Outwitted by a Polychromatic Cube
I gaze out the window, completely bored out of my mind.
It’s been nearly an entire week since I mysteriously materialized in the Whitetail Woods, not too far from Ponyville. To actually be able to come to the phenomenal and magical land of Equestria is every Brony’s dream instantly come true, but to be quite frank, I’m starting to not enjoy it. I understand that in reality, I haven’t been away from home for an extended period of time, but I am steadily becoming very homesick. My family, my friends, my hopes and dreams are somewhere possibly on the other side of the universe. Or maybe even in another dimension!
Regardless of that, the only thing I’ve had to occupy my mind these last few days are several assorted books recommended to me by the one and only Rainbow Dash (which I’ve already burned through, twice) and a multicolored Rubik’s Cube. Twilight allowed me to keep one belonging from my backpack (filled with nothing else other than textbooks and pencils) while both herself and Spike headed off to Canterlot for an imperative meeting with the Princesses.
I immediately assumed that they were no doubt going to be discussing about me, whether or not I could be considered “safe and harmonious” enough to live amongst the rest of the ponies that have made their home in Ponyville, because apparently, it is possible for chemistry textbooks to be utilized as a deadly weapon in these parts of the land (though it wouldn’t be beyond Twilight to do something with those in-between the episodes of the TV show). Sarcasm aside, I’ve been told that I’m strictly forbidden to travel downstairs during the daytime, where somepony might see me regarding that this is a public library.
I suppose I am grateful, however, that I haven’t been stuffed into a party cannon and shot headfirst towards the moon. Considering that this hasn’t happened (yet), I’d say that First Contact is going surprisingly well, despite me being practically forced to sit sedentarily in a slightly dusty room with only a few things to help occupy my thoughts. Why I didn’t simply travel with the purple mare to Canterlot to meet with the princesses in person still plagues me to this day.
From time to time, some of the Mane Six come to visit me, either to bring me a hot, steamy meal or just for idle chit-chat. Fluttershy seems to be the only one who’s actually opened up to me so far. She’s especially interested in my bipedal form, and how I’m able to walk on two legs without a tail to assist in balancing myself. We often converse about my home and family. I believe I spent around two hours the previous night describing to her about my pet dog, and how excited and hyper he instantaneously he becomes when meeting new people.
The rest have accepted my presence, but are still wary of my every move. When asking if they had any additional friends in their little clique (since I obviously couldn’t show that I had knowledge of Equestria prior to arriving here), Rarity explained to me that Pinkie Pie was out of town for a colossal confectioning order that the Cake’s received from Manehatten. She also relayed that I was in for a bit of a “surprise” when she returned. Other than that, there weren’t many other ponies that they considered themselves “close” to, save for their relatives throughout the astronomical country of Equestria.
My attention now once again turned towards the colorful toy sitting inactively on the dresser on the opposite side of the bedroom. I figure that I might as well try to beat my record (which is a minute, flat). I’ve been practicing day and night to try and finish with a better time, but for some odd reason I can’t achieve it any faster than that one measly minute.
I swipe the cube from its resting place and unhesitatingly begin to scramble all the squares on its three-by-three form. A few moments later, I conclude that the toy was jumbled enough and start to inspect every corner on all six sides. I glance at the clock, taking note of where the second hand lied, and I swiftly initiated my work on the small toy.
My fingers dance, flicking the Rubik’s Cube as fast as I could without messing with my rhythm. I already had the first few steps completed, and now it was a matter of lining up all the corners so that the colors would align with one another at the same exact moment.
Up, right, up, left, up, right, up, left…
I almost jumped for joy when I realized I had finished the puzzle in spite of already accomplishing it dozens of times. The feeling of defeating one of the most mind-numbing puzzles (though pretty basic once the algorithms are learned) in history is one of the greatest I’ve had in my life.
I glimpse at the clock again, checking my time.
I sigh in defeat, noting that it took me a minute and six seconds from start to finish. I toss the cube in the air, catching it as if it was a baseball and began to scramble the toy for a second go…
“Daryl’s still asleep, try not to wake him up,” I hear a quiet voice whisper following the sounds of feet tip-toeing lightly across the wooden floor.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m just going to grab my blanket and leave before he can even open those tiny eyes of his,” a second voice says with a hint of annoyance. I sluggishly raise myself out of the guest bed, yawning profusely. Twilight and Spike are both staring wide-eyed at me, unblinking.
“Great going, Twilight, you woke him up,” Spike mumbles, still using a soft tone.
