//------------------------------// // Ch.9: Behold, Behold, the Princess Twilight Cometh // Story: A Hairier Problem: Rise of the Furball // by BlueBastard //------------------------------// Rise of the Furball Chapter 9: “Behold, Behold, the Princess Twilight Cometh” Rarity was pleased at what she considered a success in helping Raspberry Beyrl “loosen up” a little, with help from Sandalwood and Fluttershy. The plan had been to put Raspberry into aromatherapy with Sandalwood doing everything within her power to help the poor mare find some way to relax around other ponies, while Heliodor would be tended to by the pegasus.  Fluttershy had practically exploded with happiness at the prospect of being able to spend time caring for a phoenix without worrying about getting banished and locked in a dungeon in the place she was banished to, or the phoenix deciding to cause trouble by pretending to be in seriously poor health when in the middle of a reincarnation cycle. Razz, who seemed both relieved and shocked towards hearing about Rarity treating her to something so out of the gem peddler’s budget, seemed to go along with the arrangements after consulting with her pet and even then only if Rarity would be there, since Heliodor would be in Fluttershy’s care during the aromatherapy. That had raised many questions in the fashionista’s mind about Razz’s insecurities; after all she was never seen around town without her pet. Thanks to Sandalwood’s skills, hoof movements, and mastery of aromatherapy, Razz soon managed to become comfortable enough with her surroundings that she ended up revealing some of her past, which answered a lot of Rarity’s unspoken questions. The burgundy unicorn had been born on a small farm in a small town outside of Salt Lick City, a place called Lonesome Dove, and was the only horned pony in a community of earth pony farmers. Due to her mother dying in childbirth, the only family she’d had was her father and the only permanent home she’d had was the old family farm. It had been a rough life, since the soil was poor quality for growing food due to the natural gem deposits getting in the way of seeds trying to plant roots, earning it the disparaging nickname of “gem farm” and the gems were always of such low quality that even selling large numbers of them barely brought in enough revenue to feed two ponies. But from birth she’d been unlucky in her early years, since as a unicorn she was not gifted with the endurance and strength needed to work the farm and her father had always regarded her with distaste because she was his only child and not a strong stallion. It had been even worse when she was around sixteen years old, as by then her magic developed fully enough to reveal her special talent was in fact finding gems, which her father regarded as more reason to treat his child poorly for shortcomings that were by no means her fault. A few months later the unicorn simply left Lonesome Dove with only a few bits to her name, refusing to go into detail about what had influenced her decision. Rarity suspected the relationship between her and her father had become so bad that he simply disowned her and kicked her off the farm to fend for herself. Rarity made a mental note that if she ever had kids, there would be no circumstances where she’d disown them simply because they didn’t meet predetermined expectations through no fault of their own. But to Rarity’s surprise, Raspberry continued to be vague about her more recent history, only saying that she wandered from town to town to sell her gems, but even after a few years she’d never gone back to a town she left. She refused to be more elaborate on any of those details, only stating that she didn’t turn tricks and that it was during a trip to a new town that she encountered Heliodor. He’d still been in an egg when diamond dogs had stolen him, thinking he was a unique gem, proceeding to try and kill him when he hatched. How Raspberry managed to stop diamond dogs from killing a newborn phoenix chick she didn’t say, though Rarity had several ideas stemming from her own time as a prisoner of diamond dogs. The vague life story of Raspberry Beryl ended when the mare merely said she’d finally ended up in Ponyville by pure chance a few months ago, claiming she just stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of town and flatly refusing Rarity’s offer of the new guest bedroom at Carousel Boutique. The conversation had then broken off to talk about Rarity’s adventures, brought on from the mention about her having been kidnaped by crystal-loving canines. Overall, while Raspberry was still clearly more comfortable when her loyal bird was by her side, as evidenced by the change in how she carried herself upon Fluttershy returning Heliodor to his mistress at the end of the aromatherapy session, the fact she’d managed