//------------------------------//
// Stuck Inside On A Wednesday 
// Story: You've Been Summoned! 
// by WaywardSon 
//------------------------------//

Wednesday Morning 
Castle of Friendship, Ponyville 

Starlight Glimmer yawned as she trotted through the castle hallway toward the kitchen. Too bad Twilight won't let me teleport into the kitchen anymore, she thought, shaking her head. I mean, you accidentally make her faceplant into a blueberry pie one time! The stains came out of her coat… eventually.

She was just passing the library when a loud crash and clatter rose inside. She raced to the door, pulling it open with her magic. "Is everypony okay?" she called, looking around. 

Spike set an easel back up from where it had fallen. Above it a chalkboard floated in a field of purple magic, covered in scraps of parchment. Twilight scrawled another note, fixing it to the board before Spike guided it back into place. 

Looking at the door, Spike stepped over to meet Starlight half way. "Morning, Starlight. I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can get her to take a break."

Starlight saw the books stacked on the table as well as the numerous notes. "Twilighting?"

He nodded. "Still around a stage one, but growing fast. I tried to get her to come to breakfast, but no luck."

"Got it," she said, then cautiously approached Twilight, who pored over a scroll with Celestia's seal. "Hey, good morning, Twilight."

Twilight looked up. "Is it morning already? I hadn't noticed. I'm glad you're here, Starlight." She floated a stack of scrolls over. "I need you to cross-reference these reports from the office of Trends and Population Statistics to make sure I didn't miss a reference to that cutie mark. Just write up a cover page for each summarizing what you find and stack them over there."

Starlight took the scrolls in her magic, giving her mentor a side-eyed look. "Yeah, I'm not doing that," she said and dropped the scrolls on a chair. "How long have you been up, Twilight?"

"Oh, I haven't slept," she said, making notes on a map of Equestria. "If I sleep and the pony who was summoned shows up, I might miss them. Then they might leave and never answer the summons. Then the map might never stop glowing, or never work again, or the castle might mmf mmmf—"

Starlight's horn glowed as she held Twilight's muzzle closed. "Ok, Twilight, you're coming with me." She floated her mentor in the air, walking towards the door.

Twilight's legs waved helplessly. "Mmf mmmm mmmmf mmf mmm?" 

"Nope," she said with a shake of her head. "You're having breakfast with me then getting at least four hours of sleep. If the pony shows up Spike or I will come get you."

Twilight sighed, eyes narrowed. "Mmmfmmmmf." Starlight looked back to see her gesturing at her mouth. She rolled her eyes and released her muzzle. "Alright, Starlight," Twilight conceded. "We'll eat breakfast and I'll get a nap. Will you put me down and let me walk?"

"Nope," she said and floated her down the hall.





Cobalt's Brain, The Dreamscape 

Cobalt pushed open the door of the Tricky Pickle diner and stepped inside. The room was dark. Shadowy figures sat in the booths all around. He approached his usual table and a light turned on directly above it, showing Dusty Rose sitting in her usual spot.

"I ordered your usual, Cobalt," she said casually. "Now what's this thing you want me to see?" 

He turned without a word and raised his cloak. The glowing cutie mark on his flank lit the room. The ponies in the rest of the booths turned to look at him as one and started laughing. Feeling embarrassed, Cobalt dropped the cloak. The light went out and the laughter stopped immediately. He raised it again in the laughter returned until he dropped it again when it stopped cold. He lifted the edge again for just a moment and the laughter returned, stopping the second the cloak dropped again. He flapped it up once and back down immediately, creating a short burst of laughs.

"I don't have a cure for this," he heard. Looking back, Dusty Rose was gone, replaced by Dr. Fetlock, wearing surgical scrubs and a mask. Cobalt turned towards the restroom, looking for Dusty, instead finding Comet Tail juggling three tiny moons. "I can't promise anything, but I'll ask around," she said.

The door to the back room swung open, revealing Soda Lime in a chef's hat and apron. "I can't have you distracting everypony. Why don't you head home."
The bell chimed and he looked, seeing a pale-gold tail disappearing through the door. "Dusty, wait!" he called and hurried over, only to come muzzle to muzzle with Hen Shawl. "Popcorn?" he offered, holding up an overflowing tub of it.

