It was a bright and beautiful day in the land of Centura. The sky was at its bluest, the earth was at its greenest, and the citizens were at their liveliest. Coming soon was the coronation of Princess Vipera, and each of the four towns were to give her presents honour.

Northern Hold made a cake. Southern Town built a statue. Eastern City assembled a parade. Western Village however, did not have a present at the moment. It was the poorest of the four towns, and was closest to the rival kingdom of Damascariot.

Yet, its ponies were not deterred, they were confident that they would find a present on time. One of its ponies, a mare by the name of Arcega Minn, was searching through the marketplace of her village, searching for materials for her gift.

While examining a storefront collection of diamonds, a mare in a dark cloak approached her from behind. It was Ebony Diamond, a bat-pony and Arcega’s best friend for 8 years. The ponies of the village and kingdom were terrified of bat-ponies, so Ebony wore a cloak in public.

“Ace! Ace! I gotta show you something!” Ebony hollered into her friend’s ear. Ace was Arcega’s nickname, and was commonly referred to as such.

Ace simply turned around to see what Ebony was going on about. Ebony removed the cloak from her head and presented her with a circlet made of silver on her head.

“Isn’t it adorable?” Ebony asked.

“Please tell me you didn’t steal that.” Ace replied. She knew that Ebony had a nasty habit of stealing stuff.

“What? What gives you the impression that I stole it?” Ebony asked, in a blatantly guilty tone.

“Ebony!” Ace barked.

“I’m just kidding! Hehehe… I just wanted to get a kick out of you, that’s all. I bought it.”

Ace was initially upset with the joke, but quickly found herself giggling along.

“Alright,” Ace admitted. “You got me.”

“Hooray!” Ebony cheered.

“Actually, where’d you get the money?”

“…”

“Urg…” Ace rubbed her face in annoyance.

“It was from a thief, I swear!”

“…”

“Well, more of a merchant, but his prices were incredibly high, not much difference to be honest.”

“Look, as much as we are best friends, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. I want to be a knight, a pony of the law, and I can’t be that when you’re stealing stuff and sleeping under my roof.”

“Alright, I know,” Ebony said, crestfallen with her ears pinned to the back of her head. “I’m sorry.”

Ace simply rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the store.

“So, what’cha doing?” Ebony then asked, not wanting their talk to end of such a negative note.

“I’m looking for something for my secret project.” Ace answered in confidence.

“You mean your gift to the princess.”

“How did you-”

“Hellooo,” Ebony interrupted, waving her hoof in front of her slit eyes. “I’m a bat-pony. Not only am I nocturnal, but I can see and hear fantastically at night.”

“Fantastically?” Twilight asked herself, confused at the odd word.

“Oh, right.” Ace giggled.

“So what makes you think that a cheaply-made sword, made by you alone, is going to be as good as a present to the princess as a parade, a monument, and a cake?” Ebony asked.

“I have to represent my village somehow. Everypony else is either too injured from the last war with Damascariot or too busy to contribute.”

“Wasn’t there some sort of opera being prepared at Town Hall?”

“Oh great,” Ace rolled her eyes. “Our village is going to represented by tons of ponies sitting and talking really slowly.”

“You never really were a fan of sitting.” Ebony remarked. “But it is more princess-like than a sword.”

“Yeah…” Ace nodded.

Defeated, Ace sat down in the grass and thought to herself, playing with her silver earing whilst doing so. Ebony tucked her cloak back over her head and sat down next to her. The two then sat there for a while, with Ace contemplating her situation and Ebony just keeping her company. Ace eventually becomes fidgety with the grass and flowers around her, which Ebony took as a sign of boredom.

Ebony leaned over to Ace’s ear, careful not to have her nose poked by Ace’s horn, and whispers, “Wanna go on an adventure?”

Ace’s old childhood catchphrase.

Despite her age drawing close to 18 years, Ace still fondly remembered the times when she and Ebony were mere foals. The two would go out on adventures throughout the town and village, either for what they considered treasure and justice, and they all started when Ace asked the question.

It had been four years since their last ‘adventure’ as a duo, but was never fully concluded.

Ace turned to Ebony with a smile on her face.

“What’s in it for me?” She joked.

“Whatever’s going to make your sword complete,” Ebony answered.

Without a second thought, the two rose from the grass and set off to the forest, giggling the whole way through.

“Twilight!” A familiar voice shrieked in the darkness.

Twilight instantly jolted to life, awaking from her sleep. The book slid off of her forehead and landed between her hind legs.

Although her vision was blurred from exhaustion, she could make out Spike at the foot of her bed, jumping in place.

“What is it Spike?” She muttered drowsily with a hint of annoyance.

“Applejack’s party in half an hour!” Spike exclaimed.

“…What?”

“Her birthday party, remember?”

“Birthday… Applejack… Par-ty-oh-right! I gotta go!”

Twilight instantly leapt from her bed and rushed out into the hall to get ready. Spike approached the bed to investigate what made Twilight slept in so late, instantly noticing the book. He picked it up and saw it was opened on the second chapter. The right page showed an illustration of a bird’s eye view of two mares walking through a forest.

