Spike was having a hard time breathing. He attributed this to the cinderblock-sized tome he was carrying, which pressed into his chest and made his steps heavy and awkward. He had tried pushing it across the floor, but it weighed so much all he did was scuff the floor with his feet. So here he was, waddling forward mere inches at a time, his arms threatening to pop right out of their sockets at any second.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight chirped as she walked past him. Her horn lit up and she gingerly took the book from him with her magic. “This is just what I needed.”

Spike flopped onto the floor, gasping for breath. Once his legs stopped burning, he slowly stood back up. “What do you need that thing for, anyways?” he rasped. “There’s plenty of dictionaries down here,” he added, swinging a stiff arm out at all the surrounding bookshelves. Particularly the one containing a number of regular-sized dictionaries.

“Because dictionaries change with time,” Twilight said, flipping through the immense tome. Its covers were cracked and laced with gold, the text was elegantly detailed, and the pages themselves seemed to radiate with color. “However, for this spell I need a catalogue of every word there ever was, so I needed this lexicon. I’m just glad Princess Celestia was able to get this to me so quickly.”

“Yeah...” Spike mumbled, rubbing his pained chest. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Add it to the mix,” she said, and tossed the priceless artifact into a large cauldron she had borrowed from Zecora. “Princess Celestia has more copies, so surely she wouldn’t mind if I sacrificed one for a greater cause.”

“Uh-huh.” Spike walked up to the cauldron and peered inside. “And all the carrots are for...”

“Vitamin A!” Twilight said, rummaging through a large canvas sack of the things. She carried them out by the bushel and dropped them into the cauldron, filling it to the brim. “Just one of the many key ingredients for the spell I’m making.”

“Why?”

“Because vitamin A has been scientifically proven to enhance—”

“No, I mean, why are you making this spell?” Spike asked, waggling his claws. “Doesn’t it seem kind of... pointless?”

“Maybe,” Twilight conceded, bringing a hoof to her chin in thought. “However, I’ve never done any actual spellcrafting before. The spell might not have much of a practical use, but it seemed like fun, and this is an excellent way to hone my skills.”

“I guess...”

“It’s not like I’m doing anything dangerous,” she added, shrugging. “It’s just a simple spell that melds one’s hearing with their ocular senses, by redirecting the audible input into the visual cortex, which causes sound waves to become visible. By looping the information through the left hemisphere and back again, I should be able to make it so the sounds themselves not only become something you can see, but in fact be warped into projected language!” she exclaimed, clapping her hooves together excitedly.

He blinked at her.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m making it so you can see the words you’re speaking,” she said. “Like a character being able to see and read their own dialogue in a story as they speak it.”

“Oh.” Spike clicked his tongue. “That’s kind of cool, actually. But are you sure it’s safe?”

“Well, I am taking some precautions,” Twilight said, turning back towards the cauldron. She stuck a hoof into the thick of carrots and pulled out an alarm clock. “I’m using this to make sure the effects wear off after two hours.” She reached in again and this time pulled out a microphone. “And this is to ensure the only words seen are spoken. I don’t need any onomatopoeia getting in the way.”

“Wow,” Spike said, scratching the side of his head. “So this is how you makes spells? Will that really work?”

“The science backs it up,” Twilight said with a smile, and she tossed the items back in. “Believe me, I wouldn’t put my faith in this if it was anything but clear, irrefutable science. Now stand back: I need to give it some concentrated magic and this could get a bit hairy.”

Spike nodded and took a few steps back, and then a few more when Twilight motioned him further away. Taking a deep breath, Twilight returned her attention towards the cauldron and summoned a large buildup of magic into the tip of her horn. A spark of pure magic began to grow and her face twisted from the strain, sweat starting form on her cheeks. She pushed herself a little further, and the spark popped off the tip of her horn like an ember and floated down into the cauldron.

But she didn’t have any time to catch her breath. As soon as the spark connected with the mix, it all went up in a rushing cloud of dust and sparkles. Twilight quickly shut her eyes and stuck her head inside it, racing over a specifically chosen thought pattern again and again until the cloud eventually dissipated into nothing. She turned her head down to see the cauldron was empty.

“So...” Spike started from the stairs. “Is that it?”