Cobalt pushed past him and rushed out the door. "Dusty!" he yelled, taking several steps out into the street. His hooves crunched on something and he looked down. Cut pink roses covered the ground in all directions. 

"Nothing like a nice rose to cheer a pony up," Dusty said, her voice coming from all around. Cobalt took another step then started sinking through the flowers. "You've got to answer it, you dope," he heard her say from all around him. He opened his mouth to speak only for the roses to cover his head completely.

He fell through the underside of the flowers, roses raining down around him as he tumbled through the air. He screamed as he fell, first towards Baltimare, then towards a small town he'd never seen before. He pressed his eyes shut as the ground raced up to meet him… but didn't hit. He opened one eye to find himself hovering just above the surface. Gingerly, he touched his hooves to the ground and sighed in relief. 

He heard hoofsteps approaching and turned around. The skyline was dominated by a huge crystal castle with a six-pointed star covering the tallest tower. Up the road walked a purple alicorn with her wings outstretched. Reaching him, she smiled and opened her mouth to speak.

"Cobalt, wake up," she said in Dusty's voice. "You're going to miss breakfast." He felt something pushing on his shoulder. The world faded away with the last thing he could see being the alicorn's smiling face.





Cobalt's Apartment, Baltimare

Cobalt opened his eyes, feeling the sheets wrapped around his hind legs. A little light leaked around his curtains, but the most illumination came from his flashing cutie mark. He turned his head toward the door and jumped when he saw Dusty Rose standing near the edge of the bed, smiling softly. He yelped and tried to scramble to his hooves, but the sheets around his legs sent him tumbling to the floor. "Oww," he said quietly.

Dusty's smile disappeared and she rushed to his side. "Cobalt, are you okay?" she asked while untangling him from the sheet. "You looked like you were having a nightmare or I would have let you sleep."

He stood up with her help, stretching his sore knees. "Dusty? What are you doing here so early?" He tried to shake the sleepy haze from his thoughts.

She raised a brow, a grin returning to her lips. "I made breakfast, and it's not all that early. You really needed the sleep."

He furrowed his brow and turned to his nightstand. "Huh? What time is it?" He looked around the room. "And where's my alarm clock?"

"Judging by the dent in the wall," Dusty said, pointing across the room. "That's a piece of it over there, and there, ooh, and there." She draped a foreleg over his shoulder. "My guess is that you left it on and really didn't want to get up."

Cobalt shrugged out from under her leg, trotting toward the living room. "Dusty, that's not funny," he grumbled. "How late did I sleep?"

She sighed as he moved away. "About ten-thirty," she said, following after him. "I told you, you needed the sleep."

He spun around, eyes wide. "Ten-thirty?! Why didn't you wake me?" 

Dusty reached up to pat his cheek. "I just told you, you dope." Her smile returned as she trotted past him toward the kitchen. "You needed the sleep. It's not like you have anywhere to go today."

He groaned, walking slowly after her. "Thanks for reminding me," he said, inhaling the delicious smells from the kitchen. His sleepy brain chugged through everything happening and he stopped a few steps later. "Wait, you have somewhere to go! Shouldn't you be working right now?"

"I took some time off," Dusty called from the kitchen. He rounded the corner to find her spraying whipped cream on a stack of pancakes. "Marigold picked up my shifts this week."

"Why did you do that?" He trotted to the table. Another bunch of pink roses in a deep-blue vase adorned the center, and teacups were set out at their places.

Dusty raised a brow as she laid out berries on the top of the stack. "I know you just woke up, Cobalt, but even you should get why." She carried over the plate and set it in front of him. A smiley face of berries and cream stared back at him. "I'm here to help my friend."

Cobalt frowned while she poured syrup over her own pancakes. "I really wish you hadn't, Dusty. This whole… thing already has my life upside down. I don't want it to ruin yours, too." With a sigh he cut into the smiley face, taking a large mouthful. "I mean," he said while he chewed. "How are you going to pay your bills?"