to open up to Rarity and Sandalwood enough to partially talk about what sounded like a horrible childhood gave Rarity hope that Razz could overcome her insecurities and enjoy talking with other ponies at length without the oppressive shadow of her past interfering. However, those thoughts quickly went away as Rarity, now galloping at a fair sprint, raced to an open spot in the paths within Ponyville’s center in order to meet the next pony who needed her attention. Taking a few moments to fix her appearance, she then stood poised and ready to receive her charge. Almost on cue, Royal Guard pegasi descended with the golden chariot behind them, having brought Princess Twilight and the ever faithful Spike back to the town they loved so much. “Welcome back, your majesty!” dramatically bowed Rarity, mixing formality with friendly teasing, before adding with a wink, “And you too, Spike.” “Well, thank you, Rarity!” replied Spike, who clearly was once again infatuated with Rarity. While she’d talked to Twilight at length about the matter, Rarity still didn’t know if Spike genuinely thought she was beautiful or if it was just the triplet of diamonds she had as a cutie mark he found appealing. While the fact Raspberry Beryl also had gems for a cutie mark that could possibly be used to explore if it was just the cutie mark of gems that Spike liked, the last thing that mare needed was a baby dragon thinking her flank looked delicious enough to eat and Rarity was not going to ruin her progress with Beyrl to answer a question about what could merely be a childhood crush. Twilight, meanwhile, just moved to embrace her friend. “I know I visited you not too long ago, but…” “…that wasn’t the official start of your allowed visit, was it?” interrupted Rarity with a smile. “Besides, I can’t have you all to myself, what good is it to say I’m the bearer of Generosity when I can’t even let one of my friends be able to spend time with anypony other than me?” Twilight chuckled. “Well, since you’re the only pony here to meet me, I can only guess that the others are over at Golden Oaks, lying in wait to surprise me along with the rest of the town, just like when I first came here.” “Actually…” replied Rarity with a more serious face, “they’re not.” Twilight, who had been expecting some dramatic showing from Rarity to dodge the question, was taken off guard by the blunt response, the surprise accented by her wings flaring up involuntarily. “They’re not?” Rarity shook her head sadly. “Believe it or not, everypony else had plans today for something other than that.” “Huh?! Other than take part in a Pinkie Pie welcome back party?” “That’s right. Including Pinkie. She’s off visiting her family on the rock farm.” Rarity’s words weren’t adding up, Twilight instantly realized. “No, you know just as much as I do that Pinkie wouldn’t put off a party for me just because of a non-emergency family visit, she’d do everything she could to make sure that there would be a party for me even if she couldn’t be there, and for Pinkie to not be able to be anywhere at any time she chooses is a scientific impossibility!” While there was no hard science to actually prove Pinkie could instantly be anywhere she chose at any given moment, regardless of the distance between points A and B, any attempts to understand it had ended with nothing but somepony’s mane catching on fire. Usually Prince Blueblood’s for reasons even Discord would admit were beyond his understanding while he cooked marshmallows on sticks with the inferno on top of the screaming prince. Rarity remained grim. “I’m afraid that’s the truth, your highness.” “No, that doesn’t make any sense! The whole reason you’re the only pony I’ve seen since arriving is because everypony else is over in Golden Oaks waiting to surprise me, it’s the only logical answer!” The lavender alicorn was soon happily proven wrong when she realized that she’d not been paying attention to where Rarity was leading her. The fact they were now in Ponyville’s main square near the fountain, where there were suspiciously large numbers of boxes piled everywhere, only came to the notice of the alicorn a split second before everypony in town jumped up from behind them or inside buildings where they’d not been visible or other hiding places Twilight hadn’t noticed because she’d been too focused on Rarity. However, hearing the entire town shout “WELCOME HOME, PRINCESS!” with a certain pink pony bouncing in with a baby blue cannon firing confetti and streamers on everything in sight, the youngest alicorn couldn’t help but shed a tear. Ponyville had missed her just as much as she had missed it. Meanwhile, at the same time, Raspberry Beryl and Heliodor watched the spontaneous eruption of pure, concentrated party that exploded at the heart of Ponyville. The two of them were silent, taking in the