“This is bad,” Twilight says to herself, alone and pacing back and forth in her bedroom. Her eyes keep flicking to the Elements of Harmony. She can’t get over just how wrong they are. Especially the black lightning bolt! What should have been Rainbow’s vibrant red is as dark as the bands they wore for Doug’s Nightmare Night costume!
A quiet knock comes at the door. Low, and it doesn’t sound like a hoof.
Instead of answering, she runs over the Elements again. Black lightning bolt. Pink diamond. Orange balloon. Blue butterfly. Purple apple. Are the colors some sort of clue? What pattern is there?
The knock comes again. Louder this time.
Twilight sighs. She can’t keep putting this off. No matter how badly she wants to.
“Come in, Spike,” Twilight says, though it comes out barely louder than a whisper. She can’t bring herself to look at the door as it swings open, the soft pad of her assistant as he walks inside.
“They’re pretty worried down there,” Spike says quietly, yet insistent. Oddly forceful for her normally passively sarcastic assistant. “Scootaloo especially. You’d think Rainbow would be the one who needs reassurance, but she’s the one keeping calm. Like she’s resigned to it.”
He leaves unstated that she should be the one down there, but she can hear it in his voice. Could she? Could she go downstairs, and make things better?
Well, she’s never let uncertainty stop her before. But where to begin?
“You’re right, Spike.” Twilight nods to herself as Spike draws close to her. “I won’t be able to figure out what’s wrong by staying here.” She taps a hoof against her chin, staring out the window. “Rainbow said something about Rarity going to see the animals. I suppose that’s as good a place to start as any.”
“Sure,” Spike says with a yawn. “Why can’t these sort of things happen in the morning when everypony is rested?”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Spike,” Twilight says with a grin. “You wouldn’t be awake in the morning either.”
Twilight frowns at the lack of retort. He really must be tired if that’s the case. But she needs her assistant to help her figure out what’s wrong with Rainbow! She levitates the sleepy dragon to her back before she walks downstairs.
Rainbow Dash is in the middle of a pile of ponies, looking both unhappy that she needs the comfort from everypony and yet glad that she is getting it. Scootaloo especially can’t seem to stop staring at her dam’s blank flank and comparing it to her own marked flank. Starlight looks bored and tired, but not objecting to laying barrel to barrel next to Rainbow.
“Twilight?” Scootaloo tentatively asks. “Is everything going to be just fine?”
Twilight softly smiles. “Yes, Scootaloo. Everything is going to be just fine. I’m going to make sure of it.” She moves over to Rainbow Dash, nuzzling her herdmate. “I will need to borrow your dam, though.”
“Oh.” Scootaloo takes her time stepping off Rainbow’s back, trading a nuzzle with her dam. Her sisters yawn while Scootaloo looks resolute. “How do you want us to help?”
Twilight slowly shakes her head, straining to keep her smile as she drops Spike off. “Until I know what we need help with, I’m afraid I don’t know. I know you three want to help, and I appreciate that.” She looks to Starlight Glimmer. “Since this is a magical problem, I want you to come along.”
“Me?” Starlight asks, frowning. “Why do you need me?”
“Because you got us into this mess.” Twilight flicks her head to the door. “Now come on, we’re going to Fluttershy’s.” Starlight and Rainbow get up, if lethargically, and walk with Twilight as she makes her way through the darkened town. The silence drags on uncomfortably, Twilight mulling over what could be happening.
“Hey,” Rainbow says quietly as they pass Sugarcube Corner, stopping in the middle of the street. “I thought we were going to Fluttershy’s.”
The insistent tone in Rainbow’s voice is just another hint that something is wrong, and that she shouldn’t challenge her Friend's misconceptions. Twilight gulps, looking over at the bakery. She can barely see through the windows to tell that the lights in the kitchen are on. “We, um, we are. We’re just taking a short detour first.”
“Oh, okay,” Rainbow Dash says without question, following Twilight again. They move on, more swiftly this time, clouds forming above them in the otherwise clear sky.
The lights are on in Fluttershy’s cottage, and the noise grows steadily louder as the three draw closer. They trade wary glances at the cacophony of animals howling, birds screeching, the occasional roar of a bear, and the shouts of a very frustrated pony.
