Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor
Nopony really noticed the stallion on the train. If they had, they might have noted that he was keeping an inordinate distance from his fellow ponies. They might have noted his slightly huddled posture, as though he was specifically cringing away to put as much distance between himself and anypony else as possible. They might also have noted his bedraggled condition, looking like a hundred miles of bad road. However, this stallion had gone out of his way to be exceptionally skilled at going unnoticed.
For though he kept as far away from his fellow passengers as he possibly could, he kept as still and calm as possible. His gaze was fixed pointedly out the window. For if it roamed around, he could accidentally catch the eyes of someone else. Catching somepony's eye was a good way to get noticed, being seen sharply looking away after catching somepony's eye was an even better way. Though the stallion's thoughts were barreling along, much like the train he was currently riding on, his mouth remained shut and motionless. Muttering to yourself was also a good way to get noticed.
As it was, he did his best to simply blend into the scenery, to look so bland and uninteresting that nopony would even think of bestowing the slightest iota of attention upon him. After all, he'd had enough attention to last a lifetime...which made it all the more ironic that he was on his way to receive some very specific attention.
I must be an idiot for agreeing to this, thought Flaxseed as he continued to stare out the window, his eyes tracing the countryside rushing by, Somepony actually found out about me, learned where I lived, managed to make contact with me, and I'm actually coming to her. I might as well slit my own throat and be done with it.
After all, there was only one reason that anypony would try and track him down. And the ponies that did track him down had only one thing on their minds. For Flaxseed, it had been nothing short of stunning that the gray pegasus courier hadn't attacked him on sight, much less after he'd...
Flaxseed snapped his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously. Getting anxious would only make things worse now. They came out too easily these days when he got anxious. It was partly his own fault. Once he got on a worrying train of thought, it almost always immediately led him into a downward spiral of anger and fear, until he had talked himself into a corner where he felt genuinely afraid for his life. Then they showed. Even ponies who knew nothing of the lore and superstition surrounding his condition marked him as a freak. It was simply better to not deal with ponies at all.
Then why am I on my way to meet this Twilight Sparkle? He'd mostly told the gray pegasus that he'd come to Ponyville as a means of getting her out of his apartment. That would buy him enough time to move somewhere else, before that Twilight mare could get impatient and check up on him again. That was his usual procedure.
But then he had seen the newspaper article, on the front page of the Equestrian Times no less. It was a picture of a young colt, a young colt who apparently had the same condition that Flaxseed had. He was standing there, staring unashamedly into the camera, his eyes fully visible. As Flaxseed read the article, he'd been presented with another picture of the colt contentedly curled up in the arms of the pegasus mare who had adopted him.
The colt lived in Ponyville. He had been hunted as well, had to deal with threats to his life even now. And yet, he had boldly come forward and announced his existence and location to all of Equestria. Flaxseed thought it a ridiculously foolish move. But, at the same time, he couldn't help but put a little more stock in the things the gray pegasus had told him. Maybe going to Ponyville wouldn't be signing his death warrant.
Yeah, and maybe the past few years of my life have just been a bad dream, he thought wryly. Still, he had made his decision. Ultimately, there was nothing left but to accept the consequences. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I chewed my way out of a trap.
Rarity hummed a pleasant tune as she made her way back to the boutique, her groceries floating along in a few bags, drifting in the current of her magic. After beholding a finished project that you had spent days, or even weeks, working on in all its full glory, there was nothing quite so satisfying as a successful shopping expedition, even if it was little more than a grocery run. With this latest run, she had more than enough for meals for the next few days.
Her cash inflow had been a bit tight after suspending her business with ponies in Canterlot, but Rarity was still feeling optimistic. Fancy Pants had promised that he would do his best to make things better, so that she could sell her work, safe in the assumption that it wasn't part of some larger ploy to manipulate her and her friends.
She still remembered Twilight's stories about Steel Flint's party and the mares there, who had worn many of Rarity's more outdated designs in an attempt to catch Twilight's attention. The alabaster mare shuddered at the thought of such important mares wearing outfits so hideously out of vogue.