sight, but any thoughts of taking part in the festivities were drowned out by their self-reminders of why they couldn’t risk it. One wrong move in the presence of Princess Twilight Sparkle would be a certain death sentence, even if the princess was still reportedly as big a bookish nerd as she’d been prior to ascension. Tearing their sight away from the celebrations, the pony and her pet turned and trotted away for home. It had been a few days since Twilight Sparkle’s return, meaning the excitement that had been felt through the entire town had finally died down. Which Cheerilee appreciated, since most of her class had been taken up in the feeling and had been more unruly as usual due to the school board refusing to make the princess’s return a school holiday. Now that things were returning to normal, actually trying to teach the class was now possible again. Additionally, while it had been extremely concerning about how the hostility between Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara had reached a head some time ago, following Tiara’s nightmare the relation between the two had become far more passive and much of the drama they had caused had become a thing of the past. Tiara, however, had a far different opinion. For whatever reason, may it be Apple Bloom’s upstaging her or the appearance of a monster version of the same filly that one night burned into her memory, Diamond intended to get back at the filly who she blamed for all the recent trouble, and it had been fortunate Silver Spoon had been so beneficial in that regard. True, Spoon’s skill level as a silversmith had been lacking enough to make something meant to be worn comfortably, but after a few days of instruction by her father, Silver Hammer, Diamond’s friend had arrived at school carrying a pair of matching “Best Friend Forever” bracelets that were mostly made of pure silver. If there was any truth to the idea Apple Bloom was now of supernatural standing, a simple accidental moment of contact with either bracelet would yield immediate results. “Do you think this will work?” asked Silver Spoon as she walked alongside her pink coated friend to their seats. “Well, this is mainly to answer whether or not that annoying filly is truly a monster. Even if she isn’t, I must say these are excellently crafted.” Spoon blushed. “Yeah, well, dad sort of helped make them, since I still can’t get a perfectly smooth interior curve on things like bracelets.” “He doesn’t know, does he?” “What? Oh, no, of course not. I honestly was thinking about making these even without the influence of getting back at Apple Bloom, since these are better than those stupid capes she and the other two of that group wear, wouldn’t you agree?” “Oh, yes, definitely! So much higher in quality.” For the rest of the day, neither Diamond or Silver mentioned the silver bands, although Tiara was annoyed at how nopony even seemed to notice her new piece of bling. At the same time, it was a relief Apple Bloom didn’t see the bracelets either, meaning she’d never see it coming. It was now recess time, nothing to stop Diamond from putting silver on Apple Bloom’s blank flank. “Uh, Diamond?” asked Silver, walking up to the side of her friend, “it just occurred to me that if you’re right, that Apple Bloom is…that thing you think she is, and I’m right that putting silver on her will make her feel a severe burning sensation, isn’t there a chance she’ll just get angry and attack us which at best would kill us, at worst turning us into the thing she is?” Diamond’s eyes briefly shrank in realization that Silver was right, but the need to vindicate herself and punish Apple Bloom for crimes either real or imagined overrode her logical thinking. “Even if we do end up paying the ultimate price for this, if she is truly a monster as I suspect, it’s our duty as citizens of Ponyville to expose the beast that threatens everypony.” Before Silver Spoon could say anything more, Diamond trotted off towards her quarry. It was only too easy to make physical contact between the bracelet and Apple Bloom’s hind leg in a way that didn’t look intentional. “Yaaahh!” hollered Apple Bloom, stumbling away from Tiara and drawing the exposed leg back, “cold cold cold cold!” Diamond had already continued on her way to keep up the illusion it had been an accident, but inside she was confused as to the reaction. Touching her opposite hoof to the bracelet, she did find it was somewhat cold, as was to be expected from something made of metal, but it was supposed to have burned Apple Bloom, not given her the chills. Keeping up the façade of not knowing anything about what had happened to Apple Bloom, the pink filly returned to Silver Spoon with intentions to think up some other way to prove the bow-wearing pony was a monster. Meanwhile, over among the CMC: “Apple Bloom, you okay?” Sweetie