by G. M. Berrow
Trixie joined in. “And once the unlucky ponies who get a cup of ‘cider’ from this barrel take a sip, I’ll swoop in and perform a magnificent spell to save them from the horrible taste!” She cackled.
“Personally, I think it’s funnier not to save them… but whatever you want, Trix!” Gilda said. “This partnership is really working out.” The two of them high-fived.
“Hey!” Twilight shouted from the nearby bush. “You two!”
Gilda and Trixie scrambled to cover up the barrel, and both stepped in front of it to create a shield. They looked all around but didn’t see anyone until Twilight climbed out from behind the bush. A couple of wayward twigs were still stuck in her mane.
“What are you, the undercover cider police?” Gilda sneered. “Do you take all your orders from Applejack now? Or are you finally giving some orders of your own, like a real royal pony, eh?”
Twilight puffed up. She was a little bit offended. “Well, if you must know, I couldn’t care less what you do with that cider,” Twilight said, even though she knew she would definitely tell Granny Smith which barrel was filled with slime later. “But I’m here because… because… I wanted to ask you about…” Twilight couldn’t seem to find the words to ask Gilda the Griffon for help.
Trixie tapped her hoof on the grass impatiently. She was still wearing her purple magician’s robe and pointy hat covered in stars. “The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t have all day, Twilight!” She was clearly still a little bitter about the time Twilight accidentally revealed her to be a fraud in front of all of Ponyville. Trixie probably didn’t feel so “Great and Powerful” after that.
“What were you talking about the other night at my cottage?” Twilight asked Gilda.
The griffon crossed her arms and shrugged casually. “I was just saying that if I were a princess, nopony would be allowed to tell me what to do.” Gilda put her claw on Twilight’s shoulder and dug in a little too sharply. “What is it that you want to do, Twilight?”
“I want to…” Twilight hesitated. It was a little strange to be asking for Gilda’s opinion on the matter. But she was right. Why was Twilight spending all this time and energy trying to listen to her friends in Ponyville, when she herself knew exactly where to find the answers—the one place she always felt completely at ease, no matter where in Equestria she was? “I want to go to the library! The Crystal Empire Library!”
Gilda nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll admit—the library thing is a little weird. But the Crystal Empire sounds awesome! Right on, Princess Twilight! You always know what’s best.”
A moment later, Twilight’s jeweled necklace began to cloud and darken even more. The transformation was so brief and subtle that Twilight didn’t even notice.
But there was definitely a new determination in her eyes. And it was a little scary.
All that Twilight could think about now was that huge library in the Crystal Empire. It held hundreds of old books! There was no way the spell wasn’t hidden in the pages of one of them. She couldn’t wait to dive into her studies and hide away with her books for as long as it took.
“Thanks for your help, guys,” Twilight told Gilda and Trixie. “I have to go to the Crystal Empire right now!” Twilight spread her wings and took off into the air.
“That sounds so totally awesome! I’m coming, too,” Gilda said, flying alongside her. “Is everything really made of crystals? What are the ponies like there?” Gilda began to imagine all the innocent victims whom she could play her pranks on. It was going to be so funny!
“Trixie will go with you, too!” Trixie exclaimed, trotting beneath them. She pictured a whole new city of ponies who had never seen her “Great and Powerful” magic act yet. It was going to be glorious!
The two lackeys followed as Twilight soared through the air, winding through Ponyville and unaware of everything in her path. Fluttershy, who was leading a line of baby ducklings back to their mother at the pond, noticed Twilight approaching. “Oh, hi, Twilight!” she said very quietly. She smiled and waved. “I’m so glad you’re here! I came up with some new ideas for the baby-animal sanctuary that I wanted to share with you….”
But Twilight didn’t even see her and swooshed right past. She was going so fast that Fluttershy’s pretty pink mane blew out from the gust of wind Twilight’s wings created. Rarity watched the scene unfold in pure shock. Who was this pony and what had she done with their best friend, Twilight Sparkle? Twilight always stopped to talk with her friends. Then Rarity noticed that the Cosmic Spectrum gem on Twilight’s necklace had lost some of its luster. This was a bad sign.
