

I've learned that friendship doesn't teach me anything, thought Twilight. She wouldn't dare say such a thing though. Friendship just didn't seem important anymore, given everything she had to do.

"I'm sorry Princess. I'll relax more. I won't forget my friends."

"I trust you Twilight," said Celestia. "I just don't want you to lose sight of what's really important. Remember your days in Canterlot, before you learned of the magic of friendship?"

Twilight now knew she was speaking completely metaphorically. There was no real magic in friendship.

"Is that all, Princess?" asked Twilight. She was eager to get back to work.

"There's something else I wanted to see you about," said Celestia. She sat down, her forelegs still extended. In a formal conversation, it was a submissive pose, and Twilight grew hot again seeing the princess speak to her in such a manner.

"I've been puzzling over your letters all this time, trying to make sense of everything you've sent me and my sister. Ignoring the question of where you came up with these ideas, I want to understand them better." The princess stopped speaking, waiting for acknowledgement from Twilight.

"Okay," said Twilight.

"First, on the matter of basic principles. Is everything composed of Atoms, or Xi?"

"Both. Atoms without Xi flows do not move and combine to form anything. It is pure matter without form, impossible. It is nothing at all. By the same token, Xi without atoms is pure form without matter, unlike the former, it is something, but really it's not anything."

"I'm not sure I completely understand, but okay. Second, you describe the relationship between my sister and myself, and the sun and moon, as unnatural. Can you explain this to me?"

"I didn't mean it in an offensive way," said Twilight. The princess smiled and nodded, showing that she understood that.

"What I mean is that all other heavenly bodies move along their Xi flows without the aid of terrestrial ponies like you or me. The flows for the Sun and Moon have been tampered with, they are extremely weak with very very low frequency, but maintain their charge. Without you or your sister to charge them, the Sun and Moon sit very still. It is an unnatural state of affairs, their matter doesn't want to sit still, it wants to move in circles and it's a kind of violence that keeps them still."

"I - well, I understand that. I know what tampering was done, though I don't know how you know." She didn't sound accusatory. She sounded... worried. "I don't know how to fix it though, so my sister and I do what we can to keep things in motion."

"You don't know? One of the first things I sent was a way to fix those Xi flows. Golden pins and thin stripes of cinnabar paint need to be applied to the crystalline spheres of the Sun and Moon, and a device to automatically strengthen the Xi flows can be affixed atop the crystals. After a while we can remove the device and the pins, and either leave the holes in the crystal or fix that too. Either way, the Sun and Moon will return to their natural motion."

"I never saw a letter describing such a thing," said the Princess. "But it sounds like an utterly massive undertaking. That's a lot of paint. It's a lot of gold. It would take a long time to mark all along those spheres. That's ignoring the difficulty of even getting up there, and even if ponies could, how would they stay? You describe Terrestrial Matter as wont to follow straight Xi flows towards the centre of the universe. Is there even air to breath up there?"

"If we started now, with one hundred and fifty ponies working on it around the clock, we could have it done in about two hundred years."

"A very long time for my little ponies," said the princess. "I'm not sure it's worth it."

"It would be. As to your other questions; Cinnabar and Gold are easy to transmute, requiring only varying amounts of Mercury and Sulphur. There are many ways to get up there and ways to stay up there. There is Air going all the way up to the Sphere of Fixed Stars so ponies can breath, although the higher one goes, the more pure the Air, and eventually it'll be dangerous to breath. Even at relatively low altitudes, such as between the Moon and Venus, most ponies can't safely breath the air. Pegasus ponies would do better, but even among them the Air can be too pure, so acceptable candidates for the work will have to be screened from the greater population. There's also the problem of the heat, as things will get hotter the higher one goes."

"I'll take your word for it," said Celestia. She stood up. "I was going to ask more questions, but I think we've talked long enough. There is one last thing though." Her eyes actually narrowed, and Twilight got the impression whatever would come out of her mouth next was not going to be open for discussion.

"Your theory of spontaneous generation is interesting... until you started sending recipes to generate animals. I, for example, do not think that the cows in Equestria would be happy to know that they can be grown in a laboratory."

"Animals generated that way would have no pneuma, they would be mere automatons with no will. Even if we generated ponies - "

Celestia snorted. "And that's what I didn't want to hear. Every pony is precious, every life is sacred. I don't want ponies to be created who have no soul. It is a desecration of everything good and decent!"

"But Princess, think of the - "

"I'm sorry Twilight, but I can't allow anything of the sort. Do not put any further thought into this matter."

Twilight hung her head low. "Yes Princess. I'm sorry."

A moment passed between Teacher and Student, though it was no longer clear which was which. Slowly, Celestia stepped forward and gave Twilight a soft nuzzle.

"Do not fret my little pony. I have faith that no matter what, you'll do well in this world."

Twilight brightened.

That night, long after Twilight had left, Celestia laid down on her favourite cushion, Luna reading some of Twilight's latest letters.

"I can make no sense of what this mare is saying," said Luna, throwing the letter she was reading down in disgust. "I'm not a mathematician. You're not a mathematician." She levitated the letter again and read in an annoyed tone, "Phi multiplied by the power of 10 divided by two-pi-r to the eighteenth power where Phi equals six point eight hertz over fifty three... I don't even know what that symbol is there.... On and on it goes too, full of matrices and numbers. What does it mean!?" Again the letter was thrown on the ground. Celestia smiled and took a look at it herself.

"Hmm," she said absentmindedly. "The paper is labelled 'Calculations on the Ferment of Water.'"

"And what does that mean?" asked Luna. She was lying upside down now, her hooves above her. Celestia thought once again how much she missed her sister, and how happy she was that Twilight and her friends had brought Luna back.

"I think it's the specifics on the Xi flows that direct atoms to form Terrestrial Water."

"Oh Celly, don't act like you understand!" She was smiling though, teasing.

"I don't," said Celestia, putting the parchment down. "Not really."

Luna turned herself over again. "Where did she get such strange ideas? From what you've told me, these are all completely new."

Celestia frowned. "That's what worries me. She's saying thousands of things, elaborations upon elaborations on how the world works. I don't know where she got all this information. And I don't doubt she's right about it all. She knows things she's not supposed to. She is scaring me."

Luna looked at her sister sadly. "Why don't you do something about it?"

Celestia sighed. "What can I do? It's not a crime to know too much. And I can't imagine she's done anything terrible, at least at the moment. And she's my most precious student. I say I love all my ponies, and I do. But she's my favourite." She suddenly smiled and looked into her sisters eyes. "Well, my second favourite."

Luna laughed, but it didn't last long. The air was thick with tension as the conversation had moved to unhappy things.

"Did you ever hear about her idea to 'fix' the Sun and Moon?" asked Celestia.

Luna grew a bit pale, and Celestia knew then that she had.

"I saw the letter. It was sent to me. I thought the plan, so much as I could figure out what it actually was, so ridiculous that I didn't think to bother you with it... besides...."

"Do you fear the ponies will come to hate us if we rule without providing anything substantial?" asked Celestia. Luna had always been worried about what the ponies thought of their works, especially her own.

Luna nodded, looking guilty.

"Don't worry about it," said Celestia. "Our ponies are wonderful beings, they would never hate us, or anypony for that matter, over something so trivial."

Suddenly, another stack of parchment appeared above Luna, showering her head with loose sheets. Celestia couldn't help but smile at the sight, and Luna, seeing her sister smiling, grumbled under the letters.

"I can't take much more of this," said Luna.

Celestia chuckled, but nodded. "I thought about it actually. I think I'm going to compile a list of all of Equestria's greatest scholars, scientists, professors, and learned ponies, and send the list to Twilight telling her to send all future observations and mathematics to them instead of us. Let them drown in facts. Besides, they'd actually be suited to understanding all this."

Luna looked around. The room was full of letters. She was beginning to hate them.

"That's a good idea Celly. I hope you finish that list as soon as possible."

The next day, Twilight was busy working with her friends, finishing her new house. It was taking shape, and Twilight was proud of it. As Twilight surveyed, she felt a tug on her tail. She lifted a back leg and glared down in the direction behind her.

It was Spike. "Twilight," he began. "Didn't the princess tell you to spend some real time with your friends?"

Twilight brushed him away with her tail, and went back to her surveying. "I'll do that after we finish the house. I'll even let Pinkie throw a huge housewarming party. But right now, I want to get this done. It's really important."

"But why is it important?" asked Spike. "Isn't friendship the most important thing?"

Twilight sighed. "You just don't understand Spike. But you will. This house is the first step on the road to making the world a better place. You'll just have to trust me."

Spike slumped. He hadn't gotten through to her, again. Twilight wasn't dying. But he still felt that he was losing her.

ε

A New Dawn

Spike's life since Twilight had come out of her coma was a whirlwind of errands. Doubly so when construction on their new house began. Even with the help of Twilight's friends, and Owlowicius to take over during nights, Spike felt completely overworked. Every morning he had to cook breakfast. He had to send letters, which recently had gone from simply setting fire to them to transport them to one of the princesses, to running back and forth to the post office. Sometimes he had to make copies of things Twilight wrote, and with her writing so much his hands had become prone to painfully seizing up. Twilight assured him that "soon" she'd make something to help with that, but for now he would have to do as she said.

Twilight had been doing that a lot lately. "Not now Spike," she'd say. "Soon I'll relax," or "Soon I'll let Pinkie throw a party," or "Soon you can take a break." It never happened.

He long ago stopped trying to understand what Twilight was writing now. He used to always take a look at her letters to get a sense of what she was doing or what she had learned on any given day, or what she thought was important. Now it seemed that the more he tried to make sense of anything she wrote down, the less he actually understood. When he tried to ask about something, she'd grumble to herself, bark off some short snippy comment and then ignore him. Even during the worst of her studies back in Canterlot, she had never been this way.

What had happened to her?

As the weeks passed and her new house became a reality, Twilight hunched over her old desk in the library scribbling out a few final letters before she would begin to move to the new house in earnest. She'd leave all the "scientific" junk in the basement. It was almost all worthless. She'd leave all the books here too. They were either all fiction, that is, useless, or wrong, that is, even more useless. She'd have to write entirely new ones. It wasn't looking like any of the ponies she was writing to were going to do any revisions of their theories any time soon. Weeks she'd been sending letters to the scientists and professors Princess Celestia had listed, and not a single reply had come back.

As she put the last stroke on her latest letter, she dropped the quill with excessive force causing it to snap.

"Mephistopheles," she said, out loud. Luckily there was currently no one around to hear her.

"Yes?" he said. He lay on the floor, still as a statue. It was just a good a pose as any, he wasn't really there. Twilight wondered sometimes why he picked certain poses at certain times, when he had no need for physical comfort. She didn't care enough to actually ask though, not yet anyway.

"How have all my letters been received?" asked Twilight.

"Generally? Poorly. The specifics would take many hours to say. The overwhelming majority view your letters as indecipherable, as they are incompatible with current theories."

"What current theories?" asked Twilight. "Nopony else has any theories!"

Mephistopheles shrugged. "They are there, but are vague and ill-defined. None of them were told to pay any particular attention to you, so almost all believe you to be a blabbering crackpot and most have stopped reading your letters altogether. Only three pay you any mind now, but they have, as of yet, not replied as they are still puzzling over particular things."

"Who are these three and what are they puzzling over?" asked Twilight, her ears perking up. It was good to know she wasn't being completely ignored.

"Star Swirl the Astronomer from Hayard University is currently trying to identify Uranus and Neptune, as well as find evidence for the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. She is also using your maps to track the planets in order to test their accuracy. She is very impressed so far.

"Magic Star, assistant to the head of the Spell Creation Institute in Canterlot is the most enthusiastic of your current listeners and is busy telling everypony who will listen about your treatise on Transmutation via Xi Flow Manipulation. She has a reputation for being very excited over new things and so nopony pays her any attention. She is also young, and her youth does not enamour her to others, nor does her Earth Pony status. Her master Violet Stone is who you are actually writing to, and he merely throws your letters out, unread.

"The last is Brown Box, a retired engineer, who has taken your design for the ink-pen and is making several of the devices to sell. He plans to give you the majority of the profits and hopes that will be enough to prevent you from getting angry at his theft of ideas. He awaits actual profits before replying."

Twilight grumbled to herself that this pony had thought to take her invention without actually writing to her first. If he'd only asked, she'd have let him have all the profits, if he wanted them. She had far better ways to make money than selling pens which she could already think of improvements for.

"Maybe I'm going about this all wrong," said Twilight absentmindedly. "Maybe I shouldn't bother writing to ponies who are already old and set in their ways. Maybe... maybe I should open a school? If ponies were taught the truth from the very beginning, things would be easier. They wouldn't have to unlearn anything."

"If you like," said Mephistopheles.

"It would give a new purpose to this tree house," continued Twilight. "I don't like it housing so many worthless books. I can convert it to a small schoolhouse, take a few fillies and colts as apprentices or something, get my ideas noticed that way. Or maybe I could just find more engineers and inventors, , and just offer them improvements for their businesses."

"Why not do both?"

That idea struck Twilight like a bolt of lightning.

"You're right!" she said, getting exited. "Why not do both? I'll have to write to Celestia for permission to teach, but I'm sure she won't mind. And nopony says I can't give away inventions."

Mephistopheles leaned upwards and spread his forehooves outward as if giving permission. He didn't need to give permission though. Twilight didn't owe him anything, least of all his leave to do something.

Twilight looked down at her recently finished letter. The ink had dried, but it didn't matter. She wasn't going to send it now that she knew it wasn't doing any good.

The next day was a Friday. It was the day Twilight sent a letter to the Princess asking for permission to teach. It was also the day Twilight was finally able to move into her new house.

It was two stories, plus a basement. It was large, and the second story had a balcony from where she could look through a telescope and see the heavenly bodies if she wished. It sat near a river, and a waterwheel had been installed to provide power to the automatic bellows for her furnaces. She was going to need her furnaces capable of extremely high heat in order to produce many of the initial materials she needed. As time was to go on, she anticipated she would no longer need these things, but for now, they were absolutely necessary for her work.

In all, there wasn't much to take. Mostly scientific instruments, the ones that were actually worth something, a few pots and pans for cooking, and other miscellanea like her old journals and photo albums.

Loading up her saddle bags she trotted off, leaving her old residency behind, moving towards a brighter future.

A knot of frustration formed in her chest as soon as she opened the door.

"Surprise!" came the familiar sound of... everypony in Ponyville.

"Why didn't you warn me?" asked Twilight inwardly.

"You did not ask. I no longer try to offer information you have not asked for."

Twilight audibly groaned.

"Come on Twilight, all your friends are here," said Spike, walking towards her. "You said you would let Pinkie throw a party when we were done, and we're done!"

"Yeah, Pinkie's been dying to throw a party for you for months," said Rainbow Dash. "It was hard trying to keep her from throwing it earlier."

The offending pink pony bounced towards Twilight and said in a sing-song voice, "And now this is gonna be the best party ever!"

Twilight groaned again. She did not want to have to do this right now but it looked like there was no way out of it.

"What's the fastest way to get this over with," asked Twilight.

"I could offer possibilities, but the future is difficult to predict. It's always in flux, and beings with Pneuma can make unexpected choices and decisions."

"Yes yes," said Twilight, becoming even more aggravated. "Just do your best."

For the first time, Twilight saw Mephistopheles's facial expression change. He frowned. "I don't like it," he said. "I shouldn't. I won't. I'm not here to actively do things, that's what you are to do. If I were to give you advice for things I don't know, it might as well be me who is doing it."

Twilight couldn't contain her frustration any longer.

"I don't have time for this!" she shouted. "Out, out, everypony out! Come back later, preferably never!"

It was like somepony blowing all the candles in a house at once. Instantly the sounds of the party died. Everypony was staring in shock, except for Spike and Twilight's friends who had a look of concern. Twilight glared.

"Well? Didn't you hear me?"

"Ahem, Twilight," said Applejack stepping forward. "Maybe we oughta talk about this in private real quick." Her voice has a sense of finality to it that made Twilight think that if she fought this, Applejack would fight back.

Twilight's ears lowered and she looked around. All the ponies had shifted to looking concerned now, and Twilight had the distinct impression that they were right to be. Was she going crazy? It didn't feel like it, she just had a lot to do. Canterlot wasn't built in a day, and she had way more than Canterlot to build. Was it her fault she wanted to actually live to see her work come to fruition?

But she didn't have to be so mean about it either.

"I'm sorry... of course Applejack."

Applejack nodded before looking back and saying something to Twilight's other friends. Twilight asked what was said, as she couldn't hear it, and Mephistopheles replied "She'll be fine in a jiffy, you'll see."

Twilight tried to not show her sudden annoyance at the implication that something was wrong with her, as they stepped outside.

The sun was going down. Night would come soon. There were fireflies only just recently arrived, floating around the street lanthorns, their lights blinking in and out. Twilight swished her tail back and forth absentmindedly as the mosquitoes were coming out as well. Other than Applejack and Twilight, nopony could be seen in any direction.

"Twilight," said Applejack, getting right to it. "We're worried about you. You haven't relaxed in months, and to make things worse, you haven't let us relax in months. We thought things would get better now that the house is done, but just now you showed us we were wrong. You need to relax. We need to relax." She sighed softly. "I understand how important work can seem. Sometimes it can feel like without you there working and holding everything together, the world will crash around you. But that just ain't how it really is. You gotta take a breather every once in a while. "

Green eyes met violet as Applejack finished speaking, and Twilight felt herself crumble under the gaze. Applejack was right. Just like the Princess had been right, and Spike had been right. She was working too hard. She was forgetting her friends. She was becoming worse than she ever was back in Canterlot. She needed to slow down and smell the flowers every once in a while, and it took Applejack's total honesty for her to see it. Twilight knew that of all her friends, she could trust what Applejack had to say the most.

Twilight sighed and looked down, ears folded back and head hung low.

"You're right AJ," she said. "You're completely right. You and everyone else. You didn't deserve what I said earlier, I shouldn't have tried to kick you out, and I do need to relax and spend time with my friends."

Twilight looked back up when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Applejack was smiling at her.

"Well I'm glad you see things better now," said Applejack. "Now come on, we can go back inside and everything will be okay."

Twilight nodded and followed AJ back inside. After apologising, the party went on as it should have in the first place. Twilight did her best to just forget about everything and lose herself in the relaxation only one of Pinkie's parties could bring. She played games, danced, chatted and had fun with all her friends and the other ponies in Ponyville. Nevertheless her mind continued to wander back against her will, back to that glorious version of Ponyville she once saw in her dreams and how she was the only one who could make that dream a reality.

The next day Twilight woke up refreshed and feeling pretty good, all things considered. Sleeping in her new house wasn't any different than any other place, and her routine seemed to be the same. She woke up, found Spike was already up, cleaning the mess from the party before, with breakfast already at the table in the small kitchen. Twilight said, "Goodmorning" as quickly as possible before devouring her breakfast and heading to the main room.

It wasn't a real living room. It was a workshop. And she could finally get to work. No more waiting for construction, or loans, or supplies, or parties. Now was the time, the true first step on the way.

While Spike spent his time cleaning, Twilight set to work. First she had to get everything ready. Everything in its place.

There was no good reason to keep everything stored up until the exact time she needed it. So Twilight set to work. This was going to be a very simple thing, a gift to Celestia and a demonstration of what could be done.

It was a simple device. Twilight brought out a block of glass, an equal sized block of silver, some gold nuggets and a bunch of silver she previously had worked into spikes from a metal smith. First, she needed to make two gold needles. She grabbed a gold nugget, and with a hammer lifted magically, pounded it as hard as she could. The table was sturdy, but the other items on it rattled in protest of her actions. Spike poked he head out of the kitchen to see what she was doing, and Twilight took a moment to say everything was alright. After he went back to his work, Twilight pounded the gold again. And a few more times. This was very pure gold, soft and malleable, and it flatted relatively easily, though she worried for the table.

Shrugging, she took the flattened piece of gold and moved it to a nearby anvil and began hammering there. It produced a much better, softer sound that didn't shake anything. Plus, the gold flatted much easier now. She was stupid for not doing this in the first place.

After it was sufficiently thin, she grabbed a pair of tinner's snips and cut her new gold sheet into quarters before discarding three fourths of her product and placing the remaining one fourth back, square on the anvil. She hammered some more, and it was then she was very happy to be a gifted unicorn. This would be very difficult without magic.

Eventually she ended up with a sheet of gold as flat as she felt she could possibly make it. It would have to do. Snipping off two strips she then took the strips back to the table with a set of pliers. Carefully she rolled the strips vertically onto themselves and crushed the folds together as to end up with two thin gold tubes. Bringing up the snips she cut them at both sides, and tried to use her magic to smooth the edges. It helped, but only a little. Finally, she got a file and filed down the edges on one side, producing needles.

Happy that they were as good as she was going to get, she set them aside and picked up her block of silver. Silver too, was easy to work with at room temperatures, and all Twilight needed to do was to drill two holes in the block just big enough for her make-shift spikes to fit through. Picking up a drill, she began her work.

It was a long arduous process, but eventually she got the holes in. Slowly she placed her needles in. They fit fine, not too loose, and she didn't have to squeeze the gold to get them in either. Lastly, she took a bowl and put some cinnabar dust into it. Adding water, she ended up with cinnabar paint. A small brush was all that was needed to paint a thin line between the two gold needles.

With that half out of the way, the last task that remained was to fix the sender. This would be easier as everything was already worked. She simply added two silver spikes to the previously prepared glass block. Easy.

Technically, she was done. But she had a flash of inspiration to make the device even better, though it occurred to her mid-work and so she had to go back down and get extra supplies. A thin plank of wood was brought up, as well as several metal gears and levers, and the tools to fasten them to wood, along with simple glue.

Spike had at some point finished his work and was busy staring from behind her, puzzling over what she was doing. Lucky he remained silent, and so Twilight was content to let him stay.

Her work was long, but relatively simple. This was the kind of craft work she would have done as a filly in a science fair. It's one of the reasons she chose to build this first.

When she was done, she had her block of glass fixed atop a wooden plank. Also on the wooden plank was a system of small gears and bits of metal that fixed a metal arm parallel to the block, above it, ending between the two metal spikes. The arm had a line of cinnabar paint affixed on it between where the spikes were. The arm was divided into two sections, an inner and outer section. One could snap the outer sides of the arm down to connect to the silver spikes, and the inner piece of the arm remaining could be pushed down to complete the line between the spikes. Without pressure, it would move back up on its own, and what would be left would be a broken line between the spikes.

Twilight smiled approvingly at her work.

"What have you made?" asked Spike. He stepped forward to get a closer look.

"I call it a telegraph," said Twilight. "It can send messages between the two blocks at a distance. Very primitive, but it gets the job done."

Spike looked at the two blocks in bewilderment.

"How does it work?" he asked.

Twilight smiled, eager to explain this to someone.

"I'll show you," she began. Her horn glowed a bit as it checked local Xi flows. She then places on block at one end of the table at a certain angle, and the other block at the other end. She then said, "One block is the receiver, one is the sender. This block here is the sender." She indicated the glass block. "Glass has a very low natural Affinity to Silver. In plain language, it acts upon it due to an innate attraction. Now, first we snap the sides of this bar down in place." She did so, and they clicked into place. Spike didn't notice the Receiver block had changed. "Now it's ready. On the Receiver block you'll notice there is a now a break in the cinnabar line between the two gold needles." Spike looked, and saw that it was true. "That cinnabar line will now mirror this one. I've set it up so that in order to complete the line on this side, I just have to press down on this here." She pressed on the middle section of the metal arm, completed the line. Over on the other side of the table, the Receiver block's line completed on its own.

"Wow," said Spike. "But I don't get it. If you build more of those Receiver blocks, do they all copy that one Sender block?"

Twilight shook her head. "These two are connected because they are currently in the same Xi flow. It's not hard to put two things in the same flow however, so it's nevertheless insecure. This device could be made better by building a unique, stronger affinity between the two blocks, but... well, it'd take a lot of explaining why I shouldn't do that, suffice it to say that once you do that you might as well go for something better."

Spike nodded though he didn't really understand.

"So how does completing and breaking a line send messages?" he asked.

"A code could be made that's based on the length of time between completed lines forming. Originally I was going to make this with twelve pins and twelve spikes arranged to make six lines, and make it so that different combinations of broken and unbroken lines represented a different letter in our alphabet, but that'd be too much work for this little thing."

"Uh, Twilight," asked Spike.

"Yes Spike?"

"What good is this? I mean, you have me to send letters to Celestia or Luna, and everypony else has the post office. Why is this useful?"

"It's useful mostly in proving something. Do you know how you're able to send messages to Princess Celestia?" Spike shook his head. "It's the same basic principle as teleportation, or this device. Your breath forces an Affinity between where the letter is and in front of one of the princesses. It follows the Xi flow and shows up at the end. Simple. Same with this. This demonstrates how that works. Plus, not everypony has a dragon assistant, and this is instant communication, while mail can take days to reach its destination."

"I guess I understand," said Spike.

Twilight mailed both parts of the Telegraph to Princess Celestia the next day. It was for the princess, not one of the ponies who didn't listen to her. She also began work on another project, this one far more important and wide-reaching than a mere communication device.

She required a lot of specialised help for this though, and had to seek the employ of goldsmith. She left him exact instructions on a silver pendant, and the materials to make four of them (which consisted of cinnabar paint, gold, and silver). While he was following her instructions, she moved on.

Taking long bars of gold she started her furnace, making sure the fire was hot and pure. She had to enclose it so impurities couldn't get in, and she then placed gold bars in a slot above the fire, exposing them to the pure flames. Several hours later she had created a new substance. Fire-Gold. Its uses were never-ending. With enough of this she could do many things.

Spike saw it and immediately knew it was something special, as the air around it rarefied and caused an odd optical affect.

"What is that?" he asked.

"The future," said Twilight. "It's the future."

ζ

The Madmare of Ponyville

Two months after Twilight made her first telegraph and twenty five miles away from Ponyville, a herd of fillies and colts walked the roads of Manehatan. It was but a month into school, and already they were tired from it, happy to be free of the torture of being in their dreary classrooms, eager now to play in the streets.

"I'll be the Madmare this time!" said one of the fillies. She was too young for a cutie mark, and indeed, thought too young to be playing with the group. But she was brash and wouldn't take no for an answer, and today, she was determined to be the "Madmare" in their games.

"Go home Snow Cone," said one of the colts, her older brother. "You know mom doesn't like you out after school. And you cramp our style."

"Oh come on," said one of the fillies. "She's alright. We can let her play for once."

"And be the madmare!" shouted Snow Cone. Her little wings were buzzing in excitement, to the point where she was involuntarily hovering above the ground.

"Ugh," said Snow Cone's brother. "Fine."

Being the "madmare" was simply the new name the group has chosen for who was "it" in a modified game of tag. If the "madmare" got you, you'd have to do some predetermined action either during or after the game, always based on some idea on what new stories they heard about the "Madmare of Ponyville."

"So what this time?" said another one of the ponies. "I heard just the other day that the madmare had found a way to bring back the dead."

"She makes zombies?!" asked Snow Cone. "That's so cool!"

"Nah," said another filly, waving her hoof in the air to draw attention to herself. "She just found a way to keep pony from dying. But if you accept the eternal life she gives you, you end up living like a zombie."

Most of the ponies gasped. A few scoffed. But all of them had smiles on their faces after a few moments. Talking about the madmare was the new popular thing to do.

"So if I catch you, you turn into a zombie!" cried Snow Cone. Before anypony had a change to agree or disagree, she yelled "go!" and ran to the nearest pony before the ponies scattered, laughing and giggling.

That night in Ponyville, Twilight was hard at work. She hadn't slept in days. And she felt great.

Taking a drink of water she gathered the fruits of her latest project. Just in time, as she heard a knock on her door.

"Spike!" she called. "Spike!" No answer. He was sleeping. Smiling, she quickly ran over to his cot and dragged him by the tail over near the door, and yelled in his ear.

"SPIKE!"

The baby dragon woke up, startled, jumping out of bed.

"What's happening, are we under attack?!" he asked, running behind a table. His eyes were puffy and dark from sleepiness, and Twilight decided she needed to hurry or else he'd fall asleep again.

The knock came again.

"Spike, get the door please."

Spike looked at her bewildered and obviously angry, but he did what she said.

As soon as the door opened, five ponies walked inside Twilight's workshop, all bleary eyed, yawning, with frizzled manes and tails.

"Why are we here again?" asked Rainbow Dash. She was walking for once, and as soon as she entered the house, dropped on the floor and closed her eyes.

"Twilight, I hope this is important," said Rarity. "It's four in the morning and we're all very tired."

"Exactly!" said Twilight, clopping her hooves together. Her friends just groaned.

Twilight grabbed her newest creations, or at least, the bag holding them. She levitated five grape-sized yellow-gold pills, and gave one to each of her friends.

"And here's one for you Spike," she said, giving him a purple one.

"Uh... what're we supposed to do with these?" asked Applejack, but as soon as she finished her sentence, Pinkie Pie has immediately swallowed hers.

"Don't chew," said Twilight.

Shrugging, the others all took their own pills, trusting that their friend wouldn't do anything to harm them.

Twilight watched eagerly as their yawns stopped, their eyes brightened, and they stood straighter.

"Woah," said Rainbow Dash, flying up into the air. "This is amazing!"

Pinkie was bouncing around the room, and looked on in mild worry that she'd break something.

"Twilight... what's happened to us?" asked Fluttershy. She too, no longer looked to be collapsing from exhaustion.

"Yeah seriously Twilight," said Spike "I feel great, and it's the middle of the night!"

"They're survival pills," said Twilight, barely containing her pride. "Take one, and you won't have to eat or sleep. They last for one week. You still need to drink though."

"A week?" All of them said it at once.

"I'm gonna be up all week?" asked Applejack.

"Oh think of the work I could finish!" said Rarity.

"But I like eating!" said Pinkie Pie with a frown.

"Girls, girls!" said Twilight. "Calm down. Pinkie, you can eat if you want. You just don't need to and won't feel real hunger. And after a week everything will go back to normal. No side effects or anything. And you can keep taking them as long as you want to always stay awake."

"That is... amazing," said Fluttershy. "But what am I going to do at night? All the animals are asleep."

"Relax," said Twilight. "Read a book. Do whatever you want. You have lots of free time now."

"I really wish you'da told us what this did before you made us take it," said Applejack. "I mean, I dunno about this. I guess I could get a lot more work done now. But what if it's night and I don't want to work?"

Twilight sighed. "I don' t know, something."

"You can come to my parties!" said Pinkie. "Now that we don't need to sleep, I can throw a party every night!"

Rainbow Dash's ears flattened. "Oh, joy. You know, I don't know what everypony is so worried about. I think this is awesome, I can get so much more training in now! I'll be in the Wonderbolts for sure!"

"I am quite pleased as well," said Rarity. "I can shift most of my work at night and then I won't have to worry about Sweetie Belle bothering me while I work! And I will then have so much time to go to the spa, and get ponypetis. It'll be so wonderful."

"Hey Twilight, what's this?" yelled Pinkie. She had somehow walked into Twilight's bathroom without her noticing.

Twilight saw what Pinkie Pie was pointing at.

"It dries my coat when I get out of the shower, or bath," said Twilight.

"How does it work?"

"Fire-Gold runs along the sides and rarefies the air, which flows into the centre. The air is thus artificially dry and soaks up all the water on my coat when I move into it."

"Ooooooh," said Pinkie Pie. She walked inside, but of course she had no water on her, so nothing happened. She stuck her tongue out, held it there, and then sucked it back in her mouth and coughed. "Wow," she said. "It's like a desert in there."

She bounced out and made her way to the kitchen. "I'm thirsty."

"Help yourself I guess," said Twilight. "Though I do have a lot more to do, so...." She let that statement dangle, but it didn't look like anypony heard her.

"Can I get one of those drying things in my place?" asked Pinkie, taking a deep drink of water from the kitchen.

"I sold the design a while back to several construction companies, and I also sold the method for producing Fire-Gold to several Metalsmiths. I'm sure you'll see advertisements for them soon, and then you can just pay to have one installed if you want."

"You're selling these things?" asked Rarity. "How much have you been getting?"

"Well yes, I have to pay back my loans somehow," said Twilight. "And I'm getting... well, let's just say I'm getting what I think is a good price for the ideas I sell."

"I was wondering how ponies were hearing about you," said Rainbow Dash. "Outiside of, you know, everypony making fun of you."

"Ponies are making fun of me?" asked Twilight. She hadn't heard such a thing.

"You know you're the 'Madmare of Ponyville' right?"

"I'm the what now?"

"Well um you see Twilight," said Applejack looking apprehensive. "When I'm off apple selling I hear some of the ponies talkin' and it looks like you got yourself quite the reputation."

"What kind of reputation?" Twilight found herself irritated.

"Oh, how should this be put," said Rarity, cutting Applejack off. "I suppose... yes that's it. You have the reputation as something of a crazy witch."

"What, how?!" Twilight was definitely angry now. Looking around at her friends she saw in their eyes that they were getting that worried look again, so she tried to calm herself down.

"If I were to hazard a guess," continued Rarity. "I would say it's because ponies hear of all these, ahem, things you've created. And they're just so new and so different and there are so many of them."

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. How could they think something like that? A thought occurred to her.

"Mephistopheles," she thought. "Exactly what percentage of ponies have this opinion of me?"

Mephistopheles stepped forward. "Out of all ponies in Equestria, eighty three percent know your name for one reason or another. Of this eighty three percent, forty five percent are in some sense aware of your inventions, or that you have been inventing strange things. Of these, twenty nine percent view you negatively, while the rest either have no opinion, or think positively of it. All together and rounded up a mere eleven percent of all ponies in Equestria think poorly of you.

"That's not... too bad," said Twilight to herself.

"I guess there's no use worrying about it," said Twilight out loud.

"That's the spirit," said Applejack. "Don't let nothing get ya down."

They hung around about half an hour longer making small talk before filtering back out to their new twenty-four hour lives, each with a bag of survival pills.

"Applejack," called Twilight before the orange pony could follow the others. "Stay a bit longer, there's something I want to ask you."

"Sure thing Twilight. What is it?"

Twilight closed the door behind Applejack before speaking. Now they were alone, except for Spike and Owlowicius. "I've been thinking on how I should sell these survival pills."

"You're gonna sell them? Ponies all over up at all hours of the day, nopony needing to eat anything?"

"Well, yes," said Twilight. "Think of all the good it could do. Nopony would go hungry and productivity could effectively be doubled."

"Well I guess," said Applejack. "But what about ponies like me?"

"What do you mean?"

"If nopony needs to eat, who's gonna eat my apples? Or any of the other stuff I grow? What about the Carrots and their farm?"

"Ponies don't have to eat, but like I told Pinkie Pie, they can. It'll just be a luxury now, not a necessity. Nopony will die if they don't. I'm sure you'll still get plenty of apple sales. Your apples are delicious after all."

Applejack chuckled. "I guess they are. But I guess we got off topic, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

"I was wondering if you would be the one to sell these pills."

Applejack didn't know if she heard right. She looked at Twilight for a moment and waited to see if she was going to say something else that would make more sense. Finding the unicorn wasn't going to say anything, Applejack replied with the only thing she could. "Beg pardon?"

"I need somepony who's good at business and whom I can trust. That's you Applejack. I trust you enough that I'm sure you can sell these and sell them well. You can keep most of the profits. You'll be able to sell them alongside your apples too. Think of what a success you could be!"

"Money ain't important Twilight," said Applejack. "I run Sweet Apple Acres, and I'll continue to run it till the day I die. I dunno if I want to get myself roped into something else."

"It won't be much more work!" said Twilight. "Considering you now have twenty four hours in a day to do everything, it's no more work at all! I need your help Applejack. Can you do this for me?"

"Why don't you just sell them to some company and let them handle it?"

"Because... well."

Applejack waited but it looked like whatever it was Twilight wanted to say was difficult.

"It's because I want to help my friends, I want you all to benefit from what I'm doing here. And you're the first one I thought of when I thought of selling these things."

Applejack was conflicted. On one hoof, she didn't like the idea of ponies thinking she needed help. She was a strong pony, she didn't need anyone's help. She wasn't really hurtin' for bits. On the other hoof, she knew deep down this wasn't charity. Twilight was her friend, and she'd learned a while ago to accept friend's help when you need it, and to accept gifts without assuming they was some insult behind it.

"I... I guess I could do this," Applejack finally said.

"Great!" said Twilight, smiling. "I'll run you through everything you'll need to know to make these. It's not too hard once you know the ingredients."

"Speaking of, here's the list of all the ingredients you'll need." Twilight gave Applejack a long list filled with seemingly random ingredients, not all of which were typically edible, and some poisonous on their own. "Now I know they look weird and some of them are dangerous, but trust me, it works and is perfectly safe when combined properly. Safe for ponies. Don't sell these to anyone who's not a pony."

"But you gave one to Spike," said Applejack, finally getting a word in.

"A different one," said Twilight. "Dragons need different ingredients, proportions, and preparations for their pills. All different species need different ones."

