//------------------------------// // 13: A Thief in the Dawn // Story: My Own Flesh and Blood // by NioFox //------------------------------// A Thief in the Dawn There was a sickening crunch as the atlas and cervical vertebrae were crushed with a sudden, precise strike. Honed from years of practice, it ensured that no suffering occurred. Though Queen Lynette did not particularly care either way when it came to the suffering of her prey, she did pride herself on the aspects that made her a superior hunter. Speed, strength, precision and efficiency. There was nothing sloppier than prey writhing in agony after an intended lethal blow. To produce such results would be a personal failure - such a thing she deemed unacceptable, under any circumstance. One had to be patient when hunting the smaller mammals. The mountain hare, laying lifeless beneath her talons, was particularly challenging. It required the Queen's two armored escorts to remain still for much longer than they were used to. Both sighed inaudibly as they landed behind her, glad that the 'ordeal' was finally all over. Griffon infantry were mainly trained for quick, tactical strikes. As such, the soldiers were usually issued armor made of lighter materials. Heavily woven cloth, hardened leather, even thin chain mesh were used depending on the strength of the soldier in question. The Queen's personal guard, however, were an entirely different breed. Selected from the strongest and largest of fighters, they exclusively wore the much heavier full-plate armor. Everything that could be covered, was. The helmet provided sight through six slats - three for either eye - and allowed a pointed beak to protrude, but left little to be seen of the individual beneath. The rest of the body was similarly hidden beneath the polished steel. All except for the heavily muscled wings - larger than most griffons - and razor sharp talons. But as ominous as they both looked, neither dared let their impatience show. Any griffon that worked closely enough with royal affairs knew better than to get on the Queen's bad side; a dreadfully easy thing to do. A few of Lynette's advisors assured her, on too many occasions, that there was little nutritional difference between fresh game and 'MagiSynth' meat (often referred to as 'Smeat'). Those advisors no longer had their titles, but ones more applicable to those who cleaned the capitol's waste disposal systems. A particularly annoying advisor was stripped of more than just her title. But then, she had suffered about as much as the hare - and not too far away from that very spot. Still, the sensations that rushed through her with each clean kill made the wait entirely worth it. Sensations she enjoyed far more than most experiences available to one of her stature - even those involved in the conception of her only two daughters. Lynette would have liked to think that it was in the genes to be a good hunter, a cunning warrior, and eventually a strong leader. Unfortunately, the genes tended to do strange things. Producing a daughter like Annis was one particular strangeness that she disliked, even more so than the putrid Smeat that passed for food. Sure they could make it taste like almost anything, but never quite like the real thing. The Queen could not help but care for both her daughters, hormones had a way of working like that, but they were the offspring of the Griffon Empire's two greats hunters and warriors. That fact alone should have given them both at least a fraction of that prowess. And yet, there was not a single aggressive bone in Annis' body. Where most Griffons would not hesitate to cut an insect from the air, if only to test the sharpness of their talons, Annis was different. On one stomach churning occasion, Lynette had caught her playing with a butterfly; cooing to it and taking great care not to harm even one leg on the useless insect. She had even cried when the Queen showed her the quickest way to make six butterflies out of one. Or pieces thereof. No, Annis was never going to be the Queen that Clawdor needed. Luckily they did manage to find a use for her - one that only she could do; sucking up to that cursed alicorn ruling over Equestria. She had turned out to be better at it than any trained delegate ever sent to Canterlot since the peace treaty was signed. The little annoyance even preferred being over there more than her own home; something the Queen found particularly confounding. But she was starting to lose faith in her second daughter as well. Gilda had the instincts alright, but that was about all she had. Lynette was still unable to decide if the decision to send her to Cloudsdale, as part of the (then brand new) student exchange program, had been a sound one. When she left her homeland, Gilda had been a fiery example of a young griffon huntress in the making. When she came back, she