The Gravity of the Situation

Chapters

What Goes Up...
...Stays Up...
...And Up...
...Until It Comes Crashing Down

What Goes Up...

“Hey, Twilight, I’m b—what the hey?!” Spike gasped as he entered the library, dropping the bag of fruits and vegetables he had been carrying. He stared around the main floor where dozens of books were floating in mid-air. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for tonight instead of studying?”

Twilight barely took notice of Spike, her face deep in a book on the main library table. “I’m not studying, I’m practicing.”

Spike looked at the books curiously as he recovered the bag. “Sure looks like studying to me. You’ve got all your books levitating here—”

“It’s not levitation, Spike,” Twilight said through clenched teeth. Her brow was furled as she turned to glare at one of the floating volumes, beads of sweat dripping down.

Spike stepped carefully through the floating books into the main part of the room. “What do you mean? You’ve got the books hanging in mid-air, it looks like levitation to me.”

Twilight let out a flustered groan, releasing her concentration; the floating book remained suspended. “Actually, it’s a gravity spell. The Princess wanted me to start looking at them, after I wrote her asking about gravity.” She nodded to a scroll that sat on the central table, lying next to the open book she had been studying, filled with detailed enchantment instructions. “I think she’s planning on testing me next time I’m in Canterlot, so I’ve got to start practicing. Remind me never to ask the Princess such esoteric questions again, Spike.”

After setting the bag down, Spike took up the scroll and uncurled it, quickly reading over it. “Gravity? But you already have your levitation spells, what good would gravity spells do?”

Twilight dropped into her lecture mode, happily rattling on about the science behind the magic. “Levitation is a magical field that surrounds an object, based on the will of the spell-caster. The unicorn can hold and manipulate the object, just like they had it with their hooves or teeth, but they must still apply force to keep it suspended. On the other hoof, gravity is just a physical force that pulls any two bodies together, just as Issac Neighton discovered. For small things like books or ponies, that force is so small we never feel it, but the planet’s a huge mass, and that’s what exerts force to keep us on the ground. These spells simply insert themselves between an object and the ground, nullifying the attraction between the bodies and letting the object free of the gravitational pull.”

Spike blinked. “So, um...?”

Twilight briefly rolled her eyes. “It can make things float! See?” She poked a hoof at one of the books that floated nearby. A gentle tap sent it spinning slowly towards a wall. “If it was levitation, it would be firmly held in my magic. But also, I don’t have to worry about maintaining the magic. All these gravity spells are time-limited, or until I cancel them.” She gave a brief sigh. “That’s the part I’m stuck on, I can’t somehow dispel the magic, even though I’m following the directions on the page!”

Spike watched cautiously as a glass floated by, followed by several small globules of water, wobbling as they drifted by. “Um, how long do they last? Does the book say?”

Twilight turned to read the book carefully. “Oh, the effects wear out after a day, don’t worry. The library will be back to normal tomorrow, I promise. Maybe earlier if I can just figure out this counter-spell,” she finished off with a hint of annoyance.

Spike wrung his claws together. “Uh, great, but shouldn’t you be preparing for the arrival of the board members from Celestia’s magic school tonight?”

Twilight shook her head. “They’re not from Celestia’s school—that’s only for the most gifted unicorns, like me. These directors are from the more common Canterlot magic school that the rest of the unicorns attend. It’s still a prestigious institution, and we definitely want to impress them to have them open a branch here in Ponyville. But I’ve got a few more hours before we’re supposed to meet the others to help set up town hall for the event.”

Spike frowned, glancing sideways at his bed-basket floated by. “Uh, maybe I should go out and see if anypony else needs help.”

Her face remained in the book. “No, go right ahead, Spike. I need to concentrate and get this cancellation spell just right.”

“Phew, great!” Spike offered excitedly, and quickly retraced his steps back through the floating mass of books. “I’ll be back later, okay? Bye!” He was out the door within seconds.

Twilight hadn’t paid attention to his exit, her mind trying to make sense of the strange instructions the book listed. “I’m sure I’ve been doing this right.” She squinted at the page. “Oh, huh...” Her hoof ran over a line, wiping out the decades-old remains of a bug that had been caught in the book. “It’s ‘density’, not ‘destiny! Well, that makes a world of difference!”

She pulled her head from the book and returned her focus to the books around the library. Bracing her hooves into the wooden floor, she concentrated her magic through her horn into the rest of the room.

The books and other objects that had been floating stopped in their paths and started to tremble. One by one, they lost their buoyancy and fell gracelessly to the floor.

She kept powering the spell, but broke out into a smile. “It worked! It worked! It w—” One of the larger volumes that had drifted above her head crashed down on top of her and knocked her out.

Something brushed against Twilight’s head. Slowly coming back to consciousness, Twilight rubbed at her head, the spot where the book fell still tender from the impact. She massaged the area as she slowly opened her eyes. “Ow, that hurt! I guess they really do mean that gravity is a b—AUGGHH!”

Twilight gasped, discovering herself to be only a few feet from the library ceiling. She tried to turn herself but found there was nothing solid beneath her to provide leverage. She turned her head around instead, gawking at the sight.

She was floating.

Instinctively, she tried to wheel her hooves as if she was swimming, but the air gave her nothing to push against, and left her no better off, stuck in the middle of the library.

“HELP!” she shouted. “Spike! Anypony! Help!”

She looked down to the windows, where daylight still streamed in. Unless she had been out cold all night, it might have only been an hour from when she last recalled. Certainly, with the event tonight, her friends would have checked on her before then. The books and other items that had been part of her earlier tests were all firmly planted on the ground, and had a bad feeling that Spike hadn’t been back yet.

She sighed heavily. “Great, I’m stuck up here until Spike gets back,” she uttered to herself. She tried again to stretch her hoof as much as possible to touch the ceiling, hoping to just tap it to push off, but it stubbornly remained out of reach.

Twilight grunted, giving up on her attempt. Her earlier conversation with Spike rang in her head. “Hmm, I could try to levitate myself, but I’ve still not perfected that,” she considered to herself. Concentrated on her body, she tried to envelop herself with a magic field, something easily done with other objects or ponies but a rather difficult chore on one’s own self. Magic had a way of not wanting to work on its caster. She could feel her skin tingle as the field wrapped itself around her, but it flared out as quickly as it formed. “Ugh, that’s yet another spell I need to practice more.”

Twilight tried to look around for some type inspiration, her legs flailing to help her spin. “Oh, wait, what am I doing? I can just teleport down,” she announced. Twisting around to look at the floor, she recalled her spells. With a flash of light, she popped back into existence, standing on the floor, smiling to herself.

“Great, now to try to-- WAAUGH!” She had taken a step forward, but without anything to keep her down, Twilight launched herself back into the air. The momentum slammed her against the ceiling, and then ricocheted her into one of the bookcases. She tried to grab onto something but her actions had caused her to spin in all directions, and combined with her haphazard movement path, she couldn’t react in time.

After a few more hard impacts with the floors and walls, Twilight found herself within her bedroom nook, and was able to catch one of her bed posts, stalling her flight path. “Okay, Twilight, that’s not going to work, at least without being weighed down,” she nagged at herself. “Hmm, that gives me an idea.” She looked back into the main room, spying the gravity spell book still sitting on the table. Adjusting her position on the post, Twilight planted a hoof against her bed and pushed off, sending her drifting slowly towards the base of the library. Within moments she latched herself onto the table, holding herself tight there with her forehooves.

