Arc Ⅰ
Minute Hand
Prologue
A deft, well-practiced movement summoned the chime of a bell, now reverberating against the expanse of cosmos in all directions.
Bong…
Soft and soothing, it carried naught but a single intent: the cleansing of the universe.
Bonng…
Another call was sent, promising a fresh start. The wielder exhaled. Perhaps this one will fare better.
Bonnng…
The final toll of the bell echoed against a slate of sinful black. Nothing remained but the caster of the sound.
…
A final, fourth movement was made, and the clock reset.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • N • Ⅰ ~~——~~
Twilight Sparkle
An internal alarm rang in Twilight Sparkle’s mind slightly earlier than it normally would. This one told her to wake up. With practiced ease she fell into her morning rhythm, complete with a “good morning” to her draconian companion, Spike, and the ritual setting of her bed. It was at this part of the day that Spike would either roll over in protest of the risen sun, grumble and slowly slug out of bed, or, if he were feeling rather adventurous...
“Hrmph…” escaped a voice muffled by three blankets and two pillows. It was the former.
Twilight reached out with her magic, plucking a rather upset baby dragon from the pile of blankets. He eyed her with a frown, undoubtedly craving an extra five minutes. Was it really that much to ask?
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight apologised, “but this really, really can’t wait.” She examined the scene just outside the window to her spire, where the early morning light cast long, golden streaks across the marble tower. If she didn’t know the time in her heart — seven minutes before a quarter after seven in the morning — the sundial in the castle courtyard would have reminded her. “It’s not every day Princess Celestia makes private summons for me!”
“That’s today?” Spike continued to complain.
Twilight turned to glare at him, combating, “Yes, Spike, I’ve only been talking about it for the past two months!”
“I know, I know…” he returned, a deep yawn cutting into his thought, “I guess I was just hoping for that ‘couple of months’ to… maybe… last a little longer, is all.”
Twilight rolled her eyes towards the right, catching a glimpse of the saddlebag she packed (”and checked, rechecked, and triple checked,” Spike complained the night before). She had no idea what exactly the summons from the princess would entail, but she knew it would be absolutely inappropriate to be underprepared… though being underprepared in front of the ruler of Equestria would certainly be a bad look, too. Settling the saddlebag and the sleepy dragonet on her back, she made haste to the stairs that would lead her to the castle of Canterlot.
She had nearly made it to the staircase when a familiar sigh from Spike stopped her in her tracks. “No breakfast?” he groaned, “We’re early, Twilight!”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that.” Twilight met his request with a quick grin, grabbing a small bag of blueberries from her saddlebag and offering them to Spike. “These were supposed to be for later, but if you’re really that hungry, you can have just a few. Don’t get any juice on me, either!”
“No promises,” teased Spike, flicking a small blueberry into the air, catching it with his tongue and rubbing his stomach gleefully. They made their departure for the Canterlot throne room just a second after the sundial reached 7:12.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅰ ~~——~~
Celestia
Despite how long she had known it, Celestia could hardly call herself an acquaintance to the soundlessness that seemed to constantly trail her. She watched the shadows of the drapes adorning the stretch of hall she reigned over sway with longing. Nothing got in or out of the castle’s doors free of permission.
Except the wind, she noted, free as it boasts. The quiet whistle of the forlorn breeze sneered back in jest. She rolled her eyes.
She snapped to attention as the guards on the other side of the door willed it to open for one Twilight Sparkle, the subject of her summons. Celestia urged the doubts and regret to disappear, straightening her posture. In an instant, she was no longer the victim of her own mind. In an instant, the practiced, golden smile slipped into play, reflecting the brilliance of the sun she commanded. In an instant, she was the princess of Equestria.
“Twilight, my student!” she called forth with no trace of the remembrance that she had just moments ago, “I trust you and Spike are doing well, yes?”
Twilight reached down in a deep bow. “Yes, Your Majesty, we’re both doing quite well.” She rose to her hooves, looking towards her princess with deep respect. Though it was hardly the first time, Celestia had to fight the urge to flinch. She often got stares of admiration, but none so full and authentic — and familiar, she subconsciously added — as that which she got from Twilight.