was lazy, aloof and rebellious. All the qualities of a typical Griffon teenager. But that was exactly the problem - she was not a typical Griffon teenager. She was Princess Gilda of Tallon - Queen Lynette's first born, direct heir to the throne; unless the Queen chose another successor. And that was an option she abhorred even more than a badly executed killing blow. By the laws of Clawdor, Queen Lynette could chose any Griffon of pure blood to succeed her. But she was far too proud for that. Her mate, King Earnweald, was no longer among the living. Though he had been unmatched, both in the hunt and on the field of battle, few could stand against the ravages of disease. He had died at a time when magic was just beyond the grasp of Griffon-kind. Magic that could have saved him from an infection usually associate with an unattended wound. Of course, there was nothing prohibiting Lynette from taking another mate, but in Griffon society it was a sign of weakness to take a weaker mate. The perfect balance of strength, agility and ferocity that had been Earnweald was difficult to find - especially since the wars ended and peace became the norm. To ensure that her lineage retained rulership, however, there were few things she would not consider. And though her options were running out, she had not given up on her daughter just yet. "What?" Gilda asked in her usual, bored tone, as she landed beside the Queen. With a flick of her claw, Lynette launched the small corpse of her prey at one of her guards. The euphoria she experienced during her hunt quickly wore off the moment she heard her daughter's voice. The unusually large escort deftly caught the lump of flesh out of mid-air upon the tip of his weapon, slowly returning to his statuesque position after using the moment as an excuse to stretch his cramped limbs. Neither royal female paid the slightest attention. "You will address me properly, or you will join that carcass on Beornheard's spear," Lynette said in a low voice, emphasizing her sincerity by completely cleaning the blood from her talons with another deft flick. The Queen had tried the softer, more motherly approach with Gilda in her earlier years. She often wondered if that had contributed to producing the disappointment that stood before her. Gilda half-groaned, half-sighed and looked off into the distance. "You summoned me, my Queen?" The words were correct, but the tone was about as disrespectfully indifferent as it could get. On any other day Lynette would have insisted on perfection, but on that particular day she wanted compliance more than anything else - something that became more difficult to acquire from Gilda the more she was pressed. "There is an important task that I would have you carry out," the Queen began, sitting straight up, head held high as she projected her voice as she was accustomed when conveying her authority. Something that seemed lost on Gilda most of the time. "You will be returning to Equestria for this task." Gilda groaned. Lynette was almost certain it was because she was being asked to do something that did not involve sleeping or flying around aimlessly. Instead she chose to hold out hope that it was a result of their shared dislike of pony-kind - one of the few things they had in common. "I have sent a team ahead, but I want you to join them." "So I can sit around yawning at those losers while they work? Pheh, I'll pass," Gilda replied, yawning pointedly as she turned to leave. "I was not asking you," the Queen intoned icily. "I have allowed you enough freedom since your return. It is time you began to act like the Princess that you are," she added in the most inspiring tone she could muster. Gilda stiffened up for a brief moment before flopping, much like an invertebrate, onto the grassy hill. After another moment of groaning, she finally spoke again. "Why do you hate me so much?" she asked in a droll tone, her gaze deliberately pointed in the exact opposite direction of her mother. Lynnette recoiled visibly but recovered just as quickly, loathe to be caught showing even the smallest sign of weakness - even if it was only in the presence of her personal guard. "If it was hate that I felt for you, girl, we would be having an entirely different conversation - one that does not involve words," the Queen responded with the same frigid voice. "But enough of your nonsense, this is important." "I think I'll pass," Gilda said with bored indifference, pulling herself up and spreading her wings. "We are not done here!" the Queen roared. Gilda's body locked up immediately. Lynette's roar had that effect on most. But it was far more effective on her daughters. They had been cowed by that very roar since birth; inducing in them the kind of paralyzing fear that required years of therapy to overcome. "You will-" she paused, bringing her voice back down to a