Still, Rarity hoped against hope that such a problem would soon be a thing of the past. She had even heard some more promising news recently. Apparently, Parliament had voted to once again start issuing Royal Warrants, with full support from Princess Celestia. With the dresses she had made for the princesses for various occasions, Rarity was sure that she was more than qualified for one. To make matters even better, so was Applejack. After all, Sweet Apple Acres apples had been a staple of the royal table since the farm's establishment. If she and Applejack managed secure Royal Warrants for their respective businesses, it would grant them a measure of protection that would discourage any future attempts to undermine their financial stability.
Still, it wouldn't be until the spring Parliament sessions that the requirements for eligibility and the means of issuing the warrants themselves would be hammered out. So they would have to remain cautious a little longer. But Rarity found herself feeling hopeful.
However, if every cloud has its silver lining, then it also stood to reason that, wherever there was silver lining, there was a fairly intimidating cloud. The fact of the matter was, while the future looked hopeful, the present was more than a little troublesome. It had only been a day or so since Dawn returned from his recent journey to Diamond Mountain, Canterlot, and back again. His sudden departure had, of course, nearly driven Fluttershy up the wall in anxiety. While they all knew that Dawn's skills would probably see him through this crisis, that didn't stop his mother and poor Scootaloo from worrying themselves sick about when he would come back, or what state he would come back in. Fortunately, Dawn had returned free of injuries this time.
And, of course, there were Rarity's problems with her own sister. Poor Sweetie Belle had been decidedly unhappy as of late. The fact that her two closest friends had found their cutie marks before her had driven the poor dear to distress. To complicate the problem, while Rarity, along with many others, including no less a mare than Sapphire Shores herself, thought Sweetie Belle's angelic voice to be the root of her cutie mark, Sweetie Belle was not in agreement. The young unicorn filly still refused the notion of singing in front of an audience and didn't seem to think that singing was her calling in life. However, nopony had any idea as to what else it might be that Sweetie could do to find her cutie mark.
Fortunately, Sweetie had consolation in the form of Rumble, the dark-gray pegasus colt who had once pined after Scootaloo. However, upon being rejected, Rumble and Sweetie had grown quite close and ended up going to the Harvest Festival together. It was fairly clear to anypony who looked at them now that Rumble and Sweetie were each other's special someponies. Even more importantly, Rumble was the model of a gentlecolt, being kind and attentive to Sweetie, always doing his best to comfort her and never once expressing any frustration with Sweetie's continually deteriorating temperament. More than once, Rarity had walked into the Boutique's kitchen to see Rumble gently holding Sweetie Belle in his arms as she sniffled into his shoulder. It would have been absolutely adorable if it weren't so distressing that Sweetie was getting so torn up about this cutie mark business.
Rarity was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost failed to notice the blonde coat of a pony directly in front of her. Before she realized it, she had nearly walked straight into the unicorn stallion making his way down the road from the train station.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."
The stallion acknowledged her with little more than a mumble before continuing on his way. Irritated that her apology had been brushed off like that, Rarity turned to watch him go, a reprimand on her lips, but still held within her mouth because it wasn't polite to shout at a pony when you were the one who nearly bumped into him, even if his response had been rather rude.
However, her frustration died a whimpering death on her lips as she got a good look at the stallion that she had nearly barreled into. That frustration was quickly replaced with shock. He's so...so...so...shabby! The horror!
If anypony could be called a fixer-upper, then it would definitely be this stallion. His golden coat, which would have probably shined under the afternoon sun, had it been clean, was stained with dirt and filth accumulated after who knew how many days since a bath. His mane was black, but shot through with random streaks of gray, as was his tail. Both were tangled and knotted, having clearly never seen the business end of a brush for weeks. His saddlebags were worn and misshapen from being stuffed past capacity. On the whole, this was clearly a stallion who had seen better days. Rarity was so shocked by his state of uncleanliness that she scarcely noticed the image of an open ledger that decorated his flanks.
This is hideous! I cannot allow such a crime against fabulosity to persist! I must take him to my boutique at once. Such a pony should not see the light of day until he has had a bath and a proper grooming session. Rarity lifted her hoof, ready to call out to the stallion, but hesitated.
This wouldn't be the first time she had dragged an unfamiliar pony to her boutique in order to help with his appearance and the previous occasions had been mixed bags. Once, she had dragged a beige earth pony in so that she could work on his traveling cloak, only to find out that said pony was, in fact, a member of the Celestial Order of Knights, one of the most powerful and fearsome warriors in all of Equestria. Said stallion was now running teahouse right next to the library and was Twilight Sparkle's coltfriend to boot.
