//------------------------------// // Surprise Inspection // Story: Ideas Entwined // by FanOfMostEverything //------------------------------// The opening door made a bell give a cheerful jingle. The cacophony that followed was anything but. Despite the wide variety of creatures on display, the first thing that struck the pegasus was the amount of iron in the room. Cages, chains, the cane the proprietor was waving at the shrieking, snarling captives, it was like a cut-rate Tartarus in the narrow little shop. The cane glinted in what little of the afternoon sun made it through the gloom of the Hollow Shades. The rest was as dull as the eyes of the quieter creatures. “I do beg your pardon,” the stallion said after one last smack against a cage. His mane had the color and unhealthy luster of a grease slick, and his coat would probably be a more pleasant shade of yellow if he used a better shampoo. Or possibly any shampoo at all. His voice managed to sound unctuous and sarcastic at the same time. “They usually know better.” He shot the cages a glare with those last words. “Hmm.” The pegasus had refined the art of noncommittal grunts with several friends and associates. She knew that for the salesstallion, it wouldn’t matter what she said. He’d be too busy focusing on the curve of her muzzle and the sway of her tail. “May I ask why you’ve come to my—” Something between a screech and a sob interrupted the stallion, provoking another smack of the cages. “My fine establishment?” “Just browsing for now,” she said. A touch of skepticism crept in past the flagrant ogling, but definitely didn't stop it. “Very well. But don’t linger too long. The merchandise can get… unruly.” The merchandise. Not much made her angry, truly angry, but that kind of denigration was near the top of the list. Especially when combined with how he was treating these creatures. As the pegasus walked among the cages, she took in the stink of chlorine, and of many kinds of urine underneath it. The frayed plumage, dull coats, and peeling scales. The chill of the bars and rough, almost abrasive floors of the cages. At one point, in the proprieter’s blind spot, she convinced one inmate to let her sample a food pellet. Bland, of course, but also fibrous and crumbling at once, so packed with flour and filler that there was barely room for anything even resembling a nutrient. As she circled back to the front counter, filmy eyes tracked her progress, shining brighter than they probably had in weeks. “I think I’ve seen enough,” she said to the room at large. “Indeed?” Her tone was dismissive enough that even the stallion could look past his base urges to sense her displeasure. Still, his lips pulled back in what was meant to be a smile. He was clearly out of practice. “And will you be favoring this humble shop with a purchase?” She looked back and gave a plaintive sigh. “Oh, I would love to take all of them home.” “You would?" The stallion looked over the cages, as though she'd changed their contents without him noticing. "Orthroi, otyughs, owlbears… And that’s just the ones I can see from here. What could a delicate specimen like you want with so many monsters?” She strutted back to the counter, keeping a half-lidded glare at him the whole time. “I don’t believe monstrosity is defined by species, but by behavior.” “A pretty sentiment, but a very dangerous one in this business." After a moment, he narrowed his own eyes, took a step back from her, and said, "You’re not with the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures, are you? You have to tell me if I ask.” That just got her to raise an eyebrow. “Why would it matter if I were?” “There are…" The stallion glanced about, looking for any lingering eavesdroppers. In most places, it would be ridiculous. In Hollow Shades, it was a natural precaution. "Rumors.” “This is Hollow Shades. There are always rumors.” The mare held back a sigh as her comment made the stallion grow even more frantic. “And if you share them, I may be more interested in making an acquisition.” Greed won out over paranoia, though given the stallion's ongoing glances at the corner of the room, it might not for long. “Some of my colleagues and suppliers are going silent. Disappearing. No word of what’s happening to them or their stock." He sneered. "The Society is the natural first suspect, self-righteous whiners that they are.” “I see. And if I were simply concerned for your charges’ well-being?” “Ha! Yes, says the mare who does not think a monster is a monster." The stallion shook his head an sneered. "They deserve everything they get.” “Oh, I know there are monsters in the world." The mare tossed her ebon mane, carrying the motion down her spine until it ended in a wiggle around her tornado cutie mark to make sure the stallion's attention was on her. "I used to be one.” "What?" Only then did the stallion notice the shadow darkening his side of the counter. He looked up and saw nothing casting it. “What?” Then the cage snapped shut around him. “What!?” The mare continued, examining one gray hoof. “And I know that not every monster has fangs or eyestalks or venom.” “No,” agreed a deeper voice, the shadow slinking along her and make her give a pleasant shudder as it ran two-dimensional digits along her spine. “Some pull innocent creatures out of their habitats because their body parts are potent reagents, or their meat is a delicacy, or just because somewhere out there, someone is willing to pay for the sake of owning them.” The shadow reared up, bulked out with shape and substance. And oh, what a sight he was. Mustard-colored fur along his trunk; the scent didn't match, but he smelled like danger, and he knew she loved it. Fluff along one arm, scales on the other, incongruously delicate wings, mismatched antennae, the sheen on that frog leg... Eris knew she should be paying attention to Serendipity's handiwork. It took all of her willpower not to get lost in those green-on-pink eyes. Still, she kept enough power to herself that she could get over her infatuation in less than a second, letting her hear his conclusion: “And even putting aside every law you break in the process, no one ever stops to ask the creatures if they want to be owned.” Serendipity snapped, and every cage but the stallion’s was emptied. “There. Back where they belong.” “You... You..." The stallion shook with enough rage and fear to reek of both. "You can’t do this!” “Can’t we?” said Eris, a thin smirk on her lips. “This is the Hollow Shades. Tomorrow, your neighbors will shake their heads at you poking the wrong beehive.” “And the day after that, nopony here will even admit you existed." Serendipity snarled, revealing teeth unlike anything on Equestria (though any human dentist would instantly recognize them.) "That’s the problem with spurning Harmony. It’s not there when you actually want it.” Any courage the stallion might have had petered out. He retreated as far as he could and huddled in the far side of his cage. “What are you going to do to me?” Eris offered her most comforting smile, not that she had many in stock to begin with. “Oh, nothing as bad as you’re imagining. Just giving you taste of what it’s like.” A portal opened in the cage floor, slowly widening to reveal a ranch full of balding apes and equinoids like surreal parodies of Saddle Arabians. The stallion's eyes widened as he took in both. Then his hooves scrabbled against the remaining iron as he tried to stay away from the portal's dilating edge. “Don’t worry," said Eris. "They won’t think of you as merchandise.” Serendipity nodded. “For the next year, they’ll just treat you like an animal.” No matter how the world changed, no matter what seemingly permanent pillars of society got upended like so many hourglasses, Rarity and Fluttershy still found time for their spa days together. Though even those weren't immune to the changing world, especially when it came to conversation. “So, how was your… date?” Fluttershy sighed in a way that had nothing to do with the soothing warmth of the hot tub. “Rarity.” “I’m sorry, darling. I’m happy for both of you. I truly am." Rarity shook her head. "It’s just taking a while for me to wrap my head around it.” “I understand. It surprised me when I first realized what we meant to one another." Fluttershy smiled, gaze going up to the ceiling. "And it was very nice. Especially when we tried out each other’s bodies for a while.” Rarity blinked. She'd thought years of friendship with Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and even Fluttershy had inured her to strangeness. Evidently, she was wrong. “I’m sorry, you what?” “Well, it’s like they say. If you really want to understand somepony…” Fluttershy pulled herself out of the tub. As she did, Rarity felt her gaze get drawn to her friend's left hind hoof, cloven as a deer's. “Walk a mile in their hooves.”