The first morning of the weekend had approached. Hours of observation and silent stalking had led to the very moment where Quirky stood, coat colored gray like the statues to her left and right. She stood as still as the static sculptures, daring not to even itch the bites of anxiety across her back. The only key that would free her from her stationary state was the sound of a distinct set of hoofsteps.

Where is she? Wheeeere is she..?

The actress had woken up before the sun had risen; her heavy eyelids reminded her every other blink. She had hoped to map the headmare's morning activities throughout the early hours of dawn, but to Quirky's dismay there had been not a single sign of the headmare's awakening. As a result, Quirky had not budged for hours.

Rather than tracking the princess and coming closer to her secrets as expected, the mare found herself watching the foyer fill with life as blackness turned to colored shades of royal violet and blue. Whatever surface or object the sun touched jumped onto the scene as though it were in the spotlight. Quirky wanted no part in the attention-grabbing, and so felt panic rise as the sun's reach drew ever near where she hid.

But inches before the sunlight could touch her the mare’s ears sensed something approaching. A set of delicate and slow steps ascended the marble staircase, gracing the air like the sound of a strengthening breeze on a blazing summer day. Quirky held her breath to keep her hammering heartbeat from drowning out the noise in her ears.

Quirky watched in anticipation as a horn rose above the top of the stairs, followed by a mane, and then an entire head. They were exactly the lavender and violet hues she had been waiting to see, with the purple eyes popping into sight with a contented smile curving beneath-

Wait... that isn't... how did she..? But weren't those..?

Cogs within Quirky's mechanical brain started falling from their places. The pony passing by was not in fact Princess Luna, but rather Twilight Sparkle. The actress wondered how her senses had ever mistaken the violet-colored, dusky-maned bookworm for her actual target. The passer-by’s nose was buried deep within a book as she walked past.

“Psst.”

Twilight stopped. Her head turned from side to side, but her wandering eyes never settled. With a shrug she returned to her reading.

“Psssssst!”

The mare swerved around again, this time with more apprehension flaring in her violet eyes. She wheeled around a few times before hesitantly lowering her head into her book again; her eyes shifted between the area and the text every following second.

“Twilight! Over here!”

The mare finally turned and faced the direction from which Quirky called. Upon spotting the actress's pink eyes standing out from among the bland ones of adjacent statues, Twilight dropped the book and backed in fright into the marble railing behind her.

“Oh! Quirky!” she gasped, quickly trying to collect herself. “You startled me.”

She paused and examined Quirky's new gray coat and completely motionless figure.

“Should I even ask-?”

“Shh! Quiet!” Quirky answered in swift interruption. “Come closer, I need to ask you something.”

Twilight giggled as the shock melted into relief. “I think I might have something to ask you, too.”

Quirky rolled her eyes. “Fine, you go first.”

Twilight stared for a moment as she took in just what was happening; her eyes were still squinted, signaling the mare's disbelief. In time her skepticism turned into a strange mix of understanding and curiosity.

“I was just wondering what you were doing pretending to be a statue,” Twilight stated rather matter-of-factly. “Is this practice for another performance you're interested in?”

“No, no, none of that,” Quirky laughed, maintaining an unshaken body despite the puffs of laughter than swept through her lungs. “I'm just waiting for... a certain somepony.”

Twilight cocked her head to a side. “Does this have to do with you following Princess Luna around?”

“Ah, yes, so you-” Quirky suddenly broke character as she leaned closer to where Twilight stood, leaving the two staring face-to-face. “Wait a minute, you know!? But how do you know? You weren't supposed to know!”

In her excitement Quirky lost her balance, and in less than second found herself tumble from the pedestal on which she stood down to the carpeted section of floor. The bookworm could only stare.

“I-I don't see what the problem is, Quirky,” Twilight said calmly. “Lyra explained everything to me.”

But wasn't it Lyra's idea not to say anything?

Twilight added, “I understand what you're doing. I'm not necessarily opposed to it; I just don't know if it's the best way to go about figuring things out.”

