by G. M. Berrow
“Piiiiiinkie Piiiiiie.…” Rainbow called out. Her voice sounded really deep, like Fluttershy’s did after touching a Poison Joke Flower. “Whaaaaat is haaaaappening to uuuuuus?”
Pinkie Pie bounced over, the arc of her leaps slow and visible instead of the usual blur of pink and fuchsia. “I think it’s Twilight’s spell again!” Her voice was normal speed, which meant Pinkie Pie was probably attempting to speak in her hyper-fast chatter. “We’ll never be ready for Game Night at this rate.”
Rainbow’s wings were moving even slower now. “I thiiiiiink thaaaat’s the leeeeast of ouuur prooobleeems!”
A blast of colored light exploded from the castle in the distance, spraying out through the town and returning everypony to normal. Having used too much force in her bounces to compensate, Pinkie Pie found her body launched and flying into the air. She landed on a pile of crates nearby. “Whooooa!” Pinkie Pie rubbed her flank with a frown. “Ouchies.”
And for once in her life, Rainbow Dash wasn’t expecting the burst of sudden speed and spiraled toward the ground, landing right on top of her pal. The two ponies looked at each other in concern, thinking the exact same thing. Rainbow Dash sprang to her hooves. “Come on! We have to tell Twilight right away.”
“I’ll be right behind youuu!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
The Pegasus and the Earth pony rushed off toward the castle faster than a hyper boost. And they would have gotten there, too, if time hadn’t come to another screeching halt. All of Ponyville was trapped in slow motion, and there was no way to know when or if it would go back to normal ever again.
But Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would keep trying to get to the castle until it did, even if it took them all week.
Comet Tail’s Curse
It was worse than Twilight Sparkle thought! Until this moment, she realized she’d never actually seen Comet Tail’s Curse; it had always just been a simple story passed on to young Unicorns. But there it was written in black ink on the page of a book. That made it more real than anything. She traced her hoof over the words: The wizard who alters another’s magic must see to its intended end, or prepare to see their magic come to an end.
No more magic? What a horrible fate that would be! Twilight shuddered. As she went back to work on her scroll, she found herself wishing she hadn’t sent Starlight Glimmer away. Solving this spell with a friend would be so much better.
Across the castle, Starlight Glimmer collapsed onto the pretty carpet of the suite. The Unicorn felt so dizzy she could barely breathe. This new version of Mooncurve’s Minutiae she’d invented was incredibly intense. She’d tried to perform it so many times that she’d used up all of her energy. And it was all for nothing! Only once had it felt like something had shifted, but something was still off. According to her clock, time had not slowed back down at all.
Starlight stood up and stomped her hoof on the ground in frustration. “Why is this so hard to get right?”
Maybe this whole “hiding out” plan had been a mistake, thought Starlight as she trotted over to the sofa and reclined back into its soft folds. Starlight imagined an alternate reality in which she’d actually followed Twilight’s instructions and visited Sunburst instead.
The two of them would have shared some Crystal berry pie while they caught up on Sunburst’s new role as baby Flurry Heart’s royal “crystaller.” In turn, Starlight would have shared stories of her forays into friendship lessons and all the follies that followed them. He’d probably get a kick out of the time that Starlight had made friends with “the Great and Powerful” Trixie and become a magician’s assistant. It sounded like it would have been a nice trip.
Starlight looked around the beautiful suite and suddenly felt very alone. But instead of wallowing in sadness or regret, she got back to what she was best at—making magic bend to her will. The Unicorn stood over the spell book and closed her eyes to concentrate.
The room began to brighten and whir, kicking up a tornado of wind around her. Items began to fly from the shelves and from her saddlebag on the floor as she recited the words. Excitement grew inside her. Starlight was finally getting it right! Twilight Sparkle and all of Ponyville would be so impressed when she showed them what she’d perfected. All she needed was a little bit longer to practice… and some more food.
