"This can't be right," Twilight said, rapidly transferring her gaze from one book to the next. The unicorn's frenzied research was rather unsettling for Spike. The only times she acted like this was when something serious was going on.
For some reason, after Twilight had visited Canterlot to witness Celestia raise the sun in person, she hadn't been the same. Over the last few days, one would be lucky to see Twilight exit the library to even grab a quick bite to eat; every waking moment had been spent in books on the functions of the universe, celestial beings, and anything involving the stars. This, of course, also meant that Twilight had never bathed since then, leaving her hair in matted, unkempt knots and split-ends.
"This can't possibly be right," said Twilight again. She aggressively scratched her head with a hoof, trying to find an answer that wasn't there. Pacing the floor, the unicorn mumbled incoherently to herself.
"Twilight, what's going on? You've been acting really weird lately," said Spike, trying to be the voice of reason, "I'm worried about you."
"Worried about me?" Twilight asked, cocking her head back to met the eyes of her assistant, "Worried about me? Ha! It's not me you should be worried about. What you should be worried about is the fact that this makes no sense!"
Before Spike could retort, Twilight shoved a scroll into his claws and motioned for him to look. Upon opening the scroll, Spike saw multiple equations of impossible length and complexity, leaving barely any blank parchment left. The dragon handed the scroll back to his boss and attempted to massage his now-pounding head.
"What is that all supposed to give me besides a headache?" Spike asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.
Twilight levitated the scroll back to the nearby desk, setting it atop the mile-high stacks of books. Seemingly at the speed of sound, Twilight rushed up the library steps to her bedroom and darted back down to Spike, a model of the solar system in her hoof.
"You see, when I watched Celestia raise the sun, I noticed that the sun hit the peak of the Celestial Tower a split second before she did. I crunched the numbers, and if my calculations are correct..."
Twilight paused, allowing the intensity of the moment to sink in. She continued.
"If my calculations are correct, then Celestia doesn't raise the sun, but it raises itself, instead."
The color suddenly flushed from Spike's cheeks. Was she seriously considering the idea that Celestia wasn't the goddess she clearly was?
"Okay, Twilight. I'm not sure what's gotten into you, but -" Spike managed to say before his boss interrupted him.
"And if Celestia doesn't raise the sun, that would mean that Luna doesn't raise the moon. If the both of them have been lying to everypony, what else have they lied about? How do I know who to believe? How can I -"
"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, snapping Twilight from her nonsensical ramble, "Look. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to snap out of it. Your friends are gonna be worr -"
"My friends, that's it! I just have to tell my friends the situation. They'll understand, right?"
Spike cautiously took two steps backwards and was about to turn and walk away when Twilight spoke once more. "Spike, send a letter to Rainbow Dash a once."
"Um, what do I write?" Spike asked, confused. With a couple turns of her head to make sure no unseen pony was around to hear, Twilight leaned closer and whispered to Spike the desired message. When it became apparent to the dragon what Twilight was implying, his cheeks flushed red and his eyes widened.
"Okay. I-if you say so," he answered, scribbling the message onto a scroll. With a puff of flame, the scroll disintegrated in the air. "How long do you think it'll be before she reads it?"
Twilight smiled. "Knowing Rainbow Dash, it shouldn't be too long before she sees - "
The door to the library burst in a shower of shards oak. Even through the still dust in the air, a rainbow mane and tail were visible. The multicolored pegasus pounced through the dust onto Twilight, her smile wide and slightly unsettling.
"Twilight, I got your message. Did you really mean that?"
Pushing the gleeful pony off and standing back on her hooves, Twilight cleared her throat. "Well yes, Rainbow. I do love you, but what I really wanted to tell you is much more important than that."
The unicorn was answered with a cocked eyebrow from her marefriend. Though she was curious, Dash was skeptical that the message was sincere and wondered if Twilight only said that to get her attention.
"Alright, Twilight. What's going on?"
"Brace yourself, Rainbow Dash; I have news for you and the others that will challenge the very foundations of everypony's beliefs."
Rainbow plopped down on the wooden floor, bracing for what was sure to be a lengthy lecture from her marefriend. With a deep breath, Twilight began.
"When I visited Canterlot to witness Celestia raise the sun, I noticed that the sun reached the peak of the Celestial Tower a split second before Celestia did. I crunched the numbers and if my calculations are correct, the sun and moon aren't raised by the princesses at all; they control themselves."
Dash's eyes widened. It wasn't like Twilight to fully accept something of this magnitude without being skeptical, let alone if it involved the princesses. Was this what she'd been up to for the last three days?
"That's why I really wanted you here, Dash. I'm sorry I had to trick you a little, but what I had to say was important. You'll tell the others, won't you?
Snapping from her thoughts, Dash looked away and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Yeah. Sure thing, Twi, and it's alright."
With a quick glance back at the unicorn, Dash trotted out of the opening and took to the sky, thoughts racing through her mind.
"That certainly went better than I thought it would," Twilight said, heading for the hole in the library doorway.
"Wait! Where're you going?" asked Spike.
Twilight looked back at Spike. "I'm going to the spa. After these past few days, I think a nice spa treatment would be good for me."
Using her magic to put all the shards back into place, Twilight exited the reformed door and set off for a relaxing day at the spa. Once Twilight was out of earshot, a loud rapping came from the upstairs window. Curious, Spike ascended the stairs to find Rainbow Dash hovering outside, a concerned look on her face. Upon opening the window, the multicolored mare grabbed Spike in her hooves and flew off.
"What's going on, Dash? Where're we going?"
"No time to explain, Spike, just hang on."
Rainbow Dash set Spike down and landed near the entrance to the cafe; Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were waiting for her.
"Glad you could make it, guys," Rainbow said.
"What's this all about, Rainbow Dash? All you told me was that it had something to do with Twilight and to meet you here at noon," Rarity asked.
"Yeah. You said somethin' 'bout her 'goin' off the deep end', and then you just took off. What goin' on?" asked Applejack.
Dash sighed. She didn't know how to break it to the others, but she would try her best.
"Twilight's gone crazy. She thinks that the sun and moon control themselves. She doubts the princesses."
The others gasped and exchanged barely audible murmurs of disbelief.
"B-but how can that be? Twilight would never say something like that about Celestia or Luna," Fluttershy stated.
"She's right. It ain't like Twilight to jump to conclusions - 'specially if it has anythin' to do with the princesses."
The group continued to remark and debate on what to do on the matter until Dash interrupted. "Quiet! Look, it's obvious that Twi' needs help; that's why I thought we'd make sure she was taken to 'you know where'," Dash said, quieting her speech on the last part.
"Rainbow Dash! You can't possibly be suggesting she goes to that dreadful place," said Rarity.
"We don't have any other choice. The ponies there are the only ones who can help her. I wish there was another way, but there isn't."
With somber looks to one another, the group agreed to do what had to be done. It was for Twilight's own good, after all.
"Spike, I'm back," Twilight said as she entered the library. She was answered with silence. Figuring that the little dragon must be out with Rarity or one of her other friends, Twilight climbed the stairs to her bedroom, her eyelids drooping more with every grueling step. Upon reaching her beloved mattress, she flopped down upon it, allowing the warm embrace of sleep to take over. Before she drifted off into unconsciousness, she hoped for tomorrow to be a new, better day.
This was not to be.