//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Fuzzy Sparkle // by Burgesse //------------------------------// Bind and Fray Canterlot was said to be a city with flagstones etched in gold, a place where young ponies could display their creations alongside those of famed artists from across the realm. Where silk and gems fit for royalty could be found adorning anypony who visited the famous restaurants that hosted renowned chefs.  Other places offered halls that served food with pleasantly soothing background music by day, then as the moon rose, drinks accompanied by music and dancing that would have more conservative ponies blanch in shock.  Though for all its wealth of art and culture, Canterlot still had its poorer areas. Despite Princess Celestia’s efforts to change things, apartment blocks housing the ponies who worked long hours for short bits were common sights in the ‘poor quarter’ and were often home to more unsavoury businesses.  So Cold Case didn’t hide the disgust on his face at the bland and depressing looking apartment his address book had led him to, with hallways smelling of mold and mildew and years of plaster crumbling down grime-encrusted walls. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”  Cold Case prided himself on solving problems others had given up on, finding solutions where every other pony had thrown in the towel. His cutie mark had only supported this after he invented an illusion spell to re-enact a series of events according to information at hand.  But to learn how a doll could be so animated by observation alone? Without being able to examine and test with a standard battery of spells? That was well beyond even his intellect. He’d run into a Princess-sized roadblock and no animation spell could convince that kind of lead weight to step aside, so after a week of looking over his options he’d turned to a far less reliable but still viable choice.  Family. “Scotch and Sons, Private Investigators?” Cold Case stared at the label on the door in bewilderment.  “Isn’t it great? I have my own office again!” The tawny furred unicorn behind him chuffed while he sipped from a glass of whiskey, completely missing, or ignoring, the look Cold gave him. “Take that you Canterlotian high rollers! Scotch Bonnet’s still in the game!”  “Scotch, this is an apartment, not an office. You live here! I’ve been here before!” Cold Case gestured to the sign. “You don’t have any sons, or even a marefriend. In fact, I’m pretty sure you don’t have any friends either.”  “Ouch! That almost hurt!” Scotch snarked, squeezing past the desk and the book shelves that lined the wall, his cutie mark of a pony silhouette on a folder standing out against his stained fur.  Cold Case took a minute to look around the living room turned office. Pin boards covered with papers ran along a wall. The comfortable sofa was replaced by a solid desk that looked like it had been stolen from a library and the window blinds were half drawn, leaving the room dim. The reek of countless cheap cigars rose in invisible eddies through the air, seeping from the filthy carpet with every step, joined by the sounds of cats screaming as a record player spun.  “You don’t even have your junior partner’s name on the door- wait, tell me that isn’t the ‘sons’ part. Scotch, you know Mossy Rocks is a mare and you aren’t related!” He knew the temperamental earth pony mare who Scotch would occasionally drag in to help with a case was going to be more than a little angry at being left off the nameplate.  A brief glow of his horn silenced the noise that masqueraded as music and Cold Case distantly wished there was another option he could trust instead of the unkempt unicorn.  “Aye, but that's not important! It sets the common pony mind at ease to see a family business, see? But the important part is you need my help, yes?” Scotch sat at the desk with a grin, adjusting his green cap over his scarlet mane. “You only come to me when mother asks you to, or when you’re stuck with a case and I saw mother last week. She says hello, by and by.”  It wasn’t the first time Cold had asked for help, but it burned his pride a little to admit it. “I’ll try to visit her, but yes. I have a potential breakthrough in the field of animation spells.”  “Oh? You’ve been working on that one for a while now. What’s stopping you now, Chilly?” Scotch rubbed his chin idly.  “An order by the Princess.”  Scotch Bonnet coughed up whiskey, sneezing into a hoof. A moment later, his magic reached out and closed the blinds fully, leaving only a small lamp on his desk to illuminate the room. “Cold Case, some might consider me a little sketchy-”  “Some?”  