“Me?!” Twilight shot back, continuing to use a reserved whisper. “It was your idea to barge in here when you knew that he was no doubt going to be asleep. The sun is just barely rising over Sweet Apple Acres, for Celestia’s sake!”
“You two both realize that I can hear every word that you’re muttering under your breath,” I interrupt before their small argument would inevitably intensify into a heated debate. “It’s okay though, I was already wide awake anyways.”
Twilight smiles in half-relief, but still wore a worried expression on her face. “Still having trouble sleeping, huh?” she asks me while Spike fetches his blue blanket and heads straight back for the stairs.
“Mmhmm,” I mumble, nodding my head up and down. “I can’t help but worry about my family and friends. Do they think I’m dead? Missing? In jail? There’s an endless amount of possibilities, though I am thankful that Spring Break just started when I came here, so it’s a whole week of classes I won’t have to miss. But if I’m stuck here any longer, I’m going to be way behind on… well, everything.”
“I completely understand,” Twilight agrees, sympathizing for me. “After speaking with the Princesses, we’ve agreed that you may make a temporary residence here with us at the library on the condition you don’t try to do anything suspicious.” She pauses for a moment, trying to gauge my reaction. “Look, don’t try to be too stressed out on getting home. Last I checked, the top scientists at the Unicorn’s Magic Research Institution are looking into ways to teleport you back to Earth.”
I sped over to where she stood, kneeling until I reached eye level with the purple unicorn. “Thank you, Twilight,” I say happily, giving her the most enormous bear hug I could muster. “You have absolutely no idea how much this means to me.”
“It’s not a problem, Daryl,” she assures me, returning my hug. We stay in each other’s embrace for a few moments until I break it before it escalated into awkwardness (which I’m sure it already had). We then both remained in utter silence, unable to say anything remotely similar to anything sounding like a syllable. I try to make eye contact, but her sights were locked onto something directly behind me. My emerald green eyes follow her gaze to the Rubik’s Cube sitting inactively on the dresser where I had set it before falling asleep the night before today.
“What is that?” she finally asks, pointing her hoof at the object. My head turns towards her with mild confusion.
“The one item you let me keep while you rushed off to Camelot, remember?” I say, replacing the name of the capital (I still am baffled as to why the ponies’ must use puns in naming almost all of their towns and cities) with the one that it’s based off of, to some extent.
“It’s Canterlot,” Twilight immediately corrects. “And no, I don’t remember. I was so busy trying to get everything together, I didn’t really pay attention to what you ended up choosing from your saddlebag—”
“Backpack,” I butt in, using the correct term. She raises an eyebrow before continuing.
“As I was saying, I honestly didn’t notice what you decided to keep. I tend to get super nervous when the Princess sends a letter asking me to come to Canterlot immediately for whatever reason she’s always vague about. I try to stay calm and carry on, but sometimes I let my worriedness get the better of me.” She rests on her haunches, pondering in deep thought. “Reading is something I’ve used ever since I was a little filly to handle stress, but at times I find that I can’t even use my favorite pastime to cope with the expectations I have as Princess Celestia’s protégé.”
“Then here, try this out,” I say, clutching the toy in my hand and gently tossing it to the unicorn. The cube is quickly engulfed in a purple aura, signifying that Twilight is using her powerful magic to levitate it in mid-air. Her reflexes are astonishingly expeditious. I would wager that a pony ninja couldn’t even get a jump on her (especially with that unicorn Spidey-Sense she has up her sleeve). She lets the cube dangle in front of her to study its surface. She investigates speechlessly while I observe her curiously from a distance.
“Again, I still don’t know what this is supposed to be,” Twilight states, floating the cube back into my palms.
“It’s called a Rubik’s Cube,” I tell her, jumbling the toy without even glimpsing at it. “The object of this puzzle is to get all the same colored squares on each side. Like all the reds go here, blues here, greens here, so on and so forth.” I point at different sides of the cube to make my point, then flicking the cube back to her. “You can attempt to solve this whenever you need to take a break from your studies. Hopefully this’ll give you something new to do apart from constantly reading those ragged and dilapidated old books you’ve got lying everywhere.”
Twilight stares daggers into my eyes, alerting me that she’s taken offense to my use of adjectives. I hold up my hands as if to say, “Just kidding,” but she relentlessly persists in trying to make me as uncomfortable as possibly can be.
We sustain our random battle to the death (staring contest edition) for at least a couple of minutes. I have to say, having a staring contest with a pony is unlike any I’ve had before. Their pupils tend to dilate when they’re heavily focused on something (or someone), and it’s almost as if they’re staring deeply into your soul with no means of escaping their vile clutches. Once Twilight realizes I was notgoing down without a fight, her horn unexpectedly flashes, forcing my eyes to instinctively shut themselves.
