//------------------------------// // Rthö Ebeüf: Plucked Butterfly Averted // Story: CYCLED // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// The next week flew by as Twilight thought about her future. What was in store now? She wasn’t sure anymore, but… the rush that came from the unknown… she now understood what Maestro found so tantalizing about it. Old events changing, new events arriving… all of it was something that made it all worth it. Sure, it was a bit hard, knowing that she wasn’t the first that he had tried to show this all to among the six of them. But… she didn’t really mind so much anymore. After all, here she was, the one that had helped him further and more effectively than the others. And she was his fillyfriend, which was an experience that she would cherish for a long time. But then she thought about something. How was Trixie doing? She hadn’t heard from her in a while. The last time she asked Maestro about that, he’d said that he’d been keeping tabs. Apparently she was doing well, if still a bit miffed. But Twilight wanted to hear from her. She nodded to herself, and grabbed a parchment and quill and began to write. “Dear Trixie, “It’s been some time since I heard from you… I know that you were hoping to become Maestro’s fillyfriend instead of me, but I can’t control the way things work out. Though I won’t deny… I always thought that it would’ve been you to win his heart, not me. I hope that you know that I wish you the best, wherever you may be. I hope to speak with you soon. “Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.” Giving a nod, she rolled it up and sealed it up. She sent it off with her magic, and hope for the best. It wasn’t much time after she had sent the letter that she got a knock on the door. She went to answer, and saw that it was Maestro. “Mae-Mae! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?” He gave a nod. “I’ve been tracking the Nightmare Energy, and I was pretty close to finding the source. But then, it jumped towards Fluttershy’s cottage, and… well, I think you know what that means.” Twilight sighed. “Fluttershy? But she’s so… sweet!” She turned to face Maestro. “Maybe, we can get there before the spell takes hold! I’ll get the others!” He understood. “I’ll do what I can to keep her with us. I’d rather not have to deal with yet another Nightmare version of a friend.” Without hesitation, he teleported away, and Twilight went off to get the girls. She found Rainbow first. “Rainbow! We’ve got a problem. Fluttershy’s being targeted!” Rainbow growled. “The one using that nasty magic is going after her? Not cool. I’ll speed over to Applejack’s and you go get Rarity. I’ve got a feeling that Pinkie might be there already.” Twilight nodded, and she teleported over to Rarity’s as Rainbow sped off to Sweet Apple Acres.  Twilight went up to Rarity’s house and knocked on her door. Rarity came and answered, a bit of a perplexed expression on her face. “Twilight, what is the matter?” Twilight explained quickly. “The Nightmare Energy is on the move again! We’ve got to protect Fluttershy!” Rarity gasped, and gave a nod. She followed as Twilight ran towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The two arrived there, and saw that Rainbow, Applejack, Maestro, and Pinkie were all already there. Maestro spoke without turning as he focused on his spell. “You all made it! I wouldn’t be able to hold it off much longer if you were any later.” He opened the door. “Let’s do this.” They all went inside and saw quite the sight. Fluttershy was in the corner, eyes shut and teeth grit. She was surrounded by Nightmare Energy as it tried to pry into her. But the more startling thing about the scene was the other figure. It looked to be a pony form of the Tantabus, although it had eyes of its own. It was the one firing the spell, and it scowled as it noticed the group of heroes. “Bah. Not good.” It cut the magic, and huffed. “That should be more than enough. Now to-” It was cut off when Rarity’s, Maestro’s and Twilight’s magic grabbed it all at the same time. “Rainbow got up in its face, very cross. “So you’re the one that’s been doing this? After what you have done, we’re sure as Tartarus not letting you go!” The strange pony growled, and tried all it could to get out. “You’re too late anyway! Plucked Butterfly will soon manafest!” At that, their attention was drawn to Fluttershy, who now had tears streaming down her face. She was still fighting it, which was amazing in and of itself. But she wouldn’t be able to hold it off forever. Maestro let go of his magic, and turned his focus to Fluttershy. “Don’t you give up on me! Remember that time I helped you with your critters?” Fluttershy gave a weak nod, and muttered softly. “Y-yes…” The nightmare magic started to ebb away, and Pinkie spoke up. “Hey, Shy. Remember when you helped me babysit the Cake Twins? You were such a great help!” Fluttershy’s tears stopped falling as she started to stand. “I… was?” Rarity piped in with something too. “I do so enjoy our trips to the spa, dear. It would be a crime if you could no longer go with me…” Fluttershy stopped gritting her teeth. “R-really?” Rainbow gave a grin. “Hey, the two of us have been together through a lot! Don’t you forget that!” Fluttershy stood straighter as her eyes relaxed. “Dash…” Applejack brought up something as well. “All o’ us helped ya out of that mess wit’ Iron Will, recall? Well, we’re helpin’ ya here too!” The magic was at its weakest now, and Fluttershy smiled. “Everypony…” Twilight struck as the magic was fading. “We’ll always be there for you, Shy. No matter what.” The magic faded completely, and Fluttershy opened her eyes. “Thanks.” Their attention was drawn to the strange pony as it stood. “Hmph. It’s not over yet. I-!” Maestro caught her in his magic. He turned to the others. “So. What should we do with her? We can’t just let her go…” Rainbow huffed. “Give her a taste of her own magic!” Twilight shook her head. “That won’t do us any good. She’ll just get stronger.” She looked at the pony, though. “Maybe she just needs a friend.” Their captive huffed in irritation. “I am Nightmare Echo! Like I would ever-!” Maestro put a magic cork in her mouth, and sighed. “Hoof-full.” He turned to face Twilight. “I don’t know if she’ll ever listen, but you have a point. We’ll give her a chance.” Twilight beamed. Things were bound to change now…” Castle of the Two Pony Sisters The Creature growled. “No. NO. NO! This isn’t right!” The Creature swished its tails angrily. “Take my servant captive, eh? Well.” A dark mad grin made itself evident. “You just made a big mistake.” It channeled magic through its form, and shouted. “If you wish to change the rules…! I WILL OBLIGE!” The Creature cackled as a new creation was manifested in front of it.