Rarity had elected to lead Thunderlane to the café where she and her friends typically ate for their get-togethers. It had outdoor seating, small but filling meals (perfect for keeping one’s figure), both hot and cold beverages, and its close proximity to the Ponyville Spa made it convenient for her and Fluttershy’s weekly spa dates. It was also easy on the bit purse, which was nice.

Rarity and Thunderlane traded stories of their younger siblings and whatever shenanigans they managed to get themselves into over tea, sandwiches, and one small cake each. While Thunderlane managed to keep all of his stories interesting and keep a smile on his face, Rarity couldn’t help but be concerned for his little brother. All of Thunderlane’s stories about Rumble happened in the Cloudsdale Flight Camp and rarely mentioned friends. It was almost like Rumble didn’t have a life outside of Flight Camp.

Fortunately, Rarity knew exactly how to start this conversation. “You know, I haven’t seen Rumble around Ponyville until he joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

Thunderlane, completely oblivious to Rarity’s intent, politely continued the conversation, “He pretty much lived up at Cloudsdale until recently.”

“Oh? Did he not like here?” Suggested Rarity.

Thunderlane nodded his head in the negative, “Nah, he always looked forward to any chances he got to come and visit. He actually wanted to leave earlier than he did, but we didn’t have the resources to feed a forth mouth at home.”

“Then how could you afford to keep Rumble in Flight Camp for the entire seven-year program?” Asked Rarity.

Rarity barely noticed the proud smile on Thunderlane’s lips, “Scholarships,” Answered the black stallion.

“I didn’t know your brother was such a good flier,” Said Rarity.

“He’s probably the best,” Said Thunderlane, “You know how Pegasi foals get bouts of magical flight in their infancy?”

Rarity nodded, “Unicorn foals get similar surges of power, but don’t they usually stop by the time the foal’s first birthday?”

“Not for Rumble,” Explained Thunderlane, “Rumble just has a better innate understanding of how Pegasus magic works, and he never stopped buzzing around.”

“Goodness!” Exclaimed Rarity, “I had no idea that could happen.”

“Yeah, neither did I,” Said Thunderlane, “He did drive mom and dad crazy though.”

“Ha! I can only imagine,” Replied Rarity.

“Oh? What is this?” Rarity was about to continue her carefully disguised inquires when an unfamiliar voice asked a question directed towards her and Thunderlane.

Thunderlane and Rarity both looked over to see Princess Legal Procedure, Celestia’s granddaughter by her late eighth husband, approaching them. While neither Thunderlane or Rarity had ever actually meet Princess Legal Procedure, they could both recognize her on sight. While Rarity was silently cursing the fact that her inquires had been interrupted, she was also thanking fate that she got to meet a pseudo-celebrity that was known to go out of her way to stay away from the media, barring one exception.

“Why, good day your grace,” Said Rarity calmly. While she was caught off guard by the Princess’s sudden arrival, she was still able to keep her composure, “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I was just exploring the town,” She replied politely, “One can only explore one place so many times before you get bored of it.”

“Forgive me for being nosy your majesty,” Said Thunderlane, “But you and your cousin are known for little more than keeping yourselves held up in the Palace District of Canterlot, what makes Ponyville different?”

“We didn’t want to be bothered by media Ponies trying to find a scandal to write about, or other Nobles trying to use us for their own gain,” Legalese replied with a little more irritation than she meant too, “And please, skip formalities with me. My cousin might be big on etiquette and the pride and public image of House Platinum, but I couldn’t care less.”

“But enough about me,” Said Legalese with a playful look in her forest green eyes and devilish smile on her face, “I had no idea that you had started dating Rarity, that is something the media would love to know more about.”

Thunderlane was just barely holding back the chuckles as he saw the look on Rarity’s face. “I-I- Your Grace!” Started a flustered Rarity, attracting the attention of some of the other patrons, “I am not dating Thunderlane!”

Rarity’s pupils turned to pinpricks when she realized how insulting that statement could be to Thunderlane, “Oh, Thunderlane, darling, it’s not that I would never consider such a relationship with you, not that I’m pursuing one either but-”

Thunderlane could hold back the laughter anymore, “It’s fine Rarity, I know what you meant.”