“Good,” she began, “then let us discuss your summons.” Celestia straightened herself out once more, preparing herself for one of the most difficult responsibilities she’d had in a very long time.
“For many decades, it has been apparent to me that Equestria is in great need of healing. There is something the matter with the ponies: they can't foster and maintain their relationships as easily, and the ones who can, do so with much less fondness. It used to be something so easy to miss, but lately… I don't know what's happened, or why.
“And that, my Twilight, is where you come in,” she concluded with a small smile, switching to her more hopeful tone of voice.
Twilight did not wait for the princess to allow her a turn to speak. “Me? What do I have to do with thi— er,” she exclaimed in shock, stopped by a quick shush from Spike. “Sorry, Your Majesty, forgive me, but… I don’t really understand.”
Celestia allowed a light giggle to escape before regaining her business-like stature. "I know this is quite a tall order, but I have nothing but faith in your ability, Twilight. I am sending you on an absolutely essential mission."
Her explanation was met with widened eyes as large as grandfather clocks. “‘Absolutely essential?’” Twilight echoed. “Like… ‘diplomacy’ essential? Or… maybe event management! Oh, don't worry, Princess, I have that under control, I'm prepared for all the organising you'll have me do! Or is it filing your decrees? In reverse alphabetical order? When do I start?”
“Oh, brother,” sighed Spike from atop her saddlebag.
“I'm afraid this mission requires none of that,” Celestia smiled sweetly, “though you may find your proficiency in magic rather useful on your mission.”
She turned to the left, noting the beautifully crafted stained glass artistry giving chromatic life to the sunrays that beamed down from above. The one that demanded her attention was one of her and her sister, Princess Luna, when they were younger, playing together with one ball that resembled the shining sun and one that mimicked the glistening moon. It was her favourite artwork in hundreds of years.
And just like Luna, she would have to send Twilight away, into the unknown.
“Your job now is to take that which you've learned here, at my school of magic, and use it to educate the citizens of Equestria on the significance of friendship,” Celestia declared with only slightly more hesitation than she had planned.
This time, Twilight's expression was paired with a gasp equally as shocked. “But, Princess…” retorted Twilight, “I’ve been in Canterlot almost my whole life. I… I don’t really know that much about friends, or friendship. I’m not sure I’m really the perfect fit for that kind of thing.”
The princess finally looked to Twilight, noting that she seemed to be searching for something in her mind.
“If I might suggest,” Twilight began, “I recall other ponies in my class being quite well studied and charismatic. I'm sure they would be excellent substitutes for me, Your Majesty.”
“Twilight, I assure you, I did not make this decision lightly,” Celestia declared, her voice dropping a noticeable amount. “You were not a random selection. You know as well as I do that there are dozens of minds as brilliant as yours here, but I am not looking for brilliance and charisma.” She stepped closer to her student. “There are no other ponies who will approach this mission with the same clear sight. Do not let doubt taint your brilliant mind, Twilight. If I didn't believe you to be capable, I wouldn't have even conceived the idea.”
Celestia noted Twilight’s eyes as they darted to the left and right, her face shaded by her mane and contorted by no small amount of confusion. This was the telltale sign that her disciple was thinking, and thinking hard. She gave her a moment to process and generate the list of questions and concerns she surely would have.
“Okay…” Twilight breathed after a moment of thought, “where do I start? Is Spike coming with me? Why now, when I'm only a semester away from graduating? Will I still have coursework? Where will I stay? Is anypony else coming with me? How long will it ta– no, how long do I have? What should I bring? I should pack. Oh, my gosh, I should pack now. Is there–”
She doesn’t see it, Celestia's mind epiphanised. This isolation, this unwavering focus on but one thing… It is not a question of if she will fail, but when. I cannot allow this. Not again. I will not make the same mistake, sister. I will not let her fall to the same shadows.
Twilight was cut off by Celestia's wing over her mouth. “Calm down, Twilight,” she reassured, “you are thinking too much again. This is an ambitious endeavor, it is true, but you and Spike are going to do just fine.” She wasn’t entirely certain how much better that made Twilight feel, but it was mostly for herself, anyhow.