Twilight sneezed and blinked. “Should be,” she said, rubbing her nose. “Now that the spell is defined, all I need to do is cast it.” She turned her brow up and mumbled, “I sure hope I did this right.” Her face scrunched as she concentrated on the spell, and as soon as she got the right amount of magic built up, she repeated the thought pattern to herself. Her horn sparked and flashed like a welding iron, until it broke with a pop and a wave of light washed over her. She jumped back a little in a surprise and stared up at her horn.

“WEII?” Spike asked. “DID IT WORK?

Twilight looked back at him, just in time to see the faint images of his words fade into the air. “IT...” she began, pausing as the words materialized into existence before her. “IT DID!” she exclaimed, jumping forward. “IT WORKED! IT WORKED!” she shouted, smiling up at the words jumbling into the air before fading away altogether.

“WHAT’S IT IIKE?” Spike asked.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond but caught herself, distracted by the strange character in Spike’s words. She furrowed her brow in thought before saying the word, “IIIUMINATION.”

Spike blinked at her. “WHAT?”

“IIGHT BUIBS. STIII. IOVE. INK.”

Spike stared.

“I MESSED SOMETHING UP, THAT’S FOR SURE,” she mused, waving a hoof at the words as they appeared, which scattered like flies before dissipating. “EVERYTHING IS CAPITAIIZED FOR SOME REASON, AND THE IETTERS I AND I IOOK IDENTICAI.” She frowned at that last word. “THIS MIGHT GET ANNOYING.”

“TOO MANY CARROTS?” Spike offered.

“TOO MANY BITS, I THINK,” she said, putting a hoof on her chin, idling watching the words stream into the air. “I’M GOING TO HAVE TO REMAKE THE WHOIE SPEII. IF I USED IESS BITS, THAT MIGHT FIX THE CAPITAIIZATION PROBIEM. BUT I HAVE NO CIUE WHAT’S CAUSING THE ISSUE WITH THE IETTERS. I WONDER IF THE IOWERCASE I WOUID RETAIN ITS TITTIE.”

“WHAT’S A TITTIE?” Spike asked.

Twilight slowly looked up. “IT’S THE DOT ON THE...” she was saying, but her breath solidified inside her throat at seeing Spike’s last simple string of words floating in the air beside his head. Her pupils shrank and her cheeks flushed a very bright shade of red as she contemplated the current extent of Spike’s innocence.

“TWIIIGHT?”

She tried to stammer something, but decided an accidental slip of the tongue was too great a risk. “NOTHING!” she blurted instead, then spun around and marched across the room.

Spike tilted his head. “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” he asked.

“TO GET SOME AIR!” she shouted back, and then turned sharply towards the door. “CIEAR MY HEAD AND THINK THIS SPEII OVER!”

She quickly wrapped her hoof around the handle and yanked the front door open, just to get a faceful of confetti and a horn blaring into the side of her head. She screamed, her eyes went wide and cross, and she just about leapt into the air from the sudden surprise. However, her back legs kicked forward instead, and she awkwardly tripped over herself, collapsing onto her back.

There was a spike of pain as her head bounced off the ground and her vision blurred, but it quickly subsided. She blinked her bleariness away and found two bright eyes staring down at her.

“OHMIGOSH TWIIIGHT I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THAT TO HAPPEN I JUST WANTED TO SURPRISE YOU FOR YOUR TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MOVING TO PONYVIIIE ARE YOU AIRIGHT?” Pinkie Pie said with a single breath. The words came out of her mouth in a continuous stream and bounced off the tip of Twilight’s nose.

Twilight pushed herself up. “PINKIE PIE,” she began, unsure of where the thought was taking her. But it fizzled away, because her heart twirled and sunk into the pit of her stomach at seeing her words drift away, with no sound accompanying them. “HEIIO,” she then said, and again heard nothing as the words appeared.

“TWIIIGHT” then appeared in front of her and she turned towards Pinkie Pie. “ARE YOU OKAY?” Again, she heard nothing.

“I’M DEAF,” she said, and frowned. “PINKIE, YOU JUST MADE ME IOSE MY HEARING!”

Pinkie Pie’s ears drooped. “OH, MY, I-I’M SO SORRY! I SWEAR I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” she said. She picked up a little kazoo off the ground and furrowed her brow at it. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAUIT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE PONIES HAPPY, NOT SCARE THEM TO DEAF!”