"Species? What about Earth Ponies and Pegasus Ponies? Do they need different ones?"

"No, what makes a healthy Earth Pony is the same that makes a healthy Pegasus Pony, or Unicorn Pony. Different ponies are the same species."

Applejack nodded, understanding.

"Now, I'll also give you the money to buy these ingredients at first, but once you start making a profit you'll have to do that yourself. Okay?"

Applejack nodded again.

"There you are," said Twilight, giving Applejack a large sack of bits. "That should be everything you need."

"Wow," said Applejack, eyes widening. "With this much money I could finally get Granny's hip replaced."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. "That's still not taken care of?"

Applejack shook her head. "I hoped to get the money I needed from selling things at the Grand Galloping Gala, and we both remember how that turned out."

Twilight smiled. "Yeah," she said. "If your grandmother still needs help, I could give her a once over, maybe help her out depending on what's wrong."

Once again Applejack wasn't sure she heard right. "What's that now? I didn't know you were a doctor."

Twilight laughed out loud. It was almost creepy. "I'm better than a doctor Applejack, I'm a scientist."

"I don't get it. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Medicine is a foundation of science. That is, Medicine is the foundation stone of Alchemy, Alchemy the foundation stone of Science. A doctor knows only medicine, a Scientist must know medicine and then move beyond it."

"Now that just don't make no sense!" said Applejack, trying to wrap her mind around it. It was completely contrary to everything she had ever known, even assuming that "alchemy" actually existed beyond the temporary transmutation unicorns could do.

"It makes sense," said Twilight, holding her head up in pride. "To understand the Xi flows of the body, how they work harmoniously to create a single whole is the stepping stone to moving outwards and understanding the Xi flows of the universe. It's all connected."

Applejack paused. Twilight hadn't been wrong so far. She'd already done so many amazing things.

"You might be able to help granny?" asked Applejack as she looked straight into Twilight's eyes. She didn't want there to be any misunderstandings.

"Probably. I can come over later today and give her a look."

"Alright," said Applejack, trying to contain the hope in her voice. "So is that all?"

"One more thing I want to ask actually. The Princess has finally given me permission to take on a few students. I'll be teaching in the Library during normal school hours. I was wondering if you'd let me teach Apple Bloom."

"Teach Apple Bloom all yer crazy science stuff?" asked Applejack. Twilight nodded, nonplussed by Applejack's comment. "Tell ya what. If you fix Granny, that'll prove to me that what you know is worth teaching, and it worth Apple Bloom learning it instead of what she's learning now. I'll pull her out of Ms. Cheerilee's class and set her under your care then."

Twilight smiled brightly. She was sure she could help Granny Smith, and that meant her first student! Things were going swimmingly!

That day, after the sun had risen and Twilight had a shower, Twilight left her workshop in the care of Spike and headed to Sweet Apple Acres, saddle bags on and full of equipment. It was close by, much closer than Twilight's previous residence, and as soon as she walked up to the barn Big Mac was there to greet her.

"Hello Twilight Sparkle," he said in his usual slow methodical voice. "Mighty fine stuff those pills of yours. Been up since Applejack gave me one early this morning, not the least bit tired."

Twilight's ears folded back at the praise.

"Not at all Big Mac, glad to hear everyone's getting use out of them."

Big Mac nodded, saying nothing. He swished the sprig of wheat in his mouth from side to side, as if contemplating his next few words.

"I hear you're gonna give Granny a once over," he said. He stopped shifting the wheat in his mouth and looked right at her.

"I just want to let you know I won't be very happy if something bad happens to her."

Twilight wasn't used to being threatened, but she understood his feelings on this. Family was important for the Apple's, and he didn't want to see his grandmother get hurt. And as far as threats went, this one wasn't so bad.

"Don't worry Big Macintosh," said Twilight. "I promise everything will be fine."

Big Mac snorted, but then his eyes returned to their normal relaxed state and he trotted off to do whatever it was he had to do.

Soon after Applejack found her and led her inside, where Granny Smith was asleep in her chair.

"You didn't give her a pill?" asked Twilight.

"Why would I? What would she do all those hours with a bad hip, bad eyes, bad ears...."

"Ah."

"I need her to lie down on a bed," said Twilight.

Applejack nodded before prodding her grandmother.

"Up and addem Granny Smith," she said. "My friend's here to see to that hip."

Granny Smith snorted and awoke. She looked around in confusion, blinking her eyes several times.

"Wuh?" she said. "Oh, oh yes, of course."

Slowly, really slowly, Applejack led her grandmother to her bedroom as Twilight followed. Once there Granny Smith was instructed to lay down, and once she had, Twilight brought out her supplies.

Lots of extremely thin gold needles, cinnabar paint, and a brush made from hairs from her own tail. Twilight's horn glowed and she began her examination, following the Xi lines of the old mare's body, noticing the flaws and imperfections. After several minutes of this, still examining, she brought up her brush and dipped it in cinnabar paint, as well as several needles, and began drawing lines as thin as she could make them along the Xi flows, correcting imperfections, placing the needles gently inside of Granny Smith along key areas of bundled Xi in the body.

"Do those hurt Granny?" asked Applejack, looking worriedly at the needles.

Granny Smith said nothing, and Twilight spoke instead.

"They shouldn't hurt. They're too thin, and unless I place them improperly they won't cause pain. At most, mild discomfort or heat."

She returned to her work. After a long while she brought out a few silver needles, and they too were pressed into Granny Smith's skin. As time went on, Twilight brought out more things, gold and silver mesh, small pieces of wood, and placed them in or around Granny Smith, or made connections between needles. At certain points Applejack gasped in wonder as the painted lines on Granny Smith began to move, flowing around her body in majestic patters all along her body, not just her hip.

Finally Twilight pulled out a now-familiar Survival Pill and placed it on Granny Smith's tongue.

"Swallow," said Twilight, and Granny Smith, her eyes closed, did as commanded. The lines on her body sped up momentarily and then finally stopped.

"I'm done," said Twilight. "I've fixed Granny Smith's hip, fixed her eyesight, fixed her hearing, increased the calcium in her bones to their proper levels, and otherwise regulated her body. She's as fit as a fiddle."

Applejack just stared.

"What?"

But before Twilight could reply, Granny Smith opened her eyes and jumped out of bed.

"Yee-haw!" she shouted, and Applejack's jaw fell open. Her eyes were opened so wide Twilight worried they might fall out of her skull.

"I haven't felt this good in decades!" said Granny Smith. She started dancing, and Twilight had to fight the urge to laugh. She still had needles all over her, and the paint was rubbing off from her motion. Before she could do any harm to herself Twilight quickly pulled all the pins out in order with her magic before letting Granny Smith go wash the paint off, leaving her alone in the bedroom with a still shocked Applejack.

"I - I thought you were just gonna fix her hip, not do... whatever it is you did!"

Twilight just waved those concerns away with her hoof. "I've made her overall healthier. Isn't that a good thing?"

Applejack held her hooves to her head, as she still couldn't comprehend her good fortune.

"It is a powerful good thing Twilight!" she finally said. "I'm mighty happy that you could do this, and I know Big Mac and Apple Bloom will be happy too." Her smile grew even wider. "And speaking of Apple Bloom, I can have her out of Ms. Cheerilee's class and into your hooves as soon as you'd like! You've convinced me, what you know sure is useful and I'd be more than happy to let you teach Apple Bloom!"

"That's wonderful," said Twilight. "We can start tomorrow!"

A month later and Mares and Stallions from Cloudsdale to Manehatten would be taking Twilights survival pills. Soon after, with Twilight's blessing, Applejack would send the recipe and instructions to other members of the Apple Family and spread the new pharmaceutical even further. And all the while Applejack and her family would be making more money than they possibly knew what to do with.

η

Generating Interaction

"We have a new student joining us," said Twilight. It was her fifth student and by far her oldest, her first adult pony.

Three of her students snickered to themselves as though the new student's age (or possibly other properties) meant she was stupid. The fourth was the mare's foal and so glared daggers at the other three.

"Luckily Ms. Doo here is already caught up with what we've gone over so far, so we won't have to start again.

"That's a relief," said Scootaloo. Twilight narrowed her eyes at the filly who was so far her worst student. Twilight wouldn't have accepted her without the prompting of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who were both excellent students, the latter more than the former. If Scootaloo didn't shape up soon, Twilight would drop her and put her back in Cheerilee's class regardless of what her friends said.

"Anyway," said Twilight. "Spike, bring me my notes."

Her assistant jumped up in shock, too focused on what he was doing elsewhere to expect Twilight to tell him something new. Soon enough however he brought her what she asked for, and she was patient as he did so.

"So, we finished up the basics of Atomic Theory last time, and Ditzy Doo assures me she understands it and is with us up to then, so as I said, we'll move on. Now we're going to look at something I arguably should have taught first, but I'm new at this so...." She let that sentence dangle as her students looked at her oddly.

"Anyway, we shall now begin our discussion on Xi today, and once we have a basic understanding of that we'll move on to Medicine."

"Are we studyin' to be doctors?" asked Apple Bloom. She'd asked before raising her hoof, but Twilight went ahead and let it slide since she was her best student.

"No Apple Bloom. As I explained to your sister a few weeks ago, Medicine is the foundation of Science."

"That's stupid, how could something like medicine be the 'foundation of science?'"

Twilight growled lowly at the orange Pegasus.

"If you let me continue Scootaloo, you'll understand." She paused and took a drink of water from a nearby glass she had saved for such an occasion. "Xi is the fundamental force of motion, and thus the creator of form, and is properly understood as an energy flow. It is equal and opposite of Matter, which we've already covered. Both are needed to create all there is. Xi flows permeate everything and understanding the ebb and flow of the universe is a fundamental aspect of science.

"Now a singular Xi flow has two properties, Frequency, which can be any positive non-zero number, and charge, which is measured from zero to eight. Frequency denotes the strength of the flow. More mass caught in a stronger flow will move more than mass caught in a weaker one. Charge is a quality of Xi flows that causes some atoms to prefer some flows over others. This is why even though there are straight Xi flows moving inward from the edge of the universe to the centre which all terrestrial matter follows, the celestial bodies do not follow them and instead follow circular flows around the planet. Likewise, a hypothetical pony on the moon could slide off the top if they go too far in any direction, and will not follow the same circular Xi flow the moon itself does. "

She paused so everyone could finish their notes, and to take another sip of water.

"Now, speaking of the movement of terrestrial matter to the centre of the universe, this sort of phenomena is called an Affinity. An Affinity is an attraction or movement upon one body to another body or place. The most general Affinity in existence is the attraction Earth Atoms and Water Atoms have to the centre of the universe, which fundamentally causes all terrestrial matter to try and move there. Another obvious Affinity is the affinity between magnets and certain types of metal. These sorts of bodies have a mutual Affinity and attract each other. Affinities are otherwise pervasive and it's the manipulation, exploitation, and or creation and destruction of Affinities that fuels a lot of the magic we take for granted.

"As to what causes Affinities, it's generally a property of the Xi flows, or Ferments of the bodies. As the Xi flows produce a body, the combined flows can react with other flows and cause natural connections. Which is a reason change is so pervasive in the universe, a fundamental constant from which new things can be expected.

"Next we move on to Ferments, which is the word for the general combination of Xi flows that make up a particular body. For example, Terrestrial water is not pure water atoms. It has all four types in it. The Ferment is the combination of Xi flows that make water, water, and these flows can be easily manipulated by, for example, applying heat, which can change the Ferment slightly to produce Steam, or removing heat, which produces Ice. The same Atoms made to move differently can produce different things, which are essentially different states of the same basic Matter."

Twilight continued in this manner for some time, explaining the very basics, general definitions and qualities of Xi for future elaboration as time passed. It was in fact a much easier lesson than she normally had, with very little acting up from her students. If only she could be so lucky every day.

As the students wandered out of the Library, Twilight was just left with Ditzy Doo and her daughter.

"Thanks again for letting me join you," said Ditzy Doo. "I've been following your work in mathematics for a while now. Fascinating stuff, simply fascinating." She had a really odd manner of speaking, something like stuttering but not quite. Her eyes pointed in different directions, giving her the appearance of a simpleton, but Twilight knew that underneath that she was very intelligent, if quirky and extremely absent minded. Her intelligence and acceptance of her theories from the beginning was the only reason Twilight had allowed her to join her class.

"Well thank you Ditzy Doo!" said Twilight as cheerfully as she could. Truthfully she was tired of speaking so much, and she didn't have long before she had to teach another class, this one purely on Medicine so that a new wave of Doctors and Nurses would actually know what they were doing. Only about half of the local Ponyville medical staff attended, the others either thought she was crazy or honestly didn't understand how much she outpaced them, but even the small numbers were a good enough start for Twilight.

Ditzy and her daughter smiled as they left, and Twilight closed the door behind them before collapsing in her desk.

"Spike," she said, not very loudly. Spike heard her thought, and responded.

"Yeah?"

"Get me my notes for the next class, and take these notes away." She indicated the notes she was just using. "And some more water. Heck just bring a pitcher. My throat is really dry."

Spike nodded and did as she asked.

Twilight rested her head for a moment. She would have to take another survival pill soon. Her fatigue was proof that its affects had worn off.

When the doctors and nurses filed in, Twilight didn't waste any time. A curt greeting, and off she went, continuing to elaborate on the fundamentals of medicine and understanding the harmony of the body.

The matter was the easy part, and was covered in only two weeks in class. There were only four humours, and it was a simple matter to elaborate upon their natures and functions in the body and what organs produced them. Explanations and names for all the muscles and bones in the body had already been done and anyone versed in medicine would already know them. After that, the real medicine began. The important Xi flows were mapped, diagrams created. They were explained, and the fundamental method was imparted to the doctors and they seemed to understand. Medicine was to promote harmony in the body, to make sure the flows were as they should be. Most often this was easy to accomplish through proper diet and exercise, however factors beyond one's ability to control could contribute to imbalance, and at that point there were various ways to bring things back into balance, from the ingestion of herbs, metals, or particular liquids and types of food, the injection or purging of one or more of the humours, or to manipulation of the Xi flows directly. The last was usually the most affective, but also the most difficult. There were other ways of course, but those were major ones.

The worst part of teaching medicine was trying to get the unicorns to understand the importance of learning to tell where the Xi flows were, and if they were in disharmony, without magic. The horn could simply detect them if one knew what to look for, and again, if you knew what to look for, you could tell right off if something was wrong. But there were some cases that using magic to tell would make things worse, and Twilight had a hard time explaining this, and making them learn how to tell what was wrong "the Earth Pony way." Almost as bad was getting it through to all the ponies that diagnosis was only useful in determining how the Xi flows were. The goal of medicine is to keep the body's flows in harmony. Things like disease, burns, coughs, or what have you were all just accidents of this. Regardless of what was wrong, the goal was still just to make the Xi flows work harmoniously. This was counter-intuitive to everything they had learned, where specific problems requires specific treatment for specific goals. Ultimately however, the truth was the goal was always the same. The specifics were just accidents meant to illuminate how to get there.

As soon as the class was finished Twilight herded her medical students out of the library and again sat down to rest. She'd feel a lot better after taking another survival pill, and perhaps a long bath before getting back to work. She also had invited four of her friends over later that night, and she wanted to be in her best temperament. She'd been preparing for this since the new house had finished after all.

Twilight filled her saddlebags with her supplies and leaving Spike to finish cleaning in the library, trotted back to her house. Most of the ponies she saw seemed to be no different than before. But that wasn't true. Most of them had started taking survival pills. Such would be more apparent at night however, when many establishments continued to stay open. Applejack had been more correct than Twilight too, in that most producers of food were being hit hard, seeing a significant decrease in sales as most no longer bothered with eating. Twilight herself only indulged in food about once every two weeks. Such a routine was hardly enough to sustain so many ponies who made their living off food. Twilight felt kind of bad for them, but really, in this new world they were producing something unneeded. Better for them to find a more useful line of work to entrench themselves in.

Just then, a familiar face came trotting up to Twilight. Twilight sighed, desperately wanting to get home and relax for a bit, but tried not to let her exasperation show.

"Twilight!" said Cheerilee.

"Hello Cheerilee," said Twilight. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"It is." She smiled and looked like she was having a wonderful time. "Listen, first I want to thank you for inventing those survival pills. That's exactly what they are, it makes teaching so much easier, as I'm sure you're now aware of!" She chuckled and placed a hoof momentarily on Twilight's shoulder. Twilight tried to chuckle as well but really didn't feel like it. "Anyway, I have a few students I feel would benefit more in your class than mine, and I was wondering if you'd like to take them?"

"That depends," said Twilight. "I'm always happy to take new students... if I think they'd be receptive."

"There are three that I think would do well. Sunny Days, her friend Peachy Pie, and Snails. Thought I think if you took Snails, he'd want Snips to go too."

"Snails?" asked Twilight. "Isn't he a bit... slow? I don't think he'd be very suited to my teaching. I try to go as fast as I can."

"That's a shame," said Cheerilee, her smile faltering. "Snails is slow to pick up things, but once he has them down, he has them forever."

"Well... maybe I could work something out with him," said Twilight, an idea forming in her mind. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Great!" They said their farewells and Twilight thankfully began her trot back to her house.

Twilight quickened her pace, eager to get home as fast as possible before any other ponies demanded her attention.

Finally she made it back. Immediately she went and turned on the water so she could have a bath. While the tub was filling up she quickly went back downstairs, poured herself a glass of water, and got a survival pill both to bring upstairs. She'd take them after the bath. There was a certain joy to be had in being tired, and finally being able to relax, a joy she would miss out on if she immediately took the survival pill.

She made it back upstairs to her bathroom just in time, as the water had nearly reached optimal height in the tub.

She slowly got into the tub, letting the warm water loosen the tension in her muscles as she laid further back. Soon it was just her and her thoughts alone in the warm water. And Mephistopheles. He was always there, following her. Twilight was so used to his presence though that she hardly noticed. Truth be told, she hardly registered him as a separate being anymore. He no longer offered any information. He just answered questions. It was like talking to herself and letting that niggling little voice in her head answer back, except that the answers would always be absolutely correct and immediate.

As she relaxed with her thoughts, she turned her mind to what Cheerilee had told her earlier. She could definitely take on Sunny Days and Peachy Pie. It would require a bit of time for them to catch up to the level of the others, but it wouldn't be too big of a problem. Snails was another matter.

Even if he would eventually pick things up, she couldn't slow down that much just for him. But she had an idea. Ditzy Doo knew the material, so she said. Perhaps she could pay the mare to teach Snails directly. As Ditzy learned more, she could teach Snails more, and since Snails learned slowly, she would be sure to stay ahead. Maybe she could even taken on Sunny Days and Peachy Pie temporarily so that they could catch up faster. Twilight made a mental note to ask Ditzy Doo after the next day's class.

Twilight heard the door open and then close from downstairs. She assumed it was Spike, but asked Mephistopheles just to be sure. She didn't want to be caught unawares.

"Yes, it's Spike," said Mephistopheles.

Twilight nodded her head in the water, eyes closed. She took a deep breath, then dipped her head under the water and exhaled, listening at the noise of the air rising above the water. She felt like she could just stay there and relax forever. But she had work to do.

Pulling herself out of the water she pulled the stopper and let the water drain away. When it was gone she stepped out and into her dryer and let the Rarefied Air soak up the water from her coat, leaving her with a pleasing tingly sensation as it evaporated.

She stepped out and went towards her previously laid out glass of water and survival pill, and in one swift motion she put the pill in her mouth and took a sip of water, swallowing it.

Seconds later she felt the effects. She was no longer tired at all. She felt completely invigorated and could get back to work.

Downstairs on her worktable was her most recent project. And she was almost done with it. It was however a very complicated piece of equipment that, like the telegraph, required two parts, though she was making more than that.

Spike sat down behind her, a good distance away and watched. He'd started doing that more often lately. Mephistopheles said that he both found her work interesting and was trying to learn without outright asking. Twilight figured that was actually a good arrangement and he'd probably pick things up in time.

"What is this thing anyway?" asked Spike as she put on the finishing touches. She'd been just finishing up for some time, but now things were really almost done.

"Be patient Spike, I'll explain when it's finished."

Spike nodded behind her, but Twilight didn't see.

"To your left on one of the tables there are a few syringes. One of them has a red liquid in it, measured out to 2cc. Bring that to me."

Twilight was just about done when Spike came over to her with the correct syringe in hand. Turning one final screw in place, twilight put her screwdriver down and took the syringe from Spike.

"This is purified Sanguine Humour," she explained. "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy should be here soon and I'd like to be in a good temperament. A slight excess of Sanguine Humour will lift my spirits, make me a bit happier and easier to be around."

Spike tilted his head. "But haven't you taken a survival pill within the last two weeks? Won't that flush it out as an imbalance?"

Twilight shook her head. "This is measured to be a slight increase to mimic what would natural occur when a pony is in a good mood. It's still within normal levels. You're right though, that too much and the effects of the Survival Pill will cause me to expel the excess humour." She winced as the needle pierced her skin and she injected herself. Effects were as quick as a Survival Pill, and soon she felt herself in high spirits. Now smiling she continued to speak.

"You wanted to know what this is I'm working on, and I'm finally done so I can tell you!" She clopped her hooves together briefly in excitement as Spike stepped forward to get a closer look. "I call it a Xiscriber. It's basically a much better Telegraph.

"You see these little buttons? Each has a letter on it, and when pressed, if the Xiscriber is fed paper, it will stamp the letter on the paper. There's this button here, for spaces, and there are buttons for other punctuation marks. Now, I have six of them here, and each one can connect to any and all of the other ones by creating an Affinity between them. You see at the top here?" She indicated a medium sized glass round topped cylinder which had several notches etched into it with a two sliders, one of Silver and the other of Glass on the side. "You know about musical instruments, right Spike?"

"What about them?"

"Well, if I have a stringed instrument, and pluck one of the strings, and here is another stringed instrument close by with the same string, what happens?"

"They both sound," said Spike.

"Exactly. It's just like that with these. If you want to send, you move the Glass slider to a specific point, and then somepony else moves their Xiscriber's Silver slider to that same point. Typing here on my side will cause the receiving Xiscriber to type the same thing."

"I think I understand," said Spike. Twilight was surprised, as she hadn't explained the whole thing yet. "Inside that glass tube there's filled with some sort of metal, and there's probably lines painted inside to mess with the Xi so it can be manipulated in a certain way. Putting the slider up chances the manipulation slightly and when the receiving Xiscriber is meant to receive, the Silver slider moves up to manipulate the inside in exactly the same way. Glass is a sort of Earth, and Earth acts on Metal, which forces an Affinity between them in one direction."

"That's actually very astute of you Spike!" said Twilight, moving in to give him a nuzzle. "You really have been paying attention!"

Spike blushed slightly and nervously rubbed the back of his head. "It's hard not to Twilight. Though I'm still not sure about principles of natural generating interaction. Metal and Glass are both made of the same four atoms, so why do we call one 'Earth' and the other 'Metal?' Same with Wood and Fire and Water."

"It's complicated," said Twilight. "First it's a naming convention. Secondly, there is a specific pattern to the Atomic Structure of all things we call 'Metals' and a pattern to 'Earth's and so on. Everything is one of those things in the sense of structure. I drew a few Tables about it, they're here somewhere. I called them Periodic Tables. They were meant to organise different materials by Atomic Structure and arrange them into a pattern that was easy to understand and grouped by similarity."

"I... guess that makes sense," said Spike. "But there are a lot of things. How could you make a table that had every type of thing?"

Twilight shrugged. "Some things are just groups of smaller things. Like the dirt outside is probably full of several different types of Earths and Metals. Just crumble them up with your claw and you can separate them. There isn't an infinite number of things. A complete chart would probably be big though, and my charts were meant more for convenience and had only things ponies are likely to see. I'll make complete ones eventually."

There was a pause before Spike continued. "Why did you build so many? Are you giving them away? Or selling them?"

"I'm going to sell the design, but no, I built so many because I've had a few ponies who want me to write new textbooks. It's something I wanted to do anyway. And with these, I can write several copies at the same time. I might send one to Celestia though. That way you can type your messages and not have to write them. I can modify two of them to so they can be secure, and I'd have to do that before though."

There came a knock on the door. Reflexively Twilight asked who it was. Mephistopheles answered.

"Your four friends are here."

"Spike, get the door!" Twilight felt herself getting excited. As Spike went to answer the door, Twilight ran up to her bedroom. Underneath her bed was a box, which contained four Silver Pendants. It had taken months for them to be created properly, as the Silversmith she'd hired kept getting them wrong. Twilight grabbed the box in her mouth and tore back downstairs, where four of her friends waited with confused looks on their faces.

"I've got something for you!" she said. Unfortunately she said that with the box still in her mouth and it came out more like "Eh guk thumthin hor ooo."

She put the box down on the table, next to some other things, including the Xiscribers. She repeated, "I got something for you."

"Oooh, is it a present?" asked Rainbow Dash. "That's so awesome. What is it?"

"I love presents!" came Pinkie Pie. "But why doesn't Rarity get one?"

Twilight chuckled. "Rarity doesn't need one." Without waiting for a reply, Twilight opened the box and levitated one pendant to each of her friends. Each one was attached to a snug fitting thin silver chain, and she attached each to the necks of her friends.

"Well this is kinda pretty I guess," said Applejack. "If there's anything fancy to go to, I'll wear it."

"Oh no," said Twilight. She was practically bursting with excitement at how her gift would be received. "These aren't just ordinary pieces of Jewellery. They're artificial unicorn horns, shaped as pendants. Wear them, and you can do magic like a unicorn. You'll have to learn though, but Rarity and I can teach you! It'll be so fun, just think of what it'll be like for you to do magic when you never could before!"

"Well uh...." said Applejack. "I honestly don't know how to feel about this."

"Um, it's nice," said Fluttershy.

"Nice?" asked Rainbow Dash. "It's awesome! Thank you Twilight, this is the coolest thing ever! I mean, I never wanted to be a Unicorn because being a Pegasus is just too awesome, but being a Pegasus who could do magic too! This is the greatest thing! I'm gonna go straight to the library, pick up some books, and begin practicing right away!"

She flew over and gave Twilight a hug before swooping out the door and into the distance. Twilight felt great that Rainbow Dash had such a good reaction, and waited expectantly for her friends to react similarly.

"Rainbow Dash is right, this is super neato!" said Pinkie. "If I learn to float things with this I'll get so much more baking done! So many cakes Twilight!"

Twilight turned to the other two and waited.

"Well uh..." said Applejack, nervously looking around.

"It's... nice... I said it's nice" Said Fluttershy.

Twilights smile dropped slightly. She thought to ask Mephistopheles what was wrong, but then decided against it. Her friends were right here, she could ask them.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"Well... " said both Applejack and Fluttershy at the same time.

"I don't need it," said Applejack. "I mean it's wonderful and all, and I'm mighty pleased that you thought to gift us with such a fancy magical thing, but I dunno. I'm an Earth Pony, and I've gotten along fine being an Earth Pony. Everything I do I do as an Earth Pony and I don't know if I can change that. But... " She took a deep breath. "I know that you probably worked pretty hard on these and that you're trying to show us you care by giving them to us, so I'm gonna use it anyway. I'll be slow to pick up on it, but I'm sure I'll get it down sooner or later."

"Oh Applejack, you don't have to - " Twilight began, but Applejack cut her off.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Like I said, I know you did this because you care, and I'm gonna accept it because I care."

Twilight smiled and felt an unfamiliar warmth in her chest. It went away and she turned to look at Fluttershy.

"And you Fluttershy? I know 'nice' for you doesn't mean nice."

"Oh well... Applejack said everything already. I just wasn't sure this was really me. But I'll try it out. Thanks Twilight."

"Yeah, thank you Twilight!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Thanks," said Applejack. It was short, but she smiled as she said it, and Twilight felt that unfamiliar warmth come back again.

As the three ponies began to leave, Applejack hung back for a moment.

"Go on ahead, I need to speak to Twilight for a second," she said. The other two continued on their way before Applejack closed the door.

"AJ?" asked Twilight. "Something else wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she said. "But I got... something of a favour to ask. And it's kinda embarrassing." She looked nervously at Spike who took the hint and went upstairs, closing the door behind him.

"What is it? You know I wouldn't make fun of you."

"I know that but, still. Anyway I was thinking... you can make these here artificial Unicorn Horns, and that's great and all. But I'd really really be happy if you could make some Pegasus Wings for me."

"Pegasus Wings? You want to fly?"

Applejack nodded vigorously. "More than almost anything. Ever since I was a filly I wished I was a Pegasus Pony, so I could fly. That's not right and proper for a pony though, to wish they were a different type, so I grew up and put aside those foalish fantasies and took to being a good Earth Pony. But... I still think about it. I'd love to be able to fly. Do you think you could do that for me? Make me wings?"

Twilight looked into her friends green eyes and saw that she was genuinely pleading. Her heart felt like it was breaking, looking into those eyes, and involuntarily she found herself nodding slowly.

"I can do it," Twilight said. She felt more determined to do this than she had ever felt in her life, even after Mephistopheles gifted her with knowledge and she was determined to remake the world. "I'll do it better than those Artificial Horns," she continued. "I'll give you real wings."

In Canterlot the two Royal Sisters sat, relaxing together again as they often did now. Celestia was happily reading a new fiction novel while Luna sat, hooves folded over her chest in irritation. Celestia was content to just let her sister stew. She'd speak up when she was ready.

Finally she spoke.

"I want you to put some restraint on that student of yours," said Luna. Celestia looked up from her book. She dog-eared the corner of the page she was on and set it aside.

"What do you mean Luna?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about it more and more," said Luna. "And I just don't like what's happening with her. I don't like what she's doing. It's not even a full year yet and she's single-hoofedly changing the very foundations of our society!"

Celestia smile lowered slightly.

"I admit to being concerned," she began. "But my hooves are tied. She still hasn't done anything illegal. And what she's done has been pretty helpful. I also thought you'd be pleased, so many ponies now are awake to see the entirety of your beautiful night."

Luna growled. "Don't change the subject. I'm happy my night's appreciated, but it was appreciated before and I just didn't know that. I also know now that ponies aren't supposed to be awake all night. It's unnatural."

"But it's not illegal," said Celestia. She chuckled. "Listen to me, the way I'm speaking now It's almost as if I want to put Twilight in prison. No, I love Twilight, and even though I'm concerned, my concern is not so great that I wish to hinder her in any way. It's why I've consented to let her take on students of her own, and why I approved of her idea to write new science textbooks. I want her to flourish."

"What if she goes too far? You've already put some barriers on her research. You didn't let her grow any of those animals like she wanted."

Now Celestia's smile was gone completely. "That was... I felt that that was indeed too far. And these other things aren't. It's something I just feel."

"And what about what I feel?" asked Luna. "Don't I get a say? I thought we were supposed to be co-rulers!"

Celestia sighed. "Don't be this way dear sister. I understand your concerns, and I continue to take them into consideration. But let's take things as they come, all right? If things go too far, then we'll see what happens."

Luna's eyes narrowed, before she stood up and began walking towards the exit. "Of course, your majesty." She left, and made her way to her own room.

Celestia's eyes widened. She didn't like the conversation that had just taken place. Was she really not considering her sister's opinions? Should she try to come to some sort of compromise? But any compromise would stifle Twilight, and she loved Twilight. But did she love Twilight more than Luna? No, she didn't. Soon, she'd sit Luna down again and they'd work something out. She didn't want her sister to ever feel neglected again, especially over something like this.

θ

Discord

Twilight set out a few more golden pins into the floor, carefully checking them to make sure they were in exactly the right spot. This was difficult work, and a single millimetre out of place could spell failure. She'd been working on it for weeks. It was a fairly large personal project, one that required the space of an entire room. Said room previously was used for extra storage, but Twilight managed to squeeze everything into the basement. Instead of flasks, metals, tools, and scientific instruments, the room was now covered in cinnabar paint, pins, spikes, and needles of various thickness, lengths and materials, and structures of similarly odd construction.

It took a lot of work to change a pony's body. Not just knowing how to do it, but getting the energy without killing one's self. Somepony like Princess Celestia or possibly Luna could do this, assuming they knew how, without trouble at all, but Twilight was just a normal pony and even her large stamina could not hope to accomplish the task of giving Applejack permanent wings without a significant amount of work to use energy from outside herself.

As she adjusted a bowl of water on the floor, Spike stormed in. Twilight's head shot up as he ran over the floor, trampling over bits of her hard work. He knew he wasn't supposed to come in like that, and Twilight felt she'd have to do something to punish him.

"Twilight, we've got some kind of emergency!" he said, which stalled her thoughts of punishment for a moment. "Ponyville needs your help!"

"This better be important Spike," said Twilight. "What emergency is going on?"

"Come outside! Everything's wrong! Please hurry!"

Twilight groaned but otherwise didn't say anything as she followed Spike down the stairs. There were no windows in her house, so it wasn't until Spike opened the door that she saw what was going on.

Spike was right. It was an emergency. The clouds were pink, and something brown was falling instead of normal rain.

"It's raining chocolate milk," said Spike.

"Mephistopheles," asked Twilight, worried. "What's going on?"

"Specifically?"

"What's causing the weather to behave this way? It's not normal."

"A draconequus named Discord has recently escaped his imprisonment in stone and is using his magic to change the normal flow of things."

"Why would he do that?"

"He thinks it's fun. He finds the unnatural interesting."

"Well it's not interesting. How do I stop him?"

"There are many ways. The easiest way would be to gather up your friends and use the elements of harmony as you did Nightmare Moon."

"And Princess Celestia has the elements," said Twilight knowingly.

"Not anymore."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. She was completely oblivious to Spike staring at her oddly, as from his perspective she was simply standing in place doing nothing, and had been doing so for an abnormally long time. "Where are they then?" she asked.

"Discord took them and hid them in the book, The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide, in the Ponyville Library."

"Then this shouldn't be such a big deal. Once we all get together and get the elements, how do we find Discord?"

"He's currently messing about in the Canterlot Castle Garden."

Twilight nodded. "Spike, go find Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy and bring them to the library. I'll meet you there."

"Will that fix this problem?" asked Spike.

"Yes. Just hurry." It'd been a while since Twilight and her friends had to go up against anything major, and she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Before Mephistopheles had shown up, this might be difficult or worth worrying about. Now it was just annoying. Twilight had better things to do with her time than worry about some crazy draconequus.

Twilight ran to the Library, the chocolate milk rain making her coat uncomfortably sticky as ponies around Ponyville panicking at what looked like cotton candy clouds zooming through the air and malformed forest animals running amuck. Twilight tried her best to ignore it all.

Entering the library and slamming the door behind her, Twilight quickly made her way to the shelf where she thought the book was. Then she thought of a better way.

"Where's the book?" she asked Mephistopheles. Silently he pointed directly at it, and Twilight grabbed it with her magic. Opening it up she saw that what Mephistopheles had said was true. It was hollowed out, and inside there were the Elements of Harmony.

"Now we just wait for Spike to show up with everyone else," said Twilight aloud.

It didn't take much longer before there was a knock, followed by the door opening forcefully and five ponies and a dragon running in. They were all soaked with Chocolate Milk, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie had bits of popcorn stuck in their manes.

"Spike said you had a plan to stop all this," said Rarity, breathing hard. They must have been running a lot.

"I hope whatever it is it keeps the chocolate rain," said Pinkie. "It's delicious!" She started licking at her own hooves and Twilight couldn't help but cringe at the sight.

"Riiiight," said Twilight. Her eyes focused and she cleared her throat to help get her friend's attention. "I have found out that the crazy weather outside is due to a Draconequuis named Discord. To defeat him, we must use the elements of Harmony again, which I have right here." She levitated the five necklaces over to her friends, who all took over for her and put them on themselves with their magic. It was kind of odd for those who had to wear their artificial unicorn horns, having their elements dangle unceremoniously over their already occupied neck, but it wouldn't make the Elements not work, so it didn't really matter.

Just then, Spike went through his typical motions of receiving a letter from Princess Celestia, his stomach expanding and him making throaty gurgling noises before the scroll appeared in a bit of expelled flame. It'd been a while since Twilight had seen that happen. The Princess usually communicated with Twilight exclusively on the Xiscribers now.

Twilight plucked it off the ground and began to read. A quick read-through showed that the Princess wanted to see her and her friends immediately.

"Is this about Discord?" Twilight asked Mephistopheles. The spirit nodded.

Twilight let the parchment roll back and put it away on one of the bookshelves.

"Anyway girls, we've got to find this Discord and stop him with the Elements of Harmony. He's at the castle garden, so we've got to get to Canterlot as quickly as possible!" She didn't let them so much as move an inch before she continued speaking.

"I want everyone to gather around me. Get very close. I'm going to teleport us all there."

"Can you really do that Twilight?" asked Rarity.

"Yes, it'll just take a bit of concentrating, but I know I can." Rarity shrugged, and her friends gave each other uncertain looks, but they did as she said.

Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated. This was a very long distance, and there were five ponies to teleport who weren't her. It would take a lot of work to teleport all six of them all the way to Canterlot. The physics of it were easy now, Twilight now had a lot of practice with magic as it was. It was simply the time it took to concentrate, and the toll it'd take on her body.

