Rarity magically placed the last book on the now upright shelf. It took all the magical strength she could muster to get the colossal thing back in its proper place.
“There we are. I cannot believe Twilight Sparkle, of all ponies, could leave her home in such a state!” Rarity exclaimed, not bothering to hide her disdain. “Well, perhaps I can believe it. She usually leaves her books scattered all over, but this...!” She gasped abruptly as a thought crossed her mind. She recalled her strange encounter with Twilight and Pinkie Pie earlier that day and concluded the hyperactive party pony must have been involved in the making of this mess. She dared not pursue that line of thought any further, and scanned the room for any overlooked messes. Satisfied with finding none, she grinned, and headed to the library’s front door.
“You’ve done your good deed for the day, Rarity!” She opened the door and strode out into the bright sunlight, immediately bumping into Spike, who had been staring unhappily at the ground as he returned from the train station.
“Pardon me… oh, Spike! Where have you been all day?”
Spike’s face lit up at the sight of his crush. “Trying to find Twilight. Have you seen her, Rarity?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.”
“You did?! Where is she? She was supposed to leave for Canterlot today, but she never showed up at the train station. No one knew where she was… I was getting pretty worried.”
“Yes, yes, she’s just fine. She and Pinkie Pie were near Fluttershy’s cabin a few hours ago. She told you she was going to Canterlot, hmm?”
“Yeah. But… why would she lie to me?” Spike felt a pang of sadness at this thought.
“Oh, Spikey-wikey, I’m sure she’s just… planning some sort of surprise, perhaps? I can’t imagine she would mislead you for no good reason. I suppose we’ll have to ask her ourselves, won’t we?” Rarity flashed him her most charming smile, and it worked.
Spike smiled back at her. “Yeah, I guess we will.”
“Right! Now then, would a strapping young dragon mind escorting a lady through town?”
Spike bowed and attempted a civilized tone. “But of course, m’lady.”
As they set off together toward Fluttershy’s cottage, Rarity posed a question. “Oh Spike, I’d like to know, what was the cause of that huge mess in the library?”
“I know, right? Ridiculous.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fluttershy’s list of things to do was short and the items on it were all very strange, specific activities. She didn’t understand the purpose of dragging three mattresses out into the middle of a flower field and leaving them stacked on one another, and it had been no picnic doing it in ‘absolute secrecy.’ She also had no idea why Pinkie Pie had insisted she turn down Rarity’s request for an opinion on her fashion line, but she supposed if she had gone there was no telling what might have happened to Twilight. She thought back to the strange talk and even stranger experience she and Pinkie had shared that afternoon - Twilight suddenly appearing from a bush along with Pinkie at the exact moment Pinkie had described - and as an another level of weird, it all happened while Pinkie herself was already in Fluttershy’s cottage with her. And the things Pinkie told her… It had shaken her to the core. She had no reason to doubt Pinkie’s word after that. Fluttershy would do whatever it took to save her friends. There was a lot she still didn’t understand, but that didn’t make Pinkie’s requests any less strange.
The next thing on the list was just as weird as the rest. ‘Go to Sweet Apple Acres and tell Applejack what she saw that night was real. Don’t let anypony else hear you talking.’ She didn’t understand what this meant, or why it had to be her who did it, but it seemed harmless enough. She frowned and took flight, making a bee line for the orchard. It was a lovely day, and the sun felt good on her outstretched wings. Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile at the feeling.
The Apples spotted her before she landed, and Big Mac and AJ came out to greet her warmly. “Howdy, sugarcube! What can I do for ya? You look like you could use an apple muffin. Big Mac?”
“Eeyup.” Big Mac gestured to a conveniently located plate of freshly baked muffins atop a barrel.
“Oh, no, that’s… thank you.” Fluttershy accepted the muffin as AJ thrust it at her anyway, knowing the Apples wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was happy to see her friend, but the reason for her visit was prominent in her mind. “Applejack, I have to tell you something,” she mumbled.
Applejack smiled and winked at her pegasus friend. “Shucks, you know you can tell me anything! What’s on yer mind?”
“It’s… private.”
AJ looked a little confused. “Sure thing, Fluttershy. Right this way.” The farm pony led her friend behind the barn so they could have more privacy.
After a moment or two, Fluttershy began. “I’ve been asked to tell you something.”
AJ looked at her, waiting. “Well?”
“I’m supposed to tell you… what you saw that night was real.”
“What I saw? Which night now? Who told ya to say this?”
“Um… Pinkie Pie did. That’s all she said.”
AJ searched her memory to try to connect these dots, and it didn’t take long. The realization spread across her face like a cloud covering the sun. “Pinkie Pie says… what I saw that night was… real.” Thunderstruck, she sat down, staring at her friend yet clearly seeing something else in her mind’s eye.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I don’t know what it means…”
Applejack returned to reality and stood again, speaking calmly as she did. “You didn’t do nothin’ wrong, sugarcube. Thanks for tellin’ me.” She cast her still-distant gaze to the ground and walked back around the barn without another word, leaving Fluttershy just as confused as ever.
Fluttershy wanted to go and speak more to Applejack, and find out what any of that strangeness meant, but time was not on her side and there were a few more things to cross off the list before the end of the day. Unsure of how to make a good exit, she simply took off and flew back toward town. Where in Ponyville was she supposed to find a super deluxe potato launcher or a mega-size Bounce-Master trampoline? She furrowed her brow as she flew, trying to work out the logistics of obtaining such things.
Beneath her, Applejack was headed back to the tree that had plagued her nights since she first saw what it was capable of. Her own test had seemed to show everything was normal, but for some reason this message from Pinkie Pie didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t know what to believe, but the memory still left a pit in her gut and a chill in her spine. The feeling strengthened as she got nearer and nearer to the tree. Focused as she was on the intense thoughts brewing in her mind, she didn’t see a small rock beneath her and tripped. She landed face-first on the ground, whacking her snout unpleasantly against the ground. Her hat flew off and caught on a light breeze. She looked up in time to see it drift right into the very tree she had come to see, and utterly vanish like it had never really been there. The wind picked up and ruffled her now exposed mane. The whisper of the leaves was the only sound as she remained still and stared in disbelief.