Dusty sat down, a little smile on her lips as he kept eating. "I had some vacation time coming. I'm using that, so I'll get paid." She poured some breakfast tea for them both.

His brows furrowed as he chewed. "Wait." He swallowed before continuing. "Didn't you say that you were saving your vacation time to visit your mother?"

She shrugged, sipping some tea. "Now I'm using it for this. It's not a big deal. Mom will understand." She cut into her pancakes. "Now eat up. We've got a big day ahead."

"Big day?" Cobalt asked before taking a bite and continuing around it. "What do you mean?"

Dusty finished chewing. "Just what I said. We're going out and get some things done, starting with a visit to that wizard you saw on Monday."

He cocked his head. "Why her? She said she couldn't do anything."

She raised a brow. "You told me she said she would ask around and send a letter to the Princess if she had to. And you said she was really busy. She might need a reminder."

He sighed and looked down at his half-eaten pancakes. "Fine. We'll go get this done after breakfast."

"After breakfast and a shower," Dusty corrected.

Cobalt frowned, "Dusty, I just want to get this done. I don't need to shower first."

Dusty smiled softly. "Cobalt, I'm saying this as a friend and with love: yes, you do."

Cobalt furrowed his brow and turned his head, sniffing over his foreleg. He winced and turned away quickly. "Ugh, okay, after a shower."

Dusty chuckled and they both returned to their meal… after Cobalt took a quick sniff of the roses on the table.





Wednesday Afternoon 
Jane Horsekins University – Astronomy Department, Baltimare 

Comet Tail scanned the scroll floating in front of her, a quill spinning slowly in her magic. She dipped the tip in a jar of red ink and scrawled notes along the margin. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I don't think he's even looked at the night sky," she muttered. 

There was a light knocking on the door of her small office. "Office hours are posted by the door," she called out, floating up another scroll.

The door opened and a pink mare with a yellow mane peeked in. "Comet Tail?" she asked hopefully.

She sighed, floating the scroll and quill back to her desk. "I'm sorry, I'm too busy for off-schedule student meetings. You'll have to sign up for one of the slots on the board there by the door." She finally looked at her visitor and frowned. "You're not in one of my classes?"

"No, I'm not. I'm Dusty Rose," she said with a smile, stepping just into the room. "I just want to talk to you —"

"It's far too late for a transfer this semester," she interrupted. "You'll have to look at next term."

Dusty laughed softly. "While it's flattering to know I look that young, I'm not a student at all, I'm a florist."

Comet raised a brow, glancing at Dusty's saddlebags. "Did somepony send me flowers?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, no. My friend here came to see you the other day."

Comet looked at the empty hall behind her. "Ahh, what friend where?" she asked.

Dusty turned her head and sighed at the empty space behind her. She leaned back and looked down the hall. "Cobalt," she whispered and jerked her head toward the office. After a moment she put on a pleasant smile and turned back to Comet Tail. "Will you excuse me for a moment?"

Dusty ducked out into the hall and Comet Tail listened to the hushed conversation that echoed through the open door. 

"Cobalt, get in here."
"Dusty, I told you I don't want to be here."
"Well, we're here, so come hear what she has to say."
"Can't I just go home? She already said— hey! What are you doing!"

A few seconds later she saw a familiar off-white stallion slide sideways over the tile floor and into the doorway with a resigned look on his face. Dusty Rose pushed him along with her head against his side. Once he was in place she raised her head and smiled brightly at Comet again. "Comet Tail, you may remember my friend Cobalt. He came to see you a couple days ago about," she flipped up the edge of his cloak, exposing his flashing cutie mark, "his problem."

Comet bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. Smiling instead, she stood up and stepped around the desk. "Ah, of course, Mr. Cobalt. I see you haven't found a solution yet."

Cobalt lowered his head, ears drooping. "No, not yet," he muttered. "Nopony knows what to do."

"We were hoping you had heard something back," Dusty added positively.

She sighed and shook her head. "I asked around with my colleagues and it's a mystery to them. I even asked a few therapeutic wizards when I was introducing them to Dr. Fetlock." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Again. They hadn't heard of anything like it."

Cobalt nodded slowly. "I had a feeling they wouldn't know, Professor. Thanks for checking."