Quirky's ears suddenly stood on end. Twilight could only watch as her friend began zipping in every direction at the speed of light, stopping only long enough to capture a short glimpse of the chamber in each and every direction she faced.

“Where’s Princess Luna?” Quirky asked as she began casting a spell, turning her horn a vivid violet. “I haven't seen her all morning. It's strange, I thought she would have come out of her chambers by now.”

With a flash the mare's coat went from completely gray to the restored colors of silver and light lavender. Twilight, impressed by the concealing spell and its swift removal, paused for only a moment in admiration.

“She's over visiting with the others back in the dormitory,” Twilight said. “You of all ponies should know that she visits us before or after noon on the weekends-”

“I know that,” Quirky snapped, “but how did she head over without me spotting her? Did she get up earlier than me? Does she not use doors anymore?”

“Well, she does know how to teleport-”

“Of course!” Quirky exclaimed, knocking a hoof against her own head. “Quick, Twilight, we need to get back and see what the princess is up to, pronto!”

“But I need to return this book on telescopes-”

“The observatory will still be there this evening, now come on!” Quirky said, nudging Twilight on toward the stairs she had just climbed.

“All right, all right!” Twilight said as she picked up her hoofs.

The two hurried down the stairs and headed straight for the glass hall. Quirky was relieved to find that at least the corridor was not busy; it meant that the foyer of the edifice ahead was not too crowded. As they reached the doors – both of which were closed – Twilight slowed down and caught her breath after the brief gallop.

Quirky, on the other hoof, was panting as though she had run a marathon. Twilight's eyebrows raised as she looked over her friend with a trace of care in her eyes.

“Quirky, are you okay?”

“Oh... yes, fine... I just... need to get... back... to my room,” Quirky got out between breaths.

Her stomach suddenly gave a terrible growl, to which Twilight's eyes grew larger than the moon.

“Was that your stomach?” Twilight inquired.

Quirky blushed as she held her gut, as though hiding it would make any difference. “So what if it was?”

“Quirky, I know all this spying and stuff is important to you, but are you eating and resting enough?” The mare said nothing in reply. “If not, that explains why you're so tired and hungry.”

“It doesn't matter for now,” Quirky said with a harrumph. “If I have to skip a meal or two and some hours of sleep, it's no big deal. I have more important matters at hoof.” Twilight tried to rejoin, but Quirky pressed on, “Right now it's of utmost importance that I return to my room, unseen by the headmare, to acquire a new disguise.”

“Well, that’s not happening,” Twilight chuckled.

“What? Why not?” Quirky asked, horrified.

“Do you really think that you can make your way through the crowds of ponies in the foyer unnoticed by the princess?”

“Of course! I can't even hear a thing beyond these doors right now, so there can’t be that many ponies out and about-”

But the second Quirky pushed the doors open, echoes from within the foyer poured out like warm air from a steamy sauna. The sensation was anything but pleasing to the mare.

Ponies occupied every seat within while others had brought items from their rooms. Games of chess and checkers littered the room while others silently read alone or in groups. A few were practicing magic spells as they discussed readings from their weekly sessions. The noise level of combined laughter and chatter rivaled that of the dining hall during any given meal.

Quirky knew it wasn't the time to panic; rather, when Twilight gave a smart look of 'I-told-you-so', the mare returned one mischievous grin.

“Say, Twilight, is it true that you know an invisibility spell?” Quirky asked slyly.

Twilight nodded nervously. “Actually, I do. But...”

“But what?”

“Well, the trick is that you can't make contact with any other pony, otherwise its effect will wear off. I found that out back before our classes started. That was a hard lesson learned-”

“Cast it, cast it anyway!” Quirky implored as she spotted ponies nearby glancing in their direction. “Please, for the love of Celestia, just do it!”

Twilight examined her friend – whose desperation revealed itself through a puppy face Twilight knew the mare had practiced – and gave in to her request, promptly lighting her horn and focusing at once on the spell.

