//------------------------------// // Chapter. 12 – Faults and Improvement (Part.1) // Story: My Most Faithful Mortifer // by hamishwarfare //------------------------------// Chapter. 12 – Faults and Improvement (Part.1) Time waits for no pony and no matter how much Sunset Shimmer looked down the back of the couch, or under her bed; she just could not find where the last two weeks have gone. It was almost like half of the town had been waiting for a librarian to return to the library; even though The Golden Oak Library was still open for business before her arrival. It was just run by the local town hall. Maybe it was the entertainment of seeing the new pony? Sunset wasn’t sure and the few ponies she had asked –Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Mayor Mare– all vehemently denied this theory. Regardless of the reason though, she had been kept quite busy with her new position. Currently Sunset was cleaning the shelves of the Mistry and Adventure section within the fiction area; a modest number of books were here, situated over three shelves of the bright and sturdy inbuilt living wood bookcase. All of the fictional tomes that once rested upon the wooden shelves were all, currently, suspended near the ceiling thanks to her magenta magic; as she washed down the shelves with a sponge and bucket of water. Deep slow breathing with a forehead dripping with sweat, Sunset was currently set on focusing her mind on such a large encompassing Levitation spell. The sixty six different books were not a problem for her, even with them high up and around the ceiling; neither was the bucket of water, as she was not levitating it at this moment. No it was the sponge that was causing problems; more specifically the manipulation of said sponge. Levitation is one of the first spells a unicorn learns and, once mastered, can be capable of allowing the caster to do several tasks at once. It is basic and limited in scope, but due to its simplicity requires next to no power to use; provided, of course, it is used as intended. Lifting objects up to a reasonable total weight, basic writing with a quill; simple things that even a foal could do/think of, for the spell requires a clear picture of what is happening to work be it visual or mental. There is no refinement or finesse with the Levitation spell; a unicorn cannot do fine work with the spell, even simple calligraphy is not possible with it. More advanced tasks require the adult version of Levitation; Telekinesis. It is far more capable in nearly every way, but can only be achieved with experience using and mastering Levitation; walking before running if you will. Returning to basics when creating and/or practising new spell ideas is the first step in spell manipulation. It reduces unknown variables and helps narrow down where the problems could be; for an easier time fault finding, problem solving and just inspecting the spell in general. It is also safer for both the caster and the surrounding area if things get really out of hand. Levitation and Telekinesis are also some of the spells that are the closest in allowing a unicorn to multicast. So if somepony is trying to achieve the impossible feat of actual multicasting of spells, then the most basic of said spells would be the place to start. Currently what Sunset was trying to do was to clean the shelves with the sponge –an easy task– while lifting all the books from said shelves up to the ceiling –a moderate to challenging feat of magic; if for no other reason than the amount of books being levitated. She was doing all this, while at the same time also trying to deliberately spin every single book so that each one span in their own unique direction; without looking at them. A complex exercise that would give an average unicorn quite the workout while using the spell Telekinesis; however for a unicorn using Levitation, as Sunset Shimmer is currently doing, this task would be nigh on impossible. Sunset’s eyes were glued to the shelf in front of her, watching with almost fanatical interest as the wobbling sponge washed away the dust and grime that had built up over the years; all the while making sure the sponge wasn’t too dry, wet, or dirty. Her mind had its own task; it was trying to make the books spin by mental visualisation. A few spinning in their own way would be a challenging exercise; a dozen books spinning uniquely and most unicorns would have dropped everything, as the focus on the spell was spread too thin causing it to collapse. It was almost like spinning plates on sticks; except using magic, and with no sticks. Sunset had forty two spinning in their own unique way as she focused on cleaning the shelves. Princess Celestia had not yet sent her the magic container that Sunset was looking for; however she also saw the wisdom in Celestia’s words about reabsorbing potentially contaminated magic. It would be almost as bad as injecting contaminated blood into your veins; only with a lot more pain and a