The second time had been decidedly less pleasant for Rarity, when she found that the young stallion she had dragged into her shop was a psychopathic mercenary with wings forged from pure mithril. That had been a decidedly harrowing experience for her as she had been forced to create a new traveling cloak for the cream-colored colt. Well...forced was a poor choice of word. Perlin Bluestreak had asked very politely and had refused to threaten her if she declined. Still, that hadn't made the experience any more pleasant.
But, was she really prepared to risk bringing an unknown pony back into her home and workspace simply because of his lack of attention to his own grooming? She couldn't say that she was, certainly not if it meant risking bringing another madpony into her abode. Besides, she and her friends had to be extra cautious now. Ever since Dawn had been featured in a front page article in the Equestrian Times, some of the ponies visiting Ponyville had come with the intention of ending the poor colt's life. In fact, barely more than a day after Dawn had left on his trip to Diamond Mountain, a small mob of ponies had arrived and had been in the process of making their way to Fluttershy's cottage. Rarity shuddered to think what might have happened had Red River and Storm Front, the two mercenaries hired to help keep the peace in just such a situation, not apprehended the group.
Rarity was once again lost in her own thoughts, too lost to notice that she had been staring at the unkempt stallion for longer than was polite, too lost to notice that the stallion had realized that she was staring at him.
"What do you want?" he growled.
"I-I...I'm sorry," stammered Rarity, a bit nervous now. She hadn't meant to stare at him after all, much less be caught at it. Furthermore, his attitude could not be called pleasant. "I meant nothing by it. You're just...just..."
"Just what?" asked the stallion, turning to regard her, his body tensing.
Rarity was a bit surprised. Though the stallion's tone was aggressive, his posture was anything but. From the way he shuffle from one leg to the other and leaned away from her, it seemed he was more likely to run, rather than attack. Though he seemed angry, it seemed, even more, that he was actually afraid of her.
Oh hay with it! Rarity thought in frustration. She couldn't keep it to herself any longer. "You're just so filthy!" she exclaimed, though her volume hardly rose above a normal speaking tone, "When was the last time you had a bath darling? Your coat is hideous and your mane and tail are in need of a serious grooming."
"That's none of your business," snapped the stallion, "I'm just here to see somepony, then I'll be leaving. Just stay out of my way and don't bother me!"
Rarity gulped. More than ever, she was certain that she didn't want to provoke this stallion any further. "O-of course. I'll just leave you be then..." she began to back away.
The stallion's almond-colored eyes were running back and forth as though he were frantically looking for something. A second later, his horn lit up. Rarity heard something snap off to one side of them. Turning to look, she saw a large tree branch suspended in the stallion's magic as he swung it at her hard. With a shriek, Rarity lunged out of the way, barely avoiding the clumsy swing as it slammed the branch into the ground hard enough to crack it in two.
"What do you think you're doing, you brute!" she screamed at the stallion as he levitated the branch up in front of him, keeping the jagged, broken end pointed at her like a spear.
"Stay away from me!" snarled the stallion, "Get out of here and leave me alone!"
If his outburst had been intended to allow him to move about the town unmolested, it was backfiring horribly, as the stallion's actions were drawing more and more attention by the moment. Unfortunately for him, many of the ponies currently watching were either friends, acquaintances, or at least customers of hers, while he was a completely unfamiliar face.
"Unbelievable! I was leaving!" snapped Rarity, still not taking her eyes off the branch. It trembled and wobbled unsteadily in the grip of the stallion's magic, a sign that his self-control was wavering. It was clear that this pony was frightened to the point of irrationality. Deciding that confrontation was hardly a good idea, Rarity continued to slowly back away. If she followed through with what she said she was doing, then, perhaps the stallion would calm down to the point that he would no longer attack her. It's certainly worth a try in any case.
However, the stallion's condition seemed to be deteriorating by the second. His stick was wavering drunkenly between them. Then she saw it.
One moment, the stallion's eyes were a pleasant, almond color. The next, they were a deep, blood-red. His pupils shrank and elongated vertically, becoming catlike slits. A startled gasp escaped Rarity, unable to believe her eyes. Are those...?
