Nightglider had questions. Her questions had questions. And no small number of those questions were in regards to the plant in the corner of the room. Now, she was in a flower shop, so there was no shortage of plants inside.
However, few plants were known to cough up a bushel of strawberries as if they were choking on them. Probably none, but it was far from the strangest thing going on at the moment.
Nightglider gave Roseluck's frozen form one last affectionate glance before she glanced out the door, spying the freshly coughed-up berries joining the rest of their brethren. In the streets, they seamlessly became part of a horde of ghastly oozing red strawberry creatures.
Thank goodness the townsfolk were all frozen by the time spell, else the panic would have been uproarious.
She attempted to close the door, but confirmed it to be impossible thanks to the spell. She made due by taking the strangely not-frozen plant and placing it stalwartly in the doorway, doing her best to somehow protect her rose-colored date.
“Uh.. don't move. Ok?” said the pegasus.
“Sure ok.” said the plant.
Nodding as much to herself as the flora, she settled in to continue admiring how adorable her date was.
Back at the castle, Trixie was going over the speed-reading spell in her head a few times, trying to commit it to memory. With Twilight still out of commission, it was up to her to SAVE THE DAY.
And to do that, she needed to read a shelf of books without being able to physically open any of them. She had to find the counterspell they needed to get time moving again.
As Trixie psyched herself up like she was about to go on for a big show, Rarity was worrying and pestering over her marefriend's condition. Pain still rolled over the alicorn's mind in waves, making her grit her teeth.
The other occupant of the room kept an anxious eye on the field between the castle and town, which was steadily filling with ooze creatures. Their numbers were the most dense near ground zero in town, but it was hard to tell if they were increasing in number or just spreading apart more.
“How's it going Tricky?” she called back into the room.
“It's Trixie. The Great and Powerful Trixie! Who is also humble and selfless, and also sorry for her past misdoings!”
Twilight groaned and clutched her head at the volume of Trixie's grandstanding. Rarity shot Trixie another look and did what she could to sooth her paramour.
“Right, well, Trixie thinks she can do it. And thinking is half of doing, so Trixie is essentially half way to saving the day already.” She said with a huff.
“Stand aside, mere mortals and also Twilight. This is going to be a cinch.”
She rose onto her back legs in a dramatic stance, casting the spell at the relevant section of books and hoping to Celestia that she could back up her showboating this time.
Back in the flower shop, Nightglider debated with herself between staying put or leaving her date and joining the others at the castle, if they had even managed to get inside.
Sure her date was frozen in time, but it still felt wrong to leave again during their first date. Well, she wasn't really leaving her alone, as a few other ponies were also frozen in the room. But still.
The ominously not-frozen plant in the doorway didn't help either, as she kept feeling like it was watching her.
The decision became significantly easier to make after she heard an explosion from the direction of the castle. With one last suspicious glance at the plant, she took off into the air and toward the castle. She made the journey in a wide circle, in case some of the creatures tried to follow from the ground.
Unbeknownst to her, a very different creature observed her flight. The whole situation in town was absurd, but it had the possibility of being highly advantageous to it.