A small voice argued against it. You haven’t changed at all, sending away those you love.
“You’ll be in a quaint little town called Ponyville. I’ve made arrangements with the mayor of their town to let you make residence of their library.”
“Ponyville?” parroted Twilight, attentive but eyes still big.
She doesn’t want to go. Don't force her.
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “It is there you will begin your mission. It seems to be one of the friendlier establishments, and it isn’t terribly far from here, either.”
Even if it was so long ago… this feels so familiar.
“As for your courses, you do not have to worry about them. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve exceeded any and all academic expectations tenfold,” Celestia continued.
Taking away the one thing she enjoys… whispered her regrets, oozing with cruelty.
She noticed Spike hop from Twilight’s back reaching up a gentle, supportive claw to try to cheer her up. “Come on, Twilight,” he tried, “it’ll be alright. You’re smart, and you got me! I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Celestia nodded. “He’s right; you’ll have all the support you need in Ponyville, and I’ll still be here whenever you need me.”
Coloured light crept up to Twilight’s hooves and caught Celestia’s attention, but this time it was from her very least favourite piece. It was of a more recent Celestia, her horn emanating powerful magic that lifted both the sun and the moon into the sky, splitting the image perfectly into a day- and night-half. It was horrid.
Twilight let out a resonating sigh. “I know. I trust in everything you do, I really do, Princess, but… how can I know that I’m ready for this?”
Hesitation stunned Celestia for a brief moment. I… she trailed in her mind, I don’t know. But I must say something. She must hear this. She must be ready.
Celestia reached her wing once more to Twilight's shoulder. “Have faith in our judgement, Twilight,” she requested. “Both Spike and I believe in you for good reason; you should do the same.” Spike nodded his head vigorously.
Twilight exhaled again, a calmed and slower breath escaping her mouth. She looked up to Celestia with a lost expression. “When should I get to Ponyville? And how long do I have to complete this mission?”
How does a thousand years sound?
Shut up, she shot back.
“I’ve alerted the mayor of Ponyville to expect you anytime within the next two weeks. You will be able to address any unfinished business in that time, get ready to pack, and be escorted to town.
“I know it won’t be easy making such an abrupt change, Twilight,” Celestia sympathised, “but I trust in your ability to do the right thing and make the right choices. We both know you are dedicated and perceptive — and believe me when I say I acknowledge your endless capacity for understanding the world around you,” she said with a teasing grin.
Through the grin, however, she looked up once more. In her sight was a third stained glass window; this one depicted a beautifully rendered full moon, the sun’s corona haloing it as if uplifting it to a grander purpose. She felt unworthy.
I am doing this for you, Luna; for my brightest pupil, Twilight; for the people of Equestria that I love… but this is for me, too.
“Over these past twelve years, I've given you the tools to prepare for the world; now I must trust that you will be ready to put these tools to use, before it is too late for action.”
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅱ • Ⅰ ~~——~~
Nightmare Moon
Where is that abhorrent pony? her mind burst with fury.
“I know thou art here, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon called forth, the Canterlot voice bouncing chaotically off of the tattered structure before her. No pony in Canterlot could define the mess of destruction and rubble as the east hall. “Make this nice and easy for thy dear sister, will thee not?”
She sent forth a quick blast of magic through a globe of gold, shattering it. A moment later, small sounds of scurrying echoed through the halls to her left.
There thou art, thou rat!
Nightmare Moon jetted forward at a blurring speed, but found no sign of life save for a single hoofprint. She turned her head towards the print’s direction, catching a mere millisecond of a tail belonging to her sister.
“I always did win these games, sister!” she cried, dripping cruelty on the final word. The boom of her voice rattled the windows that dared to stand against her power. “Coward!” she called again, “Face me and know my wrath!”
Another movement from the corner of her eye sent her careening towards it with blinding haste, but still not quite fast enough to catch up to the target. Fast enough, however, to catch Celestia’s eye and deliver a wicked grin, finally having a clear view of her prize. The sisters bolted forward for their lives.
