Definitions

"Twilight, this won't work, I'm telling you!", pleaded the baby dragon. His words feel on deaf ears as Twilight continued to strain and grunt as her horn shone brighter than ever. In the darkness of the night, anyone could see the library's spotlights. Despite being among the strongest magic users, some spells continued to elude her. Among them was a spell only the experts could master. The "Cloaking Spell". The spell that would make anypony invisible to anything with eyes.

The library lay in a small wreck, with books, dirt and clutter making this place look like a local dump rather than a place of learning. Books lay opened at random pages and all across the room, some teared slightly. The light on her horn faded in a flash. Twilight gasped, before running up to Spike. Her eyes seemed...off.

"Spike! Did it work!? Did it?!", she asked an inch from his face. Spike simply frowned.

"No. No it didn't. It didn't work the last 18 times either", he replied rather bluntly. Twilight sighed loudly and began grunting again, her horn once more starting to glow furiously. Sparks and bolts surrounded it as Twilight's immense power started to hit it's maximum and she tried to push past it. This time, Spike felt the need to intervene. If she continued at this rate, she'd do some damage to herself, never mind the library. He walked up to her carefully. With her eyes closed, she didn't take visual notice of him at all.

"Twilight? Twilight! Hey!! LISTEN!!", he cried. He sharply prodded her in the side to get her attention. Her concentration was instantly broken and her horn returned to normal again. Twilight remained stoic for a short time before slowly turning to Spike. Her eyes were all bloodshot and her hair more frantic than ever before. Even when she needed a friendship report done in time, she didn't look this angry.

Or crazy for that matter.

"Why?", she simply asked in a strangely calm tone. The voice didn't match the face at all. "...Why did you break my concentration?!", she demanded. Spike took a step back in fear. "WHY WOULD YOU INTERFERE?!", she was flat-out shouting at this point.

"Ok, Twilight? Calm down..", Spike replied softly. Twilight's breathing was very fast and loud. Spike wondered to himself if it was the strain of her practice or her psychotic rage. Or a combination of both. "Listen to reason Twilight, you're good at that, remember? You have been doing the same thing again and again. It's clearly not working out. If anything, it's driving you mad. It's not gonna change because you 'will' it to.", he explained slowly and clearly. Twilight did not calm down so easily. It slowed her down, but not much more.

"You don't understand Spike, I need to get this spell to work! It'll be my first step in a new direction in my magic skills!", she raved on madly with a slightly crazy grin. Spike lowered his head in defeat. Only one other idea came to his head.

"Maybe get some rest Twilight. A little sleep won't hurt you", he suggested worryingly. Twilight smiled back at him. Her eyes slowly turned to normal, but remained blood-shot and crazy.

"I think you're right Spike! Some rest will surely give me the edge I need to make this work! Even if it is the last thing I do!", she cheered confidently as she made her way to her bedside. Her eye twitched slightly. Spike kept trying to plead with her.

"Why not try another method of achieving your new power. That strain obviously isn't working"

"Of course not! I've never come closer to achieving it through that method, I will keep doing that even if it kills me!" she boasted. Spike sighed and walked to his bed. Twilight lay on her bed and curled up. She was shaking ever so slightly in her sleep as a result of her mental strain. For once, her own 'logical thinking' got in the way of her real thinking. She became blind to her objectives, and to others, failing to notice Spike's clear worries. It didn't matter. In her mind, she was just that much closer to achieving her own goals.

Spike, in secrecy, was quickly scribbling a letter. He quickly tied it into a scroll and in a lick of green flames, it was gone...

...

"...the same thing again and again..."

...

"...if anything...it's driving you *mad...***

"...Uuh...wha-what? Spike?". Twilight awoke in a dark abyss. Fog clouded the distance. The area seemed eerily like the Everfree forest, minus the actual forest, and any sign of nature or civilization. Twilight felt a sweat drop go down he head as her eyes dilated. This area was one that she'd never seen in her life, yet it felt oh so familiar as well. "Spike!", she cried loudly. Her words didn't even echo around her. Twilight began to whimper in fear. She felt so cold wherever she was.

"Did!....", a voice called out. Twilight spun around at break-neck speed in the direction the voice. She couldn't identify who the voice belonged to, or even if it was male or female. It was distorted, and yet she heard the words clearly. She felt and heard her heart beat furiously at a shadow in the distance. How did she not notice it before? Was it always there?

"Hello?! Who's there? Is that you Spike?", she called out. The voice said nothing back, and the shadow did not move. "Rarity? Applejack? Rainbow Dash?!", she again called out, but no reply. "PINKIE PIE?!" FLUTTERSHY?!", she cried out. She was on the verge of tears in desperation for someone she could connect with. The shadow began to slowly move towards her. Twilight froze in place as it spoke.

"...Did I ever tell you....", it spoke. It was male with a distinct accent. It was soft and calm, yet even Twilight could tell there was a degree of madness to it.

"Tell-tell me what? Who are you?!", she asked aloud. The mysterious stallion seemed to ignore her pleas.