Snack Attack
It had been a lazy couple of days for Spike. Since Twilight was busy studying everything she could find about some random wizards named Mooncurve and Comet Tail, his best pony friend barely had any time to hang out with him. The irony was not lost on the dragon that the spell Twilight Sparkle was trying to complete in the first place was supposed to make it so that friends could have more time hanging out together. Still, Spike enjoyed his alone time now and then like anydragon else.
He’d spent yesterday reading through a bunch of his Smash Fortune comic books, then today he’d busied himself creating a new Oubliettes and Ogres character for himself. At his (and Big Mac’s) special request, part of Ponyville Game Night this year was going to include a small tabletop tournament. Big Mac and Spike were really excited, and Discord would likely go all out, too, if he joined in the game. Spike just hoped the other ponies in town would take the game as seriously as they did. Either way, he would try to go easy on the poor unsuspecting newbies, but Spike made no promises.
Around noon, Spike’s tummy began to rumble. Twilight was definitely too preoccupied to sit down and have lunch, and Starlight Glimmer was still on her assignment in the Crystal Empire, so he headed to the kitchen to help himself. Spike whistled as he walked, thinking of all the scrumptious snacks he’d stashed in the back of the pantry where nopony would find them.
When he arrived, he was shocked to discover that they were all gone! Well, except for the bowl of gems. But that was reserved for special occasions.
“Hey!” Spike whined, digging around. “Who ate all my good snacks?”
He reached for a piece of bread and tried to grab on to it, but he couldn’t clasp his claws around it. It was floating! The magic that swirled around was a familiar aqua color, but… that couldn’t be right. Spike cocked his head to the side in confusion and watched as the bread (along with a jar of peanut butter and some jelly) floated out of the kitchen door. “Not so fast, food!” Spike called out as he scrambled after them.
The dragon chased the potential sandwich through the halls of the castle, past the distracted Twilight, and even past his own bedroom. The food bobbed along as if it were alive. Finally, it arrived at a set of doors. But it didn’t go in. Instead, the jars of peanut butter and jelly thrust themselves against the wall in between the doors repeatedly. A quick glance at his surroundings suddenly jogged Spike’s memory. This was the exact spot he’d run into Starlight Glimmer just a few days before. She’d asked him not to tell Twilight he’d seen her!
Spike narrowed his eyes as he put two and two together. Starlight Glimmer hadn’t gone anywhere—she was right here in the castle, somehow behind that wall. A glowing pulse started to light up the spot, and within a few moments, an aqua portal opened up as if it were curtains being tied back from a window. A brown door was revealed. It swung open and the enchanted food items bobbed their way inside.
Not only was Spike snackless, he now faced a tough choice: tell Twilight and give up Starlight Glimmer or keep the secret? He slumped down with an annoyed groan. He knew just what he had to do and he didn’t like it one bit.
Short and Suite
“Spike, I really don’t mean to be rude but I am extremely busy right now,” Twilight said without tearing her eyes away from her book. Her pink-and-purple mane fell over her eyes. She blew it away with a puff of air. “Is everything okay?”
“No, Twi, it’s, um… not.” Spike’s voice was small. He shifted from claw to claw and his eyes were darting around.
At this, Twilight sprang to attention with a look of genuine concern on her face. “I apologize for being so distracted.” She was physically unable to ignore a friend in crisis. “Please, tell m
e what’s wrong.”
Spike hopped onto his throne. “All of the snacks are gone!”
“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, looking more than a little annoyed. “That’s your big crisis? You know you’re welcome to go to the market and just get some more if you want to.” She shook her head.
“Um, let me rephrase that.” Spike rubbed his chin with his claw. “The snacks are gone and I didn’t eat them!”
“Well, neither did I.” Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Exactly. Somepony else did!” He put his claws on the table and leaned in. “Somepony named Starlight Glimmer.”