“I win,” Twilight giggles, parading around me like I’m a living, overgrown trophy.
“So it seems,” I deadpan, folding my arms gruffly. “It’s a shame that you resorted to cheating in order to win a contest that offers no real reward.”
“Me? Cheating?” Twilight gasps in a mock tone of Rarity, holding a hoof to her forehead. “I would never stoop to such a thing!”
“Of course, milady,” I say, humoring her with my own fancy accent. “Your horn just suddenly flashed with no explanation whatsoever. It makes perfect sense. There’s no need to call Sherlock Holmes to investigate after all.”
She looks at me quizzically, clearly not understanding the reference. I answer before she can even raise her voice in confusion. “Sherlock Holmes is a very popular fictional character where I come from.”
“I’m assuming that he’s a detective.”
“Right you are.”
We then both chuckle from our silly banter. Truth be told, this is the first real conversation I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy with the purple mare. I don’t believe that the happy, playful Twilight has had much screen time, considering we often see her studying and analyzing magic, or saving Equestria from impending doom (time after time again). I’m positive that there’s a lot more to all of these ponies then we’ve seen from the show, and I’m suddenly interested in finding out what their full personalities are really like.
Twilight takes notice of my unexpected silence and speaks up. “Is something wrong?”
I shake my head, “No, nothing at all, apart from the fact that I’m light years away from home.”
“Are you sure that you’ll be okay while we’re searching for a way to get you home?”
“Trust me, I’ll be fine. But in the meantime…” I trail off, poking her nose. “I issue a challenge.”
Her expression immediately brightens. “Oh?” she says, grinning to the point that her pearly teeth are barely noticeable. “And pray tell, what is this challenge you have bestowed upon me?”
So, she’s Luna now? I wonder how many mock impressions she can make.
“If you’re able to solve that cube with no help whatsoever, I’ll admit that you legitimately beat me in our little staring fiasco,” I say, hoping that she doesn’t up the terms. I’m the absolute most unlucky guy in the universe when it comes to bets, and with how clever Twilight is, I’m sure she’ll be able to figure it out on her own.
“The stakes seem a little low,” she says coyly, curling her lips. “Why don’t we raise the stakes a bit?”
“And what do you propose?”
“If I win, I want you do every single one Spike’s chores for a day. The poor guy needs a break with how hard he’s been working himself ever since you showed up.”
Oh great, now I suddenly feel like my mere presence is a burden to them. “I wouldn’t mind helping him out anyways. I honestly don’t want sit on my lazy ass and do absolutely nothing while you provide me with food and warm place to sleep. It doesn’t seem fair.”
Twilight ponders for a few moments, attempting to conjure up something else that I can do for her. Her cheeks briefly turn a rosy hue, causing me to raise an eyebrow skeptically. “Just what are thinking I should do?” I ask hesitantly.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but in the case that I win, I’m asking for a massage.” Before I can voice any objections, she speedily continues, “I don’t have the time or the money right now to visit the spa. Like I was saying before, I’ve been experiencing a lot of stress lately, and something to relax all my tense and knotted muscles just seems really… nice.”
I bring a hand up to rub the inner corners of my eyes. “Deal,” I eventually say. “I accept the terms and conditions of our challenge.”
“Really?” Twilight asks in disbelief. It’s unmistakable that she was expecting me to outright refuse her proposal. As awkward as it will probably get (which tends to happen anytime I’m in the near vicinity of any pony, regardless of who they are), I myself can’t think of anything else that I might be able to do for her. Well, except for finding a job and paying rent. That’s now number one on my checklist of priorities since there is no guarantee that the researchers at the place Twilight mentioned earlier can for a fact find a way to reach Earth.
I hold out my hand. Twilight does nothing but stare at me in bafflement. “It’s custom where I come from to shake hands, or in this case, shake hooves after agreeing to the conditions of a bet.”
Twilight nods, reaching out with her own hoof. I lightly grasp it, careful not to hurt or cause pain in anyway, and steadily shake it in an up and down motion.
“Your hands are surprisingly soft,” she notes as I pull away. I simply shrug my shoulders, unable to wiz up any sarcastic or witty remarks other than, “That’s what she said.” However, I keep my mouth shut in the event that she decided to pursue on the phrase’s meaning (in which I would undoubtedly get my ass sent to the moon after Twilight would send an interesting friendship letter to Princess Celestia. It makes me wonder if she’s had “the talk” yet? And if she hasn’t, who would give it to her? Her biological mother or her mentor/tutor?).
