Chapter 24
Fluttershy awoke Thursday morning with a start. She glanced around with bleary eyes at her bedroom in confusion; she wasn’t entirely sure why she was awake. She glanced at the alarm clock nearby and noticed that it was an hour before she normally got up to get ready for school. Frowning in confusion the nude teen walked over to the window and glanced down at the backyard.
Her mother, father and brother were dressed in their pyjamas and walking stiffly into the neighbour’s yard. “Oh my, I wonder what they’re doing?” Swiftly throwing a robe around her body she rushed out of her room to follow after them.
Adagio greeted her little servants with a warm smile and passed a paint can to the nuisance child. “Get to work painting the backyard fence, it’s looking rather bland.”
Zephyr Breeze grinned dopily. “Yes mistress.”
“How can we be of assistance oh Goddess of Song?” Mrs. Shy asked with a tired smile.
Adagio frowned slightly. She glanced around and shook her head. “Sonata broke a lot of toasters before she figured out how they worked, and for some reason kept the busted scrap. Those two idiots Flim and Flam might pay good money for them if they’re repaired, so why don’t you get to work on that Mister Shy?”
The Shy Patriarch bowed to his Goddess and headed into the garage.
Adagio blinked. “How did he know where Sonata kept them?”
Mrs. Shy, still smiling and waiting for orders, giggled playfully. “My husband has always known where to find something that’s broken; he worked as a repairman for years before retiring.”
Adagio shook her head and sang a little. Mrs. Shy swayed back and forth happily. “Come on, I need another shower before I go meet my little Di-Di for the day, and it’s so much easier to wash my hair with someone to help.”
“Oh thank you, Mistress! I shall make you presentable for your chosen lover,” Mrs. Shy grinned and clapped her hands together eagerly before she began to strip in the open air of the pre-dawn sky.
Fluttershy watched her mother stripping with stunned disbelief. Resisting the urge to charge out into the yard fully she brought her arm up to cover her chest as her breath sped up in nervous fear. What was going on here? She had been studying so hard and focused so much on all of the final exams for the year she hadn’t even noticed her parents or brother were acting so strange.
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy fingered her robe’s collar nervously. “I’ve got to tell Sunset and the others. But my mother is going towards Adagio’s house and… wait a minute: when did the Dazzlings move next door?” Pondering the absurdity of this statement Fluttershy failed to notice when her mother finished undressing and slipped into Adagio’s house.
She glanced briefly at her brother and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling at his forced manual labour. He maybe a total jerk, but he was still her brother, and he shouldn’t be forced into servitude for anything. Even if he totally deserved to be taken down a notch for being the Worst Possible Brother Ever!
Fluttershy shook her head. She had to warn the others that Adagio seemed to have regained her power to control people through singing. It was all very concerning.
Pinkie Pie stood in front of Sonata with a large pot on her head. She’d been so excited she’d barely been able to keep sleeping with all the new ideas percolating in her brain. She slapped the mixing whisk against the large scroll affixed to her planning white board via magnets and adopted a very serious expression.
“Operation Princess Twilight Party is going to be the biggest and most elaborate event yet for the NLAC. The girls have agreed to let me do everything, whatever I decide goes, but that means I need the help of somebody who understands me. And can keep up.”
Sonata saluted. “Private Dusk reporting for duty.”
Pinkie giggled and then quickly sobered up. “According to this Princess Twilight has a crystal castle, loves sorting books and organizing things, used to live in a treebrary and wore a special Princess Dress for Rarity’s grand opening in Canterlot.”
Sonata scratched her head in confusion. “Isn’t this still a nudist party?”
Pinkie nodded. “Of course, but the dress was just some extra information because of this bet the other me and I have going.”
Sonata’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, you’ve talked to your pony self?”
Pinkie smirked. “We did more than talk.”
Sonata shifted nervously on the bed. “Ummmm, what exactly do you mean by that?”
