Strawberry Time: A RariTwi Exquisite Corpse

by SigmasonicX

7. Berried in the Stacks (trAce)

“It’s not happening.” A.K. Yearling stepped back from the castle door to catch her breath. “Any entrances that wouldn’t have gotten locked up by time?”

“The library has a reading window,” Rarity offered. “Twilight insists it has to stay closed at all times, but I open it when I can. Honestly, the dear needs fresh air and she’s not getting it any other –”

In a flash, A.K. spread her wings and dipped around the edge of the castle’s trunk.

“It’s still open!”

The four hurried after A.K. to the open window and she started ferrying everypony up one-by-one. When she got down to the last passenger, she braced her hooves under the pained alicorn’s forelegs.

“Gonna lift you up now. How’s it feeling?”

“Buh.” Twilight was still not in the greatest shape to form words and amazingly, she knew it. As she was lifted off the ground, Twilight’s eyes drifted to Ponyville in the distance—or more specifically, the fruit that now oozed from its streets. Strawberry creatures spread out from the site of their creation to cover the small field between the town and her castle.

Ooh, toast. With strawberry jam spread.

All of a sudden, Twilight’s world contracted a severe case of vertigo, causing Twilight to crash into the floor of her library.

“Oh Celestia,” A.K.’s voice said from somewhere. “I’m so sorry, Princess. We couldn’t both fit through the window, so I put you in first and tried to balance you on the sill.”

“Toast,” Twilight mumbled.

A.K. blinked. “...Agreed.” The pegasus looked up at their companions. “We should barricade the front door to keep them from– nevermind. Time spell. Any other plans?”

Rarity sidled up to Twilight and cupped her marefriend’s cheeks. “Darling, I know it hurts, but we need your beautiful brainpower right now. How can we make time move again? Or make the strawberries stop moving.”

Five hundred possibilities flashed through Twilight’s head—half of them accompanied by spikes of pain. She grit her teeth and pushed through, creating a clearer image in her mind with each wave.

“Count… –erspell,” she finally pushed out.

“Twilight Sparkle, we are in a library!” Trixie shouted from far too close. “It could take us days to find the right spellbook!”

“Five… zero four.”

“...Gluey Decimal system?” A.K. asked.

Twilight put a hoof over her eyes and nodded. “Five ze– gruh. Zero four.”

Rarity planted a gentle kiss on Twilight’s forehead and stood, marching over to the small library desk in the corner. Quickly scanning the notes pinned to its surface, she spotted the paper she knew Twilight trusted her to find.

“Five oh four, books about magic.” Her eyes shifted over a few inches to the library map. “Shelves eleven through fifteen.”

“That’s still way too many!” Trixie protested.

“Not if we split up the work. A.K. look through those first two shelves. I’ll look on shelves thirteen and fourteen, and Trixie? You get the last one.” Happy with her quick decision-making, Rarity smugly set about her portion of the work.

She tried to, at least.

“Oh ponyfeathers!” Rarity cursed as her magic failed to find purchase on Indigo’s Insane Incantations, 2nd Edition. “Of course we can’t read the books, the time stop is still active!”

Protests and hurried re-planning from her companions flowed into Twilight’s ears as she struggled to mentally catch up to what she was hearing. That thing, what she had heard. It was…

“Wrong,” she said. “Speed… speedreading spell. Scans books. Don’t need… open. I can –” Lighting up her horn caused another lance of pain to shoot through her head.

Rarity was suddenly next to her, supporting her marefriend’s slumped form. “You will sit here and rest, dear. After teaching Trixie the spell.”

“Trixie?” the showmare gasped. “I mean– Of course the Humble and Selfless Trixie will shoulder the burden of saving the day!”

Twilight shook her head. “Nuh. Last time–”

“That was one time! And the museum really should have had better security!”

The pair stared at Trixie. “Really?” Rarity sighed.

“Erm, th-the Penitent and Apologetic Trixie regrets her actions that day!”

Rarity massaged the bridge of her nose. “Given the circumstances, it’s the best chance we’ve got, dear.”

Twilight tried to protest again, but any words she had were erased by another bout of head pain. She rode it out, grinding her teeth until the lightning subsided and she was left with only one word.

“Fine.”

🝯 🝯 🝯 🝯 🝯

Night Glider soared over the roofs of Ponyville, eyes glued to the mass of shifting fruit below. A few lonely beacons of color peaked out from the sea of red—ponies frozen in time, now unknowingly overrun by shambling fruit.

A shiver ran up her spine. “And I thought cutie mark theft was the worst it could get. Freaky.”

In no time at all, the green roof of Ponyville’s Flower Emporium rose into view. Pausing for just a moment to visualize her path, Night Glider dropped into a nosedive. Flaring her wings just before plunging into the berry horde, she sailed perfectly through the building’s open door to perch on a display table.

Despite the open door, the interior of the shop was surprisingly clear of the creatures that raged outside. Night Glider cautiously hopped down to the floor and glanced at the other ponies present.

“Sorry, gals.” She lifted a hoof to boop the nose of a cream-colored mare with a rose cutie mark, then paused. “Do you think I’m coming off too strong? I’m sure Miss Yearling can take care of herself, not to mention the others that are with her… but abandoning your date isn’t a great look, is it?.” She cringed. “I hope she doesn’t hold it against me.”

The mare didn’t respond.

“You gotta admit it’s a memorable first date, though.” Night Glider chuckled. “There’s gotta be some kinda mulligan for magical catastrophes, right? I should ask. I can’t let her just slip out of my hooves—she’s too cute.” She finally followed through on the boop, tapping the mare’s warm nose just as something coughed behind the pegasus.

A quick check revealed a large unfrozen plant moved a leafy appendage to pound at its… chest? A few more hacking coughs and the verbal vegetation spit up a bushel of strawberries right before Night Glider’s eyes. After figuring out their directions, each berry immediately started dragging themselves toward the door.

“...Why is magic so weird?”