“Oh, Fluttershy!” Rarity said, trotting up to her. She was carrying a large sketchbook in her pack. It was full of new outfit designs she had been drawing all morning for Twilight’s imaginary kingdom. Even though she’d been annoyed after the meeting, she still wanted to help her friend.
“Do you think she heard me?” Fluttershy squeaked sadly. “Twilight would never ignore somepony like that on purpose, right?”
But before Rarity could mention the necklace, Gilda the Griffon called out to them. “Twilight is a princess now, you guys! She’s off to the Crystal Empire and doesn’t need a bunch of silly Ponyville friends like you holding her back. She told me so herself. So leave her alone!” Then she took off into the sky after Twilight.
Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged a worried look. “We’d better go find Spike,” Rarity said, looking to the sky. “He’ll know what to do.”
CHAPTER 11
Rallying the Hoofs
Golden Oak Library looked like it was occupied—the lights were on inside. But Rarity and Fluttershy had knocked on the door three times and got no answer. “Is anydragon home?” Fluttershy whispered, her voice barely audible, as usual.
Rarity scoffed. “You’re never going to get his attention like that! Watch and learn, darling.” She stood up straight and cleared her throat.
“Spiiiiike! Are you theeeeere?” Rarity trilled into one of the front windows. A split second later, Spike flung open the door. “Hi, Rarity!”
Fluttershy wasn’t offended that Spike hadn’t greeted her. Everypony knew Spike had a major crush on Rarity. At least it had gotten him to open the door. He was holding a large tub of ice cream and looked like he’d been crying.
“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“Twilight left me behind again!” Spike wailed. “She went back to the Crystal Empire and didn’t even tell me! I had to hear it secondhand from Cranky Doodle Donkey. He said he was walking by Sweet Apple Acres on his way home and heard her talking about the trip with Gilda and Trixie.”
“Unfortunately, it’s true,” Rarity said, entering the cottage. “We saw her leave.”
“No good-bye or anything,” added Fluttershy. “Just whoosh! And gone.”
“I think we can all agree that Twilight has not been herself today,” Rarity said. Spike and Fluttershy nodded. “And I think that necklace is to blame!”
“Huh?” Spike and Fluttershy were equally confused.
“Last night I was trying to explain that even though Cosmic Spectrum is a beautiful gem, it can be very dangerous if it is exposed to too many negative feelings. It absorbs them and makes the pony wearing it feel worse!”
“Oh no!” said Fluttershy. “Poor Twilight.”
“I knew it wasn’t her fault!” Spike jumped up in the air. “We have to go save Twilight. Together?”
“Together!” shouted Rarity and Fluttershy. They all nodded in agreement. Now all they had to do was find Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie and explain to them what had happened. The sooner they rallied the troops, the sooner they could hop on the Friendship Express to the Crystal Empire for a rescue mission.
CHAPTER 12
Crystal Clear
“Look, I don’t care what the two of you do—” Twilight snapped at Gilda and Trixie. “Just stay out of my way and don’t make any trouble!”
Twilight was almost to the Crystal Empire Library when she ran
straight into Shining Armor. “Twily? I thought you went back to Ponyville!”
“I did, but now I’m back again!” Twilight said, shifting from hoof to hoof anxiously. She was itching to look through those books. She just knew the answer was in there somewhere.
“Great! You should come have lunch with me and Cadance in the castle,” Shining Armor said.
“That’s so nice, but I don’t have time—maybe tomorrow. I have to go! Talk to you later!” Twilight said, cantering past him.
He watched in confusion as she ran off down the street and around the corner. Normally, she was excited to see him. It was very odd behavior, especially for Twilight….
Shining Armor took off toward the castle. He had to find his wife, and he had to find her fast!
It was a familiar scene for Twilight, sitting in an accidental fort made up of large, glittery books. She hungrily flipped through the pages of one called Ancient Spells of the Crystal Empire: Volume Four. After the first three volumes, she had begun to feel discouraged, but she soldiered on. The Crystal Heart Spell just had to be in there somewhere!