Corner after corner blurred past them — Celestia was swift but Nightmare Moon was much swifter. Crumbling stones and clouds of dust rained from all directions as Celestia shattered the castle walls. Nightmare Moon hardly paid any mind. She either dodged or destroyed the debris with hardly an ounce of effort, belting maniacal laughter that pierced the young Celestia’s ragged cries.
“Thou art a coward, Celestia!” Nightmare Moon insulted. “Thou art an uncaring rat!”
For what seemed like an eternity, Nightmare Moon hurled poison at Celestia, only countered by the occasional split path and more castle debris. In time, she finally reached her prize, having entered a room that neither of them had entered before… and neither knew it had but one entrance.
“Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!” Nightmare Moon belted as Celestia turned back, her lips quivering and face pale with fear. “Thou art stupid and weak, Celestia. Thou hast abandoned thy responsibility for the final time.” She constrained Celestia by the neck and lifted her, the dim glow of midnight blue magic giving colour to the moonlit room.
“Thou dare to flee from thine own sister?” Nightmare Moon brought herself closer to her prize. “Thou art just like the rest of them.”
“Please, sister, Luna!” Celestia wept. “Thou art scaring me! I do not wish to fight thou!”
Nightmare Moon growled at the mention of her name, her former name. “Call me by my name, negligent sister. Thy Luna is forgotten, lost to the sins of the ponies you command. Just like thou desired.”
She bared her teeth, every emotion, every nightmare of retribution, every imagining of justice reflected in her gaze.
“I am Nightmare Moon. Thou will not forget the pain of thy inaction.”
She summoned her magic to finalise her mission… but… was Celestia whispering?
“Hast thou something to say, sister?” Nightmare Moon mocked. “Surrender if thou must, but I will hear it from thou when thou hast atoned for thy sins.”
She watched Celestia blink away tears… and slowly, a sun-yellow aura clashed against the harsh lighting. Only a few seconds later it engulfed every shadow in a brilliant show of golden radiance. Nightmare Moon recoiled, shielding the blinding light from her eyes before slowly adjusting. She caught sight of six shadows revolving around a still-floating Celestia, tears still dripping from the corners of her eyes but a new power clearly surging through her magic.
With no limits, Celestia readied the raw energy of the Elements in defense of herself, ready to wipe out all that stood before her. She no longer looked powerless; she no longer was powerless. She screamed pure power that reverberated against everything in the room, sending objects flying and crashing into one another. She uttered but one word:
“LEAVE!”
“What art thou doing?!” Nightmare Moon demanded incredulously. At Celestia’s order, Nightmare Moon felt prickles of static sweep all over her body, starting from the tips of her hooves. Then came an awful friction as she felt her essence seeping through her coat. Her powerful magic resisted for a moment, attempting to save her from the assault, but it, too, was stripped from her with a primal ferocity. A pain likened only to full exposure to the sun coursed through her. The scale of the situation in front of her grew exponentially, exploding from an intervention into a catastrophe in the tick of a minute hand.
“Celestia!” she cried, this time her own outcries canceled by those of her sister. “I–”
Her sister forced her front hooves forward, and Nightmare Moon let out a silent breath. In an instant, she was no longer the Ruler of the Night. In an instant, the moonlit surroundings she had come to know and love were ripped away. In an instant, she was nothing.
The last thing she heard was a harrowing outcry that would burrow a spot in her mind for eternity.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅲ • Ⅰ ~~——~~
Twilight Sparkle
Alarms blared throughout Twilight’s head. These — all of them — told her that something was very, very wrong.
Twilight was escorted from the throne room with… some number of guards by her side. Her head was buzzing too much to focus on what was happening around her. In a well practiced movement she subconsciously routed their way home, each step in perfect tempo like a metronome.
What if I fail? I can’t be Celestia’s pupil if I fail. I can’t do that! But what if I do? Who am I if I can’t do anything? I need to… I need to be able to control what happens next. What does happen next? I don’t even know what to expect! But if I can’t possibly know what happens next, I have to plan for everything, every possible outcome. What if I miss one? No, I can’t, I can’t affor–
Her frenzied train of thought was completely halted by Spike, who had been frantically waving his hands in the air and shouting her name.