With a sudden flash, she felt herself teleport. Opening her eyes, she found herself right in the middle of the castle gardens, all five of her friends around her, dazed and confused. Twilight looked around. No sign of a problematic Draconequus here.

"Where is he?" asked Twilight silently.

"He's here," replied Mephistopheles. "He's mildly surprised that you've come so soon. He's waiting to see what you do before making himself visible."

Twilight wasn't in the mood for games. She'd had her very important work interrupted and she was eager to get back to it.

"Discord!" shouted Twilight. "I know you're here! Stop fooling around and show yourself!"

It didn't take long before the ground under Twilight's hooves began to rumble. Somehow, the sky grew dark, and clouds began to move above them. Twilight rolled her eyes, while her friends began to huddle close together in worry. A few lightning strikes and thunderclaps later, and Discord himself finally showed up, laughing like he was playing some sort of game. Twilight just found the overblown entrance to be annoying and not at all menacing.

"Hello little ponies!" said Discord, looking down at the stunned faces of everyone but Twilight. Twilight snorted in defiance. "I must say I'm a bit surprised at your punctuality. Why, if only Princess Celestia was so punctual for our -"

"Girls, now!" shouted Twilight. Luckily her five friends weren't so shocked by the appearance of Discord that they didn't hear Twilight, as Twilight and her friends found themselves in that familiar magical flow of the Elements of Harmony.

"Wait, what's this?" asked Discord. He was genuinely curious, but Twilight and her friends couldn't see him. As soon as the rainbow formed out from their magic however, he understood.

"This can't be happening!" he shouted as he was engulfed in multicoloured magic. "I hid them, there wasn't enough time, this is imposs -"

His ranting was cut off as he turned to stone.

A bright light shone from where the six friends were, visible all the way up to where Princess Celestia stood, still waiting for her faithful student and her friends to appear. She walked over to the window, wondering what was happening and was shocked to see the weather no longer in chaos. At least as far as she could see everything was back to normal, but that didn't mean Discord was gone. Perhaps he had simply chosen to move his chaos somewhere else?

Back down in the garden, Twilight and her friends now stood slightly dazed, the evil Discord in front of them, now turned to stone.

"Well uh... that was easy," said Rainbow Dash. "Normally when we have to do something like this it takes forever!"

"We were prepared this time," said Twilight. She looked around and saw that everything was back to normal, and quick confirmation with Mephistopheles proved that everything was normal everywhere, and her job was done. Now all she had to do was meet with the Princess and then she could get back to what really mattered.

"Hey girls, I've got to go see the Princess," said Twilight. "Do you think you could get back to Ponyville without me, now that the trouble's gone?"

"Well sure," said Applejack. "Ponyville's just a quick trip away, no problem at all!" The rest of her friends nodded in agreement. Twilight assumed they all had money to pay for a trip back, or they would have mentioned it.

Nodding to them, she closed her eyes, quickly asked Mephistopheles where in the castle the Princess was, and teleported there.

When Twilight opened her eyes she found herself staring right into the shocked face of Princess Celestia. She bowed quickly, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Twilight!" said the Princess. "Where are your friends? The situation is urgent and requires all of you!"

"The situation has been taken care of," said Twilight. "My friends and I gathered up the elements, found Discord, and defeated him."

Princess Celestia had a look on her face that Twilight had never seen before. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her mouth hung slightly open. She had the kind of look Ditzy Doo got when she lost her train of thought and was trying to remember what she was saying.

"Well... uh... wait," said the Princess finally. "How did you know about Discord?"

Twilight thought fast. Inwardly she asked, "Is Discord in any history books? Is it possible to find out about him that way?"

"Yes."

"I knew about him from history books," said Twilight out loud.

"How did you get the Elements of Harmony? They were behind a spell only I could break!"

Twilight figured the truth would work just fine here.

"Discord stole them and hid them in the Ponyville Library. I happened to find them there."

"And how did you find and defeat Discord?"

"Discord came to taunt me personally shortly after I found the elements, and told me where he'd be. He didn't know I had already found the elements, or that I even knew he had taken them. So he was taken by surprise when my friends and I showed up." Twilight was surprised how easily the lie came. A part of her was even more surprised that she was wilfully lying to the Princess of all ponies. She would never had thought to do that before. But of course, she didn't have a huge secret to protect before either.

"And just like that?" said Celestia. "You showed up, defeated him, and that's it?"

"Um... yes?" said Twilight. "Is there anything else?"

The Princess didn't look happy. She didn't look pleased. But she didn't look angry either. Twilight couldn't tell at all what she was thinking. So she asked Mephistopheles about it.

"She doesn't believe your explanations, but isn't inclined to interrogate you on the matter since you got the job done. She feels she can no longer trust you about everything. There is also a hint of fear."

"She's afraid of me?" asked Twilight. "Why?"

"She feels you've taken what should have been a difficult job and finished it far too easily. She isn't aware how you did it. She also knows you've done a lot of things recently which should have been difficult, but for you they weren't. She doesn't know what to think about it, other than it's making you powerful, possibly too powerful. She thinks if you were almost anypony else she would have demanded to know how you were doing it and not taken no for an answer. But she doesn't want to do that to you and she's starting to think she couldn't even if she wanted to."

"Huh," said Twilight. "Well I love the Princess, I'm not going to harm her or cause any danger to her or Equestria."

Mephistopheles didn't reply to that.

A few more moments passed in silence between the Princess and her student. Finally the Princess spoke.

"I suppose that's it then," she said.

Twilight bowed, and closed her eyes and teleported back home.

Celestia watched her student teleport back... probably all the way back to Ponyville. Celestia was at a complete loss of what to do now. She was sure Twilight was lying to her... but why would Twilight lie? And if she was lying, how did she really defeat Discord so easily?

She would have to talk to Luna later. Twilight could no longer be given such a free reign over everything, or who knows what would happen? She briefly thought about going to Ponyville and speaking with Twilight's friends directly, but if Twilight found out it might seem highly distrustful and... for some reason, Celestia didn't think she wanted to be on Twilight's bad side.

Instead, Celestia decided she'd spend the day making sure that Twilight and her friends indeed had defeated Discord, and finding a new, safer place to keep Discord imprisoned than in the middle of a garden.

Back in Ponyville, Twilight asked Mephistopheles if her friends were making it back from Canterlot all right without her help. After his assurance that they were, she went back to her work. She still had a fair amount of work left to do before she could give Applejack wings.

ι

Applejack

Applejack stepped into the workshop. She had her saddlebags on, both full of something. Mephistopheles said they were full of notes and figures relating to the Survival Pill business. That was strange, Twilight thought.

"I know you said you just had a gift for me," said Applejack, an easy smile on her face. "But I've been meaning to talk to you recently about those survival pills, and I figure now would be the best time."

Twilight shrugged. If that's what Applejack wanted to do after her gift, talk about business, then that was just fine.

"Well, if you come upstairs I got your gift all ready for you," said Twilight. "But first I'd like you to put on this blindfold!" Twilight levitated said blindfold close to Applejack, but she shook her head as it got close.

"Not now Twilight, business first if ya don't mind."

"If that's what you prefer," said Twilight, eager to show Applejack her gift. Twilight had worked very hard on it after all.

Applejack removed her saddlebags and riffled through them, pulling out a few stacks of paper and hastily scrawled charts. Twilight had no idea Applejack was any good at anything relating to Mathematics.

"Big Mac helped me with most of these," said Applejack. Twilight smiled at realising once again that Applejack wasn't very good at math.

Twilight's smile grew as Applejack looked from paper to graph, graph to paper, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with them. Eventually she just settled to putting them all on the table and looking at them all that way.

"Well, anyway," she said, looking a little nervous. She paused for a moment, looking at the papers again before speaking. "Ah well, I don't need these things anyway, I know what's going on." Twilight cocked her head, wondering what she was talking about.

"Because of these Survival Pills, our food sales are way down. Nopony is buying our vegetables. Worse, we're not seeing as many sales of the Survival Pills as we used to. The Apple Family's gonna go under Twilight, if we don't do something.

"Now, most ponies come to me, they wonder if there are pills that don't last as long. Ponies tell me they want to eat, but don't want to eat when they're not hungry, and others... well... there are ponies out there who like to sip on something a little stronger than apple juice if you get what I mean."

Twilight nodded.

"I guess then I should make some pills that don't last as long," Twilight said. "This way you'll sell more pills, and you'll sell more food."

Applejack nodded. "That's what I figured." She looked back down at all the papers she had put on the desk and scoffed.

"Now I told Big Mac I didn't need all these things. Just a waste of paper is what it is."

Twilight chuckled. "Well, you might have needed them if you weren't so good at speaking," she said. She briefly wondered why she had said that at all, but quickly put that question out of her mind.

"Well thank you Twilight," said Applejack, gathering everything up off the table and putting them back in her saddlebags. Once that was done she turned back to Twilight and asked, "So, what's this gift you got for me? Should I put on that blindfold now, or wait 'till we get up the stairs?"

"Now please," said Twilight. "Oh, and let me take off your pendant."

Applejack shrugged as Twilight removed Applejack's Artificial Unicorn Horn. After that was done she gently placed the blindfold over Applejack's eyes.

"Can she see anything," asked Twilight to Mephistopheles.

"No."

Twilight, satisfied, slowly led Applejack up the stairs and into the old storage room. Soon it'd be a storage room again. Once inside, Twilight had to be careful to guide Applejack so she wouldn't knock over or step on anything and ruin the entire room or worse, hurt herself. Finally she was in the proper place, and Twilight felt giddy as she was finally able to see this project come to an end.

"Okay Applejack, I need you to stand still there and wait," began Twilight. "This might feel a bit weird. Don't be alarmed!"

"A bit weird, Twilight what are you -"

"Now now," interrupted Twilight. "Don't speak, you'll have your gift in a second."

Applejack trustingly stopped talking and Twilight began to concentrate. The entire room began to brighten slightly, and the Cinnabar paint on the floor, walls, and ceilings began to move violently, swirling and revolving around the room, culminating on Applejack. Everything else too was acting strangely, but it was all in accordance with what should be.

Slowly the light in the room began to brighten, as did the tip of Twilight's horn as she filtered more energy into her machine. Soon the light became too bright and Twilight had to shut her eyes. Later, the room began to shake slightly and Twilight hoped Applejack was still in the right spot.

Suddenly there was a large bang. Though Twilight was prepared for it, Applejack wasn't and she was flung from her position towards one of the walls. Twilight opened her eyes at the thud of Applejack hitting the wall. Though she was concerned that Applejack might have hurt herself, she was happy to find out that it had worked.

Applejack had a pair of wings.

"Ugh," said Applejack, holding a hoof to her head. "What was that? I don't understand. Can I take this blindfold off now?"

"Yes Applejack. Take a look at yourself!"

Applejack put a hoof to her blindfold before pausing for a moment. She stood up as a hopeful smile suddenly appeared on her face. It looked like she now had an idea of what was done.

In one fluid motion she turned her head to look at her back and pulled the blindfold off. Her hopeful smile turned into a grin so wide it looked like her head might just split in half.

Applejack unfurled her wings and gave them a few test flaps before expertly moving above the ground.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she shouted at Twilight, hovering just above her head. "I can't believe you were able to do this for me! Thank you!"

And just like that she leaned herself forward and kissed Twilight on the cheek.

"This is just the greatest thing anypony's ever done fer me!" she said. But Twilight didn't hear it. Applejack continued to lob praise and thanks at Twilight, but Twilight didn't hear that either. Somehow, Twilight had been put in a daze by what she knew to be just a simple kiss that Applejack only gave due to overwhelming excitement.

Twilight thought she heard something about "trying my new wings out" and "thanks again" as Applejack flew out of the room, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that at some point she was alone, dazed and confused not only by what happened, but by her own dazedness and confusion.

Twilight didn't know exactly how much time had passed by the time she managed to shake herself out of her stupor, but by the looks of things it really wasn't that long. Still, that she was so affected by Applejack meant only one thing. A very strange thing that looking back, she should have seen coming, but nevertheless came as a surprise.

Twilight had a crush on Applejack.

"Twilight?" came a sudden familiar voice. "Why are you standing here by yourself?"'

It was Spike, back from running her errands. He was holding a bunch of small boxes which Twilight assumed were her purchases.

Twilight then shook her head to help clear her mind before saying, "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?" asked Spike.

Twilight cracked a goofy grin. "Something secret."

Spike shrugged before setting the boxes down on the floor.

"Should I clean this room up now?" he asked. "You said it could be turned back to a storage room today."

"Yeah, go ahead," said Twilight. "It served its purpose."

Spike then held up something shiny. It was Applejack's pendant. She hadn't picked it back up when she left. Twilight was kind of glad. There was now a good excuse to show up at Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow.

Applejack was so excited when she flew home, she gave no thought to how her family would react to seeing her new wings.

She wasted no time and simply busted through the door, landing clumsily on the floor right in front of Big Macintosh who was just heading back out to do some more work on the farm. His shocked face brought Applejack back down to earth enough for her to realise that she just broke the farm door and would have to get it fixed. She also realised then that she hadn't chosen the best way to tell her family what she'd done.

"Uhhh," began Big Macintosh. "Most ponies would have just done something new with their mane ya know." He wasn't smiling as he spoke.

Applejack looked down at the ground in embarrassment, trying not to look at any of the pieces of broken door littering the floor.

"Sorry about the door," she said. "Got a little excited there."

"Those are some pretty real lookin' wings," he said. "Twilight do this to you?"

Applejack snorted.

"She did this for me," said Applejack forcefully. "You know I've wanted wings ever since I was a filly, and she managed to work some magic to give them to me."

"Honestly, I thought you grew out of that. I know I did." He didn't seem so unhappy anymore, though Applejack couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, which in itself was worrying. Big Mac was usually an open book to her.

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them. Finally, Big Mac sighed softly. "Granny ain't gonna like this. Not one bit. Apple Bloom... I don't think you'll have to worry about what she thinks."

"I can deal with Granny," said Applejack. "These wings make me the happiest I've been since I got my cutie mark. Granny will understand that."

Back at her house, Twilight was busy asking Mephistopheles all manner of questions relating to Applejack, completely neglecting her usual work.

"What's her favourite variety of apple specifically?"

"She likes her own Red Delicious apples the best for eating raw, and likes her own Granny Smith apples for cooking."

"Has she tried lots of different types?"

"Yes."

"Has she... ever been with another pony before?"

"Do you mean physically or romantically?"

"Romantically. But now that you mention it...."

"Neither."

"Does she... like mares?"

"Not very much, no."

Twilight sighed. "Could she be... I don't want to say 'persuaded', but that's the closest word I can think of. Could she be 'persuaded' to like me romantically?"

"Probably."

Twilight sighed again. "How is it you can never help me with other ponies. It's a huge gap in your understanding."

"I've explained this to you before."

Twilight tried to interrupt him by saying "I know, I know," but he continued to speak through it anyway."Just because I understand doesn't mean I like it."

"That you don't like it shouldn't make you continuously ask me."

Twilight grumbled to herself. It didn't matter that he wasn't sure. It just meant he didn't know. She could still get Applejack to like her, that way. Maybe.

She also didn't think she liked mares, but she wasn't about to get confused and have an identity crisis just because she realised her own crush on another mare. It just wasn't that big of a deal. Nevertheless, it pointed to the hope that maybe Applejack liked mares and perhaps didn't know it, or had the potential for developing a taste for mares.

Twilight shuddered. She was making this out to be more sinister than it should be.

"Anyway, back to the questions," said Twilight, before launching into more questions about Applejack.

When Granny Smith became aware of Applejack's new wings, she wasn't happy.

"How could you do this to yourself?" asked Granny Smith. Applejack scoffed at the implication that she had done anything wrong.

"I didn't see you complainin' when Twilight fixed you up!

Granny Smith gave a low grunt, acknowledging the point. Applejack continued.

"I also didn't hear no complaining about those pills! You take em, we sell them and we spend the money, all thanks to Twilight!"

Granny Smith's frown deepened. "Now I ain't saying she's done no good for ponies. I ain't even talking about her. It's about them wings. You was born an Earth Pony and wishin' you was a different pony is for foals. You ain't a foal are ya?"

Applejack stamped her hoof on the ground. She couldn't clearly remember a time when Granny Smith was so disapproving of something she'd done.

"Now you know I ain't no foal Granny," said Applejack, trying to keep calm. "But this was my decision. I'm sorry I didn't grow out of the want-to-be-a-Pegasus phase like Big Mac did. It ain't no slight on being an Earth Pony. I'm not gonna change just because I got some fancy new wings, I'm the same old Applejack as before. I just can fly now. And I'm happy to be able to."

There was a long pause. Granny Smith gave no indication of being convinced. Finally she spoke.

"I don't know what to say," she said. "I don't approve. But there ain't nothing I can do about it. It's already done and everyone'll have to live with it, including me."

"I'm sorry it makes you unhappy Granny," said Applejack. "But these wings make me happy. I've wanted wings for so long and to actually have them, it's... well, it's incredible."

Granny Smith said nothing, but waved her hoof to indicate she wanted Applejack to go away. Applejack frowned, but left.

Applejack didn't seem soundly that night. While she was overjoyed about her new wings, she hated to disappoint granny. But there wasn't anything she could do.

The next day Twilight had trouble concentrating. Her mind was so wrapped up in Applejack, she didn't give much attention to her students, who were supposed to have completed projects ready to show off. All of them did, but Twilight just didn't care. Except for Apple Bloom's project. While she had made something very impressive it wasn't what interested Twilight. It was that Apple Bloom was Applejack's sister, and paying attention to Apple Bloom might get Applejack's attention.

"So Apple Bloom," said Twilight, passing up everyone else's projects. "Tell me how you made this." Twilight already knew exactly how it worked, and a quick question to Mephistopheles had informed her of the reason behind it.

Apple Bloom's face perked up at Twilight seemingly more interested in her project than anypony else's. Twilight smiled back, happy that her plan was already working.

"Well, my family's always complainin' about how hot it is in the summer, so I realised I could make something to keep the house cool! See, the air comes in through here," she indicated with her hoof the backside of the device, "brought in by strengthened Xi lines. Then it's compressed and goes in through a filter made of woven strands of Water-Silver. It comes out real cold. The only problem is I haven't figured out a good way to turn it on and off. I have to go in and re-paint the cinnabar lines every time I want to start it."

Twilight nodded. "You could simply use the Earth-Metal interaction to build a disconnected switch."

Apple Bloom's ears folded back. "Oh. I didn't think of that."

"It's alright Apple Bloom, it would have been a lot more work and what you have now is just wonderful. I'm very impressed."

Apple Bloom beamed, and as much as Twilight wanted to shower her in praise in hopes that Applejack might notice, she had other students to look at.

Nothing done by the foals was worth commenting on. Sweetie Belle's idea for a fabric-cutter was interesting, but her design was all wrong and in the end all she had was a stupid looking hunk of painted wood. Twilight couldn't even tell if she had a good grasp of theory or if she had somehow gotten stupid over time. Scootaloo's project was just a small Xi-based motor attached to a scooter. It was too weak to even carry Scootaloo herself, but it was something at least. Sunny Days, Dinky Doo and Peachy Pie's projects were similarly something at least.

Ditzy Doo however had managed something pretty interesting, a floating ball that always gave out light. It was made with Electrum infused with as much Fire and Air as it could hold, covered in a layer of glass. The glass was etched with a particular pattern and filled in with cinnabar paint. Totalling at a radius of only one inch, it gave off about twice as much light as an oil lamp, and was paired with a stand that kept it floating through Xi interactions.

"Good job Ditzy Doo," said Twilight. "How are Snips and Snails doing?"

"Who?" Twilight didn't repeat herself, sure that the mare would figure it out quickly enough. "Oh, right! Snails is doing fine."

"And Snips?"

Ditzy Doo frowned. "Oh I don't know about him."

"What?"

"He stopped coming after three lessons."

"Why didn't you tell me! I had him listed as a student in my notebook!"

"I forgot. I didn't even notice the first day he was gone." She smiled sheepishly.

Twilight rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Well, alright. I'll change my list later."

Later, when everypony was filtering out of the library, Twilight held Apple Bloom back.

"Hey Apple Bloom, mind if I walk with you?" said Twilight.

"Sure," said Apple Bloom. "But why do you want to walk with me?"

Twilight chuckled. "Well, I have to head over to see Applejack anyway. She left something at my house yesterday and I need to give it back to her."

"Well, alright then," said Apple Bloom. Twilight quickly grabbed Applejack's pendant and left Spike to clean up the library as they headed off together to Sweet Apple Acres.

As they walked, Apple Bloom carrying her project on her back, she spoke.

"So, how'd you give my sister those wings?"

"It's complicated," replied Twilight. "She told me she wanted wings, so I figured I could make some for her."

"Could'ya make me wings?

"I could, but I already disassembled the machine for it."

"Aww, having wings would be so cool." Apple Bloom kicked a rock as they walked. Twilight stopped walking for a moment, causing Apple Bloom to stop too.

"Tell you what Apple Bloom. How about I give you some extra lessons, and you can make your own machine to make wings! I'll keep watch over it so it won't be dangerous. That way you can eventually have wings if you want, and it'll provide motivation for you to learn more."

"Really?" said Apple Bloom. "You think I could give myself wings?"

Twilight laughed, making sure it sounded convincingly mirthful. "Maybe in a year or two, if we focused on what you'd need to know for it."

"That sounds great!" said Apple Bloom, jumping in the air. "Let's do that!"

They chatted the rest of the way, and when they arrived back on the farm, Applejack was there waiting for them.

"Hey there Apple Bloom!" said Applejack. "I take it Twilight here was pleased with your air coolin' thingy." Her new wings were unfolded, but closed as they approached. Twilight then wondered if maybe she should have given herself wings. But it was too late for that now.

"It was very creative Applejack," said Twilight. "But I'm here to drop this off to you." She levitated the pendant in front of Applejack, who stepped forward and let Twilight clasp it back around her neck. She chuckled softly.

"Guess I just plain forgot it after all the excitement of getting these here wings and all," she said. "Thanks again for them. Can't say everypony else has been as excited to see me with them as I have. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were pretty happy though. Pinkie's holding a party for me by the way, she told me to tell you next time I saw you. It's next week."

Twilight gave a genuine smile. "A party for you? I'll be there."

"Twilight says she'll give me extra lessons so I can eventually make wings for myself!" said Apple Bloom. "I can go right?"

"Well I dunno, when will these lessons be?"

Twilight thought about it for a second and said, "I have medical classes every other weekday after my normal classes, so it wouldn't be too hard to give Apple Bloom her extra classes after class on every day when I'm not teaching the medical students."

"Well that sounds fine," said Applejack.

"Yay!" said Apple Bloom, before trotting past them and heading into the house, humming some tune to herself.

"Boy I tell ya, I never thought I'd see Apple Bloom that excited for schoolin'," said Applejack.

"She's very bright," said Twilight. "Brightest student I have. Except for maybe Ditzy Doo, but she's older."

"But Apple Bloom ain't as... well, ditzy and Ditzy Doo."

"That's true," said Twilight, smiling at Apple Jack. Her mane seemed much shinier than normal, her coat a brighter orange. Had it always looked that way? Or maybe it was that Applejack was happier now with the wings? Or it could just be all in Twilight's head. Romantic Attraction did all sorts of strange things to the mind.

"Well, I was out here waitin' for Apple Bloom. Now that she's back I best be headin' off to finish today's chores. You're welcome to keep me company if ya'd like, but I figure you got lots of fancy projects to work on in that house of yours."

"Fancy projects?" asked Twilight. She didn't really know what Applejack was talking about. Her mind had stopped paying attention at being invited to keep Applejack company. Her mind backtracked for a moment trying to figure out what Applejack was asking.

"Oh, yeah," said Twilight, suddenly feeling the urge to mess with her mane. "Lots of work to be done."

In truth, there was lots of work to be done. Several textbook copies were on the way to being completed, and she wanted to get started on those short-term survival pills for Applejack. They said their goodbyes and Twilight made her way back to her own house.

That went rather well, Twilight thought to herself. She then realised that nothing had happened and she shouldn't be congratulating herself on a job well done at acting normal. She was going to have to be a bit more overt, she thought, if she wanted to win Applejack eventually.

When Twilight entered her house, she found Spike already there. He greeted her, and handed her a letter he said had come from the Xiscriber. The one that only the princess could communicate with. Twilight read it quickly. Upon finishing she was confused.

"Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna want to see me," said Twilight to Spike. "The day after tomorrow. I'm supposed to wait for them to send a chariot to pick me up." Twilight asked Mephistopheles why that was.

"They don't want you to teleport in the middle of the courtroom like you have been doing," he said.

"And what do they want to see me for?"

"They want to set down a few rules on your research."

"Oh...." Twilight said aloud. Spike asked her why she said that, but she didn't answer. She was going to have to do something about this.

κ

Celestial Opposition

Apple Bloom flicked the switch she installed on the wall of the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse and smiled brightly as her air cooling machine sprung to life. Already the warm spring air was lowering in temperature to something a bit more comfortable after running around all day questing for Cutie Marks.

"This was such a great idea Apple Bloom," said Sweetie Belle. "I wish I had come up with something like this."

"I wish my idea worked," said Scootaloo, in a tone which said she was only slightly annoyed. "It would have been cool."

"Don't worry about it Scootaloo," said Sweetie Belle. "The engine was just too weak. I'm sure in a few months Twilight will teach us enough that you can make it with a better engine."

"Or you could just ask Twilight about it right now," said Apple Bloom, now sitting in front of her machine, letting the cooled air hit her face. Her voice sounded funny as she spoke. "She's giving me extra lessons so I can build a machine to give me wings!"

"Like how your sister got them?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"That's so cool," said Scootaloo. "Maybe I'll ask then. Just so I can get an engine powered scooter. I don't want to be stuck in school all day."

The castle halls were decorated in both Princess's banners, far in excess of what was normal. Twilight asked Mephistopheles what all the decorations were for, and he said the Princesses were trying to remind Twilight who was in charge. As she walked, she thought how she didn't need reminding of that. She never tried to go against Celestia. She was a good subject, so why were the Princesses, especially Celestia, acting this way?

Twilight stepped towards the Princess's chamber, two guards flanking the huge door which slowly moved open as she approached. She stepped inside. The Princesses stood all the way at the front of the room, waiting for her. Nopony else was inside. As she entered, the doors behind her closed. She continued, noting the unhappy look on Celestia's face, and the stern look on Luna's. Finally she stood before them, and bowed her head in supplication.

"So what should we try out today?" asked Scootaloo. "I was thinking we could try ice sculpting for our cutie marks!"

"Sorry, I can't make it Scootaloo," said Apple Bloom. "Now that I finished putting this here air cooler in the clubhouse, I wanted to get to work on making another one for my family.

"Oh.... Well, me and Sweetie Belle can save the ice sculpting for later if you want?"

"That'd be great, I'd love to ice sculpt," said Apple Bloom. Shortly after, she said goodbye to her friends and started for home.

Twilight lifted her head back up.

"Twilight Sparkle," said Princess Celestia. There was none of the warmth usually heard when the Princess addressed her. Twilight stayed quiet, and the Princess continued.

"In the matters of your scientific and related endeavours, it is our belief," Celestia took a quick glance at Luna before continuing, "that there has been a lack of sufficient oversight. To correct this matter, we have appointed a committee of five ponies to oversee your research in various ways. You will report to them everything you are currently doing, and in the future, everything you plan to do. You will not act without approval from them. In turn these five will report to us, and they will not agree or disagree on anything without approval from us."

"Who are these five?" asked Twilight. She had to force her voice to be even and unemotional, as inside she was seething.

Celestia took a breath. "Violet Moon of the Canterlot Astronomical Research Department, Sweet Stuff, the head of Canterlot Hospital, Snow Berry, leading Chemistry Professor at Canterlot University, the famous Mathematician and Logician, Winter Carroll, and of course Spell Tome, head of Magical Research also of Canterlot University."

"They're all from Canterlot?" asked Twilight.

"Foal!" shouted Princess Luna. It was the first time since she had just been defeated as Nightmare Moon that Twilight had heard her speak. "Canterlot is the greatest city in Equestria, centre of arts and learning! It should be no surprise it houses the greatest minds in all fields of learning!" She spoke loudly, and Twilight's ears folded back in an attempt to save her hearing from damage.

"Luna, remember to keep your voice soft and level," said Princess Celestia. Luna took a step back and glared at her sister. "In any event, yes, they all work in Canterlot. I assure you they are all highly qualified, and their residence here in the capitol makes it easier for us to communicate with them, and they with each other."

Twilight bowed her head in acknowledgement and remained otherwise silent.

"I have sent you contact information for these five, and have sent them your contact information. On the subject of your creations that are already in public use, you are to also send them specifics and they are to be revaluated. I doubt there'll be too many problems with them however, most seem safe enough.

"I also request for you to keep track of your students and what they do. From now on, you are responsible for them, if they release something dangerous, you will be held accountable."

On and on it went, and Twilight was finding it harder and harder to stay quiet. At the moment, there was nothing she could do. But she'd find a way to get around this. She had to. The princesses were just showing themselves to be too short sighted. At least Luna was. Maybe it was her history with Celestia, but Twilight figured this "oversight" problem was completely the work of Luna. Sure, Mephistopheles said that Celestia was becoming afraid, wary of some of her knowledge. But it was probably only because Luna was bringing it all up in a negative light. She couldn't see past her narrow old fashioned view of the world, couldn't understand that the world had changed since her imprisonment, and would soon change even further thanks to Twilight's knowledge and hard work.

She would make Luna see. And Celestia would understand on her own if ripped away from the influence of Luna.

When Twilight got back to her house the first thing she did was see if Spike was around. He wasn't. She was alone.

Then she screamed. Not in pain or fear but in frustration. Her horn glowed with magic as she knocked projects off tables, broke bottles, tipped chairs, and smashed inventions. Pages from books she had written were dropping through the air, torn and ripped. Mephistopheles just stood there, impassive and unemotional as ever.

"Twilight, what have you done!" came the voice of Spike. Twilight turned her head, breathing heavily. She hadn't heard him come in. How much of her rampage had he seen? "It'll take me forever to clean this," Spike said to himself. Twilight said nothing.

"What happened?" asked Spike, louder. "All your things, your books, your tools? It took a long time to make them! Why would you do this?!"

Twilight remained silent.

"I guess the meeting with the Princesses didn't go too well?" asked Spike.

Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she explained to Spike what had happened.

Spike wasn't appropriately angered.

"I don't see what the big deal is," he said. "You don't have anything to hide. And still, why break your stuff?"

"Don't you understand Spike?!" she yelled. "This is going to slow me down considerably. My plans for a better world will grind to a halt at the whim of Luna and a bunch of Canterlot ponies!"

"Okay but... why break your stuff?"

Twilight sighed. "I was angry. Besides, the things that are now broken are things I don't have to report to those five. Not that I'm going to report everything anyway."

"Wait, what?" Spike was in shock. "You're going to work behind the princess's backs?"

"Well what else can I do Spike?!" asked Twilight.

"You could just do what they say."

"That's unacceptable. No, I'll have to find a way to work around this for now, until I can think of a way to defeat them."

"Who said anything about defeating anypony?! Who needs defeating?"

"Slip of the tongue Spike. I just meant I need to get rid of this oversight."

"Riiiight."

The question was how to do it without being found out. She could learn everything there was to know about these five ponies, everything about their habits, their likes, dislikes, family, their loves, their secrets, and one by one remove them from the picture, but could she do so without bringing even more problems down on herself? She also needed to work against one of the princesses. She would have to move carefully from now on. And she'd need help. Preferably help that didn't know it was helping.

Already a plan was forming in her mind. She needed some alone time with Mephistopheles to forge it into something workable.

"Spike, clean this place up." Spike groaned and nodded his head. He had known it was coming. "I'll be at the library if you need me."

Twilight closed the library door behind her. After a quick check to confirm she was alone, she made it to her old room for some extra privacy. It was still furnished like she lived there. You never knew when you might need another place to sleep.

"So...." began Twilight. She sounded more conniving than she knew, her eyes glaring as she looked out the window at all the ponies who didn't know anywhere near as much as her. They were like ants when viewed from up high like she was. "Tell me Mephistopheles, everything there is to know about the five ponies that are to keep watch over me. Specifically about their fears, insecurities, secrets and weaknesses. Anything I could use to manipulate them into letting whatever I want to do gain approval. I also need to know about Princess Luna, but for her, additional details as to her relationship with Celestia. I have no doubt it all ultimately comes down to Luna who's doing this to me."

He began.

"To summarise each one. Violet moon is lazy. Her job involves her allowing those below her to do the work while she gets to take credit as an intelligent and hardworking pony. While she may be fairly intelligent compared to the average pony, she no longer has the patience to work. She enjoys things like fine food and drink. She has no children, no romantic partners, but enjoys the company of colts quite often.

Sweet Stuff is rather the opposite. She is a very hard worker, has a husband and twin foals but works so much she hardly sees them. Though she loves them, she finds her work too important. The only non-work related activity she does besides be with her family is run a small hothouse in her basement, growing Rhubarb for personal use. Her Husband sneaks some every now and then, and she pretends not to notice.

Snow Berry is old, and has not retired yet because her son runs one of the largest chemical companies in Equestria. Essentially she puts the chemistry department to work for her son's company and nopony notices.

Winter Carroll is already quite amiable to your views and would most certainly be willing to let anything of yours go unchecked. However for your convenience, his most damaging secret is that he's married and having an affair, for his wife is sick and dying. He also likes trying new ways to have fun.

Spell Tome is the oldest of the five, set in his ways, and the most hostile to your views. He views himself as the definitive authority on magic, having worked all his life studying it, with a vigour not unlike your own before I arrived. He also is the most politically powerful ponies in Equestria who isn't a politician. He has no major skeletons in his closet, and nothing that can be easily pointed to in order to manipulate him. Hopefully a more expansive description will help.

Speaking of, first, Violet Moon was born on..."

He went on in that vein for a very long time, giving Twilight essentially a full life history of each of the five. Already a complete plan was forming, a way to get all five out of her mane and get back to work.

The next day was a schoolday for Twilight. Already she was breaking the rules, as she wasn't supposed to teach until her lesson plans had been approved. Then again, she wasn't going to teach what she had had planned for that day.

Twilight waited patiently for everyone to arrive and settle down. She went ahead and let them do it on their own, waiting for Sunny Days and Peachy Pie to finish talking, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to finish listening to whatever pointless thing Scootaloo was telling them. Ditzy Doo was just staring straight at her with those crossed eyes of hers, and her daughter had her head on the desk in boredom.

Eventually heads started to turn Twilight's way as ponies realised she hadn't said anything for a while. At that point, they had settled down. Twilight looked at each of them, wondering who would be up for the task she was about to give.

"Everypony," she began. "This will be the last class I'll be teaching for a while."

There was a few moments as that statement sank into the heads of everyone.

"But what are we supposed to do?" asked Apple Bloom. "Going back to Mrs. Cheerilee's class would be a waste of time!"

Twilight held a hoof up to stop Apple Bloom right there.

"The reason I can't teach for a while is that the princesses, or one of them anyway, has decided that there needs to be more control over what I teach, with my lessons given direct approval before I can teach them to you. So I have a suggestion for you all. This isn't a requirement, but if you want to continue learning from me I highly recommend this. You all know my workshop and where it is. Whenever you have free time, show up there. Nopony can say no to you hanging around where I live, and nopony will mind if you happen to learn a few things from watching or talking to me or anypony else who'll happen to be there."

"On that note, if anypony at all shows interest in what you're learning, don't hesitate to explain it to them. In fact, I urge you to be as forthcoming about it as possible. Yes Ditzy?"

Ditzy Doo had a hoof raised.

"What should I do with Snails?" she asked.

"I was going to talk to you about it after class, but I guess now is as good a time as any. Any lesson plan you plan for him, you have to run by me so I can run it up for approval too."

"Why can't I just get approval myself?"

"I don't know," said Twilight. "All I know is what I was told, and for now that's the way it is. Of course, Snails is welcome to show up anytime he likes at my workshop as well. Actually... you know a good amount about this stuff, would you mind opening your home to all these wonderful ponies... and if they just happen to learn a thing or two from you, all the better?"

"Well uh, sure," said Ditzy Doo. "That'd be uh, wonderful. If anypony wanted to show up."

"Everypony hear that? Two places where you all might happen to learn things. I hope you'll take the offer. I don't know when I'll be able to teach classes again, and if I do, I don't know how much I'll be able to teach you."

The class began to whisper to each other. Twilight allowed it. She knew what they were saying, as Mephistopheles was told to relay it all to her. Almost all of them considered this an acceptable change. the only one who didn't was Scootaloo, who seemed to be wrestling with the problem of having less free time, but having it eventually lead to something she wanted; a powered scooter. After that was done, Twilight figured she'd lose the pegasus filly as a student.