The princess leaned her ear against the wall to listen for sounds of her student. The fact that Twilight didn’t hear a peep coming from inside made her skeptical, but Spike had been so insistent that it required exploration. He wouldn’t just make up the whole story for no reason.
“Here goes nothing!” Twilight readied herself. She closed her eyes in preparation. She felt weaker than ever from all of her attempts to finish Mooncurve’s Minutiae before the Ponyville Game Night later. It took most of Twilight’s remaining energy, but she gathered it up and aimed straight for the blank space between the two doors.
ZAP! A massive magic beam expelled from Twilight’s horn. The glowing curtains of light parted once more. Sure enough, just like Spike had described, there was a brown door in its place. It slowly creaked open, leaking shafts of light into the hallway. It was too bright to see inside. The pony and the dragon squinted.
“Wait here, Spike!” commanded Twilight before galloping headfirst into the doorway. “I’ll be right back.”
The moment she stepped through the doorway, Twilight Sparkle felt like she was being sucked into the room. Her body lurched forward and tumbled across the floor, then slid to the back wall of the room as if Twilight were a gigantic magnet. The Alicorn blinked her eyes, trying to get her bearings and gain purchase on the floor with her hooves.
“Twilight!” Starlight Glimmer’s voice cut through the commotion. She came galloping up, bracing herself against the forces. “I’m so glad you’re here!” Starlight reached out her hoof to Twilight and pulled her up. “I’m so sorry! I know I was supposed to be in the Crystal Empire! I didn’t mean to—”
“Explain later!” Twilight interrupted. She scanned the room in a state of panic and confusion. Where had this place even come from? “We have to fix this… whatever it is!”
“I think I accidentally created a vortex!” Starlight cried out. Her mane whipped around in the worsening wind.
“Are you sure?” Twilight tried to step back toward the doorway, but she wasn’t grounded enough. Vortexes could only be created with the strongest magical energy known to ponykind. Surely Starlight Glimmer wasn’t that powerful on her own… was she?
“Look at it! What else could it be?” Starlight winced as a book flew past her head. “Swirling colors! A strong force sucking everything nearby into one central spot!”
There were bags under Starlight’s eyes. Her appearance reminded Twilight of the way Princess Cadance had looked when she was trying to protect the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. It was the sign of a pony that’d been overdoing it on magic spells.
A bed from the room across the hall slid in through the door and slammed against the back wall.
“Okay, you’re right,” Twilight admitted. “It’s a vortex!”
Starlight’s eyes were fraught with panic. “What do we do?”
Twilight knew the answer, but it made her nervous given her current state of magical exhaustion. “We have to stop it with what started it—magic!”
The two ponies hesitated, looking at each other. They were both too afraid to say it—neither of them had any magic left to give. The tale of Comet Tail’s Curse had come true.
The Accidental Vortex
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had almost completed their arduous slow-motion trudge to the castle when time suddenly decided to speed up again. The two ponies slammed against the heavy front door as if they were being pulled against it. Rainbow reached out her hoof to try to pull it open but it wouldn’t budge. The ponies were trapped like bugs on sticky paper!
“Look!” Pinkie Pie shouted in an impossibly high-pitched voice. She pointed her hoof back to the town and chattered superfast. “Everypony’s-rushing-over-to-the-castle-I-wonder-why! And-all-the-stuff-for-the-games-is-flying-over-too! How-loony-rooney-is-that?!”
Rainbow could hardly believe it, but Pinkie was right. It appeared that everypony—and every thing—was headed straight for them! From game pieces and decorations for Game Night to teacups and carrots, nothing was safe from the strong force of attraction to the castle.
What in Equestria was happening here?!
Inside, the winds were picking up. Furniture from every area across the castle was now being pulled in the direction of the room. Spike hung on to the doorframe with his claws, his body horizontal. His little feet dangled in the air as he gripped tight. “Are you two going to do something or just stand around staring at each other?” he yelled over the cacophony of clangs and crashes. “Because my claws are kinda full!”
