//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21 
// Story: Are You Ready? 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 21


Undercover


After successfully hiding from the muffin-hungry pegasus, Dr. Facilier trotted back to Fluttershy's cottage, reaching the door as he went to open it. He noticed a note that stated 'Head to Sugarcube Corner', wondering if Fluttershy had left the note. He rubbed his chin, but shrugged it off as he went to go open the door, but realized it was locked. When he went to go unlock it with his magic, a familiar bunny hopped up and pointed at the sign with an angry look on his face. The Shadowcolt only glared back at the rabbit, but then realized that perhaps he could use a little treat at the bakery, and hopefully without running into either Pinkie Pie or the deranged muffin pegasus. He trotted off, leaving his shadow to kick Angel's shadow in its butt while he wasn't looking, then swooped after his master.

As he passed through town, the streets were bone dry with not a single pony in sight. Even the stands were closed, and this slightly worried the dcotor if Pinkie had already prepared for the party that quickly. He cautiously trotted over to Sugarcube Corner when it was in his sights, tiptoeing towards the doorstep as he slowly opened the door and peered inside to see everypony waiting for his arrival. He saw no sign of Pinkie, but he didn't care as he quickly opened the door and waited for the yelling to commence with clenched eyes and gritted teeth. After a few seconds of waiting for a 'SURPRISE', he opened an eye and looked around to see everypony present stare at him in confusion. He then opened both eyes and cleared his throat, brushing his suit with a hoof.

"Well ain't this a new sight to my eyes...
I was expecting somepony to shout-"

He never anticipated such a crazy movement, as Pinkie was right behind the Shadowcolt, and shouted "SURPRISE!" causing him to yell and leap forward into the party room, tumbling and landing amazingly on his hat as he stared at Pinkie trotting forward upside down with a grin on her face, giggling "I'm sorry, Dr. Fa-silly-a! I just can't help myself when it comes to these kinds of things! I'm just so HAPPY! And so is everypony else! Are you happy? Because that'll be super-duper awesome if you are! Then we could possibly turn this into an 'Everypony's so happy today' party-" As she went on with her incessant jabbering, the Shadowcolt could only glare and grumble at the bane of his existance standing right in front of her. Twilight and Fluttershy came forward and helped Dr. Facilier stand on all fours as they smiled at the guest of honor. "We heard about what happened with Nurse Tenderheart earlier today, and we couldn't be more thrilled by the news. I never expected we'd have another hero in our town!" Fluttershy stepped forward "I'm so glad we've met you, Dr. Facilier...Thank you for doing your first good deed in Ponyville. You have no idea how happy you've made everypony with what you've done!" Dr. Facilier looked away, not expecting everypony in town to direct their attention at him just because he saved somepony from being raped. He wanted to leave her to her doom, but that unknown feeling from before just beckoned to him like an alluring voice in a dream. He sighed, and decided to relish the moment of being praised by many since they won't leave him alone and he could probably get rewards from them. He could really use a new place so he won't be around Fluttershy when performing any of his spells or making any new potions or dolls.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash downed another glass of apple cider, groaning as she slammed the glass on the table and causing Applejack to look over at her "You alright there, Sugarcube? Y'all don't seem t' be in the best o' moods today. Is it about Dr. Fa-cee-lee-ae over there?" Rainbow sighs "You have no idea! Since when did he go from being a regular stallion to a hero in more than a week?" Applejack chuckled at how her marefriend sounded "Ain't that a thought to be a ponderin'...Why are y'all so saddlesore about it so much, Dash? Ya ain't jealous of him are ya?" Rainbow got angry "No way! Why would I be jealous of somepony who would cheat in a race and SOMEHOW be adored by the other ponies!?" Applejack shot a remark "Calm down there, Dash, Ah was jus' askin is all! Also, it ain't like we both cheated in the Runnin' o' the leaves, right?" Rainbow sighed at the unwanted memory "You had to bring THAT up...But this is different! Nopony was watching, and while I was flying, I was somehow just flung back by some invisible rubber wall!" Applejack thought it sounded preposterous when her marefriend told her story, but she knew she was somehow telling the truth. She began getting concerned as she pressed the issue further "That does sound kinda fishy...Was he usin' his unicorn magic t' pull you back or somethin'?" Rainbow looks down "No, he didn't. And that just makes him sound even more shady! I know he was involved with what happened back there, and I'm willing to blow his cover by any means necessary!" Applejack looked over and hummed at the thought of Dr. Facilier being the sneaky type while narrowing her eyes "Ah'd slow your role if ah were you, sugarcube...We wouldn't wanna go into this sorta thing right now with this here party goin' on!" Rainbow Dash gave a smug smile "Way ahead of you, AJ! I already got some professionals getting to the bottom of things as we speak!" Applejack turned to the cyan pegasus with a raised eyebrow "And jus' WHO are th' so-called professionals y'all have hired to expose Dr. Fa-cee-lee-ae?" Rainbow Dash grinned at the crowd surrounding the Shadowcolt "Oh, I'm sure you're familiar with them!"