asked. “Yeah, but Ah don’t know what just happened,” replied the werewolf. “From what you were yelling about, apparently you came into contact with something cold.” “Ah know what Ah said, but Ah don’t remember feelin’ a stingin’ sensation after touchin’ a metal pole in the middle of winter.” Scootaloo’s expression went from curiosity to worry. “Um, you sure it isn’t a burn? The nerves that detect burning and freezing on the body are the same, but if there’s stinging then that implies the former.” Sweetie gave Scootaloo an indignant look. “And you say I’m the dictionary?” “Again, when your parents have to deal with weather teams that don’t provide enough cloud cover to counteract the heat from the sun or make the snow clouds too cold, you pick up on these kinds of things” nickered back the Pegasus, trotting over to look at where Apple Bloom was indicating she’d been affected. “Yep, it’s extremely minor, not even first degree, but if it’s still stinging then that’s a burn.” “Ah don’t understand, there wasn’t anythin’ even near me when Ah suddenly felt…whatever it was on mah leg,” eeplied the confused Apple Bloom. “Well, actually, Diamond Tiara walked right past you,” pointed out Sweetie, “and I thought I saw her brush that dumb friendship bracelet she got from Silver Spoon on your leg, but it happened so fast I can’t be sure.” “Do you think Silver made that bracelet out of…well, silver? Back when Applejack was…well, what Ah am now, Ah remember Big Mac sayin’ somethin’ about how she should never be around the silverware that was actually silver.” “Wait.” Interrupted Scoot, “how did Big Macintosh know that? Don’t tell me he was a were-“ “SHHHH!” shushed Apple Bloom and Sweetie. “Oh, right, sorry,” apologized the flustered feathered member of the CMC. “To answer the question, he wasn’t. Maybe he knew about werewolves from some other thing Ah’m not aware of, but trust me when Ah say if he had as big a problem as Ah do, the entire town would know. It’s hard enough tryin’ to keep this under wraps from mah own family as it is!” Apple Bloom’s eyes suddenly got wide as she remembered her family was about to become an even bigger problem. “Is everything okay, Apple Bloom?” asked Scoot. “You know how you two are the only ones who know mah…hairy secret, but mah own family doesn’t?” The pegasus and unicorn nodded. “And how we all agreed that anytime there was anything bein’ kept as a top-super-duper-classified-don’t-tell-anypony secret, all members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be let in on the secret?” The duo nodded again. “What happens when somepony who under that rule has to be informed of the secret…and is also part of mah family?” The non-earth fillies expressed confusion, with Sweetie speaking up: “But you’re the youngest of the Apple Family siblings, aren’t you? I don’t remember you ever mentioning somepony in your family who was your younger sister.” “Not mah sister, Sweetie. Mah cousin. Babs Seed is going to be on the five-fifteen Manehatten Mustang train when it makes the Ponyville stop next Saturday, and as far as Ah know this time she’s stayin’ until Hearth’s Warming!” ___________________________________________________________________________________ Raspberry Beryl sighed as she laid back on the bed in her hotel room, Heliodor following suit as he sat on the bar attached to the other, normally otherwise unused bed in the double. It wasn’t the greatest accommodations in a hotel nor was it the best hotel in Ponyville. The Traveler’s Retreat was, admittedly, well past its prime even though the clientele had never really differed much from being mostly individuals that were passing through Ponyville, being more of a bed and breakfast rest stop than a true hotel. The fact the old couple who kept the place running had never conceived of a pony staying longer than a week, much less over three months, was testament  to that, but Raspberry was grateful to them for allowing her to essentially take up residence there. She’d gotten the idea of living long-term in a hotel from a pony she’d briefly talked with years ago, shortly after being forced to fend for herself and leave Lonesome Dove. The pony; a member of a traveling acting group who was named Rough Edge, had generously paid for her to stay at the road house she’d ended up at the end of that first night. She’d taken an interest in him when she initially heard some of his troupe members call him “The Crownless King”, and although what had interested her proved to be absent upon him explaining his nickname’s reference to his usual role as the hero character in their performances, he’d been invaluable that first night in providing advice that she’d followed even up to the present for living the life of a wanderer. She wondered what would have happened had she revealed everything to him that night, if