It was a little less than two days ago that Twilight had begun to realize that she no longer possessed any manner of magical influence whatsoever. It was in an unfortunate accident involving Spike and an inconvenient vase that led to the discovery and ever since Twilight was beginning to take notice of some things that simply were not normal. Overpowering silence was the first of these to become apparent. The night and the ensuing day were the quietest days she had experienced all summer and the realization was that she had seen no sight of Pinkie Pie at all. Nights resonated with the infectious beats that found their roots in her parties and the days were always marked with periodic visits that served as vain attempts to invite Twilight to one of the events. The night following the accident was not filled with the usual activity and bustle and the following day was unsettlingly serene. It was then the furtiveness of her friends that she took note of. Encounters were kept brief and ended abruptly with Twilight being cut off by an excuse of some sort. It was unusual for even Applejack to end a conversation with only two sentences being said. Already left somewhat tense from the rest of the events, it was the final occurrence that made Twilight begin to doubt her own sanity.

It appeared to be a phantom of sorts, towering above Twilight at a good six feet tall and resembling nothing she had never seen before. It had four appendages and a head but it stood on only two while the other two hung by its sides. Two piercing eyes rested within its head that both seemed to be staring at everything and nothing all at the same time, a strange convex that Twilight assumed to be a nose and mouth set in stone. Cloaked in a flaming purple and Twilights own Cutie Mark branded prominently on its forehead and right arm, it goes without saying that it was quite possibly the most terrifying thing the young unicorn had ever seen. Yet it was only she who could see it; Spike only reciprocated a look of confusion every time she brought it up. She delved into books for the better part of the night to disprove her perceived insanity only to have it grow with each turn of the page.

“Twelve books and absolutely nothing!” Twilight cleared the table violently with a sweep of her hoof. “Grimoires, ghost stories, summoning tomes, I don’t even know what to look for!” Her head fell in defeat into the desk.

“I think you should go talk to Celestia, if you think it’s such a big deal,” Spike said as he strolled by her desk with a glass of milk in hand. He sipped it with a profound calm as he turned to face Twilight only to find her glaring at him.

“I would, but what if she can’t see it either?” Twilight retorted as she shook her head. “And how are you so calm? Aren’t you in the least bit concerned?”

He ascended the stairs without a word. Twilight shook her head again and sighed. The lack of anywhere to turn left her utterly defeated. The answer had to lie somewhere, she thought, within the tomes that surrounded her; she had only but to find it. She rose and turned in a single movement and stopped, along with her heart, as she came face to face once again with the ghostly apparition. In its arms were two tall stacks of books balanced effortlessly in its hands. Unicorn and phantom stood a good minute with eyes locked, unmoving and totally silent. It was Twilight, curiosity growing from her fear, that broke the silence.

“Are those… are those for me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Did you get them for me?”
The phantom made no gestures. It floated silently with only the rising and falling of its chest showing any apparent movement.

“Well, you can put them on the table if they’re for me,” she asked somewhat stupidly. She blinked and the books were no longer present in the phantom’s hands. She turned to see the books stacked in perfect towers on her desk. Turning back, she looked inquisitively at her companion. She experimented: “Find A Brief History of Magic.”

Almost instantly, the massive book was in its hands.

She smiled as she heard a click within her brain. The ensuing ten minutes saw the fetching of ten books, a glass of water, a sandwich, and a somewhat rough back rub. The phantom performed every task it was given without any objection or any sound at all.

“Do you have a name?” she asked finally after the numerous requests. No response. “I guess I should have figured. Well, you seem to be doing everything I ask of you of your own free will… How about Freewill?”

The phantom made no response, but Twilight noticed that something was etching itself into the left forearm of the phantom with a bright glow. She inspected it to see that a word, giving off a burning pink glow against the purple arm, was engraved boldly into the phantom in ornate and elaborate handwriting: FREEWILL. She smirked and looked up at the newly dubbed Freewill who was staring at her with a blank expression that might have been interpreted as a smile. Twilight had grown somewhat accustomed to it but still harbored an intense curiosity of it. Even more prevalent than this curiosity was the need for sleep, which overpowered all and was first in the order of importance. With a yawn, she ascended the steps leading to her bedroom as Freewill, after extinguishing every source of light in the house, followed silently behind, fading slowly as Twilight sank deeper into a blissful and anxious sleep.

“How much longer do we have to wait?” The black colt paced back and forth through the moonlit grass. “We’ve been here all day and done absolutely nothing!”

“Tomorrow morning,” said his partner sharply in a steely voice. The campfire was prodded by an invisible hand. “We had to make sure that pink pony didn’t get in our way again.”

The black colt named Cornelius stopped his pacing and stared out into the distance, the twinkling night lights of Ponyville prominent in the darkness. “Hard to believe that one pony has caused us so much trouble. What’s so special about her anyways? I thought someone like you would have no trouble with her.”

“I would have no problem dealing with just her,” Sonny responded as he glared angrily at Cornelius. “But there was one hundred of her. I didn’t even get a solid hit in. She completely wrecked me.” Cornelius could feel the ground rumble slightly as Sonny emphasized his last word.

“So that’s it, huh? She can do that?” Cornelius turned away from the glistening lights and returned to sit by the fire across from Sonny. “So why do we want the foal instead the pink one?”

“The foal’s abilities are a little bit more valuable to the boss,” Sonny replied matter-of-factly. “Besides, the pink one has had time to practice with her power. She’s too strong to get under control.”

“I’d like to see her go one round against me.” A hulking apparition appeared behind the sneering Cornelius. “I’d have her begging for me to take her after I was done with her.”

Sonny regarded him with little interest as a ghostly hand appeared before him and prodded the fire. “Get some rest,” he said with increased volume. “Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day."

Author's Note

I'll be putting the stand data here as the story progresses. For now, enjoy the chapter after several months of absence!