Twilight didn't have much more to say, and soon everyone was filtering out of the library, probably for the last time in a good while. She only hoped the medical students would be so understanding. Though they didn't have as far to go, being limited to Medicine, Twilight had to admit she didn't spend much time on basic medical advancement. If they showed up at her workshop hoping to pick up something they wouldn't get as much useful information as her general students.

λ

Nightmare Night

"This is the third time this month they've changed the schedule!" said Applejack. Twilight nodded her head sympathetically as she continued to work, impregnating Earth with a specific amount of Fire and Water. Truthfully, it was delicate work and any other pony would risk blowing herself up. But Twilight wasn't just any pony. "I'm tellin' yah, if it happens again I'm gonna march right to the mayor and giving her a piece of my mind."

Twilight ignored the obvious solution, telling Applejack that as she was now also a Pegasus, she could bring rain to her farm herself, and instead went with another suggestion.

"If you're so adamant about it, why don't you run for mayor yourself? Elections are next year after all. If you start campaigning now, you'd be sure to win. Then not only could you schedule the weather properly, but you could do all sorts of good things for all your friends." She hoped the "all your friends" comment consciously translated in Applejack's head as "everpony in town."

"Me... mayor?" asked Applejack slowly. "Why would I want to be mayor? Seems like a lot of work."

"Well you like helping everpony right?" asked Twilight. She stabbed the newly realised clump of Fire-Clay with two silver pins and then set it aside. Apple Bloom peered over the table to get a closer look, and backed off as soon as she realised what exactly it was. "If you were mayor, you could help a lot of ponies. Besides, our current mayor is kind of... ineffectual?"

"I don't think so Twi," said Applejack. "Not my thing."

"Well, if you're sure," said Twilight before picking up another piece of clay.

Applejack chuckled. "It's annoying, but not that annoying," she said. She glanced at Apple Bloom who was now busy with her friends and Spike, fooling around with a small model airship Twilight had built a week before.

"You gonna stick around here a while longer sis?" she said. Apple Bloom looked up.

"Yes Ma'am," she said quickly. Applejack chuckled again.

"That filly," she began. "Next thing you know she'll be gettin' some fancy science cutie mark and trekking over to Canterlot with the fancy science ponies."

As Applejack made her way to the exit, Twilight remarked, "The scientists in Canterlot don't know what they're talking about. Apple Bloom has already surpassed all of them. If there was any justice, she'd be the professor, and all the Earls and Grafs, Consuls and Proconsuls, Mayors and Governors, and even the Princesses, would understand that she was somepony they should listen to. Not those Canterlot phonies."

There was an odd stillness in the air as Applejack played back what she just heard. Not making much sense of it, she opened the door to leave.

"See you Twilight," she said softly, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

"Hey Twilight," said Apple Bloom from behind. Twilight quickly checked with Mephistopheles to see if Apple Bloom had overheard what was said. She hadn't.

"Yes, Apple Bloom?" asked Twilight. The little filly was holding one of Twilight's floating electrum lights. Twilight knew Ditzy wouldn't mind her taking the idea and improving it, and these lights didn't need a metal stand, but could be made to follow a pony around, or stay in any specific place anypony wanted.

"I was wonderin' if I could borrow one of these for my costume tomorrow," she said.

"Sure," said Twilight. "What are you going to use it for?"

"I wanna be an alien."

Twilight chuckled. "But there is no such thing as aliens."

"So?" asked Apple Bloom. "I just thought it'd be fun."

"Well that's fine," said Twilight. "In fact you can keep it. I have a dozen of them already made."

"Wow, thanks Twilight!" said Apple Bloom, cradling her new light in her left foreleg as she walked back over to her friends.

Nightmare Night was tomorrow. Twilight still hadn't decided yet if she wanted to join in the festivities or continue with her work.

On one hoof, now that Luna and those five ponies from Canterlot were breathing down her neck, there was admittedly less work that could be done, which theoretically left more free time available. Attending the festivities would also give her more time to spend with Applejack, though they had already been spending more time than was common recently.

On the other hoof, there was always more work to do. And Applejack might think it odd if Twilight tried to spend even more time with her. And finally, Twilight still didn't have a costume. Though she definitely throw something together if she really wanted.

"Spike! Come here for a moment!"

Spike looked up from what he was doing before rolling his eyes, annoyed, and slowly drudging his way to Twilight.

"Yes, Twilight?" he asked. Twilight ignored his lack of enthusiasm.

"I was just wondering, how interested are you in going to the Nightmare Night festival tomorrow?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Spike. "It's one of the best days of the year! You get to wear a costume, lots of free candy, it's great!"

"So you'd be disappointed if we didn't go?"

"Very," he said, folding his arms over his chest, glaring. "We are going right?"

Twilight decided this was the easy way of deciding. Making Spike decide for her.

"Yes, we're going," said Twilight. She tilted her head in thought and said lowly, to herself, "Though I don't have any idea for a costume. What might be good?"

Spike gasped in fake shock. "Really Twilight, that's not like you! You usually have your costume picked out and ready a month before Nightmare Night!"

"Well, I wasn't even sure we'd be going this year," said Twilight. "There's always so much work to do."

"Which is why we should take what breaks we can," said Spike. "That and, free candy."

Twilight chuckled. "Got any ideas Spike? It doesn't matter to me what the costume is."

"Go as a zombie!" said Spike. "Zombies are awesome."

Twilight nodded. "Fine by me. I'll throw a zombie costume together tonight."

Spike had a huge grin on his face as he walked back to finish what he was doing before, probably imagining what Twilight would look like as a zombie. Twilight had never considered such a costume before, but at this point in her life it didn't matter at all what she decided to dress up as.

"Can I come with you and Spike for Nightmare Night instead of Pinkie Pie, Twilight?" came a sudden voice. Twilight twirled around and saw the face of Apple Bloom smiling hopefully at her.

"Well, I suppose. If you want. Wouldn't Pinkie Pie be more fun though?"

"I like you more than Pinkie Pie," said Apple Bloom, obviously giving no thought to what she was saying.

"Just tell Applejack you'll be with me and not Pinkie, and you can come over around seven in the evening. That alright with you Apple Bloom?"

"Yes ma'am! But uh... while I'm askin'...."

"Yeeees?" said Twilight, sure what was about to be asked.

"Can Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo come too?"

Twilight sighed, but smiled. "Yes, they can if they want."

Apple Bloom's eyes brightened as she yelled off a quick "Thanks!" before trotting back to her friends once again.
Twilight sighed again to herself. Nightmare Night just got a lot more complicated than she expected.

Not too much later in Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna was having a fit of annoyance.

"I think you'd look wonderful dressing up as, say, Princess Celestia?" said Celestia with a grin. Luna frowned at her joke.

"I don't want to dress up as anything, especially not you. The entire holiday is demeaning."

"It is not," said Celestia as if talking to a young child. "Everypony loves Nightmare Night and you should be glad to have such a wonderful holiday in your honour."

"Yes, unlike you who has such horrible holidays and events like the Summer Sun Celebration, or the Grand Galloping Gala," Luna grumbled.

"Oh sister," said Celestia, shaking her head in that condescending way she did often, as if Luna was stupid. "It'll be fun. And good for you. Nopony goes to Ponyville without making at least one new friend."

Luna couldn't help but smile at that. She still held out a glimmer of hope that ponies would like her.

"Is that way you're sending me to Ponyville specifically?"

"It is indeed," said Celestia.

"And what about you sister? Where are you going for...ugh. Nightmare Night?"

"Nightmare Night isn't really my holiday is it Luna? I showed up publicly because you were gone, but now that you're here you don't need me stealing the spotlight."

"Spotlight?"

"Figure of speech," said Celestia. "I mean you don't need me around on your day. Or night as the case may be. And you know what? If you don't like the holiday, you can always change it. Make it a feast or something."

Luna ignored the suggested, suddenly realising something else. "Ponyville is where... your student lives now, right?"

Celestia nodded. "She lives there, yes. You will probably see her during the festival."

"Oh joy."

"Now Luna, I know you're worried about her, but she's a good pony. Plus, we did what you wanted. There is more oversight over her research now. So what's the problem?"

"Nothing, dear sister."

"Spike, are you done yet?" called Twilight. "Everypony's waiting!"

Indeed, all three "cutie mark crusaders" had already shown up in costume ready to go to the Nightmare Night festival, and Twilight herself had been ready a half hour before that. Spike was the only one not finished. Twilight hoped his costume was at least worth the wait.

"Finished!" yelled out Spike. A few more moments passed and Twilight finally got a look at his costume.

"You're a dragon," said Twilight, before Spike even got downstairs.

"Yep!" said Spike.

"But you're a dragon."

"I know. You just said that."

"No, I mean, you're already a dragon!"

The three fillies sniggered quietly to themselves at the exchange, not saying anything.

"So?"

"So... you know, nevermind, I don't care. Let's just go or we're going to be late."

"Sheesh Twilight, this night is supposed to be fun," said Spike. "No need to be such a grouch over a costume."

The sun was just barely setting, and the festival itself only just starting. When Twilight, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike entered Ponyville proper, lights were flickering on to indicate that visitors were welcome for candy, while others stayed dark to show that no visitors were wanted.

Twilight took her charges around town, briefly stopping from house to house so they could pick up candy. It didn't take that many houses before Twilight noticed something really annoying.

"Look Twilight," said Scootaloo. "You didn't have to make a last minute zombie costume, you could have just gone as yourself!"

Twilight grumbled under her breath, trying to ignore all the little fillies who had decided to dress up as "The Madmare of Ponyville." If it was like this here where she lived, how much worse was it in bigger cities far away?

Spike laughed, seeing her face scrunched up in annoyance. "Maybe you can get some royalties from all the ponies dressing up like you."

"Quiet," said Twilight, trying to keep her cool. She didn't like feeling unappreciated. It was bad enough she was having trouble with the princesses. She didn't need the little fillies spreading the idea around that she was crazy.

Twilight tried to ignore the "madmares" she walked by as she continued to take the girls, and Spike, around to get candy, but it wasn't easy. All those foals had no idea what great things she was going to do, or had already done. They didn't know how much better their lives were going to get.

"Can we go play some games?" said Sweetie Belle, nudging Twilight's side. Twilight nodded and was glad to be alone for a moment as the three fillies ran off to fire pumpkins from a catapult.

"I'm going to go see how Applejack's doing," said Twilight to Spike. "She's running the apple bobbing game, so if you want to come...."

"And get my suit all wet?" said Spike. "No thanks. I think I'll stick with Apple Bloom and her friends, if that's okay."

"Suit yourself Spike. Tell the girls they have fifteen minutes, and after that to come find me. I'll be with Applejack."

Spike ran off without replying.

Twilight wasted no time in finding Applejack and her tub full of water and apples.

"Happy Nightmare Night, Applejack," Twilight called out. Applejack turned and smiled.

"Well howdy Twilight. Nice costume."

"Thank you," said Twilight.

"Where are the girls?" asked Applejack. "And Spike?"

"I let them wander off to play games for a bit. I told them to meet me here in fifteen minutes."

"Quite a handful ain't they?" She chuckled to herself. "But while you're waiting care to bob for an apple?"

"No thank you," said Twilight. "I don't want to ruin the make-up you know."

"Of course Twi," said Applejack. "Can't have you lookin' all pretty now can we!" she laughed at her own joke while Twilight's mind boggled.

Did Applejack just call her pretty? Or at least imply that she thought she was pretty? Twilight felt a blush creep up on her face, and was suddenly very glad she was covered in make-up.

Suddenly three fillies and a dragon came bouldering towards Twilight, forcing her to snap out of it and focus on what was actually happening.

"Twilight! Twilight look!" said Sweetie Belle. "Apple Bloom won a prize!"

Sure enough, the red-maned filly was carrying a small stuffed spider on her back.

"Not the greatest prize," she said. "But it'll do."

"Congrats sis," said Applejack moving past Twilight to give her sister a nuzzle.

The roar of a crowd began to drown out the going-ons close by. Twilight turned and saw ponies gathering around a stage, the Mayor, dressed in a clown costume, apparently beginning some sort of speech.

The three fillies suddenly ran off to see what was happening without so much as waiting for Twilight. After turning to give an apologetic smile to Applejack, Twilight headed after them. Settling as close to the middle of the crowd as possible, Twilight waited with everypony else to hear the Mayor's announcement.

"Thank you everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!"

More applause and cheering.

"Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of," she paused slightly for dramatic effect. "Nightmare Moooooooon!" She proceeded to try a "spooky" laugh, though her clown costume really ruined the attempt.

"The spooky voice might work better if she wasn't dressed like that," said Spike lowly.

"No kidding," said Twilight.

"Aww, can we go Twilight?" suddenly asked Apple Bloom.

"Sure," said Twilight. "Though you don't need me to come with you, so if you don't mind I'll stay here."

The fillies seemed not to care at Twilight's lack of enthusiasm.

Later, once again filly and dragon free, Twilight walked back over to Applejack and her apple bobbing game.

Twilight contented herself with merely watching other ponies bob for apples, happy to simply be near Applejack. She felt calm, which, she noted, she hadn't felt in a strangely long time. It was as if she'd been panicked for weeks, and was just now able to relax.

"Hey, Twi," said Applejack suddenly.

"Yes, Applejack?" said Twilight sweetly.

"I did something interesting yesterday, a few hours after I left your house."

The comment took Twilight off guard, but Applejack continued without a reply.

"I was flying about, and I closed my eyes for a bit. And then I... I flew into a cloud."

"Well I'm sure that's interesting and exciting for you Applejack, but you’ve got to remember you're a Pegasus now."

"That's what I mean Twilight. I thought you just gave me wings. But there's more to a Pegasus than just wings, right? They got some special connection to the sky, and they can move and sit on clouds and stuff. Earth Ponies can't do that, not without magic."

"Well yeah. You're a Pegasus."

Applejack sighed. "I'm not sure how I feel about that Twi."

"What do you mean?"

Applejack took a deep breath. "I was born an Earth Pony. And yeah, I wanted to fly and I'm still mighty happy that I can, but I thought I'd still be an Earth Pony at the end of the day. Now I... I guess it just feels strange."

"But you are an Earth Pony!" said Twilight.

Applejack's ears perked up sharply at Twilight's words.

"Come again?" she said. "I thought you said I was a Pegasus now."

"You are," said Twilight. "But I didn't change you into a Pegasus. You're right, being a Pegasus is a complicated matter, more than just wings. It involves a specific magical nature that other types of ponies don't have, but there's nothing about it that makes it so that I couldn't just turn you into a Pegasus because of you already being an Earth Pony. Just look at Princess Celestia, or any of the other Alicorns. They are Alicorns because they are biologically Earth Pony, Pegasus Pony, and Unicorn Pony at the same time. You're just not a Unicorn. But you are a Pegasus Pony and an Earth Pony. Does that make sense?"

"Well I, uh," said Applejack. Her eyes were unfocused, pointing at the ground, as if she was thinking. "It makes sense, but Twilight, that's incredible! If you made me into a Pegasus, could you, and I'm just spitballin' here mind, but could you turn me into a Unicorn too?"

Twilight opened her mouth to shout, "Of course!" but had to clamp it shut again when she remembered. She couldn't anymore, not without approval from five ponies who didn't know anything.

"It's possible," said Twilight instead. "But I can't do it personally, not now. I told you about the oversight the princesses have graced me with." She couldn't hide the bitterness from her voice.

"Well shoot, I was just thinking," began Applejack. "Think of how amazin' it'd be if everypony was an Alicorn just like the princesses! Everypony could do everything, and nopony would have to worry about fighting about who's better or who can do what, or 'why won't you do this if I do this?' Don't you think that's be great?" Applejack paused for a moment, her eyes wide suddenly. "On second thought, maybe not. You get so many Alicorns running around, ponies might stop respecting the princesses."

It felt like lightning stuck. Applejack was right. If everypony was an Alicorn, then the Princesses, specifically Luna, wouldn't be special. And why would you listen to somepony who wasn't special? Somepony else could take Luna's place, somepony smarter, more amiable to Twilight's goals.

Twilight's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud shouts of somepony coming from the centre of town.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" it began, and Twilight immediately recognised the voice. A quick confirmation from Mephistopheles proved it. Luna was here.

"I wonder what's going on?" said Applejack looking in the direction of the yelling. The yelling continued, thought more indistinct. Twilight, wanting to know what was being said, asked Mephistopheles to relay to her what was happening.

Twilight chuckled to herself after hearing the account. Of course Luna wouldn't be met with any praise or fanfare. She just was too out of place in the modern world. Which was probably why she was so concerned about emerging technologies.

Twilight's train of thought was once again interrupted by a sudden group of ponies fleeing towards her. The "Cutie Mark Crusaders," Spike, Pinkie Pie, and a handful of other young colts and fillies stopped when they reached her and Applejack.

"Twilight, it was the scariest thing!" shouted Apple Bloom. "We all heard the story about Nightmare Moon and why we have the Nightmare Night festival, and when we got back to town Nightmare Moon herself came and said she was going to feast on us! So we ran!"

Nods of agreement.

"It was totally scary," said Pinkie Pie. "You should have been there Twilight!"

Twilight patted Apple Bloom on the head.

"Don't worry," she said. "It's just Princess Luna, she's not Nightmare Moon anymore." Twilight paused. "Doesn't mean she should be trusted though."

The comment got a strange look from Pinkie Pie, but everpony else seemed to agree with her.

"Well, since you all got over quite a scare, how about bobbin' for some apples?" said Applejack, pointing a hoof to the game.

The little fillies and colts, and Pinkie Pie gathered around, forming a loose line so they could take turns two at a time trying to get apples out of the bucket. Spike stood back next to Twilight, uninterested in the game.

There was one colt who looked very young, as he was much smaller than even the fillies. Twilight silently asked about him and found out his name was Pipsqueak, and he was so young that this was his first Nightmare Night ever. He was too small to effectively reach over the bucket and attempt to bob for apples, and so he had to try to balance on the edge of the bucket. Applejack stepped forward to help him, but before she got there he'd already lost his balance.

Twilight was about to magically levitate him out of the bucket when somepony at full gallop came rushing into the crowd and grabbed the colt out of the water. It was Luna.

Gasps of surprise and whimpers of terror passed through the crowd. Many however seemed to be surprised that Luna did what appeared to be a good thing. For a moment, Twilight locked eyes with the Princess. When their eyes met, Luna momentarily lost her concentration, causing her to quickly drop Pipsqueak onto the ground with a thud.

"Look out!" shouted Pinkie Pie suddenly. "Nightmare Moon just tried to gobble up Pipsqueak! Everypony run!"

Suddenly the crowd went from kind of afraid and slightly curious, to utterly terrified as masses of ponies began to run around in all directions attempting to get away from "Nightmare Moon." Even Pipsqueak, who had just been helped out, picked himself up from the floor and started to gallop away after shouting "Help, Nightmare Moon almost gobbled me up!"

Amidst the ensuing chaos Twilight could hear Luna shout, "Tis' a lie, I did no such thing thou ungrateful whelp!" She stamped her hoof in anger, causing her to momentarily lose control of her magic, though nopony, in their panic, seemed to notice the sudden lightning.

Twilight was the only one who did not run. She simply watched.

"Please, villagers!" shouted Luna, trying to calm the crowd. Nopony listened. "There is no need to fear us! We only wished to help and join the festivities!" Still nopony listened. Things were getting more and more out of control as she spoke, as if every word simply added more panic to the little ponies.

Finally , Luna had had enough.

"Be still!" she yelled, her voice magically enhanced to be loud enough that probably everypony in town heard it. It worked, and immediately everypony stopped running and kneeled on the floor, mildly in simple prostration to royalty, mostly in fear. Twilight was the only one who continued to stand, Spike pulling gently on her mane to get her to kneel like the other ponies. Twilight ignored him, and similarly, Luna did not notice Twilight.

"I have seen enough!" continued Luna in her magically enhanced voice. "Since you choose to fear your Princess rather than love her, and dishonour her with this insulting celebration, we decree that Nightmare Night shall be cancelled! Forever!"

Twilight's mind blanked as Luna suddenly teleported away. She hadn't quite expected that. As the ponies looked around and began to pick themselves up off the floor, the reality of what had just happened began to sink in. Nightmare Night was over. Luna had shown up not for ten minutes and had cancelled it. Fillies and colts began to cry as older ponies tried to console them that everything would be alright. Amidst all the sadness, disbelief, and disappointment however, Twilight couldn't help but think this would be a good thing for her plans.

"You cancelled it?" Said Celestia in disbelief. "Why would you do a thing like that?!"

Luna shook her head. "Sister, you were not there. You did not see the fear in their eyes when they saw me, nor did you see them nearly destroy their own town in panic as they shrieked and fled from my presence. It was never a holiday in my honour, it was always to paint me as a bad pony to be feared and hated. It was an insulting and loathsome tradition, and so I cancelled it."

Celestia couldn't help herself as she held a hoof to her face in frustration.

"Luna, you must believe me when I say Nightmare Night is one of the most beloved traditions in Equestria."

"Was one of the most beloved traditions in Equestria, and at my expense!"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry Luna, you simply cannot cancel it! Now, luckily you only made this announcement in Ponyville, so we can fix this. All we have to do is -"

"No sister!" shouted Luna, putting her hoof down both literally and figuratively. "If this was a holiday ostensibly in my honour, it should be my right to abolish it if I so choose! You have no right to interfere. I have already sent out a royal proclamation, by mail as is the modern trend. Come morning, everypony in Equestria will know they are to no longer defile my name annually with this insipid festival!"

Celestia was speechless. Her ears flattened as she looked at her sister with pity.

"Oh Luna," she said. Luna could feel the pitty radiating off her sister, could see in her eyes that she meant to say "What am I going to do with you?"

Again, Luna's wishes and wellbeing were ignored by her sister. Again, she was vilified and hated by all ponies in Equestria. In a thousand years, nothing had changed.

μ

Collapsing States

The room was small, holding only a single table. It was round, which implied social equality among those who sat at it, but the five were on one end huddled together, while Twilight was left by herself at the other end. There were no windows in the room. It was as if what was going on was of no importance.

Twilight finally finished the stack of papers she'd be given. Lists of "approved" technologies , supposed "compromises" for the curriculum she wanted to continue with in her classes, edits to books she'd already published. It was both baffling and disgusting.

Likewise all five were currently perusing various ideas, inventions, suggestions, and manuscripts that Twilight had chosen to give them so that it would seem she was not keeping anything behind. It seemed she read much faster than all five as she had to wait a while before they all finished.

"I have a question," said Snow Berry. "Even if we assume that this 'Fire-Clay' works as described, exactly what use is it outside of war? It seems highly dangerous."

Twilight smiled sweetly trying to hold back as much of the predatory glee she felt at the question. "Its uses are endless. With the right care it's simple to produce, cheaper and more powerful than current explosives, and so can be used for all the same things explosives are used for now. Construction, mining, demolition, and yes, warfare. It is also far more stable and safe than current explosives and does not absorb or dissolve in water, so it can be used in wet environments. It can also be moulded into various shapes or forced into cracks and weak spots."

"You're proposed book, One Thousand Medically Beneficial Plants and Their Uses lists dozens of plants that are regulated or banned, including rhubarb," said Sweet Stuff. Snow Berry and Spell Tome balked.

"Rhubarb can be used as a laxative," said Twilight. She'd never tasted rhubarb before, but she knew that ponies found it delicious, and so many ponies, including Sweet Stuff, grew it despite it being illegal.

"Regardless," continued Sweet Stuff, "Many of these plants have not been tested. We have only you're word that they do what you claim. This is the modern era, the time has long passed where anypony could publish a Pharmacopoeia anytime they thought they had discovered something new."

"Then test it," said Twilight.

"That's not our job."

"Then give me permission to test locally."

"That's dangerous."

Twilight couldn't help it and threw her fore-hooves into the air in bewilderment. Before she could open her mouth to voice her frustration, Spell Tome spoke.

"I can understand how you feel Ms. Sparkle," he said. "The young often think they have everything figured out, and if only others would listen they could solve all the world's problems. I hope you understand that however much it may feel you can't be wrong, you might be."

Twilight suddenly tasted the sharp, metallic flavour of blood wash over her mouth. She had literally bitten her tongue in her efforts to not start yelling.

Spell Tome continued. "New ideas must be carefully examined, and well considered before they are slowly introduced into scientific canon. This is especially true in magic and physics, where you seem to have spent most of your time trying to upend hundreds of years of knowledge."

Twilight remained silent. She didn't trust herself to speak and not insult the senile old fool.

"Nothing to say?" he asked. A few moments passed and Twilight remained silent. "I know it is difficult to hear," he continued. "Just remember Ms. Sparkle, lex parsimoniae. It would take much to justify overthrowing all of physics for your complicated pet theories."

"Don't you think you're being rather harsh?" asked Winter Carroll, looking at Spell Tome. "The only simplicity modern science has over Ms. Sparkle's theory is the it is more common and in that way, easier to understand for most ponies. Otherwise it is no more complicated, and is in itself far simpler and harmonious a theory, quite beautiful if I may say so. And as they used to say, 'even if it's not true, it's well conceived.'"

Spell Tome snorted. "It can be as beautiful as the sun itself, but that doesn't matter if it's not true."

Twilight watched, her temper slowly calming as Spell Tome and Winter Carroll argued with each other, the other three sitting back to watch. If nothing else, it was nice to have an advocate on something.

"I don't get it," said Spike. "After all that, why do you say that the meeting was a success?"

"Because, Spike," said Twilight, "I not only got permission to restart my medical classes, but Snow Berry has already fallen right into my hooves. She'll be removed or forced on my side in a few months, tops."

"I don't see how."

Twilight smiled. "You will. It'll be more fun if I don't tell you."

"Whatever."

"Then there's Sweet Stuff, who'll be next. I'm certain she'll eventually be very receptive to some of the more... interesting uses of the poppy." Spike looked at her oddly. Twilight ignored him and decided to get back to work.

A knock on the door jostled Twilight out of her thoughts. She looked up, put her notepad down, and opened the door. Sweetie Belle was standing there, an annoyed expression on her face. Sensing something was wrong, Twilight quickly invited Sweetie Belle in and didn't pick her work back up, giving Sweetie time to gather whatever thoughts were going on in her head.

"Do you have a sister, Twilight?" asked Sweetie Belle suddenly.

"Not that I am aware," replied Twilight, wondering where this was going. She didn't want to just ask Mephistopheles just yet. Actually talking to ponies and having normal conversations helped keep her grounded.

Finally, she opened up. Sweetie Belle started going on and on about how she was staying with Rarity for the week and Rarity was mean and nothing she did seemed to work out or help, and Rarity didn't want to go to the Sisterhooves Social or do anything at all that Sweetie wanted to do, and Applejack already had a little sister and would she be her sister for the Social?

Twilight blinked, trying to process the sudden wave of foalish ramblings, picking out the important bits of information and discarding the redundancies.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, but I don't think Rarity would like that. I don't think it'd be a good idea for you either."

"But I want to go, and Rarity hates me and I hate her!"

"Oh Sweetie, none of that is true." In spite of herself Twilight made a quick check with Mephistopheles and found that yes, Rarity didn't hate Sweetie and was currently scouring Ponyville trying to find her, and Sweetie was just angry, and certainly didn't hate Rarity.

"If it's bothering you so much, why don't I go talk to Rarity? I'm sure all she needs is a little talking to and she'll go to the Sisterhooves Social with you."

Sweetie Belle pouted, sitting back on her rump and folding her fore-hooves across her chest. But she didn't say no, so Twilight took that as acceptance.

"When I'm done with what I'm doing here, I'll go find Rarity and talk to her. I'm sure everything will be alright Sweetie. For now, why don't you go play with your friends?"

Sweetie groaned, but nodded.

As Sweetie left, Twilight let her mind wander back to more important tasks. Like her work.

"This is because I cancelled Nightmare Night isn't it?" asked Luna, annoyed.

"Yes," replied Celestia. "It is. Everypony is unhappy with you Luna. I know you felt what you did wasn't wrong, but other ponies don't see it that way. And I don't want our subjects to think ill of my sister."

"Their Princess," said Luna under her breath.

"And their Princess," repeated Celestia. She looked sympathetically towards Luna, but it just made Luna feel as if she were being pitied. "Really Luna, it'll be fun. We just show up, say hello to the ponies, watch the contests... maybe we could even compete as sisters! Wouldn't that be something!"

Maybe that's the problem, thought Luna suddenly. They didn't respect her, they only feared her. Did they respect Celestia? Or was she some sort of joke? Was it that their subjects have simply forgotten how to treat royalty properly?

No, thought Luna. That was ridiculous. She shook her head slightly, clearing away the odd thoughts. Even if they feared her, even if they didn't respect her like they should, her ponies were still her ponies. Good ponies. Maybe she did need a chance to show them they should not fear their princess of the night. Now that Nightmare Night was taken care of.... Maybe she could even announce a replacement for the accursed holiday.

"So, shall we go?" asked Celestia, giving Luna enough time to collect her thoughts.

"I suppose. Shall we announce our intent?"

"No, no, I think it would be best if we surprised them."

"Very well," said Luna.

"Yes, I understand Twilight," said Rarity. It seemed like she finally did. "Do you know where Sweetie is right now? I'd like to tell her the good news."

Twilight smiled. "I told her she should go play with her friends while I talked to you. My guess is they're in their clubhouse." It wasn't a guess.

Rarity got up to leave. "Thanks again," she said before heading out the door.

The next day, Twilight joined Rarity and Sweetie at the Sisterhooves Social at their insistence. Spike came too of course, though he would complain every so often that he wanted to compete, but there was nothing for boys to do. Not that he had a sister anyway.

"Don't worry Spike, there are tons of other celebrations and festivals that are open to you."

Spike scoffed "None where I get to eat as much pie as I can and then win a prize for it!"

"Spike, they haven't made enough pie for that," Twilight teased.

Spike glared for a moment in mock offense before going back to his usual smile.

"Come on, the big race should be starting soon," said Spike. "If we don't hurry they'll be all out of free apple slices."

As soon as Twilight and Spike took a seat, Granny Smith took to the stands to announce the beginning of the race. Twilight sat close enough that she could easily make out Applejack and Apple Bloom at the starting line, right next to Rarity, who was looking rather awkward, and Sweetie Belle who was clearly having the time of her life.

Something appeared in the corner of Twilight's vision. A small, unassuming speck in the distance that was nevertheless getting larger and more well defined. Other ponies saw it too. Some gasped when the dot turned into two, and it became clear what was going on.

The Princesses, ever-loving, wonderful, Princess Celestia and... Twilight sighed. The other one.

"Why are they here?" asked Twilight silently to Mephistopheles.

"Celestia wishes to improve Luna's perception. She chose the Sisterhooves Social specifically for several reasons. Since sisterhood is the theme, she could not be blamed for coming along with Luna. Thus she can keep an eye on Luna as she makes another appearance in Ponyville. Her presence will also act as a buffer for the ponies, as they do not like Luna, but they love Celestia. She also hopes to tone down or stop any of Luna's social transgressions before they happen. Luna also has no opinion on the Sisterhooves Social, so she will not make a fuss as she did with Nightmare Night. It is not her holiday, so she cannot do anything to it even if she wanted to. Further -"

"Yes, yes, I understand," said Twilight. It would be any moment now before the royal sisters got within earshot, so under her breath, but still loud enough so that everyone around her could hear, Twilight spoke.

"I wonder if Luna's here to ruin this festival too."

Spike didn't reply to her comment, but he didn't need to. It was enough, and when the princesses were on the ground the crowd was already talking, remembering the past deeds of Luna and expecting that they would be repeated.

When the two landed, Celestia smiled brightly and Luna was trying to follow suit. It was obvious however that she was nervous. Her eyes kept darting through the audience, going from face to face trying to gauge the crowd's temperament. Judging from her reaction, it wasn't reassuring.

The murmurs grew louder. Twilight watched as Celestia, who was much taller than all the other ponies, raised a hoof to silence the crowd, but somepony had already made their way to the front by then, and began to speak. Twilight couldn't see over the crowd to tell exactly who it was, though it appeared to be a young mare. Celestia put her hoof down and listened in that caring way she always did to everypony.

"Excuse me, Princess Celestia...."

"Yes, my little pony?"

Twilight noticed a pause before the mare spoke again. She sounded very nervous.

"Um, if you're going to cancel the Sisterhooves Social, could you please wait until after this year's social is done? I've been really looking forward to it and - "

"We are not here to cancel your festival!" Twilight could hear the extremely loud voice of Luna ring out. It was now too frustrating to not be able to see everything, so finally, Twilight began having Mephistopheles describe what was happening.

Luna stomped her hoof on the ground for emphasis and the mare who had spoken backed away in fright.

"Now, now," Said Celestia, once again raising her hoof to calm the ponies. "We are only here to enjoy the festival with our subjects."

Twilight spoke again, under her breath but load enough to be heard. Hopefully not by the princesses.

"I'd feel a lot better if Nightmare Moon wasn't here."

The crowd began to get louder, despite Celestia's assurances.

"Ponies, I assure you - "

"Please Princess, take Nightmare Moon away!" screamed somepony from the crowd. A quick check indicated it was Daisy, emboldened by the anonymity of the crowd. Normally ponies would never talk back to the Princess. Or Luna.

Twilight mentally counted down the seconds before -

"Silence!" shouted Luna, in that annoyingly loud voice of hers. Hadn't she learned by now that wasn't how to speak?

The crowd not only immediately silenced themselves, but kneeled down to the ground in fear. Twilight did so as well to keep up appearances.

"We are not here to ruin your silly festival," shouted Luna. Celestia nudged her sister but Luna didn't notice. "We merely want to bear witness to it! So continue your Sisterhooves Social! Your princess commands you!"

Everybody lowered themselves even further. Some began to slowly back away, and before Celestia could try to calm things down again ponies had begun to run. It was Nightmare Night all over again, just like Twilight had hoped.

"That was absolutely inexcusable!" said Celestia as soon as she teleported herself and Luna away from Ponyville. "What were you thinking? You've been gone a long time sister, but you've had more than enough time to adjust to things after your return! You should at least know by now that the Royal Canterlot Voice is over four hundred years out of date! So is the royal "We" for that matter. I've reminded you a thousand times!"

Luna snorted. "I meant 'we' in the normal way! You and I! It is important that we put up a unified front! I don't want our ponies thinking that we're disagree on anything!"

"And you did a marvellous job with that didn't you?"

Luna didn't have to response to that. Ponies feared her. And there didn't seem to be anything she could do to stop it.

There was a pause. Celestia sighed.

"I know it's hard for you," she said finally. "But you're too rough with the ponies. The time is long gone where they would respond to the kind of show you attempted to put on for them. Ordering them around, being loud and regal. Ponies want a more mundane ruler, one they can relate to. I though you understood that but I suppose you just need more time." Celestia stopped to give Luna more time, but she had nothing to say.

"And because of that... I'm afraid to say... that I'm going to temporarily strip you of your authority."

"You can't do that!" shouted Luna. Luna wasn't just angry now, she was scared. It was all happening over again. The fights. Celestia's I'm-better-than-you attitude. And now this? Would she be banished too? She didn't want that. She didn't want this to happen again! She started to cry, and that just made her feel even more ashamed and weak and worthless compared to Celestia. And that made her more angry.

"It's only temporary!" said Celestia urgently. "Just until you get back on your hooves and really get to know how rulership works now! Then we can work together to fix your reputation and we can rule together again! Just like we used to!"

Luna didn't want to believe it. But it seemed things were going down the same path as before. Celestia said similar things a thousand years ago. But was this the same situation? Maybe things could still be salvaged. She didn't want events to turn out like they did before. And she was willing to work to prevent them from happening again. She only hoped it'd be enough.

Slowly, trying not to scream at the injustice that was her life, she nodded.

It had been a week since the Sisterhooves Social and things were going well. Luna was more or less out of the picture, according to the newspapers. Twilight was keeping a close eye on Snow Berry, making sure that Mephistopheles updated her every so often on any important activity. It wouldn't be long now before Snow Berry slipped up and provided something Twilight could use. Sweet Stuff had already fallen, much to Twilight's surprise. She would have thought it would have taken months before the pony actually tried the procedure, but Twilight wasn't about to complain.

"Twilight, I have your notes here," said Spike. He carried a large stack of papers that Twilight had written out long ago, back before she was forced to stop her classes. He peaked his head out from the side of the stack and said, "Do I have to carry all these the whole way? Can't you like, invent a cart or something?"

"The cart's already been invented," said Twilight, deadpan. "I can carry those though if they're too much for you." Her horn glowed and the stack of notes lifted off from Spike's claws. Spike breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead before standing up straighter.

"Thanks," he said. "I was worried for a second."

"The last thing I need is my assistant developing back problems," she said, putting on her saddle bags. They needed to hurry or else they'd be late.

Across Ponyville was the Library. Twilight hadn't been there in a long time, not since her last official class with her regular students.

She walked briskly through the door, closing it shut as soon as Spike got inside the Library. Twilight turned around and as an afterthought brought out a desk that had been collecting dust in her absence in the corner, and then placed her notes onto it. Looking around, she was startled to find several chairs already out, filled with ponies. In fact, there were more now than there were before.

"Mrs. Sparkle?" asked one of the new ponies.

