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I Forgot I Was There

by GaPJaxie

Chapter 1

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But it is possible to create magic concerning magic—by which a unicorn could use her talent to enhance her talent, to the maximum effect of doubling her potential as a wizard. Of this, I have found a remarkable demonstration which this margin is too narrow to contain.
-Starswirl the Bearded

“Magic circle?” Twilight called out. In her excitement, she was distinctly using her outside voice, intonations loud and projecting. The wooden walls of Ponyville’s library served to quiet her voice, but only so much. The unicorn’s enthusiasm rolled off every surface, reverberating through the tiny space because of conviction as much as volume.

“Check,” Spike answered, stifling a yawn. It was dark outside, though from how he felt, he expected it to start getting light any moment now. The young dragon was grateful that the walls made Twilight’s voice just a little quieter, but he knew that they weren't done yet. Whenever she got a new project in her head, she seemed to have no end of energy, often to the detriment of her number one assistant.

“Enchanted mirror?” Twilight asked, her voice crisp and alert. The feeling of a job well done electrified her tone with a confident energy, and her posture reflected much the same. Some ponies pose and strut to make themselves look mighty and proud, but Twilight stood with an earnest drive about her, on her hooves like her body weighed nothing and no mortal task was beyond her.

The main room of the library was the only space large enough to contain the circle that the spell called for. The room had been throughly cleaned, and the reading table in center had been cleared of books and the wooden bust that normally adorned it. Instead, a tall mirror rested there, large enough to show an entire pony mane to hooves, decorated around the edges by a silver frame.

“Check,” Spike answered, claw reaching up to cover his mouth as he yawned again, his eyelids heavy. The circle on the floor may have looked solid to an outside observer, but it was made of hundreds of tiny lines, each one painted on the floor with a single ponyhair brush. After a few hours of such tedium, Spike wouldn't have minded giving up some of his assistant job to Owlowiscious, if only the bird could hold the brush.

“Lost journal of Starswirl the Bearded, given to me by Princess Luna?” Twilight raised her head faintly with pride, eyes turning down to inspect the floor.

Spike tried to give Twilight a half-lidded stare as her tone swelled with confidence, but she was busy admiring their work from the previous night. Tired as Spike was, lowering his eyelids at all was a mistake, and soon the little dragon was letting them rest. As his eyes slid shut, he muttered a quiet, “Oh yeah... check,” without a glance at the book on the pedestal.

“Magical prodigy who is going to cast Starswirl’s Last Spell and be hailed by all the wizards in Canterlot as the pony who revolutionized magic forever?” Twilight’s volume swelled to match the energy in her tone as she struck a pose—one hoof up, head high, eyes closed—as if the sculptor of her future statue were watching and needed inspiration.

She held that pose for a full second, then another, before turning back at the silence behind her to see Spike fast asleep, curled up on the floor below one of the library’s shelves. An embarrassed blush rose to her face, as it occurred to her she might have gotten a bit carried away. Her horn set itself aglow as she levitated Spike gently from his resting place, moving to carry him to his bed upstairs.

“Well, I suppose all the wizards in Canterlot can wait just one more day.”



“I’m not so sure that this is a good idea, Twilight,” Spike muttered. Morning had come to Ponyville, and with it had come Twilight and Spike’s morning errands. As usual, Spike was riding atop Twilight’s back, the little dragon bouncing faintly as she trotted down Ponyville’s streets. The sound of clopping hooves and at least one set of wagon wheels drifted through the air around them as they cut a brisk pace towards Carousel Boutique.

“Don’t be silly, Spike! We just make a quick trip to tell Rarity that I’m going to have to meet her this afternoon instead of this morning. Then it’s back home and I’m revolutionizing magic before lunch!” Twilight proclaimed, a happy spring in her step that Spike might have found more endearing if he weren't riding on her unsteady back.

“Yeah, great planning. You don’t even know exactly what that spell does,” Spike replied, eliciting a tolerant, friendly sigh from Twilight.

“Oh Spike, I know exactly what it does,” she insisted as they neared the Boutique, her course adjusting itself to Ponyville’s most brilliantly decorated building. “It proves that I’m a serious scholar who’s doing her part to push magic forward, and thereby make Princess Celestia proud of me!”

The big problem with Spike riding on Twilight’s back was that she was always looking ahead, so she couldn't see it when he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, good morning, Twilight! And you too, Spike,” Rarity called out, the bell over the door jingling with their entrance. Rarity did not need the bell to notice them, of course. She had already been in her showroom for hours, tending to her business and awaiting customers. She was working on a dress resting in the space between three great mirrors, and though it was currently only a few strips of cloth over a ponyquin, Rarity was sure it would soon be a masterpiece. “Are you here for our trip to the spa, Twilight?” she asked, turning to face her guests. “You’re early.”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” Twilight started, somewhat disingenuously. While her tone was apologetic, “sorry” would not have been the most accurate descriptor. Nothing with that much enthusiasm can be truly sorry. “But I was actually wondering if we could do this afternoon instead? Something’s come up. I’ve got a new project I’m really excited about!”

“Well of course, darling!” Rarity assured her, with just the right amount of polite interest in her tone, eyes sliding between dragon and pony. “I have been wondering just what you two have been up to that’s worth keeping the library closed. You’ve been awfully mysterious about the whole thing. You’ll tell me all about it when you and Spike are done, I trust?”

“Actually, I was meaning to give Spike some time off. We were up awfully late last night getting everything ready,” Twilight started as Spike looked up with surprise. “And since we’re here, I was wondering if you’d like an assistant for the day?”