“Just hold still for a second,” Twilight said as she summoned the required magic power.

“Thank you thank you thank you-!” Quirky chimed, until suddenly with a flash her hoofs and curly hair disappeared from her own sights. When Twilight looked up, she seemed just as unable to spot the mare's figure.

“Quirky?”

“Still here, have no fear!” Quirky chirped. “I'll just try and follow along the walls on the side until I get to the stairs.”

But the second the actress set hoof in the building, it became evident that such a plan would not work. To one side an art group practiced splatter paint on giant spans of paper held up against the wall; on the other hung giant mirrors as those involved with fashion and modeling were obsessing over their new manes and accessories.

If we were supposed to pack light, how is it that these ponies have seemingly everything? And why have I never noticed this before..?

Once her mind cleared of the questions, Quirky started to develop a new plan of action. Near the middle of all the chaos was a narrow passage through which the mare could see herself fitting. Though there was movement – Quirky had no doubt that either the fencing team or the dancers would cross over the center carpet piece – the mare thought back to her practice with choreography and felt confident in her ability to elude any flailing hoofs.

Only, Quirky knew there would be no practice; improvization was not her favorite, either.

“On second thought, Twilight,” Quirky began, “do you think you could possibly-?”

But when she turned to face her friend, there was no familiar character standing beside her any longer. Instead, somepony else had taken her spot; the stranger, confused, turned her eyes in Quirky's general direction.

“Wha-? Who said that?”

The mare glanced around, nearly bumping into Quirky, but the actress leaped forward and avoided the wandering body. Her jump, though, knocked her into a small table on which a collection of paint cans sat. Their unstable tower began teetering and tottering, until the top one tipped toward where Quirky stood breathless.

Out of instinct the mare rolled on her side just in time as the container of yellow colorant hit the floor. A puddle of bright gold liquid hit the marble, echoing just enough for the group of painters nearby to hear it. Their ears pricked up and their jaws dropped, until suddenly one ran over and began hopelessly scooping the paint back into its canister.

“Not the oil-based!” the frantic pony, a young mare, cried. “My grandma just made this special color for me during the break!”

As she wept Quirky let out a sigh of relief as not a spot of the previous pigment tarnished her coat. She got back on her hoofs and started once more for the stairs, but quickly discovered that the gap between dancers and fencers had grown all the more thin. Quirky gulped.

Whose terrible idea was it to have these two so close together, anyway!?

On the tips of her hoofs the mare made her way past the first few scattered ponies as each stood staring at whatever activity entertained his or her sights most. Their tails flickered in excitement, which Quirky had to dodge all the while, as they constantly shifted for a better view.

One stallion in particular, Gallant, was watching the fencers' duel; his thrill drove him to constantly step back and then forward as he cheered louder than those around him. At first Quirky did not see him, but after he began stomping and hopping up and down like a crazy mule, he came just close enough to nearly nick Quirky right in the nose as she passed behind.

The mare jerked her head back, avoiding the rearing stallion's wheeling hoofs by less than an inch, but could not keep her balance afterwards. She stood on her two rear legs while the front two swung to maintain balance. After her back arched back as far as it could, Quirky felt something sweep her off her hoofs. She tumbled backwards like a loose bowling ball until she hit against something strange.

Her back hit against a relatively soft surface, though it was not comfortable or cushioning in the slightest. The hollow sound of the collision and light weight of the object made Quirky turned and stared with spinning eyes. From what she could tell, it was just a simple box.

With a quick scan over the room Quirky crawled into the giant upside-down container and hoped no pony was going to need it soon. A thought came and went as to why it was there in the first place. Wondering whether Princess Luna had spotted her or not, Quirky waited for her breaths to grow short. As they slowed down along with the mad beat of her heart, the mare slowly realized there were other warm breaths sounding within the box.

“H-Hello?” Quirky asked, suddenly feeling a hoof touching her tail.

“Quirky?”

“Pokey?”

“Arr?”