Pinkie rushed over to give Sonata a hug. “Oh nothing like what you’re thinking, Pinkie and me played the best prank ever! And nobody even knows about it.”
Sonata grinned mischievously. “Ooooo, spill, spill!”
Pinkie giggled again. “Ok, so time runs differently on the other side of the mirror, it’s how events here can take place in such a short amount of time while they spend like way more months at a time experiencing crazy adventures. So, back during Spring Break, I slipped through the portal for a few days to get some inspiration for some awesome parties. It was fun learning how to walk on hoovsies… While I was visiting Manehattan I almost got discovered, but I had the perfect disguise!” Pinkie shrugged and turned back to the scroll.
Sonata nodded slowly in comprehension. “Ohhhhhh, that kind of makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to visit horsey world if they could just walk through a magic mirror?”
Pinkie nodded. “Yep. She even came here for a few days to find out how humans partied. We had so much fun, and nobody on either side of the mirror has figured it out yet. So please don’t tell anybody otherwise I’ll lose the bet.”
Sonata mimed zipping her lips shut. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Pinkie smiled proudly and then turned back to the scroll. “We have a lot to do, but the biggest thing is the cake.”
Sonata’s eyes shone with delight. “Cake?”
Pinkie nodded. “We have two full days to prepare the largest, biggest, most scrum-didily-umptious tree shaped cake ever conceived of… and this is the recipe!” Pinkie slapped the scroll with her whisk again.
Sonata stared at the ingredients briefly and frowned. “Ummm, don’t humans get sick if they eat hay?”
“What?” Pinkie gasped and spun around quickly. “Oh, silly filly, she included the pony recipe for reference.” Shaking her head she readjusted the scroll so it showed the proper human-ok ingredients necessary to build the Golden Oaks Treebrary Surprise and spun back to face Sonata. “For the next two days we will be preparing everything for the party, but this cake for Princess Twilight is The. Most. Important!
“And that’s why I asked you to help us Marble.” Grinning she turned to her sister, dressed in a robe and sitting on the bed with a confused expression on her face, she suddenly felt naked with all the eyes on her.
“Huh?”
Pinkie giggled. “Because of your issues with anxiety and stuff, and since Sonata and I still have to go to school we need you to keep an eye on the cake while we’re baking it.”
Sonata frowned. “Doesn’t it only take an hour or so to bake a cake?”
Pinkie slapped the scroll with her whisk again. “That’s just ordinary cake! This is the Golden Oaks Treebrary Surprise! If it says twenty-nine hours to bake the entire cake than it will take twenty-nine hours to bake the entire cake… We’ll need sixty cake tins, fifteen spatulas, seven dozen eggs, a whole lot of sugar, cocoa powder, flour, icing, oak shavings… whoops, I think she meant oat shavings,” Pinkie said with another giggle.
Marble approached the instructions with her mouth open in a small o-shape and she started trembling.
Pinkie wrapped her sister in a tight hug. “Don’t worry, Maud will be here some of the time to help too, but you have the most time being home schooled. So! Sonata and I are going to mix the batter before we go to school; I have a free period first thing so I do have a little extra time to make everything to start out with. I just need you to swap the sections as they finish and make sure Limestone doesn’t pig out on any of them.”
Marble slowly took a breath and calmed down and gave a little nod with a happy smile.
“Great! Bestest twin ever!”
Sonata stared between the pair of them. “Can’t you only have one twin?” she asked absentmindedly.
Pinkie giggled once again. “Silly Siren, the pony me has a twin too, and since I’m her sister too we’re kind of twins… but Marble here is the bestest twin sister because she shared a womb with me.”
Sonata shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“To the kitchen!” Pinkie dashed off.
Marble gasped.
Sonata sighed and picked up the aprons Pinkie forgot about. Glancing at it briefly she smiled. “I’ve never baked anything in the nude before, this should be fun.” Quickly putting the apron on, she grabbed the scroll and leapt out of the door. “Hark and away!”