“Twilight! Are you in here?” Princess Cadance called out, her voice echoing throughout the cavernous library. Shining Armor had come to her straightaway after seeing his sister act so bizarrely. Something wasn’t right, and he knew Cadance could help.
“Yes, I’m in here,” Twilight sighed loudly from inside her book fort. She didn’t want to see Cadance right now. She felt embarrassed for not making any progress at all with the spell. Cadance peeked through a gap in the precarious towers of books.
“Oh dear, Twilight…” Cadance shook her head. “It’s just as I suspected.”
“What is?” Twilight whined. “Me being as big of a failure as I am? A pony with no leadership skills whatsoever?” Twilight hung her head in defeat. “Celestia should just go ahead and revoke my crown now.”
“No, no, no. You’re not a failure,” Cadance said. She pointed her hoof at Twilight’s neck. The Cosmic Spectrum wasn’t shining at all anymore. “Look! You’ve gotten so down on yourself and those around you that the necklace is magnifying your negative feelings!”
The young princess looked down at the gem, stunned. “I didn’t even notice that the necklace had changed….” Twilight suddenly thought of all her friends back in Ponyville. Rarity had tried to warn her about the gemstone, but Twilight had been so distracted trying to find the spell that she didn’t even listen.
Actually, Twilight had dismissed all of their ideas. She suddenly thought of Pinkie Pie’s cake day, Applejack’s family dinner time, Rainbow Dash’s Pegasus royal guard, Fluttershy’s baby-animal sanctuary, and Rarity’s kingdom fashions. The ideas didn’t seem so bad now. Her friends were only trying to help her, like she’d asked them to. And how did she thank them? By ignoring them and thinking only of herself.
“Oh, Cadance, I’ve been so horrible to my friends!” Twilight said, standing up. Several nearby books toppled over like a set of building blocks. “All I have been doing is thinking about what I want and not listening to anypony else’s ideas!” The necklace began to glow dimly. “I have to go find my friends right now and apologize!”
Princess Cadance grinned as she watched Twilight gallop out of the library. She knew Twilight was on the right track again.
CHAPTER 13
PFF to the Rescue
“Where do you think she’ll be?” Applejack said as the five ponies and their baby-dragon companion made their way through the front gates of the Crystal Empire. The last time they’d all visited was during the Crystal Faire. Everything looked just as pretty and shiny as it had before.
Rarity sighed, satisfied by her sparkly surroundings. “Why am I not a Crystal pony?” she lamented, remembering how her coat had become temporarily glittery when they’d recovered the Crystal Heart. Unfortunately, the effects had worn off.
“What’s that?!” said Pinkie Pie, pointing to a large crowd of Crystal ponies gathered near the fountain. “Whatever it is, it looks like fun! I’m gonna go see!”
All of a sudden, a bright flash of white illuminated the sky. Pop! A loud noise rang out. It came from the direction of the crowd. “Come on, everypony!” Applejack shouted, leading the way.
Applejack shoved her way to the front. A red-and-white-striped tent was set up. Massive posters hung on the sides, praising the talents of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, MAGICIAN EXTRAORDINAIRE. Gilda the Griffon stood outside the tent on an old apple crate. “Step right up! Step right up, Crystal ponies!” Gilda shouted, “Get yer tickets now! Step right up to see Equestria’s most talented Unicorn—the Great and Powerful Trixie! Only three bits each!”
A yellow pony with a golden mane handed Gilda her money and entered the tent. Pinkie Pie looked around excitedly. “Oooooh! Does anypony have three bits I can borrow?!” She jumped up and down.
“Don’t they know it’s a scam?” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief. “I can’t believe this!”
Gilda continued on, unaware that the Ponyville crew was standing in the crowd. “Trixie is so powerful that she once defeated an ursa major—all by herself!”
A couple more Crystal ponies paid Gilda and entered the tent.
“Hey, that’s not true!” said Fluttershy. “It was Twilight who did that. Well, she took care of an ursa minor, anyway.”