“Now, where did my saddlebags go—aha!” Twilight saw her bags sitting under one of the books that had fallen earlier, and quickly reached out to it with her levitation magic, along with several books. In mid-air, she commanded the books to fill the bags to overflowing, and then brought the pack over to her. She then carefully oriented herself to the floor and brought the saddlebags across her back. The weight, while heavy, was comforting, and she felt the bags press the tips of her backhooves into the floor.

“Great!” she exclaimed, and carefully released her grip on the table, one hoof at a time. As she expected, the bags kept her from floating off, and soon she was standing there, buoyed down by the heavy volumes. “Twilight, you’re a genius!” she announced to nopony in particular.

She turned her head, the gravity spell book on the other side of the table. She took a first cautious step towards it, making sure that her actions didn’t send herself pinballing around the room again. Satisfied with her solution, she took a few more steps.

Just as she neared the book, she felt the balance in the bags shift. “Oh no oh no oh no oh no—” she cried as the shift in the center of gravity caused her to tilt to one side. The books, continuing to be dragged down by gravity, pulled her further off center, and soon she popped out of their grasp like a cork from a wine bottle. Twilight harumphed as she drifted back up towards the ceiling.

A few minutes later, Twilight had gotten herself back to the table, and this time had waited until she was at the book before setting the saddlebags across her. She may not be able to walk around, but at least she could try to dispel the magic without floating off, she thought to herself, before turning back to reread the volume.

“Uh, Twilight, is it safe?” Spike called out from outside.

Twilight glanced up, her eyes bleary from the last few hours of intense concentration. “Uh, sure,” she weakly answered.

Spike cracked open the library door and stuck his head through. “Looks like you got that gravity spell cancelled,” he said. Assured nothing was floating around, he proceeded to enter the library.

“Well, yes, and no,” Twilight said, pulling her head from the book. “I was able to cancel the spell on everything else, but—oh, come here and grab my tail.”

“Um, sure?” Spike replied and padded over to Twilight, grabbing hold of her tail in his claw.

“Just hold on a moment, Spike.” Twilight concentrated on her saddlebags, lifting them off her back. As she expected, she immediately started to drift off the floor without the weight keeping her tethered down.

The action of floating away yanked her tail in Spike’s gasp, causing him to react. “W-what’s going on?”

Twilight worked on settling the saddlebags back down, holding her to the floor, as she explained the events of the last few hours to Spike. “I think one of the books that was floating around knocked me out while I was casting the counterspell. Now I’m the one floating and whatever I try to do, I can’t get the counterspell to work!”

“You sure you’ve tried everything?” Spike offered.

“Yes, I even tried some of more all-purpose spells that Princess Celestia taught me on dispelling magic! Nothing’s worked!”

Spike walked over to the writing desk. “Do you want me to write to her? Maybe she can h—”

“NO!” Twilight yelled. “I can’t let her know I screwed up on practicing these spells! She’d fail me right away!” She took a deep breath. “Besides, this spell book says that any gravity-based spell will wear away within a day, that they can’t last indefinitely.”

“Well, that’s not too bad. This time tomorrow, you’ll have your hooves on the ground and—”

Twilight poked her hoof towards Spike. “But we have the Canterlot school delegates arriving tonight! I have to be there to greet them!” She reached out to the table to stop herself from tipping over. “Ugh! I can’t stay cooped up here for the day! And if I go out, I could just end up floating off to who-knows-where!”

Spike scrunched his nose, scratching his chin. “Hmm, I may know a way...”

“Oh, Celestia, why did I let you talk me into this?” Twilight groaned, turning her head to avoid the confused looks of other ponies.

“Hey, you wanted to go outside, I got you there, right?” Spike said nonchalantly as he walked purposely through town. He held onto tightly to a rope that led around Twilight’s mid-section and tied there. Twilight floated along behind him, lazily spinning without control, like a little filly’s balloon at a celebration.

“Ugh, I’m never going to live this down,” Twilight nagged. She spotted the colt from the Free Foal Press snap several pictures with his camera before ducking away into the crowd. “Oh great, and now all of Equestria will know!”

“It’s not like you haven’t been photographed in embarrassing situations before, Twi,” Spike commented.

Twilight tried to give Spike a bop on his head, but just missed and unintentionally spun herself on a new axis. “Just get us over to Applejack’s, I’m sure she’ll have an idea.” Twilight said, closing her eyes to avoid getting vertigo from the rotation.

Author's Note

An idea I had floating around (get it?) but inspired by a few previous works:

"Dear Princess Celestia - What If? What If We Didn't Have Gravity?" by djElectrOctavia
"Taking Flight" by Trachyon (Warning: Humanized Clop)
"Special Little Alicorn Moment" by adecoy95 (YouTube video with some harsh language)

as well as wanting to explore what would have had to happen before "The Crystal Empire" about Twilight's comment about gravity spells.

As always comments and suggestions are welcome!

...Stays Up...

The trip to Sweet Apple Acres took only a few minutes, and fortunately for Twilight, the crowds thinned out after they got through the center of town. She still worried that rumors moved faster than one could expect, and wondered how soon her predicament would reach Canterlot.

Applejack was out harvesting apples from the front part of the orchard when they arrived, but hadn’t seen them come up. “Hey, AJ,” Twilight called out.

Applejack finished giving another tree a hard kick. “Heya, Twi! Don’t tell me its time to start settin’ up for that del—” She turned to look at her friend, and caught herself short, covering her mouth with a hoof to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a long story,” Twilight said while rolling her eyes. “You might as well get it out.”

“Ya look just like one of Pinkie’s balloons,” Applejack snickered. She tried to catch herself, but couldn’t help but breaking out into laughter.

“You have to admit, Twi, it is kinda funny,” Spike offered, trying to contain his own giggles.

“I could always cast the spell on you, and see how you like it, mister,” Twilight nagged at her assistant.

Applejack had collected herself, catching her breath from laughing. “How’d did ya manage that, Twi?”

“Oh, I was trying to practice gravity-nullifying spells but somehow got caught in my own magic. There’s a cancellation spell but I just cannot get it to work. And unless Spike keeps hold on this rope, I’m afraid I’ll just drift away!”

“Did ya try contactin’ the Princess?”

Twilight shook her head furiously. “I can’t let her know I can’t cast the cancellation spell. I know she’s going to hear about me floating around, but at least I can just say its part of my practicing. It’ll wear out by tomorrow, but we have that delegation arriving tonight! I need to find some way to keep to the ground.”

Spike nodded. “She’s tried to weigh herself down with books, but if they tip the wrong way, she just floats off.”

Applejack scratched her chin. “Hey, ah’ve got an idea. Come with me to the barn,” Applejack offered, pointing her hoof to the building.

Applejack led Spike over to the main barn, opening the doors and stepping inside. Spike followed along shortly, with Twilight drifting along behind him. “Spike, watch o—OW!” Twilight winced as her head banged against the top of the door.

“Oops, sorry about that, Twi,” Spike apologized.

Applejack had gone over and taken a dusty tarp off one of her carts. It was a smaller one, with just two wheels and a hitch. “Here we go!”

“A cart?” Twilight raised her eyebrow incredulously.

“Yup, a cart!” Applejack demonstrated by lifting the hitch with a hoof. She let it go, and the hitch quickly fell back to the ground. “We get you into that, and you should be just fine.”

