Allura inclined her head. "They likely deserve it, but what do I get out of it?"

The leering bipedal feline laughed at the idea. "Once we control this area, we can do whatever we want, which includes making your dream come true."

She snorted at the idea. "It would be a dream come true. But it would also be the start of something far grander than any other has tried, or even thought of." She smiled and waved her claw. "You really think you can take over the ponies? They're not easy to keep control of. Trust me, I've tried." She rolled her eyes with thoughts of her past attempts.

He nodded, "With you at my side, nothing can go wrong. We will rule them, and with that power, you will get everything you want. You want to live forever? I can do that. You want more power? I can do that too. All you have to do is say yes, and this is all ours for the taking."

Allura leaned in, a puff of cold air frosting her visitor. "You're offering a lot. Too much, perhaps." She paused, hearing something.

A small rabbit rushed into the area, gibbering something.

She frowned at the rabbit. "You dare to return? After abandoning me?!"

He stopped. "Please! I-" His ears drooped. "Please! A-are the stories true? You can grant any wish? Anything, even eternal life?"

She flicked her tail. "That is what this guest is spouting. I'm unsure if I believe him, or you. Twitch, where were you hiding all this time?"

Twitch's legs shook. "I went to the mountains, but they kicked me out of the village. And I got lost in the caves and ended up in this strange, underground city. But then the queen kicked me back to the surface."

Allura blinked at this message, delivered in little noises only she understood. "I thought you were with Comforting, last I heard. How did you end up in the mountains?"

The rabbit shifted on his feet. "Comforting told me to go where I wanted, so I did. And I wanted to see the world." His ears flopped. "But then the snow started to melt, and avalanches rolled down the mountain, burying the city. I couldn't find a way in, or back to the village."

Allura put a paw over her face. "She didn't keep her leash tight, and you ran away, again. What will I do with you, Twitch." She put a paw over him and slid him behind herself. "Now, about you."

The bipedal feline smiled. "We just need your physical might. Then we can begin the invasion. All I need is a yes from you."

Allura pondered this. "You really think you can pull this off?" Twitch was looking up at Allura, his eyes big and watery. "Stop pouting." She pet him a moment before shoving him back. "I already forgave you."

The strange creature nodded at Allura. "Of course. With you, we can do it, together. We will be unstoppable."

She tapped her chin with a claw. "Very well, I'll go along with you. But if this looks like it's falling apart, I'm out."

***

Comforting read over the last portion with a frown. "That's going to be trouble."

Amber looked up from where she was indexing new books. "What will be?"

"Nothing!" Comforting tucked the book page back where it belonged. "Nothing that you can't handle, I'm sure."

Amber frowned at the evasion, but let it slide, returning to her work.

Comforting stretched as her phone rang. She picked it up and talked into it, "Oh? It's been ages! Right now? Really? Give a girl a little warning." She rolled her eyes. "Oh well, if it's happening now."

She slid the phone away. "Just got a call from an old friend. Looks like I'll be out of town a few days."

Amber looked up. "If you're going to be gone a few days, I'll hold the fort down here."

Comforting smiled, "Thanks, Amber. I shouldn't be long." She floated over Amber and reached for her. With a silent consent given, she drew up the librarian for a zero gravity hug. "I love you."

Amber hugged her back tightly. "I love you too." They pulled apart and Comforting was gone in an instant, vanishing from the library.

She looked around to be sure Comforting was gone. "Why did she say that?" She rubbed at her cheek. "I do love her, but we're not special someponies." She shook her head with a nervous laugh. "Just friends, but very close friends." Her cheeks flushed pink.

Misty poked her head around the corner. "Who are you talking to?"

Amber started. "Nopony." She laughed nervously. "So, you need anything Misty?"

"Nope!" Misty approached at a casual walk. "But since we're talking, how about that spell of yours? I'll trade some words you learned for my levitation disc. That's a fair trade, right?"

Amber pondered this. "Yes? I suppose so. It doesn't feel like a trade, since I'd gladly teach you, but the thought still counts."

She looked around the busy library. "But maybe not in work hours." She gently poked Misty. "Afterwards, okay? Our wizarding comes after being librarians."

Misty sighed, "Okay, I guess."

They both did their part to make sure the library ran smoothly, but almost galloped to one another the moment the last visitor, a griffon, was seen out and the doors locked behind them.

Misty bounced in place with her excitement. "Alright!" She curled and got out her spell book. "I swear, this thing keeps trying to show me things." She held it open in her magic. "I'm trying to study the basics, but it keeps skipping around."

Amber tilted her head. "Maybe you should try studying the stuff you keep finding?" She drew out her far less enchanted book. "Maybe it's leading you to something wonderful. You might find what you're looking for already in there, and not know it yet. What have you seen that keeps pulling your attention?"

Misty hummed at this. She flipped through the book with her magic. It landed on a page she'd seen a few times. "Like this one." She tapped at it. "It's not even a spell, not really. It's a breathing technique. I'm not sure what I'd do with that."