Despite its rather straightforward appearance, something in Spike’s mind ticked as he examined the picture.

“Something about where those trees are placed,” Spike spoke to himself. “It doesn’t look right...”

Twilight then barged back into the bedroom and galloped up to Spike.

“Need this,” Twilight rapidly declared, picking up the book with her magic before running back out. “Thank you.”

“You’re… welcome. That was odd.”

Spike caught up to Twilight and the two set off to Applejack's home, Sweet Apple Acres.

While they were walking however, something began to boil inside Twilight’s soul. It was a yearning, a yearning feeling almost forced onto her, but all the more accepted. Twilight examined the objects she had floating above her carefully, Applejack’s present and her new book.

That book… Twilight thought to herself, feeling the temptation to read it growing inside her, making her nearly forget what she was doing I have to read it. I mean, I know it’s just a standard fairy tale and I should focus on getting to AJ’s on time. But, the book… there’s something more to it that… I just gotta read! I’ll just read a little more on the way.

Without another thought, the purple alicorn levitated the book to eye level and opened it to the second chapter and resumed reading. Within seconds, the mare had all of her focus locked on the words and pictures of the story. Spike didn’t pay much mind to this, he was used to seeing the mare’s face stuffed in a book.

But as the two passed Town Hall, Spike noticed something off with Twilight as she read. Her pace has slowed down some, and she seemed more and more oblivious to her surroundings, even more so than when she started to read. At one point, Twilight nearly walked straight into a tree, but Spike pulled her away just in time, causing her to snap out her reading.

“Spike?!” Twilight gasped, surprised. “What is it?”

“You were about to walk into a tree.” Spike answered.

Twilight looked to her side and saw the tree, confirming Spike’s statement.

“Oh…” She responded, her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

“Are you sure you should be reading now?”

“Yes!-I mean, why not? What’s the worst that can happen?”

“You could bump into a tree-”

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted. Her eyes had returned to the book. “Ace just bumped into a tree and a jewel fell from it! Ebony’s checking it out and… and… it’s a whole stash of treasure!”

“Twilight!”

“What?” Twilight snapped.

“The party?”

“Oh, right. Carry on.”

Eventually, Twilight and Spike made it to Sweet Apple Acres. There, in front of the barn, were their friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and even Discord, talking to each other and enjoying the party. As the duo walked up to the main table, the others were almost surprised by their sudden presence.

“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped. “Hi Twilight.”

“Hi… Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, confused at her tone.

Pinkie Pie jumped onto Twilight’s back in surprise and cheered, “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Made it?” Twilight asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Well duh, you’re late.” Dash remarked.

Twilight gasped before exclaiming, “Late?!”

“Yeah, about an hour late.”

“Regardless,” Rarity retorted from behind Dash. “She and Spike made it and brought their present.”

Rarity approached Twilight and Spike and gave each a formal kiss on the cheek.

“Welcome to the party. Place your gift next to the others.” She declared, motioning to the stack of presents on the table, next to the cake.

Twilight placed the present in its place and joined her friends. The book was still open and floating just within Twilight’s line of sight, something that Spike noted.

Carefully, he approached Twilight and tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

“Yes, Spike?” She asked.

Spike didn’t want to sound cruel, but needed to get his point across. Twilight was obsessed with the book and needed it gone for her to focus on her friends.

“Well,” Spike replied, thinking of the best way to phrase his words. “You might get tired from holding that book. Allow me to hold it for you.”

“Oh…” Twilight pronounced, sounding almost hesitant in her voice. “Sure…”

With a flick of her horn, Twilight slowly dropped the book into Spike’s hands, which he carried away with him to Applejack and Discord.

Odd… Twilight noted. Spike seemed eager to take that book. Then again, he has been acting almost obsessive about it. Maybe he really wants to read it? I don’t blame him. I was at a really good part, but it can wai-

“Twilight? You there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight’s gaze snapped away from Spike and back at the four mares with her.

“Oh, yeah, I’m here.” Twilight nodded.

“Alright, as I was saying…”

“…and so I said,” Discord said, finishing his joke. “’Your mother!’”

Applejack nervously laughed, not getting the joke at all.

“Yeah, good one…” She remarked.

“Ho, ho! I knew you’d like it.”

“Yeah…”

“Excuse me,” Spike said, making his presence known to the two.

Discord and Applejack turned to see Spike, much to their joy.

“Howdy Spike.” Applejack replied with a smile.

Spike then apologized, “Sorry we were late.”

“Shucks, it were nothing.”

Discord noticed the book Spike was holding and instantly became curious. Turning his tail into a hand, Discord plucked the book out of Spike’s grasp and examined its cover. Spike reasonably grew upset at Discord, but cooled off.

“Hm… What an interesting piece of literature.” Discord remarked.

“We found it at the old castle yesterday.” Spike explained. “Twilight really likes it. Heck, I had to pull it away from her.”