There seemed to be little question. Though the color was different, the eyes of the stallion in front of her now bore an uncanny resemblance to Dawn's eyes; the Eyes of Nightmare.
"Oh...my...word..." gasped Rarity. She had grown used to seeing Dawn's eyes. But to see a pair of completely normal eyes suddenly morph into that strange other form was startling and unnerving. The fact that the stallion with those eyes was behaving erratically and had even gone so far as to attack her only made things worse.
"What?" exclaimed the stallion, looking around frantically to now see that several ponies, attracted by his antics, staring at him in astonishment. When he realized what they must be seeing, he simply turned back to Rarity and snarled, "This was your plan wasn't it. You wanted to expose me."
"Absolutely not," declared Rarity imperiously, "I had no idea of your condition. There is no need to behave so uncouthly. Now that I've seen your eyes, I can understand the situation a bit better. You're here to see Twilight, aren't you? I can show you where she is, so please calm down."
"The hay with that," snarled the stallion, "I'm getting out of here! This whole thing's a setup. I won't be tricked again."
Rarity sighed. While she knew that this stallion was probably supposed to see Twilight and was probably a necessary participant in her research so that she could isolate the true cause of the Eyes of Nightmare, trying to force this pony into the library would most likely do more harm than good. It would be better to simply give him his space. If that meant that he ended up not going to Twilight, then so be it. It was still better than risking ponies getting hurt.
"If that's what you want, then I won't stop you," said Rarity, carefully stepping back and off to the side, leaving the road behind her open for the gold-colored unicorn to pass through, "Nopony here wants to hurt you. We'll just let you be."
The stallion's body was trembling, his uncanny gaze flashing from pony to pony, as though he expected them to jump him at any moment. It was clear that he didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth. He appeared to be certain that Rarity and everypony else would attack the moment his back was turned. Rarity found herself swallowing nervously and trying to back further away, in case he began lashing out.
However, it came faster than she anticipated. The stallion's hold on the tree branch suddenly firmed up and he whipped it around, sending the branch hurtling straight at Rarity's head. Rarity could only watch in horror as it spun through the air towards her face with enough speed that she wouldn't have been surprised if it cracked her skull.
At the last second, the branch split in two, the two halves spinning off on separate courses that took them to either side of her head, leaving a stunned mare, standing there, utterly flummoxed by her good luck.
"That's enough." The tone was calm, self-assured, lacking any trace of anger, frustration, or fear. Still, it seemed to cut through all the tension in the air and make it vanish into nothingness.
The crowd around Rarity and the strange stallion parted as a familiar beige-colored stallion made his way towards them. His eyes were closed, but he moved with the assuredness of a pony who had no need for them. He approached with a smooth, even gait that made him seem to flow like water, rather than walk.
"Oh thank goodness," muttered Rarity under her breath, "You're a lifesaver, Arkenstone."
The light-brown earth pony's lips curled up in a smile at her words before he turned his attention to the visiting stallion. "Calm yourself. You are among friends."
"Yeah right," snarled the other stallion, backing away, "I've heard that before."
Arkenstone briefly turned his attention to the watching crowd. "Everypony else needs to leave and go about their business. There's nothing for you to do here." Though most ponies only knew him as the eccentric stallion who ran the teashop by the library, the authority in his voice seemed to compel them to obedience. Slowly, reluctantly, the crowd began to break up.
"Now then," said Arkenstone, turning his attention back to the visitor, "Is that better?"
The gold-colored unicorn didn't seem to know what to say. His eyes flickered, trying to trace the various paths ponies took as they dispersed, as though he still expected a sudden ambush.
"Easy now," said Arkenstone, smiling warmly at the visitor, "You're among friends. You have nothing to fear."
The stallion's mouth worked, as though he wanted to protest, but couldn't find the words. His fear and anger seemed to slide over Arkenstone like water around a rock in the river, the feelings finding no purchase or hold. Slowly, his trembles began to ease.
"Now then, perhaps some introductions should help," said Arkenstone, "I am Arkenstone, the proprietor of Ponyville's teahouse." How bobbed his head politely. "And over here is Miss Rarity, the owner of Carousel Boutique."
"Charmed," said Rarity, dipping her head in a similar manner. She was still more than a little agitated by the unknown stallion's erratic behavior, but understood well enough that now was not the time to express it.
"May I ask your name?" inquired Arkenstone politely.