Amber hummed and looked over the instructions. "Try it, maybe? See where it leads you?" She looked around, her eyes landing on the stairs. "Up or down? There's the training terrace, and there's the old magic room." She chuckled at the thought. "Still has the original blackboard in it we first wrote down the alphabet in."

"Down! Downstairs sounds great." Misty led the way to the first floor, then towards the magic room that had seen several stages of change as they went. "I remember coming here so much more often." She went up to the blackboard. "Remember when you had to explain the word 'apple' to me?"

She drew it on the board with her magic and held it aloft. "It was one of the first words, after doorknob." She made a doorknob appear and fall to the ground. "That was a silly first word, but it led to so much more. I wouldn't give up those memories for anything."

Amber nodded, "I wouldn't either. Now, what's that breathing exercise? Let's try it."

Misty flipped back a few pages and set the book down on the floor. The two came in to examine the instructions together and the room filled with the soft sounds of them trying to breathe as instructed.

At first, both felt a bit silly, but they were getting the hang of it. Misty tapped at her head. "It's weird, like my horn's getting more air, which I didn't think it needed."

Amber chuckled at that. "Well, we're unicorns, we should do unicorn things."

Both clapped as they turned to their respective spells and got to trading them from one eager student of the arcane to the other. Amber picked up Misty's spell easily enough, but Misty struggled with her own new spell.

"Wow!" Misty looked at her written copy of the spell. "Yours is, like, way more complicated. And you just cast this?"

"Practice makes anything easy eventually." Her horn glowed before her front hooves became great paws. She batted at Misty with the new feline paws, then returned them to being hooves. "You've got this, just give it time."

Misty nodded and tried again. This time, she got something, a flicker of magic through her mane, but it vanished quickly. She returned to the start, playing the magic with slow precision. It was too slow to make the spell launch, but she did it again, slowly. "You have to walk before you can gallop."

Amber nodded, "Good one. Keep at it."

With a clap of her hooves, Amber was floating atop a thin disc of force, made by her new spell. "Your spell's a lot simpler." She leaned forward, and the whole disc leaned with her, causing her to flop to the ground. "Ow, okay." She stood up with a laugh. "Yours is easy to cast and just as easy to mess up once you do it."

She cast the spell again, this time standing straighter. "But, I'm starting to get the hang of it. And look at you." She gestured at Misty with a hoof. "Looks like we both have practice to do. Neither of us was wasting our time, just complicated in different ways."

Misty gave a firm nod. "Right! And I'm going to keep practicing until I have it down." She laughed, "Maybe I'll master this spell before I figure out what that breathing technique is all about."

Amber considered that, hoof at her chin as she balanced on the disc. "Well, if it makes our horns feel funny, maybe try it while you're casting a spell, especially a big one like the transforming one."

Misty gasped. "That's brilliant! We've never tried breathing techniques before." She looked at the spell. "I'm going to try that!"

With a determined expression, Misty tried the new breath while attempting to cast the spell. Her horn glowed with brilliant force as her form obscured under the expanding sphere. When she was visible again, she had a feline head, but her curly mane remained atop it. "Woah!" she got out in a surprised purr.

Her eyes grew wide. "I can talk!" She laughed, "I mean, I could talk before, but I'm doing it in this shape. I sound so cute!" She was purring louder with excitement. She looked to Amber, who was just standing there quietly. "Amber? Did you see?"

"Yes." Amber didn't move, staring forward.

"Say something." Misty reared up, hooves on the disk.

"Something."

Misty blinked at her empty-eyed friend. "This is so wierd." She hummed with thought, turning into a new purr. "Amber, stop that. Is that a joke?"

Amber blinked. "Huh?" She immediately fell off the disc in her surprise, flopping to the ground. "Ow, what happened? Ow!" She sat upright, rubbing her head.

Misty looked at herself with a smile, her normal head having returned. She turned to her notes. "That worked! But why?"

Amber stood, shaking herself off. "What did you do?"

Misty looked at her notes. "I tried the breath, and it changed the spell somehow." She looked over at her friend. "I think I made you all crazy nothing. It was so strange. Like, your mind was made of clouds. And you were just standing there, staring forward."

Amber blinked. "I don't remember any of that." She looked at her hooves. "I just fell off a magic disc. That's going to take some more practice. Now, did you try a new spell? Some kind of hypnosis spell maybe?"

Misty blinked. "Oh, I don't know." She looked over her notes and the book. "No, no hypnosis spell, but it sure felt like that's what I did. I just got a kitty head, that's all."

Amber folded her book shut. "We both have practice to do, but congratulations. Wish I coulda seen that." She slipped her book away. "that was odd. Still, it was fun swapping spells. See you tomorrow?"

Misty smiled at her. "Yeah!" She got a little closer. "And I think we need to spend more time together. It's like, you're my best friend, but it's like I don't see you outside work."

Author's Note

Nothing is happening here, move along.

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