The last voice – a stallion's – was unfamiliar, but Quirky took comfort in recognizing at least one of them.

“What's... what's going on in here?” the actress inquired driven by the purest form of curiosity.

Pokey’s dopey laugh sounded. “Well, back home when there were lots of things going on at home or at school, but there was nothing I thought really fun going on, I always grabbed a box and played 'Imagination'.”

Quirky contained a titter. “'Imagination'? Is that a game?”

“Yeah, you know,” Pokey replied, surprised by her seeming ignorance, “when you pretend that you're somewhere where you're not, or that something really fun is happening and you pretend like you're there?”

“I'm sure I did that in theatre once or twice,” Quirky remarked with an uneasy laugh. “Who's the other pony in here?”

“Arr, the name's Seven Seas,” came the reply. “The hootin' and hollerin' going on ain't settin' sail for any ports of interest fer me, neither.”

“Let me guess,” Quirky said, “you're pretending to be pirates.”

“Yep, we sure are,” Pokey replied happily.

“Aye, I didn't think it would work,” Seven Seas added. “One’s mind can truly wander with some isolation and creativity.”

Quirky felt that she had lingered in their strange realm long enough; feeling for the edge of the box to her left she lifted the bottom and peered into the foyer. A new round of fencing had begun, and a new dance was underway as well. Off near the wall were a couple of chairs with a large group or mares she had spotted earlier giving make-overs and trying on outfits.

Perhaps that new disguise is in order now?

“Well, gentlecolts, it's been... interesting,” Quirky remarked as she lifted the box to slide out.

Pokey only managed to get out, “But we haven't even started-”

But before he could finish Quirky left the two in their upside-down box and crouched behind the package. She cautiously lifted her eyes and scanned the room. With no sign of the headmare, Quirky made her way over to the gathering of mares toying with a myriad of cosmetics and accessories, daring not to look in any other direction but straight ahead.

“Quirky? Quirky Q?” called one of them.

A white mare with a purplish pink mane and tail approached her, her cutie mark a familiar shining carving tool.

“Diamond Chisel?”

“You do remember me!” Diamond smiled. “Are you coming over here for a make-over? Or maybe you're just looking to chat?”

Quirky acted as though she had not seen what they were doing, and so approached with a feigned hesitance. “Why, make-overs? Is that what you girls are doing? Splendid! I suppose I wouldn't mind a bit of tidying up my mane and whatnot-”

“Why not a facial as well?” one of the fashion ponies remarked, grabbing the mare and sitting her in one of the vacant cushions nearby.

“What about your horn?”

“Have you applied mascara yet!?”

Suddenly a swarm of fellow mares surrounded her and began preparing as though they were surgeons heading into an operation. A couple began wiping down Quirky's face while another prepared a variety of creams of powders. One filed her horn and another her hoofs. A grin crossed the actress's face as everything was going as according to plan.

“So, Quirky Q, what is it you've been up since our last... incident?” Diamond Chisel said as she combed through the mare's silvery hair.

“Ah, yes, that,” Quirky said; she knew Diamond was referring to the Tigbalan. “Nothing new is happening, really. Sessions are as engaging as they were before break-”

She winced as Diamond Chisel began pulling a bit too hard on her mane. The white unicorn laughed upon spotting the grimace.

“Oh, I apologize in advance: I work more with stone carvings than I do hairdressing. Nevertheless, I try.” Diamond all of a sudden looked in every direction, as did the others, before all fell into a huddle with Quirky in the middle. “You are aware that this is the gossip corner, yes?”

Quirky jerked forward suddenly, smearing what mysterious gels were being rubbed on her face.

“What!? Er, I mean, of course,” the actress replied. She sat up straight again and laughed. “What's new that's worth hearing?”

Diamond Chisel giggled herself as she lowered her voice, “Well, Quirky, we were hoping you would tell us.”

Quirky felt her throat squeeze. “Excuse me..?”