Scotch Bonnet slammed a hoof on the desk with a growl. “The Royal Guard doesn't count! Those teetotallers couldn’t find their own plot, let alone a clue, but trying to skirt around an order from the Princess is a quick way to a boring life on a rock farm.”  “Scotch Bonnet, I helped you solve the Low Bridge case, and remember the Cooper’s Ring case? Our talents work well together, and this is serious.”  The tawny unicorn smirked at the reminder. Low Bridge had started with a corpse and bewildered investigators scratching their heads, and thanks to Scotch and Cold, ended with breaking up a smuggling ring that dealt in, of all things, moonshine and tea. “They almost called in my investigator’s license for those but we got results. I only call you in when it’s important, but you’re asking a lot.” “I know.” Cold Case smiled. He could see the spark of curiosity in his half-brother’s eyes. “If I complete my spell, it could save countless lives and earn me a place in the history books. You’ll be credited with helping me. All you have to do is help me catch a runaway doll.”  Scotch Bonnet contemplated his empty glass and reached for the bottle of whiskey instead, taking a noisy gulp directly from the source before turning back to Cold Case. “Alright, let’s hear your pitch.”  Night Light peered into Twilight’s bedroom where his daughter and her… friend were reading a book and felt a small knot of worry twist. He hadn’t missed the way Fuzzy had slowed down. The enthusiasm she’d shown the first few days fading away, looking tired and listless, until she only seemed to perk up around Twilight.  “What to do…”  He had noticed that Fuzzy looked different but he wasn’t sure why until Shining had mentioned that the mare’s coat needed brushing. Sure enough, up close he could see the subtle changes in her fur, her coat was thicker in places rather than a single uniform length of plush.  More than that, Shining pointed out that Fuzzy had ‘a mare’s walk’ once her cast had been removed, and the muscles now moved and flexed where none had been before “I wish Velvet was here…” His dear wife had been called in to deal with urgent casework at the palace at a time he needed her advice most, while the requests for his midnight sky observations kept pouring in.  Twilight hadn’t noticed Fuzzy’s condition at first but when Fuzzy had tripped over her own hooves and struggled to get up again, she’d run to Shining Armor, tears in her eyes and begged him to help. She’d then thrown herself into reading every book the household had on medical ailments and their causes.  Early the next morning, Shining found her asleep atop a confused Fuzzy, drooling into her mane and a biology book well above her understanding held in a death grip. Food and drink hadn’t been the solution even if they did help for a time; Fuzzy had read enough books that she understood that eating and drinking were vital to ponies, though they had discovered she could go to interesting lengths for oranges. * * * Princess Fuzzy Sparkle froze mid stir when a new scent caught her attention, the bowl of pancake batter suddenly unimportant as Night Light placed a pitcher of liquid on the kitchen table. She left the bowl on the bench, the stirring spoon floating after her, unable to stop sniffing at the enticing smell of fruit that had her mouth watering. The larger stallion eyed her with amusement, a glass already in hoof as he filled it. “Orange juice, fresh from the market. Want some?” She couldn’t refuse. The scent was irresistible as her nose worked overtime. Gold magic gripped the glass and brought it close enough for a pink tongue to take a tentative taste. “Tastes good, I take it? Fresh Press assures me he uses the finest fruit around and I’m inclined to believe him.” She heard Night Light trail off as her world shrank down to the explosions of flavor that danced along her tongue, missing the chuckles of amusement at her changing expressions. A second taste and she cocked her head thoughtfully. Eventually, Fuzzy found her nose stuck in an empty glass and a vague wish for more of the delectable juice. Once she had gotten the glass pried off her nose, she managed to speak. “It’s… good.” There was more in the pitcher... “Heh, I’ll be sure to tell him-woah!” Night Light managed to keep her from getting her head stuck in the pitcher but it had been a near thing. She wasn’t trusted around the fruit either after he caught her trying to fit several in her mouth and smuggle them away to eat later. * * * Twilight watched on, a hoof shaking with nervous energy while Fuzzy chewed slowly, tilting her head one way then the other. She swallowed with a thoughtful look, set the fork on the table and pulled Twilight into a hug. “I-I know, it's terrible- I burnt the pancake and it probably tastes bad-”  “No, I love it.”  “H-how can you say that?”  “You made it.” Fuzzy nuzzled her friend, “Thank you.”  Twilight returned the affection before looking at the list on the table, carefully putting a large tick in the box beside 'pancakes'. "Okay! Next we try broccoli.”  Fuzzy eyed the small green vegetable, giving it a sniff and shaking her head. “I don’t like it.”  “You haven’t even tried it! ” Twilight’s eyes were wide and pleading. “Okay! What about the brussels sprouts? I’ll even give you an orange if you try them.”  Fuzzy ended up eating the small bowl of greens but still resolved to never touch them again.  Not even for an orange.  * * * There was one discovery that had startled all parties when it came to Fuzzy’s newfound diet. The sink was nice and smooth. Cool to the touch, too. Fuzzy liked that in a sink, especially when she had a good, solid grip on it. “Hrrrk-!” She didn’t like the way her insides were trying to join her outside though. Being a plushie had been safe in that regard. “Okay! So… no milk for either of us it seems. I’ll just… assume you’ve got the same allergy I do.” “Hrrk-!... Guuh…” Twilight cringed at the disparaging moan that echoed her words. * * * They also realised that not all knowledge could be found in a book.  Fuzzy glared at the wall, ears pressed back and tail flicking furiously as the bath slowly filled. “Don’t worry, Dad will have fresh sheets on soon. You aren’t the first pony to have issues like this.” Twilight tried to sound supportive but Fuzzy hunched down further. “I don’t want to talk about it. None of the stories mentioned this.” Some learning experiences were less pleasant than others, but at least there were bubbles, so it was not all that bad. * * * Night Light was feeling stumped and a little irritated at himself, with the feeling that they’d all missed something itching at him.  “Can you get Noble Dream’s book down? I saw something there I want to check.”  “Dad? I sent a letter to Cadance, she’s busy with special duties but she promised she’ll try to stop by later.” Shining shifted uneasily on his hooves, looking as worried as Night Light felt.  “Ah… of course. Let me… uff- it feels like it might be stuck.”  He sighed in relief, rubbing tired and aching eyes. “Good. I wish I knew what I was looking for, but your mother is the graduate, not me.”  “Maybe it’s something simple we’re overlooking?”  Simple? It hadn’t been food, nor drink. The lack of any oranges in the house attested to that; even the peels were missing. Was it magic perhaps? An illness? He was loathe to have just any doctor visit but perhaps there wasn’t a choice anymore.  Night Light shook his head. “I’d probably realise what I’m missing if I wasn’t so tired.”  “What if she’s tired? I haven’t seen Fuzzy sleep, just sort of curl up and doze. But that isn’t really sleeping and if she didn’t sleep before then maybe...” Shining thought aloud, trying to think of the times he’d seen the platinum unicorn.  “Let me help… ugh! M-my head!” Both felt a sudden build up of magic, dangerously fast and entirely uncontrolled.  “Twilight, you aren’t supposed to use magic yet-”  “I forgot to put on that horn stuff on- argh- Fuzzy! It’s happening again!”  A voice surging with panic and fear calling for the one it trusted most.  “I’ve got you, Twilight, I’m here.”  ~Fzzap~ Father and son flinched away from the pulse of magic and shared a look before pushing into the bedroom, hearts hammering in worry. A magical surge for a healing horn could be horribly painful and both expected to see Twilight in agony.  Instead, Night Light and Shining watched in awe as Fuzzy lifted her horn from Twilight’s, thin arcs of magic jolting between them for a few moments until the pressure in the room faded, the magic slowly dissipating like a lightning strike that had been grounded in… her.  “Does… does that happen often?”  Fuzzy glanced at the two stallions, eyes glowing as bright as the day she’d first awoken. “It used to, yes. Twilight would get those awful headaches.” Then she pulled her ward into a hug, both yelping as static charge gave them a jolt. She recovered, burying her nose in the purple mane and gently helped a shivering Twilight through her breathing exercises. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell my Velvet when she gets home...”  Shining snorted. “You think mom’s going to freak? Cadance is going to go nuts when she hears about this.”  Twilight Velvet turned down the path to her home, blinking her dry, aching eyes to bring the front door into focus. The last four days of living in her office, reviewing and writing reports on all manner of ‘ponies of interest’ her investigations department had found, had culminated in staring her assistant into a crying mess for the crime of bringing her more case files.  