Twilight was, as per her usual afternoon routine, curled up with a good book. Still, today was no ordinary day for the young unicorn. After months of incessant coaxing, she finally got somepony to agree to be her reading buddy! She often lamented the lack of scholarly ponies in ponyville, and had become sick of always reading alone. Today however, she finally had a partner to explore the wonders of her library with her. She smiled to herself and suddenly couldn’t resist breaking the no-talking rule.
“Enjoying your book Fluttershy?” she asked excitedly.
“Oh, um…yes Twilight very much” she said as she looked up from her copy of Greenhoove’s Guide to Gardening. She smiled as sincerely as she could to her friend.
Twilight squinted with suspicion. “Really? You don’t look very relaxed to me.”
“Oh I am Twilight…It’s just, well, do you really think Spike can take care of the animals all by himself?”
“Come on Fluttershy this again? I told you Spike takes care of the library all the time. He can handle a few bunnies.”
“Yes, but animals are a teensy bit different than books and I just worry is all.”
Twilight looked at her with exasperation. “Do you want to go home Fluttershy?”
“No…well, yes… I mean…only if that’s ok with you that is” she smiled nervously.
Twilight sighed. She shouldn’t have tried to force this on poor Fluttershy.
“Sure it’s ok with me” she said, trying not to sound too disappointed. She smiled politely as her friend put away the book and headed for the door. Just as Fluttershy was about to exit Twilight’s home, a knock sounded at the door.
“Fluttershy could you get that?” called Twilight.
“Sure Twilight” she said. “Hello ther-“
“Mademoiselle, forgive me but you have a beauty that I simply cannot allow to go unpraised”
“E-e-e-excuse me?” stammered Fluttershy.
Riposte rushed into the room and positioned himself behind Fluttershy, whispering in her ear.
“My sweet, how is it that you have been able to mask your radiance from mine eyes.” Riposte took a deep breath from her mane. “C’est magnifique! Like the most fragrant of blossoms.”
“Fluttershy who is it?” called Twilight. “…Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy’s face glowed bright crimson. She tried to talk, but all that came out was a timid squeak. Curious, Twilight came down the stairs to her door and gasped at what she found. There were two ponies, their bodies covered by dark, tattered cloaks. One’s face was concealed by a hood, and the other’s face was visible, adorned with a sinister smile. Fluttershy was on her back; it looked like she was out cold.
“Alright who are you ponies and what have you done to Fluttershy?” Twilight’s expression was fierce and her horn glowed with purple magic.
“Apologies” replied the hooded pony. “Your friend is suffering from a bad case of embarrassment, nothing more. My companion has yet to fully grasp what it means to…keep a low profile.” The last four words were thick with disapproval.
“But Captain! How am I to stay silent when faced with such a fabulous creature?”
Fluttershy squeaked and twitched. Twilight blinked, her anger having dissipated to pity for poor Fluttershy.
“Well” said Twilight, magically lifting the pegasus onto the carpet. “You still haven’t explained who you are. And I assume you didn’t come here just to freak out my friend.”
“Yes, forgive our intrusion” said the hooded pony. “You see we are friends of Princess Luna. She brought it to our attention that we might be able to contact her here. Is it true that a dragon lives at this residence?”
“You mean Spike?” replied Twilight. “He’s actually not here at the moment, sorry.”
“Do you have any idea when he will return?” asked the hooded pony patiently.
“Well actually, Fluttershy was just about to go take over watching the animals for him but…” She looked over to her unconscious friend sympathetically.
“I see” responed the hooded pony “Is there any chance I could trouble you for some directions to the dragon’s location? We would like to communicate with the princess as soon as possible.”
“Sure” replied Twilight. “Only…”
“Yes?”
“Only do you guys mind if I give you the directions magically? Something simple like directions seems perfect to help me practice my new spell-- ‘I know, you know’.”
“The ‘I know, you know’ spell?” asked the hooded pony in surprise. “I wasn’t aware that a master capable of teaching such a spell resided in Ponyville.”
“Oh no sir” replied Twilight impressed that her strange guest even knew of the spell. “Just a little something I picked up from my books.” She paused. “Are you guys interested in magic too?”
“You could say that” responded the red headed unicorn, clearly amused by her question.
“Your books you say?” asked the hooded pony. “But the only book that lists that spell is…my word!” he exclaimed. “Do you really have a first edition copy of Dream Prancer’s Tome of Neuromagic!? Where in Equestria did you get a copy?”
Twilight blinked a few times in surprise, taken aback by her guest’s intimate knowledge of magical literature. “Well, actually it was a gift from Princess Celestia.”
“Princess Celestia?” asked the hooded pony. “Ah I see now. You must be Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you.”