From behind under the punch table in the room, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were scouting the area with the eyes of a griffon, seeing if they should either stalk the Shadowcolt and document his movement, or go around asking for information about him from others. Knowing the latter was too boring for their standards, they began to sneak around the crowd of ponies to get closer to Dr. Facilier. He was busy dancing to another jazz song Pinkie played for him while the others watched and cheered. Fluttershy was watching, untill she noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders sneaking towards him looking ready to pounce, making her gasp quietly and move across the crowd to stop them. When she reached them, she tried to convince the three fillies to stop, whispering urgently "Girls, you don't have to do this now! All of those suspiscions Rainbow tried picking up aren't exactly true!" Scootaloo looked up at the timid mare with an incredulous expression, whispering ba "Are you serious? Rainbow Dash wanted us to investigate that doctor guy and see if we can find anything secret about him! What makes you think this isn't all a staged act of his?" Applebloom was next to ask "Yeah! Why do ya even bother thinkin' nothin' isn't up with Dr. Fa-cee-lee-ae, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy looks over at the dancing doctor, thinking about this for a minute. She wonders if there was a certain side to his story, and felt like she should try and ask him, but then remembered his words from way back:

'Don't worry none, dear, it ain't your fault.
Jus' grind your curiousity to a halt...'

While she wanted to follow those words, her heart beckoned for her to know more about the Shadowcolt other than what he does for a living and his hobbies. She sighed as she turned to the children "Listen, why don't you just...observe Dr. Facilier from a distance while 'I' see if I can get any information out of him. If I find any hidden lies in his words, you can come in and help me expose him." she smiled with hope that her little idea would be convincing to the crusaders. The three huddled together and thought it over, then Scootaloo turned to Fluttershy "That's a great idea, Fluttershy! Since that guy's living with you and all like he's your coltfriend, he's bound to open up to you more!" Fluttershy blushed at the term the orange filly used for her and Dr. Facilier, then backed away with a sheepish smile "Y-Yes...Well, you just stay a good distance and observe him...I'll be back..." She trots off, happy that she was able to stall the crusader's plans with one of her own. The timid mare now has to figure out how to approach Dr. Facilier and think about exactly what she should say to him.

Dr. Facilier was finished dancing and wanted time to himself as he trotted over and sat down on a chair levitating a cup of apple cider and sipping it. He savored the drink's flavor with a smile 'That Applejack knows how to make a mean drink...' When he took another sip, he noticed Fluttershy trotting over to him "Umm, hello, Dr. Facilier...How are you enjoying the party? Sorry I didn't catch all of your dancing back there." The Shadowcolt didn't really care about the apology, and waved it off with a hoof. He really didn't care if people were watching him dance or not, he was just happy to bust some moves to some quality tunes. Fluttershy then sat down next to the doctor, inching a little closer to her "U-Umm...Dr. Facilier...can I ask you something? And please be honest..." This really annoyed the Shadowcolt, having to answer to each of Fluttershy's or anypony else's questions, but he decided to let her ask. It's not like he can think of a beautiful lie once the question has been passed. The timid mare takes a deep breath and then turns to the doctor with light in her eyes "Have you done anything...sinister in the past?? Because, Rainbow wouldn't really leave you alone about this ever since that race of hers..." The doctor flinched at this question. Is Rainbow really trying to exploit his shady traits ever since his little victory at Whitetail Woods? This is going to take a lot of time for a believable lie as he took a deep breath to stall Fluttershy and buy himself some time to think 'I'm so glad I decide t' stay quiet when I do my work...'.

Meanwhile, since the crusaders couldn't stand perfectly still and watch the timid mare coax the Shadowcolt into talking, they decided to find Rainbow Dash and inform her on the current plan. When she was spotted talking with Applejack, they felt like they could have the upper hoof in finding the truth since Applebloom's older sister is the Element of Honesty. They flew over to the couple and gave mock salutes "Cutie Mark Crusader Zebracorn Detectives reporting!" They all said in unison, leavng a suprised Applejack turn and give her marefriend an exasparated look "THESE are the professionals y'all were talkin' about!? Rainbow, this is by far one o' the worst ideas you could possibly come up with! They're only kids, fer Celestia's sake! If what yer sayin' is true about the Doc over there, yer endangerin' the life of mah younger sister!" Applebloom huffed at the last remark "Ah can handle mahself jus' fine with my fellow crusaders, sis! And we're only here to tell y'all that Fluttershy's got the whole thing covered!" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow "Fluttershy? What could she be doing? I figured she would just be swooning over that zebracorn and wondering what to say to him if they ever choose to talk..." Sweetie Belle spoke up "Welllll...minus the swooning part and you got the idea on what she's doing right now..." This caught the cyan pegasus' attention "You mean she's actually trying to get information from HIM?" She sped off, leaving the four to watch "Consarn it, Dash..." She followed her so she wouldn't choose to do anything reckless, leaving the three fillies to watch. Scootaloo stares, then turns to Applebloom with a glare "Your sister is SO lucky to have someone like Rainbow Dash..." Applebloom scoffed "Let's jus' follow 'em and spy on Dr. Fa-cee-lee-ae!" The fillies followed the two grown mares.