“Well, I’m going to get started on this right away, it doesn’t look too difficult,” she announces, already starting to shift the squares around.
“Twilight,” I say in attempt to gain her attention. She cranes her neck until her head is facing mine. “One does not simply solve a Rubik’s Cube.”
She chuckles to herself, rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say.”
“Good luck, have fun,” I encourage, watching as she trots down the stairs without any acknowledgment.
I can only hope that nothing ends up going awry.
The moment the rest of the Mane Six received the news that I was to be temporarily living with Twilight and Spike, I immediately gained their trust and was considered as a friend. They must’ve comprehended that if the Princesses had the confidence to believe that I was trustworthy enough to share a library with her prized pupil and her number one assistant, my intentions were to prosper in peace and harmony alongside the pony folk of Equestria (as solemnly stated by Twilight, not me).
I was also finally granted permission to enter the outdoor world, which I was grateful for to no bounds. The warm and welcoming feeling of the sun’s rays upon my skin was enough to make sigh joyously. And of course, as I was about mill about the streets of Ponyville, the weather team swooped in with a colossal thunderstorm that forced me to take shelter in the library for the rest of the day (so much for introducing myself to the majority of the town’s inhabitants).
I’ve been chatting away with Spike for the past hour or so. He seems pretty content with the fact there’s now another person taking up space in the library. I bet he’s ecstatic that there’s someone else who appears as alien and different from the rest of the general populace (and male, at that). As well as introducing himself, he also acquainted me with Pee-Wee and Owlicious (both who were unfortunately sound asleep).
“And as it seemed Ahuizotl was going to be victorious, Daring Do swooped in from a vine, snatching the idol before Ahuizotl even knew what hit him!” Spike summarizes, using his arms and claws to imitate how Daring made her bold move. He’s been summing up the last few novels of the Daring Do series for the past while. Normally, I would lash out at someone for spoiling anything, whether it is a book or a movie, but the young dragon got so caught up in abridging every action scene he could remember, I didn’t have the heart to ask him to stop.
I smile, “With the way you’re making these books sound, I should start with the rest of them right away. You think you could show me where they are?”
Before he got the chance to reply, Twilight burst into the room with the Rubik’s Cube in tow. I audibly gulp as I detect that the puzzle was finished. I already knew that Twilight was sharp and adept at deciphering anything, but to accomplish this with no experience beforehand in a little over a few hours was a feat that deserved a gold medal.
“Looks like I win, once again,” she gloats, levitating the cube across the room. I swipe it immediately, inspecting all six sides. As I feared, all the colors matched up and corresponded throughout the entire cube, but upon further concentration, I notice that some of the squares seem a bit crooked. I look up at the unicorn mare. Her body posture is slightly off-balance, and her gaze droops to the ground. She’s even twirling a hoof in miniature circles across the wooden floor.
She perks up when she detects that I’m staring straight in her direction. “Twilight…” I gravely begin, folding my arms and gazing at her seriously. “You peeled off the stickers and replaced them so it looked solved, didn’t you.”
“Maybe,” she says, embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say, completely understanding her position. “I did the same exact thing when I first tried it.”
“It’s not just that,” she objects, her purple eyes dismally peering out the circular window. “I spent hours using every method I know to try and solve it. There’s no possible way it can be done. It’s designed so that once it is all jumbled up, it can’t be brought back together unless you memorize every single move you made before, but then reverse it.”
“Here,” I say, gently tossing the cube across the main lobby. “Mess it up, and I’ll cover my eyes so I can’t see.” Staying true to my word, I engulf my eyes in total darkness. I barely hear her mumble a few words under her breath. I patiently wait with my hands slapped across the upper part of my face until a hard object collides with the top of my head. I instantly move my hands to where the cube landed, rubbing smoothly.
“Ouch, you didn’t have to throw it at me,” I say irritatingly. I couldn’t help but notice that Spike was laughing audibly, as if enjoying my pain. My eyes dart across the floor in attempt to locate where the toy landed after it was chucked at my head as faster than Rainbow Dash could fly.
Kneeling down, I grasp the colorful cube, starting with my usual routine. Once I had a good idea where all the squares lay, I brought it behind my back while flexing my fingers. Twilight eyed me inquisitively, to which I half-smiled in return. I caught her trying to pry her gaze behind my back to see what was going on, but I had none of that. I twist my body left and right to the point that she had inadequate vision to see any movement I made.
I bring the cube to my front, indicating that the puzzle was thoroughly finished.