lower chance of death. So Sunset Shimmer had gone back to her attempts at multicasting; this was the latest exercise she had devised in helping her mind think in two places at once. Was it working? This was only the first time she had tried this particular exercise, so not enough data to confirm or deny. Was it taxing on her mind? Oh absolutely. The library door was suddenly slammed open as a small group of fillies came charging into the main room; full of loud chatter and excitement of finally getting out of school. This disturbance caused what little focus Sunset had left on the spell to break, dropping everything that was within its magical grasp. The sponge wasn’t a problem, and she wasn’t holding the bucket of water for just this reason; but the books… The fillies all found themselves frozen in place as a wave of raspberry covered magic suddenly passed over the whole room. Any attempt to move or squirm out of the Telekinesis grip was futile, the pressure being exerted upon them all was so strong it was a wonder how any of them were still breathing. Only their eyes could move freely as they tried to find the cause of their stillness. Standing by a set of empty shelves was the new librarian, her horn aglow with raspberry light and enough power was being emitted from the magic wielding appendage that her mane had started to shift in a non-existent wind. She was looking over to them with an unreadable expression; all of them knew that look only meant trouble and discipline. With an almost military march to her step, the librarian walked over to the group of four young fillies –two earth ponies, a unicorn, and a pegasus. Her posture never wavered out of full confidence, sweat had gathered over her brow, but if that was from exhaustion the fillies couldn’t tell; the magic sure felt strong enough to rule out that possibility at least. Sunset reached where the young fillies stood frozen in place –almost at the centre of the room– and if possible her face became even more unreadable. She towered over them all, more so than any other mare they knew in town; it was made worse by the silence in her hoof steps as she moved right up to the intimidated group. “Girls, you all startled me a bit there. Remember this is a library and while normally a pretty safe place; I was cleaning the shelves and, well, have a look above you.” Minute head movements along with their rotating eyes allowed the youngsters to look above their heads; and what they saw caused them all to gulp nervously. Less than one of their own hooves separated the four fillies from being buried in a small mountain of books. With a wave of her horn, Sunset moved the books over to where she was cleaning and placed them neatly into several piles just off to the side; she was only about half way through the chore. Silently she was annoyed with the suspended books; they were spinning, but their positions seemed to be converging together. It appeared that, subconsciously, her mind was trying to reduce the stress of the spell. ‘Hmm, need to refine this exercise a little more; but I believe I’m on the right path.’ Now that the danger of falling books had past the fillies all felt the invisible grip on them slowly release; giving the girls time to regain their hooves. “I apologise for the mass telekinetic grip, but I think that was the better outcome; don’t you all?” They just gave her a silent wide eyed stare. This appeared to be the wrong thing to do. The powerful unicorn librarian just stared at them more, before the smallest of a frown appeared on her face; the fillies all knew that nothing good came out of such an impassive frown. They were now terrified. The off white coloured earth pony with purple glasses even started to tremble. “Umm, is there anything I can help you with? I am sorry about grabbing you like that and I don’t want you to be scared of me. Respect my rules, sure, but I would like to help you if I can. What homework has your teacher given you? I’m sure I have the materials to help you study and fully understand it.” The four fillies looked at each other in silent debate before all of them, as one, sprinted out of the door that had yet to shut. There was a pang in Sunset’s chest as the library became empty once more. The past hour had been the quietest the library had been, giving her the idea to practice a little and clean at the same time. It was supposed to be a win-win situation. Now fully focused on the cleaning job it took Sunset all of another minute to finish washing the shelves, dry them and place the books back into order of the Dewey Decimal System. The library was still empty, no pony was there to distract her; she could probably hear a pin drop all the way over in the study area. All this silence made the pang in her chest feel all the more noticeable. She did not like this feeling, not at all. There was a spark of, something, jogging her memory to a suggestion she received when she first arrived in town; and with no better idea on how to fix the unpleasant feeling dwelling within her chest, Sunset made up her mind. She placed a notice of absence up on the door before locking the library’s entrance and left; her destination a place where everypony knew your name. Or rather a single individual knew everypony’s name. ‘I guess I really do need those kindness lessons. I wonder if Pinkie has gotten anywhere with her friend? Come to think of it I never did catch her name.’ “Hi Sunset. Bad day at the office huh?” Opening the door to Sugarcube Corner revealed the sight of Pinkie Pie behind the glass display of the service counter. The place was quiet with only two tables occupied with customers, and they looked to have been there for some time. “Yeah, I scared a group of fillies off as I was cleaning some shelves. I didn’t mean to, they startled me. But the damage has been done, and they’re now terrified of me. I don’t suppose your friend is up for giving some lessons on kindness, is she?” There was a distinct glint in Pinkie’s eyes as she slid a cupcake over the counter. “Well actually she agreed as soon as I suggested it to her. I was more waiting for you to ask for them. I’m afraid she’ll be busy at the veterinary clinic for the rest of the day, but she should be free tomorrow. I’ll double check and get it all sorted for you. Now cheer up and eat the cupcake. It’s a brand new recipe I’ve been working on and I think this one’s come out the best. Just be a little careful, it could be messy.” With a raised eyebrow and just a little trepidation, Sunset looked at the cupcake. It was clearly a chocolate based cupcake with a slightly lumpy pale white frosting generously spiralled on top. The cake itself was a little on the large size for a cupcake, but never the less looked quite tasty. Currently it was innocently resting within a lavender paper case. Looking up at Pinkie for confirmation, all Sunset received was a vigorously nodding head with what looked like motions to take a big bite. Sighing, she did just that. The sponge was moist and wonderfully flavoured with chocolate. The frosting was bitter sweet with a pleasant mild nuttiness to it; and there in the middle of the cupcake was a cavity filled with a soft thick liquid caramel that slowly oozed out of the gap created by her bite. It was rich with a slight saltiness that helped both enrich the sweetness and yet cut it back at the same time; making it more of a burst of flavour than long and drawn out. This is a tasty cupcake. “I knew you’d like it. It was actually you that inspired me to make it, with what you said at your Welcome to Ponyville Party. It’s a chocolate cupcake with a cashew nut icing and a surprise liquid caramel centre. It took forever to get the ratio for the caramel just right so that it stays gooey even when the cupcake has cooled, but firm enough so that it wouldn’t leak out all over the place.” “Well, congrats. This is officially the nicest cupcake that I have ever eaten.” ‘Not that I’ve had many to compare it with.’ “Good, cause they’ve been selling pretty well. The Cakes are considering making them a permanent addition to the counter. Just like all of my other creations.” “Well I’m glad I could do that for you at least. I better get back to the library though, before anyone comes looking for me. Say, can you prepare a box of cupcakes for tomorrow. I think four would be plenty, don’t you? Oh and what her name? I don’t think I ever got it.” “Fluttershy. Her name is Fluttershy. Normally I’d let the pony speak for themselves; but for both of your sakes, I think I’ll give you a little heads up. As I’ve hinted at and as her name suggests, she is a very shy pony so when you do go and see her, be patient with her. Other than that, I’ll get you a nice selection of both of your favourite cupcakes ready for you to pick up tomorrow, say around half past ten, to get to her place for an eleven-o-clock tea session, ok?” Sunset smiled and nodded her agreement; tomorrow she would start her kindness training. It was quite unusual to get summoned to the throne room. Normally if Princess Celestia wanted to see him, she would simply hunt him down; it’s not like he was really all that hard to find. Still she had requested he come to the throne room, so that was where Spike was heading too now. The throne room itself was grand and bright, being mostly made out of polished marble shaded in a very pale teal colour. The room itself was massive, able to hold hundreds of ponies within it and still feel spacious. Strong supporting columns were evenly spaced out and embedded slightly into the wall; holding up an arched ceiling that could not decide if it was silvery white or shaded aqua in colour. Scattered randomly over the ceiling were white diamonds acting almost like stars. The walls were filled with both banners and stained glass windows; each one depicting a story of an important part of history. The floor itself was polished to reflection and in the centre was a large gold inlayed maroon