“No! Get over! Stop! That doesn’t-”
Twilight cautiously opens the door to the cottage, gulping. Bedlam is the word she wants to use to describe the chaos in front of her, but since there are neither beds nor lambs it seems a misnomer. Rarity, with three pink and blue butterflies on her flank, is chasing around several squirrels with squirrel sized sweaters. A few birds are similarly entrapped, warbling their displeasure at the restrictive garments as they hop from one foot to another, unable to fly around. Harry sits in the corner, growling at anycreature that comes close. Pandemonium would be perfect if there were any pandas, so she’ll have to go with hullabaloo. Or uproar.
“Rarity?” Twilight asks, far too quietly to be heard over the din of scampering claws. “Rarity!” she tries again, shouting. “What in Equestria is going on here!?”
“Oh? Hello, Twilight,” Rarity says quietly. “These animals are being far worse than Opal! They just won’t listen!”
“I got this,” Starlight says, her horn lighting. She aims at the squirrels, but her beam fires off a fraction of a second late, impacting Rarity square in the chest. A dull turquoise bubble surrounds the mare, though a brief pounding against the wall breaks her out almost instantly.
“Don’t hurt them!” Rarity calls loudly, almost but not quite turning to anger.
Twilight’s horn lights, movement in the cottage slowly coming to a pause as every creature lifts into the air. The squirrels’ tiny eyes quiver as they hold their arms up in surrender. Rarity stuffs them inside their sweaters, her frantic eyes turning to the next animal on her list.
“Show off,” Starlight mutters, rubbing her horn. “Stupid lag. I would have had those squirrels!”
“I do appreciate the help,” Rarity says, shooting a glare at Starlight, “but, please, oh, do be careful,” Rarity begs, dashing from one animal to another. She tries reassuring them, but they seem to ignore her, or turn away, her despair growing with every rejection. “It’s my job, after all, to take care of these cute little critters.”
“Perhaps they would be happier if you weren’t chasing them around?” Twilight suggests, a bit of frustration seeping into her voice as she channels. “And maybe we can talk about this outside.”
“I suppose, if just for a moment,” Rarity says as the four step outside the cottage. The uproar inside resumes as Twilight lets her horn rest. “Oh, but they looked like they needed just a little more, um, je ne sais quoi, to help get them to sleep. And their nests were so… plain! I just had to do something.” She motions to her flank, as if her reasoning is as plain as the mark located there. She explains anyway, “It’s what my cutie mark is telling me.”
Rarity pauses as she looks at Starlight and Rainbow Dash, both mares looking quite out of it. “Is something the matter? Oh, dear!” Rarity rushes over, worriedly inspecting her herdmate. Rainbow Dash opens her mouth as Rarity presses a hoof to her muzzle. The unicorn inspects every corner of her, though the lack of cutie mark seems to give her no pause. “Have you been getting enough rest, Rainbow?” Rarity asks neutrally, as if she had training taking care of animals, much less ponies.
“Haven’t really done much, since, you know,” Rainbow says as she flicks her head to her flank. “Not a lot of use for me. Maybe I’ll go help Pinkie Pie with the farm.”
“The… rock farm?” Twilight asks, shaking her head. “But, who works the weather?”
“Doug,” Rainbow states, matter-of-fact. She raises an eye quizzically.
“I…” Twilight grits out, rubbing her head. “Nevermind. Rarity, can you come with me?”
“Oh, dear, I’d love to, but the animals need me. I’m dreadfully sorry.” She hugs Rainbow, then Twilight, a shy smile to Starlight before she heads back inside the cottage.
“It’s okay.” Twilight sighs as the sounds from inside just get worse. She talks to herself as they walk back into town, Rainbow trailing behind. “Okay, so, Rarity has Fluttershy’s cutie mark. And Rainbow Dash seems to think that Fluttershy is at Sugarcube Corner. And Pinkie Pie is at... Applejack's?” Mm, she would have liked Spike being here to help record all this.