Twilight’s surprise turned into a perky smile. “Pleased to meet you as well. And you are…”
“Oh I’m nopony special” responded the mysterious pony. “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, an address would be preferable to the spell. We can find our way just fine.”
“Are you sure?” asked Twilight disappointedly. “Any friends of Luna’s are welcome to stay for a while.”
“Mademoiselle, your offer is flattering but we are horribly short on time” replied the red haired pony. “Perhaps another time cherie?”
Twilight gave them the address and the two ponies left her home. “Wait!” she cried, running out after them. “I never caught your names!”
“Corn and Cob!” the hooded pony blurted out and the pair broke into a full gallop.
After they had made some distance away from Twilight’s home Riposte turned to Quin.
“Corn and Cob?” chuckled Riposte. “You really have no tact do you?”
Quin glared at his companion. “Me? What about you! That poor girl’s heart almost stopped back there.”
“Yes” said Riposte. “I do seem to have that effect on the filles.” (French for girls, not the young horse)
Quin looked at Riposte with half lidded eyes. “How did you ever make it to Alpha Squad?”
“You recommended me captain” replied Riposte.
“Oh, right. Remind me to be more discerning in the future.” Quin rolled his eyes and Riposte laughed quietly.
“So…no mind wipe on the filles?” asked Riposte
“Couldn’t risk it failing. That was Twilight Sparkle after all.”
“Right... Twilight…was she the cute one?” asked Riposte.
Quin sighed. “Don’t you ever read the dossiers? Twilight Sparkle is the living embodiment of magic itself. Her power is possibly beyond even alicorn levels.”
Riposte looked a bit stunned. “Surely she can’t be more gifted than you?”
“She is, without a doubt.” Riposte sensed something strange in Quin’s tone as he spoke, but decided to just let things be. Who could guess what went on in that pony’s mind? Shortly thereafter, they arrived at Fluttershy’s home.
“Ok” began Quin. “This time, we cut the chitchat. He’s counting on us Rip.”
Riposte nodded. “Do your stuff mon ami.”
Quin knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again, hearing nothing but a few strange shrieks coming from inside. Quin and Riposte looked at each other quizzically until suddenly the door burst open, a flood of animals nearly flattening them as they fled the house.
“Wait comeback I still need to feed you!” cried a small purple dragon out to the animals. The two ponies peeked inside, to find the young dragon in the firm coils of a long green snake. “Don’t worry I have everything…under…control.” He struggled to speak as the snake squeezed tighter. Finally, he managed to grab hold and pry himself free, flying off into the wall as he popped out of the snake’s grasp.
“Uuugh” said the small dragon, stars swirling around his head. He shook them off. “Wait, who are you guys? You won’t tell Fluttershy about this will you?”
Quin took his hood off.
“Woah dude what is up with your head!” cried Spike. Riposte winced. He knew Quin didn’t like people reacting to his…condition. Suddenly a pink spark of energy lashed out from Quin’s horn and struck the small dragon. Spike’s eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped to the floor.
Riposte looked at Quin in shock. “Captain? Was that really appropriate?”
Quin put his hood back on. “Relax” he said. “The dragon is unharmed, just momentarily stupefied. We are lucky that this dragon is so young, his mental resistance is low. We can now communicate freely with the princess. Quin pulled out a letter he had prepared beforehand and levitated it in front of Spike.
“Dragon, breathe fire” commanded Quin. Spike had no choice but to obey, and the letter was sent.
Back at the library, Twilight was still mulling over what had transpired earlier. She had sensed that something was…not quite right about the two ponies that came to her earlier. She sensed something strange about them, something that both put her on guard and excited her at the same time. She paced the library as Fluttershy recovered, getting more riled up with each passing second.
“I mean, why were they in such a hurry” asked Twilight
“Um, I don’t know” responded Fluttershy.
“Why the heck were they in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did they know so much about me, and about magic!?” yelled Twilight.
“I don’t know” whimpered Fluttershy, lowering her head in response to the yelling.
“We don’t even know who those ponies are! For all we know, they aren’t friends of Luna at all, just some creepy…creepers!”
“That one before was pretty… um… pretty…”
“You thought he was pretty?” asked a confused Twilight.
Fluttershy’s face burned red. “No! No I didn’t mean that! Oh gosh.” Fluttershy quickly tried to think of some way to change the subject. “Um uh, I sure hope Spike is ok with all the animals.”
“That’s right! Those weird ponies were after Spike and they might just be creepy creepers! We shouldn’t leave him alone with them. He is a baby after all. C’mon Fluttershy we gotta get over there right away!” Twilight put a hoof over Fluttershy and her horn began to glow.
“Wait Twilight I don’t Noooo-“ and the two ponies disappeared in a bright flash of white.