he would have helped her if she’d been totally forward about the matter instead of lying about the circumstances as to why she had to flee Lonesome Dove. She also wondered where he’d been ever since, as she’d never seen him again after that one night despite having considered him as close to a trustworthy friend that she’d ever get. Well, until Heliodor came into her life, providing comfort in a way no amount of bits could provide. But where bits could provide comfort, she was living in excess at the Retreat as far as she cared. The rates were extremely low, probably because the owners took pity on her and didn’t charge as much even though Razz continually protested that out of guilt. Still, for having lived most of her life on the road, being able to come back to a room that had a soft bed to sleep in, a working bathroom with actual soap that made it so much easier to keep her body clean, and getting a hot meal every morning, her current living conditions were better than anything a room in Castle Canterlot could have given her. Of course, that spare bedroom at Carousel Boutique probably would have been the same, the main difference being Rarity not charging Razz a single penny to stay, and Razz would have loved to taken up the offer to move into a home that wasn’t broken prior to her taking residence in it. The only two reasons stopping her were that it wouldn’t be more than a week before Heliodor tried to devise elaborate ways to kill Rarity’s cat Opal that involved excessive amounts of fire, since it was bad enough trying to stop the two from killing each other when Razz and her pet visited Rarity’s abode, and the significantly more important reason was the horrible truth that had stalked Razz all her life from before she had even been born, the reason the most comfortable places she’d ever known were hotel rooms instead of actual houses and why she’d left so many towns in her wake. Lost in thought, it was Heliodor’s squawking that brought Raspberry back to reality and to be aware of the knocking at the door. Getting off of the bed, she walked over to open it and found a pegasus guard from the local guard detachment on the other side. “Miss Raspberry Beryl, I presume?”  She paled slightly. “Y-yes, that’s me.” The guard pulled out a scroll from his saddlebag and handed it to Razz. “I was instructed to make sure this was delivered straight to you.” “Oh, well, um…thanks?” “You’re welcome, ma’am, and good evening.” The guard turned and made to leave the hotel. Beryl made sure he was not in the hallway before closing the door and letting her face drain of the blood. Looking at the wax seal on the rolled up parchment, she realized within seconds what it was. Taking the scroll in her telekinesis, she opened it to read the contents. FROM THE OFFICE OF HER SERENE HIGHNESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, GUARDIAN OF THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP, PROTEGE OF PRINCESS CELESTIA It has come to her highness' attention that you currently are in possession of an avian of unusual pigmentation, namely a phoenix of green coloration.  Since her highness' return to Ponyville, numerous subjects have brought to her attention via personal audiences and missives of this issue.  One such audience was with Lady Rarity, a member of her highness' personal court and a personal confidante of the princess.   While we on her highness' staff believe that the intent is to arrange a personal meeting between yourself, her highness and Lady Rarity, unfortunately her highness' schedule does not permit such a timeframe in which this can be accommodated in a reasonable manner.  Thus it has been decided that you are to be summoned to her highness' current seat, temporarily located at the Golden Oaks library, on this coming Saturday, promptly at quarter past five.  You are also detailed to bring your pet along as well, as her highness would likely desire extensive study on such a creature. Cordially, Apple Cobbler Crown Secretary for HSH Twilight Sparkle “She…she wants to what!?” whimpered Raspberry. The one pony in all of Equestria who Raspberry wanted to stay the farthest from had literally just summoned her to come to a private meeting in the center of town. It had been bad enough simply being in the same town as the princess, but being in the same room as her? Razz knew she would have to go, since any normal pony wouldn’t hesitate to obey a summons from a princess, but as the burgundy unicorn looked worryingly at Heliodor, it would be an honor neither of them would want. The master clock inside the Rich household chimed eleven pm as Diamond Tiara pouted in her room. She’d gotten nowhere fast with the silver bracelets plan and as she stared at the one her friend had given her, now sitting on the bedside counter next to her water, she tried to reason why