"F-Flaxseed," stammered the stallion, his voice having fallen almost to a whisper.
"I see," said Arkenstone, still smily politely and calmly, "I assume then that you are one of the ponies that Twilight Sparkle contacted regarding a certain eye condition."
"Y-you know about that?" asked Flaxseed, his nervousness redoubling.
"Well yes," said Arkenstone, "She is my fillyfriend after all, so she's told me a great deal about her research."
"Th-then it's true," said Flaxseed, "There really is somepony else here like me?"
"Ah, you mean Dawn," said Arkenstone, "Yes, though his condition is slightly different than yours. Perhaps you would like to meet him."
"Is it that easy?" asked Flaxseed, his tone still somewhat defensive.
Arkenstone nodded. "As a matter of fact, he works for me. He's at my teahouse right now, which happens to be adjacent to the library, which would be your destination, since you're here to see Twilight. Why don't we introduce you two."
Flaxseed gulped and hesitated. Ultimately, however, he nodded.
Arkenstone turned his muzzle towards Rarity. "I can take it from here. Perhaps you'd like to drop by the library later to check up on things."
Rarity nodded in agreement, remembering her groceries, which needed tending to. "Of course."
Arkenstone nodded back at her and set off towards the library, Flaxseed following haltingly in his wake. Rarity watched them go, her mind still reeling, trying to process the situation. Now that she had seen his eyes, Rarity had a better understanding of the situation. This stallion had clearly been on the receiving end of unkind attentions because of his eyes in the past. It was clear that whatever he had experienced had driven him into an unstable paranoia, where he was just as likely to attack as he was to run. He was so concerned with his own survival that he'd never spared a thought towards his appearance. In spite of how close she had come to having her skull split open, Rarity couldn't bring herself to feel anything but sympathy for the poor stallion.
Flaxseed stared. He didn't care that it was rude. He didn't care that it was calling a lot of attention to him. He didn't even care that the pony he was staring at had noticed and was returning the favor. Flaxseed just couldn't bring himself to wrench his eyes away from the ebony colt standing before him.
"You're staring," commented Arkenstone wryly, off to the side.
"As am I," said Dawn, "Perhaps you could introduce us."
"Of course," said Arkenstone. He gestured to the colt. "This is Dawn Lightwing. He is actually the son of Miss Fluttershy, who recently adopted him. As you can see, his condition is a bit more prominent and visible than yours."
"They really do look like Nightmare Moon's eyes," whispered Flaxseed.
"I'm surprised that yours would be a different color," commented Dawn, "I hadn't realized this condition varied like that." He had gotten a very good look at Flaxseed's eyes. The moment Flaxseed had seen Dawn, he had been so shocked that his eyes transformed automatically.
"I actually knew about that already," said Twilight Sparkle as she walked in the teahouse door. Arkenstone had sent Apple Bloom along to the library to let her know the moment he arrived. The filly had complied with commendable alacrity. "The Eyes of Nightmare are actually known to come in a variety of colors and almost never a pony's original eye color," she continued, barely aware of the fact that Flaxseed had transferred his attention to her and was now sidling away, slowly working himself over to one of the walls, "The author of the Cult Solar text that first described the condition actually went so far as to fabricate a wide variety of demons that could be classified according to the color of the manifested Eyes. The highest-ranked demons had eyes like Dawn's, with color that matched Nightmare Moon's."
"Interesting," said Dawn.
Twilight nodded. "It's a shame that I keep having to reference the Cult Solar's texts on the subject, but they are the first written source to actually describe the condition and, ludicrous demonological speculation aside, they do serve as a fairly accurate description of symptoms of the condition and the roots of its manifestation; at least, that's what my research has shown so far.
"That's...reassuring, I suppose," mused Dawn, tipping his head slightly.
"So," said Twilight, turning her attention to Flaxseed, "You must be the stallion Ditzy told me about."
"The gray mare with funny eyes?" asked Flaxseed by way of confirmation.
"The same," said Twilight, "Though I'd ask you to be more polite about her eyes. She has a condition that she can’t help any more than you can help yours."
"Sorry," said Flaxseed, his ears going back at her remonstration.
Twilight sighed before giving the stallion a friendly smile. "Sorry. Ditzy's an important friend of mine and she really went out on a limb tracking you and the other ponies I researched down so that I could ask you here to Ponyville."
