"Holy fucking Celestia, I despise those idiotic spells," said Dark Night. After spending around 7 hours reading and practicing magic, she got completely fed up with it all.

One hour in, she thought moving away from everyone, near a river, would actually help. That she needed concentration, to not be disturbed and then she'll just get all she wants. Wrong, what she needed was to find this books author and shove an iron bar deep inside them in the most painful way.

She slowly breathed in the air and released it, calming down. Enough for today. If not for an entire month. Tartarus, I hate books. Despite that, she lifted up all the books with magic, heading back to the twilights castle. It was already evening and reading would only prove harder the darker it gets.

Opening the door, she stepped inside, heading into her room, contemplating teleportation, but ultimately deciding against it. Walking along the hallway, she saw Spike turning the corner, ending up face to face with her. The two looked at each other in confusion.

"You're Dark Night, right?" Spike said. It was weird seeing someone that looked like Twilight but wasn't.

"Yes, but just call me Night. You are..?" said Night. She perfectly knew who Spike is, but there was no need telling anyone she had any knowledge.

"I'm Spike. Well, nice to meet you, Night!" Spike extended his hand for a shake.

Dark Night hesitated at first, but extended her hoof and shook it with Spike. It was weird, because the act itself was just spike grabbing her hoof and moving it vertically. Once they stopped, the awkward atmosphere returned.

"I'll be on my way then," said Night, going around him.

"Uh, yeah, good luck out there," said Spike, but Dark Night was already past the point of listening.

She walked into her room, put the books down, and closed the door behind her. Everything around was dark. Suits my name well. She made her horn glow, dimly lighting the place. After adapting for a few seconds, she was easily seeing everything. Taking a seat at the mirror, she put her front knees on the desk, slowly tapping her hooves one against the other. She was done with magic learning for a while, but she still had to do something. Or rather, some think.

I obviously cannot keep up the temp of learning magic like I did today. And that's considering I learned borderline nothing. Flamewave is useful, but not a solution to every problem. Twilight spent years doing it all. And even she would struggle to take over the entire Equestria. Not even all the books I've taken have nearly enough knowledge. Given time, I would win. Except time is everything but a given. I need a failsafe.

She started contemplating her options. First one was obvious, repeat the trick she did the first time. Surrender, make it sound like she's sorry, and have the heroes forgive her. Twilight and Starlight are naive enough to, but not stupid enough to leave it as is. She will be under watch, and that will cripple her plans a lot. This also had a few more issues with it, like in case her enemy was not a merciful hero. "Specialized, but this does sound like a reasonable backup plan. And I'm talking to myself again." That rhymed.

Shaking her head, she let the idiotic thoughts out. I need something that gives me power. Something... Alicorn amulet! The thought was genius. However, the item had a reasonable drawback. It would make her lose her mind to power. And with no mind, power would be crushed by intellect. That is, if she acted like an idiot Trixie was. Instead, she would only put it on when she actually needs it. Like a combat drug. "I just need to remember where Twilight had put it."

The memory was failing her. "She" gave it to Zecora. And then, they were at some snowy cave. And then was a completely other day. That idiot Chrysalis couldn't even copy the memories good enough. How did such an incompetent imbecile even lead the hive for a thousand years? That made her remember something else. "She" was sitting on a black throne. "Her" subjects were carrying out the tasks. Nobody dared question the power. Fear, loyalty, brainwash, hivemind. It was everything combined.

She shook her head again. It was time to turn on the logic. They didn't have diplomatic relationships with Yakyakistan at that point. Probably. So it couldn't be past the crystal empire's territory. As it's a snowy cave, it's obvious not inside of the city either. Assuming they were going by the train and stopped somewhere on the way... South south west of crystal empire is where I should look for it.

This didn't brighten up her thoughts. She was operating With a speculation on top of a speculation on top of another speculation. There was one compelling argument, however. She wouldn't lose anything if she tried. There are those who dare and those who don't. Obviously, Twilight would be concerned where I went. Good. If she's concerned with my well-being and not what I can do, then she is two more steps away. Now, what do I need for the journey?

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Night, you there?" The voice belonged to the purple mare.

This is probably not the first time she's checking. I just have to be quiet and don't answer. The less she knows about when exactly do I get out, the better. Dark night turned off her horn, letting the room into complete darkness. With Twilight opening it, a wall of light illuminated a large cone. Dark Night silently teleported beside the door, into a blind zone. A moment later the princess of friendship stepped in, reaching for the switch.

At this point, it was obvious hiding is futile. So Night decided to have some fun. "AAAAAAGH," she screamed at Twilight from the darkness. Twilight jumped back, breathing rapidly and holding her hoof near her heart. Dark Night started laughing. Seeing Twilight suffer brought her some joy.

Twilight regained her composure and flipped the switch with an unsatisfied face. "That was... Unpleasant. Night, I would like you to not do it next time," said Twilight, managing to hold in what she actually wanted to say.

Dark Night's laughter died out and her smile wavered. The fact Twilight reacted so well was annoying. But she did find a good argument against that. "What, "Need a little time to get used to my jokes"?"

Twilight cringed at that statement. "Alright, I get it. I'm sorry for Pinkie. Friends?" She smiled.

"Friends," said Dark Night, although on the inner part she had a polar opposite answer. Suddenly, a thought popped in, so she sneaked in a comment before Twilight could tell her why she came. "By the way, can you lend me a hundred bits?"

"A hundred? What would you need them for?"

"Alright, make it thirty. You know, mare stuff." Dark Night did not know what "mare stuff" means, if anyone at all did, but this was an excuse overshadowed only by "stallion stuff".

"It's not about the amount, it's..." Twilight was struggling to come up with a word that wouldn't make her sound like Joker.

"We're friends, right? Today I learned friends help each other, so I'm asking you to help me," said Dark Night. Coming up with such a lie was great. Firstly, that cannot be checked within a reasonable amount of time, much less with precise accuracy. Secondly, it was exactly what Twilight wanted to hear.

"You know, you're right. Let me just grab my purse quickly." Twilight teleported away and, after a few moments, got back, putting the coins on the table. "Here's your thirty bits. Don't worry about returning them. It must be hard being alone in a world completely new to you, and I won't pressure you. Take the time you need to adapt." Twilight felt good from what she's done. Helping a pony out always brings warmth to the heart.

"Thank you," said Night, not thinking too much about it.

Twilight nodded. "I see you're alright. I'll be in the library if you want anything," she said, before heading out.

When Twilight left, Night looked at the bits. Everything went perfect. Twilight believed in her lies. She had a plan ready. But there was an uneasy feeling crawling up her spine. She looked at the door, and then back to bits. Guilt filled her. "I'm stronger than that," she said, focusing on the present and already assembling a list of things to buy in her head.

Author's Note

Thanks everyone for likes, and those few who did, for commenting. It gives me a push forward, knowing people care.