Twilight rolled her eyes and blew a tuft of her mane out of her eyes. “IT’S OKAY, PINKIE PIE. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.”

Pinkie Pie turned to her, her features depressed. “BUT THAT’S JUST IT! I—” She stopped, her lips pursed and her ears perked. “WAIT. ARE WE TAIKING RIGHT NOW?”

Twilight was slapping one of her ears. “YEAH, WHY DO YOU—” She paused, words filling her vision. “OH. WEII, THIS IS CONVENIENT.”

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAF?” Pinkie Pie asked skeptically. Her eyes narrowed. “ARE YOU PRANKING ME?”

“NO, PINKIE PIE, I’M NOT,” Twilight said. “I JUST CAST A SPEII NOT EVEN FIVE MINUTES AGO THAT IITERAIIY IETS ME SEE THE WORDS WE’RE SPEAKING.”

“IIKE, IN THE AIR?” Pinkie Pie asked, twirling a hoof. She received a nod and grinned. “THAT’S SO COOI! CAST IT ON ME! CAST IT ON ME!” she said. She then stuck the kazoo back between her lips and tried fruitlessly to aim it at her own ears.

Twilight shook her head and swatted the kazoo away. “SORRY, PINKIE, BUT THERE’S SOME DEFINITE PROBIEMS WITH IT. I REAIIY SHOUIDN’T, AT IEAST UNTIII I FIX IT.” She glared at that last string of words before they faded. “IT’S RATHER ANNOYING RIGHT NOW. FOR SOME REASON THE IETTERS I AND I ARE IDENTICAI.”

“REAIIY?” Pinkie Pie asked. “SO WHAT’S ‘III’ IOOK IIKE? HOW ABOUT ‘MIIIING’? ‘IIIIYPIIIY’?”

“PINKIE!”

Pinkie Pie snickered. “YOUR OWN NAME’S GOT TO BE A SIGHT TO SEE, EH, TWIIIGHT? CAN I JUST CAII YOU ‘TWIGHT’? ‘TWIIIIGHT’? ‘TWIIIIIIIGHT’?”

“PINKIE PIE!” Twilight said, and then grumbled as her friend fell over laughing. Fortunately for her, laughter didn’t show up in the air at all. At least something about the spell worked. As happy as she should be for crafting something, she couldn’t stand for anything but perfection. Perhaps that’s what annoyed her the most of all.

But she still had about two hours left until the spell wore off, she determined. Unless that part of the spell wasn’t working either. Twilight wrinkled her nose, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth worrying about. She had to be optimistic. If the spell didn’t wear off, she’d just send a letter to Princess Celestia or something. But for the time being, she was going to go off and experience her spell, despite its flaws.

She stole a glance at Pinkie Pie, who was rocking back and forth on the ground, her hooves over her eyes, muttering to herself between giggle fits, and spitting words out into the air that were irritating to look at. Twilight sighed. Her hearing would return soon enough—it always did after Pinkie Pie got her hooves on a musical instrument. She wandered away from her friend and the library, looking for a way to pass the time.

---

“I SUPPOSE THAT’S PINKIE PIE FOR YOU,” Rarity said with a small laugh. She took a sip from her glass of lemonade and added, “SEEMS IIKE YOU’VE HAD QUITE THE EVENTFUI AFTERNOON.”

Twilight laid her head down on the opposite side of the table, her own lemonade untouched. She stared at it and sighed. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA,” she said. “ON THE WAY HERE, I COUIDN’T SEE A THING. I HAD TO GO THROUGH THE MARKETPIACE AND IT WAS IIKE THE THICKEST FOG BECAUSE EVERYPONY WAS TAIKING.” She watched her words hit the glass and disperse. “TODAY HAS BEEN AN ADVENTURE, THAT’S FOR SURE. IT FEEIS IIKE EVERYPONY IS AIWAYS SHOUTING.”

“WEII, I’M GIAD TO HEAR YOU’RE DOING OKAY,” Rarity said, and then winced. “SORRY.”

“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT,” Twilight said with a wave of her hoof. “IT’II RETURN SOONER OR IATER. REMEMBER THE SAXOPHONE INCIDENT?”

Rarity shuddered. “I STIII HEAR THEM CRYING IN MY DREAMS SOMETIMES.”

“I JUST NEED TO WAIT,” Twilight said. “THE SPEII SHOUID WEAR OFF BY SUNDOWN. I HOPE.”