The bakery is open, oddly enough, and the three make their way into the kitchen. Ingredients are strewn everywhere, mixing bowls and baking pans waiting to be filled. Sitting at one of the ovens, a cookbook propped open, is Fluttershy. With three balloons on her flank.
“Hi! Welcome!” Fluttershy cheerfully greets them, waving excitedly, practically hopping up on the table as if they had difficulty picking her out. “I don’t have anything finished just yet, but, um, if you don’t mind waiting I’ll surely have scads of scrumptious samples to share!”
“While this all looks delicious,” Twilight tepidly starts before a perky pegasus plows into her purple posterior. “Pinkie- I mean, Fluttershy!”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I just thought you needed a hug! Do you want a muffin instead?” Fluttershy whips a muffin out of her mane. “Or I can bake a cake! Or a cookie? What will it take to put a smile on that face?”
“No, I was more… curious.” Twilight takes the offered muffin, if just to stop Fluttershy from pouting at her. “Why are you baking cake?”
“Oh, silly,” Fluttershy says with a limp wave of her hoof. “Everypony loves cake! I mean, take-”
Her eyes go wide as she focuses on Rainbow Dash, her hooves clenching against the sides of her face as she takes to the air. Except, with wings, she doesn’t need to wait to touch the ground (not that Pinkie Pie ever did) to shout, “Rainbow! I’m so sorry I didn’t notice that you weren’t happy! Let’s turn that frown upside down!” as she flies over and embraces Rainbow Dash in a tight hug, giggling happily.
Twilight can’t help but gasp, her view of her herdmate’s flanks completely unobstructed. Fluttershy’s three balloon cutie mark fades into her fur, disappearing completely and leaving plain yellow in its place. On Rainbow’s cerulean flank three balloons spontaneously appear, though the darker blue balloons are nearly as hard to make out as the single yellow one was on Fluttershy.
“Bwuh…” Twilight stammers. The… the cutie marks swapped?
Fluttershy’s happy chortling turns to soft sobbing, now holding onto her herdmate for support instead of the other way around. Rainbow Dash seems to gain a certain mad vitality, soothingly stroking ‘Shy’s silky strands.
“I know what’ll make this better!” Rainbow Dash exclaims out of the blue. “Cupcakes!” She doesn’t quite toss Fluttershy to the side, but she far too easily extricates herself from her clutches, appearing in a flash next to one of the mixing bowls and baking pans. “Everypony loves cupcakes! And they’re going to love my cupcakes even more!”
“Huh,” Starlight says, nearly as puzzled as Twilight. Her eyes shine white, looking between the two mares. “I never thought about swapping cutie marks like that…”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight points at Fluttershy, barely getting the cerulean mare’s attention. “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asks innocently. “I’m just trying to bake some cupcakes to help out my friend! It’s what my cutie mark is telling me!” She raises an eyebrow. And then her head cocks slightly to the side, her eyes twisting and looking in different directions as her pupils shrink to pinpricks. She picks up a knife that has no business being that large and sharp, twirling it with a wing. A… murderously insane, if Twilight had to choose, expression. “Are you saying I shouldn’t try to put a smile upon her face? Or that I can’t?”
“No! No, no, um,” Twilight stammers as she backs up, trying to appease whatever is possessing Rainbow. “I’m sure cupcakes will be fine!" Her eyes dart around the room, focusing on the first thing she sees. "Plain, old, apple cupcakes! Made from the fruit! We just don’t want to ruin the surprise! Right, girls?”
“Uh, sure,” Starlight says, lost in thought. Fluttershy nods meekly, halfway to the door already.
“I’m so happy to hear that!” Rainbow Dash cheerfully responds, grinning widely. She pulls out a dozen apples from one of the SAA sacks, mincing them core and all. “I hope you feel better, Fluttershy!” She leaves the knife lodged in the cutboard as she darts over, embracing first Fluttershy and then Twilight. She then returns to her baking just as quickly, dumping ingredients together and making several trays of apple cupcakes.
Twilight backs out of the kitchen, leaving Rainbow Dash to her baking. She wants to go back to the library, to see how the Elements changed, if at all, but she needs to check the rest of her Friends and make sure they are doing… well, fine sounds too optimistic. Maybe she’ll settle for not killing themselves.