more civilized level. Gilda began to relax back into a stiff, but not completely motionless sitting position, though she was unable to meet the Queen's intense eyes. "You will oversee the team to ensure that nothing goes wrong. And I expect a full report on your return. " The team is already in Equestria and should have been dispatched to the site by now. You are to leave immediately." There was a moment of cold silence; Gilda continuing her attempt to burn holes in the grass with her eyes, Lynnette burning holes in Gilda's ego with her own. "Now we are done." Gilda wordlessly launched herself from the hill and flew off at top speed, glad to be anywhere else. The Queen watched her leave with a scowl on her face. When Gilda was finally beyond her considerable sight range, Lynnette turned to look at the meal dangling from Beornheard's spear. She regarded the mountain behind her for a moment before taking to the air, her appetite suddenly demanding a much larger quarry. Twilight pranced up the hill near the library toward the spot where Alpha usually slept. A contented smile adorned her face, and thoughts of buying more of that special pancake syrup mingled with excited anticipation of experiments to be done. A smile that instantly turned upside-down when she realized she was standing alone on that hill. "Alpha?" Twilight called out in quiet confusion at first, raising her voice with a second try. Although it was still relatively early, there were just enough ponies on the nearby road staring at her to make her feel overly self-conscious. The events surrounding her last appearance on that very same hill only made things worse. With a sheepish grin she hung her head and trotted off in search of her missing guinea pig. Clop. Alpha's hoof hit the wall, passing unhindered through the space that had once been occupied by Pinkie's neck. He flinched and sucked air sharply through his clenched teeth, his eyes bulged in stark disbelief. His focus slowly panned to the left, head unmoving, and there she was. Still counting in that painfully slow and exaggerated manner, Pinkie Pie remained face to the wall. Alpha looked back at his hoof, still pinned against the wall. He drew his face as close to the point of contact as possible, looking for some clue that would allow him to comprehend what had just happened. He had blinked, just once. The moment before he was staring at his pink victim - the moment after, a blank wall. There was not so much as a single pink hair between his hoof and the wall. He practically threw himself back against the opposite wall, still standing on his back legs, his fore-hooves groping around to ensuring there was still something solid - something normal - behind him. A growing part of him expected reality itself to dissolve into the seamless void of one of his nightmares at any moment, but the feel of the wall beneath Alpha's hooves remained. Still, his neck did double-time as he jerked his view left, right and finally up at the sky, just to be absolutely sure. 'But if I'm awake, how did ... ?' he wondered, dumbstruck as his gaze returned to the party-mare. The three balloons arranged on her flank give no clue as to how she could be capable of what had just happened. 'Am I hallucinating? Some kind of lasting damage from my accident?' "Si~x," Pinkie continued unabated. Alpha shrugged off his doubts and resolved to figure this out, quickly constructing a plan in his mind. He began swatting at Pinkie, keeping himself positioned to prevent her from going in any other direction. Each and every time, she side-stepped quickly to her left, dodging his hoof. There were no fancy tricks this time. At least, not while Alpha forcibly kept an unblinking gaze trained on her. She just continued to slide to her left with the same deft agility he had seen on the dance-floor the previous night. While he was still taken aback by how she could have known exactly when he would strike, he was certain that what she had done earlier was completely different from the relatively simple dodging she was doing now. "E~ight," she continued, now in the corner where the alley's dividing wall met the building she was leaning on. Alpha rubbed his hooves together. Finally she was trapped. Or so he thought. Clop! "Sunspots!" Alpha shouted. So much for stealth. He had positioned himself directly behind Pinkie and brought both hooves in along the walls, providing no angle of escape. But he had blinked. And in that slit second, Pinkie had somehow come to be leaning against the opposite building, the beginning of what was supposed to be the number nine suddenly cut short. "Sunspots? What's that? Oh! I just lost didn't I?" She giggled happily, returning to all-fours and turning to face Alpha. "You're pretty good at this game! And it's fun too! Hey does this mean it's your turn to count now? Huh? Huh? Does it? Does it? Does it?" Alpha was twitching ever so slightly. He felt like his sanity was slipping away with each word out of the pink mare. "Excuse me? Have you seen Alpha? You know, that new stallion at the party last night? No?" Twilight groaned in frustration, turning away from the tenth pony she had asked so far. After talking to the three that were near the hill at the time, she had decided to try every pony along the path as she made her way further into the heart of Ponyville. 