The Fashionista's Dilemma

by Mike the Red

Where are they?

"What do you mean, 'Come along for the ride'?" Nick asked with great trepidation. "I don't want to die! I'm too young! I haven't lived enough! I --"

"What you fail to realize, Nick, is that you have a responsibility as one of the Elements. And since I'm the lead Element, that means I have an even greater responsibility to help Princess Celestia with this particular situation. If you come along with us, you will get to see Ponyville and Canterlot Castle, and you will even get to meet your counterpart in Equestria." I was trying to be diplomatic about this matter, but Princess Celestia glowered at me in disapproval.

"Stop trying to do my job, Michael! I understand you mean well, but if Rarity's body is being controlled by Nick, then I wonder if he'll know what to do."

"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but Rarity is in that body as well. There are two minds in the same body, and I was going to ask for your counsel on this matter, as I'm sure both of them want their respective bodies back."

"That's right!" Nick exclaimed. "How much longer do I have to stay in this body?"

"I want my body to myself, Princess! There are things he has done earlier..." Rarity tried to explain.

"I apologized for that, Rarity!"

"Okay, I forgive you."

"I am confused by this discussion you are having with yourself," Princess Celestia mused.

"Are you done arguing with yourself?" Jacquelynn asked as her initial amusement gave way to annoyance.

"We don't have time to be dithering," I said, trying to get the focus back on the immediacy of the crisis. "Nick? Rarity? Are both of you willing to come to Equestria? Princess, shall we be off again?"

"You are too eager to get this over with, Michael. What is your urgency?" Celestia asked, giving me the impression that she was annoyed by my impatience.

"I would like to help Nick and Rarity with their particular conundrum as well," I said.

"Twilight, darling, must you try to take charge all the time?"

"Just part of my nature, Rarity. If Discord has already abducted Twilight in Equestria, there's no telling if he is on his way to take the others as well. I hope we can get there in time to rescue the others, use the Elements and imprison him again."

"Michael, do you think you're up to this challenge? You know how dangerous Discord is, don't you?"

"I have confidence in my abilities, Princess Celestia, and I have a plan to rescue the others. I am hoping I don't let you down on this mission."

"You sure sound confident," Nick mused. "You may wield lots of magic as Twilight, but what if things go wrong?"

"There's a small matter of planning for every contingency, Nick. I wouldn't go blindly into combat of any kind without making the necessary preparations."

"Is that Twilight talking or you?"

"Could be both of us, Nick. Truth be told, though, I don't feel the presence of Twilight in this body -- just me."

"Please, Nick or Rarity or both of you, make a decision as we have little time to waste," Celestia urged.

"Nick, come home safe, for my sake, please!" Jacquelynn pleaded. I hoped we wouldn't face too much danger, but with Discord, you could never tell. "Please, Princess, protect him and let him come home safely!"

"I will do my best to ensure he returns safely to you, Jacquelynn. I am confident in Michael's abilities, as he has the full complement of Twilight's magic at his disposal. He has shown remarkable talent and courage, and I believe he will be able to fulfill his responsibilities."

"I guess I finally get to understand what it truly means to be Twilight Sparkle," I said with some reservation in my voice. "I only hope I can live up to the expectations and achieve the goals I have set for myself as Twilight."

"You're setting yourself up for failure if you do that, Michael," Celestia advised.

"I aim for the stars, Princess -- I expect no less of myself."

"Is that Twilight talking or you?" Nick asked with even more apprehension in Rarity's voice.

"Then do your best, Michael. You have my trust -- try not to betray it, for your sake as well as mine."

"Seeya later, Nick. Come home safe! Princess? Can you return him to his human self when he comes back?"

"I will see to it that your request is fulfilled," Celestia smiled softly, perhaps just a trace of sadness at the corners of her mouth and eyes.

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We teleported to Canterlot Castle, in the Royal Throne Room. Nick was gawking at the display of banners, stained glass windows, the murals in the floor, the decorations on the walls...

"We have no time for idle musing at the decorations, Nick. We have to formulate a plan to banish Discord. Michael, since your teleportation is quite strong, you go to Ponyville and gather the Elements as best you can. Nick, I will need to discuss several things with you, including gleaning from you all the information you can give me about yourself."

"I will do my best, Princess -- however, I only know where Pinkie Pie and Rarity stay -- and I need to know where the others live. I fear that too much time may have passed, and I need to know where Rainbow Dash lives."

"Rainbow stays in Cloudsdale, darling," Rarity said. "And Fluttershy is on the edge of the Everfree Forest."

"Applejack's farm is south of Ponyville by a mile or so," Nick said. I guess he had seen more episodes of the TV show than I had. I chuckled, reflecting upon my lack of knowledge about Equestria.

"Okay, Princess, I will start at Sugar Cube Corner and work my way around from there. Hopefully we can make short work of this."

"I must raise the sun now, please excuse me for a few moments." Celestia left to take care of that matter as Nick shifted on his hooves nervously, a very concerned look on his face, drooping ears and all.

"I'll be back," I said, trying to do my best Arnold voice.

