Penned IN

by Qwix

Chapter 10: The Search

First on the list: Rarity's house. He doubled back to poke through his basket where he slept for clues, finding a small shrine hidden beneath the floorboards with a picture of her in the center. …A place to start, I guess, he reasoned.

Arriving there, he knocked on the door; Rarity answered. "Oh! Hello, Pennaprose. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Hello, Rarity. Spike's gone missing and–"

"Little Spikey-wikey? Missing? How far have you checked?"

"Well, we—that is, Twilight and I—just discovered and I thought I'd check here first. Have you seen him around?"

She put a hoof to her mouth. "Hm… I think I spotted him talking to Fluttershy earlier. Maybe she knows where he went?"

"Thanks for the lead! I'll ask her, then."

"Oh, happy to help! Though I still stand by it, you simply must carve out a little time someday to help with my modeling, you're just the right size for it! Later though, Spike comes first! Byyyee~!" She closed the door, sending a small shower of debris from above onto his head. The hole was shoddily patched up, enough to stop the weather. He cringed as he looked upon it, but forced the sudden surge of guilt away.

There's bigger fish to fry, he thought.

He galloped over to Fluttershy's house, basing it off his limited experience with Twilight's description. With a small amount of trouble, he eventually found it; upon a hill, it sat rather large yet unassuming. He knocked on the door.

A moment passed in silence, and all he could hear is small squeaks from behind it. Concerned, he moved to knock again, but as he did, the lower half of the split door opened up and a bunny peered out at him. He stared at it in confusion as it beckoned him with its paw to come inside.

He tentatively pushed the rest of the door open. "Fluttershy? Are you in–Fluttershy! What happened!?"

She was lying on her side on the floor of her own living room, wings splayed across the table and couch. "Huh? Pennaprose, is that you? I can't see. Angel, can you turn my head a little…?"

The bunny she addressed as Angel tugged at her mane until she could see him. "I'm afraid I've partaken in some paralytic berries. I'm paralyzed from the neck down right now, so I can't move, but I can still speak."

"…Okay, but how–?"

"I think enough juvenile berries made it into the batch of jam I was making to taint it. See, the jam from the berries makes a great relaxant, but only if it's ripened or diluted. Diluting it makes it taste bland, so its better to let them ripen on their own," she said, pointing to an open jar of jam and a bitten sandwich next to it with her eyes. "In small quantities, its safe enough, but it's basically a local anesthetic; too much is lethal. That's why I said not to pick the green ones."

Another wave of guilt washed over him mixed with annoyance as he remembered Lyra sweeping up most of the green ones. "Aw, geez. Are you going to be all right?"

"Oh, I'm not alone. I have Angel to help me and floor is fairly comfortable for now. The effects depend on the dose, and all I had was a single bite of that sandwich. It should only last another hour or so, but thank you for your concern. Um, was there any other reason you came?"

"…Oh! Yes, there was," said Pennaprose, memory jogged. "Spike is missing and Rarity said she saw you talking with him earlier. Do you know where he went?"

"Hm… I met him on the way to Twilight's, he said he was doing some shopping for dinner ingredients. I handed him the jam I was already going to give to him, then came back here," she pondered as Angel tried to shove her into a less-awkward position. "Oof... thanks for trying, Angel. He stopped by here again just a little bit ago to ask if he could borrow a spatula. I didn't have a clean one, so I suggested Pinkie might have one?"

"Oh… okay, thanks! I'll check over at Sugarcube Corner then! …But are you really fine with lying on the ground for another hour?"

"Eheheh… if I have to?"

Pennaprose shook his head. "…I'll help you into your bed at least. I've done nothing but screw up since I've got here, it seems."

He levitated her with little difficulty—Remarkably light, she is, he thought—and followed Angel into Fluttershy's room. He set her down on her covers, letting Angel mess with the blankets. "Thank you, Pennaprose! Hope you find Spike soon enough!"

He nodded distractedly, mumbling acknowledgment before slipping out of her room and out of the house altogether. Dragons lay eggs, I think, but this is a wild goose chase if I've ever seen one, thought Pennaprose. He headed back into Ponyville proper, making a beeline for Sugarcube Corner.

He trotted in without knocking, figuring Pinkie would be nearly done with that massive order anyway. It was just as much of a mess as he remembered, but as he stepped into the kitchen, something whizzed past his line of sight mere inches from his face. He instinctively tried to back up, slipping on some stray dough and hitting the back of his head on the same pan he hit on his way out earlier that day.

"Huh? Whatcha doin' back here, Pennaprose? Though you and Twilight headed home for the day," came Pinkie's voice from somewhere above him.

He rubbed the back of his head while trying to get up. "That's, ow… just it. We got back home and Spike was missing, so I went out looking for him. I asked Rarity, who said Fluttershy talked with him, who said he came here–"

"–to ask if he could borrow a spatula, right?" she finished.