'How does a pony just get up and walk away without being seen?' she wondered impatiently. She realized that she was trotting in-place and immediately stopped. 'Okay. Let's think this over. What possibly reason could he have to wander off? Hmmm ... he really did seem to be enjoying those cupcakes ... Sugarcube Corner!' Twilight took off toward the colorful bakery at a gallop. 'What- when- HOW?!' Alpha's mind back-flipped. His eyes and mouth gaped. Unblinking, he stared at Pinkie Pie. 'It's just not possible! She's an earth pony! Earth ponies can't use magic, can't fly. They're supposed to be the peasants that grow food ... They. Can't. Do. That!' Alpha reminded himself that he was operating on millennia-old information. 'But ... what was that? Does she move that fast? Did she teleport? Maybe she has the same power as him- Nooooo. No, no, no. No pony can do what he can. Especially not a mere earth pony, no matter how much time has passed. 'She's toying with me. All this time I thought that I had her playing my game ... But why? What could she possibly gain from these silly antics? Could this be ... the other one? Disguised as a mortal just for amusement? That's not entirely crazy right? I mean, who knows what immortals do in their spare time, right? But if that's the case-' Alpha realized he was starting to hyperventilate again and attempted to control it. 'Like an ant! That's what I am to her, just an ant ripe for the squashing-' "Alpha?" Pinkie Pie interrupted the distressed stallion's mental monologue. "You're doing that thing again," she stated matter-of-factly, pointing a hoof at his chest as it heaved relentlessly. "Th-thuh-th-thing?" he squeaked, now flattened back against the wall as he tried fruitlessly to meld into it. Alpha was absolutely convinced that the pink mare knew exactly what he had intended from the very start, and that at any moment she would unleash some unspeakable punishment on him. Being aware of that made it ten times worse . Or one hundred. "Yeah, you know that thing you did the first time we met, just before you went sleepy-bye," she finished with a giggle. 'She's doing this on purpose! Of course she is - who else would know better than an immortal just how to make a pony suffer?' Alpha was sweating profusely now. His knees would have started rattling had they been able to shake any more violently. 'There must be a way out!' He whipped his head about, quickly scanning for any avenue of escape. But he was no immortal alicorn - the secrets of space-time itself remained a mystery to him. His bubble tricks would never work in time. There was only one option left. "Teach me, oh great one!" he begged, groveling shamefully as he hit the alley-way floor, taking a bow so low that his nose rubbed mossy cobblestones. Alpha would have face-hoofed if he had not been frozen in fear. 'What the flare is wrong with me?!' he mentally scolded, 'I'm trying to get her to spare my life, not make presumptuous requests that might just anger her off further!' He had not been given any real instructions regarding 'the other one'. Just strong words of warning. "Avoid her presence at any cost," he had been told, "Give her no reason to take interest in you. I have felt her power. It is ... beyond comprehension." Pinkie's bubbly reply stopped Alpha from attempting to beat his own head into the cobblestones repeated, "Oh silly Alpha," she giggled, "I'm the one who lost!" 'Wait, what?' The colt combed through his jumbled mess of panicked thoughts, trying to regain some context. 'Lost? Lost what? Clearly this fight is over, I can't lay a hoof on her, what is she-' "So is it my turn now? Huh, huh, huh?" Pinkie was bouncing energetically as she bombarded Alpha with her excited, high-pitched babble. Alpha fell over, his cramped leg twitching. He started to entertain questions about his sanity for a brief moment before pushing them aside. While accepting the possibility, he concluded that any thought spent on it would be pointless if he actually was trapped in some fevered delusion. The only thing left was to assume it was all real and make the best of the situation. 