“Oh, come now, there's no need to hide anything from us,” Diamond Chisel said, returning to straightening the mare's mane. “We know about you and your secret mission following Princess Luna.”

Quirky's eyes shot open. “How do you know!?”

“Relax, Quirky Q, relax,” Diamond Chisel said as she pushed the mare back onto the grooming seat. “Your secret is safe with us. Lyra filled us in on the details.”

Lyra, again!?

“I-If you don't mind me asking, what details are you talking about?” Quirky asked, keeping her cool despite the aggravation that bubbled within.

“Oh, you know,” Diamond replied, “nothing more than that the princess is planning a very special ball!”

Diamond Chisel squealed, as did almost everypony standing in the circle. Quirky, however, was pale a ghost, and quiet as one too.

“A-A ball?” Quirky uttered, dumbfounded. “Err, yes! Ha ha you found it out, a ball. Isn't it just so interesting? Well, I suppose I really should be going now-”

“Oh, but what's the rush?” Diamond asked as Quirky rose from her seat. Those around her gasped in horror. “You know we haven't even gotten everything on your face evenly applied-”

“Oh! No rush, I, uh...” Quirky stumbled as she backed away, “... I need to get something back in my room-”

Quirky's rear hoofs started twitching, followed by her nose wiggling. Her heart stopped shortly after.

Faster than a flash of lightning the mare bolted into hiding behind the box she had crawled out from earlier. She curled into a ball behind the barrier and hoped with all her might that she had made it without being spotted by Princess Luna - Quirky knew she was near.

In silence she waited with the worst kind of anxiety as performances of her capture or discovery began to play in her mind. She could hear the mockery of those nearby after a clueless pony told Princess Luna of what he or she had overheard.

First Twilight, now the gossip girls... how many has Lyra told!?

“Hey Quirky,” came the voice of Pokey Pierce from beneath the box. His and the blue stallion's heads currently stuck out and faced where the mare lie shivering. “You pretending to be 'stranded alone on an island' again? And what's all that stuff on your face?”

Quirky, holding back a scream, swallowed the bellow that had nearly given her away. “U-Um, y-yes, Pokey, I'm practicing. This is... face paint. It's symbolic; theatre nonsense, don't worry.”

“Oh, okay,” Pokey replied. “Sorry if I was interrupting.”

“Don't worry about it,” Quirky said as she dared to peek over the box.

Princess Luna was facing the dancing bunch to the left but still stood close to the center of the room.

Quirky, still shaking, inquired, “Say, Pokey Pierce, might I ask you a question?”

“You might,” he replied in his typical slow manner.

Quirky paused and stared as her friend continued to stare with his usual content demeanor.

“Right. Well then, it's a strange question, so here goes: how 'in the loop' are you regarding the, oh say, latest gossip?”

“Gossip? Don't you know that gossip doesn't do anypony any good?” Pokey questioned.

“He speaks the truth,” Seven Seas stated with a vigorous nod.

“Right, right,” Quirky carried on. “I'm asking because I suspect that there has been gossip traveling around about me in specific.”

“Oh, there sure has,” Pokey stated.

“WHAT!?” Quirky squeaked, too late to cover her mouth. “What do you mean by that!?”

“Well, I heard that you were acting like some kind of secret agent with your sneaking around and stuff. Did you really overhear Princess Luna talking about bringing eternal night to Equestria?”

Quirky felt her breath almost completely leave her until her brain processed the last portion, at which point her loss for words felt hardly any different.

“Pokey,” Quirky began, “I don't know who told you that, but it isn't true. Actually, I'm pretty sure you're thinking about Nightmare Moon, not the Luna we know.”

Pokey’s eyes ambled up to the ceiling. “You mean, there's a difference?”

Quirky slapped her face and sighed. “Look, Pokey, maybe I'll act it all out for you later. For now, I just need to know who told you about this.”

“Lyra.”

“Lyra?”

LYRA!?

“I-I see,” Quirky said with quivering breaths, a combination of agitation and anger shaking her chest. “And you haven't repeated this to any other ponies, correct?”