“Why of course!” Rarity proclaimed. “I’m always happy to see Spike around the Boutique. My needles have never been sharper than the time he helped me with Fluttershy’s first modeling dress.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me?” Spike asked as he hopped from Twilight’s back. Twilight laughed at the worry Spike had let seep into his tone, giving a gentle shake of her head.

“You’re a wonderful assistant Spike, but you’ve already helped me get everything ready!” she answered, leaning down towards him. “All that’s left to do is to cast the spell and take some notes, and I’d do all that myself anyway. Besides, I have been making you work a bit hard these last few days.”

That’s certainly true,” Spike agreed, with a touch of a grumble. After the amount of work he’d put into this project of Twilight’s, he actually kind of wanted to see the end, even if he did think it was a terrible idea. Before he could say as much, though, he was interrupted by Rarity’s sing-song intonations.

“It’s settled then. I’ll bring him back when we meet this afternoon. Would two o’clock be to your tastes, Twilight?” she asked, a hoof politely raised in greeting to Spike, gesturing him over.

“Perfect!” Twilight agreed. And no sooner had she spoken than Spike forgot why he was about to object, the young dragon eagerly dashing Rarity’s way.

It was only at the sound of the bell above the door chiming that he remembered what he was going to say. By then, it was too late. Spike turned just in time to see the last hairs of Twilight’s tail vanish out the door. Oh well, he thought, I’m sure it’ll be fine.


“Those foals at the academy have doubted my theories for the last time!” Not that they had been particularly inclined to doubt her theories before, but those sorts of proclamations always made Twilight feel extra science-y before undertaking a big project. Just like the labcoat, and goggles, and the Jacob’s ladder throwing off arcs of lightning in the back of the room.

It was a good thing she’d found an excuse to get rid of Spike for the day. He always gave her weird looks when she got seriously science-y.

Besides, it was true. No one would ever question the rediscoverer of Starswirl’s final work, even if she had had a little help from Princess Luna. After all, the Princess may have given her the book, but she was the one who alertly noticed the pages he’d discreetly ripped out, brilliantly reconstructed them from ink impressions on the remaining paper, and boldly ignored all that nonsense about doom and ruin he’d scribbled over it to keep prying ponies out. Science required you to be bold.

Of course, it was all just speculation until she proved that she’d restored the pages correctly—and that the spell actually proved what his notes implied it proved—and the only way to do that was to cast it. If casting it happened to have some beneficial effect on her potential as a wizard and a student, that was just icing on the cupcake.

She considered letting out a science-y laugh, and decided that the moment warranted it.

“All right, enough talk!” she proclaimed with an glare towards the library-turned-ritual-chamber, a faint smile portraying the set of her jaw. Her smile threatened to turn to a smirk, and soon her horn flared with light. “Monitors, check!” Her telekinesis pulled a bank of sensors towards the circle’s edge. A roll printer started to whirr and click, letting out a steady stream of graph paper into a waiting box. “Magic tome, check!” The pedestal holding Starswirl’s reconstructed journal sliding into its space before her. Its pages whirled in front of her like they were taken by a great wind. The screech of scraping wood made Twilight’s ears fold back as the mirror in the center of the room turned to face her, but she ignored the sound, and soon the mirror showed her whole reflection.

“Magic,” she finished, with a determined stare into the mirror. The ink of the magic circle set itself alight at the touch of her power, bursting into heatless flames the same color as Twilight’s horn.

“Check.”

According to Starswirl’s notes, the spell was beyond him, and Twilight was certain it was beyond her. But if it worked the way he thought, the caster’s power would grow as the spell went on, enabling them to finish it, and proving his theory at last! Of course, his notes didn’t say what the spell actually did. Starswirl was a brilliant wizard, but a less-than-brilliant notetaker.

Trying to cast the spell was like trying to lift Tom with her bare hooves. Already Twilight was starting to show the strain, as the light from her horn increased. The purple flames around the room shot up, as a growing whine filled the space. Only the closed blinds saved Twilight from the interruption of well-meaning ponies who might have thought that the library was burning down.

“C’mon, Twilight, you can do this!” she growled, raising her horn to the air, its glow so bright it was shining like the sun. There were not many spells that Twilight genuinely struggled to cast—barely a hoofful including the wing-granting enchantment—and already, Twilight could tell that this spell was not amongst them. It was not hard for her; it was beyond her. If Starswirl was wrong, the spell would—metaphorically and possibly literally—smash her into the ground horn-first.

She didn’t feel any stronger.

But the spell was starting to feel lighter.

At first, it was so faint Twilight didn’t dare believe it, convinced her mind was tricking her, but when she felt the strain on her growing, wincing in anticipation of the pain that would shoot through her horn, the pain never came. The spell was heavy, but not unmanageable. Twilight started to laugh, and as the rush of relief and exhalation overcame her, found she couldn't stop. The noise that poured forth from her was pure, simple, a sound of joy. Yet, that same sound might have deeply concerned Celestia if she heard Twilight make it, a smirk plastering itself to Twilight’s face when the laughter finally departed.

“I did it!” she proclaimed to the book and the mirror before her, her reflection mimicking her flush, victorious expression. The flames around her started to twist, to bend inwards, to form strange runes and shapes in the air, filling the circle.

Twilight felt no stronger, but the spell felt only half as hard. It was like somepony else was helping her cast it, except that that somepony was the perfect teammate, able to help her just the way she needed it better than any real circle of wizards ever could. She couldn't help but grin at the sight: the purple flames, the magic she was commanding with only a casual effort, the vindication of her work written in glowing runes two ponies tall.

“All right, lets do this,” she quipped, drawing in a breath for that last surge of effort, her horn blazing as the flames reared.


Rarity had a keen eye for scandal.

It was not that she particularly liked spreading gossip, except in those instances when she did. Nor was it that she found the tawdry and sordid affairs of other ponies captivating, except when they were. She simply had a natural sense for when a pony had something juicy to hide.