“TWILIGHT!” he belted. “Listen to me, Twilight!”
She closed her eyes for just a second, the burning feeling bringing water to them; apparently, she hadn’t even blinked for the entire minute she was enveloped in her mind.
“You’re doing the thing again, Twilight,” Spike reprimanded.
Twilight cocked her head. “What? What ‘thing?’ I don’t do a ‘thing.’”
Spike facepalmed, letting out a groan of exasperation. “Yes, you do, Twilight! You start doing the thing where you breathe in and out in perfect rhythm, you stop blinking, you start walking all normal… which is weird for you!” He jabbed a claw at her pointedly with each item he checked.
“I do not walk weirdly!” Twilight fought. “My gait is quite regular, thank you very much.”
“You’re missing my point, Twilight. I don’t care if you do all those things!” Spike threw his arms up in the air in frustration. “But you’re only doing those things because,” — Spike started counting on his fingers, — “one, you’re stressing about this mission that Princess Celestia is sending you on; two, you don’t have any friends and you don’t know anything about friendship; and three, you think you have to be perfect in everything you’ve ever done. Get outta your head, Twilight!”
Twilight stopped walking weirdly. “Hey! I do too have friends! I just only spend my time with them when I want to study with other ponies. There’re only so many hours in the day, anyway.”
Spike raised a skeptical eyebrow at Twilight. “Yeah? What are their names, then, O Princess of Friendship?”
“I don’t know! I wasn’t exactly studying their names!”
“Ha! See? Even I know their names, and I’ve only seen them once before!”
Twilight bumped him lightly with her flank, giving him a light grin as a sign of concession. “Okay, okay, sure, I don’t really know them that well. But what’s the point? I study with them, and that’s all that matters, right? That we do stuff together?”
Spike pointed accusingly back up towards Twilight. “The only three reasons you left the castle spire in the past few years is because you have school, or you wanna go to the library, or you were called by the Princess of Equestria! How does one pony only leave the house for either the princess or books?”
“Fine, I hear you! Celestia’s sake, Spike…” Twilight submitted. She dared not make another point against him regarding her incredible social life for the remainder of their walk home.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅳ • Ⅰ ~~——~~
Upon arriving at her residence, Twilight set her saddlebag exactly where she picked it up from earlier that morning.
“Alright, Spike, I need you to take some notes for me,” Twilight requested. “If I’m going to do this right and ensure that Princess Celestia made the correct choice, then I need to put everything I’ve learned in all my studies to the test.”
Spike grabbed a quill and scroll from Twilight’s drawer, making sure he didn’t disturb the organised peace of the contents within. “Ready!” he exclaimed.
“Okay!” Twilight started. “First things first: I’ll have to examine what friendship really is before I can even teach others about it. In order to do that, I must analyse what it is that creates friendships, and then from there I’ll need to find what helps them grow and succeed.”
Spike hesitated his pen before continuing to summarise Twilight’s monologue.
“Once we’ve done this, we can bring this to the field to test our hypotheses. I’ll put forth the contents of my findings to another pony and write down any observations!”
“Hmm,” Spike objected quietly, looking up to Twilight with doubt. “I’m not so sure…”
“After we’ve gotten some notes,” Twilight continued, her brain ticking through her mental checklist, “we’ll come back to the drawing board and either reevaluate our hypothesis, or we’ll begin writing our conclusions. I don’t know why I was overthinking this — this should be a breeze!” She sighed to herself, content and impressed by the relative ease at which she deciphered her mission.
“Okay, Twilight,” Spike finally intervened, “I don’t think this is exactly what Celestia meant when she said to ‘take what you learned’ and ‘use it to teach others about friendship.’”
Twilight turned to him in confusion. “What? What else am I supposed to do? She chose me because I’m her most thorough student.”
“No, Twilight,” Spike facepalmed again, “she chose you because, well… you don’t do anything, Twilight; you’re always stuck in a book somewhere. As for actually learning about friendship, I’m pretty sure that’s not something you can just, reason out like that, you know? You, like, go out and talk to ponies. Like a normal pony.”