Rarity took another drink from her glass and smiled. “I MUST SAY, THOUGH. IT’S KIND OF AMUSING FOR YOU TO TRY AND CREATE SUCH A COMPIICATED SPEII FOR YOUR FIRST TIME.”

“IT WASN’T REAIIY THAT COMPIICATED,” Twilight said. She would’ve kept going but she caught herself, hung by Rarity’s last sentence. “WAIT. ARE YOU SAYING YOU’VE DONE SPEIICRAFTING BEFORE?”

“I WOULDN’T SAY THAT,” Rarity said, twirling her glass. “MORE IIKE, SPEII REFINEMENT. I ONCE HAD TO MODIFY A SOUND-AMPIIFICATION SPEII TO GET ACCURATE CRYSTAI RESONANCES. IT WASN’T TOO HARD TO PUII OFF.”

Twilight lifted her head and frowned. “WHY HAVEN’T YOU TOID ME BEFORE? I WOUID HAVE ASKED YOU FOR SOME ADVICE.”

“IT JUST NEVER CAME UP BEFORE, I GUESS.” Rarity shrugged. “IF I KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING, I WOULD’VE OFFERED TO HEIP.”

“I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE SO HARD,” Twilight said, finally picking up her glass of lemonade. She gave it a look and added, “IIVE AND IEARN, I SUPPOSE.” She went to take a small sip, but ended up distracted by her last sentence as it flew across the table and bounced off Rarity’s nose, before disappearing like smoke. It was more amusing than she’d want to admit. She cracked a smile and returned to her glass.

She was caught off guard by seeing a “HEY TWIIIGHT” enter the glass from the side, bounce around within like alphabet soup in a blender, and fire off individual letters straight out of the top at incredible speed. Twilight threw her head back as they assaulted her face and broke away. She looked around the room confused, before realizing Applejack had entered, and was already in a conversation with Rarity. She picked apart some sentences before they could vanish.

“HEY, RARITY,” Applejack had said. “WHAT’RE YOU TWO UP TO?”

“JUST HAVING SOME FRIENDIY DISCOURSE OVER A GIASS OF IEMONADE,” Rarity had said, lifting the pitcher up. “WOUID YOU IIKE SOME?”

“NO THANKS, I’M GOOD,” Applejack said, dismissing her with a hoof. “BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD APPIE BIOOM’S COSTUME READY FOR THE SCHOOI PIAY?”

“I WAS HOPING TO FINISH IT UP TONIGHT, AS A MATTER OF FACT.” Rarity smiled. “THE IAST THING I’D WANT TO SEE IS FOR HER TO FAII.”

Applejack chuckled. “SHE WON’T FAII. SHE’S BEEN WORKING HARD ON THAT.”

“IT CAN JUST BE HARD TO BAIANCE ONE’S SELF PROPERIY SOMETIMES.”

Twilight tilted her head. “APPIE BIOOM’S HAVING TROUBLE STANDING?”

She got two blank stares in return. “WHAT?” Applejack asked.

“AREN’T YOU WORRIED ABOUT HER FAIIING?”

Rarity pursed her lips. “THE DRESS ISN’T THAT IONG. IF SHE RUNS IN IT, THAT MAY BE AN ISSUE, HOWEVER.”

“HER ROIE ISN’T EXACTIY AN EXCITING ONE, HONESTIY,” Applejack said. “SHE JUST NEEDS TO FOIIOW THE MAIN CHARACTER AROUND UNTII SHE NEEDS TO BAII WITH THE OTHERS.”

Twilight’s gaze hardened and she wrinkled her nose. “WHAT?”

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin. “SHE ONIY HAS A FEW IINES, IF I RECAII. NOW, SCOOTAIOO HAS A BIGGER ROIE. APPIE BIOOM JUST NEEDS TO IET HER DO HER THING AND THEN THEY CAN BAII TOGETHER.”

Twilight blushed furiously and fortunately, her tongue got caught in her throat. Rarity made a face and said, “I THINK SHE’S JUST WORRIED APPIE BIOOM MIGHT MESS UP.” Her features brightened. “BUT DON’T WORRY, TWIIIGHT. I’M SURE SHE’II DO JUST FINE.”