She lifted a hoof, possibly in an attempt to pat Flaxseed's shoulder reassuringly. However, before she could reach out, Arkenstone restrained her foreleg with his own. She looked at her coltfriend in confusion as Arkenstone shook his head before gesturing slightly towards Flaxseed. Now Twilight could see that he had flinched away from her slightly.
“Um…” she said, realizing the visiting stallion was clearly uncomfortable around all these unknown ponies.
“Perhaps, since he is here, you should go ahead with your tests,” suggested Arkenstone politely, “That is what you invited him here for, correct?”
“Yes,” said Twilight, before turning her attention to Flaxseed, “Is that alright with you?”
Once again, Flaxseed's gaze flicked nervously about. “I…I guess…”
“How about I come with you,” suggested Dawn, “If I’m there as well, you’ll have nothing to fear.”
Flaxseed looked back down at the colt and gulped nervously, wondering just how he was so calm and composed. If anything, Dawn’s situation should have been worse than his own, what with his eyes always seeming to be locked in that state. And yet, he moved amongst these ponies without worry or concern.
"A-are you sure?" asked Flaxseed.
Dawn nodded. "Everything will be alright. Let's just get Twilight Sparkle's tests out of the way. I can attest that some of them are a little...uncomfortable, but nothing painful."
"If you say so," said Flaxseed.
"Well, the sooner we get started, the sooner we finish," said Twilight, "So let's head back to the library."
"Sure," said Flaxseed with a tired sigh, "Let's get this over with." He was getting a little tired of jumping at every shadow by this point. Part of him was still waiting for the other horseshoe to drop. However, staying afraid of everything was proving very tiring. The fact that Dawn was here, in this town, was encouraging enough that Flaxseed was willing to lower his guard a little.
With that, Twilight led Flaxseed and Dawn out of the teahouse and into the library, where her tests could begin.
Rarity knocked politely at the door to the library before opening it. While the library was technically a public building, the fact that it was also Twilight's home meant, at the very least, she should observe proper decorum before going inside. She wasn't sure what she expected to find when she opened the door. It had taken her a while to get back to her boutique and get the groceries put away. Then, she had seen to tidying the place up somewhat before deciding to drop by the library and see if the gold-colored stallion had actually submitted to Twilight's tests. Flaxseed had proven to be extremely nervous and excitable. Worse, he was prone to violence when he felt threatened, which was apparently quite frequently. She wondered just how he would handle some of the tests that Twilight had planned for him.
Already, her mind was conjuring an image of a terrified Flaxseed wildly swinging a chair in his magic, desperately trying to drive Twilight back.
"But I need to be thorough!" she would shout.
"I sincerely doubt that a colonoscopy is going to tell you anything about my eyes!" he'd shout back.
However, much to her relief, when she stepped into the library, she found that the place was quiet, deserted almost. There were no signs of violence, no indicator that Twilight had been forced to defend herself from one of Flaxseed's outbursts. Glancing about the main room, she suddenly noticed Spike, moving from shelf to shelf with the feather-duster in hand.
"Hello Spike," she said as she stepped further in, "Did that stallion ever show up here?"
"You mean the guy that Twilight wanted to run her tests on?" asked Spike, by way of clarification. When Rarity nodded, he grinned. "Yeah, they went right down to the lab. Dawn's there too. I think he's trying to help keep the other guy calm."
"That would make sense," said Rarity thoughtfully, "I'm sure that meeting Dawn would probably do wonders for that poor stallion's sense of security."
"I don't know how long Twilight was planning on taking, but they've been down there for a while," said Spike before turning back to his work. "I think it's okay to go down there if you want to see them," he added.
"I think I will," said Rarity before she made her way towards the door leading to the basement. Slowly, she nudged the door open before poking her head through to take a look around. One could never be certain what to expect when one took a peek into Twilight's laboratory when she was in her "Science Zone" as Rarity called it.
The first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. There was only the faint beeping of some kind of machinery, presumably one of Twilight's analytical devices. Once Rarity was certain that there was nothing on the verge of blowing up, she stepped all the way through the door and shut it quietly behind her. Now she had a clear view of what was going on down below.