“I can’t go pulling around a cart all night at the event!”

“Ya don’t have to,” Applejack offered. “Remember how the Princess would just stand there and greet her guests at the Gala? Ya just have to do that. We’ll hide the cart with some curtains or somethin’ and we’ll cover for ya otherwise.”

Spike’s face lit up. “And you can move about otherwise on your own to get the preparations done!”

“Ohh, I see, that actually might work!” Twilight broke into a grin. “Spike, reel me down so we can try this.”

It took just a few minutes to secure the hitch around Twilight’s barrel. Applejack used her teeth to get the strap nice and tight. “That feel good, Twi?”

Twilight gave her body a tentative shake, feeling the strap snug against her coat. “Seems fine here, and I feel its weight keeping me down. But now for the real test...” She took a single step forward, remembering what happened in the library when she had tried the same. She felt her body want to float off as she pressed against the ground, but the weight of the hitch kept her down. “Hey, it’s working!”

Applejack and Spike watched as Twilight took several more cautious steps, slowly building to a normal walking speed as she pulled the cart behind her. “Lookin’ good, Twi!”

“Thanks, AJ, this is just per—AUGGH!”

The cart hit a small mound of dirt in the barn, causing one of the wheels to jump a bit. When it came down, its speed caused the hitch to bounce a bit. As it rebounded, Twilight felt her hooves disconnect with the ground, and momentum took over from there. Her weightlessness caused the cart to slowly tip upwards on the single axle. She tried to wheel her legs to stop the action, but it was far too late. Moments later, the cart had fallen against its back, the hitch sticking straight up with a helpless Twilight hanging snug in the hitch’s straps.

Applejack and Spike turned to look at each other, and broke out laughing.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” Twilight nagged, trying to rock herself to get the cart to right itself somehow..

Applejack took a quick breath between her guffaws. “Sorry, Twi, that’s gotta be the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long while!”

“You look ridiculous, Twilight!” Spike offered.

Twilight stopped her actions of trying to get free, and sighed heavily.

Applejack pointed to one of the other tarps, covering a larger object. “Ah bet we can probably do better with one of the four-wheeled carts. They won’t have a tendency to tip like that, Twi.”

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t check on preparations properly if I’m stuck to one of those larger ones. Just get me down from here!”

The two helped to get Twilight lowered back to the ground and retied Spike’s rope to her. “You know, Twi, ah think Rarity might have a solution.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow “Rarity? Really?”

“She’s a pretty good problem solver. She might have a really good idea for helpin’ with yer floatin’, there.”

Rarity held up a cloth banner in her hooves. It was about six feet long, of purest white, with clear embroidery in a deep purple that formed the cursive “R” that Rarity used for her signature logo. She looked up to Twilight with a wide smile and bulging eyes.

“No,” Twilight tersely said.

“Ple-eeeease?” Rarity got to her hindlegs and knelt below Twilight. “Even just for an hour?”

“No, I’m not going to help with your advertising like this!” Twilight snorted. “Let’s go Spike—I don’t even know why AJ thought Rarity could help.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry I asked,” Rarity let go of her banner. “But Rainbow Dash refuses to even consider the idea.”

Twilight narrowed an eye at her. “And you thought I would?”

“Well, er, maybe?”

Twilight let out a calming sigh. “Do you think you can do anything to help my problem here?”

Rarity levitated her working glasses to her nose and started peering around Twilight as if she were a dress form. Twilight was still suspended in air, spinning very slowly, but otherwise held in place by Spike’s rope. The dragon simply stood there entranced by his crush.

“Hmm,” Rarity said inquisitively with a frown. “I’ve made dresses for pegasi that are light enough and give them space for their wings, but this is an entirely different challenge.”

“I just need something to hold me down. It’s got to balance out my center of gravity—well, mass, I guess now. Loading my saddlebags was too lopsided, and AJ’s cart idea was too much off-balance.”

“So we just need to spread the weight around...i-deee-a!” Rarity entoned. She trotted over to a chest, using her magic to open it and bring out a burlap sack. “I think I’ve finally found a use for these!”

“What’s in there?” Twilight asked. She noted that the sack looked rather heavy from how it hung as Rarity carried it over.

“Here, hold out your hooves,” Rarity instructed. Once Twilight had done so, she carefully laid the bag across them and released her magic. The instance her spell was gone, the bag dragged Twilight down to the floor with a loud thump. The back half of her body still floated off the ground, but her hooves were pinned beneath the bag’s weight.

“Whoa! What’s in this?”

“Loadstones, darling,” Rarity said while levitating one of the bag. It was dull silver lump of something metallic, no larger than a pebble. “They happen to occur naturally with gems, and are pretty much valueless, but I’ve found a few uses for them here and there. But I think this is the first perfect opportunity to truly put them to their potential!”

Twilight stared incredulously at the little rock as she tried to leverage her back legs to the ground with the weight of the bag. “I can’t imagine a dress where that would look good on.”

“Oh, no, they won’t be on the dress, they’ll be in the dress,” Rarity giddily explained as her magic brought over a quill and piece of parchment from her desk. She focused herself on the paper, sketching out a new outfit while continuing to talk. “I can place little pockets of loadstones throughout the dress, distributing the weight across your body. That should keep you on the ground, no matter how much you walk around. It’s just a matter of making sure that those pockets are well hidden. They’d sag the dress terribly, I’m afraid, but that’ll be an excellent challenge to work around.” She finished off a few more strokes and showed her sketch to Twilight. The sketch showed a two-layered dress with a detailed neckstrap, a rather fancy hem, and a modestly short train. “Notice how the bows and bunting are lined up on the hem of the dress? They’ll be perfect place to place those pockets.”

“That’s a great idea, Rarity!” Twilight beamed. “We’ll have to distribute the loadstones just right but that’ll definitely keep me from floating off!”

Rarity had turned to her fabric rack and studied the bolts intently. “It will only take me a couple hours to complete it—”

“Wait, that’s no good—WAGH!” Twilight had instinctively pulled a front hoof from underneath the loadstone bag and pointed it at Rarity, realizing too late her mistake. Her body lifted off the ground, twisting along her other hoof and causing it too to slip out from under the bag. Now free of her ballast, Twilight spun until her tether to Spike pulled taut, leaving her hanging upside down. “How am I supposed to check on the preparations like this?” she nagged, her hooves crossed.

Rarity ignored Twilight’s plight, having brought a few of the fabric rolls over to her with her telekinesis to compare their color against Twilight’s coat. “Don’t worry, Twilight. You’ll have the dress in plenty of time for the event.”

“Ugggh,” Twilight groaned. “Thanks, Rarity. That dress idea is really wonderful, but I was hoping for something more immediate as well.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wear my banner? Please?”

“NO,” Twilight stated firmly, and then brought her hoof up—relative to her orientation—to bop Spike on the head and wake him from his trace. “Come on, lover boy. Maybe Fluttershy has a few ideas.”

Author's Note

Boy, Twilight, I bet you wish you had wings about now!

...And Up...

“Angel, that’s rude!” Fluttershy scolded the bunny. The critter was rolling on its back, giggling in his high-pitched voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already had my fair share of that today,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowed at Angel. Spike had brought her to Fluttershy’s cottage, finding the pegasus feeding her animals behind her cottage.

Fluttershy poked at the bunny with her wing. “Angel, if you still want your dinner, you’d better get back into the cottage and stop that laughing.”