“B-but… how… impossible…” Twilight stutters, her jaw almost visibly smashing against the wooden floor.
“It’s not impossible,” I state. “There’s a way to solve everything. You’ve just got to find it.”
She rushes towards me like a Wonderbolt. She vigorously tackles and pins me to the ground without the use of any form of magic (she’s awfully strong for being an egghead). “You have to tell me. Please,” she commands, putting special emphasis on the last word.
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you. But in doing so, you forfeit the challenge.”
Twilight quickly hops off of me, using my torso as a launch pad. Whizzing the cube into the air, she canters up the stairs in the direction of the basement. “I’ll figure this thing out if it’s the last thing I do!” she calls. Thunder booms in the distance, causing Spike and I to jolt out of our sitting positions.
Spike stares at me as if I was demon from the deepest pits of Tartarus. “Dude,” he says, shivering in place. “What have you done?”
Twilight rarely left her science lab in the downstairs are after the little incident a few days ago. Her friends were constantly dropping by to make sure that she was okay, but apparently she became irritated from their numerous visits and placed some sort of magical lock on the door leading the lower level of the library. I dropped hints every now and again to remind them that they can send a letter directly to the Princess herself (I hadn’t yet seen Spike use his magical emerald green fire to teleport small items, so I still couldn’t show that I knew of his ability). No matter how many painfully obvious hints or puns I threw in, not one pony could put two and two together.
“Daryl, I cannot believe you put this much stress on the poor girl,” Rarity blames, taking a sip of green tea she had ordered from a local café. All six of us sat around a large, white table the café reserved for large groups, discussing the issue with Twilight.
“Don’t place the blame on me,” I defend, taking a small bite into the (thankfully flour) pancakes I purchased. “I had absolutely no clue she would take it to the point of nearly starving herself because, quote, ‘eating is a waste of precious and valuable time,’ end quote.”
“What I don’t get is why you don’t show her how to do it,” Rainbow Dash says, looking as if she’s very hungry for answers.
I sigh, shoving my finished plate away from me. “Trust me, I’ve tried. Twilight will have none of it.” I pause for a moment before I continue. “What I don’t understand is how she doesn’t realize that she’s making an enormous deal out of all of this.”
“Call off the bet,” Applejack conveys. “Surely she’ll listen to reason.”
“Again, I’ve tried everything I could think of. Just this morning I yelled as obnoxiously as I could to her that I forfeited the challenge and she won the bet. I heard nothing in return but angry growls and barks like she transformed herself into a pony German Shepard.” I look up at the clear, blue sky wishing that this would all end.
We contemplate in dead silence. Though at first I thought it was simply my imagination, I even hear a cricket chirping cheerily in the distance. “Look, has there been any other time Twilight has had one of these episodes where she goes all batshit crazy and refuses to listen to any reason whatsoever?”
Out of the blue, we then heard a bubbly voice answer at the speed of sound. “Well… there was that one time where Twi’ forgot to send a friendship report to Princess Celestia on time so she became really stressed out and ran all over Ponyville to create a friendship problem like she was an evil puppeteer so she could manipulate us into giving her an idea to send to Princess Celestia but she couldn’t find one because Rarity had one of her fashionista moments but got over it and Applejack needed somepony to raze her barn but Rainbow Dash already helped out and blew it up in an explosion of rainbow-y goodness so she went to Fluttershy to see if she had a problem because Twi’ believed that she had a million of them since she’s shy and timid but Fluttershy was too busy karate chopping a bear to notice her so she got all weird and her mane got all messed up and then Princess Celestia came to save the day but we thought she was making Twilight leave Ponyville but she really wasn’t. The end.”
Six pairs of eyes stare in amazement at the cheery, pink party pony. “Pinkie Pie!” the other five shouted merrily in unison. They surrounded Pinkie in an instant, asking her dozens of generic questions simultaneously.
“How was Manehatten?”
“Did you see a lot of ponies?”
“Ya happen ta’ meet mah Aunt and Uncle Orange there?”
Et cetera, et cetera… With the amount of random questions bombarding her being so immense, she hardly paid any attention to the newcomer sitting not ten feet away. It’s shocking, considering the way she’s portrayed when meeting a new pony (or person, or sentient being with the capability of speech).
Finally, I elect to raise my voice. “Hey, did you happen to take of few pictures of Times Square while you were there?”
Pinkie leaps over the small crowd of ponies with the gracefulness of an Olympic athlete, her hooves landing on the grass with an audible thump. “No, but it’s always been my dream to see New York! And London! And Rome! Oh, there are so many places I want to see but there’s so much to do!”