"Twilight is fine," said Twilight.

"Twilight," the pony corrected. "My name is Forest Leaf and many of us who have never taken your class before were wondering if we could now. Even though you never finished teaching them, the ponies who came from your classes did a much better job at the hospital than those who didn't and word's kind of gotten around. I'm from Canterlot myself, and after some talking while we were waiting there are a lot of us here from all over Equestria and beyond. So... please, could we stay?"

Twilight looked at the crowd. Many of the faces that looked back had a look of urgent hope that Twilight couldn't bear to deny. It was a hope to learn the truth, and that was something she had always understood completely.

"Everypony can stay. But I'm afraid I can't start the class over again. I suggest, with my student's permission of course, that everypony who is new attempt to catch up from the older students."

Twilight smiled as she heard sighs of relief.

"Now I know it's been a long time, but hopefully you won't mind if we pick up right where we left off at Diagnosis of Imbalance..."

"Are we sure we can't wait any longer?" asked Winter Carroll. "I worry that the princess will decide our opinion is worth nothing if not made unanimously."

Twilight kept silent. Sweet Stuff had no intention of showing up, but it wouldn't be prudent to let that bit of information slip.

"Some of us have lives beyond entertaining this mare's fantasies," said Snow Berry. "There is some very important work I need to do."

"We all have work to do," said Spell Tome. "Even Ms. Sparkle, I assume. So I suggest we go ahead and inform Doctor Stuff of today's matters of discussion later as time permits."

"Yes, thank you!" said Snow Berry. She put her hoof forward as if she was accusing Twilight of something before she spoke. "Nopony here said that other ponies are allowed to teach your ideas!"

Twilight's face was a mask of indifference as she said, "Nopony here, nor Princess Celestia, indicated that I could not. In fact, it was stated that they could, so long as it was approved curricula."

"And how do we know about that you are telling us the truth of what they teach?"

"Please, Snow Berry," said Winter Carroll. "We should endeavour to trust Ms. Sparkle, for she's given us no reason to doubt her character. We already gave her permission to teach medicine last month, and that other ponies are now teaching is fully within our approval as of our jurisdiction."

"And what of reports that more than Medicine is being taught? She is going behind our backs to teach things we have not approved!"

Winter Carroll looked at Twilight and smiled. She smiled back.

"Ms. Sparkle," began Winter Carroll. "Are you teaching anything other than medicine?"

"No," said Twilight. "My only class is in Medicine, and that is going to end soon as I'm running out of things to teach in detail. I plan to release a Medical Encyclopaedia and a few other reference books to my students when they're done, just to make sure. And I don't plan to start another medicine class."

"There you have it," said Winter Carroll.

"I think we're getting off track," said Spell Tome. "Our purpose today is not to go over what we've already gone over a month ago. It is to decide on whether Ms. Sparkle's non-medical classes should be allowed, and if so, exactly what Ms. Sparkle is and is not allowed to teach.

In a puff of smoke he produced a sheet of parchment. Twilight couldn't help but be impressed at his skills for somepony who knew so little.

"For your convenience I have made a list of concerns," he said. "First, if you are to begin teaching, we need some way of making sure you do not stray from approved materials. Therefore I suggest a pony to come in and audit your class at random intervals. This pony will then report back to us if there have been any problems. Second, you should include in your curriculum the standard opinions on subjects. Your students will have to decide for themselves which is correct. Third, to make sure this is done, a standardised test will be issued to all of your students at the end of each half year. If any student fails, your class will be closed again. Fourth, at any time a student should be allowed to leave your class to join a regular class, but the reverse is to be subject to our approval. And fifth, though I don't have this written down, due to concerns about other ponies teaching your ideas, any other pony who wishes to teach must follow the same rules regarding tests and audits. I think if these five guidelines are followed, there's no reason to not allow your class to reopen."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that," said Winter Carroll. "Despite any concerns we may have, we do not have that much authority over anypony but Ms. Sparkle. Not without the princess's approval."

"All our comments go to the princess anyway!" said Snow Berry. "If she has a problem with it she will say so."

"This particular one is a question of us overstepping our bounds, not of us following standard procedure."

"In that case," said Violet Moon, who up until now had remained silent. "We should simply inform Twilight of our decision later. If we all agree that Spell Tome's stipulations are fair, then we should send them to Princess Celestia. If she approves we will contact Ms. Sparkle and that will be that. The question now is what if she doesn't approve of number five?"

The four ponies stood silent for a moment.

"I believe number five, if not overstepping our bounds, to be acceptable," said Winter Carroll. "But if it is, then we should drop it. Therefore either response from Celestia will allow Ms. Sparkle to start her classes again. We will deal with any other potential teachers once we know what it is we can do with them."

Twilight heard Snow Berry grumble, but he didn't say anything against it.

Spell Tome nodded his assent and likewise the other two.

Finally Twilight could go home and ignore all this.

ν

Accident

Twilight read over the letter in a flash. Rarity was too busy to come to her birthday party. Twilight didn't mind at all. Really, she didn't want a party, having too much to catch up on as research restrictions were loosening around her.

Plus there was the matter of Snow Berry. She had finally messed up, and Twilight needed to find the time to confront her.

"Twilight?" asked Sweetie Belle suddenly. Even though classes had started again, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were still often found hanging around the workshop. Scootaloo however was never there, and had even begun to miss classes.

"Yes Sweetie Belle?"

"Apple Bloom and I were wondering if we could go to your birthday party too? Rarity told me I could if you said yes, and Applejack told Apple Bloom the same thing...."

"Why didn't you ask me earlier?" asked Twilight.

"Well, we were kinda nervous, so we played a game to decide who would ask."

"I don't mind, Sweetie Belle. If you two want to come, that's fine."

Sweetie Belle's face brightened. "Thanks Twilight!"

"But you should know Rarity isn't going to be there," said Twilight. Sweetie Belle's smile faded.

"Why's that?"

"She sent me a letter saying Opal's gotten sick and she can't make the trip back from Canterlot in time." Twilight neglected to mention the real reason was that Rarity wanted to attend an important social party.

"Aww, poor Opal," said Sweetie. "But wait! I have an idea! Why don't we go over to Canterlot and have the party there?"

Twilight put a hoof up in the air to shoo Sweetie Belle away.

"No no, Sweetie," she said. "That'd be too much work, and honestly it's no big deal. Besides, the party itself could be bad for Opal."

Sweetie Belle let herself be led away from the workbench and back towards Apple Bloom, who was busy tinkering with who-knows-what in the corner.

Twilight got back to her workbench and sighed. Things were finally beginning to calm down. Her medical classes were over and done. Apparently four of her former students had gotten together to form a medical school and continue teaching inquiring ponies. Twilight was surprised that Celestia allowed it considering all the problems Twilight had been given. Curiosity got the better of her one day and she did check with Mephistopheles and find out that Celestia didn't want to try to stop the information. Twilight had been correct all along, it was Luna, and now that Luna was basically out of the picture things were going to be easier.

"Twilight," said Apple Bloom, putting her project behind her as if she was trying to hide it. "I'm going to take this home with me. It's getting late and I want to finish it."

"That's fine, Apple Bloom," said Twilight.

Twilight said goodbye to Sweetie Belle as well before they left, just in time for Spike to come down asking where they were.

"They just left," said Twilight. "Why?"

"Oh," said Spike suddenly. "No reason."

Twilight narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything.

"What are they hiding?" she asked Mephistopheles.

"A birthday present for you," he replied.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh. Well if that's the case, don't tell me what it is. I'll find out at the party."

With that knowledge in her mind, she suddenly had a realisation. This could provide her with some time to confront Snow Berry. She turned to face Spike.

"You know," she said to him, "you've been working awfully hard lately. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Spike looked at her like she'd just grown an extra head.

"Are you sure about that? Didn't you say we had a lot to catch up on?"

"Yeah, but tomorrow's my birthday, now's the time for us to relax a bit. Besides, I wouldn't mind having the house to myself for a little while. I don't mean to push you out or anything, but I'm sure you'd like to have some time somewhere else right now."

Spike's eyes suddenly narrowed, and a quick check with Mephistopheles confirmed that he believed Twilight knew about her gift, and was giving him free time so he could go help the cutie mark crusaders finish it. He was right about that, but it wasn't for the reasons he was thinking.

"Alright," he said, drawing out the word as he continued to glare at her in suspicion. "If you're sure."

He slowly took off his work apron and walked towards the door. He opened it, and walked out, the door squeaking behind him, the entire time staring at Twilight. Finally he shut the door and Twilight was alone.

"What is Snow Berry doing at this exact moment?" Twilight asked Mephistopheles.

"Bathing," he replied.

"In a shower, or a bathtub?"

"A bathtub."

"That's convenient," said Twilight. "Can you tell me exactly where she is? Give me an exact location so I can teleport into her bathroom?"

"Of course," he said. Twilight waited for him to tell her, but instead of speaking an image formed directly into her mind. She could see a bathroom, and even hear the sounds of somepony humming and the echoes bouncing along the walls. The vision zoomed outside, and she saw a large house along a familiar street. Again the image zoomed out, and she saw the entire city of Canterlot. That was enough, and the vision faded.

"I didn't know you could do that," said Twilight. She thought about it for a moment and then realised it should have been obvious. The image she saw of him was just a vision, after all. He wasn't there. He was just connecting with her mind. He could probably show her anything. She felt uneasiness at the thought. It suddenly occurred to her that he could deceive her if he wanted, showing her things that weren't there. She'd have to think about how to counteract such a possibility, just in case.

"I wouldn't do that," he said suddenly, in that same monotone voice he always used. "That would not be beneficial for me, or you."

"But you read my mind," she countered.

"I know your mind as it happens. I know everyone's mind. I know everything."

"Right," said Twilight. She'd never really thought about his knowledge extending to her and the implications of that. Still, he hadn't given her cause to doubt him yet, and she had more important things to do than delve into some stupid philosophical debate about the validity of her sense experiences.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Teleporting to a place she'd never been to before wasn't as difficult as she thought it'd be, not with Mephistopheles's help. As soon as she appeared in Snow Berry's bathroom she heard the sloshing of water and the fearful screech of a mare being walked in on. She opened her eyes and looked at Snow Berry, who looked back at her, her eyes wide and her chest moving up and down at a pace only the panicked could make.

"What in the world are you doing in my bathroom!" she shouted, standing up in the tub. Water was spilling out onto the floor in great waves, and Twilight did her best to seem utterly unconcerned by it. She wanted to give the impression of a calm and stoic pony, one in a clear position of power to be taken seriously. It's why she was glad to surprise Snow Berry in the tub.

"Get out!" said Snow Berry, stumbling out onto the floor. The water had made the tiles slippery, and she was having trouble finding her balance. Twilight just looked on, keeping her face impassive.

"You and I need to have a little talk," said Twilight, just as Snow Berry righted herself, holding on to the bath tub with a foreleg to keep from slipping. Snow Berry looked at her, furious.

"I repeat, what are you doing in my bathroom?! If you want to talk to me I have regularly scheduled office hours at the Univer-"

"I think this is a much better time," said Twilight, trying to make her tone sound menacing.

"Like heck it is!" said Snow Berry. "If you don't leave this instant I will -"

"If someone were to take a look at your son's company, to see what they were making, and perhaps take a peek at what chemistry students at Canterlot University have been experimenting on, what would they find?"

That shut the mare up. She seemed to be having trouble breathing, as she kept opening and closing her mouth like a gaping fish. But Twilight knew she cold breath just fine. Finally she sighed.

"How could you possibly have found out?" she said. "That research was only completed today. I doubt there'd be any evidence left in a week."

"So you understand why now is a good time to speak?" said Twilight. She waited a moment and stepped forward, careful not to slip as she did so. The water splashed underhoof as she walked closer to Snow Berry.

"Now I can go speak with some of the students at the University and get some of their notes. Some testimony. In fact, I'm going to do that regardless, after this meeting. I can teleport there in a literal flash and be done before you got a chance to do anything. So the question is, Snow Berry, what is going to happen to your career if ponies found out you've been stealing ideas?"

"There's no proof of that!" she said. "Anypony could have -"

"No, the idea of Fire-Clay is something I came up with, and something that only you and the other four ponies on the committee to oversee my research would have known about, other than myself. Plus, even now I have the Princess's ear. She will believe me, if I told her the truth and had proof. And we both know it's the truth, and I can get proof."

"What do you want?" said Snow Berry, teeth clenched in anger.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Twilight. "Start voting in my favour on the committee. I don't want a single shred of opposition from you from now on. In return, I'll not only let your son produce Fire-Clay, but I'll sign him with an exclusivity contract, baring myself and my friends and students of course. Since none of my friends or students currently own chemical companies, I'm sure that will be an acceptable amount of competition for him. If you don't agree, I'll make it publically known that he, through you, has been stealing ideas. I'll also inform everyone that you're using the Canterlot University Chemistry Department to research for your son's company. He'll be ruined. And so will you."

"This is blackmail!" she said. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes, I'm glad to see you're not a complete moron. So, do we have a deal?"

There was a long pause while Snow Berry simply stared at Twilight, utter contempt in her eyes.

"I suppose I don't have a choice," she said.

"Glad to hear it," said Twilight. She didn't bother shaking hooves. She didn't want to touch an annoying old wet pony anyway. Instead she took a few steps back, to where she had teleported in. She didn't take her eyes off Snow Berry as she did so.

"One last thing," said Twilight. "If later on you decide to go back on this deal.... Well, Fire-Clay is very volatile. There might be an accident."

Before Snow Berry had a chance to reply, Twilight concentrated and teleported back to her house in Ponyville.

Upon her arrival she looked around to make sure she was alone, and seeing no one, called for Spike. When nobody answered, only then did she allow herself to collapse.

She hit the floor, not very hard, but uncomfortably. She found it difficult to stand up. Her heart was racing, and her mind was reeling from what she'd just done.

She had just blackmailed somepony. Again! And worse, she threatened to kill someone. Someone she'd never even met! Twilight suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and she tilted her head to the side just in case.

When nothing happened, and the feeling of nausea refused to go away, Twilight just slumped further down on the floor and lay shifted to her side to rest. She felt exhausted suddenly.

She couldn't stay there forever. She really did have to leave and acquire evidence from the University, before it was all cleared out. If she didn't, she'd have nothing to use as blackmail. And she really doubted she'd be capable of murder if it came down to that, no matter what she had said.

Slowly, Twilight picked herself up off the floor, her mane hanging limp in front of her face. She tossed her head back, putting her mane where it was supposed to be.

She knew the University, she'd been there before. She even knew the Chemistry Department. And it wasn't that late. She was sure there were probably still students working in the labs. And so with great reluctance, Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, before appearing on the Canterlot University Campus, in front of the chemistry department. She looked around, and there were indeed still students outside studying, though the sun was going down. A few gave her odd looks as she lifted her nose at them, trying to appear nonchalant, and trotted into the building.

Thanks to Mephistopheles she knew where to look and who to talk to. One of the professors, Lemony Fresh, was the one who currently had students's notes on the University's Fire-Clay research. Said pony didn't currently have office hours, but she also wasn't busy, currently eating dinner alone in her office.

Twilight wasted no time, and soon arrived in front of the professor's office door. She knocked on the door, but didn't wait for an answer before walking in.

Inside the Professor was clearly in the middle of eating her sandwich, and looked up, a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, a tinge of irritation in her voice.

Twilight opened the door fully and walked through, not closing the door behind her.

"Yes. My name is Twilight Sparkle, I am the princess's personal student. It is very important for my work that I obtain a copy of all your students's notes on their recent chemistry research. If necessary I can get Princess Celestia to authorise this." She wasn't sure she could, but it seemed like a good lie.

Lemony Fresh put down her sandwich and looked hard at Twilight. Twilight met her gaze and didn't budge.

Finally, Fresh said, "Alright. I don't know what this is about, but I know your name and I know who you are. I can make copies and have them sent to you by tomorrow."

"I need them now, if you please," replied Twilight. Another long staring match. Fresh sighed.

"Very well. Wait here. Make yourself at home I suppose. I'll be back soon."

Twilight stepped aside as the pony passed her, and then took a seat across from the desk. Just to be sure, she checked with Mephistopheles and found that indeed, Lemony Fresh intended to make copies of the notes and give them to her. She knew said notes were in the main faculty office. As soon as Snow Berry would get the chance, she'd take the notes and "lose" them, but she couldn't do that immediately.

Finally Lemony Fresh returned, a large stack of papers hovering above her head, bound together with a rubber band.

"Here you are," she said, her voice again sounded irritated. She certainly wasn't happy with having to run this errand, so Twilight thanked her as sincerely as possible before leaving, and teleporting back to her home with the notes.

Looking around, Spike still wasn't back yet. She considered that a good thing, and thanked her luck. Taking the notes, she walked into her bedroom, opened the drawer in her nightstand, and placed the notes in it, pushing them as far back as they would go. She'd have to put a lock on it later.

Twilight asked Mephistopheles where Spike was. And he was with the Cutie Mark Crusaders still. He probably wouldn't be back for a while. She then asked what Sweet Stuff was doing.

"She's coming off the affects of her recent morphine injection," was all he said.

Twilight cringed.

"She's injecting herself with morphine?" Mephistopheles nodded. "I'm surprised she can synthesise it. I only expected her to start smoking opium at the most...." She said that last sentence mainly to herself.

She had wanted something like this of course. Lots of plants were even better than Rhubarb in various ways, and more dangerous. But morphine was on an entirely different level, and Twilight never wanted anypony to synthesise it for recreational use. In any case, now was not the best time to confront Sweet Stuff about it. Perhaps the day after her birthday. That would be in about two days. If all went well there, she'd have three fifths of the committee firmly in her hooves, and so could move as she wanted without any problems.

Twilight suddenly felt exhausted. She wasn't sleepy. She never got sleepy anymore, she always took survival pills. She just felt emotionally drained, which in itself was odd, as the survival pills should have taken care of that as well. It probably meant that without them, she'd be a devastated wreck right now.

Instead of going back to the workshop and continuing her work, Twilight laid down in her bed and put the pillow over her face. When she removed it, she didn't notice two wet spots on its underside.

Spike eventually came back. By then Twilight was feeling a bit better, and so working on her medical textbooks for her graduates to use as references and teaching aides. Twilight had no interest in how his time went with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and so he entered the house without eliciting a greeting, or even an acknowledgement.

The next day was her birthday. Everypony had gathered at Sweet Apple Acres, in a new larger barn, recently built with Applejack's new-found wealth. Twilight's friends pulled out all the stops. A huge cake, good music, tons of presents, and several guests. Twilight imagined if she'd moved her party to Canterlot for Rarity, there wouldn't be so many mere acquaintances. As it was, it looked like Rarity was the only pony from Ponyville not in attendance.

Despite the large crowd and the frivolous nature, Twilight found herself really enjoying her party. After the events from the day before, she welcomed something that would take her mind off work.

Opening presents was an amusing affair. Mostly she simply got birthday cards, but her friends had also given her such odd things as a stack of wood, painted pink (Pinkie Pie), a new perch for Owlowiscious (Fluttershy), and a pair of leg warmers (Rainbow Dash). Luckily, nopony brought her any books.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders (and Spike) unveiled their present, and it turned out to be a tool case. Twilight already had a place for all her tools, and Spike knew that, so she wondered why they thought it'd be a good idea to make such a thing for her.

"Thanks girls," said Twilight mechanically. Inwardly, she was disappointed. She thought all the secrecy would have been worth it.

"Twilight, you haven't seen the best part!" said Apple Bloom, who then reached over and opened the toolbox. Inside were various tools already made, though a bit smaller than what Twilight was used to. As well, there was a small book with a crudely drawn picture of a pony, possibly a filly, looking at a large model of an air atom. It looked ridiculous. Nevertheless, Twilight was curious on what it was supposed to be.

"We wrote our own book!" said Sweetie Bell suddenly, answering that question. "I drew the pictures." And that answered another.

"I wrote most of it," said Apple Bloom. "We thought since you started teaching again, you might get more students. And they might be young, younger than us. Like in kindergarten. And that they'd want smaller tools to work with when they visited your workshop, since what you use is too big. And Miss Cheerilee used to always say, you learn more by teaching than sitting in class learning, so we thought it'd be a good idea for us too! Plus, we thought maybe we'd get a cutie mark in book writing. We didn't." She looked a little sad at that.

Twilight couldn't begrudge her enthusiasm, so she gave the girls a warm smile and said, "that's wonderful." She couldn't help but notice that Scootaloo apparently had done nothing on this project but put her name on the cover of the book.

"You still got one more present Twi," said Applejack, chuckling. That one more present was hers, and it was the one Twilight intentionally saved for last. She was really looking forward to whatever was in this one.

"Twilight, there is some information you may want to hear regarding Sweet Stuff," said Mephistopheles just as Twilight reached out for the present. It looked to be a simple card, but it was wrapped in plain shiny red paper, with a bow on top, which was unusual for just a card. A closer look proved there was a small package underneath.

"I don't care right now," said Twilight internally. She hesitated in grabbing the present.

"You didn't want to be disturbed during the party unless it was an emergency. This is an emergency. Sweet Stuff is dying."

Twilight pulled her hoof away from the present completely upon hearing that.

"What's wrong?" asked Applejack suddenly, though Twilight barely heard her.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked Mephistopheles. "Did she get involved in an accident?"

"No," he said. "She injected herself with morphine again. About thirty five percent too much for her personal tolerance. She's begun to suffocate and will die in approximately one minute and forty three seconds from my completion of this sentence, if not helped immediately."

"Not now, this isn't a good time!" said Twilight out loud. It was only then that she noticed ponies were staring at her and murmuring among themselves, wondering why she'd been standing still for so long staring into space and ignoring everpony. Now there were looks of genuine concern.

"Uh, Twi?" asked Applejack.

Twilight didn't have a choice. She wanted to blackmail Sweet Stuff, maybe exchange a safe dose for preferable treatment. She didn't want her dead.

"Show me where Sweet Stuff is," said Twilight to Mephistopheles. He did so.

"An emergency's come up," said Twilight as quickly as she could. And before anybody could ask what she meant, she closed her eyes and teleported away.

When Twilight's eyes opened she found herself in her own workshop. As quickly as she could she grabbed a survival pill out from her own supply, and then teleported once more, this time to Sweet Stuff's bedroom.

There, Sweet Stuff was lying on her bed, on her back, a syringe lying on the floor, empty.

"I wish I had Naloxone," Twilight whispered to herself, frustrated and more than a little scared.

As fast as she could she shoved the survival pill into Sweet Stuff's mouth and got her to swallow it.

The reaction was near instantaneous. Sweet Stuff began violently convulsing. Twilight grunted as she then shifted Sweet Stuff around so she lay on her side. Just as she did so the mare began to vomit, and Twilight cringed as some got on her hooves.

"Did I make it in time?" she asked Mephistopheles.

"She had not yet suffocated. But there is a distinct possibility the survival pill will kill her. There was too much in her body and you made no preparations."

"Celestia, please don't say that. I know this was risky but you didn't give me any time! This was my best choice." She threw an accusing look at Mephistopheles as Sweet Stuff's convulsions began to slow, and her vomiting ceased. "Why didn't you warn me sooner?!"

Mephistopheles remained as stoic as ever, even with Twilight yelling at him.

"There was a possibility she would have been fine. You know very well that even a mechanistic universe is not predictable in every aspect. I did not warn you until it was certain she would die without aid. I should warn you as well, it's now clear the survival pill's attempt to expel the impurities in her body and restore her proper flow is too much for her. She is going to die in about twelve seconds from heart failure and loss of sanguine.

"Damn it!" shouted Twilight. She turned Sweet Stuff around so she was on her back again, and pressed firmly on the proper points along her meridians, hoping to slow the survival pill's process down.

"It will not work, and would not have helped," said Mephistopheles. "The survival pills you made account for this themselves as much as is physically possible. You know this."

"I have to try!" said Twilight. She didn't stop pressing, and unfortunately Sweet Stuff didn't start breathing. Just as Mephistopheles had said, Sweet Stuff died.

Twilight could feel it. Her heart stop. The sudden collapse of muscle. There was no ignoring the sudden smell as her bowels emptied.

Twilight, for the second time in just two days, slumped down on the ground utterly at a loss for what to do, feeling melancholy and unmotivated to do anything.

But she had to do something. She couldn't leave the death of a prominent Canterlot Pony who happened to be one of her overseers and happened to die from a drug that only existed because Twilight herself had described its synthesis. That would be too suspicious. She also had left her birthday party with no explanation right at the time it happened.

There was no helping it. She'd have to do something about this immediately, or else lose everything she'd ever accomplished.

Slowly and with great effort, she picked herself up from the floor. For now, she'd have to take away the body. She needed time to think. Closing her eyes in concentration, she teleported both herself and Snow Berry's body to the Everyfree Forest. There was no chance anypony would find her hear. She then told Mephistopheles to warn her of incoming ponies, or possibly dangerous animals, just in case. Twilight had a to think of a way out of this, and with not a lot of time to do it.

She didn't return to her house until a little after midnight. She was exhausted, and just as she expected, her friends were there waiting for her, worried sick.

"Twilight!" they said, almost in unison as she teleported into the workshop. She wasn't surprised to see them and so didn't recoil or act surprised.

"Where have you been?" asked Rarity. Seeing her did cause Twilight surprise. She'd forgotten that Rarity should still be in Canterlot. Rarity continued, "When I heard you left your party talking about an emergency, I rushed over as fast as I could."

"It's lucky Opal was feeling better," said Fluttershy.

"Nevermind that," said Applejack. "What happened to you Twilight? Where'd you go? You had us all worried sick!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you," said Twilight, trying to remain calm. She just had to follow the script, and everything would be fine. "But I wasn't exaggerating. An emergency came up and I had to leave right away."

"How would you know if an emergency came up? You were standing with us the entire time. Nobody said anything, you just stopped what you were doing and teleported away."

She tilted her head and used her magic to take a small, ear-hole shaped bud out of her ear. It was white, and had a few ornate designs on it. She held it out to them so they could see it. Spike pulled up in front to get a better look.

"I just call this an earpiece. It goes in my ear and ponies with other earpieces can talk to me and I can hear them from far away. I was informed something serious had happened through this, and so I had to leave to try and take care of it."

It was no such thing, in reality. What her friends were looking at was just a lump of dirt she transmuted into hard clay, moulded to fit in her ear. It was modelled on a hypothetical device that she could make, so she'd have to make them as soon as possible to keep up her story.

"What was the big emergency?" asked Rainbow Dash. "You left your own birthday, Twilight. It better have been something really important."

"One of the ponies on the oversight committee, the committee that keeps tabs on my research and activities... one of them died."

"There's no way I can hide the fact that she died," Twilight said to Mephistopheles. "She has a family, she has friends, she's important and ponies will notice." Mephistopheles just nodded.

"Oh my!" said Fluttershy. "That's terrible. How did it happen?"

"I can't bring her back to life. But I can bring her body back. That's only useful in changing the appearance of her death, but her body would still have evidence of Morphine, so that'd be of limited use anyway." Her brain seemed to be working a million times faster than normal, in her utter panic. "Okay, I can make a duplicate of her body. With enough information I can make a living duplicate that's a little older, like a retroactive backup. Can you give me enough information for that?" Mephistopheles nodded. "Okay, so I can bring back a copy of her, and kill it some other way. Someway so it can't reasonably be traced to me."

"Rhubarb poisoning," said Twilight. "Apparently she got a little drunk and then decided to have some rhubarb. But she didn't prepare it properly... I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Twilight needed to prevent Sweet Stuff's husband from reaching his house at his normal time. According to Mephistopheles he was on his way back from picking his foals up from his in-laws. Twilight had an idea. Finding him walking along the street, his foals following close behind, Twilight focused on one of them and teleported her two blocks away. They were both unicorns, it could be chalked up to accidental magic. The foals sister saw and began crying, and it wasn't long before Sweet Stuff's husband was running around calling for his daughter. Instructing Mephistopheles to inform her if the missing foal was ever in any danger, she teleported back to Sweet Stuff.

It was disconcerting to see a pony who clearly had no soul. Her eyes seemed unfocused. They lacked the obvious fire that all creatures in Equestria had. And it was too stupid to understand that the sour tasting plants it was eating was poisonous. Instead it just kept right on eating the rhubarb, leaves and all, a dull expression on its face. Twilight waited until it was done, fed it some alcohol, and threw it in the bedroom. It would die and there would be every reason to assume it was the normal old sapient Sweet Stuff, whose death had nothing to do with Twilight. The only problem was that if they bothered to check for time of death, the time of death wouldn't match up with the time Twilight left her party.

"Who told you?" asked Rarity. "Who was on the other side of that, er, earpiece? How did they find out?"

Twilight teleported into the middle of Snow Berry's living room. She jumped, frightened, then saw what it was.

"Damnit, can't I got a single day without you showing up to ruin my life?" she yelled out. "I already agreed to side with you on the committee!"

"I have something else for you," said Twilight, tossing one of her makeshift model earpieces onto a nearby table. She then crushed it, and scattered the pieces on the floor.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!"

"You're going to listen to me closely," said Twilight, speaking slowly with gravel in her voice. "And you're going to do it, or you know what will happen." She didn't wait for Snow Berry to reply. "If anybody asks, you and I have been in contact long distance for two weeks now, through a device I invented called an earpiece. You turn it on, you talk, I hear you, you hear me, no matter how far away."

"Impossible," Snow Berry tried to say, but Twilight cut her off.

"You broke it tonight, those are the pieces and you're going to throw them away." She pointed to the broken bits of clay on the floor. "Earlier today, at around four in the afternoon, you were with Sweet Stuff, who began to drink and get unruly. She showed you her hothouse where she grew rhubarb, you panicked and contacted me through the earpiece. I came over immediately, we settled her down and we left at five thirty. You and I then had dinner and talked about what to do about her illegal growing. At ten, we decided we were going to tell the authorities but first tell her of that decision, and we went back to her house, getting there at ten fifteen. She was dead from rhubarb poisoning. It was too much for you so you went home, and I called the guards at ten thirty. I then went home myself. This is what happened. Do you understand?"

"What the heck are you babbling ab- "

"Do you understand?" Twilight repeated, putting as much force into her voice as possible. She glared as hard as she could at Snow Berry, who nodded slowly.

"Good," said Twilight. "You'll certainly be questioned, but it looks like an open and shut case so there shouldn't be any serious interrogation."

Twilight closed her eyes to return home, but opened them again when Snow Berry spoke.

"Did you...?" she asked.

Twilight looked at her for a moment. She didn't know if telling the truth or not would be better, or worse, in the long term. So she closed her eyes and teleported without saying anything.

"That's terrible," said Pinkie Pie, oddly serious.

"What's gonna happen now?" asked Applejack. "If she was on your oversight committee?"

"I don't know," said Twilight, sounding sad. "I hadn't expected anything like this." That part was sincere. "Whatever Celestia thinks is a good idea I suppose."

There was a long, awkward pause as her friends shuffled around, glancing at each other and taking effort to avoid Twilight's gaze. They were probably feeling guilty for bothering her when her emergency involved death.

Twilight took the opportunity. "If you don't mind," she said, "I'm really tired. I feel out of it. I'm not up for company."

Some of her friends seemed almost relieved at her statement, and with a few stilted goodbyes and hugs and nuzzles, her friends filtered out the door, leaving only Spike.

"Anything I can do?" he asked quietly.

"I'm going to take a bath," she said. "Try not to bother me."

In the tub, she felt exhausted in a way she'd never felt before. This was worse than with blackmailing Snow Berry. This was dealing with death. Hiding a body. Covering something up. She didn't kill Sweet Stuff, but it felt like she did.

She submerged her head in the warm water, the water still pouring from the tap. She exhaled, and when her lungs were empty she rose up, took a breath, and stopped the shut the tap off. She didn't bother with bubbles or soap. It wasn't about getting clean now. She just wanted to try and relax, to calm down. She felt like she was going to have a heart attack all day, though Mephistopheles assured her she was just stressed.

What was going to happen now? Would she be a suspect anyway? Would they replace Sweet Stuff with somebody like Spell Tome, who would never be on her side? She didn't know. She didn't like not knowing.

The warm water, the quiet, it helped. She didn't hear any noise from Spike, and she was thankful for that. The warm water eased her joints and muscles, which she considered odd because her joints and muscles shouldn't be in pain. She asked about that.

"The survival pill is almost finished. It has been difficult to keep you balanced for the last few days."

Twilight nodded, slowly getting up to drain the water. She didn't want to. But she'd feel better with a fresh survival pill. With the bath water gone, she turned on the shower and quickly washed herself clean. With that done, she had her coat dried and then went down to grab another survival pill. There were only five left. She'd have to make more. Or easier, buy more from Applejack.

Immediately she felt better. Every time, she was surprised at how affective they were. She still felt a little uneasy, but compared to before... she really didn't know how much of a wreck she was until it was gone. She shuddered to think of what she'd be like if she didn't have a survival pill working at the time at all.

Her task now was to build some earpieces. Real ones. They were possible. She just hadn't made anything like it before. She never thought of it, until she really had a problem that required them.

It shouldn't be too difficult. Sound was just the expansion and contraction of air falling upon and striking the air that is next to it. All Twilight had to do was build something that took these waves of air, built an Affinity between two places, and recorded and mimicked them across the Affinity. Simple.

The next morning, Twilight was interrupted in her work on the earpieces by the sound of hard knocking on her door. There was hardly a second before it was followed up by the door opening forcefully. Behind it were three guards, all pegasi.

Twilight had expected this, and set her work down, nodding for them to come in.

"Princess Celestia wishes to see you," one of them, the middle one, said. "We are to escort you to Canterlot."

"Why didn't she just send me a letter? I could go myself."

"We don't know. Please come with us."

Seeing no good coming from arguing, Twilight allowed herself to be led to a chariot, to which two of the guards strapped themselves to. In moments she was in the air, headed back to Canterlot. Things would be so much faster if she was allowed to leave on her own.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind," said the guard next to her. The tone of his voice indicated he wasn't asking.

"Alright."

As they flew, he asked her all the things she expected. What she was doing the previous day, what had happened with Sweet Stuff, her contacting the guards, if there were witnesses. She followed her script, and he nodded like he'd heard it all before, which eased her mind. She asked about it, to Mephistopheles.

"Snow Berry has already been spoken with. She relayed your story exactly."

Finally he was done with his questions, and not soon after they'd arrived at Canterlot Castle. The three escorted Twilight into Celestia's chambers, as if she didn't know the way. When she arrived, Twilight was relieved to see Luna wasn't there.

"Twilight Sparkle," said Celestia.

"I'm here Princess," she replied, feeling kind of stupid for saying something so obvious. But she had to say something.

"I see your story corroborates what I've heard from others," she replied. She sounded relieved. Twilight inwardly asked how she knew.

"If the stories didn't match, you would have been cuffed," answered Mephistopheles. That bit of knowledge jarred Twilight. She couldn't believe Celestia would go that far in suspecting her. Not after everything she'd done to erase her tracks. There was no solid evidence even without Snow Berry's aid.

Twilight wanted to speak up, to say something. That she didn't do anything, which technically she didn't. That she had no idea what was going on. Something. But instead she kept her mouth shut.

She stood there feeling awkward and guilty. She tried to suppress those emotions but felt even more guilty for doing so in front of Celestia of all ponies. Twilight, feeling suddenly afraid, asked Mephistopheles why there was such a long pause.

"She's trying to gauge your reaction. She's reading your body language. She knows you feel guilty and embarrassed. She doesn't know why. She's trying to decide if you are guilty in something relevant to this matter, guilty in some other event that is unrelated, or simply nervous and reacting to bad circumstance. She has decided she needs more information."

Almost immediately after Mephistopheles said that, Celestia spoke again.

"After I found out what happened, I spoke with the other members of your oversight committee on what to do. We came up with three choices. One, we find a replacement for Sweet Stuff. Two, we don't, and the committee continues on with four members. And three, we disband the committee entirely and accept it is and was an unneeded waste of resources."

Twilight almost exhaled in relief, but she caught it in her throat just in time, before she could look relieved. She struggled to maintain her guilty and awkward look to prevent Celestia from reading anything about her movements. A quick check with Mephistopheles showed that she'd succeeded.

"They took a vote," Celestia continued. "Two were for disbanding, one for remaining with four members, one for replacing Sweet Stuff. Since it was then an equal distribution of those who wished to disband and continue, I decided to play tiebreaker."

Twilight felt anxious, but worked to keep it inside. Suddenly she realised she didn't have to wait, and it'd be better to know earlier so she wouldn't involuntarily relax or seem relieved at the wrong time. She asked Mephistopheles.

"She voted to disband the committee," he said. As she feared, Twilight couldn't help but exhale slightly in relief. Almost imperceptibly, Celestia's eyebrow quirked at that. Twilight shifted, and attempted to give off the appearance of trying to calm herself. She took a few, slow and subtle deep breaths.

"I voted to disband the committee," said Celestia. Twilight just nodded slowly, once, her movement jerky and uncoordinated.

