"Oh good, I just finished setting up the table."
Table? Please, no more food.
Looking over the boutique, one thing was immediately made clear. This mare, Rarity, was extremely skilled at her craft. Every article of clothing looked like it was worth a fortune. Remembering what happened earlier when I bumped into her, I cringed at the thought of not having the reconstruction spell.
"Please, come take a seat."
Around the corner of what I assumed was the living room was a smaller room with a smaller table just big enough to seat three ponies.
Dawn was the first to seat herself, and Rarity was the last. It must have been a courtesy. On the table was a tray with a teapot, three teacups, and a few baked goods on it.
Rarity used her magic to pour each of us a cup of tea. Dawn took her teacup in her magic, levitating it to her hooves, before sipping it. I mimicked her actions.
Dawn smiled contently. "As usual, Rarity, you make the best tea."
I nodded in agreement. "Definitely."
"Oh, you, it's actually a newer recipe I've been working on. It's a hybrid of lemonade, mint, and apricot tea."
Rarity paused for a moment. "I wanted to ask, are you alright after what happened in the Everfree, Luster? I heard a friend of yours was actually injured."
Dawn's eyes widened a little. "I'm fine, it was a bit scary, but it's over with. And my friend's right here with me," Dawn said, leaning over to wrap a forehoof around me.
"Oh my, I didn't realize. You were the one alone in the Everfree before Dawn arrived?"
"Yep, that was me."
"Whatever were you doing out there, darling?"
"It's where I lived."
"Oh my."
"Say, how did you know about that? Did my mom tell you?" Dawn asked Rarity.
"Starlight? No, not directly. It was actually through a letter from Twilight that I found out."
Dawn raised a hoof to her chin in confusion. "The princess?"
"Yes, Twilight called for a meeting between multiple important figures in Equestria. She even alerted the former princesses to the current situation. I believe it's related to the madness plaguing Ponyville. Anyway, let's set that aside for now. We don't need that getting under our coats."
"Stand still, darling, I'm almost done," Rarity said as she took my measurements.
I'll tell you what, balancing on your hind legs for minutes on end was definitely much harder than I thought it'd be.
"And...done! You can relax now, darling."
I fell back down onto all fours, my hind legs a bit wobbly. Not sore, but just wobbly.
"What do you plan to do with those?" I asked curiously.
Rarity began taking notes, levitating a pencil and notepad. "Oh, you know, a bit of this and that. You'll know soon enough."
I didn't respond, unsure of what to say. Knowing Rarity's craft, she's probably fitting me for a dress. I didn't think dresses would suit me, but I wasn't about to be rude to someone in their own home.
"Bye, Rarity, see you later," Dawn waved at Rarity from just outside the entrance to the boutique.
I waved to Rarity, gesturing goodbye.
"Goodbye, darlings, stay safe," Rarity said before gently closing the door.
With that, Dawn and I began heading back to the castle.
That was nice. "I like her."
Dawn smiled at me. "Yeah? I'm happy to hear that."
Out of nowhere, Dawn suddenly stopped walking.
"Dawn?"
I stopped, noticing that she had fallen behind. Her expression was blank, as she stared wide-eyed at nothing. Without warning, Dawn fell to the ground and began spasming.
"Dawn?!" I screamed.
I got down to her level nudging her to no avail. Her spasming stopped as her muzzle curved into a wicked grin, eyes wide with madness. Her neck craned toward me at a very uncomfortable-looking degree, still lying on the ground.
I stepped back in horror. Whatever this was, it wasn't Dawn.
"So you're the one who got Xahcatl killed? Though he was a fool, he was still one of us. You'll pay for what you did. He shall rise...he shall purify us all..."
I looked around, seeing if anypony would help us, but everypony around was no longer moving. They just stood there, as if frozen in time. Unanimously, they all began leering at me, muzzles curved into wicked grins, and eyes wide with that same madness present on Dawn's face. If I wasn't already freaked out, this definitely did the trick. It was now dead silent in Ponyville. Not even the birds were chirping.
As the being masquerading as Dawn finished talking, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out. As if nothing happened, everypony carried on with their lives. A flash of light shown beside me as Starlight appeared out of nowhere. She always seemed to arrive at the perfect time.
Starlight turned to me. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Everything was normal until she suddenly started acting possessed."
Starlight turned toward Dawn, picking her up with her magic.
With a flash of light, we were all back at the castle in a room I hadn't seen before. Plastered all over the room were what looked to be important Equestrian figures, quotes, science, and magic principles. Was this Dawn's room?
Starlight placed Dawn on a fairly large bed, scanning her with her magic. Above the bed was a large portrait of herself and a fairly larger purple pony with an ethereal mane, both smiling brightly.
"Is that Princess Twilight?" I thought to myself.
"There was a large spike in her magic levels, but she seems to be fine now." Starlight breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as well.
"Anon, did anything else happen?"
Recalling the experience was borderline traumatizing, but I figured I had to contribute somehow. "When she started acting mad, it was as if someone was speaking through her. They even went as far as forcing her to make the creepiest smile. They said something about me killing someone named Xahcatl, that I would pay..."
I racked my mind, thinking a bit more, Starlight looking at me expectantly. "They also said, 'he shall rise... and that he shall purify the world,' whatever that means."
Starlight's eyes widened in shocked realization. "Alright, Anon, you should head to bed. I suggest you don't go anywhere by yourself for a while."
I agreed with her, looking at Dawn one last time before heading to my room. "Rest well, Dawn. Faust knows you deserve it."