'Maybe she's some kind of ... lesser mystical being. One still capable of such feats. A tricky ... pony ... thing. Trickster pony? She certainly seems to like games - especially those involving subterfuge. It would be best not to anger her, if I have not already done so, but perhaps I can use this to my advantage.' "I have a better idea," Alpha began as he got back up, brushing himself off as best he could. "I mean, that is, if you want to learn another new game," he added nervously, still not quite sure how far the 'trickster's' good nature would extend after, he was still quite sure she knew, he had tried to kill her. The pink mare wore a grin that began to grow slowly, impossibly wide. What Alpha found even more disconcerting was the way her eyes followed suit. But when she started to nod repeatedly, a blur of pink on pink, he nearly jumped out of his coat. Creepy was a woefully inadequate word. "Okay-" he squeaked at first before clearing his throat, slapping his chest with a hoof and coughing for good measure, "Okay!" Much more colt-like. "Here's how it works." "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Twilight Sparkle greeted the yellow-coated stallion and his sky-blue-coated wife, smiling as she walked through the door of Sugarcube Corner. "Why, good morning Twilight!" Mrs. Cake replied pleasantly, her pink mane wobbling a bit as she looked around. She was dancing back and forth with a broom clenched firmly between her teeth, fighting an uphill battle against time to get the bakery cleaned up before it was time to open. Mr. Cake similarly brought up the rear with a mop. Twilight looked around quickly before asking, "Sorry to be so curt, but have you seen Alpha this morning?" Both baker ponies abruptly stopped and looked at each other, then at Twilight with confused expressions. "Who?" Mrs. Cake asked. Celestia's faithful student seems perplexed for a moment. It had seemed like the entire town had been at the party the previous night. With Rarity's flashy introduction it was almost impossible for anyone to have missed Alpha. "White ali- err pegasus colt, fiery mane, four feet high, hole in his left wing, likes cupcakes- is any of this sounding familiar at all?" The Cakes just shook their heads at Twilight. "You weren't at the party were you," she stated, more than asked. "Oh goodness no," Mrs. Cake spoke up, shaking his orange mane and balking at the very thought, "When Pinkie Pie invites that music filly- what's her name? Oh you know who I mean, the one who always brings those terribly large phonographs." "Speakers," Twilight cut in, unable to resist correcting the older mare. "We usually take a night off to ourselves for those kinds of parties. Off somewhere far away ... from here," Mrs. Cake finished with an apologetic smile. Twilight just smiled back, "I understand. But ... no sign of anypony like that this morning? Not even a quick glimpse?" she asked hopefully. The Cakes looked at each other again, before shaking their heads, "Sorry." Twilight groaned, sinking against the door frame in thought again. It was only a moment before she jumped and dashed out the door with a fading, "'Kay-thanks-bye!" as she galloped off. The bakers just shrugged and resumed their little war on time. Had Rarity not been caught up in her work, she might have noticed the two noses pressed up against the corners of one her boutique's windows. But she was completely consumed as she worked tirelessly on a rather crude version of Alpha's shoes. Alpha had no idea what the word 'prank' meant. Pinkie Pie had used it and, as always, he went with it. They were going to 'prank' Rarity by making her new creation 'conveniently' disappear. What Alpha did not tell Pinkie before making a 'Pinkie-Pie-Promise' to let him setup the joke, was that he had no intention of returning the stylized jumpsuit. "Okay. Do you remember the plan?" Alpha whisper, still staring at Rarity through the glass. After a few seconds without a reply, he ducked below the window and looked toward the spot Pinkie had previously been occupying. The colt's jaw dropped. 'Where the f-' his thought was cut short by another more disturbing one. Had the trickster double-crossed him? His face nearly hit the glass when he whipped back around to look through the window. But his fears were quickly assuaged by the lack of change in the scene before him. Rarity was still completely engrossed in what looked like an attempt to produce the mutant offspring of a diamond and a garnet. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. Except for the jumpsuit. Alpha's jaw dropped. His gaze swept rapidly about the seamstresses shop. But after finding no sign of the pink mare he ducked below the window sill again, only to yelp when Pinkie Pie tapped him on the shoulder. "Shhhhhhh," she hissed, one hoof by her mouth, another covering his. The suit was draped over her crouching form. Alpha had little time to contemplate what had just happened before a fresh batch of panic spread itself liberally over his mind. "Hello? Is somepony out there?" called Rarity. Neither 'prankster' dared peek to see what she was doing. But whereas Alpha looked distressed, head darting back and forth in outright paranoia, Pinkie Pie was fighting to stifle the giggles. But just when he thought it was all over, a curious turn of events changed panic to confusion. With the ring of the boutique's bell, Twilight Sparkle tumbled through the door. It seemed no matter how hard she had tried, Rarity could not find a way to marry gems to diamond without introducing some kind of adhesive. A notion she found completely repulsive, gaudy and beneath her considerable talents. But the effort was creating a mounting frustration and she had to bite back a growl, forcing a smile when the bell announced a potential customer. "Hello and welcome to-" "Rarity! There you are!" Twilight exclaimed, slightly winded. "Well of course darling, where else would I be this early in the morning?" Rarity replied cheerily, "What can I do for you on such a lovely day?" Her last few words were forced out between clenched teeth, sounding more like a grunt as she tried in vain once more to unite the gems before her. "I have something-" she started off excitedly before thinking better of herself, "Oh! First of all, have you seen Alpha?" "Since the party? No ... can't say I have," she said in a saddening tone. "Is he missing?" she asked with renewed interest, the thought of her precious diamond-plated inspiration disappearing from her grasp changing her perspective entirely. "Kinda? I mean I haven't seen him in about two hours but-" "Oh Twilight, do tell!" Rarity teased, gesturing with a hoof. "What are you- Oh! No! No, no, nonononono," Twilight blubbered in utter embarrassment, her cheeks beginning to rival Celestia's finest work as she caught the meaning of Rarity's comment. "Yes, of course you are right. A lady never discusses such things in public. But, what do you know? My shop isn't open for another thirty minutes - plenty time for a little girl talk, don't you think?" Rarity asked, smiling innocently. Twilight on the other hoof was trying very hard to take a page from Fluttershy's book. Unfortunately, her mane was not quite as long and she settled for burying her face between her forelegs as she crumpled to the floor. "Why is this happening to me~," Twilight wailed. "Why darling, there's nothing to be ashamed of - it's quite a natural thing for a mare and a-" "Nothing happened!" the lavender mare nearly screamed, desperate to get out of that line of conversation. "He sleeps outside my window, okay?" "How romantic!" Twilight groaned. "I don't think that has anything to do with it," she deadpanned, "He said he felt ... more comfortable sleeping outside. Or something." "That sounds awfully convenient," Rarity giggled, glancing sidelong at the continually reddening student of magic. "So ..." she began, as the awkward silence had just begun to set it, "Have you at least kissed him yet?" Twilight's eyes widened as her discomfort grew to new heights. She buried her face deep in a prison made of her forelegs. It was answer enough for Rarity, who began to laugh to herself. "Oh my, I am certainly behaving in a rather unbecoming manner today. But I will say this; I do envy you Twilight Sparkle!" "You enjoy being fatally embarrassed?" The question took on a deeper tone as it attempted to escape between the tiny gaps in her fortress of fur. Rarity snickered, "No darling. Being in love for the first time again! Believe me when I say, it's never the same after that," she ended with a bit of remorse in her voice. "In lo-" Twilight choked after her head shot back up to glare at Rarity. "But ... wh- no, that can't be, it- ... Can it?" the faithful student wondered to herself, regarding the floor in front of her with seemingly intense scrutiny. "Ah, but that is the best part you see! You just don't realize it at first!" Rarity piped up again. "No, no, no, no. You must be mistaken! I have so much to do, so much to learn! My studies; Princess Celestia expects the very best from me, I don't have time for this!" Twilight set off trotting back and forth with each new contemplation. "Honey calm down, we're not talking about marriage here. It's love, not the end of the world." Rarity's words were loud and clear enough for even her unseen audience to hear, but if they had reached Twilight, she showed no sign of it. Instead, her face was contorted in an expression of deep thought. Alpha was panicking again. Ordinarily (if that word could even be applied to a situation he had never actually been in), he would have been able to arrive at snap decisions without a problem. But as soon as he caught sight of the lavender mare a flood of confusing memories swept away any semblance of logic or reason. Memories he had been pushing to the back of his mind since his 'awakening' that morning. Suddenly, all he could think about was the fact that he was stealing from this mare's friend, and that made him feel horrible. But such notions had never been a part of his understanding before. It confounded him to no end. It did not help that he was still crouching in the relatively open area behind the Carousel Boutique, the evidence of his crime draped over the pink trickster beside him. He grabbed the jumpsuit and stared at it. Part of him was screaming the next step. A very small, insignificant part. Holding the evidence just made him feel twice as guilty. With a start, he realized he was shaking. 