“Wait, Fluttershy?!”
I was flabbergasted, to say the least. The room’s occupants all looked at me oddly, Twilight and Spike seeming worried. But I had little attention to it at the moment.
Urm… Yes?
I had no expression on my face, staring straight forwards, eye twitching.
“Dave, are y-”
-ou okay, mister? came the question from both inside the head I was occupying and outside.
I lifted a hoof to my brow and clenched my eyes shut, attempting to think. A moment later, I turned to Twilight.
“I’m sorry, but it seems… something’s arisen.” I sighed, “I can’t believe it myself, but…”
***
“Ahh…” I exhaled in relief at the feeling of the warm water on my sore muscles. The spa had been a good idea, as it seems. Although I’m not usually one for self-care, it does appear that I’m not the only one in this head right now, and its other occupant did seem like she needed it; even if she hadn’t told me that directly.
Of course, none of us had proposed the idea of going here. No, we needed the help of our current companion, who was also currently sitting beside me. When she heard of the new development, the glamorous unicorn had become quite worried for my head-roommate's wellbeing, like the rest of her friends, so she invited us to the local spa-house for some revitalization.
Um, David, may I ask why are you monologuing?
Oh, shut up, will you? I teased, but it seemed it had not come off like that.
Oh dear, I’m sor-
No, no, you’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I interrupted, eyes widened. If anything, I need to apologize, I thought, and turned my attention back towards the present.
“-You listening, darling?” came a half-question from my tangible companion, who was apparently talking to herself for quite some time.
“Sorry about that,” I apologized. I do that a lot recently. “I was just talking to Fluttershy.”
“Ah, completely understandable,” she nodded as she gazed into my eyes, seeming to search for her friend.
She shook her head. “Anyway, where was I?”
I squinted, trying to recall what my half-attentive brain absorbed. “I believe you said something about a… Hoity Toity?” Whatever that is…
Rarity’s expression darkened. “Ah, that scoundrel…” she lifted a hoof in the air, as she continued to vent on “That no-good, haughty mock-fashionpony”.
Frankly, it seemed she needed that time more than I, or the pony whose body I was occupying needed.
And so, we conversed, speaking about nothing in particular. I do believe that both of us tried to gain some sense of normality; I suppose all of us needed something like that.
If I squinted hard enough, I could just believe I was back home.
And about Fluttershy… Well, she still seemed a bit embarrassed of me. Understandable, seeing the circumstances, but… To be honest, I’m somewhat embarrassed too, but I believe we’d both much rather act as though nothing odd was happening.
Eventually, though, the topic of discussion reached our current predicament.
“I was wondering, dear,” Rarity began, “Twilight, bless her heart, told us all about what happened, but…” she trailed off, “She seemed somewhat lost on the why.”
“Do you mean about the… recent development, or in general?” I questioned.
Rarity thought for a moment. “Both, I believe.”
I mulled over it for a second. “About what happened yesterday…” I muttered, trying to remember what had transpired after -and during- the flurry of emotions that happened then.
Um… I think Twilight said something about the tests…
My eyes brightened. Thanks, Fluttershy! Now I remember.
Oh, it’s no problem…
I inwardly grinned at her and turned my attention towards Rarity. "I remember Twilight thought it might be related to the scan."
"The… scan?" Rarity asked, confused.
"Yep, Twilight scanned my magical something-or-other."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Your… magical signature, you mean?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that. Anyways, there’s apparently some kind of weird magic in this brain,” I pointed at our shared head, “And the scan probably triggered it, or something.”
“My, I’m no expert in the magical arts, but that sounds simply dreadful!” Rarity looked aghast as she placed a hoof on her forehead.
I just hope it won't have any negative effects… Fluttershy said.
Me too, I agreed, for both you and me.
And so, we sat in silence for some minutes, all two/three of the room’s occupants relishing the water’s warmth surrounding us.
At least, until Rarity spoke up. “Alright, darling, and what about why…” she trailed off, seeming to think of an appropriate phrasing. “Well, why all of this has happened?”
“Huh,” I placed a hoof to my chin, “I think we're all at a loss for this one…” Then added, “I mean, it probably relates to that weird magic too, but no one’s really sure about the how and why.”
“And the ‘why now’, I suppose.” Rarity added.