"Yes, actually," he said.

"Yeah, I lent him one. I wasn't using it, partly because I dug out this thing." She grabbed what appeared to be a machine gun from behind her back. There was an impossible amount of tubes and wires protruding from it, as well as a clip of unfrosted cupcakes dangling from it.

"This thing is saving me so much time with the frosting, I'm glad I invented it yesterday. It can shoot cupcakes (or muffins, pancakes, or parenthesis, same ammo really) at the rate of… like, way fast. I splattered the rest of the icing you made on the wall and have been shooting them at the wall, meaning I can frost these things super quick. I call it… the 'Super Sacred Supper Semi-Automatic Sassy Cupcake Soaker Server-er-er 6000 (Now with 20% more things with the stuffing, upgraded from the 5000 model)'!"

He stared at the gun, then at the wall. Surely enough, there was at least two batches of cupcakes sticking out of the wall. Pinkie pranced over and grabbed one; it came out of the wall with a perfectly swirled top. "Anyways, do you know where Spike went after that?"

"Oh, he and Lyra–"

"Lyra? Yeah, good point, where'd she go too?"

Pinkie gave him a knowing glance. "Oh, the two of them left. There was quite a lot of extra batter left, and Lyra asked if she could have it. I didn't see why not, just means it's less for me to clean up. But I don't know where they went after that, sorry," she said as she fired another round at the wall.

She pulled a few of them out of the wall, setting them on the counter. "…Hey, hold on… the jam Fluttershy left is gone! Drat, I was going to eat the whole thing too…"

Pennaprose looked back from the wall to her. "Oh, trust me, be glad you didn't. It was tainted with some sort of paralytic substance. I found Fluttershy in her house, stuck on the floor because of eating a sandwich with a spread of it."

Pinkie furrowed her brow. "Now that's silly of her. Did she forget that every sandwich needs a little cheese? But anyway, sorry I can't help you about Spike. Maybe AJ's seen him, I don't know. Ask around~"

He sighed, thanking her for her help anyway and trotted out the door. He had no leads now, and the sun was already setting. He shuffled off towards Sweet Apple Acres halfheartedly.

As he strolled up to the sun-kissed branches alive with new leaves that foretold the Acres, he noticed a plume of steady smoke rising somewhere in the field. He idly wondered what it was, but drifted his attention away to see a mare he presumed was AJ and Big Mac, hauling a load of farm equipment into a barn ahead. He sped up to reach them.

"Applejack, I take it?" he asked.

The mare spun around with a curious look on her face. "Heh? Who're you now? Ah wait, yer that pony Twilight's helpin', right? Now ah don't think we've rightly met, ah am Applejack. Ah don't if you've met Big Mac, but–"

"Eeyup."

"Well, awlright. What's yer name, stranger?"

"Pennaprose."

"Well, howdy Pemaprose. Odd name, you from Canterlot or something?"

Pemaprose? he thought. The butchering of his name bothered him slightly, but something in his tattered memories stirred. He quelled it for now. "Er… yes. I'm out and about because Spike's gone missing. I asked Rarity, who said Fluttershy talked to him, who said he borrowed a spatula from Pinkie, who said to ask you. So uh… have you?"

"Spike? Yeah, ah saw him 5 minutes ago. He was with that nutcase Lyra and a wagon full-a stuff. A jar of sumthin', a spatula, and the biggest darn bucket of sumthin' else I ever saw. Think that trail of smoke's where they're at. That help you any?"

He swiveled to look at the smoke trail again. "Yes, that's exactly what I needed to know, thanks!" He set off at a modestly fast pace.

"Yer welcome!" Applejack called.

He brushed past the leaves, a sweet smell wafting around the premise. The sun had set completely now; an odd, green glow was flecking of the leaves in the descending darkness as he approached the source of the flame.

He poked his head out of the bush; a platform of emerald fire swirled through the air, rising around the base of a bucket. He spotted Spike at the same time he spotted him; before he could speak, Spike rushed over.

"Uh, hey! You might want to leave before Lyra sees you!" he whispered.

"Twilight's looking for you, you know–"

"I heard. But hold on. Hide!"

He shoved Pennaprose's muzzle into the bush before he could say anything. "Hey Lyra! Is that all you wanted from me?" Spike asked.

Her voice came from somewhere behind the bucket, amidst the slow crackle of the fire. "Yeah, yeah, thanks for the help! I'll take it from here…"

"Right, bye!" He turned back to Pennaprose, who was brushing leaves out of his mane. "…Okay, let's go home. I'll tell you the abridged story on the way."

He glanced at the bucket, then resigned himself towards asking questions right away. Without another word, they set off together.

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