Angel looked up to see his owner given him a deathly stare, and quickly shut up. He disappeared in a cloud of dust, darting into the cottage within moments.

“Oh, dear, I’m sorry about Angel,” Fluttershy apologized. “He knows better than to laugh like that.”

Twilight gently shook her head. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I’m more worried about being able to help with the preparations tonight. Rarity’s working on an ingenious dress idea that will keep me down for the event but it won’t be ready until just before the delegates arrive.”

“But isn’t Spike helping you out already?” Fluttershy pointed to the rope.

Twilight shook her hand while patting Spike’s head. “No offense to you, Spike, but I’m not very mobile like this. I need to move about more freely but I can’t go floating off.”

“No worries, Twi,” Spike smiled.

“Hmm, more mobility? I think I have an idea.” Fluttershy took off from the ground and flew herself over to where several birdhouses hung from a grove of trees. “Oh, birds, are you home?” she sing-songed into the cubbyholes.

Several avian heads poked out at the voice and stared attentively at Fluttershy.

“Do you think you can help Twilight here?” She pointed with a hoof. “She can’t get stay on the ground but needs to move around.”

The birds, about a dozen of them, flew as a flock from their homes and clustered around Twilight. They squeaked and squawked among each other, before settling down on Twilight’s mane and tail, gripping the strands of her hair into their beaks.

Twilight frowned. “Er, I don’t think I need my mane done up, Fluttershy,” she commented.

Fluttershy drifted back over. “Oh, no, that’s not what they’re doing. Spike, let go of the rope, let’s see if this will work.”

As instructed, Spike let loose his grip. Twilight remained suspended in air, drifting a little with the slight breeze. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this, Fluttershy,” Twilight asked.

“Just tell the birds where you want to go, Twilight.” Fluttershy grinned. “Don’t worry, they’re very well-trained.”

Twilight looked back with a raised eyebrow. “Well, if you say so. Um, birds, can you take me over there?” She pointed her hoof towards the chicken coop in the yard.

The birds didn’t audibly respond, but Twilight felt small darts of pain as her hair was yanked by the birds’ sudden movement. But, as a group, they flew her straight and true to the coop. “Hey, that might do it, Fluttershy!” She looked for another target, this time picking the top of Fluttershy’s cottage. “Let’s try there, birds.”

Save for the jolts on her hair, the birds quickly brought Twilight to the shod roof of the cottage. “Fluttershy, this is great! But what if the birds get tired?”

Fluttershy flew up to catch up to Twilight. “Hmm. Well, if you’re staying in one spot, they can just perch on you. Show them what I mean,” Fluttershy directed to the birds with the wave of a hoof. The birds slowly settled onto Twilight’s back, still hanging onto her hair strands in their beaks. Twilight remained mostly in place, only drifting a bit forward from the inertia. “There, see? Perfect.”

“Oh, this was a great idea! Though I kinda wish they didn’t have to pull me by the hair...” Twilight offered.

Fluttershy shook her head quickly. “I’ve got some materials inside. We’ll rig some harnesses that they can pull on instead instead of by the hair. I know that can hurt.”

Fifteen minutes later, Fluttershy proudly led Twilight out of her cottage, with Spike in tow. Several small leather straps were wrapped around Twilight’s body, snug at the shoulder and thighs. The straps were attached to thick strands of yarn, held taut by the birds that were pulling on them.
“You sure the birds don’t mind?” Twilight asked, looking at the various species tugging her along.

“Oh, no. They love to help!” Fluttershy grinned. “And it’s only for a few hours, right? Until Rarity has that dress ready?”

“That’s true. Thanks again, Fluttershy! I’ll see you later, okay?” Twilight waved, and then pointed towards the center of town. “Okay, let’s try to get to Town Hall and see how preparations are going. Ready, birds?”

The birds gave off various muffled chirps, and started flying towards town, with Twilight pulled along behind them. Spike followed along, carrying the length of unneeded rope. “That’s working great, Twi!”

“Perfect!” Twilight turned back to Fluttershy as they moved off. “Oh, Fluttershy, you’re all set for tonight?”

“Oh, of course, Twilight. I need to do some last minute practice with my bird choir so that they are ready to greet the delegates with song, and I’ve got my dress all ready to go.” Fluttershy waved to the two with a hoof.

“Great! See you soon, Fluttershy!” Twilight waved back awkwardly, getting used the feel of the ropes around her body and how they responded to her movements.

“I don’t know why we didn’t go to Fluttershy’s first, Spike. This will work out great.” Twilight smiled as she was pulled along gently in the breeze.

They had moved closer to town and were passing by Rarity’s boutique. A few ponies gave Twilight a few surprised stares, though nowhere as embarrassing as her initial trek to Applejack’s.

“Er, Twi, the birds seem tense about something.” Spike took a worrying look to Twilight’s birds. Though they kept in formation, some of the smaller birds were twisting their heads around, and their movements were more erratic.

“What’s there to worry about, Spike? It’s a great day, I’ve finally gotten this little problem of mine taken care of for the time being, and everypony’s getting ready for the delegates tonight.”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, the birds seem awfully scared.”

Twilight waved a hoof in Spike’s direction. “Oh, they’re probably just tired from pulling me. I probably shouldn’t have had that second helping of hay fries yesterday.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at herself.

As they passed under one of the trees by the boutique, there was a quiet rustling of the leaves. The noise spooked the birds even more, and their more errant flight paths jerked Twilight out of her calm state. “Hey, what’s got you so excited?”

“Watch out, Twi!” Spike pointed as a mass of white fur launched itself from the tree. Opalescence tried to swipe at the birds as she landed but they dodged out of her path in time. Twilight was yanked hard in the same direction, and her momentum continued to drag the birds with her, despite them trying to flap as hard as possible to regain control.

“Auggh! Opal! Not now!” Twilight tried to calm the cat, but she darted ahead, climbing atop Spike to try to jump at the birds again.

The birds instinctively flew up, dragging Twilight with them. “Spike, hang onto that cat!” she screamed, trying to turn herself to follow the cat’s movement.

“I’m trying, Twi! She’s too jumpy!” Spike called out as he attempted to grab Opal’s tail, but the creature dashed off against, this time clawing her way up another tree, trying to get the higher ground on her prey.

“No, no, no! Stop her!” Twilight cried, trying to wheel her legs to will the birds to move away, but their formation has long broken down and were trying to fly off in different directions.

Opal had padded across a branch above where the birds held Twilight. She crouched and pounced onto her waiting prey.

The birds, unable to decide on a direction to escape, dropped the yarn strings they were carrying so they could fly off to safely. Opal’s claws missed them by inches as the cat landed on the ground.

Between the momentum Twilight’s body had already, and the last action of scattering from Opal’s attack, Twilight found herself floating up from the ground. “Spike, HELP!” she screamed, flailing her hooves to grab at the tree, only managing to grab a thin branch that snapped off too easily.

Spike stopped chasing Opal and grabbed the bundle of rope. “Hold on, Twilight! Let me see if I can toss this to you!” He found a small rock on the ground and tied the end of the rope to it. He eyed Twilight, already drifting past the tops of the trees, and started swinging on the end of rope with the attached rock. “Here, catch!”

Twilight held her hooves out, waiting for the rope. “Hurry up!”

Spike let go of the rope at the apex of his swing. The rock sailed up about six feet before falling back to the ground.

“Ugghhh,” Twilight groaned, slapping her face with her hoof.