It was a sense which rang as loud as the bell over the door when Twilight entered the spa, trying to seem as though she weren't slinking into the bright, fern-filled waiting room. Something went wrong with Twilight's little project, Rarity concluded to herself at once. Something she’s embarrassed about me knowing, but not so bad she actually needs help.

The nervous, faux-enthusiasm in the, “Hi, Rarity! Hi, Spike!” Twilight used as a greeting sealed the deal, and it was all Rarity could do not to show her glee. Oh, something personal! Maybe she switched bodies with someone! Or turns into a colt when the moon is full! Or maybe she was working on a love spell and is having an affair right now! Oh, this will be just like my romance novels!

“Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed, rising from the small divan on which she sat next to Spike.

“Hey,” the little dragon muttered, raising a claw in greeting.

The temptation to set in with questions was strong, but Rarity knew to resist it. Asking now would only scare Twilight away. It was best to pretend to be unawares and let Twilight’s natural inability to keep secrets do the work for her. In fact, Rarity concluded, it was best to pretend she’d found some new topic and forgotten about the entire thing.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you! Spike was a simply wonderful help, and he gave me such ideas!” she improvised. Spike looked up with surprise, a sudden smile tugging at his face.

“I did?”

“Of course, darling, it’s the scales! They make you look simply smashing. I think they could be the new fashion trend in Equestria!” she exclaimed, quickly correcting, “Not real dragon scales of course, but I have some ideas for using gemstones I simply must tell you about, Twilight.”

It occurred to Rarity after the fact that her words might have an impact on someone other than Twilight. “You think I look smashing?” Spike almost whispered, the dragon unsteady on his feet. No harm done, she decided. He really was an excellent assistant. He earned it.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful, Rarity.” Twilight agreed, with a more lukewarm tone that Rarity pretended not to notice. Twilight was obviously distracted by something important, trying to sneak a glance behind the counter. The blue-coated, pink-haired pony there gave her an awkward sort of smile, glancing behind her to try and see what Twilight was peering at. “But I actually need to—”

“Oh don’t be silly!” Rarity intercepted her verbally and physically, a faint glow from the snowy unicorn’s horn shutting the door behind Twilight. “I know you’re busy with your studies, but I insist on at least a round in the sauna. I have so many ideas, and you could use it, dear! You look positively pale.”

“I do?” Twilight asked, worried, turning to look back at herself. Rarity quickly closed what little distance remained between them, leaning in close to the other unicorn. “Oh you do! All that time locked up in the library with no sunlight, I’m sure. A quick invigoration is just what you need.”

“Well... I guess a few minutes couldn't hurt.” Twilight agreed as Rarity gently nudged her forward, signaling for the usual to the attendant behind the counter. “You don’t mind waiting for us, Spike?” she asked as a last-ditch effort against Rarity’s insistent presence.

“Huh? No, go right ahead.” he murmured, watching until Rarity and Twilight were out of sight in the back. The same stupid smile remained stuck to his face the entire time, his body slack and his eyes entranced.

“She thinks I’m smashing.”


“Hey, Twilight, you in there?” Rainbow Dash’s hoof made a steady beat on the library door, as she impatiently waited in the great tree’s shadow. Twilight making her an egghead was bad enough, but then she aggravated the problem by closing the library! Rainbow Dash had just finished Daring Do and the Cult of Blood, and the fastest pony alive wasn’t going to keep waiting for the next one forever.

“Hello!?” She called out, wings lifting her off the ground as she went from window to window, peering into the library. “Hey, who drew all the blinds!?” she demanded, her usual habit of bursting into Twilight’s library unannounced thwarted by the unprecedented measure of the windows being locked.

Almost all the windows, anyway.

“Heh heh, perfect!” Rainbow Dash said to herself, trying one of the smaller windows, jiggling it in its frame until the well-oiled latch inside came loose. The drawn curtains inside brushed around her as she pushed through the narrow opening, wings folded against her body. “Hey, Twilight!” she called into the dark library. “I’m here to get a book and—whoa!”

Without the sun’s light to illuminate it, the inside of Ponyville’s library took on a menacing air, one aided by the modifications made to the main room. The crumbling, burnt remains of the circle of ink still adorned the floor and scorch marks surrounded them in turn. The inside of the circle was filled with books hastily pulled from the shelves. Rainbow stopped to scan a few titles, her eyes glancing over treatises on rare and dark magic. The tall mirror in the circle’s center played tricks with the light, showing Rainbow Dash a distorted version of herself, draped in darkness as she hesitantly walked into the space.

“What happened here?” she asked to the air, slowly peering around the space. Rainbow Dash didn’t know much about magic, but she knew enough to tell that whatever happened here was far more awesome then Twilight’s usual boring booky stuff.

Her gaze was working its way back across the room when Twilight’s voice spoke in her ear. “Rainbow Dash!”

Later accounts would mistake Rainbow Dash’s personal-space-guarding war cry for a shriek of surprise, and her awesome action-leap for bolting straight to the ceiling.

What are you doing breaking into the library?” Twilight demanded, Rainbow Dash twisting in place to look down at the room below her. Twilight stood at the circle’s edge, behind where Rainbow Dash had stood a moment ago, looking up at the pegasus pony with an annoyed expression that matched her tone. Something about the way Twilight stood struck Rainbow Dash as off, but she couldn't place what.

“I’m here to get the next Daring Do book! You said you’d have the library open today!” she asserted, defensive.

“Well, I don’t,” Twilight answered with a sigh, but light from her horn soon illuminated the dim space as she plucked one of the brightly colored novels from its shelf. “Sorry, here,” she offered, her tone relaxing into its natural, friendly state as she lifted the book towards the pegasus above.