Marble sighed silently and rolled her eyes. Glancing back and forth nervously she slipped her robe off and put her apron on. It wasn’t like anybody could see her in the house and she didn’t want to mess up her robe.
Twilight Sparkle stared in horror at the readings of her new, Alicorn proof, magic detector and trembled in fear. It just wasn’t possible. There was no way. She wasn’t magical, she couldn’t be, and she refused to accept the reality of this situation.
Her reflection in the mirror behind her shimmered and took on a different shape. A familiar form that had been seen many times before in her nightmares. Midnight Sparkle laughed delightedly as chains sprung out of the mirror and wrapped around her alter ego.
Twilight shrieked and tried to pull away, but the chains encircled her too quickly.
Midnight circled around in front of her and bent down to trace her finger down Twilight’s cheek and towards her chin. “Can’t deny me now, why continue to resist?”
Twilight shook her head to get away from the horrible touching. “No! I reject this statement of reality. I cannot possess magic! I am a sixteen-year-old human girl, will be turning seventeen during the summer, and I am ordinary!”
Midnight rolled her eyes. “Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.”
Twilight groaned. “That is a terrible simile! I am not in denial; I am outright rejecting you and everything you represent, that is not the action of someone denying your existence. That is someone desperate to avoid the truth of your existence.”
It was Midnight’s turn to groan. “If this wasn’t a dream I’d slap myself so hard right now,” she complained. “Honestly, Twilight, I am you. I represent a facet of your ego, the need to understand all things and quantify them logically. The fact that I look so damn sexy while unraveling the threads of the universe to understand the magic in my body is just a bonus.”
Twilight would have stuck her fingers in her ears if she could. “La, la, la, la, la! I’m not listening!”
Midnight glared with a pout. “It’s no fun to torment myself.” Her eyes lit up with delight as she turned to the bed, which was suddenly in the corner of the room. “So, I’ll torment my captor!”
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. Sunset Shimmer lay spread-eagle on her bed: naked, sweaty and tied down with manacles attached to each corner of the bed. Sunset’s eyes were filled with terror as she watched Midnight approach.
Midnight’s clothing immediately vanished in a cloud of wispy darkness. Before Twilight could make sense of what was going on, Midnight stroked an unholy, glowing appendage that had begun to grow in-between her legs. With sadistic glee, Midnight watched Twilight's eyes fill with tears as she positioned herself atop Sunset's trembling form.
“NO! Don't you dare touch her!” Twilight struggled against her chains harder, she didn’t want this! She couldn’t bear the horrors Midnight put her through every night, but this; this was worse than being forced to watch her friends die over and over again. This went against every fiber of her being.
“Begone foul creature of darkness!” a new voice cried out startling the pair of them.
“Wat?” Midnight muttered. Before she finished her thought, she was speared by a shaft of dark blue magic and blown to pieces, everything scattered on the winds generated by the arrival of – a rather large winged horse with a horn on her head.
Twilight blinked back the tears of relief and stared in wonder at the gorgeous looking creature standing before her. “Who are you?”
The equine smiled gently banishing the image of Sunset on the bed. “My name is Princess Luna; I heard thy cries from across the great divide. Thankfully you are in the presence of one of our subjects; we were able to bridge the distance to attend these dreams due to our link with Princess Twilight.”
Twilight smiled gratefully as the chains encircling her vanished. Leaping to her feet she wrapped her arms around the equine Goddess’ neck and buried her face into her mane as she wept.
Princess Luna’s smile softened slightly and she nuzzled the traumatized teenager. “Does this foul demon torment thy dreams regularly?”
Twilight nodded. “Every night! I’ve been having so much trouble, even when I know emphatically it’s all only a dream.”
Princess Luna sighed. “We thought… I mean, I thought I sensed much familiarity in you. Equestrian magic used for selfish reasons always leads down such a path. I too faced a similar fate, and when I returned I punished myself nightly for my crimes against my little ponies.” The royal alicorn pulled away from Twilight with a final nuzzle and sat at a table. A tea service floated over, engulfed in a glowing dark blue light and began to pour its contents into two ornately crafted cups.