Dr. Facilier couldn't think of anything good to cover up his little race with Rainbow Dash, baring his teeth in anxiety. There was nothing stealthful enough to aid him with his words, and knowing Rainbow's connection with Applejack, he would be right bucked if he ever spoke in front of her. Fluttershy notcied how nervous he looked and felt a pang of guilt as she tried to console him "I-I'm sorry if it's pressuring you so much, this question...I'll bet it's not even true..." She closed her eyes and hugged him, making him look at her with a surprised and incredulous look on his face. She looked up with a smile "For what it's worth, I don't think you're a mean or sinister zebracorn at all...Ever since your welcome party, you really have taught me that I should be more courageous and assertive around others, and I'm thankful for that..." She then looks down, blushing a little "Y-You really have helped me a lot since you lived with me, but I bet you feel bad about staying in my house with my animals hating you for some strange reason..." While the part with the animals was true, he really was happy to have a roof over his head. What he also missed was some time to himself 24/7, doing things without being noticed or restrained. He never thought that Fluttershy would ever be this caring around him for so long and getting so clingy as time passed. He caressed her mane as she hugged him, watching the crowd mingle on the floor. The Shadowcolt should count himself lucky that no reporters crowded him with questions and blinging cameras.

"Y'all helped me well, I should thank ya, too...
Without your help, I wouldn't know what to do..."

Fluttershy smiled more as she snuggled Dr. Facilier, not knowing that he began feeling awkward after the little gesture and felt a twitch in his heart like the time he saw her sip juice 'The hell's goin' on?'. What the two didn't know was that 5 sets of eyes watched them from a safe distance, and Rainbow couldn't help but groan "I can't believe this! She couldn't even get him to answer the first question and she just blows it right there! Look at her!" Applejack watched and felt touched at how happy her timid mare was around Dr. Facilier "Y'all gotta admit...it looks rather sweet seein' those two together..." Scootaloo stuck out her tongue in disgust "Eeyuck! I just hope they don't kiss soon! I just had some of Pinkie's cupcakes and I DON'T wanna throw up something so good!" Sweetie Belle looked as if she had just read a beautiful novel "While Rainbow Dash's suspicions stand, this just looks so romantic..." Pinkie was watching the two next to the spying group with an absentminded smile on her face "What're we talkin' about?" This made the group jump and shriek, looking at Pinkie with wide eyes. Applejack spoke "Pinkie Pie, how long have ya been standin' there while we was watchin' Fluttershy and the doctor?" Pinkie smiled "Since you started talking about them while you were watching. So what are you doing? You waiting for them to kiss? Cuz' they're not exactly coltfriend and marefriend yet! OH! Unless you're trying to be cupids! Then I wanna help out and make those two kiss!" Rainbow glared a little at Pinkie "We're not getting them together, we're SPYING on them!" Pinkie tilts her head "Why? Is it because he-" Rainbow got into Pinkie's face "No, it wasn't because of the race!" Pinkie then replies "I was gonna say if it was about him being a sneaky meanie pants, but okay!" Rainbow hears this, and wanted to know more "Wait! You know what he's been doing??" Pinkie waved a hoof with a smile "Of course, silly! I watch a lot of things at once if I feel up to it!" Applejack raises an eyebrow at this "And why haven't y'all told us about him bein' a 'sneaky meanie pants', Sugarcube?" Pinkie scoffed "Well I don't want the fanfic to END! The author already has that planned out!" Applejack just closed her eyes, amazed with how crazy the answer sounded "Sorry I asked..." Applebloom trotted up to Pinkie and wanted to know more herself "So it's true that Dr. Fa-cee-lee-ae's not exactly the most friendliest pony? Why won't you tell us more!?" Pinkie patted Applebloom with a smile "Because finding out firsthoof is YOUR job! I better go get the cake ready! See ya later!" She trots off, humming, leaving the group astounded at this. Pinkie knew that Dr. Facilier was shady all along, but won't even tell them what he had been doing. They all looked at each other and decided it was best to resolve this issue at a later date since the party is going on, and they do not want to make Fluttershy sad now. They let her have the moment of being with the Shadowcolt as they sat.


End of Chapter 21