“OH, YOU SHOUID’VE SEEN HER IAST WEEK!” Applejack said with a grin. “GIRL WAS HOPPING AROUND IIKE A JACKRABBIT, PIAYING WITH HER FRIENDS. IF ANYPONY’S GOING TO TRIP OVER THEMSEIVES, IT SUREIY WON’T BE HER.”

“I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE SHE’II PERFORM EXTRAORDINARIIY,” Rarity said, nodding. “IT’D BE A SHOCK IF SHE GOT A FAIIING GRADE.”

Twilight finally started breathing normally again, her eyes going wide from insight. “OH, YOU WERE SAYING ‘FAII’, NOT “FAII’. SORRY, APPIEJACK. I WAS CONFUSED FOR A MINUTE THERE.”

Rarity gave her a look that spoke confusion, but quickly turned in understanding. However, Applejack was looking flummoxed. “IT’S APPIEJACK, TWIIIGHT. NOT ‘APPIEJACK’.”

Twilight nodded. “THAT’S WHAT I SAID, APPIEJACK.”

“APPIEJACK. YOU’RE SAYING ‘APPIEJACK’.”

“I KNOW,” Twilight said, furrowing her brow. “WHY ARE YOU...” She blinked. “OH, CURSE THIS SPEII!”

“AM I MISSING SOMETHING?” Applejack asked openly.

Rarity placed a hoof on her shoulder. “SHE IOST HER HEARING TODAY AND MADE A SPEII THAT IETS HER SEE THE WORDS WE’RE SPEAKING, QUITE IITERAIIY. UNFORTUNATEIY, SOME OF THE IETTERS ARE MIXED UP.”

“OH,” Applejack said. “WHICH ONES?”

“JUST I AND I.”

“HUH.” Applejack turned towards Twilight with a small smile. “JUST BE GIAD IT ISN’T S AND F. THAT’D REAIIY SUCK SOMETHING FIERCE.”

“IT SUCKS ENOUGH AIREADY, APPIEJACK” Twilight said.

Applejack raised a hoof, holding back a giggle. “IT’S APPIEJACK, NOT ‘APPIEJACK’.”

“FORGET IT!” Twilight exclaimed, throwing her hooves up. “YOU’RE AJ TODAY. I’M JUST GOING TO AVOID USING WORDS WITH I AND I IN THEM UNTII THIS SPEII WEARS OFF. THAT SHOUIDN’T BE TOO DIFFICUIT, RIGHT?” She looked up at her words and frowned. “TOO HARD.” She smiled. “EASY.”

“YOU KNOW,” Rarity said, bringing a hoof to her chin in thought. “I THINK I HAVE A WAY OF DEAIING WITH THIS.” She looked up. “APPIEJACK, WHY DON’T YOU GO TAKE TWIIIGHT AROUND TOWN OR SOMETHING? I HAVE AN IDEA.”

“WHAT ARE YOU... WHAT HAVE YOU THOUGHT UP?” Twilight asked.

Rarity smiled at her. “NOW, NOW. I WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE. GO ON, YOU TWO. I’II CATCH UP WITH YOU IN A BIT.”

“I DON’T REAIIY HAVE ANYTHING ON THE SCHEDUIE TODAY,” Applejack said with a shrug. “C’MON, TWIIIGHT. IET’S GO SEE WHAT FIUTTERSHY IS UP TO.”

---

The walk to Fluttershy’s had been relatively uneventful. Twilight had convinced Applejack to take the long way around town and avoid the bustling center. Even then, she could see incredibly long strings of words reach out over the rooftops before they inevitably dissipated. It’d been less than talkative too, but once they crested the hill towards Fluttershy’s cottage, Twilight’s day became slightly more confusing.

Fluttershy had gathered an entire marching band’s worth of musical instruments, and was busy distributing them amongst all her animal friends in a field, all gathering beneath an oak tree; there was a kitten at a keyboard, a mouse with a guitar, and even Angel was sitting there wielding a baton. There were even some plants and random objects getting instruments, if for nothing more than pose.

Fluttershy looked up at the tree in thought. “I THINK I CAN GIVE THIS TREE A FIDDIE,” she said. Turning around, she found her friends approaching. “OH, HEIIO GIRLS. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

“TO BURN SOME SECONDS,” Twilight said.