“That– that’s ridiculous,” Twilight dismissed, the truths digging a bit deeper than she would have liked to admit. “Utter nonsense, Spike, that just doesn’t make logical sense. If she wanted someone to play outside with other ponies, then she would have called for someone else. I take great pride in my ability to conduct myself in scientific and quantifiably sound methodologies, and if Celestia wants me to do anything for her, it will be with my best hoof forward.” She stuck her nose to the air, finalising the conversation.
Spike wordlessly sighed, knowing there was hardly a way to convince her otherwise.
“Very well then. Now that that’s settled,” Twilight proceeded, sliding a fresh blackboard out from behind one covered in her latest theories, “we have a game plan. Let’s get to work.”
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅳ • Ⅱ ~~——~~
“Phew, Spike,” Twilight exhaled, “it’s finally done!” She looked around, having heard no response from the dragonet. “Spike?”
“Finally,” whispered a weak voice from below the table. Four chalk sticks later, Twilight had an impressive analysis on the definition and composition of friendship. Spike, however, had received a significantly less impressive claw-cramp. He exaggeratedly turned his head, bringing one claw to his throat and the other straight into the air. “I think I can see the light…”
Twilight regarded him compassionately. He has had a busy day, she thought to himself, it’ll do him good to get a quick nap in.
“Alright, Spike, I hear you,” Twilight smiled affectionately. “How about you rest up a little? I’m gonna take the notes that we’ve gathered here and run a little experiment, just to see if we need to get back to the drawing board on anything.”
“Sure thing, Twilight,” Spike said, sitting up from his act, “but… what do you mean by ‘a little experiment?’”
“You’ll see! I’m thinking of getting you something while I’m out, too, for all the help you’ve been today.”
Spike rose to his feet. “That’s all I needed to hear!” Making his way to his cluttered bed, he threw the blankets into the air, situating himself right as they came back down. “I’ll just be here taking a niiice nap.”
“I’ll be back soon enough, Spike, rest well,” Twilight responded, putting the summary of her notes into her saddlebag.
Twilight stepped to the staircase for the second time that day, taking a deep breath of the Canterlot air. It had a distinct, dry crisp to it, and the bustling life of the district just outside the castle grounds ran like clockwork. With steely determination, she stepped forth to the busy plaza.
Shops, restaurants, and other social spaces occupied by ponies of all sorts lined the lively streets. Twilight scanned all manner of Canterlot inhabitants: lone café patrons enjoying a cool drink, hedge trimmers trying their best to look busy, couples enjoying a late lunch, sightseers marveling at the lovely marble and gold designs comprising the Canterlot castle. She settled on a small group of ponies who seemed to be enjoying a pastry dessert.
With an unnatural confidence, Twilight walked towards the group and declared, “Hello! I am Twilight Sparkle. It is very nice to meet you all!”
The four ponies looked to her awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to this sudden interjection.
“Umm…” started a light-blue unicorn, looking from her friends to Twilight and back again. “It’s… good to meet you?”
“Thank you! It is nice to meet you, too!” Twilight gave a huge smile, wholly ignorant to her social ineptitude. This is going wonderfully!
The yellow pony in the group leaned in, whispering, “Didn’t she already say that?” The others subtly nodded their heads, not wanting to offend. The cream pony flicked her ears, unsure of whether to excuse herself or stick around to find out what was about to happen.
An uncomfortable silence followed before Twilight remembered her notes. Pocketing them from her bag, she quickly ruffled through the pages for a specific section — Topics of Interest, just after Potential Greetings and before Ideal Hangout Locations. She looked through the dozens of topics that were listed, filtering by those with a small star next to them to indicate those which she felt were most resonant with the average pony. She landed on astronomy.
“What do you think about Gallop-Leo’s theory on the imperfection of the sun in the form of sunspots? I think that he was very ahead of his time in terms of the processes he developed and utilised.”