Rarity sighed in relieve that she hadn’t insulted her new-found friend, when a loud gasp brought back every ounce of anxiety she was feeling. The trio of Ponies turned to see Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, practically bouncing towards them with a giddy look on her face in a manner similar to Pinkie Pie.

“Hi Rarity!” Said Sweetie Belle excitedly. While she did speak in an inside voice, the uniquely high pitch her voice had pierced any and all background noise, meaning that everypony could hear her without having to strain their hearing.

“Oh, hi Sweetie Belle,” Said Rarity. While by no means did she hate her sister, there were just times where Sweetie Belle would come around at just the worst time possible. Rarity could tell by way of Sweetie Belle’s playful smile, that her sister was going to make her wish she wasn’t here

“So, what happened to me helping you today?” Asked Sweetie Belle.

“Oh!” Exclaimed Rarity slightly louder than she meant too, “I’m so sorry Sweetie Belle, I forgot that was today.”

“Normally, I’d be upset,” Started Sweetie Belle. Rarity did not like what the twinkle in her little sister’s eyes meant, “But I guess I can forgive you if you were with your coltfriend.”

Rarity covered her face with both front hooves and put her head on the table as she overheard the faint murmuring of the other Ponies at the café. Neither Thunderlane, Legalese, nor Sweetie Belle, could keep themselves from laughing at Rarity’s expense.

Rumble awoke with the siren that was his alarm clock. He got out of bed and walked to the other side of his room where his alarm clock was placed and turned it off. Rumble purposely put his alarm clock so far away from his bed so he couldn’t just hit it and go back to sleep.

The young Pegasus stretched out his legs and wings before leaving his room. As he sedately walked towards the bathroom, he thought about the date he had with Apple Bloom, and smiled. It had gone fairly well from his point of view, and to top things off, she seemed to enjoy herself as well. No one who attended the Cloudsdale Flight Camp for more than a week could ever forget the incessant ranting of the counselors about how dating was not necessarily romantic.

Rumble understood the need for such things though. Pegasi tended to be slightly protective of things and Ponies. And then there was the fact that all of the students came from different backgrounds, meaning that they had different definitions about what a ‘date’ was. Without the counselors’ ceaseless lectures, Rumble figured that there would be a lot of Ponies who got more attached than they should have and got themselves hurt. Rumble actually got into a fight with one of his fellow students because he mistook Rumble’s intentions toward his boyfriend. Although it ended with Rumble literally flying circles around him, it still was upsetting for Rumble.

Rumble started brushing his teeth as he thought about what he was going to do after he was done. Cloud Chaser and Flitter and had work, while Rumble couldn’t remember what Thunderlane was doing at the moment, he knew that his brother had plans for today. Rumble figured that he could get on his family’s good side and head over to Sweet Apple Acers and help some more, it’s not like he was doing anything important or productive.

Rumble had just rinsed out all of the toothpaste and foam from his mouth and teeth when he saw Pinkie Pie in the bathroom mirror, “Pinkie Pie!? How did-” Rumble turned to face the pink part Pony, only to see that she wasn’t there.

“There’s no time to explain!” Screamed the pink Earth Pony from the mirror as she reached through the reflection with her head and grabbed Rumble by the scruff of his neck.

Rumble screamed as his vision blurred to the point where he might as well be blind. Colors raced by the gray colt’s vision so quickly that he couldn’t distinct them until Pinkie Pie finally stopped warping through the fabric of reality and released the young stallion back into existence.

“Oh, my head,” Said Rumble as he waited for his vision to stop spinning and the headache his journey gave him to go away.

When Rumble’s world stopped spinning, he looked around his surroundings. Pinkie Pie was hopping in place while a receptionist of some kind sat behind a counter with a look on her face that suggested that she saw something she couldn’t quite comprehend. Where am I? wondered Rumble.

Rumble looked in the other direction and saw somepony he wasn’t expecting, “Apple Bloom?”

Indeed, Apple Bloom was her stomach, obviously not dealing with her trip through space and time as well as Rumble had. He instinctively trotted over to her and helped off of the floor, “Are you okay?” Asked Rumble.