“Isn’t she more of a… mature audience?” Discord questioned, flipping through the pages and seeing its contents.

The minimal wording and pictures almost made the draconequus giggle. He could barely understand how Twilight would need Spike to pull this away from her. Perhaps it was its childishly hilarious nature that drew her to it.

Suddenly, something in Discord triggered. It stung like a nerve that had never felt any sensation in decades, but carried a sense of something long-known, dreaded even.

“hooph…” Discord shuttered.

“Is something wrong?” Applejack asked.

“Must be the cold wind or something...”

As Discord continued to examine the book, the more the feeling grew, the more it became clear. He didn’t understand it, but knew something was off, something about the bo-

“Spike!” Twilight barked, walking up to Spike and the others.

She quickly snatched the book from Discord’s hands with her magic and pressed it against her chest.

“Why did you let Discord take it?” She continued. “He could’ve ruined it.”

Discord snapped back, in his usual joking manner, “Well, somepony’s got a stick where it doesn’t belong.”

“At least let me finish it, then you can do whatever you want with it.” Twilight negotiated.

Spike and Discord simply shrugged in agreement. To them, it wasn’t like they would do anything else about it. Now back in her bitter mood, Twilight escaped to the inside of the barn, away from her friends.

“That was weird.” Applejack remarked.

“Yeah…” Discord discourteously nodded, distracted with something else.

The sense of dread Discord felt was now gone, much to both his relief and concern. He wasn’t sure if something was up or just his chaotic self, but he knew an investigation was needed.

“I can’t believe him…” Twilight angrily muttered to herself.

The barn was dark and very quiet, making Twilight comfortable as she let off steam.

“I trusted him to take care of my book, not let it be messed with by somepony whose name literally means ‘chaos’! Today just hasn’t been a good day for me at all, no ma’am. It’s cold, it’s windy, it’s loud, and everypony just, bah…”

Twilight stopped her rant and took a breath. The cold air brought chills through her body.

“…Alright. I just need an outlet. I just need to quickly cool off and hop right back in.”

At that moment, Twilight felt the book, still pinned to her chest by her own magic. She held to her face and examined it. As she did so, warmth pulsated through her body and her stress lessened.

Slowly, Twilight settled into a bale of hay and continued to read her book.

Ace and Ebony giggled all the way back to Ace’s home, where the two said their goodbyes.

“So, you’re going to spy on me?” Ace asked.

“Nah, I’m going to sleep.” Ebony yawned. “You kept me up all day.”

“It was your idea.”

Ebony paused for a second before replaying, “…Touché. Well, good night.”

“You too,”

Within a second, Ebony vanished from Ace’s sight, probably had scurried off to under Ace’s bed, her usual resting place.

Ace knew her aunt and uncle were asleep, so Ebony wouldn’t have trouble sneaking in. With their gem stash in her magic grasp, Ace walked around to the back and entered the shed which was her workstation.

Ace loved to build and enhance weapons, shields, and other tools in her shed. Her friends, and especially Ebony, would joke that she could last thirty days without food, water, or sleep, as long as she was in her shed. Tonight was just like any other, with her working on her newest project, while being sidetracked by tinkering with other stuff.

One by one, she placed the gemstones on her gift to the soon-to-be queen, a golden sabre. Made from gold created through alchemy, this sword had been the prime focus of the unicorn for over a year, both in time and money.

She worked as a miner, and had a very low income. Her aunt and uncle supported her from time to time, but Ace wanted to support herself, and this sword would be the first creation she accomplished by herself, with some assistance from Ebony.

As she worked, she thought about her recent adventure with Ebony. Nothing grand or perilous happened, but it was just like old times. She reflected about their past, and why they never went on adventures in so long.

Ebony didn’t and couldn’t really get a real job. Before she and Ace became friends and Ace started supporting her, Ebony often stole and manipulated others to get what she wanted. She still did it, as she found it amusing, but it had drastically lessened with Ace’s arrival.

One day, four years ago, Ace woke up and checked under her bed for Ebony, who usually slept there when Ace woke up. She wasn’t there however, Ebony just left. Ace searched high and low for her, throughout the four towns, the capital, and the forests everywhere throughout Centura, but could not find her.

Ace was devastated, having lost her best friend, and more so concerned for her safety. Eventually however, Ace grew used to not seeing Ebony under her bed, in the forest, or running from an angry shop owner. As much as she despised it, she came to terms with it.

Two years later though, Ebony returned. She claimed to have gotten lost after a late day of drinking a stash of mead, but Ace could see it in her eyes that Ebony suffered through something a lot worse, something she didn’t want to talk about. Ebony from then on continued to live under Ace’s roof and given food by her every day.

The thought of adventuring never really came to mind to either of the two, perhaps it was a cruel reminder of the innocence they once had before Ebony’s disappearance. However, now after this recent adventure, it would appear that such innocence was probably never lost-

“Twilight?” Applejack’s voice echoed throughout the barn. “What are you doing?”