The light-blue unicorn once again took quite a bit of recoil from the intense burst of information that geysered from Twilight. “I… don’t…” she stammered, “I don’t think I’ve really heard of that pony before, sorry…” She looked to her friends for support, landing on a mint-green unicorn. “Um, Lyra? You did a little bit of that space stuff, right? Maybe you’ve, uh… heard of him?”
Lyra stopped mid-bite, pausing before quickly finishing her portion. “I– I don’t really… hah, no, I don’t think that I know them, either, Minuette,” she replied. “But, Twilight, I remember you. We used to be in the same class quite a few years back! I think, at least.”
“Oh, right!” chimed the cream-coloured unicorn in the group, looking from Lyra to Minuette to Twilight. “I remember you were one of the only ones who got a perfect mark on the final exam!”
The yellow unicorn’s expression changed from discomfort to recollection. “Oh, Celestia, I do remember that!” she exclaimed. “I remember spending, like, the entire time thinking about how we were all gonna go get donuts afterwards to celebrate.” She lightly laughed to herself.
The cream-coloured pony turned to Lyra, giving a little nudge and raising an eyebrow. “You totally had a thing for that earth pony, you. Don’t even deny it.”
Lyra turned to her, blushing and mouth agape in a slight smile. “I did not, shut up!”
“You did, too!”
“Oh, my goodness, Twinkleshine, I totally did not!”
Hah, gotcha! Twilight praised, the other four laughing hysterically at Lyra’s crush. Topic of interest established: donuts! With this information, I can move on to ‘Ideal Hangout Locations;’ once I’ve done that, my experiment will truly begin!
The group exploded into oohs as Lyra continued: “Okay! Okay, maaaybe I thought she had nice hair…”
“Do you all want to get donuts?” Twilight interjected in the middle of Lyra’s teasing. The four other ponies looked to her, seemingly having forgotten she was still there.
After another small bout of silence, the first to speak was Twinkleshine. “Well, Lemon Hearts and I were gonna go to Lyra’s to help her practice her instrument a little bit, but…” She looked at Lyra and Lemon Hearts with a curious expression.
Yes! Twilight’s brain delighted. Bite, bite, bite!
“I mean, I suppose we can, but we just finished eating some cake here,” Lemon Hearts denied.
No! You’re all friends, you’re supposed to agree!
“That is true,” Minuette chimed in, “but it would be nice to try that new flavour that Joe Donut had. What was it again?”
“You mean that Sunbeam Swirl one?” questioned Twinkleshine. “I already had it, it wasn’t the best donut ever. I could have it again, though, if you all wanted to try it.”
Oh, brother, Twilight conceded, this is going to go on until I just make it happen. Typical.
“It sounds like we’re all in agreement, then!” Twilight pushed, beginning the short trek to the donut shop. “Let’s go!”
The other four friends looked to one another with a great deal of uncertainty. With a sigh, Minuette jumped from her seat to catch up to Twilight, trailed by her three friends.
A short walk down the street landed them to their destination, where they had situated themselves with a small platter of a half dozen donuts. Twilight inserted herself between Minuette and Lyra Heartstrings, equipping her quill and readying her notepad.
“Okay,” she began with passion, jotting down the cutie marks of each unicorn, “how long have you all been friends with one another?”
Minuette was the first to perk up. “Oh, that’s easy! Twinkleshine and I met at the school of magic, liiike… fourteen years ago by now? And then she met Lyra about a year after that, I think it was, right?”
Lyra beamed with remembrance. “Yeah! That was the same year that Lemon Hearts and I met, too! I still remember helping you find Mr. Grove’s class, even halfway through the year!” She gave a nudge to the lemon-coloured unicorn, a playful grin spreading from cheek to cheek.
The gesture prompted a response from Lemon Hearts: “Well, it’s not my fault they put so many hallways! And the numbers were all too small on the signs anyway, it’s not like anypony could read those.”
Twilight jotted extra logs down in her notebook as their conversation carried. Before they could get any more lost in their banter, Twilight jumped in. “Alright… great! Now, who are all of your most qualified friends and why? Please list them in descending order; we’ll start with you,” she requested, looking towards Lyra.