“Yeah, that too.” I sighed, “There does seem to be a lot of unanswered questions here.”
Rarity scratched her chin. “Well, surely something must have been amiss in your daily life leading to that event, right?”
I groaned. “Ugh, I’ve told you this before; everything was totally normal…”
Fluttershy, though, seemed somewhat hesitant.
Um… There was something weird last night. she said, Or is it technically three nights ago?
Letting that remark slide, I quickly relayed the information to Rarity, then asked Fluttershy to go on.
Alright, well, it was the night before…all of this, and…
***
“Oh, you're such a cutie, aren’t you?” Fluttershy cooed to the owl currently perched upon its wooden stand. The owl hooted as a thank-you only she could understand, and flew up to the freshly opened window its owner just opened. Said owner only watched it fly away into the night.
Fluttershy didn’t really like to think of what it did outside, and she most definitely didn’t like the occasional “gifts” it returned after a particularly successful hunt. She tried to train it to do otherwise, but it seemed to be a very thankful owl.
At least it was time to retire for the night.
Fluttershy sighed and headed for the kitchen, intent on making some relaxing tea. Hopefully, there was still some cinnamon left; she really liked its taste…
Her hopes for a warm brew were dashed, however, when a sudden rustle from just outside the front door introduced itself.
Oh my, it sounds like there’s a critter outside, She thought, Hopefully it isn’t hurt… Fluttershy was quite popular among the animals in Ponyville’s surroundings, and that meant that she was many’s first choice at first aid. She was happy to help, of that there was no doubt, but it didn’t mean she liked seeing that many wounded creatures…
Either way, there was an unanticipated guest outside, and she didn’t want to keep it waiting. Fluttershy went over to the door, and softly nudged it open, only to reveal…
“Gummy?” Fluttershy was bewildered, “Oh, what are you doing all the way out here?” Fluttershy went to grab the small, toothless alligator and swiftly brought him through the door.
This was quite unusual. Gummy tended to not move much, this Fluttershy knew well. Celestia knows all the care she provided him at the request of his worried owner. But to walk all the way across town and out, nearly to the edge of the Everfree? This was unheard of.
“Oh, you poor thing,” she placed him down on the living room’s sofa, “you must be so cold…” she muttered as she covered the alligator with a nearby blanket.
Gummy simply blinked in response.
Fluttershy smiled at him. “Wait here. I’ll make myself some tea.” she patted his scaley head and turned to the kitchen.
Suddenly, before she could take a step, she felt-
***
“That’s it? it just ends there?!”
I’m sorry, everything after that is just… blank.
I placed my hooves on my forehead, slowly dragging them down my face. “Ugh, this is so annoying…”
“Wait a minute, darling,” Rarity said, after I relayed the information to her, “I’m certain Gummy disappeared around that time.”
“Gummy’s the pink one’s pet, right?” I asked.
“Quite.”
I could feel my headmate’s worry echo through our shared mind. Oh my, is he… missing? Fluttershy’s speech faltered.
I think so, I replied.
Rarity sighed. “Well, perhaps we should look on the bright side.” she continued at my inquisitive stare, “I suppose we can conclude from that tale, that Gummy is, at the very least, partially connected to your, urm, situation.”
This had less than sated me. There were still so many pieces missing, and frankly, I was growing tired of this goose chase, however anticlimactic it may be.
I settled on a simple nod and a hum in response, though.
I think we should help Pinkie look for him. Fluttershy said in an assertive tone quite uncommon for her.
Fully agree with you there. Who am I to not help a friend in need? Plus, finding Gummy might hold a clue, which I desperately need for my mental stability right now.
And so, the three of us spent the rest of this fine morning away, chatting to our heart's content.
As I exited the spa, I found out a rather peculiar detail. Apparently, horse's skin doesn't get wrinkly in the water. Who knows, perhaps there are some pros to being a pony after all?
***
“Thanks again for helping me search!” The pink pony exclaimed, “Really, you have no idea how worried I am. My poor Gummy has never left his room without me knowing!”
“Really, it’s no problem. It’s just what friends do.” I munched on the confection she generously served me, “Both of us-” I pointed to my head “-were in complete agreement about this.”
We were in the local bakery’s -Sugarcube Corner, as I’ve learned- back room, chewing on a mountain of freshly baked ‘Thank-You Cupcakes’, as the baker beside me called them. Well, I was chewing; said baker leaned more towards ‘inhaling’.