"I was never personally invested it in it," she continued. "It was my sister's idea, and I saw fit to let her have a 'victory', as she would see it. But Luna is... indisposed at the moment, and so it is up to me and me alone."

Twilight nodded again.

"Understand Twilight, that this is not permission for you to do what you want. You and I have already had one disagreement on what is permissible. Just... try to think a bit before you do anything. And remember your friends. I expect to see more friendship reports."

Twilight nodded again, not trusting herself to sound right if she spoke. A quick check with Mephistopheles proved she'd tricked Celestia. There was no longer any suspicion of foul play. Despite everything that happened, that was a major victory, even if it was mostly accidental. She could do what she wanted. There was nobody to hold her back now.

After being dismissed Twilight left the castle and then teleported herself back to her home in Ponyville.

She heard Spike's startled yelp before he realised what had happened. He looked at her for a moment, steadying himself, broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, wearing his cleaning apron. She gave him a glance to let him know he should continue his work. Likewise, she returned to the bench was at before, and continued work on her earpieces like nothing had ever happened.

Upstairs, a gift lay inside a desk drawer. A small package, with a card on top, a bow adorning it. Spike had put it there, but forgot to tell Twilight. And Twilight had forgotten it completely.

ξ

Apple Bloom

The night before Hearth's Warming Eve. Technically not an important day, but since Hearth's Warming Eve had become important in itself, Hearth's Warming Eve Eve was becoming important by association. Given this, and her recent success in mingling with the Canterlot elite, Rarity was swamped with last minute orders. Ponies wanted clothes for themselves, to look their best for the holidays. Others were ordering last minute gifts. Regardless, it was a lot of work, and it was times like this that Rarity was glad that Twilight had removed the need for sleep as a time constraint.

"Rarity!" called Sweetie Belle. She dragged the last syllable out in one long annoying whine, and Rarity couldn't help but exhale slowly in irritation. That was the problem with nopony needing sleep. It was three in the morning, and while Rarity could get more work done, it also meant Sweetie Belle had no bedtime.

"You said I could help," she continued. Rarity's ears folded back. She had said that, but she figured Sweetie would have forgotten by now. Of course, she'd also said that when she wasn't in a rush.

"I'm sorry Sweetie," said Rarity, working three sewing machines at once. It used to be she could only manage such finesse on one of her particularly good days. Recently, it seemed like every day was a good day. Probably a side effect of always being alert and never needing to sleep. "But I'm afraid this work is much too delicate for somepony as... inexperienced in the art of dressmaking as you to help with."

"But you promised!"

"I remember quite well what I said, and I did not promise you," said Rarity. Rarity sighed slowly, trying to stay calm and focused. "Why don't you go see what your friends are up to?"

"Mon and Dad said I shouldn't go out at night unless it was straight here or straight back home. They said it was too dark."

"When did they say this?" asked Rarity.

"I dunno. A couple of months ago?"

Rarity nodded to herself. "They've put up lights since then. It's perfectly safe, so long as you stay on the roads and don't dawdle."

Sweetie Belle looked sceptical for a moment before brightening up. "Okay, I'll try and visit Apple Bloom!" she said.

Rarity smiled and nodded, happy to have the filly out of her mane. It wasn't long before Sweetie excitedly opened the door and slammed it shut behind her, humming to herself as she went.

Rarity tapped the earpiece in her ear to turn it on. Then she tapped it three more times, to connect it to a specific pony.

"Applejack," she asked, uncertain. She always felt like she was crazy, using the thing. "Can you hear me?"

There was a moment before she heard back.

"Rarity?" came Applejack's voice from what seemed like inside her head. "Yeah I can hear ya. What's going on?"

"Sweetie Belle's heading your way to meet with Apple Bloom. She'll most likely arrive in about ten minutes. I hope you don't mind, but I simply couldn't have her hanging around here when I'm so busy."

Right as she finished speaking one of the stitches snagged on the fabric and Rarity had to stop to fix it. It didn't take but a moment.

"Alright then," said Applejack. Rarity could hear low grunts which made her think Applejack was probably busy kicking trees or something brutish like that. Though there was a faint whistling as well. Perhaps it was windy outside. "I don't know how much fun she'll have here, Apple Bloom's been holed up in their clubhouse since winter break started. Says she's workin' on some project for Twilight or something. I dunno. She's kind of hard to keep up with sometimes. Like Twilight."

"Apple Bloom is like that?" asked Rarity. "I didn't know she was so gifted in school."

"She wasn't." Another one of those grunts. "But she's taken to Twilight's learnin' like a fish takes to water. I don't know if it's that Twilight's a better teacher, or if Apple Bloom's just more interested now, or maybe there were problems in Cheerilee's class I never knew about. Don't see a reason to ask about it really."

Rarity nodded out of reflex. She suddenly felt silly, nodding when no one could see her. She did have to get back to work however.

"Well, thank you for keeping an eye on Sweetie Belle," said Rarity, hoping to end the conversation. "I'm quite swamped with last minute orders, so I'm afraid I have to get back to it."

"Alright," said Applejack. "I suppose you would like Sweetie Belle to stay over here for a while?"

"At least for a few hours. Until eight in the morning. Preferably ten."

"Ten it is," said Applejack. Rarity smiled, then felt silly again.

"Talk to you later darling," said Rarity before tapping her earpiece and turning it off. She hoped that didn't seem rude.

Sweetie Belle arrived at Sweet Apple Acres only a bit disappointed. She did want to help Rarity, but she had to admit, she hadn't seen Apple Bloom all winter break and she was excited at the idea of hanging out with her. When she arrived, she noticed something odd. The snow was piled up about two inches from the ground in town, but the snow just stopped right when she got to Sweet Apple Acres. It was also noticeably warmer, though Sweetie found herself still cold and so wrapped her scarf tighter around herself.

As she made her way to the barn, Sweetie noticed an orange blur flying around kicking out clouds. It took her a moment to realise what it was.

"Applejack!" she called out. She'd expected to have to call out again, but Applejack heard her the first time and flew down, as if she was expecting visitors in the middle of the night. Maybe she was?

"Hey Sweetie Belle," said Applejack as she landed. "Thought you might be coming over. I know Apple Bloom's in yall's clubhouse. Don't know what she's doing, though I don't think she'd mind company."

"Great!" said Sweetie Belle. She was about to head over when she decided to ask a question.

"Why is there no snow on your farm?"

Applejack chuckled lightly, and Sweetie realised she was nervous for some reason. Her wings clamped tightly to her sides like Scootaloo's sometimes did when she was nervous.

"Well, honestly...," she began, rubbing the back of her head. "Apple Bloom made this machine ya see, to raise the temperature around the farm to prevent any of the plants from being damaged by frost. I thought it was a good idea, but realised if the clouds didn't snow they'd rain instead, and I didn't want our farm to get flooded. So I've been kicking away the clouds the weather team sends over every morning. Gotten into a few arguments with them before, but Rainbow Dash gets them to leave me alone now. Most of the time anyway." She chuckled again. "I don't think this is strictly legal. It's like keeping my farm in fall while everywhere else is winter, but it doesn't look to be hurtin' anypony, and I haven't gotten any complaints from high up yet. So uh, try to keep it under your hat, if you know what I mean."

"Apple Bloom made it?" asked Sweetie. She hadn't heard of anything like that from Apple Bloom before school ended for winter break. And she didn't think Twilight mentioned how to make a thing like that. She doubted Scootaloo came up with it.

"Yep," said Applejack. "A bit after your schoolin' stopped. She was kinda pushy about it, now that I think on it. Really wanted it to be used. But like I said, I thought it was a good idea so I didn't argue with her or anything."

Sweetie found her interest waning and so said her goodbyes to Applejack before trotting off towards the clubhouse.

When she got there, she almost didn't recognise it. The clearing around it was bigger. It looked like somepony had cut down some trees around it. It was also bigger, what looked like extra rooms neatly added to the sides of the clubhouse and supported with long stilts. There was light coming from inside, and some kind of metal pipe coming out of one of the walls and going down into the ground. Like a storm drain, except it wasn't.

Carefully, Sweetie Belle climbed up and entered the tree house. The outside was different. The inside was even more so. She barely recognised the place.

It looked more like Twilight's workshop than the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. But that wasn't really it. It looked more like what Twilight's workshop would look like, if Twilight had gone crazy. Where Twilight had her tools and projects neatly arranged and ordered, everything well built, Apple Bloom had things scattered all over the place. There were a few items lying around in pristine condition, which only made them look even more odd put up against what looked like garbage. It was much warmer inside, really hot in fact, and Sweetie wanted to take off her scarf but couldn't see a place to put it where it wouldn't get dirty. On the far side of the wall was a huge machine of some kind, which Apple Bloom was currently burying herself in, working.

"Apple Bloom?" asked Sweetie, a bit scared despite herself. Apple Bloom didn't even look up from whatever she was doing. Her bow was ripped in places, and stained with things Sweetie Belle couldn't guess at. Her mane and tail were both frazzled, and Sweetie had the distinct impression Apple Bloom hadn't had a bath in forever. Did Applejack know?

"Hi Sweetie," said Apple Bloom after a moment. She seemed completely uninterested in Sweetie being there.

"Uh, are you okay?" It was all Sweetie could think to say. Her hopes of having a fun time playing with her friend had ended. Now she just wanted to understand what was happening.

"Not really," said Apple Bloom. That answer surprised Sweetie.

"What's wrong? Maybe I can help?"

"You can't." She didn't sound disappointed, or worried. The tone of her voice was like if she was naming something off a shopping list. Uninterested.

"What's wrong?" Sweetie Belle repeated.

Apple Bloom didn't take her eyes off what she was doing as she replied, "I'm trying to get this to work. It's a machine to turn me into an Alicorn."

"Is that possible?" asked Sweetie.

"Twilight gave my sister wings. Made her into a Pegasus. It's possible. But I can't figure out how. I've been working on it for two weeks now."

"Applejack said you made a thing to keep the farm warm," said Sweetie, feeling like she was losing her ability to speak. It didn't sound like she was talking to her friend.

"I got sidetracked. I got sidetracked a lot." She waved a small hoof in the general direction of the neat looking items. "I'm more focused now that I'm closer. But I just can't get it. I've managed to give myself wings and a horn. But I can't sustain the change. I always turn back, and I don't understand why. But every test increases the duration I stay changed, so I think I'll get it eventually." She suddenly stopped tinkering. She looked over at Sweetie Belle. "Maybe if I had somepony else. You're a Unicorn. Maybe you can help."

Sweetie took a step back and her ears folded. She didn't like the sound of that. She didn't like the sound of any of this.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked quietly.

"I'm suffering from Hyperclarity," said Apple Bloom as she turned around. Her face was almost entirely coated in what looked like red and black ink. "I thought I could build this faster, do it before having to go over things at school, if I could focus more and just think quicker. So I stopped taking survival pills and made something to purify the air in this room. It's so pure, I don't think it can get any more than it is here, or close to the Sphere of Fixed Stars. It's still on. If you stay here, you'll start suffering from it too."

Sweetie really wanted to leave and go tell Applejack, but was too scared to move. A part of her knew that if she didn't something bad would happen. She might get hurt, or Apple Bloom would hurt herself. Maybe she was already hurt.

"I realised I'd be wasting a lot of time if I had to start sleeping again, so I devoted some time to learning how those pills work, and designing new ones that wouldn't fix Hyperclarity. In fact, I made them exasperate the problem and hopefully prevent me from going crazy. It wasn't difficult, Applejack has the ingredients and I know how the body works, for the most part. You know our minds are made of Air and Fire? And our brains, our brains are mostly those two too. If you take in more Air, it'll push out the Water and Earth, which weigh down the mind. With my modified survival pills I made it so my brain never takes in anymore Air past a certain point." She blinked a few times, her eyes shiny. They seemed to almost bulge out of her head, but not quite. "Never mind, that's not important. I don't want to get sidetracked. Why don't you come help me Sweetie? Maybe I just don't know enough about Unicorns to make myself one?"

The tone of her voice sounded suspicious. Everything she'd said sounded suspicious. Apple Bloom was her friend, but right now she wasn't acting anything like how Apple Bloom should. She sounded more like a murderer in one of those mystery novels Rarity liked. Apple Bloom probably wouldn't murder her though. Or would she? She wasn't herself. Sweetie Bell had had enough. She turned around sharply and ran through the door, forgetting that she was in a tree house and running straight off the edge. When she landed she felt the wind knocked out of her. It was cold, and as she took gasping breathes the air felt thick with water, like it was more humid than it really was. Her head started hurting, throbbing more with each breath. She looked behind her, and up, and didn't see Apple Bloom trying to follow her. She ran.

She couldn't find Applejack, not on the farm or in the sky. She ran into the barn and looked for Big Mac or Granny Smith, but they weren't there either.

So she ran back to Rarity's as fast as she could. She wishes she could teleport. Things would be so much faster that way.

Rarity was still inside, still working on her dresses. By the time Sweetie got there, she was crying. Rarity took one look at her and her face immediately went from irritated to worried, and as Sweetie ran up to her and buried her face in her sister's side she already felt better.

"Sweetie what's wrong!" said Rarity. The whirring of sewing machines stopped and she put her hooves around her sister. "What happened?"

"Apple Bloom," was all Sweetie could say. Her head and stomach hurt and she suddenly didn't want to do anything but cry. But she knew she had to tell somepony what had happened.

"What about Apple Bloom?" asked Rarity. Her voice sounded gentle, yet authoritative.

"She's... sick," said Sweetie, trying to stop herself from crying anymore. "She needs help, or she's gonna hurt somepony. Or hurt herself."

"She's sick?" asked Rarity. "Why didn't you tell Applejack? If she's just sick it shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"I couldn't find Applejack and no!" She yelled out "no," suddenly feeling frustrated. "She's got Hyperclarity."

"I don't know what that is," said Rarity, in a tone that suggested Sweetie might be making it up.

"Do you know where Twilight is? I'm sure Twilight could help her."

Rarity continued to hold Sweetie close as she said, "I think she's in Maressachusettes. Let me try contacting her."

"So what do you think?" asked Star Swirl. It was interesting. She did look like a female version of Starswirld the Bearded. Female and younger. Perhaps attractive was the word. Did her parents name her that because they somehow knew, or was it just her coat and mane colour? Or just complete coincidence?

Twilight blinked those thoughts away and looked back down at the plans.

"I think it's a good start," she said.

"Just a good start?"

"You have to admit you don't know as much about this as I do. It's impressive you've gotten this far on your own, but there are several problems."

She seemed a bit put out. "It looks like nopony knows as much about anything as you do." She wasn't quite irritated, but she was getting close. Twilight would have to be more careful how she worded things.

"First, if you did this, ponies would be subject to near twenty-two thousand times the standard force downward towards the centre of the universe. Ponies would turn into paste on the way up. You're trying to treat what's experienced as a constant, but there's relative motion to consider. While the charge of the Xi lines isn't changing, the amount of force against them is, like putting a moving wall in the way of the ship. It'd also accelerate too fast and you don't account for the air. It'll burn up on the way, the materials aren't strong enough, and in most cases even if they were, the ponies inside will cook. And finally the Celestial Spheres are in the way. That's a literal wall to account for."

"Damnit," said Star Swirl. She put a hoof to her head and Twilight knew she felt stupid for not realising herself what Twilight had just told her. Well, she wasn't an engineer, she was an astronomer, but Twilight figured telling her that would annoy her.

She pressed on the bridge of her muzzle for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Well," she began, "that's why I asked you here. Sorry, it's been a long day. And you know, Hearth's Warming Eve is tomorrow and I was planning to go to Canterlot for it, but those plans fell through... anyway. I was hoping to have this meeting wrapped up before the sun rises, so if you had any suggestions on how to improve things?" She gestured to her plan. Twilight took a moment to think about it.

"First I'd say you're method of getting up there is backwards. I don't see any way of pushing yourself up there without killing everypony inside." A few ideas came to her. "Okay, maybe I can think of some ways to do it but it'd be less efficient. Instead, what you want to do is pull the ship up. Remember there are Xi lines directing terrestrial matter 'down.' So you have roads, they're just going the wrong way. There are Xi lines all over too, everywhere, moving in all directions, they're just too weak to pull you anywhere. So I'd suggest focusing your attention in that area. Either change the Charge of certain lines, or change the Frequency of others that happen to be going the way you want so they pull your ship correctly. Maybe a combination, or perhaps you could try some kind of sustained propulsion combined with Xi manipulation. This would solve two of your problems. Another idea would be to make sure to line everything in Fire-Gold, to rarefy the Air around the ship allowing for an increase in speed without burning up.

The last problem's much more difficult to get around, because there's no getting around it. Your ship would have to either be able to break through the first Celestial Sphere, or maybe you could set it up so it can hang on the bottom and cut a hole through. The problem with both is it's rather thick, about three feet deep, and it's Crystal, particularly hard. Celestial Matter can break through it much easier than Terrestrial Matter, but we don't have any of that."

Twilight suddenly had another idea.

"The Moon is imbedded in the first Sphere, so maybe you could try going up to the bottom of the moon, carve out some of it, and use that material to build another ship and get through the Sphere and make a proper landing. There would be some serious physics calculations to make in order to pull this off, but now that I think about it this might be your best bet. Just keep in mind how Celestial Matter moves, and try to remember to always try to work with Xi lines, not against them."

"How did Princess Celestia do it?" asked Star Swirl suddenly.

"What?"

"Princess Celestia banished Luna to the moon right? That's how the story went? Maybe she could do it to a group of us if we asked, or we could mimic her method?"

Twilight shook her head. "Nightmare Moon wasn't banished to the moon, she was banished in the moon. Her essence was joined in the moon. Think like how a Lich can bind a piece of herself into, say, a cup. Nightmare Moon had her entire self bound to the Moon. It's not useful here, unless you want to be mostly unaware of yourself for a thousand years."

"I'd rather not," said Star Swirl. She looked a bit pale.

Twilight was about to speak further when she felt a light buzz in her ear. She tapped hear earpiece to turn it on, at the same time mentally asking who it was. Perhaps she could figure out some way build an identification feature into the earpiece itself later.

"Yes, Rarity?"

If Rarity was surprised Twilight knew who was calling, she didn't show it.

"Terribly sorry to bother you," Rarity began, "but Sweetie Belle is insistent that Apple Bloom needs your help. She says she's suffering from something called Hyperclarity and you can stop it?"

"That's impossible," said Twilight, almost to herself. She checked with Mephistopheles and found that yes, it was happening, but as he answered Rarity continued, sounding relieved.

"Yes, I had hoped it was all just Sweetie overreacting. She's very upset."

"Sorry, I was just thinking out loud. It's possible. Wait a moment, I'll be there in about fifteen seconds."

She turned her earpiece off.

"What was that?" Star Swirl asked. She didn't have the look of somepony who thought Twilight had gone crazy. She was genuinely curious, and Twilight was further endeared to the Astronomer for that.

"I built these small devices that fit into your ear and let you talk to people over vast distances. That was one of my friends. I'm afraid something of an emergency's come up. I'll have to leave immediately. I hope I was enough of a help."

"No, you were great," said Star Swirl. "Thank you for your time."

Twilight gave a quick smile and closed her eyes, teleporting herself into Rarity's Boutique.

When Twilight arrived she didn't hear any gasps of surprise, which she'd come to see as normal when teleporting long distances. She wasn't sure anymore if she liked it or not.

Sweetie was lying on the ground, her eyes red. She had her left forehoof pressed to hear head, so Twilight asked if she had a headache and learned that she did.

"What exactly is going on?" she asked, looking directly at Sweetie. Rarity just looked on, her expression changing from calm to worried.

Twilight listened as Sweetie explained what had happened. When she was done, she took a few moments to ask Mephistopheles to help fill in the gaps, and figure out how much of a problem this really was.

"Her changes to your survival pills are mitigating the worst of it, but at the present rate she'll start to suffer irreparable damage to her mind in about three weeks. If stopped before then she'll suffer from Obsessive Compulsive symptoms of varying degrees and severity, depending on how soon she is stopped."

"If there are no objections, I think I'll handle this with Applejack. Wait here."

Rarity and Sweetie both nodded, and Twilight teleported to Sweet Apple Acres.

The first thing she noticed was there was no snow. It was winter, but it wasn't cold enough for snow, albeit, it was still cold. A quick check with Mephistopheles revealed the answer.

Apple Bloom was getting ahead of herself, trying to teach herself things that Twilight hadn't gotten into yet. One of the first things she did was try to figure out if there's a way to change one type of atoms into another. There isn't, and so she started thinking about purifying things, remembered her old Air Cooling machine, and got locked into thinking about making the climate warmer. After lots of trial and error she realised she could increase the temperature slightly by collecting the Water in the air, like a reversed version of Ditzy Doo's Electrum Light. The range was much higher, and much more specific, but in her "clubhouse" Apple Bloom had a device built to draw in water from a certain radius. It was like a magnet, drawing in more water the closer it was, so it was most definitely very hot in the clubhouse.

It didn't take her long to find Applejack, who had finished kicking clouds and was now raising yet another barn. Twilight briefly wondered why she needed them all when her apple sales were down.

"Howdy Twilight," said Applejack as she walked up. "Thought you were in Maressachusettes."

"I was," said Twilight.

"Get back early then? Too busy for a proper visit at the moment, but if you'd like you can help me here with my work?" Twilight was flattered Applejack would so easily offer to let Twilight join, but had to push those thoughts aside.

"Have you seen Apple Bloom lately?"

"Nope," said Applejack. "Got herself holed up in her clubhouse. Sweetie Belle came over not too long ago, she's probably still with her."

"She's not. You never saw her come back to eat? Or to bathe?"

"She doesn't need to eat, Twilight. And young ponies sometimes go a while without showering, it's not something I'm gonna get on her for. I'm not Rarity. And how do you know Sweetie's not with Apple Bloom? What's with the twenty questions?"

Twilight was suddenly at a loss for what to say. She didn't want to worry Applejack. Technically this was about as serious as Apple Bloom spraining a leg. She'd hurt for a while, but she wasn't going to die unless she never got treatment. Slowly, she tried to explain what had happened, talking about how Sweetie couldn't find Applejack or any of Apple Bloom's family, (as it turned out, Big Mac and Granny Smith were in town selling cakes for Hearth's Warming Eve) and ran to Rarity.

When Twilight was done, Applejack didn't say anything. She looked like she didn't hear Twilight, but Twilight knew she had. Twilight kept speaking.

"This isn't that serious. I just need you to come with me and we can try to talk her down. If we can't get her to, we'll have to subdue her and pull her out of that room. She'll have a headache and act a bit strange for a few days, nothing that bad."

"It's my fault," said Applejack suddenly. Her wings fell from her sides, something Twilight knew took either emotional or physical exhaustion, or a conscious effort to make happen. She asked and found the reason to be emotional. "If I hadn't asked for these wings, Apple Bloom would have never had the idea to do anything like this."

"You don't know that," said Twilight. "She might have gotten interested in the idea anyway."

"No," said Applejack. She was looking at the ground, her eyes glancing left and right. "Unlike Big Macintosh or me, she'd never complained about being an Earth Pony, or not being some other Type. I put that idea in her head when I came home with wings."

"It's not a big deal Applejack. She'll be fine. This isn't a big disaster, she's not in any serious danger, and if somepony's to blame, it's me for not teaching her well."

Applejack's wings lifted up and stood by her sides again. She looked up and looked Twilight in the eyes.

"You're right," she said. She hoped she wasn't right about shouldering blame. "I shouldn't be getting so worked up about this. I'm still gettin' flak from Granny for my wings, and I guess I still feel guilty about it."

"I could remove them," said Twilight. Applejack's eyes widened a fraction.

"No," she said. "I'd feel worse about that, like I was running away from my convictions. I don't think I did anything wrong. Besides, they're dead useful on the farm. You were right, I can just move clouds where I want them and not have to worry if the Weather Team gets it wrong, which they do all the time. They complain sometimes, but nopony's called the guards on me so far."

"So you'll come with me to help talk down Apple Bloom?"

"I was gonna do that anyway, I was just busy feeling sorry for myself. Let's go."

Twilight followed Applejack as she flew above, teleporting in short jumps to keep up. She didn't want to go directly there and be forced to wait for Applejack. When they arrived, Applejack landed in front of the door and Twilight teleported next to her.

Twilight could feel it already, how hot it was inside. She hoped this wouldn't be too difficult. They opened the door.

It was more or less what Twilight expected. Everything showed that most of the time, Apple Bloom was too narrowly focused on one thing to care about being neat, but sometimes she had decided something else was worth focusing on. These things stood out, and a quick check determined what she'd produced in the short time she'd been suffering.

Besides the machine making it warmer, there was a machine to turn apples into other types of apples, a machine that could purify salt-water extremely quickly, and a machine to force Zap-Apples to ripen. These were all things she built in the process of trying to teach herself something.

Currently, Apple Bloom was tinkering on the largest machine, what she intended as a machine to turn ponies into Alicorns. Twilight checked with Mephistopheles to see where she was with it, and found it was working on incorrect principles. She was trying to enact change like she did with the apples, re-arranging atoms and meridians to turn one into an Alicorn. But a living thing like a pony was a dynamic system, constantly changing, and she wasn't accounting for that. The body would try to "fix" itself after a while, and all she could do is make that while last longer.

"I want you to keep me up to speed on what Apple Bloom is thinking once we start talking to her," she said inwardly to Mephistopheles. "I don't want to have to resort to force, so I need to stay ahead of her thought process."

Mephistopheles nodded.

"Apple Bloom?" asked Applejack, tentatively. Apple Bloom didn't stop what she was doing, but she did reply.

"Hi Applejack," she said. "And Twilight. Maybe you can help me? I wanted to study Sweetie Belle but she left and I can't leave this room."

"She's switched focus," said Mephistopheles. "She's more interested in getting your assistance as a test subject than working on her device." A second later Apple Bloom's eyes darted to Applejack's wings. "She's seen Applejack. She's thinking about how Applejack is the product of a successful change in pony type. She's switched focus again, she doesn't care about you, she wishes to study Applejack."

"Can you help me Applejack?" she said. "You've been given wings, and they're permanent. I'd like to know how that works."

Twilight put a hoof in front of Applejack's face to prevent her from speaking at the moment. Instead, Twilight spoke.

"I can tell you how it works, and what's wrong with your machine now, if you like."

Apple Bloom's eyes darted to her.

"Her focus is back to you," said Mephistopheles. "She's forgotten Applejack is there."

"Tell me," she said. "I can't figure it out, it's extremely frustrating."

"I bet," said Twilight. "I'll only tell you if you come with us outside, and you take another survival pill. A normal one. You're suffering from Hyperclarity."

"I know," said Apple Bloom. "It's helping me learn. I've figured out so much already. I just need to figure this out."

"You can't stay this way. You're modified survival pills aren't as good as you think they are. You'll suffer permanent damage if you don't stop."

Apple Bloom's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"She thought for a moment that you're right, and they're not good enough. She decided to ask you how to fix them, and began thinking about what could be wrong. She decided she put too much focus on inhibiting the Liver, and she's promoting imbalance that way. She realised if she doesn't do that, she'll obviously have a harder time switching focuses and might get lost in something irrelevant. She realised it's odd that you would know if her pills are ineffective, as you haven't looked at them. She switched focus and wondered how you did this. She switched focus and wonders how you know anything that you know. Everything I just mentioned took her fourty-six milliseconds to think through, and her current thoughts are on how you've come to know all the things that you've come to know, but specifics are going by too fast for coherent speech to convey." He said all that extremely quickly, quicker than any pony could probably do naturally. But Twilight understood.

This was an unexpected development, one that Twilight hadn't seen coming at all. She had to put an end to that line of thought as soon as possible, and the only way she could think to do it was to give Apple Bloom what she wanted.

"Remember that ponies are alive, and apples aren't," said Twilight quickly. Apple Bloom blinked, and Mephistopheles began speaking.

"She's changed focus. She's thinking about what that means. She's realised that -"

"I don't need to know this," said Twilight in her head, cutting him off. "I just need to know that she didn't figure out you exist, or even suspect anything like you exists."

"She ran through several possibilities, and yes, some of them are rather close. At the moment she's not thinking about that however."

As soon as Mephistopheles stopped speaking Apple Bloom blinked, and turned around, burying herself in the machine once more. Twilight looked and Applejack and motioned for her to join her at the side. They moved over, hopefully out of earshot of Apple Bloom, though most likely Apple Bloom had forgotten they even existed.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," said Twilight. "I think we're just going to have to grab her and drag her out."

"Do we really have to? I haven't said anything to her. I'm sure she'd listen to me."

"She doesn't know you're here anymore. And we have a time limit. If we stay in here too long we'll start acting like her. It'll be worse for us actually. So whatever we do it has to be fast."

It had been only two minutes or so, and already Twilight could feel a lightness in her head that she was associating with the onset of Hyperclarity. She didn't know exactly what it felt like, but she figured it was a safe assumption. Applejack was probably fine, for now. She was a Pegasus after all, and they had a far higher tolerance for purer Air than Unicorns and Earth Ponies.

"Maybe you better explain to me exactly what's wrong with her, because I don't think I really understand it. How could she forget I'm here? She was just talking to me."

"Not a lot to say really," said Twilight. "Which is good, since I don't have much time to explain it. Short story shorter. She's trying to focus on only one thing, which is building that machine. But she gets distracted easily and ends up focusing on other things. Her focus is so narrow she excludes everything that isn't part of whatever her focus is, which is why she doesn't remember we're here anymore. Her symptoms aren't typical of Hyperclarity because she's taking survival pills. If we stay here too long we'll end up focussed on one thing with a complete inability to get distracted or acknowledge anything else. And after a while we'll die from it." Twilight blinked, suddenly aware she was rambling and hadn't meant to speak that much about it. It really was happening.

"I have to get out of here. Pegasi are resistant to it, you can stay here longer than I can. If you can't convince her to leave this room in...." she asked Mephistopheles to give her a likely timeframe. "an hour," she continued, amazed Applejack was that resistant, "subdue her by force and drag her out. Any longer than that and you'll start feeling the effects. I'll time you, if you take longer than that I'll teleport you both out myself."

Without saying another word, she closed her eyes and teleported herself right outside the clubhouse, on the ground. Her head began hurting, and the air around her felt heavy. She blinked a few times, feeling like there was something pressing on her eyes, but there was nothing there.

She probably should have just teleported them out anyway right then. But it'd be better if Apple Bloom did it herself. If she was forced out, she might turn violent, and if she was unwilling, she'd probably have a harder time recovering. It was the same reason she couldn't just turn off the machine that purified the air, or leave the door open. Apple Bloom wouldn't just let something so passive happen. Hopefully Applejack could convince her to leave before Twilight had to resort to anything aggressive.

Twilight left so fast, and Applejack had no real clue what to do about Apple Bloom. She still didn't really get what was happening, even though Twilight must have explained it a bunch of times. But Applejack knew Apple Bloom, and this was an Apple Bloom problem first.

"Apple Bloom!" said Applejack, projecting authority into her voice. Apple Bloom didn't look over.

"Hi Applejack," was all she said, the same way she'd said it before.

Applejack really wasn't good at these mind games, so she tried the first thing that came to her.

"Apple Bloom, the answer to making whatever it is you're making is outside. You should, uh, go out there."

Apple Bloom did stop what she was doing and looked over.

"You're lying," said Apple Bloom, and while it was true that accusation still hurt Applejack. It wasn't something she was used to hearing.

"No," said Applejack, trying to sound reasonable. "Twilight's out there, and she can tell you everything you want to know."

"You could help me Applejack. If you let me study you."

"Sure," said Applejack. "I'll help you with whatever you need. Just, let's go outside and we can do that."

"I can't go outside."

"Why not?"

"I'll get stupider. It's much better in here."

"You remember what Twilight said about you staying in here? That you'll be hurt?"

She blinked, slow. It was unnerving.

"Yeah," she said.

"That doesn't worry you? You don't believe her? You don't believe me?"

"I thought about it for a moment, and I realised if she's correct I won't suffer permanent harm for another two weeks."

Applejack didn't know if that was true, but it didn't matter if it was or not. This wasn't working, she had to try something else.

"Why do you need to finish that machine?" she asked.

"So I can make myself into an Alicorn."

"You never complained about your type before. Is it because of me? Did I put that idea into your head, that you wanted to be an Alicorn."

"I don't really care about that," she said. That surprised Applejack. "I'm fine being an Earth Pony."

"Then why do you want to make yourself into an Alicorn?" asked Applejack. She was genuinely curious now.

"It would mean I understood everything I'd wanted to learn about. Twilight said I could learn it in about two years, but if I can figure this out now I'll have learned it in less than eight months. I'd be one of the smartest ponies in the world, and I could do so many things to help you and Big Mac and Granny on the farm, and other ponies too all over the world."

Applejack was surprised again, but then, that answer made sense. It was why she wasn't easily tempted by Twilight's offer to just tell her the answers. She wanted to figure it out herself so she could be sure she knew it. A part of her also felt relieved. If Apple Bloom really didn't care about being something other than an Earth Pony, then Applejack's decision really hadn't caused any problems.

"So you want to know things?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah."

"You could do that without hurting yourself."

"It's a very minor risk."

"Not to me. Not to your family, or your friends. You scared Sweetie Belle. She's worried about you. Twilight's worried. We all are."

"Sweetie Belle got it in her head I was going to hurt her and because that's what she was thinking about when Hyperclarity set in, she couldn't shake that thought. It's not the same thing as worry for my safety."

"She's not suffering now, and she's worried. I'm okay, and I'm worried about you. Twilight's not in here, but she's worried. But forget about that. Just look at me. It would make me feel a lot better if you would come out with me. You don't have to do this to be smart. You can do it the old fashioned way. Nopony will be mad at you for this. If you come with me, I'll just be glad you're safe. If you don't, I couldn't just stand around and watch you do this to yourself, even if you think it's not a big deal."

"You're going to force me to leave if I don't agree to it on my own," she said. It wasn't a question.

Applejack looked down at the ground, ashamed for some reason.

"Yeah. That's the plan."

"Okay," said Apple Bloom.

"Okay what? You'll come with me?"

"Yeah," she said.

Applejack wanted to ask what she'd said to change her mind, but didn't want to jinx it. She turned around, opened the door, and gestured for Apple Bloom to leave. Apple Bloom did. As soon as Applejack followed and closed the door, Applejack felt as if she was pulled by some strange force, and then saw she was on the ground. She felt slightly dizzy, and then realised Twilight had brought them both down.

She looked at Apple Bloom, who didn't look so good. She was gasping for air, like she was choking.

"Is she alright?" asked Applejack, worried.

"She'll be fine," said Twilight. "She's not used to the air here, so it probably feels like she's breathing into a shower head or something."

Apple Bloom nodded her head, her face looking red as she continued to cough and sputter.

Applejack moved forward to try and clean some of the grime off Apple Bloom, but it wasn't working very well. All she seemed to manage is make her own hooves dirty. She smiled though, as something caught her eye.

"Looks like you got yer cutie mark," said Applejack, tapping Apple Bloom on her back to get her attention. Apple Bloom looked behind her, at her flank. She saw it, but didn't smile. It was a single small apple, like one of Applejack's apples, with a thin circle drawn around it and a larger wrench behind the whole thing.

"Oh," was all she said.

"You're not excited?" asked Twilight.

"I thought it'd be more special. Or that I'd notice. I don't know when I got it. And Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo still don't have theirs. We wanted to get them together, in the same thing."

"That was unlikely to happen," said Twilight.

"Yeah," responded Apple Bloom. "My head hurts. Real bad."

"I could help with that," said Twilight. "At least a little. Most of it I can't help with. I'm sure you know that. You're going to just have to bare with it for a while."

Apple Bloom nodded. She was a lot calmer this way. A lot less like a child. Applejack didn't like it.

Apple Bloom led the way back to the barn, and Twilight fell back next to Applejack and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm going to go back and take the air purifier machine. I'd also recommend you stop making it warmer here. You'll be bound to get in trouble eventually."

"If you say so Twilight," said Applejack, referring to the machine. She didn't know where it was or exactly what it did. It didn't even make sense that air could make you sick. "But I think I'll keep the temperature the way it is. I ain't hurting nopony. If ponies want to come and bother me, I'll deal with it then."

"If that's what you want," said Twilight. She then closed her eyes, and in a literal flash, she disappeared. Applejack quickened her pace and caught up with Apple Bloom, who was pressing very hard on the side of her head with one of her hooves.

"I'll tuck you into bed when we get home," said Applejack.

"I'm not sleepy."

"Don't matter. You're sick. I don't know what it is you're sick with, but bed rest never hurt."

"Okay."

Twilight just held her breath as she deactivated the machine and teleported it back to her own workshop. Spike was nowhere to be found, and checking informed her that he was just upstairs, dusting, completely unaware anything had happened. She set it aside. She had an idea of where it could go and be of some use, but she couldn't just take it over without sending a message first.

She tapped her earpiece to contact Rarity. A few moments passed.

"Yes?" came Rarity's voice.

"Apple Bloom's fine now. You can tell Sweetie there's nothing to worry about and her friend will be back to her old self in about two weeks. Just in time for the end of winter break."