“Pinkie, darling, what on earth are you even talking about?” Rarity inquiries.
“Oh, just some of the hundreds of locations I’d like to visit. Like Mordor and Tatooine!” Pinkie energetically replies. While her group of friends dismiss it as Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie, I can’t help but speculate on how much she knows of the human world.
“But that’s not the point,” she continues enthusiastically, stretching a hoof in my direction. “The point is that we have a new human in Ponyville, and we should welcome him with a good ol’ fashioned party, Pinkie Pie style!”
“As much as we’d all love to attend another one of yer parties, Pinkie, we have more pressing matters ta’ attend to,” Applejack expresses, a frown forming on her lips.
“Like Twilight being a Miss Scary-Pants again?” Pinkie asks.
I nod my head, affirming her suspicion. “Exactly. You said that the Princess was able to stop Twilight’s inner turmoil the last time it happened, right?” Pinkie simply beams at me in reply. “Then why don’t we contact the Princess and ask her to end this mess before Twilight seriously hurts herself. I know that I only met her just a few days ago, but I am sincerely bothered that she’s ruining her physical and emotional well-being from this stupid bet.”
“Why, that’s a tremendous idea!” Rarity declares in delight, her eyes sparkling. “I cannot fathom why we never thought of that before.” My hand is urging to slap my forehead in frustration, but my brain is able to drain its entire reserve of willpower to keep it in line. “Spike, be a dear and fetch us a scroll and quill so we can send a letter to the Princess.”
The young dragon immediately perks up, hopping off his pillow. “As you wish, Rarity,” he says in a posh accent, darting for the library at ludicrous speed.
“Hopefully this’ll all be over soon,” I sigh, standing to stretch my stiff arms and legs.
“Ah agree,” Applejack concurs, dislodging herself from her resting spot along with me.
Rainbow’s wings spread to their full extent, and she elegantly takes off into the air. “Yeah! And while we wait for Spike, I can show you guys these sweet new moves I learned at the Wonderbolt Academy!”
Let me say that witnessing Rainbow’s aerial stunts and maneuvers with my own two eyes is stunning multiplied by ten. Her movements and tricks are breathtakingly more dynamic than could be shown on any flat TV screen. She flips, loops, and spirals her way around the air much more easily than any other fighter jet pilot could hope to dream of. (Don’t get me wrong, there are amazingly talented pilots throughout the world, but having a pair of flexible wings of your own allows for stunts of epic proportions a machine wouldn’t be able to handle.)
Before we know it, Spike is already back with the necessary supplies.
“So, what do we say?” Fluttershy asks softly.
I shrug and say, “We explain the situation, ask for help, and cross our fingers.”
Spike nods, beginning to scribble the quill on the parchment. His claws guide the writing device across the scroll quickly and efficiently, not to mention his handwriting is near perfection. We gather around the small dragon, peering over his shoulder as he continues to write in detail of our predicament. Once he concludes the letter, he signs his name and whisks the letter away with his green dragon breath.
Not a minute later, the dragon belches boisterously and an official looking scroll flops onto the moist earth. Spike grabs it, unfurling so we can see the contents that lay inside.
“To the noble dragon, Spike,” he begins, reading the letter from the top, “It is quite unfortunate that my dearest student has allowed stress and anxiety to plague her mind once again. I originally thought that she would learn from her mistakes, and in time, learn to not repeat them. As much as I would be glad to assist you in this endeavor, I am away for diplomatic reasons to the Griffin Kingdom and as such, I cannot provide guidance to help you all at this time. Please inform the human Daryl that although Twilight got herself into this mess, it was he who challenged her with this puzzle in the first place, and it is up to him to fix it. With regards, Princess Celestia.”
Attention is now shifted at me, the ponies looking up for help.
“So, Daryl,” Rainbow says, folding her arms. “What do you plan to do?”
I shuffle my feet uncouthly, my mind grasping at straws to desperately formulate some sort of plan. After moments of deep thought, a hypothetical light bulb brightens over my head. My view turns towards Pinkie.
“Plan B.”
“Are you absolutely positive that everything is all set?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The DJ is in place?”
“Righta-mundo.”
“The ponies all gathered?”
“In the dark and ready to greet you.”
“Twilight still trying to imitate Victor Frankenstein?”
“As loco as anypony could be.”
“Copy that, executing Phase One.”
I stuff the walkie-talkie into the back pocket of my jeans, a few fresh beads of sweat dripping down my face. Luna’s brilliant moon shines radiantly in the night sky, providing me with an abundant amount of light to see clearly. Wiping my forehead with a sleeve, I walk towards the front door of the library at a brisk pace. I could only hope that my not-so-secret surprise party plan would work flawlessly.