“Wrong,” Pokey said, almost triumphantly. “I told some of our friends from Ponyville about all this. Some thought it was crazy, but others seemed pretty concerned-”

“How could you do that, Pokey? That's the very definition of gossip!”

Her sharp words pierced through clenched teeth, loud enough for a number nearby to catch hint of her voice. Those that were in ear's reach paused and stared, to which Quirky shrunk until she fell back below the span of the box, sprawled out as if in defeat.

“Do you know where Lyra currently is?” Quirky muttered.

Pokey pointed toward the doors leading outside. “She's out playing some complicated game in the snow. It didn't sound very fun to me.”

“Thank you, Pokey,” Quirky said as she slowly stood, searching for lingering eyes. “Try not to spread any more rumors around; that's the last thing I need right now.”

Quirky looked back over the top of the box to find Princess Luna exiting the foyer through the glass corridor. With a sigh of relief she rose on all fours and pushed down on the box to put Pokey and his friend back in their imaginary world. With only a second of scanning over the room Quirky made a mad dash for the door. She put all her faith in the mess on her face to hide her from immediate recognition.

Not a soul shouted her name out loud as she ran, and by the time she reached the door the adrenaline drove her on without pause. With all of her momentum and strength Quirky pushed the thick doors open leading outside.

A gentle waft of wintry air greeted her. She tried her best to ignore the cold as the heat from her blushing and chills from her ever-present panic took over her sense of feeling. Through the clear air she could make out a large number of her peers lounging outside in the snow. Some observed the scenery while others played a game of croquet in a cleared patch of lawn.

But all activities stopped as the large doors creaked open. All eyes fell on the actress, whose face appeared as though it were melting with the sweat dripping from her forehead down.

“Quirky!” came a shout from a pony nearby, which the mare suddenly knew to be Lyra’s.

The minty mare approached with a croquet stick, an object Quirky very much would have liked to have taken and bopped her on the head with. At the same time, though, she was struck motionless as mouths began to mutter words Quirky knew concerned her.

“What's the matter?” Lyra asked. “You look somewhat flustered. And what is that on your face?”

Quirky held the anger still as she closed her eyes and tried to swallow the words that would have otherwise come straight from the depths of frustration.

“FLUSTERED!?” Quirky screamed anyway. “You've told everypony exactly what I've been up to! You even made up things that I saw or overheard! I THINK I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE FLUSTERED!”

“Calm down, calm down,” Lyra said, lifting a hoof to protect her face from the spittle that flew along with her friend's words. “It was an accident, Quirky.”

“Accident!? How does everypony know if it was an accident!? And what about these fake stories everypony's asking me about?”

“After I realized I wasn't supposed to have said anything on the matter, I added a couple lies so as to create confusion. I thought if they all heard different stories, they wouldn't think a single one of them to be true.”

“How many times did this happen?” Quirky begged. “I've heard at least two different – and incorrect – claims of what I’ve ‘overheard’!”

Lyra looked off to the poofy white clouds in the sky. Her amber eyes scanned over the gaps of baby blue between covers in the atmosphere until Quirky couldn't take it any longer.

“You can't even count them!?” the actress screeched. “Well, how- What am I supposed to do if Princess Luna finds out-!?”

All of a sudden a chorus of deep peals rang. Strike by strike the bells' chimes echoed across the grounds. Though once a beautiful sound in Quirky's ears, they were nothing but a siren to her then. Those of the main hall never rang on the weekend.

“All students, I repeat, all students are to report to their rooms immediately!” shouted one of the professors, Yorsets, from the doorway directly behind Quirky.

Lyra and Quirky's eyes locked. Worry dotted both pairs of eyes.

“Maybe it's an unrelated emergency?” Lyra suggested optimistically as she headed indoors.

Quirky mindlessly nodded and prepared to follow, but a booming voice in her head stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Thou art an exception, Quirky Q; report to my chambers at once.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 27 (Episode 7): Strike! Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 44 Minutes