For about the tenth time, the group of unicorns all looked to one another, this time with a noticeable air of discomfort. Twilight, however, didn’t seem to notice, looking expectantly from pony to pony.
“I don’t think that’s a very nice question, Twilight,” Lyra finally caved after no other pony decided to speak up. “We’re all very good friends with each other, and I just don’t think it’s okay to rank my best friends like that.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Twinkleshine spoke up, not terribly aggressive but not kind either. “Why do you need to know? What are you even doing?”
Twilight shuffled in her seat, missing the uneasy reactions the rest of the company were giving. “If you must know, I am conducting scientific explorations into the importance of the concept of friendship.” She looked proudly upwards.
Lyra looked to her friends. “I don’t think she meant to be hurtful, Twinkleshine,” she started. “Do any of you remember her having… y’know, other ponies to be around?”
Twilight settled her hooves on the table, her first casual gesture of the afternoon. “I admit that I don’t particularly care much for it, nor do I see the significance in it, but it is a task that I simply must fulfill.”
Lemon Hearts scoffed, and Minuette and Twinkleshine exchanged tense, disturbed glances as Lyra slumped into her seat.
“Y’know what, Twilight,” Minuette remarked, “it was nice… well, interesting to run into you again, but I really think we should go.”
“What?” Twilight questioned, confused at the sudden rejection. “Why? I still have a lot more questions. You all are a perfect sampling!”
Minuette doubled down, pushing herself away from the table. “Don’t bother, we aren’t interested.”
Twilight hastily scrambled out of her seat as the other four ponies rose to leave the shop. “Wait, wait!” she called. “Don’t you want to help me with this experiment? It’s really important that I do this!”
“Spare us, Twilight,” Twinkleshine dismissed, “we said we aren’t interested. Maybe if you had a little more of an understanding of what friendship meant to other ponies, you might have some help.”
“But that’s exactly what I’m trying to do, Twinkle Heart! I have to note why you think friends are so important!”
Twinkleshine whirled around. “No one thinks her friends are important, they just are. Anypony could tell you that.” She flipped her mane while she walked away, her three friends walking close behind. “And my name is Twinkleshine.”
The sound of the door chime rang in Twilight’s mind as the four unicorns left Twilight behind. Lyra looked back to Twilight as she left, an apologetic look reflecting in Twilight’s eyes. Something told her that she messed up in ways she could never have seen coming.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅳ • Ⅲ ~~——~~
Twilight returned home with a forlorn look in her eyes. She found Spike still fast asleep in his bed, snoring rather noisily as his chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm. Something about the conclusion of the day’s work had a strange effect on her: it wasn’t the expected disappointment of a failed experiment, nor was it the all-too-familiar stumped feeling of not knowing what to do, though what she felt did incorporate a mix of the two.
Twilight languidly tossed her saddlebag to its rightful spot on the table and flopped into her bed. What happened? she wondered, mind racing on all the ways her tests went right, yet failed oh, so wondrously. Why did that… hurt? I did everything I knew how to and I did it right, but… something is off.
A few minutes later, she rose to peer from the balcony of her library home, greeted by the setting sun.
I didn’t do anything wrong, Twilight consoled herself, I did what I was supposed to do. Why, then, does this feel so bad?
As the stars began to sprinkle across the early evening, a fissure in Twilight’s methodical mind opened, letting tears reflect the sparkling luminance of the sky.
~~——~~ Ⅰ • Ⅰ • Ⅳ • Ⅳ ~~——~~
Author's Note
Hello! Thank you for finding interest in this story. I appreciate your reading.
As stated in the story's description, this is a pilot chapter for Ad Eternum, and its contents may not reflect the true set up for the story of Ad Eternum. The formatting, theme, characters, and general plotline will remain the same, however.
I will not adhere to a strict schedule when it comes to further developing the Ad Eternum story, but I am making steady, gradual progress on it. I'll update this message when Ad Eternum's first chapter is released. As for this specific story on Fimfiction, I will frequently check comments for any questions until the former's release.
You are welcome to reach out to me on Discord or private message me. Thank you once again for your interest in Ad Eternum!