Dusty looked down at him with concern. "Cobalt mentioned something about writing to one of the princesses?" she asked, turning her attention back to Comet Tail.

Comet nodded. "Princess Twilight Sparkle. She presented a paper on cutie mark magic a few years ago. Writing her is on my to-do list for tonight. It'll go out tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" Cobalt groaned, looking up with his eyes wide.

She raised a brow and waved a hoof at the pile of scrolls on her desk. "It's the best I can do, Mr. Cobalt. I have to finish grading these in time for my four o'clock class, and I have time on the main telescope at seven. There's a comet I have to observe this evening that won't come around again for fifty years."

Cobalt sighed. "I was hoping to hear something, anything, sooner."

Comet Tail nodded. "I sympathize and I want to help, I really do. I have an obligation to my students and my research that has to come first, though."

Dusty cut in, saying, "We really appreciate all you're doing. Thank you for your help." She put a foreleg around Cobalt's shoulders and guided him back out and down the hall.

Comet Tail walked back around to her chair, shaking her head. She just sat down when she heard somepony clearing their throat. She looked up to see Star Struck, one of her four o'clock students, standing in the doorway.

"Um, Professor?" she started, managing to sound both hopeful and sheepish at the same time. "I know I didn't sign up for this time, but I saw your door open and those other two ponies leaving. I hoped I could talk to you about my paper."

Comet Tail looked back at her flatly, eyes narrowed. Her horn lit up and the door closed firmly. 





Wednesday Evening 
Dusty Rose's Apartment, Baltimare 

With a jingle of keys, Dusty Rose opened the door of her apartment and trotted inside, two pizza boxes and bundle of flowers balanced on her back. "C'mon in," she called cheerfully, heading into the kitchen. 

Cobalt drudged along behind her, his head low and sweat dripping from his chin. Once the door closed he pulled off the heavy, singed cloak from over his back and hung it by the door. His flashing cutie mark sent bursts of blue light over the entryway. 

Dusty put the flowers in a vase in the center of the table before setting about getting dinner ready. The pizza went on the counter, plates were laid on the table, and juice poured into glasses. "Make yourself at home," she called. "Dinner won't take a minute."

"I still don't know why you wouldn't let me go home, Dusty." He wandered into the living room and was met with the intense fragrance of flowers. Almost every flat surface had at least one vase filled with flowers of different types. On the walls were tasteful paintings and pictures of even more flowers of exotic and rare varieties.

"Because you need some time out of that musty place, Cobalt." She looked out around the corner. "Seriously, when was the last time you opened a window?"

He stepped over to a section of wall with smaller photos. "My window looks over the alley, and the dumpster for the noodle restaurant next door is right under it."

Dusty smiled. "Ooh, I love that place. The noodles taste so good."

"You wouldn't think so if you could smell their week-old garbage," he said with a sigh. Looking over the photos he saw they were all images of Dusty with various other ponies. He spotted her mother with a shoreline behind them, as well as several mutual friends. One photo caught his eye and he grimaced.

Dusty stepped back into the room. "Everything's ready. We can eat whenever you want." She smiled when she saw where he was looking. "Oh, do you like it? It's all my family and friends."

"Why did you have to use this picture of me?" he asked, pointing at the photo. In it, a slightly younger Cobalt and Dusty sat next to each other in front of a half-painted house with splotches of paint on their faces. Dusty smiled brightly while Cobalt looked queasy and a little green around the muzzle.

Dusty looked and grinned. "What's wrong with it? We look adorable." 

Cobalt frowned, eyes rolling. "You look adorable. I look like I need to puke. And I did a minute later." He turned to face her full-on. "Don't you have one of me that's less… humiliating?"

She looked at him patiently. "Cobalt, it's my wall. It's my memories on that wall, and I'll choose which ones go up there." She cocked her head toward the kitchen. "Now c'mon. There's a garden lover's supreme with extra cheese with your name on it."

"Dusty, I just don't know about this."

She grinned, stepping towards the kitchen. "No, it really has your name on it. They spelled it out with green pepper slices."