“I can’t stand by and watch this anymore,” Applejack said. She trotted to the front of the crowd and hopped up onto another crate. “Crystal ponies! Do not pay to see this show! This griffon and Unicorn are con-ponies who are trying to steal your bits!”
A low murmur broke out through the crowd.
“What are you doing here?!” Gilda spread her wings and screeched. “First you don’t know how to take a hint when Princess Twilight wants to get rid of you! And now you are ruining our show? You five are the worst ponies in all of Equestria!”
Trixie peeked out of the tent to see what was going on. The Crystal ponies all watched the scene with their jaws open. This was more of a show than they’d bargained for!
“Nopony wants you guys here!” Gilda yelled. But she couldn’t have been more wrong.
“That’s not true!” A voice pierced through the crowd and interrupted the argument. “They are my best friends, and I want them here!” Twilight broke through the mass of Crystal ponies and trotted over to her friends.
“What are you guys doing here?” Twilight asked. She couldn’t believe they had come all this way.
“We came to rescue you, silly!” Pinkie Pie said matter-of-factly.
“I told them all about the necklace,” Rarity explained. “We knew that you weren’t being yourself.”
“The Twilight we know would never be mean to her friends!” Fluttershy said.
“Or ditch us for those two!” Rainbow Dash added, motioning to Gilda and Trixie. The two of them were now bickering over whether to continue on with the show.
“I’m so sorry, you guys! I thought that listening to my own heart meant choosing whatever things I wanted in the kingdom.” Twilight smiled, and the necklace began to glow. “Now I know that a princess is not defined by the things she chooses for her kingdom. All that matters is how she treats other ponies, especially her friends.” She leaned over and pulled them all into a group hug. “Princess or not—we are all equal ponies!” Twilight said.
“Oh my, Twilight!” Rarity squealed. “Look at your necklace!”
Sure enough, the gem began to glow brighter than ever before. The light was low and pulsating, like a true beating heart. Nearby, the Crystal Heart grew brighter as well. It was almost as if the two jewels were linked by some invisible force. The ponies watched in awe as a gigantic, glittery rainbow suddenly burst forth from the center of the Crystal Heart. It arched directly into Twilight’s necklace!
“Ooooooh…” everypony watching the scene cooed.
“Hey, look at that!” Rainbow shouted. “There are words on the Crystal Heart!”
Twilight knew it right away. The Crystal Heart Spell h
ad finally revealed itself to her. She trotted over and admired the words, which were lit up in shimmery gold. She took a deep breath and began to read them aloud:
“Friendship is the creed.
It has been from the start!
It’s the only way to lead—
with your Crystal Heart!”
Twilight’s coat sparkled as the spell took its effect on her. Of course! she thought as she read the words. Friendship had always been the answer to her problems. Why did she think it would be any different once she became a princess? Twilight looked around at the crowd of Crystal ponies cheering her on, her best friends standing next to her, and her brother and Cadance looking proud.
Twilight finally felt like a real princess.
“Happy Cake Day, everypony!” Pinkie Pie shouted with glee, skipping through the center of Ponyville. Since returning from the Crystal Empire, Twilight had started using all of her friends’ suggestions as practice for being a real leader someday. It was working out perfectly. Everywhere Princess Twilight looked, pony families were enjoying the special Crystal berry cupcakes and pies together. “Happy Cake Day!” they said to one another happily.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders had even made a banner that read PONYVILLE CAKE DAY! and hung it across the front of the town hall. “Great idea, Princess Twilight!” Mr. Cake shouted from the treat cart. “These things are selling like hotcakes!”
“They are hotcakes, dear.” Mrs. Cake laughed.
“Don’t thank me!” Twilight said, walking over to where her friends sat on the grass, enjoying their own Crystal berry cakes. “Thank Pinkie Pie! She has the best ideas!”
Twilight took a small bite of her cupcake, careful not to let her tiara fall off her head. Wearing it still took some getting used to, but everypony in town really liked it when she did. “In fact, all my friends have the best ideas.”