“Yeah... thanks,” Rainbow Dash muttered, descending to the floor on three hooves, the fourth holding the book against her torso. But she took little reassurance from Twilight’s words, casting her gaze around the poorly lit library entrance. “What happened here? The library’s a mess! And why are the blinds all closed?”

“Oh, just a bit of an accident,” Twilight answered, with a dismissive wave of a hoof. “A spell got a little bit burny and I didn’t want anypony to see the library all messed up.”

“Oh yeah, what’d you do? This looks way cooler than that stuff you normally mess around with!” Rainbow Dash pressed, taking flight a few inches off the ground as her gaze narrowed in on Twilight’s and her tone turned suspicious. In the shadows of the darkened room, she could barely see Twilight roll her eyes, though the sigh the unicorn made was audible enough.

“Nothing, Rainbow Dash. I just messed up the library with a new spell I was experimenting with and I need a little time to, you know, clean it up?” Twilight answered, holding her ground against Rainbow Dash’s piercing stare. After a moment, the pegasus pony turned away to head back to the window from whence she came.

“Oh yeah,” she asserted. “I know. I know all about it.

“What does that even mean!?” Twilight exclaimed, exasperated. “Are you being like this because I didn’t come to see you practice last week?”

“Uh, no!” Rainbow Dash insisted, “It has nothing to do with you not coming and missing my super awesome new stunts which you’ll totally wish you’d seen! It has everything to do with you being all suspicious and shadowy!” Rainbow Dash made her way back to the window frame, pausing there to dramatically pose. Her wings flared, her hoof lifted, and with the courage of a thousand pegasus heroes of old, Rainbow Dash quipped, “You’re up to something Twilight, and I’m going to find out what!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called after her as she ducked through the window. No answer came back though, and in moments she was gone. Twilight let out an irritated growl, a hiss of angry breath escaping her as her hoof stomped against the floor.

“Great! Just great! Now that’s two ponies I need to get rid of!”


“Oh, it’s awful, Applejack! Simply terrible!” Rarity cried out. Diners at nearby tables looked her way with thinly veiled irritation as she swept a hoof over her forehead, swooning backwards so far that she almost fell over. Ponyville’s outdoor cafe was crowded, even so late in the afternoon. Around them, ponies sat before brightly colored outdoor tables shaded by large folding umbrellas. Waiters moved between them from group to group, and at least one of them winced as he forced himself to remember how well Rarity always tipped. “I passed up my facial and mud bath just to follow her home, and not one peep out of her!”

Applejack looked up from considering the menu—but only just, and only for a moment. Rarity being Rarity was something she understood, but the menu was stumping her. In her opinion, it had entirely too many frills and fancy stuff and not nearly enough actual food.

“Ah’m sure it’s fine,” she answered offhoof, as she silently wondered what an “Eck-la-ire” was and why in Celestia’s name it would be five bits. “Twilight’s doin’ embarrassin’ stuff with her magic all the time. Like when she was practicin’ teleportatin’ and thought she’d gone and disintegrated Spike.”

“Oh, but you don’t understand! This has the smell of Canterlot scandal! You could see it all over her! In the way she darted from room to room, always surreptitiously peeking in ahead before stepping through a door. And how nervous she was on the way home! No, Applejack, this is something truly fabulous, I’m sure of it!” Rarity exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement.

“Twilight secludes herself for days on end, working on some... secret magical project!” Rarity reached around the table, pulling Applejack up against her, as she gestured high to the sky. “And now, suddenly, she pretends it never happened and is hiding something she’s deeply embarrassed about.”

“Y’all have been waitin’ for something like this for a long time, haven't you?” Applejack asked, her eyes level and her mouth unsure if she wanted to laugh for the absurdity or frown with worry. Eventually, she settled for a neutral look, extraditing herself from Rarity’s grip.

“You don’t know what those wizards get up to! The things you hear in the tab—in the papers.” Rarity corrected herself. “Wizards making up love potions, spying on their objects of desire, enchanting themselves to be dazzling or turning into, well, all sorts of things!”

The glee in Rarity’s voice left Applejack at a momentary loss for words. Save perhaps, “Y’all need to get out more,” but those didn’t seem like the sort of words she should actually say aloud.

“Seems a mite unlikely to me that Twilight’s into that sort of stuff, and even if’n she was, y’all should respect her privacy,” she finally managed, forcing herself to restrain a sigh as she tried not to give such nonsense more attention than it deserved. “But if y’all are really that curious, why don’t you just find Spike and ask him what they were workin’ on?”

“Oooh, I wanted to ask him then and there!” Rarity grumbled. “But I couldn't.” She lowered her head to the table, the motion forcing a sigh from her lungs. Applejack unsuccessfully tried to use the menu to shield herself against this topic of conversation, but to no avail. “Twilight was there the whole time for the walk back, and by the time we’d finished talking by her door, he’d gone inside.” Her lips pursed as her eyes grew imploring, a world-class pout assaulting the back of Applejack’s menu.

One of Applejack’s ears twitched, and to her own surprise as much as Rarity’s, she put the menu down, expression suddenly attentive. “Hold up.” She raised a hoof to interject. “Spike was there with y’all at the spa?”

“Of course! He waited in the lobby while we were inside. Didn’t I mention that?” Rarity asked, puzzled by Applejack’s interest. “I was on my way to meet Twilight anyway, so it seemed easier than taking a detour to the library.”

Applejack’s paused, a hoof reaching up to tap her teeth as she glanced upwards at the umbrella.

“Because I passed him and Fluttershy on the way here. She said that Twilight stopped by this afternoon to ask her to watch Spike for a spell. She was on her way to the park to go flower pickin’ with him, point o’ fact. Poor feller looked mighty miserable.”