Grasping the brass doorknob, I twist it clockwise and push outwards. The door effortlessly swings wide open and I duck my head in order to reach the interior of the library. The main lobby is pitch black as I expected, and not a sound reaches my ears. Taking a few cautious steps, I look around me to see nothing but a very dark room. Then without notice, the lights flicker on and I see dozens of miscellaneous ponies smiling at me in contempt.
“SURPRISE!” every single one cheers in harmony, nearly knocking my socks off despite me expecting the sudden outburst of cries.
“Son of a bitch!” I yelp, not needing to feign ignorance and pretend to act surprised. “Where’d all you guys come from?”
As if materializing out of thin air, Pinkie Pie jumps in front of me. “Well, silly, this is your super-duper, terrific, ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party I planned just for you! Do you like it? Huh? Huh? HUH?”
I take a moment to familiarize myself with the surroundings before replying happily, “I absolutely love it.”
The hyperactive pink pony launches into the air like a rocket, leaving a trail of confetti and streamers in her wake. “Then let’s get this party started!” Pinkie announces at the top of her lungs, twirling and spinning around like a ballerina.
The party instantly comes to life as ponies begin to chat and dance amongst themselves. I rush over to the DJ stand, saying, “Hey? Can I take a request?”
The white unicorn mare with the spiky mane of two alternating electric blues grins at me profusely. “Of course, big guy. I’ve got all the hottest hits you could want and more. You name it, I’ll play it.”
I clasp my hands together, showing my acknowledgment. “Perfect,” I smirk, wanting to laugh manically like a cheesy and cliché villain. “See if you can play the most obnoxiously loud songs you’ve got up your sleeve. I want the ponies from Fillydelphia to Las Pegasus to hear us tonight.”
Vinyl Scratch taps her chin, looking as if she was shuffling through all the songs that would fit my request. “Crazy enough to bring the Royal Guard to the house, huh?” she says, playfully punching my shoulder. “I like you already.” She flips through several dozen records, selecting one and placing it on the turntable. “Don’t you worry about the music, big guy. I’ll keep the party goin’ all night long!”
And with that, music begins to blare through her gargantuan speakers. I can feel the sound waves bouncing off my skin, making me instinctively dance around to the beat. Although a monkey could dance better than me, I still find it fun to make a fool of myself from time to time.
Once I’m worn out, I mingle amongst the ponies, trying to gather as many names as I can from the background ponies I don’t recognize. I know that I’ll most likely forget more than half of them by tomorrow, but it’d be nice to at least let them know that I’m just as friendly and social as they are. Some of them become a bit tipsy, no doubt from the “special refreshments” Pinkie convinced Berry Punch to bring. To be quite frank, the fanon and canon personalities of a lot of these ponies aren’t too far off from what I’ve taken note of so far.
I still find myself checking the door to the basement periodically throughout the night, only to see each time that the lock is still firmly in place and unbroken. This part of the plan was to flush Twilight out of the basement with the constant noise coming from the partygoers upstairs. I figured she would be fed up with the obstreperous party by now, and attempt to chase the partying ponies away from her library in exchange for a decent amount of peace and quiet. It dawns on me that there might be some spell to drown out sound, and that she’s placed one on the door so she’s unable to hear anything that happens on this side.
Nevertheless, I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. The night is still young, and these ponies will go all night long and into the morning if pushed to their limits.
And so, I jump headfirst into the party, ready to go as long as my body will let me.
My eyes slowly ease open, and I find that I’m sleeping on a table with littered cups and unfinished pieces of pastries strewn all around me. There’s also something heavy resting against my chest, and I notice a mint green unicorn using my upper body as a human pillow. I gently place my hands under her head, lifting it smoothly while I lift myself off the table and onto my two feet. Lyra mutters something about hands in her sleep, causing me to back away several paces.
The main lobby looks as if it was hit by tornado following an earthquake and a hurricane. Out the corner of my eye, I sense a purple blur shifting eagerly across the room and towards the basement. It was Twilight, and I wasn’t about to let her slip from my grasp.
My legs stiffen in pain and agony, but I urge them to travel at a breakneck sprint. The distance between the two of us closes rapidly. Twilight, unfortunately, perceives that she’s in imminent danger and she desperately teleports away before I can seize her. However, Lady Luck is in my favor for once, and the stairs leading to the mini science lab lies unobstructed. I take this opportunity, shooting down the stairs speedier than I ever have run since the day I was born seventeen years ago.