'Hide!' his mental scream finally got through. But hide what? How would hiding help now? The two mares were both in the same shop already. And the pink one would no doubt tell them. She was their friend too, was she not? Hiding would just delay the inevitable retribution. 'Hide the evidence you moron!' He tossed the suit in the air and with a brief glow it was floating weightlessly. The bubble around it shrunk quickly, compressing the contents with a short, high-pitched hiss, and then it darted to the nearest tree. Pop. The bubble dissipated, letting the jumpsuit fall onto the branch it had been hovering above. It hung there, hidden in the tree's dense foliage. 'Yeah, but now what?!' he mentally questioned himself. 'Just go with the flow. Lie if you have to. If it comes down to it, it's your word against the earth pony's!' 'But she's their friend - they'll believe her before they believe anything I say!' 'You're still supposed to be suffering from amnesia, remember? You're the victim in their eyes! Let's use that to our advantage.' 'But I don't want to be mean to-' 'Shut up and do it you weakling!' "Alpha!" Pinkie Pie whispered as loud as she could manage. "Buh- wha?" he gasped in reply. Pinkie Pie was stifling a giggle again, the other hoof pointing to the window above their heads as they both huddled beneath the windowsill. Alpha ventured a peak at first, but did a double take as the already confused jumble of emotions and thoughts he was experiencing were turned up-side-down. "Twilight?" There was no answer. "Twilight," Rarity called a little louder, still no answer. She floated out the few books she owned from a nearby shelf and dropped them right in front of the lavender mare. Twilight twitched, slightly startled by the sudden disorder, voicing the caboose of her thought train, "... four or five foal- wha- oh my." She immediately set about cleaning up the mess. "Honey you need to relax. These things have a way of working themselves out," Rarity offered. "Working themselves ... oh!" Twilight's magic subsided suddenly, allowing the books to fall short of their shelf, "I nearly forgot! Aha, silly me. Rarity! I need to test something, and I need a unicorn to do it!" she beamed, slapping a hoof to the shop floor for emphasis. The seamstress' face wrinkled in uncertainty, "I see ... Well I'm sure somepony else should be up and about-" "Oh don't be silly, this will only take a minute!" Twilight squeed, the previous matter entirely forgotten as she trotted closer to the suddenly sweating white mare. Rarity cringed, "R-really Twilight, I must be getting back to work, there's just so much to-" she faltered as her horn came into contact with Twilight's, "Do~" she moaned with sudden exhaustion. Her legs gave out and she fell into a sitting position, eyelids drooping suddenly. Unlike Rarity, Twilight had her eyes clenched shut, fully expecting an intense light show, but was otherwise unaffected. One eye opened after a few quiet seconds, then the other as she became fully aware of Rarity's dizzied condition - and otherwise lack of effect. "Well that was ... unexpected," Twilight said, furrowing her brow. Rarity's head was still spinning, "Whaza, whosay- huh?" she slurred. She shook her head suddenly and looked at Twilight just as an involuntary yawn escaped. She covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh dear, excuse me!" "I don't get it. What am I missing here?" "Twi-" Rarity halted, her face contorting as another yawn threatened to unleash itself on her oblivious friend. Said friend was busy pantomiming something Rarity could not figure out, whispering to herself in a decidedly disturbing manner. "Aha!" the lavender mare suddenly announced, "That has to be it!" "Aheh, Twilight? You've got that look in your eye again. Twilight, what are you-" Rarity was cut off when Twilight thrust her face in to the kiss. It was awkward enough to begin with, made even more so by the fact that both their eyes were open; Rarity's wide in shock and Twilight's focused above her head as she tried to line up their horns. Neither heard the muffled choking sound coming from the vicinity of the back window. Just as their horns touched again, Rainbow Dash burst through the door, "Hey Rarity have you seen-" and immediately froze in mid-air, wings beating slowly and mouth hanging open. "Whoa~"