“Uhn, Rumble?” Asked the dizzy filly, “Did she get you too?”

“Yeah, she came through my bathroom mirror and pulled me through it. How’d she get you?” Asked Rumble.

“Ah was helpin’ Granny Smith with the dishes when that crazy mare poked ‘er head through the garbage disposal and dragged me in by the snout,” Explained the red and yellow mare.

“How does she-” Rumble was interrupted by his fillyfriend’s hoof being placed on his lips.

“Don’t even try Sugarcube,” Said Apple Bloom, with a serious expression on her face, “It’s just Pinkie Pie bein’ Pinkie Pie. No point in tryin’ to understand it, just go wid it.”

“All right,” Said Rumble with a neutral tone and a confused look, “Do you have any idea where we are?”

Apple Bloom looked around the lobby they were in and adopted a confused look. At first, Rumble was afraid that she was just as clueless as he was. Then she spoke, “The hospital? Pinkie, why ‘re we here?”

“I need you two to help Scootaloo feel better,” Said Pinkie Pie. She was about to explain further when the farm filly practically teleported to her.

“Scootaloo’s hurt!?” Asked Apple Bloom with overwhelming concern for her friend.

“Yeah,” Answered Pinkie Pie, somehow sounding both sad and excited at once, “Room One-Nineteen. I have to get a hold of her parents, can you two go visit her for me?”

“O’course,” Answered Apple Bloom, “Come on Rumble!”

Apple Bloom rushed through the double doors like it was the end of the world, “Wait for me Apple Bloom!” And Rumble flew after her.

“Now to go get Fluttershy,” Said Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie leaped into the air and caught her tail with her mouth. The party Pony then started spinning as she began swallowing her own body. Pinkie’s body became smaller and smaller until her body shrunk out of existence with a pop, leaving behind a small cloud of confetti.

The receptionist simply stood at her post with a blank expression on her face. Then, Doctor Stable walked through the double doors with a confused expression on his face, “What happened?”

It was unusual for Nurse Coldheart to ignore procedure and let anypony see patients without an escort. The two foal sized blurs weren’t distinct enough for Dr. Stable to see who it was. If it was family of a patient who had just learned that their loved one had been hospitalized, the doctor could understand it. But instead of giving an explanation, Nurse Coldheart curled into a ball on the floor and began crying with tears of unfathomable fear.

“Is something wrong?” Asked Ruby as everypony settled themselves in the library lobby/living room.

Twilight, Dinky, and ever her own mother had insisted that they wait until they were at the library before they talked about whatever it was that had them so concerned.

“We need to talk to you about that book Noblesse loaned you,” Answered Twilight. Both she and Berry Punch had agreed that they shouldn’t keep Ruby in the dark about this.

Ruby had a realization and turned her head to face Dinky, “Is this why you wanted to come here so badly?”

“Yeah,” Said Dinky, “I reached out for that book and it was like my own mind was screaming at me not to.” The other three Ponies were shocked to hear this, “So I thought Twilight would best know how to approach it.”

“Do you have the book with you?” Asked Twilight.

“Y-yeah,” Answered Ruby. She wasn’t sure what to think after hearing Dinky’s revelation.

Ruby used her magic to pull the book from her saddle bags and levitated it over to Twilight, who was instantly fascinated with it, “What in Equestria?”

“Do you know what that symbol means?” Asked Berry. Being an Earth Pony, she had very limited knowledge of Unicorn magic. Be she reasoned that: if it were like any other text book, then the title and the cover would give some idea about the subject material the book covered.

“Yes and no,” Replied Twilight, “It looks like the author combined two symbols together.”

“What does it mean?” Asked Dinky.

“The snake eating itself is known as an Ouroboros,” Answered Ruby, “It’s an ancient symbol used to represent the concept of infinity. A triangle inside of a circle is known as a Thaumaturgic Triangle, and in this context, is a representation of power in general.”

“So… infinite power?” Asked Berry Punch. She did not like where this is going.

“The title appears to be some sort of Runic Combination,” Said Twilight getting everyponies’ attention, “But it’s too formulaic, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there,” Interrupted Dinky, “What is a ‘Runic Combination?’”