Twilight sighed as she slumped down in the seat across from her. “I should be more amazed by all of this, but I feel the only question I have is, how can you be here? You mentioned something about being near Princess Twilight?”
Princess Luna smiled. “I am capable of observing all of the dreams of my subjects, indeed it is a pleasant task to step in and banish terrors of the night. Some are true Nightmares, formed by the darkness of Disharmony and Despair, while others, as I have come to understand, are a means for the psyche to face its inner demons and overcome them.”
Twilight sipped automatically at the tea and felt a warmth flowing through her. She sat and stared with rapt attention at this fascinating creature whose tone and mannerisms were so similar to the Vice-Principal she was slowly coming to know, and yet completely different at the same time.
Princess Luna chuckled, though her expression grew melancholy. “I must confess I may have tied a portion of my dream essence to Princess Twilight’s subconscious so that I could observe this world for myself. She rarely speaks of her adventures here, preferring to focus on her life in Equestria… I believe it is born of a selfish desire to maintain one element separate from her friends in Equestria. To have something uniquely for herself, is that not the expression?”
Twilight tilted her head thoughtfully. “Something like me time? A time set aside for yourself to just do whatever you want… no; it’s probably simpler than that, she just wants to have an interest that isn’t shared by all of her friends. If she’s anything like me.”
Princess Luna nodded. “Truly thou art the very picture of a younger, less mature Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed and she took another sip of tea. “This is very good, what is it?”
“Magic.”
Twilight’s expression changed as though someone had flipped a switch. The taste became ashen in her mouth and with trembling hands she slowly put the tea cup down.
Princess Luna sighed softly. “It will not harm you, it is a special gift. By consuming this tea you shall have uninterrupted sleep for as long as Princess Twilight remains in this realm.”
Twilight eyed the tea cup longingly, but she did not pick it up again. “And when she’s gone I’ll just keep having the nightmares. Why did the magic stay with me?” Bitterly she turned aside and took her glasses off to wipe away a tear. “I never want to become Midnight Sparkle again!”
Princess Luna laughed out loud at that.
Twilight’s cheeks flushed, this royal visitor was mocking her.
“We are sorry, but we were not expecting such a humorous title.”
“Huh?” Twilight suddenly felt like a fish out of water.
Princess Luna’s form wavered and her body grew larger. Her coat darkened and her royal regalia changed into something more suited for war. Opening her eyes revealed they had changed as well into harsher cat-like slits that shone green.
Twilight felt the stirrings of some primal fear in the pit of her stomach.
Princess Luna’s teeth sharpened and elongated completing the transformation. “We are Nightmare Moon! Tremble in fear before us, for we control the night! AND WE SHALL HAVE THE NIGHT LAST FOREVER!” the force of her shout sent the tea and everything else tumbling off the table.
Twilight wasn’t aware it was possible to piss your pants in sheer terror in your sleep, but the growing wet spot in her dream panties was certainly proof of concept.
Princess Luna frowned slightly and banished the embarrassment with a simple spell, she also resumed her normal form. “And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Midnight Sparkle.”
Twilight gasped, her form had changed into Midnight without her conscious decision. “No!”
“Do not fear your form!” Princess Luna commanded. “It is to illustrate a point.”
Twilight shed more tears as she angrily glared at Princess Luna. “What? That I’m a horrible, destructive, apparently kinky beast that will destroy everyone she cares about if it means understanding magic?”
Princess Luna shook her head with a sigh. “Nay.”
Twilight stared at the equine with a sudden smirk on her lips. “The horse princess said neigh.” She giggled at the absurdity of it all. Her wings twitched and she fell over beside herself with laughter.
A smile returned to Princess Luna’s face as she watched Twilight’s mood lightening once more. Circling the table she gently wiped a few tears away with a feathered wingtip.