“Hold on, I’ll try again, Twi!” Spike shouted as he collected the rope to try again.

By now, Twilight had cleared the height of town hall, and she had fallen into a full panic model. “HURRY UP!”

“I gotcha, Twi!” Rainbow Dash yelled as dove out of the clouds. The pegasus grabbed at one of the loose strings of the harness the birds as used, pulling the aloft Twilight alongside her.

“Oh thank Celestia you came!” Twilight said through her rapid breathing. “I thought I was going to be lost to outer space there!”

Rainbow brough Twilight down to the ground level. A winded Spike raced up to retie the rope around Twilight while Rainbow held her from drifting off. “Hey, no sweat. I had heard strange rumors from Cloudsdale about Twilight floating around and had to come see if for myself.” She nudged Twilight in her side, a smirk on her face. “Good thing I came by when I did, wasn’t it?”

Twilight had her face in her hoof. “Ugh, I knew it would spread fast, but not that fast.” She sighed and collected her thoughts as Spike adjusted the rope around her. “Thanks anyway, Rainbow.”

“You should let yourself float around some more, Twilight!” Rainbow drifted in a lazy circle around the pair. “Letting the wind stream through your hair, seeing everypony else as small as ants... it’s really a relaxing feeling.”

Twilight was already starting to drift upwards herself after Spike had finished the knot, the end of the rope gripped in her hand. “Right, and drift off into nowhere. Or get taken by the next gust of wind over to the Bad Lands!”

“Hey, I would have been there for you!” Rainbow thumped her chest. “I’d never let my friend down. Besides, I’d really love a flying buddy at times, but I never can get Fluttershy to pony up and join me.”

“Well, after this spell wears off, I’m planning on staying on the ground forever,” Twilight nagged while her body floated aimlessly. “I assume you’ve got the weather taken care of for tonight?”

“Sure thing!” Rainbow smiled and nodded. “There was a small drizzle scheduled for tonight but I got the okay from Cloudsdale to postpone it until tomorrow. Just need to grab the rest of the Ponyville cloud-clearing squad to push it out of the way.”

“Oh,” Twilight paused, her ears drooping. “You mean, all the pegasi?”

“Yup! Even that lazy Thunderlane!”

“Well, I was going to ask if you or any of the other pegasi were available to help me, but the weather duty for tonight is much more important than my predicament right now.”

Rainbow frowned, and scratched behind her head. “Yeah, I’d love to help, but I need the full team for this.” Her face suddenly lit up. “Hey, but I can help you a bit! How about a hitch over to the town hall? I’ve got to go there anyway myself to start rounding up the team, it’ll be no sweat to help you along!”

Twilight smiled with relief. “I’d appreciate that, Dash. I won’t have to worry about floating off between here or there once I’m inside.”

“And then it’s just a short walk back to the library after that,” Spike offered. “We shouldn’t have any problem getting you back home after that, right?”

Rainbow was already gathering the yarn harnessed in her teeth and began towing Twilight towards town. Twilight turned towards Spike and narrowed her eyes at him. “After a day like today, I just don’t know what else can go wrong.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay in this, I was running into both writer block and other issues. Most of this was done (as well as most of the next/last chapter too) but just coming up with a few transitions between segments.

And yes, much of the Rainbow Dash scene I wrote after seeing the Season 3 finale, purposely tipping the hat to elements there. :)

...Until It Comes Crashing Down

Twilight and Rarity walked together towards the town hall as night settled in. Both the ponies were in fancy gowns for the event; Rarity had chosen a tasteful purple dress laced with deep greens and burgundy trimmings and lined with matching emeralds and rubies. Twilight’s dress came out very similar to what Rarity had sketched out earlier—a mix of shades of blue, with the edges lined in dark blue ribbons and buntings, with a short silk train following her. Both had done their manes up into trim proper coifs for the event. Spike himself was dressed in his tuxedo shirt, jacket and tie with top hat, and drifted lazily behind the pair, kept aloft by his endless adoration of Rarity.

“Rarity, this dress is perfect. I can finally walk normal again!” Twilight gave a few tentative bounces. “Whatever you did with it, it’s holding me down to earth.”

“Oh, it was nothing, Twilight.” Rarity waved her hoof. “If anything, it was a proper fashion challenge to make the trim come out just right. You can barely see the sagging of the dress due to the loadstones. A stroke of genius, I must say.”

Twilight let out a calming breath. “I should have come to you earlier. This would have helped a lot earlier in the day.”

They had arrived at town hall. Several others ponies, mostly unicorns, from Ponyville had gathered outside, all adorned in their best outfits. They chatted excited in small groups, and several waved to Twilight and Rarity as they passed by.

“I’m glad to see the rest of the unicorns in town excited about this as I am,” Twilight commented. “Getting this annex would really help benefit Ponyville.”

“Oh, yes, I agree. Cheerilee may be a great teacher of general knowledge, but once Sweetie Belle has found her talent, she is going to need some proper education, and it would be much more convenient if that was here right in town. And I just cannot see her living by herself in Canterlot as I had to.”

The two had made their way into the midst of the crowd, where the Cakes were managing a small hors d'oeuvres table. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, how’s it going?” Twilight asked.

Mrs. Cake was distributing some crackers and cheese onto a plate. “Oh, busy busy busy! Thanks for asking us to cater tonight, though.”

“Oh, yes. It would be great to have a school for Pumpkin right here in town when she grows up. We’re only happy to help you with that,” Mr. Cake offered, as he tended to distributing small glasses of punch to the other guests with straws to the other guests.

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get that annex, and little Pumpkin will get a good magic education. Maybe I’ll be her teacher, even!”

Rarity had levitated a glass over to her, and took a sip. “Ah, delicious as always. Twilight, you must try this.”

Mr. Cake offered Twilight a glass of the red punch. Her eyes opened a bit at the aroma. “Ohhh, is this your special apple punch mix? I’m sure the delegates will love this when they get here!” Twilight took the drink into her magical grasp and took a long sip.

“Oh, they’ve already arrived,” he commented, continuing to serve a few others that had lined up for drinks.

Twilight spit out her drink at Mr. Cake, dousing the stallion with liquid. “They’ve what?!”

“Oh, yes, about ten minutes ago,” Mrs. Cake said while offering her husband a towel.

Twilight started to hyperventilate. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my g—”

Rarity laid a hoof on Twilight’s back. “Calm down, Twilight,” she said in a soothing manner. “They simply arrived earlier than the actual meeting.” She tossed her head back, allowing her curl to settle back against her head. “I know its more proper for the Canterlot elite to arrive fashionably late, but it certainly isn’t a faux pas to be early.”

“Besides, all your friends are inside already, along with the Mayor and several others. It’s not like they’re in there by themselves.” Mr. Cake offered, having managed to wipe most of the liquid from his face.

“Actually, that’s what I’m most afraid of!” Twilight bit her lip. “Let’s get in there before anything else goes wrong.”

Twilight quickly made for the steps into the town hall proper, with Rarity and Spike in tow. Twilight took her time on the steps, but Rarity’s loadstone dress kept her hooves in constant contact with the wooden beams.

Inside, nearly a hundred ponies were milling around, carrying the buzz of conversation around the room. Twilight caught glimpses of her friends among the crowd, each wearing an attractive gown or dress for the occasion.