"What marvellous news!" said Rarity, sounding pleased. "I was really worried when I found out Sweetie wasn't overreacting."

"Sweetie Belle might also like to know Apple Bloom has found her Cutie Mark."

"Has she?" said Rarity. "I'd expected her to the last of the three. But no matter, I'm sure Sweetie Belle will be delighted to hear it." Twilight could hear a faint high-pitched voice in the background, probably Sweetie Belle asking why she would be delighted.

"Anyway, I know you have a lot of work to finish up on, so I'll let you get to it." Twilight tapped her earpiece without waiting for a reply.

There was a problem she would have to think over, and she'd have to do it quickly. What did Apple Bloom figure out about where Twilight got her knowledge, and was it close enough that it could endanger her plans?

ο

Constant Change

Applejack entered the Mayor's office, unable to shake the annoyance off her face. She'd been in there no less than four times in the past three months. Some things she could understand. Applejack had been called out on keeping her farm in Fall when it was Winter, and later had been called out on moving clouds around and ignoring what the weather team was doing. She was okay with that, she knew she'd been walking a fine line. She wasn't too happy when Rainbow Dash got mad at her, talking about how she'd been on thin ice for taking her side one too many times. Applejack had to stop herself from pointing out that she never asked for help in that.

What really got her was when she was called in and fined for exceeding the number of structures in an agricultural zone. Apparently, she'd put up too many barns. That didn't make any sense to her, it was her farm, why would anypony care how many barns she raised? When she explained that they weren't for storing anything, or housing other creatures, but that the family was moving towards a more industrial route as food production became less profitable, she was fined again for not filing the proper permits and informed her farm wasn't zoned for that kind of stuff. Applejack thought of asking Twilight for help, but she figured the family could handle it. And they did. It was amazing how much a lot of money could accomplish, and the Apples now had a lot of money. She just wished she'd stop losing a bunch of it to fines.

"Applejack," said the Mayor, smiling. She was courteous, but obviously not happy. Applejack was used to that.

"Mayor," said Applejack, nodding. "I'd like to get straight to it if you don't mind. My little sister's coming back from Maressachusettes today and I gotta be back in time to greet her at the station."

"Oh?" asked the mayor. "May I ask why she's there? Awfully far away for a filly without a cutie mark."

"No further than I went when I didn't have my cutie mark. Apple Bloom has hers by the way. Got it two months ago or some such."

"That's good news. You didn't answer why she was there?" Applejack felt herself grow more irritated. She had just explained that she wanted to do this quickly.

"She was doing consulting work," said Applejack. "Can we please get to the point of this?" She pointed her hoof quickly between herself and the Mayor.

The Mayor sighed.

"I was just trying to make small talk. I don't have good news."

"You haven't lately."

The Mayor looked to re-compose herself after that comment.

"You put in an application to compete in this year's Equestria Rodeo Competition in Canterlot. I'm afraid you no longer qualify as a competitor."

Applejack's wings flared in irritation. "How's that?"

"You're a Pegasus," said the Mayor. Applejack's wings snapped back to her sides at hearing that.

"But I'm also an Earth Pony," said Applejack. "Earth Ponies can compete."

The Mayor turned around and opened up one of the file drawers that were behind her desk, looked through it for a moment and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She laid it on the table, put on her reading glasses, and spoke.

"You will find here, it says 'Only Earth Ponies are eligible to compete,' and in parenthesis, 'Unicorns and Pegasi are ineligible.' I believe this is to rule out the odd Alicorn that might crop up, but as it so happens the specific ruling against Pegasi and Unicorns also rules you out. I know you're still an Earth Pony, everpony in Ponyville knows what you did to yourself and what it means. You're still an Earth Pony, but you're also a Pegasus. You can't compete. In fact, all Ponyville applications I've seen have clauses like this, so you won't be able to compete in much of anything anymore. Not unless the laws for application change."

"But Canterlot - "

"This is still an Earth Pony town, Miss Applejack," said the Mayor, cutting her off. "You live here. Our rules for application apply, not Canterlot's."

Inside, Applejack didn't know how to feel. This was so minor compared to most of what she'd had to deal with recently. But she was really looking forward to the rodeo, and was disappointed she couldn't join in. She was planning on winning all the blue ribbons they had, and she didn't see any reason why, at most, they couldn't just tie up her wings like she did Rainbow Dash during that stupid Iron Pony competition. A smile crept up on her face suddenly. They should get together and do a rematch. No way Rainbow would "win" again. Her advantages didn't apply anymore.

She put her mind back on what was happening here and now, in front of her. The thoughts of competition suddenly jarred Applejack into remembering something Twilight said. It seemed like a dumb idea then. But maybe Twilight was right? It'd be a competition too, and she could try and have fun with it and help ponies at the same time.

"If that's all?" asked Applejack. She'd think about it later, though she knew in her gut she'd already decided.

The Mayor nodded, and Applejack checked the time before leaving and heading straight for the train station. She was about a half hour early, but that was okay.

She hadn't seen Apple Bloom in over a month, and she was excited to have her sister back in town again, even if she wouldn't be staying with Applejack when she got back. Twilight taking Apple Bloom on as a full-time apprentice and assistant was nice, and Twilight could probably keep Apple Bloom out of any trouble she was liable to get into on account of that crazy science stuff. But Applejack still missed her sister dearly. Most ponies thought their youngin's grew up too fast. For Applejack, she couldn't help but feel she was entirely justified in that idea.

The train rolled in, still one of the normal steam powered engines and not one of those Light-driven ones Twilight made up. Applejack knew the train to Appleloosa was on a Light-engine because it was easier to convert from engineless than it was from steam. She didn't like it. Seemed kinda unnatural. Of course, nothing natural about making a pony a Pegasus when they weren't before. She tried to remember that whenever her mind drifted off to call something unnatural.

The train rolled in about five minutes late. Applejack wasn't surprised. It looked like not even Twilight could make the trains run on time. When the doors opened, Apple Bloom was one of the first leave the train, looking a might frazzled but with a smile on her face. Applejack rushed over to greet her, ignoring the other ponies leaving and greeting each other as they sometimes bumped into her.

"Apple Bloom!" said Applejack brightly, once she was within earshot. "How was Maressachusettes? Did you have a good time?"

"You know it wasn't a vacation," said Apple Bloom, who began moving forward to get off the platform. Applejack walked beside her. She dropped back a smidge as the sun reflected off Apple Bloom's magic necklace, the glare shining into Applejack's eye.

"I know it wasn't a vacation, but I still hope you had a good time. Did you?"

"It was... interestin'," she then said.

"How so?" Applejack moved in to take Apple Bloom's luggage from her, so she wouldn't have to carry it. Apple Bloom stopped to let her before continuing on.

"It feels weird," she said. "I was with all these ponies, adults and old folks. Ponies who'd gone to school for years and years. And I knew more than all of them, and they all looked to me to make sure everything was right. They did that, but I could tell they didn't like me. I'd hear them talking sometimes when they thought I wasn't listening or couldn't hear them, that I was just some foal and they'd worked hard to get where they are and I didn't deserve to be brought in and at least Twilight had credentials and blah blah blah. Except Star Swirl, she was nice. I never heard her say anything bad about me and she was head of the project so I guess she kept everypony else in line so I at least never heard anything bad said to my face. Way things were goin' when I left, they'll probably have a successful mission in five months, assuming they get the fundin'."

Applejack didn't know what to say to that.

"It was kinda like school," she continued as they got on the main road going through town. "Like everypony was given a group assignment, and everypony in the group wanted to do well but didn't like each other. I guess that's another reason it was weird, I'da thought that was just something that happened in school. My teachers, except Twilight I guess, always said 'the real world' was different. But it's not."

"Yeah," said Applejack. "That's the truth of it. Things like that don't change. You get out of school, and there are still bullies, and you won't get on with everypony you meet, and there are still others trying to tell ya what to do even when it makes no sense." She thought about her own recent decision.

"About that, I won't be able to compete in the Equestria Rodeo Competition. Ponyville doesn't allow Pegasi to apply."

Apple Bloom stopped walking.

"Now why would they do somethin' like that? I was really looking forward to seeing you win a bunch of ribbons!"

"I know," said Applejack. "It's just one of those things. Anyway, I was thinking...."

There was a moment where Applejack reconsidered telling her. Saying it out loud made it real. It created expectation. Did she really want to commit to that?

"Yeah?" asked Apple Bloom, waiting.

"What would you say if I said I was thinkin' about running for mayor of Ponyville?"

There was a moment before Apple Bloom spoke. A moment where they continued to walk, and Apple Bloom continued to look forward, as if nothing had been said.

"I'd think you'd be making sense," she said. "Twilight said you should a long time ago. I think it'd be a good idea."

"Really? You don't think it'd cut into time for the farm too much? Or seem like showboatin'?"

"What time for the farm? Ya'll are making less apple sales every day. Making a living off of apple pies and cider outside of cider season and Zappapple jam outside of Zappapple harvests, and things that aren't even apples, would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, but ya'll are doing it now because it's better and we can now. We make more money than ever for it. Plus everypony's got at least eight hours more time to work each day. If anything I think you and Big Mac and Granny need more hobbies. And it's only gonna get worse. I've been thinking of more ways to improve the farm and improve our production, and that means even more free time for everypony."

Applejack suddenly had images of a farm that somehow worked itself, where Applejack didn't have to spend any time on it. She hoped such a day would never come and that Apple Bloom wasn't trying to make that happen with her fancy science.

"What about showboatin'?" asked Appejack. She hadn't heard anything about that.

Apple Bloom shrugged.

"I don't know about that. But I don't think of the current mayor as showboatin' just for being mayor. Somepony has to do it, don't they?"

Technically that wasn't true. Ponyville could vote to be run by a noble or general, if demographics changed enough and ponies wanted it. But the Mayor was right, this was still an Earth Pony town so that wasn't about to happen.

"Guess so," was all Applejack said.

A short while later they arrived at Twilight's place. Recently expanded to house more storage and give Apple Bloom a place to stay, it was starting to look like less of a workshop and home, and more of a huge factory where several ponies would go and work every day. Despite the size increase, it was only Twilight, Spike, and Apple Bloom who lived and worked there now.

Applejack opened the door and rushed in, seeing the heads of Apple Bloom's friends and family poking out from under tables or behind bookcases or chairs. Applejack tried to shoo them away, whispering lightly that Apple Bloom was about to come in and everypony should be ready. A big banner hung from the ceiling saying "Welcome Back Apple Bloom" in bright orange letters, the O's filled in with small red apples.

Applejack turned around and waited. Apple Bloom walked in a moment later and Applejack shouted, "surprise!" right along with everypony else. Pinkie Pie had been ready with the balloons and music, and it seemed that in the span of an instant the room had gone from empty to a full blown party. Pinkie was good at that.

It was really for everypony else's benefit. Applejack had told Apple Bloom beforehand this would happen. It was a surprise party, but not for Apple Bloom. For everypony else. To make them think things were more normal than they were.

Apple Bloom's face was a mixture of happiness and confusion. For only a moment. Then it turned into a frown as her eyes began darting back and forth, looking at things. Applejack went by her side and turned to see what the big deal was.

Right, Applejack thought. Applejack cleared her throat and tried to speak over the music without having to yell.

"Everyone, please try not to make a mess," she said. "If ya nudge something out of place or nock something over, put it back where it was."

Apple Bloom visibly relaxed, though she still seemed on edge and her eyes would move around to look at things she thought things were out of place.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly ran up and stood beside Apple Bloom, both pelting her with questions. Applejack could tell she was finding it overwhelming, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She just told Apple Bloom to have fun and walked over to the phonograph to try and lower the volume a bit.

Twilight had assured Applejack that Apple Bloom would be fine after a few weeks. That the chances of permanent damage to her mind were less than one percent.

Then she told her that sometimes, statistical miracles happened. And sometimes they weren't in your favour.

Apple Bloom was mostly back to normal. She was a bit more mature than Applejack remembered, knew much more than Applejack did, or according to Twilight, anypony in Equestria except for herself, and seemed to be having trouble with her friends, especially Scootaloo.

But she was off now. Her room upstairs was immaculately clean. Completely unlike the room Apple Bloom was known for back on Sweet Apple Acres. It was so neat and orderly Applejack had a feeling Rarity would be bothered by it.

She didn't like to break routine, so she got irritated if Applejack didn't announce her intention to visit or if she wasn't on time for that visit. She also wanted Applejack to leave precisely at a pre-determined time. She was very inflexible with her schedule and what she wanted to do. Applejack couldn't help but again compare her to Rarity. If Rarity was ten times more annoying.

But unlike Rarity, Apple Bloom was her sister and she was like this as a result of getting sick. Apple Bloom couldn't help it, and Applejack had to just accept it and be there for her sister.

Applejack shook her head, focusing on the party. Apple Bloom's old classmates were here. Even Ditzy Doo. Applejack's friends were here too. Rainbow Dash was currently shooting multicoloured sparks from her magic necklace, showing off to Sunny Days, if Applejack remembered the name right. Scootaloo was now skulking in the corner, something had probably happened and Applejack would have to check up on that. Apple Bloom was carefully eating a small slice of cake as she spoke to Big Mac.

"I don't think Apple Bloom's having that much fun," said Pinkie, appearing out of nowhere. Applejack stiffened in restrained surprise. "She hasn't danced at all, she's hardly touched the treats I made, and she just had a fight with Scootaloo." Pinkie's hair seemed a bit straighter than usual.

"It's not your fault Pinkie. This is a great party. Apple Bloom's just... well, I think a party's a little much for her. Not your fault."

Pinkie didn't seem convinced. "I could plan a party for later?" she asked.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Oh." Pinkie Pie seemed to literally deflate like a balloon. She probably thought it was a personal failure that the pony the party was for didn't seem to be enjoying herself.

"Apple Bloom's having fun," said Applejack, maybe a bit too quickly. "She just expresses it differently."

"Hm," was all Pinkie said.

Pinkie seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, before she zipped off towards Apple Bloom, who was now talking with Sweetie Belle, who was wearing a big party hat on her head. After a few moments Sweetie looked at Apple Bloom a bit odd and moved to shift her hat over so it was sitting square on her head instead of on the side. Applejack almost chuckled.

When Pinkie arrived she tilted Sweetie Belle's hat back to where it was, and Applejack cringed right along with Apple Bloom. Applejack didn't like where this was going.

A faint yellow glow showed around the hat as Apple Bloom magically righted it. Pinkie smiled and put it back, obviously thinking this was a game of some kind. Applejack rushed over, not too keen on seeing Apple Bloom throw a tantrum.

Applejack arrived just in time to stop Pinkie from righting Sweetie's hat for the fourth time. Sweetie, for her part, immediately took the opportunity to run over to Apple Bloom's side, confused at what was going on.

"Aww, I was gonna win," said Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, didn't you listen to a word I said?" said Applejack, annoyed.

"I did," she said. "But then I thought Apple Bloom must not like the party because nopony's playing with her!" Pinkie tried to move closer and reach for Sweetie's hat again. Sweetie backed away and Applejack reached over and swatted Pinkie's hooves back down.

"Stop that," said Applejack. "It's annoyin' her, and honestly it's annoyin' me too."

"Annoying?" asked Pinkie. "What's annoying about a game? Or maybe she wants to play another game! How about pin the tail on the pony? Or we could play go fish! Or maybe - "

"Do you want to play a game with Pinkie?" Applejack asked, cutting Pinkie off. She looked at Apple Bloom in the muzzle, aware that her sister now felt awkward with eye contact.

Apple Bloom shook her head.

"No. I'd really rather she leave me alone."

"Aww, don't be like that," said Pinkie, clearly not taking the hint. "Come on, we could play Parcheesi, or x's and o's, or Scrab-apple, I bet you'd like that one, or - "

"Pinkie!" shouted Applejack. Apple Bloom was looking to be half frightened, half angry, and none of it was good. Applejack had shouted loud enough that everypony had stopped what they were doing and turned their head to see what was going on.

"I'm gonna make this real clear," Applejack continued. Her voice was low, and she hoped Pinkie would realise just how series she was. "I let you throw this party for Apple Bloom, and it's Apple Bloom's party. Apple Bloom doesn't want to play with you right now. I'm sure Apple Bloom was having a fine time until you started bothering her. So just go do something else for a while."

Pinkie stared for a few moments as if thinking too hard. Finally she said, "if she's having a good time, why isn't she smiling?"

"Because you're here right now," said Apple Bloom. Pinkie Pie's ears folded back at the words.

"Harsh," Applejack heard Rainbow Dash say. She walked forward until she was next to Applejack.

"You gotta admit you can be super annoying sometimes Pinkie," she continued. "Not everypony can handle your antics."

Pinkie seemed to shrink into herself.

"What Rainbow Dash means to say, dear," said Rarity, also moving forward only to stop next to Applejack. "Is that some ponies are more subdued than others. While many of us here certainly enjoy your, ahem, antics, you shouldn't take it the wrong way if somepony else would rather be left alone for a while."

A few tense moments passed as Pinkie looked like she was going to cry.

Instead she just said, "Alright, I can leave her alone if it'll make her happy." Applejack exhaled. She didn't even know she'd been holding her breath. She noticed Apple Bloom exhaled too.

As time went on nopony else fought with Apple Bloom, and others seemed more ready to let her tell them to do weird things like hold their drinks with the other hoof, or eat their cupcake from the other side. Applejack wondered if they knew. She didn't tell them, but that didn't mean Twilight didn't, or Granny or Big Mac.

Rainbow Dash sat with Scootaloo, who'd been sulking since early in the party. Rainbow didn't know the kid too well, but Rainbow couldn't help but try and cheer up foals when they were obviously down in the dumps. She was like Pinkie like that. Maybe a bit less crazy about it. She could admit defeat in that stuff. Pinkie couldn't, or at least, she couldn't before this party.

She stayed silent for a while. Scootaloo she could tell, was the type who'd say something when she was ready. Best not to push too hard. She was like Rainbow herself that way.

It took a while. Rainbow went through three slices of cake and four cups of punch before Scootaloo finally said something.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me," she said. Not a good start.

"Who said I felt sorry for you?" asked Rainbow Dash. She did, kinda. But not really. It was more that she just wanted to be helpful to a friend's sister's friend, who was a fan, and just a kid. "It's obvious you got something going on. Just let it out, you'll feel better."

Scootaloo groaned, but she didn't object.

"I think I lost my two best friends," she said.

"Oh yeah?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What makes you say that? You know, I get into arguments with my friends all the time. We just kinda had one. But at the end of the day it's nothing friends can't get over."

"I don't think I want to get over it."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"I don't even know what happened anymore," said Scootaloo, groaning again. "I was trying to talk to Apple Bloom about what she'd been doing, because you know, building a ship that can fly to the moon sounds pretty cool. But then she kept using all these words I didn't understand, and when I asked what they meant she said I should have paid more attention at school. I only went with them to that stupid school so I wouldn't be alone!"

Rainbow felt a twinge of annoyance.

"That 'stupid school' is run by my friend," said Rainbow, trying not to sound as angry as she felt. She didn't think she succeeded. "You should be proud you were accepted into it. Not everypony got to be taught by Twilight, and it's obvious now that she's the smartest pony in the world. And even if she kept up that school every year for the rest of her life, most ponies aren't going to be taught by her. It's pretty cool, I think."

"I still don't care," said Scootaloo. It looked like she'd gotten angry too. "They do cool things, and yeah, I thought there was some cool stuff I could do. But I'm just too stupid for it. I tried. I'd stay up all night and I'd study whatever Twilight told us. I took notes and studied, and did my homework and our projects and everything. But nothing I built ever worked and I didn't get it. And now Apple Bloom is building moon ships and getting her cutie mark in something I could never do, and I'm just left behind."

"Is that it?" asked Rainbow. "You're mad she got her cutie mark before you?"

"I'm not mad about that. We all wanted our cutie marks. But in things that were cool. Things we could all do. I could never be talented in anything even close to what Apple Bloom's talent is."

"What about Sweetie Belle?"

She slunk down even further into the corner.

"Sweetie Belle could, I bet. She's not as smart as Apple Bloom, especially not now. But she's smarter than me. She tries and she gets it. That's why she's over there and I'm over here."

That was it.

"You think you're being left behind," said Rainbow Dash. It wasn't a question. When Scootaloo didn't say anything, she knew she'd nailed it.

"Look," said Rainbow Dash, trying to get closer and lower her voice so only Scootaloo could hear. She was sure they weren't being overheard anyway, but you could never be too careful. "All my friends? None of them are good at my talent. And I'm not that good at anything they do either. Sometimes I'm terrible at it. If I tried Fluttershy's job, I'd go crazy. It's not how similar you are to your friends, it's how much you're willing to work to stay with them."

Scootaloo didn't say anything to that, but Rainbow figured she understood. After a few more minutes to make sure. Rainbow decided she could leave. Scootaloo would be okay.

Rarity sipped lightly on a glass of water. She'd put a lemon wedge in it for a bit of flavour. She couldn't help but let her eyes drift slightly as Sweetie Belle continued to speak.

"So can I?" asked Sweetie. Rarity's eyes snapped back to Sweetie, and she set her glass of water down as she tried to go over what she'd heard. Sweetie Belle had what? She was talking about Apple Bloom getting her cutie mark, and how Twilight was coming back in three days. Ah yes, she understood now. Sweetie Belle asked if she too could join Apple Bloom in being Twilight's assistant.

"Sweetie, there are so many things wrong with that question I don't know where to begin," said Rarity, only mildly concerned that that might be taken to be rude. Sweetie just cocked her head, so she either didn't notice or didn't care.

"I'm not our mother and father, for one," said Rarity. "Whether or not to take you as an apprentice is also not up to me, but to Twilight. And consider, she not only has Apple Bloom now, but she already had Spike. That's two assistants. If I understood the situation correctly, Apple Bloom was only taken in because that fiasco during winter put her so far ahead of you and your other classmates she could not possibly learn anything more there for years. And before you get any ideas about that, recall that what she did was dangerous. Just look at how Apple Bloom acts now.

"I'm afraid then, that the best I can say is to ask our parents when you get home, and if they allow it, ask Twilight when she returns. I wouldn't get my hopes up, however."

Sweetie seemed a bit crestfallen at her response. But she picked right back up, a hard look in her eyes that seemed very out of place to Rarity.

"I'll do whatever I have to," she said. "Apple Bloom got her cutie mark doing that stuff, and I know I can get a cutie mark from it too."

Rarity sighed. Still all about cutie marks.

"Sweetie," she began, "your cutie mark will just come to you. You shouldn't go looking for it. Look at what happened to Apple Bloom! She didn't even notice when her cutie mark appeared!"

"That's because she was sick," said Sweetie. "She would have if she weren't."

"You have a lovely voice," said Rarity suddenly. "I bet if you could get a cutie mark in singing." Rarity had always assumed that's where Sweetie's talents would be. For some reason she couldn't quite place, the idea of Sweetie being a scientist of all things seemed rather silly. It seemed an awful lot of work, and not at all Sweetie's forte. She wanted to spare her the disappointment of chasing after something you weren't good at.

"I get nervous singing for crowds," Sweetie said. "Besides, I don't want to be a singer. I don't care that everypony says I can sing. I want to do what Apple Bloom did. I want to do what she's doing."

Rarity sighed. Loyalty. Sweetie was loyal to her friend, like some other ponies Rarity knew. Or maybe it was something else?

"You've never expressed an interest in science before," said Rarity.

"I never knew anything about it before," came the reply. "Apple Bloom just came back from working on a ship meant to go to the moon." She sounded awestruck. "That's amazing. Nopony thought that was ever possible. But Apple Bloom's helped to make it happen. I want to do something like that."

"That is impressive," Rarity allowed. "But again, Apple Bloom is far ahead of you. Do you think you have the drive?"

"I'll learn. I'll learn faster if I could become Twilight's assistant."

They'd gone in a circle. Rarity wasn't doing anything to dissuade Sweetie of this fantasy. But it was at least a nice fantasy, once Sweetie explained it. So she could humour her until she lost interest.

"Do you know how that... moon ship works?"

"I understand a little," said Sweetie. "Apple Bloom tried to explain it to me."

"Well, tell me. Let me see how much you know."

Sweetie took a moment, looking up towards the ceiling in thought. She was trying to remember.

"I don't remember the specifics like she does. Like how big it is exactly or the shape. But I remember it's lined with Fire-Gold, and uses huge balls of the stuff to help propel it up."

"Twilight's mentioned it before. How does it make the ship go up?"

"Well, if you don't compress it at all, you can get something that's lighter than Air, like a balloon. And you can also use it to make a rocket that never goes out. So they're using it to keep the ship really light, propel the ship up, and thin the Air around the ship so it can go faster. They're hoping to get Luna to keep the moon up for a few days, and they'll purposely crash the ship into the bottom of the moon. Then they want to use machines to carve out big blocks from it, and use those to come back down. When they're done Luna will move the moon and the ship can be left to fall down."

"How do they know it won't crash into somepony's house?"

"They already have it figured out, where they want the moon to be and where the ship should leave from. When it falls it'll fall into the badlands. Nopony lives there."

Rarity figured somepony lived there. Ponies lived everywhere. But other than ponies, dragons and other things lived there too. But smarter ponies than her or Sweetie Belle had decided on it, so probably it would be alright.

"Sounds like you're on your way," said Rarity. It did, but only just. It sounded entirely like somepony who barely knew what was going on had just explained it. She was tempted to talk with Apple Bloom about it, just to compare, but the poor filly had enough on her plate to be bothered yet again at her own party.

"I'll learn it," said Sweetie, suddenly. Rarity wasn't sure she was talking to her anymore. "I will."

Fluttershy listened quietly as Rainbow Dash continued her story. Something about trying to figure out something to do with magic.

"And then you know, I just asked Twilight, but that seems like cheating since she knows like, everything. But I'd read all the books on light creation I could find and nothing told me what I wanted to know."

"That's nice," said Fluttershy. She wasn't bored. She just wasn't interested in what Rainbow Dash was saying.

"Once she told me, I started practicing the trick, and sometime then I said to myself, 'wow Rainbow, you just finished reading like, a dozen books about science and magic and stuff. You've become an egghead.' And I thought about that for a while and figured, well, Twilight's an egghead and she's the most awesome pony I know, other than me of course."

"Of course," said Fluttershy, repeating the words she heard even though she wasn't sure what Rainbow had said before them.

"Hmm?" asked Rainbow. "You seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

The direct question made Fluttershy look directly at Rainbow. She tried to focus her thoughts.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Fluttershy. "I was just thinking."

A few moments passed and Rainbow Dash looked on expectantly.

"About?" she asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't be interested. And it's a bit embarrassing." She looked away and stared hard at a strange looking metal ball sitting on a nearby table.

"Fluttershy!" said Rainbow. Fluttershy looked back at her. "Now you gotta tell me! What's going on?"

"I'd really rather not." Of course that didn't work. Fluttershy let out a small squeak as Rainbow Dash suddenly managed to teleport them both outside. Rainbow looked around to make sure nopony was listening in.

"Spill," she said.

Fluttershy had no choice. She took a deep breath.

"I was thinking about Applejack," she said quietly. Rainbow leaned in closer, turning her ear towards Fluttershy's muzzle.

"Speak louder Fluttershy, I can't hear you."

"I was thinking about Applejack," she said, louder.

"Still not enough. Try again. There's nopony out here, you don't have to worry."

"I was thinking about Applejack!" said Fluttershy. Rainbow pulled her ear away and shook her head roughly.

"What about her?" she asked while rubbing her ear. Fluttershy kept her voice quieter.

"I was thinking about her... and Twilight."

"Huh?" said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy felt herself stammer slightly as she tried to explain herself.

"I know it's weird to think about your friends getting together like that, but it just seems so cute and - "

"Wait, wait, wait," said Rainbow, holding her hooves out. "I still don't get it."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak but before she could Rainbow's eyes widened.

"Ooh!" she said, smiling. "You're talking about Twilight's crush on Applejack!"

Fluttershy blushed.

Rainbow chuckled.

"Don't think too much about it," she said. "I happen to know Applejack doesn't swing that way. I'm kinda surprised Twilight does though. But anyway, best case scenario for them, nothing happens. Worst case, it's a disaster. So I don't think about it."

"I just thought they'd be cute together," said Fluttershy, nervously pawing at the ground.

"Hey, I'm all for that lovey dovey stuff for other ponies. I guess. But it's just not gonna happen for them. Applejack wouldn't go for it. And Twilight thinks she's being subtle about it but it's so obvious to everypony that she's into Applejack. Which means her being subtle? She can't do it. So when she does make a move it's probably gonna be a disaster."

"Maybe we could help them get together?" asked Fluttershy.

"Woah now Fluttershy, their big kids, they can take care of themselves. It's not cool to get involved in other ponies's lives like that."

Fluttershy didn't know about that. She got involved in animals's lives all the time, and there wasn't a difference between them and ponies, right? Still, better to not cause a confrontation.

"You're probably right," she said, looking away.

Rainbow turned and looked at Twilight's house.

"We should probably get back inside. Let's use the door, I'm still not the greatest at teleportation yet."

Fluttershy was fine with that. She didn't like being teleported without warning. Or teleporting at all.

They entered through the front door and got a few curious glances. Fluttershy shrank slightly at the stares, but it wasn't long before everypony returned to what they were doing. Rainbow Dash moved easily back into a conversation about something Fluttershy wasn't interested in, and again her mind began to wander towards Applejack and Twilight, and possibly helping them along....

Luna's eyes shone with a worryingly amount of defiance as she spoke.

"It's not your right!" she said. "It's not their right either! This is a bad idea! Like letting it get this far in the first place!"

Celestia closed her eyes and tried to think of calm things. The ocean. Waterfalls. The sky. Except sometimes the sky had the moon. She opened her eyes.

"I admit it," she said. "You were right then. I let this get out of hoof. Completely out of hoof. I knew that as soon as I found out Twilight built a machine that can turn anypony anywhere into an Alicorn." She recalled something. "No, that's a mistake, not Twilight, but one of Twilight's students. Twilight only perfected it. That it more worrying. But it's too late now. Not only has Twilight gotten this far, but your way didn't work either, and I can't reinstate it after having previously been the one to vote to remove it. Again, I admit that was a mistake."

"You've made a lot of those lately," said Luna. "Another mistake. Refusing me my right to rule by your side. Yet another. Refusing to allow me to return."

"You're still not ready," said Celestia, once again trying to think of calming things. "You may have been right, but I think that was more by accident than the strength of your arguments."

"Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are."

That hurt. Less because of what was said and more that it was said at all, and so casually. Somewhere down the line, things had gone terribly wrong between her and her sister. Things had gone terribly wrong with Twilight as well. But that wasn't what the discussion was supposed to be about.

"Let's compromise," said Celestia, trying to impress upon her sister that she didn't wish to argue.

"What, let me half rule, half not? I'll be one quarter ruler?"

"Not about that, about the planned Moon landing. Currently I move the Moon and the Sun. And I say, they should be allowed to land their ship on it if they can, so I will help them. However, their ship isn't ready, and will not be so for many more months. If you can prove to me you've acclimated to modern culture and understand modern ideas of governance by that time, you can have your title back, your right to rule, and you can move the moon as you see fit."

"That's not a compromise," said Luna. She didn't sound angry. Her voice was flat and even, like she expected Celestia to say what she had said.

"It's how it's going to be. I've decided."

Luna's jaw clenched.

"Of course," she said. "Have you considered the political ramifications of keeping the moon still?"

"I have," said Celestia, feeling like she was being asked a question appropriate only for a foal. "It can be dealt with. I've had to deal with similar situations before."

"This is not comparable to oversleeping one morning and raising the sun an hour late. You're contemplating leaving the moon stationary for several days!"

"Nopony says the moon and the sun can't be in the same area of the sky. Not when I control them both. It's not as if anypony's going to burn."

"Oh yes!" said Luna, her voice getting louder. "It's just a simple matter of keeping the moon in place and continuing to move the sun! That's why when I refused to move the moon a thousand years ago, you just ignored me and brought out the dawn anyway!"

"I am not going to have this argument with you yet again Luna!" said Celestia, her wings spread out to increase her form. She could feel the sun grow slightly brighter in her anger, though she doubted her ponies noticed. "It is done!" She moved to walk out of Luna's chambers. "This discussion is over!" she said, slamming the door behind her.

Her wings folded back, and after a moment she felt herself calm. She could have handled that better. But it was becoming far more difficult to speak with Luna. A part of her couldn't blame her. Luna had lost her authority, her respect, and all her previous edicts had been undone. To her, she must still feel exiled.

And yet, Celestia couldn't say it was without reason.

She returned to her own chambers, intent on penning a few more letters. Luna was correct, there were diplomatic consequences to keeping the moon over Equestria for several days. It would be better if she could at least warn other countries to expect it. Better still to convince them it was a good idea.

As she wrote, her thoughts drifted, as they often did these days, to Twilight. It was, in a rather direct way, her who demanded these letters be written after all. And they weren't the first.

Twilight probably was aware of the ramifications of her science in Equestria. Celestia doubted she knew what she was doing to the world at large. Celestia, just at the top of her head, remembered the frantic letters written over concerns for Equestria's lowered food production. Survival pills had all but eliminated Equestria's need for food. So Equestria grew less crops as domestic sales plummeted. Equestria however, was a net exporter in agricultural products, and so foreign countries suffered. And as of yet, the production of survival pills had not yet reached the point that they could be exported to foreign lands and provide for foreign creatures. Even worse, the vast majority of foreign countries were inhabited by non-ponies, and no survival pills had been designed for them. More than a few diplomats had expressed their country's concerns of a prelude to invasion. A fear of Equestria attempting to starve its enemies and strike.

Fire-Clay brought images of new advanced weaponry. Twilight's new materials brought images of greater industrial might, of technological progress not shared with the rest of the world, and again, the building of secret advanced weapons. As far as Celestia knew, Twilight had not created a single thing for the purpose of weaponry. But such assurances didn't matter in international politics.

Perhaps a trip to the moon would be more problematic than she had realised. As she thought this, she added a few final lines to her current letter, suddenly struck by a possible solution.

If the other countries could share in the spoils of Twilight's technology, or at least see it all in action, they would be less inclined to feel wary. It would also increase Equestria's recognition further, perhaps improve relations overall.

Celestia looked at her stack of completed letters. She'd have to rewrite them to add the new proposal.

Other nations probably wouldn't be averse to an expedition to the moon if they too could take part in it.

π

Celestial Matters

Twilight sat, rifling through papers, bundling them into packets for easy reference. Apple Bloom walked over and dropped a stack of mail down in front of Twilight, who began refilling through that too. Ponies now tended to send in copies of their own academic papers for review. Most of it was wrong, or misguided. Sometimes though, it was correct. Twilight was hoping to publish a list of "correct" papers. Just so other academics wouldn't be misled by ponies who got things wrong. It would also mean less work for her. Every time a pony discovered something correct on their own, that was one less thing Twilight had to spend time on.

"Fluttershy's outside," said Apple Bloom. "She wants to see you. I told her today's not a good day, but now she's just standin' out there lookin' creepy."

"She'll be standing out there a while then," said Twilight, as she absentmindedly read through her mail. "Go tell her we'll be leaving for Canterlot soon and we'll be gone all day. We're teleporting there, so she won't be seeing us."

Apple Bloom nodded and trotted downstairs to relay the message.

"Spike!" called Twilight. It took only a moment for his head to pop in from another room.

"Yeah?" he asked. The edge of a broom handle could also be seen.

"Forget the cleaning, it's almost time." She got up from her spot, carrying with her her newly made packets. Six of them. "Here," she said, giving them to Spike who dropped the broom and dustpan he was holding. "Hold on to those while I finish reading these letters."

Her focus wandering to her future presentation, she dumped the unneeded letters into a nearby trashcan. Things claiming she won prizes, or ponies telling her their life story and about what an inspiration she was. That might have interested her before. Now it just cluttered up her mailbox. A few were academic papers, and she sorted those into two piles. One was where the correct papers went, and was on the right. The other was wrong, and on the left. Today, they were all wrong and so went into the appropriate pile.

Apple Bloom returned just as Twilight finished with her mail.

"She gone?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah."

"Spike!" Twilight called again before realising he was right next to her already. He nearly jumped and dropped the packets he was holding in surprise.

"Sorry," said Twilight. "Hand those back to me." He did so, and as she grabbed them telekinetically, she also grabbed the copy of her presentation and her identification card. "Alright, I think everything's in order. I'm teleporting us outside the castle. From there we'll go straight to the University. We should arrive with enough time to get everything situated."

Both Spike and Apple Bloom nodded, and an instant later Twilight teleported them all to Canterlot.

Twilight led the way, carrying her own things, her assistants trailing behind. Spike seemed diligent and eager to please, but Apple Bloom looked like somebody has put a bee in her hypothetical bonnet. Twilight assumed she didn't think the city was orderly enough and was running through ways she wanted to fix it.

"Apple Bloom!" shouted Twilight, snapping her tail to get the mare's attention. Her head turned quickly to look at Twilight, her eyes focusing, and her expression changed. She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and they continued walking.