carpet that travelled from the doors all the way up to the throne. It was wide enough for four ponies to comfortably stand side by side as they made the pilgrimage across the room. The raised dias where the golden sun throne rested was a little strange. It was at least two ponies high and made out of white marble. The carpet travelled up the wide steps all the way to the single golden sun throne. That was situated to the left of where the carpet stopped; not the centre. While the décor and design of the throne room has changed several times throughout Princess Celestia’s reign; the dias never has. The sun throne has always sat on the left side of the dias, never right bang in the middle. It was just another of the many accepted quirks of Princess Celestia; right alongside her love of cakes. “Ah, hello Spike. How are you this afternoon?” Princess Celestia was nice enough to meet Spike at the base of the raised platform that her throne sat upon. He still had to walk the significant length of the bright cavernous throne room to get to her though. Spike bowed deeply, one of his clawed hands rested upon his stomach while the other made a fist at the base of his spine. “I am doing well Princess. Though, I must confess to be quite surprised at being summoned to the throne room; normally you would simply seek out my location, no doubt from one of the guards. Is there something wrong?” That Celestia had actively summoned him to the throne room meant it was more than just a social call. Whatever the reason she had to summon him to such a grand and prestigious location; must also call for a little formality, right? “My my, such elegance? I take it this is the work of my niece?” A raised eyebrow was accompanied by a smile on the white alicorn’s face that threatened to break into laughter; Celestia certainly was not expecting the formal treatment. “Yes it is, and since you have summoned me here it seems appropriate to use it in such a situation.” “Then I shall keep that in mind for future encounters. As it happens though what I have asked you here for does require you in a more active role within the castle. However it appears that the other pony who I summoned has gotten lost, so we’ll need to wait for them.” “Hey, I am not lost,” came the distinct tones of Celestia’s student, Trixie Lulamoon, from the open golden doors at the base of the throne room. Moments pass before said unicorn appears at the doorway, looking like she had just spent a moment at the door taking a breather. “So Princess, you summoned me; well us from the looks of things? What do you need?” “Ah, Trixie. I’ve noticed that for the past little while you and Spike have been working remarkably well together; and so I was hoping to capitalise on that by extending your duties a little. If you both are in agreement I was hoping that you could work together to observe and learn how to manage the Summer Sun Festival this year. Of course you will be chaperoned by Quick Quill, who normally manages events such as these. But due to their recent decline in health the two of us agreed it would be for the best if there were other ponies who were able to take over just in case. As you yourself have done already, Spike, on several occasions with their more minor roles.” This was big, actually big responsibility that Celestia was entrusting them both with. Spike looked over to see a gleam within Trixie’s eyes that was matched in intensity by her Cheshire cat grin. And while he could say he wasn’t as excited as Trixie looked, even he would admit that he still wanted to jump and down on the spot. “As you can imagine, a lot of the preparation work has already begun. Truthfully even the preparations for next year’s celebration have already been set in motion; what you shall be doing this year is learning the aspects of setup and running such an event. If you both do as well as I expect you too, then you shall be asked to join the event managing team for next year’s celebration and perhaps on other social events as well.” Trixie couldn’t help herself. “The Gala?” Celestia just smiled at her student. “Eventually, perhaps. If you succeed in the Summer Sun Celebration two years in a row, then I can see little reason to prevent you from joining that events team if you wish.” Trixie let out some strange high pitch noise of what Spike supposed was happiness. “I’ll do it Princess!” Celestia raised a delicate eyebrow at her student’s enthusiasm. “Remember I said I wanted you both to work on this as a team. Together you both have a surprising amount of focus and cooperation, even for such a small time working together. Apart, I fear you both may fall back into old habits.” Trixie was not listening to her mentor; instead she was trying her absolute best to give herself the biggest set of puppy dog begging eyes possible, and flashing them at Spike with full beams. He simply sighed, “I guess I would like to do more for you and Cadance than act as a backup scribe. Sure, I’m willing to