her plan had failed. “There had to have been some reaction, the thing was cold when I touched it but the way Apple Bloom reacted it was like I’d touched her with an ice cube!” muttered Tiara to herself, “Yet, at the same time, if she was a werewolf or whatever, she should have been burned when touched by silver! The test was negative on those grounds, but I still need more proof! Maybe if I can figure out how to get some wolfsbane or something planted all around the school…” The sudden, feminine laughter, reverberating with some kind of unnatural aftertone, stopped Tiara’s self-conversation and made her fearful as the night Apple Bloom appeared at the bedroom window. “Who…Who’s there?!” cried out Tiara, shielding herself with one of her stuffed animals. She made sure it was the big blue one that was just a giant blob with no limbs, the one that said “imaginary friends forever!” when squeezed, as she did so now. “Somepony who has goals that currently are in line with yours, my dear,” the voice answered back. “How do you know what I want? What do you want with me?” “You don’t need to yell. After all, it’s not like your father or any of the employed staff here are going to believe a disembodied voice is talking to you, not after seeing her at your window. Unless you’re aiming to be put in an insane asylum.” “Okay, fine,” Tiara said, no longer shouting but having changed to a conversational tone. “But just to prove you aren’t another figment of my imagination, I want you to show yourself so I can at least see who I’m talking to.” “A fair request,” the voice replied, right before the shape of a mare materialized at the foot of Tiara’s bed. From what Diamond could tell, it was the translucent form of a green mare with a mane/tail coloration of yellow and sky blue, complimented with pink eyes and a cutie mark of two mountain peaks bordering a rainbow. But it was the fact the mare looked inequine exactly in the same ways like Apple Bloom had on that stormy night that spoke volumes, the parts that looked more canine than pony. This was a werewolf, although the translucence made it clear this one was just a ghost and therefore probably couldn’t harm Tiara, that being the only real reason the living filly didn’t scream out in terror. It didn’t help, however, that this ghost suspiciously looked a lot like a somewhat older Applejack, only with a mane style closer to Rainbow Dash, prompting another doll squeeze and ‘Imaginary Friends Forever!’ being echoed in the room. “Yes, I know, I’m not exactly much better than your other hairy problem,” replied the ghost almost apologetically, “but unlike her I don’t want to harm you in any way, physically or psychologically.” “Do you know what she is, at least?” asked Diamond, the fear slowly subsiding. “Well, you already knew it, but she is a werewolf. How she managed to be one is beyond me as the fate of all werewolves is similar to mine, although none of them were lucky enough to rise from the grave to avenge their deaths upon the living.” Tiara raised an eyebrow at that. “Are you saying Apple Bloom somehow killed you?” The apparition laughed again, made slightly disconcerting by its haunting echo. “No, I’ve been dead for over a decade, and the one responsible for it is currently in a position that you would be of no help in the matter. However…” the spirit’s tone suddenly became much more serious, “the pony that I did love, the original werewolf by the name of Sable Loam, was murdered by some idiot minotaur almost a year ago.” “Uh huh, keep going,” Diamond Tiara murmured, motioning by making a circle with her hoof and making a not-so-subtle indication she knew everything that had been said so far. “Well, apologies for having been dead for so long, most of this information is new to me,” the ghost chided. “Anyway, apparently the older sister of this ‘Apple Bloom’ you seek to do ill will against, was involved in his death somehow, and I wish to punish her for it through bringing harm to her sister. Furthermore, Apple Bloom is making a mockery of what it means to be a werewolf, we are, or at least were, actually more dangerous and threatening than just being a scary sight on the other side of a window strong enough to withstand a hurricane.” “Well, um, okay.” Quite frankly, Diamond Tiara was rather open to the idea that this undead werewolf ghost just happened to stumble into her room in the dead of night and was offering to help Tiara get revenge on Apple Bloom. Silver would definitely be needed to be brought into the knowledge of this ghostly assistance, but provided her paranormal exterminator heritage didn’t get in the way things might have just gotten easier. “Before I agree to anything, however, I do want to at least know your name.” “But of course.” The undead mare’s voice carried smug undertones as she said, “Just call me Fair Vista.”