“Impossible!” Rarity insisted—though her eyes remained locked on Applejack. “Twilight and I must have talked for half an hour before we parted ways. It couldn't have been earlier than three-thirty by the time all was said and done, and then I came right here! Even if Twilight scampered off to Fluttershy’s as soon as I was out of sight, she’d only be arriving there now.”

“I dunno, Twi can be pretty fast when she puts her mind to it,” Applejack muttered, staring off into the distance, lost in thought. “I’m more worried that she apparently foisted Spike off onto two ponies in a row.”

“Oh sweet Celestia, you’re right! I didn’t even think about that!” Rarity exclaimed, moving to rise from the table. Before she could finish the action, Applejack firmly tapped a hoof on the table for her attention.

“Now don’t go gettin’ all excited about all that tabloid junk. Knowin’ Twi, she’s just gotten in a bit over her head and is tryin’ to go and fix it without anypony’s help. We should just go find Fluttershy and Spike, and make sure everythin’s hunky-dory.” Applejack used her best tone for the situation—calming, and authoritative—but she might as well have shouted it like a schoolfilly for all that it mattered.

“I see now—it must be something so awful, so shameful, she doesn't want to warp Spike’s young, impressionable mind! Oooh!” She whined, “Now I just have to know!”

“Rarity!” Applejack snapped as she rose to her hooves, but the unicorn was already on her way, darting into town and towards the library. Applejack momentarily considered chasing her down, but decided against it. If Rarity wanted to make a fool of herself, that was her affair. “Sometimes,” she turned to the waiter as he approached at the commotion. “I swear I’m the only pony in this town with a lick o’ sense.”

“Now,” she pointed a hoof to the menu, “how’d y’all pronounce all these funny foreign words?”


“Oh no, is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, her words coming faster, her voices pitch rising with her worry. Normally, the park was a happy place for Fluttershy, its rolling green hills, sparse trees, and peaceful nature paths making it a welcome sanctuary. Now though, its natural calm was broken by the conversation of two agitated ponies, as well as one dragon.

Rainbow Dash’s frustrated growl scared away the few remaining birds who had tolerated her thunderous arrival. Her hooves reached up to her face in frustration, as she hovered around Fluttershy and Spike. The agile pegasus’s flight left her hooves free for such suitable dramatic gestures.

“Not ‘there’s something wrong with her’ like she’s sick! Like she’s up to something!” Rainbow Dash growled as Fluttershy tilted her head curiously.

“Oh, is it something fun? Because I remember the last time she was up to something, and it was that spell for my birthday to help all the cute little animals—”

“Something suspicious, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash pressed. Her booming tone intimidated Fluttershy into a meek silence, the naturalist’s gaze going down to her hooves. They would have attracted a crowd, were the park not close to empty, the sun setting behind the distant horizon.

“Don’t waste your breath,” Spike answered for Fluttershy, the pony on whose back he rode. “Twilight’s not up to anything more suspicious then being her usual self. Luna got her some old book and she’s been obsessing over the spells in it ever since. You know how Twilight gets when she doesn't sleep.”

“Yeah!” Fluttershy agreed, eager to jump onto any thread of conversation that would result in less yelling, particularly in her vicinity. “She told me about that! She’s probably just really excited and—”

“Not so fast!” Rainbow Dash swooped low to stare Spike in the eye, nose to nose. “Aren't you her Number One Assistant? Why are you out here with Fluttershy instead of helping her clean up the library?”

“I—I dunno.” Spike admitted, suddenly sounding less sure of himself. “She said that I’d worked so hard setting everything up that she wanted to clean up the library herself.”

“Since when does Twilight give you time off when it’s time to clean up the library?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Or did she not trust you enough to let you in on her scheme?” Fluttershy remained quiet, shocked into silence by the cerulean-coated pegasus’s accusations. Spike looked less sure of himself by the moment, his claws pressed together in worry.

“That’s crazy! Twilight totally trusts me with her schemes! Or she would if she had any, which she doesn't!” he insisted, adding, “I think.”

“Ah hah!” Rainbow Dash snapped, whirling to hover before the two, facing them head-on. Fluttershy’s objection fell silent in the face of such an imposing posture. “So you admit she might be up to something!”

“Um.” Fluttershy tried again, “I don’t think—that is, Spike was trying to say—”

“He did not say any such thing!” Applejack’s voice cut into the conversation, sharp and authoritative, dragon and pegasi alike turning at the earth pony’s approach. In the sunset-lit park, Applejack’s coat shone, almost blending in with the terrain, even as she trotted up the dirt path towards the other three.

“And I would appreciate you not puttin’ words in his mouth!” Applejack continued as she finished her approach, fixing Rainbow Dash with a stern glare. Rainbow Dash hesitated in the face of that fiery gaze, and after a moment, relented with a shrug.

“Okay okay, fine.” She insisted, “But c’mon, you have to admit, Twilight is definitely up to something.”

“Ain’t no reason to go hollerin’ at baby dragons.” Applejack held firm. “But y’all might have a point. I just got back from talkin’ to Rarity—you okay Spike?” She paused to check on Spike before continuing, turning to the young dragon seated on Fluttershy’s back.

“Sure.” He shrugged, adding, “I’ve been with Rarity and Fluttershy all day.” The yellow pony beneath him gave a happy nod.

“Twilight just seemed so flustered! It was the least I could do to watch him for a little while,” Fluttershy said, lifting her head, ears alert. Applejack nodded, giving her a thoughtful glance.

“Mighty kind of you. But even if Rainbow Dash is makin’ a big suspicious mountain outta a molehill, she does kinda have a point. It is mighty unlike Twilight to keep you outta the library, Spike. And Rarity said she’d been nervous all day at the spa, dartin’ around and peekin’ into rooms and such.”