Twilight jerked slightly at the touch and then stared up in awe.
“Midnight Sparkle is not some dark facet of your being. Not in the sense you believe. She represents all of your fears and insecurities, she has taken the shape of the one thing that you fear the most because it is so effective at tormenting you.” Here Princess Luna sighed once more. “Twilight Sparkle, you desire more punishment for what you almost did. The corruptive influence of the magic you forcibly attempted to control was removed from you by the bearers of Harmony.
"Do not interrupt, I know of what I speak because I experienced similar events in the past. There is no danger of becoming the same Midnight Sparkle you were before. There is, however, always the truth. This form is yours now, it may change to reflect the purity of your soul now that you have been shown the error of your ways, but you and she are one and the same.”
Twilight got to her feet, her wings flexing behind her. “I – I’m not sure I’m ready to accept that, Princess Luna.”
Princess Luna nodded slowly in reluctant acceptance. “Tis a truth you will come to see. Tell your friend, Sunset Shimmer, and she can help.”
Twilight shook her head vehemently. “Never! I can never let them know about these nightmares!”
“In time perhaps you will see reason.” Princess Luna levitated the tea cup in her magic once again and presented it to Twilight. “But for right now let us continue our discussion on lighter topics, I too have many questions about this world, and this magic is my guarantee that you shall have dreamless sleep so that you may recover your strength for what lies ahead. As long as Princess Twilight is visiting. However brief that may seem to be.”
Twilight accepted the cup with little hesitation this time. “Oh yes! Thank you, Princess Luna, I’ll need all the sleep I can get to deal with the exams. I was afraid I’d be so out of it because of these nightmares I’d get…” Twilight gasped. “An A minus!”
Princess Luna laughed boisterously and reclaimed a teacup for herself. “Now then, Twilight, I’ve heard so little about humans. Why precisely are your mammary glands situated so high-up on your chest? And what is the purpose of these trappings you wear?” She levitated a pair of panties and a bra into view. “These would appear to secure your teats to avoid unnecessary movement due to their unfortunate placement. But what need have you of these? Surely thou art capable of using the privy by now.”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed a darker shade of purple. “Ummm…”
Fluttershy approached Sunset, Applejack, Rarity and the twin Twilights (Twinlights?) after their first class of the day with an apprehensive expression on her face. She wasn’t sure how to broach the subject entirely, but she knew she couldn’t put it off until lunch because her heart couldn’t take it anymore.
Nervously rubbing her elbow she glanced down at her feet and then looked back up, none of the others had noticed her yet. “Um, girls?”
“Ah’m tellin’ ya, Flash ain’t interested in any excuses, Princess, yah gotta let that boy down gently or he’ll be moonin’ over ya fer another thirty moons.”
“Oh don’t be so dramatic, Applejack.”
“Um, Rarity, I think Applejack is right.”
“Sunset, darling, I know the perfect way to let a boy down gently, and it is not the blunt honest approach.”
Fluttershy steeled her resolve and drummed up enough courage to speak again. “Girls.”
“I really don’t think now is the time for this sort of conversation, girls, I’ve got enough to deal with as it is thanks to that strange magic signature. And on top of that I left Discord as part of the Castle Sitting team… Discord!”
“Rarity, just let her tell the boy it’s over, dangit!”
“Applejack! I will not allow her to break that poor boy’s heart!”
“Are they always like this?”
Sunset squeezed Twilight’s hand with a smile. “Pretty much.”
Princess Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled at the antics between two of her Canterlot High friends. She wasn’t concerned with Flash Sentry, as far as she was concerned that crush, or fling, or whatever was firmly ended.
Fluttershy finally stomped her foot, very lightly, and called out. “Girls.”
Silence reigned as the other five turned to her with surprise.
“Fluttershy, dear me, when did you get here?” Rarity smiled pleasantly at her friend.
Applejack blinked and then smiled as well. “Why didn’t ya speak up sooner?”