"...Did I ever tell you what the definition...of insanity is?**", he asked calmly. Twilight froze as the stallion came into view. The sight of this one struck pure icy-cold fear into her heart. The stallion had a dark beige coat and wore a red vest that cut off just at the cutie mark, which was of a bloody-knife, embedded in an ocean. The stallion had bright green eyes which Twilight could see were full of crazy. The stallion's hair was totally unique compared to any other pony Twilight has ever met. It was in a rough mowhawk style. It's expression was that of soft grin, his eyes staring right into Twilight's.

"T-the definition of insanity?", she asked fearfully, tripping over her words. "I know what that means", she replied. The stallion's smile slowly faded as he walked closer to Twilight.

"Insanity. Is. Doing the exact same..fuckin' thing. Over and over again, expecting shit to change", he softly spoke. The words shook Twilight to the core. She didn't even notice his..'language'.

"That's what Spike said...", she muttered under her breath. Did this guy know Spike? Was he eavesdropping on them? "Who are you?!", she demanded angrily. He chuckled quietly.

"That. Is. Crazy", he continued. He again chuckled to himself. "You know the first time somepony told me that, I dunno, I though he was bullshittin' me. So 'boom'...", he continued, he brought one of his hoofs up to his head, as of he was holding a weapon..."I shot him". Twilight took several steps back in fright. She was with a murderer?! Now what was going to save her?! She felt like her life was going to end, just being near the stallion.

Suddenly, the stallion changed form, for a split second. Twilight didn't quite get a glimpse, but she spotted him change. "The thing is...heh, he was right. And then I started seeing, everywhere I looked, everywhere I looked all these fucking pricks, everywhere I looked, doing the exact same fucking thing... over and over and over and over again...", he continued. Twilight analysed every word that he spoke, even the words she didn't like to hear all that well. She was establishing a link between the stallions words and Spike's advice. Maybe the stallion was some sort of guardian angel...with a mouth of a devil. Either way, whether these were the words of a genius or a psychopath was left ambiguous.

"... thinking 'this time is gonna be different' no, no, no please... This time is gonna be different, I'm sorry, I don't like the way...", his voice became a soft growl. He violently stomped on the ground, as the abyss 'cracked'. Purple lights shone through the gaps. He quickly changed once more, though Twilight still couldn't get a good look. He became a pony, that's all she could see. His eyes became even crazier as his pupils shrunk even smaller, darting at Twilight's. She shook on the spot.

"You don't like what?", she asked. Her voice was breaking.

"...you are looking at me. I don't like it", he replied. He quickly walked around her, frowning aggressively. "Do you have a fucking problem in your head, do you think I am bullshitting you, do you think I am lying?", he interrogated her on the spot. The bombardment of insults hit Twilight directly. She couldn't believer what she was hearing.

"No! Why are you so aggressive?!", she demanded. The stallion zoomed in on her face.

"Fuck you! Ok?! Fuck. You!", he cried. he again flicked, and this time, Twilight saw who it was.

She was staring at herself. All of this made Twilight truly think. Who was she talking to? A random stranger, or herself? After flickering back to normal, the stallion backed off, chuckling as if nothing had happened. The whole 'pep-talk' left Twilight visibly shaken. "It's okay. I'm gonna chill, hermana. I'm gonna chill...", he replied confidently. Twilight again took notice of the world around her. The cracks were getting much bigger and more defined.

"..Just who are you?", she asked. She swallowed her fear. The stallion turned to her, and smiled. He had somewhat sharp teeth, just like a classic mad-pony.

"I'm...a friend. Hopefully you'll take my little message to heart, eh? It's not like I am fucking crazy. It's ok...it's like water under the bridge...", he replied back, motioning the water with his hooves. Twilight nodded quickly in return. The stallion walked up a little closer to her. She froze in place as he muttered his arc-words...

"..Did I ever tell you the definition...of *insanity?*", he muttered. The abyss exploded in a bright flash of purple light. As they were enveloped, Twilight kept her eyes on the stallion's, who unexpectedly flickered back and forth between his own form, and Twilight's. The image of herself with a crazy slasher-smile scared her immensely.

"No!", she cried out. Twilight awoke to find herself in the comfort of her own bed. There was no crazy stallion, or purple cracks. She was in her home, safe and sound. The only noises disturbing her silence was the soft wind outside, and the sounds of a snoring baby dragon. She found herself in a cold-sweat. Chances are, she was going to have nightmares about the nightmare.

But she thought for a second, about her power. Maybe Spike was right. Trying again and again and getting nothing back, but expecting so was crazy and pointless...she didn't want to think about it in great detail, but she knew she'd try something new tomorrow. Using her magic, she got a hold of a quill and some paper, and magically began writing. Her magic powers faded quickly with her tiredness.;

Dear Princess Cele----------------------

The quill and paper lay at her side as she, almost comically fell asleep again. This time no nightmare would interfere with her as her slumber would go on undisturbed...

...

Dear Princess Luna;

I have a request. Twilight is going kinda crazy. Again. She keeps on trying the same thing over and over again in an attempt to achieve a spell. She's done this several times and she expects it to change. I told her it was crazy. While i don't know how you'd exactly define insanity, but I think that's it.

I'm getting worried, so while she's asleep, do you mind manipulating her dreams so she gets the message? I think scare  tactics might be in order as well.

Your's sincerely, Spike