Candles placed strategically around the basement dimly light the room. Twilight is nowhere to be seen, so it is possible she sent herself somewhere other than inside the library. Great, more cat and mouse chases for me.
I investigate the steadily becoming creepy room, double-checking every nook and corner the lab has to offer. On one end of the room, I find the Rubik’s Cube disassembled and lying in pieces. I unhesitatingly scoop the dismantled toy into the pocket of my hoodie, already planning on how to either hide or destroy it. On the opposite end was a chalkboard filled to the brim with equations that would rival even Albert Einstein’s theories. I study the board for a moment, trying to make sense of the formulas that were math levels way beyond me.
A voice calls out from above, “Daryl? Where are you?”
Distinguishing that it was the voice of Ponyville’s greatest daredevil, I reply loudly to her from below. “I’m down here, Rainbow Dash!”
The pegasus flies down the stairs, gesturing me to follow her. “We found Twilight,” she explains, seemingly out of breath. “Spike caught her teleporting around the house frantically. He’s trying to get her to calm down right now.”
“Where are they at?”
“Bedroom.”
Rainbow hoists me from underneath my shoulders, shooting the both of us to the upper levels of the library within seconds. She lands me on my bed, then swiftly darting outside to search for the rest of her friends.
“Let me go, Spike!” Twilight commands. The state she’s in astonishes me. Her mane is disheveled, bags droop underneath her eyes, and she looks like she wants to murder someone. Her assistant is clutching onto her hind legs, desperately trying to hang on with Twilight attempting to buck him off like a rodeo bull.
“Twilight, this is madness!” I roar, pointing a finger at her.
“You don’t understand!” she shoots back, “The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance!”
“No, it does not!”
“Does too!”
“Both of you, cut it out!” Spike voices, still clinging onto the unicorn like a champ.
“This is all getting into your head, and it needs to stop right now!” I bark. “Look, you’ve been abusing both your mind and your body these past few days, and we’re all seriously worried about you.” Her ferocious bucking comes to a halt and she stares at me as if to say, “Okay, I’ll hear you out.”
I cautiously walk over to her and kneel so we’re directly eye level with one another. “Twilight, I don’t know how this escapade escalated to the point where you locked yourself in a basement with little food and water, but please know that not only your best friends are scared by this, but I am too.” I place a hand on her shoulder, lending her support. “I was told that you had an episode very similar to this one a couple years ago, where you let all these emotions get the better of you for little or no reason whatsoever. It’s crazy, Twilight, and you need to stop before you do some permanent damage that will not only affect you, but the peop— well, the ponies you care about as well.”
My words hit true as tears start well up in her eyes. “I’m so, so, sorry,” she apologizes drooping her head. “I-I didn’t realize that this was turning out so badly. After you challenged me, I promised myself that I would figure it out, no matter the cost. I was so set on winning that I didn’t see what was really happening. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Both Spike and I wrap our arms around the sniffling mare, letting her know that there are people to catch her when she falls. “It’s okay,” I tell her.
“Yeah, Twi’,” Spike says. “For better or worse, you’ll have friends that will be by your side no matter what happens. But sometimes, you have to listen to what they have to say instead of blatantly ignoring them. You hurt us all by hurting yourself.”
“I understand…” she says, drifting off into a deep slumber.
I smile, thankful that this fiasco has finally come to an end. “Let’s put her to bed,” I whisper, careful not to jerk her awake. “She probably needs a full day rest, by my guess.”
“Promise me that you won’t show her anything else that you brought from your planet,” Spike jokes, pulling a blanket over the exhausted mare.
“We’ll see.”
I shut the final book of the Daring Do series, disappointed that I refused to savor each one. But with the sea of books within the library, however, I bet that I can find something else to satisfy my interests. Before I can begin my quest for the search of another world to dive into, Twilight trots into the bedroom with a scroll in tow.
“Would you like to read my next friendship report to Princess Celestia?” she asks hopefully, levitating the parchment by my side.
“It’s my pleasure,” I reply, the first words already being translated into my thoughts.
Dear Princess Celestia,
A new friend taught me that if we withdraw from learning from our previous mistakes, we are prone to repeat them time after time again. Allowing emotions to run rampant and control any type of thought process is something that no pony should ever have to go through, regardless of who they are. We must seek help if we face a problem we know we cannot accomplish by our lone selves. We should turn to friends for support and we should never disregard any advice that is given to us by them. Listening to one another is key in any relationship and should never be taken for granted.
From your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
End.
Author's Note
Please send any grammar/spelling mistakes via PM rather than the comments, please.