Applejack gave her a look and clarified. “TWIIIGHT HERE ACCIDENTIY PUT HERSEIF UNDER A SPEII THAT ISN’T WORKING AS WEII AS SHE HAD HOPED. WE’RE JUST WAITING NOW FOR IT TO WEAR OFF.”

Fluttershy gasped. “YOU POOR THING, THAT SOUNDS AWFUI!”

“YES,” Twilight said. “BUT ME AM OKAY. WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?”

Fluttershy didn’t question her friend’s strange vernacular and picked a sitar up off the ground. “I THOUGHT I’D GET AII MY ANIMAL FRIENDS TOGETHER AND TAKE A FUN GROUP PHOTO,” she said, pointing towards a camera tripod set up a fair distance away. “I DO THIS EVERY YEAR. DO YOU WANT TO BE IN IT?”

“SURE,” Applejack said. “SOUNDS IIKE FUN.” Twilight nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy smiled, offering up Applejack the sitar and scrounging a xylophone for Twilight.

“WHERE’D YOU GET AII THESE THINGS?” Applejack asked as Fluttershy found her a spot amongst the ensemble.

“PINKIE PIE IS IETTING ME ACCESS HER EMERGENCY ISTRUMENT STOCKPIIE,” Fluttershy said. “OF COURSE I GOT TO PUT THEM AII BACK WHEN I’M DONE.”

“WHAT’S SHE NEED AN EMERGENCY SYMPHONY AGENT RESERVE FOR?” Twilight asked, tapping the bars on her instrument.

“I DON’T KNOW,” Fluttershy said after a slight pause. “YOU KNOW HOW PINKIE PIE IS.”

“VERY TRUE.”

“ANYWAYS,” Fluttershy said, making a bit of room between two ferns for Twilight and her instrument. “I THINK WE’RE READY. ARE WE MISSING ANYTHING, ANGEI?”

Angel glared at her and started thumping his feet.

“OKAY THEN,” Fluttershy said. She turned and ran over towards the camera. “EVERYONE SMIIE AND SAY, ‘CHEESE’!”

She got a number of growls and chirps from the animals in attendance. A “CHEESE” flew over Twilight’s head from behind causing her to flinch. She turned back around just in time for Fluttershy to run back into frame with a tamborine. She stared back at the camera just for the flash to go off, thoroughly conflicted. Then all the animals started cheering and banging their instruments together. Fortunately for Twilight, she was still deaf.

She tapped her xylophone again and looked around. There was a squirrel beating two cymbals together right in front of her. One the ferns at her side had a harmonica and the other a flute. A way’s away, a bear sat with a saxophone, and Twilight decided she should be walking in the opposite direction. She got up and looked for her friends, finding Applejack and Fluttershy talking to each other on the other side of the group.

It took her longer than she’d admit to realize they weren’t spitting words into the air.

Twilight cheered, grabbing the attention of her friends. She ran up and told them the spell had worn off, and received an excited group hug in celebration. Of course, she still couldn’t hear a thing. It took a few confused looks and some clarification from Applejack before Fluttershy understood this. Turned out they forgot to mention that part earlier. Now Twilight had to wait for that to wear off, and there was no telling when that would happen.

As if on cue, Rarity appeared, running towards them all excited. Applejack and Fluttershy were quickly overcome with relief and smiles, and they all grinned at Twilight. She balked a bit in confusion, taking a step back as Rarity took a step forward, her horn alight. Twilight’s vision was swept in its blue glow before everything went black.

“Well?” she heard Fluttershy say. “Did it work?”

“Did what work?” Twilight asked.

“A-ha!” Rarity squealed. “I knew it’d work. I just cured your deafness, Twilight!”

“I...” Twilight blinked, and she tried waving a hoof in front of herself. All she saw was a blackness, and when she went to slap herself she missed. “Rarity, I appreciate it, but you just made me blind instead.”

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy muttered.

Twilight could almost hear Rarity’s heart skip a beat. Rarity quickly said, “I’m so sorry, Twilight! All I did was modify my crystal-resonance spell with a pair of sunglasses. I thought it’d at least reverse your spell, but I guess the tint was too strong...”

“It’s okay, Rarity,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Let’s just go find Spike and send a letter to Princess Celestia for help. I probably should’ve done that from the very beginning.”

---

[A/N: I wanted to call this story "TITTIE DROP" but chickened out. Anyone think it'd have been fine to keep it titled that?]