The Canterlot school’s board members were easily identifiable from the others. About a dozen of them were stallions dressed in tuxedos or prim dinner jackets, with the older ones standing a good head above the rest of the crowd. The mares from the board stood out in their large, flared dresses and fashionable hats. Twilight had only vague recollections of some of the faces back from her visits to Canterlot, and couldn’t immediately place any names.

“Oh, Fancypants!” Rarity cooed, moving towards one of the nearby groups, where a familiar stallion was talking with Fluttershy. “I didn’t know you were on the school board!”

“Ah, Ms. Rarity. A delight to meet you again,” Fancypants said, taking Rarity’s hoof and giving it a chaste kiss. He looked towards Twilight who had joined them. “And... Ms. Twilight?”

Twilight gave a short bow. “Yes, that’s right. It’s nice to meet you again, Fancypants.” She allowed him to give a brief kiss on her hoof as he had done wit Rarity.

“I’m glad I could see you again. And as to your question, Ms. Rarity, I am on the board, though I don’t have a vote on the annex. I’m here more as a... consultant?” He took a moment to find the right word.”I’m only here to help provide my own suggestions before the main board members vote.”

“Er, I hope its so far to your satisfaction?” Twilight asked hopefully.

“Oh, this couldn’t be more appropriate, Ms. Twilight.” He directed his hoof towards Fluttershy. “Your charming companion has been quite insightful on the benefits of opening the school annex in Ponyville. If it were up to me, I would have already made my decision based on her word alone.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks turned a deep red. “Well, er, I’m just happy to help,” she managed to squeak out.

“Perhaps you can help us then,” Twilight asked. “Who would be the board members that have the votes? I think it would be best I talk to them first.”

Fancypants nodded. “Of course, anything to help a friend of Ms. Rarity.” He looked out over the small groups in the hall and pointed with a hoof. “Well, over there, in the tweed coat, is Mr. Gavel. He’s a kind-hearted fellow. Runs the auction house, if you remember, Ms. Rarity.”

“Oh, yes, he was a very nice fellow. Twilight, you shouldn’t have any worries from him.”

“Over there on the far side of the room, in that lovely pastel-colored gown, is Ms. Color Palette, who runs the Canterlot Art Museum as well. She may seem a bit snotty, but that’s just a facade, she’s very charming. And finally, in the back there are Mr. Jet Set and Mrs. Upper Crust.”

“Oh, dear.” Rarity gasped at mention of the names.

Twilight peeked over the crowd to look at the two. “Weren’t they the ones at my birthday party that purchased all your dresses, Rarity?”

Rarity shook her head. “They were only doing to keep up with the rest of the elite and save face. They rather despite such rustic places like Ponyville. I’m surprised they even came.”

“Well, they are part of the board, Ms. Rarity. But yes, I believe they will be the most difficult to win over. I’ve heard they’d rather simply open the school in Manehatten.”

Rarity sighed. “Well, that’s no surprise.”

“Wait, who’s talking to them?” Twilight craned her neck to see who was in the cluster around the pair. She caught of a glimpse of a pink curl among the other bodies and broke out into a quiet panic. “Oh, no! Um, you’ll have to excuse me, Fancypants, but I need to greet them immediately.”

“Oh, please, go right ahead,” Fancypants smiled. “I will just stay in the charming company of your friends here.”

Twilight gave a quick curtsy and then made a beeline to the gathering of ponies on the far side of the room, weaving her way through the other small masses. She caught sight of a familiar cowboy hat in a group nearby, and briefly paused to tap Applejack on her barrel.

“Psst, AJ! I need your help,” Twilight spoke at a whisper, just loud enough to hear over the muffled conversations.

Applejack turned away from the discussion she had been listening in on. “Hey, Twi, looks like ya fixed that problem of yours,” she offered in her happy and loud voice.

Twilight waved her hoof vigorously across her neck. “Inxay on the omble-pray!” she uttered in a soft anxious tone.

Her friend stared at her for a moment, “What on the what, now?”

Twilight rolled her eyes before returning to a whisper. “Look, just don’t mention about my floating problem. Rarity’s figured it all out, and I don’t want the board members to know about it!”

“Oh, gotcha, Twi, sorry about that. But what’s so important now?”

Twilight pointed towards the mass of pink curls nearby. “I’ve not had a chance to talk to Pinkie about how she needs to behave today, and she’s right now talking with two of the board members! I need you to take over for her!”

“Me? Well, gee, I guess I can, but what can I talk about?”

Twilight gave a brief pause. “Oh! You’ve lived in Manehatten for a bit. With your aunt and uncle, right? Talk about the high life there? I’m sure you’ll bond immediately!”

Applejack frowned. “Are you sure? It’s been a while--”

Twilight didn’t let her finish, grabbing her friend by the dress and pulling them over to the other group. Twilight apologized to the various mares and stallions as she forced the two of them into the center of the circle. As expected, Jet Set and Upper Crust stood together, their individual magic keeping their drinks nearby. Both were watching Pinkie Pie, who was telling them one of her stories in her usual, overly-animated way.

“And then I said, ‘Oatmeal, are you crazy?!” Pinkie began to laugh at her own story.

Twilight grimaced as she looked towards the board members. They somehow managed to keep their very aloof and snide look, but their irises had shrunk to the size of apple seeds. Twilight wanted to scream, but managed to keep her cool.

“Heh, heh, sorry to interrupt,” Twilight offered with as straight a face she could conjure. “But I need to borrow Pinkie here and, um, introduce her to the other guests. But I’d love for you to talk to Applejack here, she used to live in Manehatten.” Twilight pulled the lurking Applejack forward in front of her. “Isn’t that right, AJ?”

Applejack stood there, stunned by the question. “Ummm.”

Jet Set blinked for a moment, his face quickly returning to his haughty manner. “Oh, Manehatten? That’s a lovely city. Tell me, do you know the Oranges?”

“Well, ummm, they’re actually mah relatives…” Applejack floundered with the words, twisting her mane in a hoof at the question.

“Oh dear, you need to tell us all about them,” Upper Crust inquired, moving closer to the mare. “They are one of the most influential families there.”

Applejack smiled as broadly as she could. “Twilight, help!” she rasped back to her friend through clenched teeth.

Pleased that AJ was getting along well with the two, Twilight grabbed at Pinkie’s dress, pulling her back out through the crowd. “Pinkie, I need to talk to you. Privately”

“Awww, but I wanted to hear about AJ’s family!” Pinkie protested but came along quietly. Twilight led them to a secluded corner of the hall.

“Pinkie, you know how important getting this annex is to Ponyville, right?” Twilight asked her in hush tones.

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Oh, of course, Twilight!”

“So you do know how important it is for you to be on your best behavior, right?”

“Duh, silly! Of course it’s important, I wouldn’t want to let you down.”

Twilight frowned. “Then why in Celestia’s name were you telling that story to the big important delegates?”

Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, that story always breaks the ice at parties! It never fails to get a laugh from everypony!”

Twilight buried her face in her hoof. “Pinkie, it’s not that type of party. We want them to think Ponyville is a, um, a well-educated town, suitable for their annex.”

“Ohhh, I see.” Pinkie looked worried. “I guess I better tell Vinyl she’s not needed today.”

Twilight held in a grumble, and placed a hoof to Pinkie’s side.. “Look, just be happy and pleasant, you’ve done fine before. But, please, please, just be careful around these Canterlot ponies, okay? Fortunately, I think we should be good if what Fancypants says is true.”