give it my all.” He was quickly engulfed by a far too happy blue unicorn, who could only say “thank” and “you” repeatedly. “Well alright then. Meet me here at nine-o-clock tomorrow morning and I’ll take you to Quick Quill where you’ll both help and learn from them as much as possible. You only have fifteen days until the celebration this year and there are many things that can still go wrong; so prepare yourselves for a busy day. I’ll see you then.” Spike would have replied to Celestia, but he was still being strangled by the blue unicorn who could still only say two words. It was honestly surprising how such a small and out of the way cottage could house so many different animal species; and yet not one got into a fight with the other. There was even a bear around the property that was quite content to sit there and soak up the midday sun. Currently Sunset Shimmer was sitting at a small table near a gurgling stream that passed the small cottage home of Fluttershy; a cosy little things with cream walls and visible wooden supports. Strangely it was the thatch roof that drew ones eye to the home, as it was made out of fresh green foliage. Now whether it stayed green due to magic or because the building was also part of a living tree; Sunset could not tell at this moment. The sun was bright and warm, and both she and her latest tutor thought it would be nice to have their first session out in the pleasant late morning sun. The bear friend of Fluttershy’s had sat down just a little bit away from the, currently, empty seat; probably as a form of reassurance, though he was trying to look like he was just bathing in the golden rays. Honestly Sunset didn’t know what was more suspicious; that she herself hadn’t asked about the bear, or that it seemed the bear was slightly nervous around her. “Sorry for the wait; I had to wash the tea pot out as some of my mice friends had made a home out of it. The Mousekewitz family have rather expensive taste when making their home.” The soft yellow coated pegasus gently trotted over to the table; her long light pink mane and tail swaying in time to her movements. On her back, and being supported by a pair of wings, was a tray containing a beautiful white china tea set; gleaming perfect white background and detailed in blue designs depicting animals connected all the pieces together. It was obviously from far off eastern lands; and also very old. “It’s fine Fluttershy, I’m surprised your allowing me to even see that tea set, let alone be allowed to use it. It’s a perfect antique.” “Oh it is not a problem. I haven’t had an excuse to use this set from my grandmother for a very long time; making a new friend feels like a good reason to bring it out, don’t you think. Oh, and thank you for bringing these cupcakes with you, they’re my favourite.” And so began a timid back and forth between two socially awkward ponies over tea. It was during a lull in conversation that movement appeared out of the corner of Sunset’s eyes. A cloaked figure was walking along the path towards the Everfree Forest. Sunset took only a minor interest in the passing pony and with the path to the back of Fluttershy, she did not see the pony at all. After what could only have been another minute or two, Sunset spied a group of young fillies walking the same path the cloaked figure had just taken. She recognised the young fillies instantly and it brought back the uncomfortable feeling within her chest. “Hey, Fluttershy; see those fillies there, what are their names? They were most of the fillies that I frightened at the library yesterday.” Turning around in her seat to see where her guest was pointing, Fluttershy spotted the three fillies in question. One was a small earth pony with a pale straw coloured coat and a light marron mane and tail; she was wearing a big bow that almost matched the colour of the mane it was tied around. Walking next to the young earth pony, was a young unicorn whose coat was an off white in colour and her tail and mane were a mixture of pinks and purples. The final filly of the trio was a small pegasis whose coat was a soft orange, with her mane and tail a blended mixture of purple with just a little orange. This young pegasus appeared to be suffering from hypoplasia of the wing; a rare condition that can permanently ground a pegasus if left untreated. These three fillies were the infamous ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders.’ “Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? You scared them in the library? What happened?” “Well those three and one other came running into the library as I was cleaning some shelves and levitating books. It gave me enough of a startle that I dropped all the books in my magic grip; if it wasn’t for a mass telekinetic grab that I cast, some of them could have been really hurt. As it was they didn’t like being held like that, even if it was for their safety, and I haven’t seen them since. I even tried to apologise but they ran. I didn’t like the feeling it left me with.” There was a slight change in Fluttershy’s face; her expression became one of understanding and reassurance, it made the uncomfortable feeling within Sunset dissipate a little. “Hey!” It looked like Fluttershy was going to say something, but was interrupted by somepony shouting at them. “Did you gals see where the Crusaders went to?” It was Applejack, and she was accompanied by both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash; and one other as well. A very pretty unicorn mare with an almost silver white coat and deep purple coloured mane and tail; she had a striking resemblance to one of the small fillies that had just past. “O-Oh, yeah we saw them heading along the road.” Fluttershy seemed to be in a quandary; she obviously liked all the mares around her, but it seemed that her social anxiety was still taking a toll on its prisoner. There were six of them in total right now, and it sounded like it wouldn’t take too much more for her to feel overwhelmed. However the news was obviously not what Applejack wanted to hear. “Tarnation! Those fillies are following Zecora. Ether they’re up to no good, or Zecora’s put a curse on them! Ya gotta help us get them back. Come on!” and with that the four mares continued off down the path that took them to the Everfree forest. Fluttershy and Sunset looked at each other for only a second before chasing after the group of mares on a mission. It didn’t take long for this six mare strong adventuring party to arrive at the edge of the forest, and it was only thanks to Sunset being at the back of the herd that she didn’t just charge right in. She almost bumped into the white mare she didn’t know; though this went unnoticed by the white unicorn in question as she, along with all the other mares from the small town, hesitated at the border of the, now, looming trees. It was actually a little interesting for Sunset to watch these determined mares hesitate at the edge of this infamous wood; something was flickering through all of their faces that she just did not understand. She made the assumption that it was fear, but she couldn’t be sure. The quiet of the area was disturbed by a snapping of a nearby twig along with the hoot of an owl; this distraction was apparently what was needed to break whatever enchantment fell upon the other five mares of the group. “Oh this is ridiculous. Sweetie Belle and the others just walked in, and here we are acting like fillies. Let’s get them before something truly awful happens.” It was surprising to Sunset that it was the other unicorn of the group that had snapped out of the stupor first. To have broken out of her fear induced state faster than the likes of Applejack or Rainbow Dash said a lot about her feeling for her little sister. This of course spurred the others into moving as well; it wasn’t long before all of them were galloping once more. The six of them were moving at a fast pace through the trees and undergrowth, following along a slim trail that delved deeper into the forest. The white silver unicorn had moved into the front, while Sunset was still the last member of the pack; it was more to not scare the fillies off when they finally located them. That and she felt a little out of place; these mares all knew each other, and while she was friendly with most of them now, she still felt distant. They had just passed through the clearing that Sunset created on her first patrol of the forest when the rescue party heard three young voices beginning to argue. There, just beyond a field of blue flowers were the missing fillies. Sunset had every intension of following the other mares through the blue flowers and seeing if the young girls were all right. But just as she was placing a hoof into the innocent patch, she received a face full of brown feathers hooting at her for attention. Sunset stumbled backwards while trying to shake off the weaponised feather duster; eventually giving up on the physical and covered the feathery beast with a raspberry aura of magic. This achieved what all the shaking did not, as the creature was lifted easily off of her face. The little monster in question was an owl, definitely; but she couldn’t quite place the species. It mostly looked like a great horned owl but the colouration was a little off, in that the brown of its body feathers were paler than what is commonly found. Still it had the distinct feather like horns that were the owl’s eyebrows, as well as the characteristic bowl shape around the eyes to help focus sound to the ears. Currently it was staring at her with intelligent eyes, and she could almost hear the question, “do you realise what you were about to do?” Any other silent talk between the owl and the pony was interrupted by the return of her companions; once again walking through the patch of flowers with the three wandering crusaders securely placed in custody. The earth and unicorn fillies were on their respective sister’s backs and