Fluttershy fidgeted with her skirt. “Um… I kind of did.”
Sunset patiently placed a hand of support on Fluttershy’s shoulder and turned her to face them properly. “Is everything ok?” she asked in concern.
Fluttershy slowly shook her head.
“Goodness, dear, whatever is the matter?”
“Adagio Dazzle is my next door neighbour and she’s got her magic back and she’s controlling my family to be her slaves!” Fluttershy’s chest heaved with the effort of blurting all of that out. Swaying slightly she fell back against the lockers. “Oh my, I didn’t think I could say that, but I did…” Fluttershy smiled proudly.
Everyone else was stunned.
Applejack’s expression darkened as her eyes narrowed. “Say what now?”
Rarity blanched, her skin paling into near transparency and she fanned herself to stave off the sudden need to faint. “How scandalously mortifying.”
Sunset took a step back. “Adagio has her magic back? How?”
Twilight stared at the others confused. “Who’s Adagio?”
Princess Twilight rushed forward and embraced Fluttershy tightly. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, we’ll free your family and curb stomp Adagio…” pausing she glanced at Sunset. “I did get the expression right, right?”
Sunset smirked and shook her head. “Yes, Twilight.”
Twilight fidgeted with her glasses. “I still don’t know who this Adagio person is,” she reminded.
Applejack sighed in frustration. “Adagio was the leader of the Sirens, ya know that group Sonata used ta belong to before she and Pinkie started cavortin’ and canoodlin’.”
Rarity shot Applejack a scandalized look. “I know you were raised on a farm, Applejack, but there’s no need to show your roots so pronouncedly.”
Fluttershy glanced between her friends. “I’m really sorry, Sunset, but I don’t know how she got her magic back. And, um… do we have to rescue all of my family?”
Four out of five girls stared at Fluttershy in clear disbelief.
Princess Twilight patted her friend on the shoulder. “Now, Fluttershy, I understand your brother can be a bit of a… well he’s a…”
Fluttershy scowled. “A totally perverted unhelpful slacker jerk who stares at my breasts in the shower! It's so he can measure up the other girls he actually wants to bang because he’s a massive douchebag!”
Princess Twilight resisted the urge to face palm. “I was just going to call him a pest, possibly a jerk. But... does he really stare at his own sister’s breasts?”
Fluttershy angrily stomped a foot again and nodded. “Mom’s too.”
Rarity’s face turned a little green. “Goodness, that is a bit too much information, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy blushed. “I’m sorry. Admittedly, I don’t blame him, too much, but if I ever get my hands on the not-nice-person that introduced Zephyr Breeze to Hentai, I’ll let Angel bite him in the nuts.”
Rarity wobbled about to faint once again.
Princess Twilight simply sighed. “I should have known this version would be more…hormonally driven, humans do seem to spend a good majority of their time under the sway of their sex drives, but honestly let’s focus on the main problem here.”
Sunset nodded her agreement. “Adagio Dazzle has power again and is probably plotting something.”
“Should I strike up the band?” Rarity wondered with a slight gleam in her eyes. “So many new wardrobe choices,” she muttered to herself hopefully.
Princess Twilight shook her head. “Not this time. This time we have an ace in the hole.”
Applejack smirked. “Yep, Sonata is on our side. Maybe she’ll know how Adagio got her magic back, or at least what she’s plottin’.”
Twilight frowned. “Isn’t that kind of mean?”
Rarity blinked once and sighed. “Twilight raises a valid point, it would be extremely hypocritical of us to presume that Sonata, as crazy as she may be, would have any knowledge about Adagio’s sudden renewal of power.”
“Why hypocritical?” Sunset wondered.
Rarity shot Sunset a glare. “Do you not recall how we acted towards her last Saturday?”
Sunset had the good grace to blush at the reminder of their earlier suspicious attitude around Sonata.
“That there Siren might still know a thing or two about how Adagio plots stuff.” Applejack plucked her hat off and ran a hand through her hair. “Plus, didn’t she mention she was tryin’ ta get us in trouble with the law over your naturist club?”