“Oh no, you think she might be in trouble?” Fluttershy asked, voice full of earnest concern, Applejack’s answering nod making her and Spike share a nervous glance. “I’m thinkin’ we need to go have a talk with her at least. See what’s what.”

“Wait... hold on,” Rainbow Dash insisted, falling to the ground and pacing, her gaze tilted downwards. “Something here isn’t adding up. I was in Twilight’s library today, and something about it was just off.” Her brow furrowed in concentration. What was it that Daring Do did in these situations?

Right, she laid out all the facts.

“First!” Rainbow Dash listed. “Our subject, Twilight, is one unicorn wizard, a student of Celestia, Princess of the Sun.”

Fluttershy’s mumble of “We all already know her” went unheeded.

“Second! She recently received a magic book from Luna, Princess of the Night. A book she has been obsessing over.” As Rainbow Dash continued to itemize, Spike added, “And there’s a big spell in it she’s been working up towards!”

“Right! Third!” Rainbow Dash continued. “She doesn't seem to want Spike around the library. In fact, she had the whole place locked up tight. Fourth!” She pointed at Applejack. “Sneaking around the spa. And fifth... fifth...” She paced, agitated. She knew there was one more. Something that would bring it all together.

“And fifth... something wrong in the library. It was dark, but more than that.” She wracked her brain in thought as Fluttershy, Spike, and Applejack alike watched an unusually contemplative Rainbow Dash in silence. She focused, trying to remember every detail of the room: the books, the circle, how Twilight came up behind her while she looked ahead, the way she leapt when—

A thought caught in Rainbow Dash's head.

“Wait, I was looking at a mirror. How did she sneak up behind me, unless... oh my gosh, ohmygosh ohmygosh-ohmygosh-ohmygosh!” She shot into the air, bolt stiff. “I know what it is!”


“Oh, Twilight, darling! It’s Rarity!” The marshmallow unicorn’s hoof made three civilized taps on the library door as her melodious voice announced her presence. “I brought you something, dear!”

It was scarcely a moment later that the library door opened to show Twilight’s face—but it only opened a crack, the pony’s face peering out to see Rarity lit by the sun’s last fading rays. “Rarity!” She spoke—pleased, surprised, but also noticeably nervous, eyes darting between the white unicorn and the parcel on her back. “What brings you here?”

“Well, Twilight, after we parted ways, I just had to go back to the boutique and start working on those designs I told you about,” Rarity fibbed, resolving she’d make it up to Twilight later, “and I thought that the first one should be for you! Seeing how Spike is your assistant.”

“Oh my, how thoughtful of you Rarity!” Though Twilight’s tone was friendly, Rarity could not help but note that her eyes were on neither the unicorn before her nor the library. Instead, her gaze darted over the landscape around them, as if searching for something else in the distance. “I’m a little busy right now though—”

“Oh, surely you aren't going to turn me away, Twilight. Not on the cusp of a possible revolution in fashion! I simply must see how you look in it! I must! I must!” she implored. Twilight looked at the package and thought of how much effort must have gone into it, her gaze tilting back to Rarity’s after a moment's hesitation.

“Well... okay. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.” Twilight relented, opening the door the rest of the way and letting light spill out into the street. Rarity happily trotted inside, pausing once within to look around.

“Oh goodness gracious, you certainly did a number on the library this time, Twilight!” she observed, her horn coming alight as she entered. Her magic pulled open the blinds and lifted the package from her back, pulling the container’s top away to reveal the black dress within. It was a dark, simple thing, some jewelry and suitable makeup packed in along with it. The room, at least, was not quite as bad as it might have been: the books neatly put away, the walls recently scrubbed, the great mirror in the room’s center turned to face the wall.

“Yeah... things did get a little out of control,” she admitted, raising an embarrassed hoof behind her head, only to have Rarity pull it and her across the room, holding the dress up against her.

“Well it certainly seems they did,” Rarity agreed as her eyes darted all around the room, looking for some, any hint amid the mess.

“This was inspired by Spike’s scales? It kind of looks like black silk.” Twilight started, Rarity laughing arily.

“Spiritual inspiration, dear, spiritual inspiration. I trust nopony was hurt?”

“Oh, no. There’s not even any real damage to the library. It’s just burnt ink,” Twilight answered, starting to pull the dress over her head, Rarity moving towards the stairs.

“I don’t suppose you have any eyeliner, Twilight?” Rarity asked casually.

“Oh... no, Rarity, sorry,” Twilight answered, Rarity internally fuming. So, she’s not worried about my poking around upstairs. Whatever she’s hiding must be in that dungeon she has for a basement. It fits really, all the best Canterlot scandals take place in dungeons. “Oh, it’s alright, Twilight. I brought some with me. It’s not quite your color but I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Now, what excuse do I have to poke around down there? Rarity mused to herself, as Twilight slid her way into the dress, “Wow, Rarity, this is... different,” she observed. The dress was a creation of black silk and onyx, clinging tightly to Twilight’s frame, save for the tall, imposing collar behind her head. “I didn’t think black was my color.”

“Well, that’s why it’s revolutionary,” Rarity answered, noticing the basement door ajar. “Now here, the makeup next.” She pushed, the glow from her horn surrounding eyeliners and hoofpolish, as inspiration struck her. “Shut your eyes, Twilight dear.”

As Twilight obeyed, letting Rarity do her magic, the snow-white unicorn quietly tiphoofed away, her unicorn magic leaving her instruments of fashion working in her wake. “That’s it, dear, just perfect,” she assured Twilight as she carefully nudged open the door with a hoof. Nothing but instruments and more books! she grumbled to herself. I was hoping for something obvious. Though I do wonder what those restraints and wires are for.