Flaxseed was suspended in some kind of machine so that his legs and front body were immobilized. A helmet, shaped like an overturned bowl rested on his head. Wires snaked out of the helmet and into a blocky machine, which spat out a seemingly endless sheet of paper. Twilight was currently minding the machine, her eyes reading over whatever data the device was providing her.
"Alright," she said, after a moment, "This is good...though it's kinda weird to get baseline data after the actual test."
"I'm sorry," said Flaxseed, sounding genuinely apologetic.
"You don't need to apologize," said Twilight, not even looking up from her readouts, "What's important is that we got clear data from when you're in a normal state and from when the eyes are active. That's exactly what I was looking for." She frowned a little. "Though, for a baseline, you have awfully high stress levels."
"I-I can't help it," said Flax, looking down, his eyes running over the floor.
"In other words, you've frequently been afraid for your life," said Dawn, slowly stepping into Flax's view, a kind smile on his face, "You're in an unfamiliar situation, with unfamiliar ponies, whom you've been placing a lot of trust in. It's understandable that you're so tense."
"I think we're just about done for the day," said Twilight, "I'd like to run this test at least one more time, hopefully when you've managed to calm down some more."
Deciding that this was her chance to make her presence known, Rarity coughed to draw some attention to herself. "Excuse me," she said in her most lilting tone, waving at the trio from up above.
"Oh!" said Twilight, smiling as she looked up, "Hi Rarity. When did you get here?"
"Just a moment ago, darling," said Rarity as she began to make her descent. She noticed that Flaxseed was studiously avoiding eye-contact with her as Dawn helped him out of Twilight's apparatus. She also noticed a faint blush on the stallion's cheeks. She realized that he was probably embarrassed about his earlier outburst and the fact that he'd nearly hurt her badly.
"Ah," said Twilight, before turning to Flaxseed, "Flaxseed, this is Rarity, one of my good friends."
"Yes..." said Flaxseed, averting his eyes from Twilight as well, "We met."
"Um..." Twilight looked from Flax to Rarity and back again, a bit confused by his behavior.
"Pay it no mind, Twilight," said Rarity, "We had a slight misunderstanding. That was all. Is everything going alright here?"
"Pretty much," said Twilight, quickly latching onto Rarity's question. Rarity was only too happy to shift the topic of conversation away from the altercation she and the stallion had had earlier, if only for his sake. "I've put him through quite a few of the same tests I've conducted on Dawn. But I feel that his emotional state has affected the results somewhat. I'd like to run them again at a later time, if that's at all possible."
"How much later are we talking about?" asked Rarity.
Twilight shrugged. "However long it takes him to feel comfortable in Ponyville. His nervousness and high levels of stress are the main factors skewing my results. But there's a problem with that..."
"...Namely how long he can afford to spend in Ponyville," guessed Rarity, getting her friend's point. After all, Flaxseed had come quite a long way to submit himself to Twilight's battery of tests. It wasn't really fair to ask that he stay for any period longer than he felt that he could before his obligations at home called him back.
"So how long do you have until you have to return home?" asked Rarity, turning her attention back to Flaxseed, "I'm certain you have plenty of other claims to your time."
"Uh...not really," confessed Flaxseed, looking down again, "I don't really...have a home right now."
"What?" gasped Rarity, "What do you mean?"
"What about where Ditzy found you?" asked Twilight, equally shocked.
"I moved out as soon as she was gone," replied Flaxseed, "I couldn't really believe anything she told me about what you wanted. I'd thought that, if you'd already figured out where I lived, you'd be coming for me before long. So I packed up what I could and left."
"You did that?" exclaimed Rarity, "But what about your job, your friends-"
"I didn't have either," snapped Flaxseed, a slight note of frustration and anger in his voice, "It's been years since I was able to hold down a job longer than a few months. I don't bother trying to make friends with anypony anymore. Either they think I'm a freak when they find out about my eyes or I have to move when..." His voice trailed off, but the other three ponies in the room immediately understood what he was getting at.
"I'm so sorry," said Twilight, her voice almost a whisper, "I had no idea you had it so difficult. But what changed your mind about coming to see me?"
"Well, it was the article," said Flaxseed, "When I saw that picture of this kid..." He jerked a hoof at Dawn, "...I thought that, maybe, there was some truth to what that gray mare had been saying. So I decided to give Ponyville a try."