The frown on Pinkie’s smile was quickly replaced with a wide grin. “Oh, that’s great! I’m sure we’ll get that annex in no time, then!”

“I hope so, Pinkie, I hope so,” Twilight sighed. “After today, I just couldn’t take one more thing going wrong.”

“Oh, you mean how your spell went all haywire and caused to to float around and made Spike have to pull you around town like a balloon to get anywhere before you would float off and--mmph!”

Twilight stuck her hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “We especially don’t want the board members to hear about that, okay?” Twilight gave Pinkie a stern look.

Pinkie nodded. “Mmm mmph!”

Twilight let Pinkie’s mouth free. “Just...just keep calm, Pinkie. I’m sure you’ll do fine. In fact, based on what Fancypants said, you should probably get along great with Mr. Gavel over there.” She pointed out the stallion at the far end of the room. “Talk to him about all the fun activities there are about Ponyville. He’s pretty much all ready to vote in favor, I think you’ll help us assure that.”

“You got it, Twi!” Pinkie beamed before turned and bounding off into the crowd. Twilight stared as she left, amazed that her pronking didn’t see to disrupt any of the crowds around her.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Okay, Twilight, time to impress these board members.”

Twilight took a few moments to step away from the various groups and to collect her thoughts. She had just finished a lively discussion with Ms. Palette along with Applejack. As Fancypants had cautioned her, she was initially cold to them, but quickly opened up to their friendly chatter. She was also a bit surprised at Applejack’s knowledge of the art world, which seemed to impress Palette even more. Though she didn’t ask Palette directly, she was certain that her vote for the annex was secure based on her mannerisms and discussion. That was two votes down—Mr. Gavel’s was very approachable and he had quickly assured Twilight that the annex would end up in Ponyville. Pinkie must have done wonders on him, as Mr. Gavel insisted on spending a week to visit the annex when it was up and running to enjoy the various amenities that Ponyville offered.

She looked back towards the largest group in the room that had centered around Jet Set and Upper Crust. “Okay, Twilight, now’s the time to give it your all,” she said to herself, taking one last deep breath.

She carefully meandered through the crowd. As the event had progressed, the crowd had become a bit more lively, with guests going back and forth between the conversations inside and the refreshments outside. As such, it was getting more difficult to move about within the town hall, but with a few polite requests, she had finally made it outside the circle surrounding the pair. She collected her throughs, and took a step into the ring.

Something tugged at her neck, holding her back. Twilight realized it was the strap of her dress, and turned around. A stallion, one of the other non-voting board members, had accidently stepped back and had his hoof firmly planted on the train of her dress, and Twilight’s forward movement had pulled the dress halfway-off to the right.

“Oh, no,” she whispered in a panic, feeling the offset weight from the loadstones pulling her to the right. She tried to grab at the dress to pull it back across here but momentum was already working against her. He left hooves were already lifting off the ground.

The dress fell completely off her, and her body swung out and up. Within moments, she was hanging upside down, the neckstrap of the dress keeping her connected to the rest of the fabric that hung to the floor, still pinned there by the errant hoof.

The crowd gave a collective gasp as she hung there. She tried to bury her face in her hoof to hide from the gawking and staring.

“What is the meaning of this?” Jet Set stepped out from the circle, along with Upper Crust. He gave Twilight a condescending stare from just over the top of his glasses. Twilight could see her friends lining up behind the pair, confused looks on their faces.

Twilight sighed, losing whatever credibility a upside-down, half-naked, floating unicorn could have. “I had a misfire trying to learn a gravity spell earlier today and haven’t been able to correct it. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to reveal my foul up to you, but…I guess you know now.” She frowned, looking back over the crowd. “I’m sorry, I screwed this up for everypony.”

An unnatural hush came over the room. Some brief whispers could be heard, but nopony dared to break the silence.

Upper Crust gave a brief tap to her husband’s shoulder. “I have read that gravity spells are some of the most advanced ones. Not even the school’s professors are capable of casting it.”

“That’s true, dear,” Jet Set considered the statement and then looked back to Twilight, still suspending upside down in front of them. “And you say you’ve only been practicing a day?”

Jet Set’s stare of disbelief unnerved Twilight, causing her to blush and tear up. “I’m sorry, I’m usually a lot better at learning these spells, though—”

He shook his head. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, you learned how to cast this in a day?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, unsure where this was going. “Er, yes?”

Jet Set looked to his wife, who gave the briefest of nods. “If you would excuse us,” he said to Twilight and then called out to the rest of the room. “Mr. Gavel, Ms. Palette? Can we talk?” The pair shuffled out through the gathered crowds to meet with their fellow board members. The gathered crowd split open to allow the four to speak quietly among themselves on one side of the room.

As soon as they were away, Twilight’s friends raced up to help her from her predicament. Rainbow flew up to grab her and helped to bring her to the ground while Rarity and Fluttershy quickly rearranged her dress to keep her down. “I’m so sorry, Twilight,” Rarity apologized in a tense manner. “I never even thought that could have happened with the dress!”

Twilight let out a deep breath, releasing all the tension she had building up to this event. She ignored the sidelong looks that the other attendees gave her. “No, it’s my fault for not being careful with my magic. You all tried to help today, but I blame myself for losing the chance for the annex.”

“Ah’m sure there will be other chances to get something like a magic school for Ponyville, Twi,” Applejack offered, helping to smooth out Twilight’s mane that had come wild during the incident.

“But there’s nothing more prestigious than the Canterlot Magic Academy,” Twilight retorted. “It would have meant so much for the parents in Ponyville to have their foals trained there.”

“Well, maybe you can get a Cloudsdale Academy annex,” Rainbow Dash offered, a hopeful look on her face. “They’re always looking to open up new schools across Equestria to take the load off them.”

“That would be nice, but its just not as what the Canterlot branch would have done for Ponyville.” Twilight sniffled away a tear.

Somepony cleared their throat nearby. The six turned to see Jet Set, Upper Crust, and the other board members nearby.

“Ms...Twilight? Was it?” Jet Set asked.

“Um, yes, that’s me,” Twilight said, barely able to get the words out of her mouth.

“We have just had an impromptu board meeting regarding the potential annex of the Canterlot School of Magic in Ponyville.” Jet Set’s emphasis on the word “Ponyville” was filled with contempt.

Upper Crust nodded, hautly. “We were to vote on this tomorrow, but we have come to our decision right now.”

“Oh,” Twilight turned and hung her head in shame. “I guess that makes sense.”

Jet Set ignored her reaction, and continued in his flat monologue. “We are proud to announce that our decision is unanonymous. Ponyville will get the new Annex, with construction to start immediately.”

Twilight let off a resolved sigh. “Yeah, I kinda fig—wait what?!” It took a moment for the words to sink in.

“Yes, in fact, we would be honored if you would accept the role as a honorary professor at the school, Ms. Twilight,” Upper Crust offered, her voice as deadpan as her husband.

“What?” Twilight was still shocked. Her friends, along with several others around the room gasped in surprise at the announcement.

“As my wife has pointed out, gravity spells are some of the most difficult to cast, much less practice. The fact that you’ve been able to cast one with less than a day of studying—well, that’s the type of calibre we want our young foals to learn under.”

“What?” Twilight’s mouth remained agape.

Applejack lightly nudged Twilight. “Twi, dear, they said yes! You did it!”

Twilight shook her head to clear her sense. “But—but my magic backfired! That’s not good at all!”