“Aah!” Twilight exclaimed as the grease pencils, brushes, and other tools of fashion did quick work, “Rarity! Are you sure you aren't overdoing it?” she asked.

Her question was well justified. Rarity’s eyes were not on her work as she peered more keenly into the basement. Mmm. No sign of anypony but Twilight having been here, so not a sordid affair.

“Quite sure, darling,” she assured Twilight. After a faint, distracted pause, she added, “Why would you ever think such a thing?”

A hoof tapped Rarity’s shoulder, the surprised unicorn whirling just in time to hear Twilight yell: “Because you made me look like a raccoon, poked me in the eye, and then put hoof polish all over my face!”

Later, Rarity would insist that she recoiled in surprise at Twilight sneaking up on her, but the truth was that she simply could not bear to think of the blasphemy against fabulosity she had created. Black eyeliner surrounded Twilight’s eyes in thick layers, making her gaze seem dark and sunken, a problem only worsened by how bloodshot her left eye was where the blindly driven pencil had poked her head-on. A fine white face powder adorned her hooves, while dark-red hoofpolish was scattered haphazardly over her face, the errant tools having knocked her mane wild.

“Why are you really here, Rarity!?” Twilight demanded, voice sharp as her horn. Rarity retreated as Twilight advanced with a snort. She backed away and across the room, like someone corned by an angry animal, letting out a weak and nervous laugh.

“I-I thought you seemed a bit stressed today and could use something to make you feel good.” Rarity started to explain, but Twilight cut her off.

“The truth, Rarity! Why are you sneaking around my house?” Twilight demanded. Rarity scrambled away from Twilight’s advance, the unicorn’s movements so sharp that they were almost muzzle to muzzle.

“It is the truth, dear!” she tried to insist. “It’s just a bit... cutting edge. You look fabulous, see?” A desperate, imploring smile touched Rarity’s face as her horn set alight, turning the mirror in the room’s center to face Twilight. “You see, you look—”

“—oh.” Rarity trailed off, her words dying in her mouth. “Oh my.”


“Slow down there, RD!” Applejack called as three ponies and one dragon raced through Ponyville’s darkened streets, Spike atop Fluttershy’s back. Fluttershy and Applejack stuck to the ground, while above, Rainbow Dash’s tension was palpable. “You still haven’t told us what the rush is!”

“No, guys, we have to hurry! We need to find Twilight before it’s too late! Pony lives depend on it!” Rainbow Dash urged. The seriousness in her tone prompted Applejack and Fluttershy to put on a burst of speed, forcing Spike to cling to the yellow pegasus’s back. Rainbow Dash could be a bit prone to exaggeration at times, but they could both hear the fear in her voice.

“I’m so stupid! I should have seen it earlier! The mirror, the drawn blinds. Standing so I couldn’t see her eyes!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted, her voice fearful and guilty as the three made a beeline for the library. “It was that it all happened during the day that threw me! But then I remembered, of course, she got the book from Princess Luna! Who knows what secret night magic star stuff was in it!?”

“Why does the book matter? Rainbow Dash, what’s happening!?” Spike demanded, scared himself now. At the thought of his big sister in peril, the little dragon clung more tensely to Fluttershy, as if digging his claws into her back would somehow get them there faster. She whimpered faintly, but offered no complaint.

“I read all about this in the last Daring Do novel! It’s all there. The blinds were drawn to keep out the sun. Twilight was nervous in the spa because she had to check which rooms had mirrors. And she wants to keep Spike away because tonight would be the last chance for him to warn everypony!”

“Warn everypony of what, what!?” Spike demanded, teetering on edge as Rainbow Dash made her final dive for the library door, the others in hot pursuit.

“Twilight found the dark rituals of Nightmare Moon and now—” Rainbow Dash’s hoof sent the door flying clear off its hinges with a brilliant flash of light. All three ponies burst into the room at once, eyes taking in the scene, as the door hurtled to the ground.

Twilight and Rarity stood together in the center of the room, Twilight’s hooves around her, as the white pony fainted backwards. As the ponies stood there in silence, light from the guttering candles silently spilled out into the street.

A dress of black silk clung to Twilight’s frame. Her hooves were pale and sickly. Her eyes were sunken and dark, and shot through with crimson. The left was so red that the original purple was almost invisible in the dark. That eye seemed to stand out, a single, focused beam, shooting towards the four intruders.

Though Twilight’s head shot up with alarm when the door came off its hinges, her quick action could not hide that she had her head against Rarity’s shoulder a moment ago. Nor could she conceal the crimson stain that adorned her face and Rarity’s neck. The high collar behind her cast Twilight into shadow, only the dim impression of her face visible, and the reflection off that bloodshot eye.

Silently, as expressions of horror dawned on the faces of the four intruders, their eyes shot to the mirror at the back of the room, in which Rarity could be seen to hang, with no one holding her.

Fluttershy shrieked, “VAMPONY!” And with an almost silent sigh, fainted.

“Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Spike? Fluttershy?” Twilight asked with increasing disbelief, she and Rarity disentangling themselves to turn and face the new arrivals. Twilight’s gaze flicked to the knocked-in door, and then to Fluttershy’s unconscious form.

“Oh, uh... hi, Twilight,” Applejack muttered, a big, fake smile on her face, as she slowly backed away, drawing closer to Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed, a tremor in her voice. “Hi.” She turned, mumbling to the earth pony beside her, “We need a stake!”

“What are you all doing here?” Twilight demanded, angily taking a sharp step forward, “And what’s this about vamponies?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s eyes scanned around the room, quickly, looking for something, anything she could use.