Princess Twilight adopted a surprised look, this was the first she’d heard about any problems with this new naturist club they’d discussed last night. “Is it illegal for such a club to exist?”
“Nope.” Applejack shook her head.
Rarity flinched. “Perhaps on school property, but everything has been above board, I can assure you. Sweetie Belle has been lectured on all of the reasons why adopting this lifestyle choice should be done for the proper reasons, and not to go running off and indulging in any baser fantasies she may dally with.”
“Dally with?” Applejack repeated with a snort of disbelief.
Fluttershy decided to stop any further arguments. “Um, if we aren’t using the band to blast Adagio, how do we break the spell on my parents?”
“And Zephyr Breeze,” Sunset reminded.
“Oh alright, him too.” Fluttershy pouted indignantly.
Princess Twilight clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh good! I’m so glad I stumbled onto Starswirl’s notes on Siren magic after the first time we had to deal with them…” Turning to Fluttershy she inhaled. “In order to break a Siren’s spell the Elements of Harmony should be used as a last resort as the results can lead to ramifications resulting in ill-will and feelings of distrust permeating the pony’s psyche opening their defenses up to be assaulted by Windigo or other emotionally charged spell attacks.
“Therefore, the best method for un-enchanting a pony under the effects of Siren song is to feed them a potion of crushed henbane, alfalfa root, a single strand of hair of the Siren in question – a difficult ingredient to get as finding a Siren on land in pony disguise is not easy – and two key ingredients whose magical properties will prevent the pony from being ensnared again. The wing feather of an Alicorn, freely given, and mucus from a Changeling Drone.”
The others stared at Twilight after her impromptu lecture.
Twilight frowned at her counterpart. “Isn’t Henbane poisonous?”
Princess Twilight shook her head. “Not if properly handled for the use of potion making.”
Sunset stared at her friend curiously. “Where are we going to get a lock of Adagio’s hair?”
Fluttershy’s face flushed. “My mom washed her hair in the shower this morning, maybe some of it stuck around,” she suggested.
Rarity visibly recoiled. “The brazen hussy!”
Fluttershy’s face fell in despair. “I know, but she is my mom.”
“Not her, Fluttershy, I was referring to that scandalous, oversexed, Siren.”
“Oh, she didn’t have sex with my mom… I don’t think… Goodness, what if she did,” Fluttershy fidgeted nervously.
Sunset patted her shoulder. “It’s ok, come on, we can take my bike back to your place and see if we can get a lock of her hair for the potion.”
Princess Twilight nodded. “And I’ll send a note through the journal to my friends in Equestria, Zecora can start preparing to mix the brew so we can break the spell.”
“Equestrian Henbane is probably better to use, I doubt the native stuff here will have absorbed magical properties from the Earth,” Sunset remarked.
“Ah’m still goin’ ta ask Sonata about this business with Adagio havin’ power again,” Applejack decided.
Rarity took Twilight’s hand. “And you and I shall go alert Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Why both of us?”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Because keeping Rainbow from dashing off to beat Adagio with her bare fists will require two able-bodied friends to hold her down. I’m afraid she has quite the soft spot for Fluttershy’s mother.”
“Oh.” Twilight giggled slightly. “I can see Rainbow doing that.”
Princess Twilight smiled and clapped her hands. “Alright girls! Let’s get to work, if we’re lucky we can nip this problem in the bud before it escalates, and then we can concentrate on that mysterious magical signature you detected.”
Applejack opened her mouth to voice a sudden realization, but everyone else had left already. “Consarn it! For bein’ so smart, Princess Twilight sure can be a bit dense at times, that magical doohickey probably picked up Adagio, Fluttershy’s house is a few blocks over from Twilight’s.” Shaking her head she turned and walked off to find Pinkie and her girlfriend. It was time to talk to that Siren girl and find out just what it was she possibly knew.