If it wasn’t paperwork, it was grilling ponies for details. From innocent stargazers that were brought in ‘just in case’ to a rare few ponies of a more insidious nature, including one mare who’d acquired quite the morbid collection of bone artworks.  Working for the Palace Intelligence Network opened the doors to meeting all kinds of weird and confusing ponies.  It wouldn’t have been so damn creepy if she hadn’t been so eager to tell us who they’d been made from. In the end, she’d drawn the line at dealing with a rotund earth pony who thought he was ‘The Nightmare Reborn’ and handed him over to a colleague. Now she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed beside her sweet Night Light and sleep for a week.  She opened the door and slid her saddlebags off, the smells of dinner cooking reminding her that she’d skipped lunch, and a rapid beat of approaching hooves gave her just enough warning to brace herself.  “Mom’s home!” A purple missile crashed into her and Velvet looked down at Twilight’s beaming smile. “Mom! We missed you so much!”  “I missed you too, honey.” The weight on her shoulders felt lighter and Velvet nuzzled her daughter, taking in the trimmed hair and gunk-free horn. “Shouldn’t you have something on that horn?”  “I asked the doctor when we visited and he said it healed enough to eat with, so I can let it heal on its own.” Twilight’s hooves danced as she shared the good news “That's great news!” A knot of worry in Velvet’s chest came loose and fell away. Her daughter was so gifted, had so much to offer, that the possibility of permanent injury taking her future away had terrified Velvet.  “Twilight, why don’t you get cleaned up for dinner and let your mother get inside the door before you talk her ears off?” Night Light, her handsome hero and studly stallion, came to her rescue. She expected him to grab her saddle bags, but the added kiss was a welcome surprise as her purple limpet detached and scurried away.  “Long day?” She could see the shadows under his eyes again. Time and stress might have eroded his looks, but the twinkle in his eyes never dimmed nor did his beautiful smile ever fail to warm her heart.  “Let’s feed the hungry mare, then we can tell you how it went.” He walked off, saddle bags floating along behind him. “It has been quite a doozy.”  * * * Fuzzy couldn’t shake the odd fatigue that gripped her. Even the sudden rush of magic from her Twilight hadn’t lasted more than a few hours before it was all she could do to keep her nose from dropping onto her empty plate. Dinner had been another whirlwind of flavors and smells but by the end, she’d struggled to pay attention to anything, so Shining had carried her to Twilight’s bedroom where they could read in peace. As she lay on the floor, an odd urge settled on her-one she couldn’t muster the will to ignore. She dragged herself up the side of the bed, pushing a book aside to flutter to the floor, and pressed her cheek to Twilight’s chest, earning a surprised squeak and a muffled query she couldn’t even understand. “Fuzzy? What are you doing? That tickles!” Instead, all she could hear was the steady beat, strong and clear. It was comforting in a way she didn’t understand. “Are you tired? Is- is that it?” Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision, part of her trying to rally, refusing to leave her ward unguard. Princesses did not abandon their little ponies no matter what! “It’s okay, Fuzzy. It’s my turn to protect you.” Princess Fuzzy slowly let her frayed grip in awareness slip away, sinking down until all she could hear was the ‘ba-boom’. Time could have passed but Fuzzy couldn’t bring herself to mind, not until she realised she was standing before a door with a familiar cutie mark on it. “Twilight…” She reached out. The door handle was warm, opening with the slightest touch as she stepped through. * * * The bedroom was quiet, the soft peace stirred only by a duet of faint snores from the unicorns curled up on the bed. The watching eyes could just faintly see a glow where the sleeping unicorn’s horns touched, purple and gold aura flickering in a rhythmic pattern.  A last look about the room showed only a few books out of place and Velvet giggled faintly at the sight of several other lesser plushies that had been pushed off the bed into a heap on the floor. Twilight Sparkle only had one true friend with her this evening, and all was right in the house.  “Sleep tight, you two.”  Velvet pulled the door closed and went to find her own snuggleable stallion.