“The whole dang library’s made of wood. How can there be nothing here!?” Applejack quietly hissed to Rainbow Dash in response, raising her voice to speak clearly to Twilight. “Ah, well! Fluttershy was just bringin’ Spike back and uh—well, you know, we thought we’d uh, help her along! We’ll just be goin’ then!”

“Now hold on, you two,” Rarity insisted. “I know how strange this all looks, but I assure you, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. Twilight was just explaining to me—”

“Oh yeah, I saw how she was ‘explaining!’” Rainbow Dash burst out, unable to contain her reaction any longer. “She’s got you mesmerized, Rarity! She’s a monster in pony flesh!” The pegasus’s sharp accusation made Rarity step back in shock, her eyes wide. The mood only lasted for a moment however, and soon, Rarity took a step forward as she fixed Rainbow Dash with a glare.

“That’s quite enough, Rainbow Dash! I won’t have you speaking of Twilight that way! She—” Rarity looked up sharply at the sound of shattering wood, each of the ponies having forgotten about Spike in the confusion. From atop the stairs, a cry of “I’ll save you Rarity!” shot down into the library. Along with the shout came an old chair, the wood splintering into dozens of pieces on impact.

“Twilight.” Rainbow Dash drew a ragged breath. A hiss of air escaped her as she ripped a sharp shard of wood from the remains of the chair, but her breath was coming hard for other reasons. Eyes that had settled on Rarity with anger now turned to Twilight with an altogether different emotion, the pegasus’s voice almost cracking with the strain. It was like it took her to much effort to speak, a faint hesitation in her actions.

“I think it’s super awesome that you’re a creature of the night now,” she forced herself to press on. “And—and it might even be kind of cool to be your minion since we’re friends and all.” For a moment, Rainbow Dash looked like she might stop there, her words trailing off on a hesitant tremble. But then she drew up her strength, standing firm and letting her voice ring out.

“But for the good of all pony kind, I’m going to have to put you down!”

“Are you crazy?” Twilight demanded, with a glare to her two friends. “You can’t just break in and... and...” Twilight’s indignant tone faltered, as she noticed just how sharp the spar of wood in Rainbow Dash’s hoof was, the one in Applejack’s teeth much the same.

“Wait, put me down?”

The now black-and-purple unicorn took a hesitant step back, as the other two took a bold step forward, Twilight’s eyes growing wide. “Whoa, Rainbow Dash, Applejack.” A nervous laugh escaped her. “Very funny, you two. Joke’s over. I’m not really a vampony.” She took another step back, and the two ponies before her advanced one in turn. Twilight’s tail pressed against wood as she backed against the table behind her, the mirror there showing nothing but the two ponies pressing their advance.

“What’s wrong with you two!?” Rarity shouted, “This is Twilight, our friend! Or have you both gone completely crazy?”

“Ahm didn ‘lieve it eiher Rary,” Applejack mouthed around the stake, shifting it from teeth to hoof as the pair advanced on Twilight. “But RD is right! That ain’t Twilight anymore! She’s gone and sucked so much blood outta you that you look white as a sheet!”

“My coat is always white, you murderous half-wit!” Rarity snapped back, interposing herself between Twilight and the advancing pair. “Consider that you are about to kill Twilight based on a theory that came out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth!”

The advancing pair hesitated, a gap that Rarity used to press her advantage, her stance determined and horn held high. “Before you burst in, she was explaining to me that there was a magical accident and she was embarrassed about it. I told her it was alright and gave her a hug and some of her, um... hastily applied makeup got on my coat.” Rarity reached up to rub at the spot of red on her neck, the “puncture wound” blurring to a broad pink mark across her coat.

“So... she’s not a vampony?” Rainbow Dash checked hesitantly, Rarity rolling her eyes.

“No,” she answered, words clipped and tone curt. “She is not a vampony. Nor is she a cyberpony. Nor a space pony. Nor any of the other monsters from your books!”

If Rarity intended her words to land with some sting, she would have been disappointed, for neither Rainbow Dash nor Applejack showed the slightest hint of rebuke. Instead, they dropped their stakes with expressions of joy and relief. “Twilight!” Applejack exclaimed, leaping forward with Rainbow Dash not far behind, each of them seizing Twilight in a hug. “You don’t know how glad I am you’re okay!”

“Probably about as glad as I am not to be murdered by my friends,” Twilight grumbled, a judgmental twist to her words. But after a moment, she looked down, and saw Spike clinging to one of her legs right along with them. Despite the strain, she smiled and pulled the three of them into a broad hug, letting a frazzled but relieved sigh escape her. “You really thought I was a vampony?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash agreed, “You were all dark and menacing and Rarity was swooning into your hooves and you looked ready to whisk her off to be your bride of the night!”

“I was not swooning!” Rarity countered, with a stomp of her hooves, “And I—hold on, bride?”

“But, wait.” Spike’s voice cut in, stepping back from Twilight for a moment. He stepped away to look up at her, his expression puzzled “There’s something I still don’t get. Why’d you want to keep me out of the library? You’ve done way more embarrassing things then erase your reflection!”

“Well... that’s the thing, Spike. I didn’t erase my reflection,” Twilight explained hesitantly, three ponies and one dragon giving her curious looks as she pointed to the door.

“She’s over there.”

Four sets of eyes turned to the door and saw standing there in the open archway the very image of their friend, free of Rarity’s makeup and black silk, as proud and familiar as they day they had defeated Nightmare Moon together. Her purple coat and cutie mark were outlined brightly against the night behind her, as her curious eyes peered into the library.

“Um.” The new Twilight slowly looked around the room. She looked at her counterpart, at Spike, and at the other ponies there, trying to conclude what she had just walked in on.

“Did one of you break a chair over Fluttershy’s head?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 58 Minutes
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