the small pegasus, strangely, was on Rainbow Dash’s back. “Well, now that we’ve got these three back under hoof, let’s get out of here. The air in the Everfree dose awful things to my mane–” It looked like the purple maned unicorn was going to say more but was interrupted by a deep feminine voice coming just beyond the tree line. Looking past the others, Sunset could just make out the same cloaked figure from earlier standing in amongst the dense foliage. “Beware, beware pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” The warning went unheeded by the whole group. Sunset was confused as to why this Zecora would rhyme such a thing; while the other adults were too scared of the speaking pony to hear the warning. The three wandering fillies standing on top of their respective adults back were all staring fearfully at the flaming maned unicorn. The cloaked figure did not stay to see if her warning was heard, a few steps further into the forest and she was now out of sight from everypony; even Sunset’s sharp eyes. “Yeah, you get out of here Zecora!” Rainbow’s voice was not nearly firm enough to make her challenge actually sound threatening. Still the party started to head back out of the forest; even Sunset seemed to have someone riding on her back. With Zecora distracting her, the owl she had captured in her telekinesis grip had managed to brake free, and was now perched on her back like it belonged there. “Oh Sunset, who’s your new friend?” Thanks to the owl now accompanying them Fluttershy had gained some courage and was happily walking with her head held high and without a care. “I don’t know Fluttershy. The owl just flew right into my face earlier and has now made himself at home, apparently.” “Well, he’s beautiful; and seems quite attached to you. Do you think you’ll keep him?” that was something Sunset had not thought of. Honestly she even wondered why she was even letting it sit on her back. “I think I’ll setup a nice place for him and let him come and go as he pleases; if he’s happy to stay then sure. I could do with the company in the evenings.” By this point the silver white unicorn had walked closer to Sunset and Fluttershy. “Oh Fluttershy I must thank you and your friend here for helping with rescuing Sweetie Belle and her companions here. Say, are you two free tomorrow? Let me treat the two of you to the spa; it’s the least I can do.” Sunset glanced over to Fluttershy to try and understand half of what was being said. Fluttershy, however, simply brought up a hoof to hide a giggle at her confused looked. “Thank you Rarity, I think that would be nice. Allow me to introduce Sunset Shimmer to you; she’s the new librarian in town. Sunset, this is Rarity; the owner of the Carousel Boutique.” “It’s a pleasure dear. Oh I must say if you ever want a dress please do not hesitate to come and see me. Why, with your figure I could do wonders. In fact, maybe with you joining Fluttershy here, I could finally get her to model for me.” Sunset could see Fluttershy stiffen ever so slightly out of the corner of her eye. “Thank you for the offer. I’ll take it under consideration.” It was the most diplomatic thing Sunset could think of in the spur of the moment. Her infiltration training focused on preventing her from being seen, not quick talking and diplomacy. By now the group had managed to completely escape the forest and were now in the bright mid-afternoon sun. As the party followed the road everypony slowly separated; splitting back up and returned to their respective homes. Sunset followed Fluttershy to help return the table and chairs back into her house. That she was also able to pick up a few items for her new pet from said pegasus was a pleasant surprise. The rest of the afternoon went by without any more incidents and with the sun long since put to bed; Sunset was preparing for yet another patrol of the Everfree Forest, except this time she had a companion. “Ok Owlicious, you can join me for a stretch of your wings but I don’t want you following me into the forest, just in case things get dangerous. So far the forest has been rather quiet, but with such short nights I haven’t been able to delve too deep.” Her whole body glowed briefly as the Polymorph spell covering her was dismissed. No longer was she amber with a fiery mane; now she was softer, covered in her natural colouration of lavender fur and purple mane. Before she continued the spell further to bring out her wings however, she felt the world shift on its head. A wave of vertigo hit her like a freight train, causing everything to spin; then there was an incredibly loud shriek that penetrated deep into her mind. Her brain remembered such a noise from a past long forgotten. Terrified the delicate organ shut down instantly; trying desperately to protect itself in whatever way it could. Collapsing onto the ground Sunset could make out a brown blob appearing in front of her; before the world turned black and a terrified shiver ran down her spine.