"Make sure you do," Nick replied. "I don't wanna be stuck like this for much longer!"

Nick was left alone in the throne room, save for a small squad of Royal Guards. He trotted around the throne room admiring all the various decorations. Presently, Princess Celestia returned from raising the sun and started asking Nick some questions about himself and how he woke up as Rarity.

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I teleported to Sugar Cube Corner and knocked on the front door. Mr. Cake was already up and answered.

"Hey, Twilight, what can I do for you?" he asked, a broad smile on his face.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Cake, but have you seen Pinkie Pie?"

"No, can't say I have. Usually, she's up early helping out in the store. I have no idea where she is."

"May I come in and look for her?"

"Certainly, Twilight! I hope you find her, we're kind of busy today."

"Thank you, Mr. Cake," I said, entering the shop. I looked around, went upstairs calling for her. I got no response, so I went back downstairs. "Mr. Cake, I fear she is gone -- I will try to find out what happened to her and hopefully get her back her for you. Thanks for your assistance, seeya later."

"Okay, Twilight, take care. See you soon!" he called out as I left for Rarity's boutique. I galloped over there as quickly as I could, knocking frantically at her front door. I was very impatient, and knocked forcefully on the door about fifteen times, very rapidly. I got no answer, but heard a mewling from behind the door.

"Opal? Is that you?" I asked. "Meow?"

"Mew, mew," came the response. I was crestfallen, but couldn't let that bother me. I had to get to Sweet Apple Acres!

I spotted the farm as I galloped through back yards, jumping a couple of fences, and galloping down an alleyway. The farmhouse itself came into view at this point, so I teleported to the front door. More frantic knocking was answered by Big Macintosh.

"Twilight, what's the matter? Yer knockin' like th' end of th' world is comin'!"

"I need to speak to your sister, Mac, is she here?"

"She should be out in the orchard, lots of trees to buck today," he said.

"That orchard is pretty big, can you be a little more specific with which part she'd be in?"

"I dunno, Twi, she could be anywhere in there."

"Okay, Mac, I will start searching for her -- I hope she's out there!"

"My sis is strong enough to take care of anythin' that might even think of harmin' her," he said.

"What if it's Discord?" I asked, great concern marking my features.

"Well, in that case, I'd better go out there and help ya find her," he said.

We both went out to the orchard, calling for Applejack, but couldn't find her after about fifteen minutes or so of searching.

"I fear it might be too late," I said. "Maybe I can find Fluttershy?"

"Okay, Twi, I'll keep looking. I'll tell her yer lookin' for her."

"If you find her, keep her in the house until I get back. We need to get to Princess Celestia to formulate a battle plan. By the way, can you point me in the direction of Fluttershy's house?"

"Ee-yup, it's over that way," he said, pointing a hoof in the general direction of the forest.

"Okay, Mac, be seeing you! Thanks!" I said, smiling a little. I galloped as fast as I could towards Fluttershy's house.

I managed to find Fluttershy's house and knocked way too loudly on the door. My impatience was getting the better of me. I heard no response, but as I was about to leave, I felt a slight tugging at my tail. I turned around to see who was pulling my tail -- a small white bunny with a worried look on its face.

"Angel? Angel Bunny?" I asked, a little unsure if this was him. He nodded his head.

"Is Fluttershy inside?" I asked. He shook his head and shrugged.

"Did Discord take her?" I asked, starting to get nervous. He shook his head and shrugged again.

"How about Rainbow? Where is Cloudsdale?" I asked. He turned to his left and pointed up in the direction a few times. I turned to follow where he was pointing his foot, looking up a bit. There appeared to be a city in the clouds about 20 miles or so away. "Thanks Angel, I will see if I can find Rainbow. I hope I can bring Fluttershy back home for you soon." He nodded his head and turned away.

I teleported to Cloudsdale, and started calling for Rainbow. I popped from one cloud to another, looking for a sign of the sky-blue pegasus, but was unable to find her. There were other pegasi around, and I asked a few if they had seen Rainbow Dash, but none of them had seen her. At this point, I was feeling rather dejected, so I teleported back to Canterlot Castle to relate the bad news to the Princess.

The teleport to the castle's throne room took a bit out of me, as I hadn't quite correctly calculated the distance. I slumped to the floor on my haunches to catch my breath and allow my magic to refill.

"Michael! Are you okay?" Princess Celestia asked, some worry creeping into her voice.

"I just need a few minutes to recover, Princess. All I have for you is bad news -- I was unable to locate ANY of the Elements -- it seems as though Discord is one step ahead of us. I am sorry I failed you, Your Majesty."

"Michael, please accompany me to the Royal Ballroom."

I hung my head, my ears drooping. "Yes, Your Majesty. I tried my best."

"You did all you could, Michael, given the circumstances. We must formulate a plan in the ballroom."

We trotted together in relative silence and I allowed my thoughts to wander. Where was every pony? Was I too late? Why was this new meeting being held in the Royal Ball Room? Wasn't that where the Grand Galloping Gala was held? I don't have any clothes...

"We are here," the Princess announced calmly. She opened the doors for me, and the interior was oddly dark.

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