“A Runic Combination is a written sequence of magical runes used to cast magics more powerful than what would be impossible otherwise,” Explained Twilight, “They were mostly used in the Pre-Classical Era by all of the Pony Tribes as super weapons. But this sequence here” Twilight pointed to the title of the book, “Is made from runes that I am unfamiliar with and seems to be written more like a language than a traditional Runic Combination.”

“You got all of that from the title?” Asked Berry Punch in amazement.

“Celestia emphasized the dangers of Runic Magic,” Answered Twilight, “Many Rune Scribes got themselves killed experimenting with runes, but whoever wrote this book appears to have used some kind of ‘runic language’ that is much more stable than traditional Runic Combinations. I honestly don’t know what to make of it.”

Twilight’s lecture did little to comfort the Ponies in the room, “Wait, don’t!” Yelled Ruby, but it was too late. Twilight had already opened the book.

The other two Unicorns and Berry Punch waited for a reaction from Twilight before they did anything. Berry and Dinky couldn’t even look at the book without mental fatigue, but Ruby could read from it freely, so they simply waited.

They didn’t have to wait long before something happened. The whites of Twilight’s eyes turned lime green, her pupils blood red, and wisps of purple smoke began pouring from the outer sides of her eyes, all for a single moment before Twilight’s magic closed the book and placed it on the table.

“Twilight! Are you okay?” Asked a distressed Dinky.

“I’m fine,” Answered Twilight in a plain tone of voice, “And I now have a better idea of what this book is supposed to do. Ruby, don’t read from it again until we’ve talked to Noblesse.”

“We?” Asked Ruby, “All four of us?”

Twilight nodded her head, “No, just the two of us. Berry and Dinky can’t understand.”

“Can’t understand what?” Asked Berry, not sure if this was a matter of Unicorn magic or if Twilight was implying that she wasn’t smart enough to understand.

“This,” Said Twilight, putting her hoof on the spell book, “Is a beginner’s grimoire for the use of Dark Magic.”

Noblesse and Legalese were in the middle of a discussion about Legalese’ exploration of the developing city. Legalese would have been more inquisitive about her cousin’s day, but knew that his medics insisted that he stay on the palace grounds until he started going to school again. Legalese had just finished the anecdote about her run-in with the Element of Generosity when Noblesse gasped suddenly.

“Are you okay Noblesse?” Asked Legalese, concerned for her cousin. She knew that the version of the blood rites Noblesse took were untested, and could have unforeseen health problems accompanying them.

“I’m fine,” Assured the serpent/equine hybrid, “Others however, I am not so sure about.”

“Others?” Asked the teal Unicorn, “Do you mean your friends?”

Noblesse nodded, “It’s too early for me to call them ‘friends,’ but yes. I was surprised by the sharp increase of activity in the Collective Subconscious is all.”

Legalese just blinked. She had asked her cousin about Dark Magic in the past and the deepened connection with the Collective Subconscious, or the ‘Dreamscape’ as most of Equestria called it, but almost all of it went over her head.

“So, another practitioner got their hooves on the book you loaned to Ruby Pinch?” Suggested Legalese.

“I’m not certain,” Answered Noblesse, “I’m not close enough to any other practitioner in the area to rule them out.”

Legalese not so subtly rolled her eyes at her cousin, a benefit of being in the company of the blind is that you don’t have to work at concealing facial expressions. She understood that in the culture Noblesse was raised in: bonds were not forged in quiet moments or time spent having fun, but by having to rely on one another for survival and the blood of the fallen. But that did not make Noblesse’s unwillingness to trust anyone who didn’t ‘prove themselves’ any less annoying.

“So how will we figure out who caused that spike?” Asked Legalese.

“If it were the Crusaders or one of the Elements of Harmony, I imagine that Twilight Sparkle will approach me after school,” Answered Noblesse, “If that doesn’t happen, we pray that we can figure out who he, she, or they, are before their minds breaks.”

Author's Notes:

Hello readers, this is probably going to be the last chapter I post before I go back to college. It would have been longer, but I couldn't think of anything that would fit in between the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next chapter.

I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Please point out any typos or plot holes you see so I can fix them. And feel free to leave constructive criticism or your opinions on the plot so far.