“Yes!” Twilight’s mind was racing. She was trying to think of any loopholes that would stop a vortex that she could remember from her books. Of course, Twilight had never actually been in one before this, so nothing was really coming to her. She looked to Starlight Glimmer. Her student was just as much of a wreck as she. “How did this happen?”
“I was trying to solve Mooncurve’s spell for you!” Starlight hollered, a pained look of embarrassment on her face. “I must have messed something up!”
“You were what?”
Starlight shook her head. “I knew you were worried about the hyper boosts in Ponyville! And about Game Night! And about… Comet Tail’s Curse! I just… wanted you to be able to relax.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Starlight!” Even after all of the madness, Twilight was touched that Starlight would go to such lengths to impress her.
“Sometimes, everypony needs their own space to work and be creative. When I found this secret suite, it had everything I needed and I loved being alone in here. It even felt like it had this special energy…”
“But I don’t get why you had to hide it from me.…”
“For the same reason you sent me away to spend time with Sunburst!” Starlight Glimmer shot back, almost laughing. At this, Twilight began to blush. Starlight was right—she’d done the exact same thing to her student. They’d been staying away from each other. If they hadn’t, they could have avoided this debacle.
“Because having time alone makes time with friends even better,” Starlight said, putting her hoof down. “And that’s the real way to enjoy friendship—not with a spell. Didn’t you teach me that, Twilight?”
“Yes!” Twilight beamed with pride. “I did!”
Dragon Knows Best
A massive gust of wind blew in, delivering Spike to the ponies’ hooves. He rubbed his head and stared at the two of them upside down. “Well? Any ideas on how to stop this vortex?”
“How? We’re cursed!” Twilight Sparkle reiterated. She’d gotten so caught up in her pride for Starlight Glimmer learning friendship lessons on her own that Twilight had forgotten! “We can’t use our magic.”
“We’ve got nothing!” Starlight added. She closed her eyes and gave it an honest try. A single tiny spark sputtered from her horn. It wasn’t enough magic to scratch an itch, let alone get rid of an accidental vortex. “See?”
Spike groaned and shook his head. “I can’t believe you two believe in Comet Tail’s Curse! That was made up by Unicorn teachers in order to get magic students to do their homework. I should know, I was there with you at school, Twilight!”
Starlight and Twilight exchanged a glance. “I thought that, too,” Starlight said. “But our magic’s gone!”
Spike sprang to his feet. “It’s just magic fatigue from all the spell casting you’ve been doing!” He squinted his eyes and shielded the
m from the wind. “If you try the spell together, it will work.”
It was incredibly simple, but it made sense.
“You know… I think he’s right!” Twilight exclaimed with a grin. “Are you in?”
“I’m in!” Starlight nodded, eyes alight with newfound optimism.
Twilight braced herself and hoped for the best. “Ready?”
The two ponies turned to each other, closed their eyes, and recited the original spell. Immediately, everything in the room fell back to the ground, the winds stopped, and the vortex was history. Outside the front doors of the castle, the townsponies tumbled down into a large pile.
Nothing about the spell had changed, except one special ingredient. Twilight and Starlight had been working against each other the entire time, and now that they’d done it together… this time they had the power of friendship. The two ponies were finally on the same page.
“Woo-hoo! It worked!” they cheered. “We did it!”
Once the initial shock wore off, Starlight Glimmer turned to the little dragon. She raised an eyebrow at him. “When did you get to know so much about magic, Spike?”
“Since I’ve been hanging around a couple of supersmart wizards all the time! Wizards who were working totally differently and in a way that was not at all helpful to each other,” Spike explained with a smile.
“True,” Starlight said.
“But there’s still one thing you two seriously need to work on as roommates…” Spike pointed to the dilapidated suite around them and laughed. “Who’s gonna clean up this messy place? I really hope I don’t start seeing any passive-aggressive notes around here…”