“Anyway, I’ve organized a plan to scout Ponyville most effectively.” she reached into her mane -huh?- and pulled out a map -huh!-. She whacked it down on the table between us, taking care not to hit the bowl of confectioneries.
I suppose Fluttershy could sense my confusion, as she spoke; Um, I think it’s a map of Ponyville.
Oh yeah, that’s possible. I guess. Not the answer I needed, but a good one nonetheless. I could recognize some landmarks around, such as the bakery I was currently in, and the forest bordering the town.
Coming back to the present, I noticed Pinkie held a red marker she pulled from… somewhere (Probably her mane again… Oh, that makes… sense).
“Alright, I’ve told the rest of the girls to keep watch around their homes-” she circled in red the library, a farm just outside town, a building in the middle of town, and a particularly large circle around some seemingly random part near town. “-So that means we only need to take care of all of the rest.”
“That is… still a lot of surface to cover.”
“Yep!” she cheerfully replied, “Which is why I think we should split up!”
She drew an impressively straight line from two edges of Ponyville, going straight through Sugarcube corner. “I’ll take the north-western side while you guys take the south-eastern side, alright?” She scribbled ‘PP’ and ‘FlutterDave’ on opposite sides of the line. Lucky me, I’ve got the smaller side.
Oh, that’s alright with me.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
Pinkie vigorously nodded her head. “Alright, then let’s…”
***
“Go!”
I looked back, towards the now-distant bakery. Did she just shout ‘go’?
Oh, she just does things like that sometimes, Fluttershy replied.
Kinda odd, but who am I to judge…
You get used to it.
I shook my head and turned back forwards. I had an objective to accomplish, after all, and the low-hanging sun signaled me that we didn’t have much time left for today.
Despite the hour, or perhaps because of it, I could see many ponies roaming around the streets. Many were children -foals?-, running around and between the obstacles adults and carts posed to them. Many (of the adults) were running errands; entering and leaving shops, carrying groceries, and such.
Overall, the air was filled with cheerfulness only a close-knit town could bring. Ponies were greeting each other as they passed, trading friendly remarks. Luckily, barely any had called to me; perhaps it was Fluttershy’s reputation, or that they could see I was on a mission. Either way, I was left alone with my headmate.
You know that alligator best, right? I directed my question to Fluttershy, Do you have any idea where he could’ve gone?
My, it’s hard to tell. He just never goes out.
I sighed. It was worth a shot…
I focused more on my surroundings, trying to examine every nook and cranny I passed with my sight, before moving on to the next one. I even tried calling the treacherous alligator when the street’s denizens were sparse, but to no effect.
It was some minutes later, I was almost the only soul around, when I heard a faint buzzing coming from afar.
You hear that? I questioned. Though I knew she has the same set of ears as mine, I still wanted some reassurance.
Um, if you mean the buzzing, then… yes.
It was then I saw… it. coming from afar, a red cart was rapidly approaching, going at a speed surely prohibited for a vehicle like this back on earth.
When it came closer, I could see it wasn’t just a cart. No, it held two ponies in it, and another one in front, her buzzing wings doubtlessly propelling it.
It was then that I realized they had no intention of slowing down. My eyes were wide, and only one thought resonated through my head: Dodge!
so I did.
Hitting the dirt road, I could hear a sharp ‘Zoom’ Abruptly rise and fall from behind me, followed by a faint shout;
“Sorry, Fluttershy!” Came from the road from whence I came.
Getting to my feet -heh-, I couldn’t help but stare at the diminishing figure of the three fillies, shaking my head in disbelief.
Those three seem… interesting.
Oh my, they’re usually very nice, She said, just a bit… energetic.
I did not get my rest, however, when a few seconds later, another figure emerged from where they came. It being quite distant, I could only see it was small, though it was fast. So fast, in fact, that it left a cloud of dust trailing behind it.
Wait, were they being chased?
I did not receive an answer, as at that moment, the figure came close enough for my companion to recognize it.
Gummy?
My jaw fell, and I could not help but talk aloud. “I-” I stammered, “I thought you said he barely walked?!”
It was then that the offending creature passed me.
“Wait, come back here!” I shouted.
And so, the chase was on.