Cobalt followed her, shaking his head. "No, not the pizza. I meant the picture." Entering the kitchen he saw a place set for him at the table with a glass of cranberry juice. On the counter he saw the two pizzas: one very cheesy with bits of mushrooms and onions showing through, and the other piled high with various vegetables and "Cobalt" spelled out on green peppers on top. "I really think you should use a different one."

Dusty sighed and looked back. "Cobalt, that was the day we met. That's the moment I choose to see up there. My wall, my choice." She handed him a plate. "Now get your pizza."

He grabbed the plate and sullenly took a couple slices then sat down. "I just had enough humiliation today," he said before taking a bite. "I don't know why we had to go out."

She served up her own slices and walked to her place at the table. "You know we needed to check in with Comet Tail."

Cobalt snorted, taking another big bite. "For all the good it did," he said around the mouthful of pizza. "She's not going to help."

Dusty furrowed her brow. "She's doing all she can, Cobalt. She checked with the other wizards and she's going to write to one of the Princesses for help."

"She's going to forget. You saw how busy she was." He poked at a slice, not looking at her. "Even if she does, what can the Princess do? I bet she'll be as clueless as everypony else."

She rolled her eyes. "Cobalt, she's saved all of Equestria, like, a dozen times. Even if she doesn't already know what it is, I know she'll be able to figure it out."

Cobalt shrugged and pushed right past her objection. "Then you kept me out in public all day, where ponies could point and laugh at me." 

Dusty deliberately kept him waiting, taking a bite of pizza. She chewed slowly, swallowing down the less-helpful responses with her food, then took a sip of juice. "All we did was take a walk in the park then pick up the pizza. Nopony was laughing at you the whole time."

"But there was pointing!" He pounced on the opening eagerly. "Pointing was happening. You can't deny that. I saw them."

Dusty cocked her head, looking back at him like a parent hearing the same fake excuse for the fourth time. "I told you before, they were pointing because you were wearing a heavy winter cloak on the hottest day of the year. You were sweating like you ran a marathon. They probably were worried you were going to collapse." She raised a slice and added, "I know I was," before taking another bite.

They ate in silence for a while, Cobalt looking anywhere but at Dusty's face while the tension grew within him. After finishing a slice he took a drink and stared at the flowers on the table for a minute. "Dusty?" he said, sounding contrite.

She let a tiny smile cross her lips. "Yes, Cobalt?" she asked hopefully.

He took a deep breath. "I still think you should change the picture."

She dropped her hoof to the table, letting her muzzle lift towards the ceiling. "Oh, for the love of Celestia!" she snapped, looking at him full-on. "Will you just forget about the picture? It's not any of your business what I put on my walls."

"Well it's embarrassing," he said, meeting her gaze. 

"It's an eight year old photo," she asserted. "A memory, nothing more. Get over it."

Cobalt sighed and looked at his plate, poking at a crust. "I thought you'd care about your friend's feelings."

Dusty narrowed her eyes at him, sitting back. "Do you just want to go home?"

He opened his hooves out to the sides, eyes wide, and nodded. "Yes! I've been saying that all day. I never wanted to leave in the first place."

"Well nopony is stopping you," she shot back. 

"Fine," he said, pushing back from the table. He stood and stomped to the entryway. He swung his cloak over his back 

She glared as he got ready. "Take your pizza," she said tersely. "You know I won't eat it."

"Thank you," he answered, sounding just as terse. "I was still hungry!" He closed a box and balanced it on his back.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said angrily.

He grabbed the door handle. "Don't come before noon! I want the morning to myself!"

"Fine!" she nearly shouted. "Sweet dreams!"

Cobalt pulled the door open and stormed out.

Dusty sighed. She stood up, walked into the kitchen, and closed the box of the garden lover's supreme pizza. She carried it to the entryway and waited just a few seconds before opening the door. There stood Cobalt, ready to knock, the other pizza box in hoof. Dusty handed him the correct pizza, took hers, and closed the door again.

Setting the pizza in the kitchen, she walked slowly out in front of her photo wall. She picked up the picture of Cobalt and herself, staring down at his face. "Damnit, Cobalt," she whispered as a couple tears rolled down her cheeks.