//------------------------------// // Meeting up // Story: The More Things Change // by The Crane //------------------------------// Five new visitors have appeared, scattered around the town of Ponyville. Each of them comment to their origin "not here." They are all lost and searching for their friends while unsure of where they are. In the center of this town of talking ponies is a great tree. The term 'treehouse' takes a whole new meaning as there is definitely a structure in its branches. But upon further inspection, it is also hollow and filled with books. "Come on in," Twilight offers. Her horn glows a dark pink as the door opens with a similar colored aura. She watches her yellow friend with pink mane and tail walk in as she has done on countless occasions before. She turns and looks about. "Kat?" she asks. "I'm in here!" a voice calls from inside the structure. "So many books!!" Twilight walks inside with a bemused expression. "This should be interesting!" she comments. "Spike!!" she shouts up into the rafters. "We've got guests!!" "Coming!" a very young male's voice calls from above. Within a short time, a baby dragon zips down the stairs. "GuestSSS?" he asks as he walks across the floor. "I only see Flutter--" His sentance is quickly halted as he finds something blocking his way. An invisible... something is in front of him, but he can't see anything. "What is this?" he asks as his hands wander up the invisible thing. "It's warm and soft and--" "HEY!!!" a female voice screams. "Hands off the flanks!!!" *!!POW!!* At the outburst, Twilight looks over to find Spike flying across the room with hoofprints embedded in his face. "SPIKE!!" She quickly runs to his location and looks him over for a moment. "Are you alright?" "Look mama..." he says dazily. "I CAN fly!!" "Spike, one of our guests has some sort of invisibilty problem. You'll have to be careful." "Careful? How am I supposed to be careful around somepony I can't see?" "We brought her here to help find a way to fix that. Can you give us a hand?" "Right away!!" he says heartily with a solid salute. ==-==-== Not too much time passes before books litter the floor. This isn't the first time. This won't be the last time. Twilight and her friends have pulled books off the shelves in large numbers before while looking for answers. Collectively, they may have read the whole library at least twice by now. There are four particular 'spots' where reading is being done. Each has a pile of books and each has at least one open one. One in particular seems to be vacant, but that could very well be their mysterious guest. "Nothin'!" a voice calls as a book is tossed away. "Hey!" Fluttershy gasps happily. "Did you find something?" Twilight asks happily. With great interest, she dashes over to her friend's side. "What is it?" But, Fluttershy shrinks away a little. "I'm sorry..." "How to Train Your Phoenix?" Twilight asks with a shade of disappointment. "I like this book!" she says with an embarrassed squeak. "I'll be back," Spike notes as he walks back up the steps from whence he came. "I got snacks that should be done." He makes his way up to the living quarters above the library. As he enters, he notices something amiss. He sees another pony laying on the bed. This one just sits quietly and stares out the window. "I am not here," she says quietly. "Just... leave me alone." She has a sandy coat and darker brown mane. She sits curled up as if just waiting for the end. "Who are you?" "Nobody important," she says quietly. "Just a failure." A tear slides down her face which she doesn't even try to wipe away. "I can't do anything right..." "Look... I don't know what's going on, but maybe my friends can help! They're good at that." "NNOOO!!" she shouts. As she does, a wave of black ripples through her coat before fading again. "I just... need someplace to rest. Just leave me alone!!" "What's going on?" Twilight asks. "I heard voices." She looks ahead to the sleeping area which she knows quite well. Yet more bewilderment is added. "Who's this?" The baby dragon can only shrug his shoulders. "Never seen her before." "I'm Twilight Sparkle," she greets. "What's your name?" "Doesn't matter," she replies. "Do you need help? What's going on?" "NO!! Just go away!!" "Look," Twilight says with a stern expression. "Whatever is going on, I live here. My home and MY bed!! I can probably help you, but I would appreciate a little courtesy." There is a moment where she looks at the pair with a certain skepticism. Her gaze lowers and almost seems to melt. "Fine. I'm sorry." "Alright then," Twilight says with a renewed smile of sorts. "I have a friend downstairs. Maybe you could go talk to her." ==-==-== In time, Twilight and her new guest walk down the stairs to the main floor. Fluttershy looks up with a certain curiosity. "Another one?" she asks softly. "Yeah," Twilight replies. "She--" "Wait!!" a voice comes from nowhere. Ghostly hooves can be heard trotting towards the staircase. The mysterious sound sends a terrible tremor through Fluttershy's spine. "Tonya?!" The depressed and defeated pony looks around for a moment while further shrinking away. "Y-yes...?" she replies. "You know her?" Twilight asks. "She's a friend of mine," Kat replies happily. "It's me!! Kat!! Don't you recognize me?!" "Kat? Where are you?" Tonya wonders. "I'm right here!! Can't you see me?!" "No...." But, Kat is suddenly reminded of her condition and (presumably) looks at herself for a moment. "Oh. Right. Dangit. Where's a bag of flour when you need one?!" "Well, alright then!" Twilight says with a smile. She looks at Tonya for a long moment. "It looks as if you already have a friend here." "Yeah," Tonya says quietly. "Great." ==-==-== In time, Tonya joins the others on the main floor. Yet, she does nothing to assist her friend. She lies on the floor nearby, curled up away from all the action. If it weren't for her mane, she might look like a couch. "Is she alright?" Twilight asks. "Yeah," an invisible voice replies. "She's just moody." "I'm not moody," Tonya growls. "I'm useless." "None of what happened is your fault, Tonya. Nobody is blaming you." "We all lost! And it's my fault! If you hadn't all had to save me, none of this would've happened...." "What... happened?" Twilight asks. "I really don't want to get into this here," Kat says quietly. "Twilight, I'd appreciate it if Tonya and I could keep this to ourselves. If I went into detail, it'd be like a hot poker." Even while a serious discussion is taking place, a loud growl echoes through the library. It is quickly discerned that Tonya is the culprit as the noise originated from her direction. "Are you hungry, Tonya?" Twilight asks. "Hmm.... yeah. I could go for some fried chicken." "Fried...." Fluttershy gasps. "Chicken?" Once again she has a fearful expression on her face as she imagines such a thing. "Yeah," Tonya notes. "You know, take a chicken and pluck it. And then--" Her remaining words are cut short as her jaw seems to be held shut with an invisible force. In the meantime, Fluttershy bolts out of the library while a gust of wind carries a few books in her direction. "Forgive my friend," Kat notes. "She's not in her right mind. Ever." Tonya quietly glares at the direction of Kat's voice. After a few minutes of struggle, she is finally released. She finally rolls back into a little ball again and tries to forget there's anyone else in the room. "Fine. Eat what you want." "Is she gonna be okay?" Twilight asks. "Someday, maybe." She sighs a little. "Twilight? Can we walk?"