"So..." said Rarity, "In other words, you currently have no home, no occupation, and no expectations for your future. Is that right?"
Flaxseed gave her a shaky nod. "That about sums it up."
"I see," said Rarity, "But there is one advantage to this. If you have nothing pressing demanding your return to wherever, then you are free to stay in Ponyville as long as you need to."
"But, I don't have anywhere to stay," protested Flaxseed, "I have enough for maybe a night at the inn, but that's as far as it goes. I've got no job, no income..."
"Oh pish tosh darling," said Rarity imperiously, "There is absolutely no need for you to worry about those things. A job will come in time. But in the meantime, I will be happy to have you as a guest in my home."
"What?" exclaimed Twilight.
"What?" repeated Flaxseed, more than a little shocked that the mare he had nearly brained with a tree branch was willing to open her home to him.
Dawn said nothing, merely looking back and forth between the participants of the conversation, feeling a slight hint of deja vu, given the similarities between Flaxseed's situation and his own.
"Rarity, are you sure about this?" asked Twilight, "I mean, right out of the blue..."
"Oh, it's nothing Twilight," said Rarity with a giggle, "I will be more than able to support a guest in my home. More importantly, it will allow Mister Flaxseed to be available for your tests for as long as you need. Most importantly of all, right now, Ponyville may very well be the safest place in Equestria for ponies with his condition."
Twilight blinked, having a little trouble trying to fault Rarity's judgment. However, she couldn't really find any objections to make, nor did she want to make any objections. Having spent the past few hours dealing with Flaxseed and observing just how scarred and traumatized he had been by his previous experiences, she couldn't fault Rarity's desire to provide him with a place of safety and comfort, surrounded by ponies they could count on to not try and hurt him.
The only real concern she had was how jumpy the poor stallion was. Without Dawn present to act as a source of reassurance, Twilight would have been amazed if she'd been able to get Flax through even half the tests he had planned for him. It was clear that, even more than he was a pony who had a piece of the puzzle that would lead to the answers they sought regarding the Eyes of Nightmare, Flaxseed was also a stallion that they needed to help. There was certainly no chance now that she or any of their other friends could bring themselves to simply send the stallion on his way into an uncertain future once they had what they needed.
"A-are you sure about this?" asked Flaxseed, fixing Rarity with a disbelieving look.
Rarity nodded and gave the gold-colored stallion her most sincere smile. "My dear, I honestly extend you an invitation to stay with me and my sister at our home. I'm sure that you will be quite comfortable there and, more importantly, quite safe."
She raised a hoof tentatively. Flaxseed flinched back away from the movement. However, Rarity refused to lower the proffered limb and instead held it steady in front of her. It took a few long seconds for Flaxseed to grasp what she was doing before he reached out with his own hoof an brought it to hers. The two shook slowly before Rarity lowered hers and Flaxseed followed suit.
"A-alright I guess," said Flaxseed, "Thank you for offering me a place to stay."
"Excellent," said Rarity with a wide smile, "Then, if you are done with the experiments today, why don't I go ahead and show you to your new home then."
Flaxseed directed a questioning look to Twilight, who simply smiled. "I've gotten all the data I need for the day," she said, "Feel free to drop by anytime. The library is always open to you. I can also probably help you with finding a job later."
"I will help as best I can," added Dawn. He came a bit closer to Flaxseed, giving the stallion an encouraging smile. "You needn't fear anything from anypony here."
"But what about those cult jerks?" asked Flaxseed, "Aren't they coming after you here; especially after you plastered your face up for the whole of Equestria to see?"
"Well, yes..." admitted Dawn a bit sheepishly, "That was somewhat deliberate on our part as it allows us to capture members of the Cult Solar and learn more about the organization as a whole. But, keep in mind, that they are coming after me. I sincerely doubt that they know about you. Think of me as a lightning rod. I will draw them away from you by drawing their wrath onto myself."
"Are you crazy?" asked the shocked stallion, "You're just a kid!"
"One who is more than capable of defending himself," replied Dawn assuredly, "Just don't worry. You're safe and among friends here."
Flaxseed gulped and nodded. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. If you say so..."
"Well, now that we've taken care of that, let's go back to my boutique and get you settled," declared Rarity, "Come along." She turned and began to walk up the stairs to the ground floor of the library.
Flaxseed nodded dumbly and followed in her wake.