As they walked, ponies stopped to stare or point and murmur. That happened when she was a young filly, newly marked as Princess Celestia's personal student. Like all unimportant gossip, that ended after only a few weeks. It was strange to see it happen all over again, even stranger to know that it was unlikely to end as quickly as before.

As Twilight predicted, they arrived on campus with plenty of time to spare.

Canterlot University. She'd re-visited this place only recently for matters completely unrelated to giving a lecture to visiting scientists and dignitaries. And while she wasn't sure she liked her current business there, it was certainly preferable to what she had to do last time. Now, instead of mostly students, the campus was swarming with guards. Not just Canterlot guards either, but foreign guards were on patrol, probably at the insistence of whatever politicians or dignitaries were visiting. Ostensibly this was a science lecture. But Twilight wasn't naive enough to miss the political interest.

As they neared the entrance to the Physics department, two guards in shining gold armour held out their hooves in disinterest, clearly having done this many times during the day.

"Identification?" one asked, the one on the left. He was slightly bigger than the other.

Twilight didn't miss a beat, and held out her identification card in front of his eyes. He scanned it quickly, looked at her, looked back at it, then looked at Spike and Apple Bloom, both of which should have been identified on the same card as her assistants.

He nodded, and his horn glowed as he opened the door for them.

A few ponies inside stopped and stood out of their way, clearly recognising them as important. Others seemed too busy to bother noticing who they were, and still others were headed to the same place Twilight was, shying behind her and her assistants as they followed them to the main auditorium.

When they arrived, Twilight didn't go through the main entrance, which was currently also flanked by guards. Instead she kept moving, until she found the side entrance which would lead to a smaller waiting room, connected to the back of the Auditorium. Again, guards were in the way, so she flashed her identification. They simply nodded and opened the door for her.

The room wasn't empty. Heads turned, eyes widened. There were three of them, two mares and a stallion. Two, the mares, were clearly students, the stallion presumably University faculty. All three were sitting down, but stood up almost as soon as Twilight shut the door behind her.

"Miss Sparkle!" said the stallion. He was lanky, not particularly old, perhaps middle aged, with a grey coat and a black mane and tail. "I am Professor Secanter, I teach... math, here at the University. These are my aides, Honeydew and Cinnamon Swirl." The two bowed slightly, which Twilight figured meant these ponies didn't know what they were doing.

"Great," said Twilight, unsure of what else to say. "You are here because...?"

"I was told to wait here with you in case you needed anything. Coffee, water, paper, whatever. Or if you needed help finding some place."

"I'm familiar with the University," said Twilight. "I used to go here, you know. Not too long ago."

His ears folded back. "Of course," he said. "I'm sorry, I was just told to help make you comfortable in any way I could."

"There is nothing we need," said Twilight. "We're only...." She paused, confirming with Mephistopheles. "Thirty minutes early. There's not much you could provide. If you'd really like to help, you can leave and only come back when it's time for the lecture to start. I'd like some time to clear my head."

She didn't really. She just didn't want to be pandered to by this pony who clearly was out of his element. Probably he was told to do this because some head of faculty somewhere had thought Twilight needed to be pampered or something, and so some low-level professor had been picked to bother her.

"If that's what you want," said Professor Secanter.

"It is."

He nodded his head, leaving through the other door, followed by his aides.

"That was awkward," said Spike.

"Yeah, well...." said Twilight, unsure how to finish that sentence. Best not to think about it.

"I wish you didn't send them away so soon," said Apple Bloom. "I'm thirsty."

"Sorry," said Twilight, not feeling very sorry. "I could call him back?" She regretted her words almost as soon as she said them, because of what followed.

"Yeah, please," said Apple Bloom.

Twilight inwardly sighed, and slowly opened the door to the auditorium, hoping he was just outside. He wasn't and she didn't think it was a good idea to step out just yet. Ponies in the auditorium could probably see her if she did so, and she didn't want to look like an idiot bumbling around trying to find someone. She closed the door and looked at Apple Bloom.

"He's not there."

"Can you go look for him?"

"No. You can wait until after the lecture. You'll be fine."

Apple Bloom pouted, slumping back against the wall. Twilight was almost pleased with that. It showed a level of childishness that reminded Twilight of what Apple Bloom used to be like. And while she kind of liked Apple Bloom better this way, she knew the mare's own family probably didn't.

Putting that out of her mind, Twilight tried to focus on the upcoming lecture. She'd never given a lecture like this before. But she'd given speeches. She'd been in charge. She'd taught classes. This probably wasn't too different.

A knock came from the door, and a moment later it opened to reveal Professor Secanter.

"Everything's ready," he said. "It's time."

"Already?" asked Twilight. It didn't seem as if that much time had passed. "Well, alright then. Come on you two."

She divided the packets into two smaller bundles and handed one to Spike and the other to Apple Bloom, walking into the Auditorium with her own notes floating in front of her as she made her way towards the podium.

There was a projector. She didn't have any slides for it. She didn't tell them she needed one, but they brought one anyway. Maybe she should have made sure she didn't need anything before she told Professor Secanter she didn't need anything. She realised she was nervous.

She'd never seen so many different species all in one place. Horses, Gryphons, Kirin and Longma, Hippogriffs and even a dragon in the back, albeit, one from the far east, in the Heavenly Kingdom. A few of these were dressed in elaborate clothes and flanked by guards, and so were probably not academics and were just here because Princess Celestia thought this would help them understand that Equestria wasn't preparing for war or anything terrible like that.

She saw a few familiar faces. Winter Carroll was there. Of course he'd be. Ditzy Doo and Sweetie Belle were there. Twilight had invited them both.

There was no chatter among them. Everyone was silent. Spike and Apple Bloom kept to Twilight's right and left respectively. She nodded at them, and they each moved forward and began passing out the packets to members of the audience, skipping over guards and prioritising academics.

"These are my assistants," said Twilight. "If everyone will take a packet from them we can begin shortly. Inside you will find an outline of everything I will be talking about today, as well as more detailed explanations, as I will not have time to go over everything in great detail."

She cleared her throat, trying to calm herself and prevent the nervousness from entering her voice. Now she wished she had some slides to show.

Spike and Apple Bloom were running out of packets, and there were still dozens of people who didn't have them. Twilight took a step forward, and wordlessly enveloped one packet from Apple Bloom and one from Spike in magic. A moment and a bright flash later, both packets were duplicated, ending with twelve extras for each of her assistants. Apple Bloom was unconcerned, but it surprised Spike and he gave a quiet yelp as it happened. None in the audience was startled, though judging from a few faces, some were impressed at the feat of magic.

When everyone had a packet, Twilight waited for Apple Bloom and Spike to return to her side, then took a few deep calming breaths.

"Let's begin," she said, unsure of exactly how to start. "If each of you will open your packets, you can follow along and see the relevant diagrams I'll be mentioning. I have the same ones here." She held out her own notes. She realised she was treating this as a school lecture, to students. She just gave these people handouts.

She cleared her throat again.

"In order to understand the project to land on the moon, we must first understand the heavens," she said, looking down at her notes, trying to remind herself what she'd wanted to say. "And to understand that, we must first understand their motion." She moved closer to the podium, speaking directly into the microphone. "All terrestrial motion is bound by straight lines. Things go straight up, they go straight down, unless some outside force moves them otherwise. Celestial motion on the other hoof, is uniformly circular baring the Sun and Moon, and always counter-clockwise. So far, we have not deviated significantly from the standard historical model.

"Previously it has always been thought that certain planets such as mars, simply slow down and switch directions, inexplicably. It was known the planet's luminosity appeared to change as well, and so attempts, however unsatisfactory, were made to link the two together.

"As you can see in the appropriate diagram, the truth of Mars's motion is uniformly circular. It never slows down, it never changes directions. Instead, it rotates on a separate sphere, its epicycle, and that epicycle rotates along the larger sphere around the Earth, it's deferent. All Celestia Bodies except for the Moon and Sun are situated this way. Now that we know this we can accurately predict and explain the motions of the planets, without assuming that anything about them is changing without reason.

"Now the sun." She paused for a moment, feeling thirsty. There was a glass of water on the podium, and she took a drink. "Is the most important. Forget for a moment that the Sun is controlled through magic. That was not always so, as some of you may be aware. What is natural for the Sun is the same as the other bodies. Uniform Circular Motion. Assuming that it moves naturally and uniformly, one will find that all other bodies are naturally set up to move in relation to it. The Moon, again, ignoring its current state, is naturally positioned directly opposite the Sun. Mercury and Venus I've labelled as "inferior" planets, referring to the fact that their epicycles always line up exactly with the Sun's position, situated directly under it while the planets move as they do uniformly. All other planets are thus labelled "superior." Their epicycles move freely at their own speeds, but a line drawn from the Sun to the Earth will always be parallel to a line drawn from a superior planet, to the centre of its epicycle. Using all this we can now explain and predict why Mercury and Venus are always seen in close proximity to the sun, why the Moon must set before the Sun rises, and how the brightening and darkening of the Superior planets relate to the Sun's position.

"These positions are not coincidence. The motions of all the celestial bodies, and their positions in relation to the Earth are connected, their movements resonating with each other in a stable harmonic pattern. Small changes are acceptable and can be fixed. Say, the Sun which is not made to rise at the proper time will naturally speed up when it is finally made to move, so it can fit with the rest of the heavens.

"You will find in your packets a recent paper, written by local Mathematician Winter Carroll entitled Notes on Celestial Harmonics, which lays out a more thorough description of the mathematics of celestial motion, correctly pointing out that the distances between any given Deferent and the Earth corresponds musically to a perfect fifth, and in fact all-together the universe forms a scale, starting with F at the moon and going upwards. This more or less describes the underlying logic of the system and why it is patterned the way it is, as well as why the planets move in relation to each other. One can abstractly think of the universe as a symphony, all instruments compelling each other to play properly so the whole can be mathematically proper. You will find in your packets the underlining equations which describe exactly why the pattern we have is most preferable given the variables our universe has, and using it, one may predict what will happen if one of those variables were to change or what things would be like if one or more of them were different at creation.

"Now to the moon landing as it pertains to dealing with the heavens. The current plan involves keeping the Moon stationary for three days, long enough for the landing to take place and the carving to be completed. Likewise the Sun will be kept stationary at the other side of Earth. The increase in heat there will not be significant, and this will prevent any excessive 'tension' in the heavens. As we can't stop the motions of the rest of the planets, everyone should expect that once the Sun and Moon are allowed to move again, they will move at a rate significantly higher than before, until they 'catch up' to their natural positions. Which means shorter days and nights for roughly six days. So long as everyone accounts for the days and nights passing via the planets that aren't the Sun or Moon, everybody should stay in sync and we won't have any calendar problems.

"The next issue is how to get up there, and who's going. The ship was designed by a team in Maressachusetts, of which my assistant Apple Bloom here assisted as a consultant. The distance between the Moon and the Earth is about two-hundred and forty thousand miles, a more specific number in your packet. The ship is designed to move upwards in a straight line at around three-hundred and forty miles per hour and will reach the Moon's Deferent in about thirty days. It will carry no food, but has enough water for ten ponies, or ten pony-like creatures, as well as cutting and drilling tools and climbing gear for everyone aboard. It is cone shaped, and reinforced at the top, with hooks designed to grab on to the moon to prevent it from falling. It will crash into a dense section of the moon, hook itself in place, and from there the ponies will carve out five blocks and sculpt them into tear-drop shaped sleds, the specifications of which have been worked out to provide a safe trip back down to Earth for two ponies each. The entire trip up there and back down will take around three months. Five members of the team have already been chosen from Equestria. The other five positions, it has been determined, will be filled by others of foreign nations, to be chosen by international committee. When everyone returns with the blocks of Lunar Matter, two of them will be divided into five equal pieces and given to participating countries for study. The rest will remain in Equestria.

"At this point I will accept questions. Just remember that I am primarily a scientist and have no knowledge of the political nature of this project."

Twilight looked at the audience. A few of them murmured to each other. A few faces seemed bored. Others had their heads buried in their packet, eyes drifting from side to side as they read. Still, others raised their hooves, or whatever equivalent appendage they had, indicating they had questions to go along with them.

Twilight picked the dragon in the back as her first question. She'd never seen one like him before.

"Yes," he began, in heavily accented Equestrian. His scales were blue, and he was curled up tightly to fit in the room behind everyone else. "Why use the Moon pieces to return to Earth? Why not design the ship to come back down with them?"

Twilight was thankful for the easy question.

"Several return strategies were considered, and that was one of them. I personally advised against that particular one. Remember that Lunar Matter will want to move in circles. If left free, such large pieces of the Lunar Matter will crash into the walls and ceilings of the ship and rip it apart. If tied down, there's a significant chance they will destabilise the ships path downward, again ripping it apart. It is possible to manipulate the Xi lines that Lunar Matter follow and keep it still in respect to the Ship's downward motion, but exactly what manipulation is needed would take a significant amount of time to calculate, and it would take longer to build a machine to do so after the calculations are done. Fundamentally it would be driving the Lunar Matter down anyway, only it would be driving it inside of another object which also must be driven. Not to mention the added expense for this machine."

"How do you know the exact behaviour of Lunar Matter without studying it already?" he asked, not waiting to be called for another question.

Twilight smiled at him. "I'm afraid others have questions." The dragon smiled, and Twilight wasn't sure if he meant to seem menacing or if he was being pleasant. She didn't care enough to ask.

"Yes?" asked Twilight, pointing at one of the Longma.

"If no other country accepts the wisdom of this project, will Equestria continue with it anyway?" His accent marked him as being from Harmony, an island nation to the east of the Heavenly Kingdom. This lecture had really pulled all kinds in from all over.

"I remind you I don't know about the politics. If I were to guess, I'd say probably, since Equestria controls both Sun and Moon. Though it might change the plan. I don't know. Don't hold me or Equestria to that. If you want a definitive answer, I'd suggest asking Princess Celestia."

That was the wrong thing to say, for as soon as she was done speaking the audience erupted into offended shouts.

"Equestria would move with this plan even if the rest of the world was against her?" Twilight heard someone say, probably from the Continent.

"Keeping the Sun and Moon in place affects all of us!" said another.

Twilight saw Professor Secanter step forward, saying something, though he was too low to be heard over the shouts of the audience.

Twilight was oddly more calm now than she was before. Her horn glowed as she magically enhanced her voice, ignoring the microphone just in front of her. She stepped to the side so her full frame was visible to everyone.

"Enough!" she shouted, loud enough to overwhelm the audience. They stopped shouting, though they looked ready to begin again at the slightest provocation.

Spike tapped her on the side and leaned over.

"I think we should leave," he whispered in her ear. Twilight sighed.

"My assistant thinks we should leave," said Twilight, voice still magnified. "I'm inclined to agree. Unless you all remember to keep your questions in the realm of science. Leave your politics out of it."

There was some grumbling, but that seemed to calm things down. Twilight could see Professor Secanter wiping his brow with a handkerchief, his aides carrying worried expressions.

A hand tentatively raised, a female gryphon. Twilight nodded in her direction, not bothering to get back behind the podium.

"It says here that there will be no need for food as everyone will be provided with your survival pills for the trip."

"That's correct," said Twilight, sure of where this was going and so continuing without waiting for her to finish her question. "I, or possibly my assistant Apple Bloom, will be designing survival pills for whatever species happen to be joining the project."

"Are these designs conditional to participation?" came a voice from the crowd.

"New designs will be made for export in due time, so no," said Twilight, annoyed. "Please do not shout over each other," she added. These adults had less self control than Twilight's students. "Next question?"

Twilight nodded a raised hoof, a horse.

"I notice not only do you imbed the Celestial Bodies in spheres of crystal, but you claim there exist these spheres in other spheres. Sometimes these spheres have no planets in them. Why are they there? Have you observed them?"

Twilight shook her head. "Celestial Crystal is too... perfect, to observe naturally through telescopes, no matter how advanced. Too smooth and regular. Should we ever damage the crystal, perhaps attempting to reach something further out than the moon, we'd probably be able to see the cracks."

"So how do you know they're there?" he asked again "Why are they there? And how do they rotate in each other without breaking? Mars for example, has four spheres without planets rotating around the epicycle. How are they spheres and not shards of broken crystal?"

"That's two more questions, but I'll answer. First, I know they're there because the models predict them, given the variables our universe ended up with." That wasn't true, she knew they were there for other reasons, but the model did predict them. It was an accurate model, after all. "Your packet should explain it. The initial conditions are also why they're there. As to why they haven't crashed into each other, this is getting slightly off topic and is a matter of Atomic Physics. Simply put, Celestial Crystal treats itself as intangible. Two pieces of Celestial Crystal will move through each other, and so the spheres will never collide. And before anyone asks, it's different for the planets. However, the motion of the spheres and planets are regular, so upon creation when the spheres were being formed, holes for the planets were created in the crystal as the proto-planets moved through it."

Another hoof went up. A Kirin. Female. Her purple scales shone brightly, their shade reminding Twilight of her own colouring. Twilight nodded to her.

"Can you explain this creation in more detail?"

"It's again slightly off topic, but I suppose," said Twilight. "Initially, everything was fire, or perhaps I should say, like fire, the initial substance being something that doesn't exist anymore. The Universe was very small, compressed, and hot. This is an unstable configuration, and so it expanded, cooled, that initial substance turning into other primary substances in stable ratios as the Xi lines lowered in frequency. There is more or less an equal distribution of Terrestrial and Celestial matter in the Universe. The Terrestrial moved inward. The Celestial spun around as the universe expanded. Things were still very hot, an awful lot of energy was still compacted in a small area. Therefore at the time, almost everything was liquid, including the Celestial Crystal, which formed spheres at various points as the Universe expanded. The Celestial Bodies being liquid, except for the Sun, Neptune, and Uranus, arranged themselves in a stable environment along their spheres and formed spheres themselves. It took a very long time before everything cooled, but one may think of it as glassworking. The Liquid planets were passing through the liquid Crystal, not mixing, and as the Crystal cooled and became solid it did so with holes already in it, where the planets passed through before. The Sun, Neptune and Uranus did the same thing, only later since they are made of Celestial Fire, Celestial Water, and Celestial Lightning, respectively and so wouldn't have formed at the same time as the others. Does that answer your question?"

There was a tiny nod from the Kirin. Apple Bloom cleared her throat suddenly. She looked at Twilight, and gestured for her to come closer.

"We have one minute until the lecture's over," she said. Twilight nodded, knowing that Apple Bloom would at best, leave, if they tried to stay over schedule.

"Alright," said Twilight, turning back to the crowd. "One final question?"

Twilight looked out for anyone who seemed like they might have an interesting question, and saw that Ditzy Doo had her hoof up, smiling, but unassuming, like she wasn't expecting to be picked over anypony else. Twilight smiled, and chose her for the final question.

Ditzy Doo looked surprised, but her surprise turned to obvious elation as she began to speak, Sweetie Belle waving next to her in childish excitement. Twilight saw Apple Bloom tentatively wave back, as if she wasn't sure if she was supposed to. Twilight just waited patiently for the question.

"I noticed there seems to be a... symmetry, to these equations, and the equations governing atomic structures. Can you explain that?"

Twilight smiled a bit more brightly. She didn't think anypony would notice, because she didn't think anypony would know enough about Atomic Theory.

"There's not much to explain," said Twilight. "Fundamentally the same equations govern everything, on the macro scale, and the atomic scale. It would be odd, wouldn't you agree, for the math governing motion and arrangement to be different just because we're talking about smaller things sometimes, right?"

Ditzy Doo's eyes widened in recognition. Currently Twilight hadn't published any unified mathematics for all of reality. She wrote on Celestial Motion and Atomic Theory as separate subjects, and so made different assumptions for them in order to simplify matters. But reality was unified, and a sufficiently clever pony could probably take what was already written on the subjects and figure out how it all fit together. Twilight hoped it'd be Ditzy to do that.

"Alright everyone, that was the last question," said Twilight. "Thank you for coming."

There were some last minute questions shouted out at Twilight, but she ignored them, instead turning around and heading for the door to the small back room. Professor Secanter and his aides followed just behind.

When the door closed behind them all, Twilight could still hear the faint shouts of questions. She exhaled, both to relieve stress and in annoyance.

"Can I get that drink now?" asked Apple Bloom. Twilight looked at her, and then at Spike, then up at Professor Secanter. She really didn't want to stick around and possibly run into anyone from the audience who might demand more of her time.

"How about instead, we all go out and do something fun?" she asked. "This is Canterlot, I know a lot of great places."

"But I'm thirsty now," said Apple Bloom, stomping her hoof on the ground.

"There are water fountains in the university, you can drink from one of those."

Twilight was so glad that Apple Bloom didn't have a problem with that. As they turned to leave, Professor Secanter offered to get her a drink, but Twilight explained that wouldn't be necessary. She didn't say goodbye to him as she led her assistants out the door and quickly made for the exit, stopping only so Apple Bloom could spend nearly a full minute drinking from a fountain.

With that done, they made their way outside, some of the guards nodding her in acknowledgement as they went.

"Is there anything in particular either of you would like to do? See a film? Go to the park? There's a Wonderbolts show today...." They were in Canterlot, and Twilight had set the entire day aside for being there so they might as well try to have some fun.

"Why don't we visit the Princess?" asked Spike. "It's been a long time since you've sent her a letter, and even longer since you saw her last."

Twilight stopped walking suddenly, causing Apple Bloom to bump into her. She didn't even think of that. It had been... how long, since Twilight had just been able to visit with Celestia? Probably not since... at least the Grand Galloping Gala, if you even counted that.

"Do you think we could?" asked Twilight, without moving. "Wouldn't she be busy?"

"Don't you know?" asked Apple Bloom, and Twilight wondered if she asked that because she assumed she was in contact with the Princess, or because she had correctly guessed Mephistopheles's presence. She decided to ask Mephistopheles.

"She's still trying to figure it out," he said. "She hasn't come to a conclusion yet."

While she was at it, she asked about Celestia.

"She's busy."

"I'm pretty sure she's busy," said Twilight out loud. She began walking again, leading the way to nowhere in particular.

"You won't know until you ask," said Apple Bloom.

Twilight didn't need to confirm that this was another test.

"I suppose we could try," she admitted, not pleased. She wanted to see Celestia. But she didn't want to do so because Apple Bloom had manoeuvred her into it.

Twilight switched directions and began leading them back towards Canterlot Castle.

When they arrived back at the gates they were received with a nod and a small smile by the guards. As they got closer to the Castle itself a few guards whose names Twilight had forgotten said their hellos, and finally reaching the entrance, Twilight was stopped.

"Hey, Twilight," said the guard. Again Twilight didn't recognise the pony and couldn't tell the name. "Haven't seen you in a while. Court's not in session now though, so I can't really let you in unless you have business."

Twilight smiled, trying to appear friendly.

"Actually, it's been quite a while since I visited outside of business. I was wondering if Princess Celestia might see me. You think you could ask her?" She battered her eyes slightly as she leaned herself a bit closer to him.

"Well, uh," he began, not sounding nervous, just uncertain, "We're not really supposed to bother her right now. But it is you, so I guess I can send somepony."

Twilight thanked him as he stepped into the Castle for a moment and came right back out, having asked a guard on the inside to ask.

Twilight glanced at Apple Bloom, who seemed rather pleased with herself. It occurred to Twilight she'd probably never met the Princess before, and meeting the Princess was a big deal to most ponies. It also occurred to her Apple Bloom might have some kind of plan, that she might be walking right into it.

Twilight asked Mephistopheles about it.

"She has no plan at the moment."

Twilight was relieved to hear it. As they waited for an answer, the guard whom Twilight didn't know the name of gave her a few sidelong glances. Twilight pretended not to notice, but not in that cloying flirty way that might give off the idea she was playing with him. Instead she focused on Apple Bloom.

She was currently counting the tiles on the path under the hooves. It was obvious, her eyes moved from tile to tile and Twilight could see her lips move as she said the numbers to herself.

She'd taken Apple Bloom as an assistant so she could keep a close eye on her. She worried if Apple Bloom was left alone, she might start telling ponies her thoughts on how Twilight got all her knowledge.

It was moments like these that Twilight thought she might be acting paranoid. Apple Bloom now lacked the focus to sit and think about anything for long stretches of time, unless that thing was building or fixing stuff. She probably would never sit down and re-think through all the clues Twilight unavoidably left behind and come to the right conclusion, and if she did, who would believe her? Now that she was like this? Maybe her family. But that's it.

Still... Twilight didn't want to risk it. At least this way Twilight could direct Apple Bloom's thoughts to something more productive and less dangerous to her plans. If worst came to worst, she'd be able to stop Apple Bloom from telling anypony anything.

The door opened, fully. A guard on the other side spoke, and the guard that had been hitting on Twilight stepped aside.

"The Princess will see you," he said.

"Wonderful." Twilight took a step forward, following the guard to Celestia's chamber, and her assistants walked behind her. They weren't stopped, so the guard had been smart enough to include them in the visit.

Unlike when the Castle was open, either for court or for tourists, going through the castle when closed was a lonely experience. The halls were wide and empty, unadorned with banners or decorations, for there was nopony to impress. Guards patrolling the hallways and flanking certain high security rooms were the only other ponies to be seen.

When they arrived, the guard stepped aside and gestured for them to go in. This wasn't a formal visit and the guard knew that, so there was no need for an announcement.

Twilight enveloped the door handle in magic, and stopped for a moment to compose herself. She had to remember this was just a social call. She wasn't in trouble. Nopony had died. She was just here because she missed her friend and teacher, Spike had suggested it, and Apple Bloom... well, she wasn't important here.

She opened the door and stepped through.

Twilight had been here a thousand times. And like all times but one, Celestia had arranged herself to be presentable. She was sitting comfortably, but not completely candidly on a new plush red pillow. There was a stack of parchment sitting next to her, hastily put away, a closed inkwell and quill on top.

"Twilight," she said as they approached. She was smiling, but the smile seemed kind of sad.

"And Spike," she continued, nodding in his direction. Her smile grew warmer. "And you must be Apple Bloom." She nodded in her direction as well. "I heard Twilight decided to take on another assistant. Unfortunately I did not hear this from her." She sounded both chiding and amused. The tone helped put Twilight at ease.

"I forgot," said Twilight honestly.

"I understand," said Celestia. She looked past Twilight and continued, "How are you two getting along?"

"Great," and "fine," came the replies.

"Must be quite a life," she said to them both. She looked directly at Apple Bloom. "I'm sorry to hear about what happened. You are adjusting well I assume?"

Apple Bloom blinked. Twilight could tell she was nervous.

"It's hard," she said. "But I do okay."

"I imagine it would be difficult," said Celestia, nodding. She looked back at Spike. "I know it's a bit rude, but could you two give Twilight and me some privacy? Perhaps, Spike, you could give Apple Bloom a tour of the castle? Just tell the guard outside and he'll escort you as you show her around."

"O - of course, Princess," said Spike. Apple Bloom looked unhappily at the dragon, but she followed him as they left. Twilight hadn't expected this, but she wasn't unsurprised by it.

As soon as the door closed and the two were gone, Celestia spoke up.

"I'm glad you came," she said. "It's been a long time."

"It has," said Twilight, and she was relieved to see Celestia nudge herself over, inviting Twilight to sit next to her. Just like old times.

Twilight went ahead and did so. She felt content. Like her worries had melted away. She leaned her head against Celestia's side. Celestia didn't object, and Twilight barely registered she might have objected.

"Is everything going well?" asked Celestia.

"Yeah," said Twilight, not moving her head. "It's... stressful. I feel stressed. All the time. I've gotten used to it.... I don't feel like myself."

"You haven't been spending a lot of time with your friends." It wasn't uncertain. She knew.

"I haven't forgotten them. I spend time with them. But there's so little time. And so much else to do."

There was a pause.

"I know," said Celestia.

Twilight sighed, feeling vulnerable suddenly. She didn't want to disappoint Celestia anymore.

"How did your lecture go today, my student?"

Twilight picked her head off of Celestia at that. She was just her student? Not her most faithful student?

"Not as bad as I feared," said Twilight, sounding more professional than before. "Not as well as I hoped. A few of them tried to ask me political questions. I don't know what you're planning to do about that. It's not my project! I just explained the sky, I didn't suggest going up there!"

Celestia reached over and nuzzled Twilight. Her actions were calming, and when Celestia had stopped, Twilight found herself putting her had back down on her teacher's side.

"I know it's not your project," she said. "You never said we had to go to the Moon. But you planted the idea, and you explained to everypony how it was possible."

"I didn't do that either," said Twilight. "Apple Bloom did."

"And you taught Apple Bloom."

"So I'm responsible?"

"In a way."

Twilight thought about that for a moment. She moved her off Celestia for the second time.

"Are you saying you feel responsible for my mistakes?"

Celestia just looked down at Twilight, saying nothing. She extended her wing slightly, and nudged Twilight closer, setting her head back down on her side, with her wing folded and covering Twilight's body.

"I feel like I am sometimes," said Celestia. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't feel uncertain about it. I'd say yes, your mistakes are my mistakes. But... you've changed. I know you have. You lie to me, right to my face. And you keep things from me. I don't know what happened... and I don't know if it's my fault, or if somepony else has done something to you. Or maybe you've decided to stop listening to me. I don't know."

Twilight pressed her body into Celestia's side harder, nuzzling her close.

"I'm sorry," said Twilight, her voice muffled as she spoke. "I'm so sorry. But... I can't tell you. It's too late. I think if I told you what happened, everything that's been going on... it'd just make things worse. I don't mean any harm... I just want to help everypony. Make the world a better place. I don't want to hurt anypony or go against you or anything. You'll have to trust me on that."

"How can I trust you when you won't tell me what's going on? When you lie to me?"

"That's why it's trust, Princess. I can't tell you why everything's going to be alright. But it will be, I'm sure of it. So long as you trust me. I can't... I don't think I could keep going if you didn't trust me."

There was a long pause. For the briefest of moments Twilight considered asking Mephistopheles what Celestia was thinking. But she couldn't help but think if there was ever a moment when it was inappropriate to peak at another pony's thoughts, this was it. She'd trust Celestia, she wouldn't try and tailor her own reactions to what Celestia was thinking.

Suddenly, Celestia sighed.

"I don't know what to do," she said. "Luna wants me to trust her too. And while she hasn't lied to me, she's made obvious mistakes. You haven't done that, not that I can see. I don't think I can rely on her judgement. And I can't trust you both, what you want and what she wants are at odds. What do you think I should do?"

The tone of her voice surprised Twilight. Her teacher, her mentor, the pony she looked up to her entire life was asking her opinion on what to do, and with such helplessness... she'd never heard Celestia speak like that before. It broke her heart.

And it was all Luna's fault. Luna was wrong. Twilight was right. Luna had missed out on the last thousand years. She knew nothing. Twilight knew everything. That was enough to know what to say.

"Trust me," said Twilight.

"How could you ask me to trust you over my own sister?" asked Celestia. She didn't seem offended. She was asking a serious question.

"I've never tried to overthrow you and kill everypony with Eternal Night," said Twilight, chuckling lightly. "I know I've made mistakes. But I don't think I've made any that were that... big. And destructive."

Celestia sighed. Twilight couldn't hear it, but she could feel it, the slow movement of Celestia's body as she exhaled.

"I'll trust you," she said softly. "Unless I can't. And I'll have to admit to myself that Luna isn't as trustworthy as you. For now."

That sounded ominous. It meant either Twilight could lose trust. Or Luna could gain it.

"Thank you," said Twilight anyway. "I won't let you down."

Three hundred a forty seven steps. That was probably three hundred feet. Together, fifteen thousand feet squared. Just hallways. Each room was of varying size. She didn't get to see all the rooms. From what she did see, estimated floor space of Canterlot Castle was nearly a million square feet.

It'd be fun to make something like it. Maybe not as big. But maybe a new house for the farm. She'd have to talk to Applejack about it later.

Apple Bloom walked quietly behind Spike, who walked behind a guard. He was four feet, three inches tall, his natural coat probably brown, judging from the shade of his white coat near his mane. His mane was harder to determine, though most brown coated colts had dark manes, so probably black.

When they arrived back at Celestia's chambers, Twilight and Celestia were talking quietly, sitting together. They looked up, their heads moving thirty five degrees to look at who had interrupted them. They were sitting very close, their heads previously hunkered down. Their relationship was closer than Apple Bloom had thought. Perhaps like a mother and a daughter. Given what Apple Bloom knew about Twilight's feelings for her sister, it was definitely not romantic.

Twelve steps from the door to Twilight and Celestia.

"How did you like the tour?" Celestia asked. Her mouth curved upwards thirty percent lower than maximum, given the lines on her face. She was either only casually interested, or trying to hide disappointment, probably at being interrupted.

"It was alright," said Apple Bloom. "I like the design. It's very classical. But the stone's newer, so it was probably built recently. Within the last hundred fifty years or so."

"I didn't know you were interested in architecture," said the Princess.

"Buildin' things is my special talent. Building and fixing. Putting things together. Stuff like that."

"An admirable talent."

Apple Bloom wished the Princess wouldn't say such meaningless things. All talents were admirable.

"Thanks," said Apple Bloom. That was the proper thing to say in response.

"Would you two like to sit?" she asked, indicating nearby cushions. "I still have some time, if you wish."

Apple Bloom smiled, because she needed to show she appreciated the gesture. She nodded, so they would know she wanted to talk to the princess. Spike trotted over on his stubby legs to a cushion and lied down on it, with a content sigh.

"I've missed these things," he said. Apple Bloom wondered why he didn't have them at the workshop. She moved forward and sat down, taking a moment to look closer at them.

They were soft. They were filled with many things, not simple fibres. Feathers. Pegasus Feathers. The fabric was thin. A type of silk. They'd be very expensive, which should have been obvious, these were the Princess's pillows. Twilight didn't have them because either she couldn't afford them, or couldn't justify the cost. Definitely the latter.

Apple Bloom turned her head towards Celestia, who was speaking now. She'd missed what was said, but luckily the question wasn't directed at her. It was directed at Spike.

Apple Bloom paid attention, but it wasn't anything important. Small talk. Meaningless stuff that conveyed no real information other than interest in each others's well being. The Princess was doing this so they would know she cared about them. Spike responded because it was necessary for her to do so, and because he wanted to show interest in the Princess beyond her status as Monarch.

Apple Bloom looked at Twilight. She wished she could have some alone time with the Princess like Twilight had. Twilight was scary. The Princess didn't know it. She wasn't so scary that it was an emergency, but there was definitely something wrong.

When there was a lull in conversation, Apple Bloom spoke up.

"Princess Celestia, do all letters to you have to be letters on friendship? Can we write just to tell you how our day's been?"

"Of course, Apple Bloom," she said. "I can't promise I'll respond, but I'm interested in the lives of all my subjects. If there's something you want to share with me, you can do so, whatever it is."

Apple Bloom could see the corners of Twilight's eyes narrow about one sixteenth of an inch. She suspected something, though Apple Bloom wasn't sure if she suspected the truth of her motivations, or if Twilight was suspecting wrongly. There was no way to find out without informing her of her own motivations, and it was more important to remain secret.

Apple Bloom just didn't want anything bad to happen. And there was a possibility that Twilight was being controlled in some way, or perhaps simply being manipulated. Either way, there was a possible danger to everypony in Equestria. Possibly the world.

She'd have to keep Celestia up to date, and do so in a way that seemed like idle observation.

"That'd be great," said Apple Bloom. "Lots of cool things happen and I'd like to talk to somepony about them."

That would sound stupid. If that was the case, she could talk to her friends. To Twilight. To Spike, or to her family. But she couldn't think of anything else to say that was both appropriate, and wouldn't give anything away.

The rest of the visit was short lived and uninteresting. More small talk. Apple Bloom responded properly when spoken to by the others.

The goal of the visit had been accomplished. Apple Bloom had successfully taken the opportunity presented to her, and obtained a direct line to the Princess. She hoped everything would go alright.

Prologue

Among the higher planes, untouched by mortal, terrestrial hands, two beings argued.

"They're a small, ignorant race," said The One. “Please, understand the dangers in your plan."

"The fact that they are ignorant is exactly why I must go," said The Other. "They would benefit greatly from my knowledge."

"There is more to existence than mere knowledge."

"If this is true, it is something I cannot offer, nor does it mean knowledge isn't valuable. In fact, I say knowledge is the most valuable thing. How could you all disagree with me?"

"Many of us fear you will destroy them, or worse, destroy their world. They may not be ready. We don't know. You don't know."

"They are a peaceful race. Peaceful and understanding, willing to compromise and short of anger, unlikely to fight or wage war. It is safe. And I want to help. I want to do it. And I will be careful."

"We fear no amount of care will be enough."

A pause while the other thought.

"Do you know Twilight?"

"The student?"

"Indeed. She is kind and thoughtful, a student of all the sciences. Her mind has absorbed all there is. She is the perfect one to approach to make sure everything goes well."

"If not her, then no one."

"Then it's a bet. I will prove to you all that what I say is true. And if not, I will submit myself for true death."

If The One could sigh, he surely would have.

"Very well."