“Oh, every unicorn knows that accidents happen,” Upper Crust said, then turned to her husband with narrowed eyes. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

Jet Set coughed and bit his lip. “Er, yes, you’re right. But getting back on the subject, even if you did have a backfire, the fact you were able to cast it within a day of learning is amazing aptitude and one that the Canterlot school would be proud to host.”

“B-but, I don’t know what to say.” Twilight floundered for the right words. “I’m honored, and would be proud to accept the position.” She knelt forward on her front hooves as she would courtesy the Princesses.

The residents of Ponyville erupted into cheering behind her. Twilight was suddenly overwhelmed with both Ponyville and Canterlot residents, trying to shake her hoof and congratulate her. Even as they crowded around her, they were all careful to avoid stepping on the hems of Twilight’s dress. She did her best to address them all, a slight rose tint coming to her cheeks as the other ponies gave her adoration.

It took a good while before the crowd around Twilight finally dispersed, allowing her to get herself some breathing room. She apologized to the last few stragglers around her and made her way towards the main doors of the room. The mood of the event had certainly changed, and the few snippets of conversation were much more livelier. She thought she hear some bass-thumping music start up somewhere in the back of the hall. “Oh, Pinkie…,” she thought to herself and broke into a grin.

Once outside, she took a few deep breaths, taking a moment to brush out her dress to make sure that it was still evenly covering her body. She looked up to the near-cloudless sky, glad that Rainbow got the okay to delay the drizzle to later.

“Ms. Sparkle,” a voice behind her said. Twilight turned to find Fancypants waiting there, a broad grin across his face.

“Oh, Mr. Fancypants, nice to see you again.” She offered. “Just...just taking a bit of a breather here,” she said.

“I must say, your performance tonight was stellar. I have never seen those two make such a rapid decision.”

Twilight’s face turned red, and she turned away from the stallion to try to hide it. “Well, I didn’t really plan it that way.”

“Very little is actually planned, Ms. Sparkle. It’s one of those little idioms I’ve come to appreciate. You may have all the best intentions in Equestria, but fate will bound to make something go wrong, and it’s how you deal with those that shows just type of pony one is.” He pointed at her with his hoof. “You, young mare, have shown that you can roll with the punches, as they say, and that is something to be proud of.”

Twilight felt her cheeks heat up even more. “Oh… I-- I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m good friends with your mentor, Princess Celestia. We have tea once every moon or so, of course, and she’s always spoken highly of your ability to adapt to the situation, and tonight you clearly have shown that.”

Her eyes twinkled a bit at the mention of Celestia’s name. “She thinks that way of me?”

“Absolutely!” Fancypants grinned broadly. “She is amazed by your skills and your strong character. You did absolutely nothing wrong tonight, and she’ll be delighted to hear of your success today.”

Twilight was tearing up at the compliments. “Even with the gravity spell screwup?”

Fancypants gave a short chuckle. “As Mrs. Upper Crust said, mistakes happen to every unicorn. You should have seen the look on Mr. Jet Set’s face when his magic went awry at their wedding ceremony.”

“Oh!” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “You must tell me what happened!”

“It is unbecoming of me to speak ill of my fellow ponies,” Fancypants said, but then gave Twilight a knowing wink. “But let’s just say that Mrs. Upper Crust definitely is not a chartreuse.”

Several images flipped through Twilight’s mind, all leading her to giggle. “I guess you’re right. Thank you again for coming and your kind words, Mr. Fancypants. Are you going to go back to the party?”

Fancypants reached down and repeated the same chaste kiss on Twilight’s hoof as he did when he first greeted her. “I’m afraid I must be returning to Canterlot here myself, but there are several more ponies waiting inside that are anxious to meet you. But, please, you must visit me the next time you are in Canterlot.”

“I will, Mr. Fancypants. That I will.” Twilight gave a reassuring smile at the gesture.

She watched as the stallion made his way through the mingling outdoors crowd, pausing to say a few last words to some of the ponies from Canterlot before disappearing towards the train station. Twilight took in one more breath of the night air, and turned to go back inside to enjoy the rest of the event.

As night settled around Ponyville, Twilight and Spike made their way back to the library. Twilight had assured that she stayed until every last guest from Canterlot had left, thanking them personally for coming to the event, long after most of the other Ponyville residents had retired for the night. Exhausted both physically and socially, Twilight dragged her hoofs towards their home. Though she still wore the loadstone dress from Rarity, Twilight had Spike secure rope around her just in case the dress fell off again.

Wearily, Twilight used her magic to open the door. The library still a mess from the earlier gravity experiments. “I can’t believe this day is over,” she said, exasperatedly.

“But you did it, Twi! We’ve got the Annex, and the entire town is proud of you!” Spike offered before yawning. “I can’t believe how late that party went for! Where does Pinkie get all that energy?”

“That’s a question for another day,” Twilight mumbled, looking up towards her bedroom nook. “I just go to figure how I’m going to get to sleep. I can’t wear this dress to bed, but I’d float off otherwise! And if the spell dissipates while I’m over the middle of the library... I don’t want to hurt myself!”

“Hmm, I think I have an idea, Twi,” Spike said, pulling on the rope around Twilight’s barrel slightly. “Let’s get you set.”

Minutes later, Spike had put his plan into motion. Twilight had carefully taken off the dress—it was still a lovely gown that she could wear to other events once they took the loadstones out—and lazily floated above her bed. Spike’s rope remained attached around her barrel, its other end tied to a bound stack of several thick volumes of books next to her bed. A second bit of rope was used to tether her back hoof to the bedpost. Spike stood atop her bed, gently pushing at Twilight’s body to see how much slack the two ropes had.

“There, you should be all set, Twi. Even if you float around, you’ll stay right above your bed, so if the spell wears off in the middle of the night, you won’t hurt yourself.”

Twilight rubbed Spike’s ridges with her hoof. “Thanks, Spike. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

Spike smiled at the sign of appreciation. “Maybe next time you practice new magic, you should wait until there’s somepony nearby that can help you?” Spike gave another wide yawn. “Hopefully you’re not going to ask me to write that letter to Celestia right now.”

“No, Spike, that can wait until tomorrow.” Twilight chuckled to herself. “Now what do you say we get some shut eye?”

“I can totally agree with that!” Spike was already finishing up resetting his basket next to Twilight’s bed from the rest of the mess, and sluggishly crawled beneath the covers. “Night, Twilight.”

“Goodnight, Spike,” Twilight called out, using her magic to snuff the remaining candlelight that lit the nook. The room descended into darkness.

Moments later, there was a loud thunk, followed by a low moan.

“What was that?!” Spike sat up from his bed, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness.

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight replied, her voice muffled. “Just the gravity spell deciding to wear off at the worst possible time.” Finally caught in the safe grip of gravity, Twilight rolled over on her bed and stared up to the ceiling. “Oh, Celestia, why me?”

Author's Note

This was a chapter I knew pretty much how I wanted it to get (the second idea after the first idea of Twi screwing up the gravity spell). and pretty much had most of this written before Chapters 2 and 3. The only changes I've had in ideas is based on what we know of how Princess Twilight ''would'' behave (she's still a unicorn here!) and considering how'd she behave here.

Plus it gave me a way to introduce one of my favorite one-shots, Fancypants, who I thought was a brilliant character (The non-jerky upper class) in Sweet and Elite, and making him a sufficient foil against Jet Set & Upper Crust.