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Sweet Apple Acres - Earlier
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As Applejack walked into the farmhouse, the two fillies that had been waiting inside immediately rushed over to her from their places at Applebloom’s side.
“Is Applebloom going to be OK?” Sweetie Belle asked with a worried look on her face.
“That monster didn’t hurt her did it?” Scootaloo chimed in with the same look of worry on her face that Sweetie Belle had.
“Ah don’t rightly know yet.” Applejack answered with a worried tone in her voice as she looked at her sister. “She took a nasty hit to th’ head, but we won’t know more ‘till she wakes up.”
She picked her up from the couch, turned and headed up the stairs to Applebloom’s room. Opening the door, she gently set the filly down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. She then left and came back a few minutes later with an ice pack and a towel, both of which she placed over the bump on her sister’s head to try and reduce the swelling. Giving her sister one last nuzzle, she turned and headed back downstairs to where she had left Applebloom’s friends.
“She’s restin’ now.” Applejack started before the two fillies could bombard her with questions she didn’t have the answers to. “Big Mac put a real hurtin’ on th’ critter that had been carryin‘ ‘er. Twilight an’ th’ rest of ‘em took it and th’ other one that was already hurt down t’ th’ clinic. Hopefully she can find out more about them when they come ‘round. Now y’all best be getting’ on home now, Applebloom needs her rest.”
Both fillies nodded silently and made their way towards the door. After Sweetie Belle had gone outside, Scootaloo turned back to Applejack.
“Um… Could… Could I stay here? I-I mean just until she wakes up? I’ll be quiet, I promise!” She said with a pleading look in her eyes. Applejack sighed and reluctantly agreed, the filly giving her a hug before heading over to the couch in the living room and getting comfortable.
Applejack’s gaze lingered on the filly for a moment, wondering why she wouldn’t want to head back to her family, if nothing else than to tell them about the strange creature she had seen. She shrugged off the thoughts and headed back upstairs to check on her sister again.
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Ponyville Library - Current time
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Spike was sitting at the table in the middle of the library reading a book, wishing Twilight would come back so that he could get back to napping. He heard the faint hum of magic and turned to see the library door glowing with a lavender hue right before it opened, revealing Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
“So do you think those creatures had anything to do with that strange thing we saw after the storm?” Dash asked Twilight.
“I never thought about it, but it’s quite possible. The timing is awfully convenient for there not to be some connection.” Twilight got a thoughtful look in her eye. “Speaking of connections, did you see Big Mac and Fluttershy as we were leaving the clinic?”
“Yeah. I wonder if those two will ever actually get together. Fluttershy is too… well… shy to ask him out, and Big Mac doesn’t talk enough.” Dash stated flatly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yeah you’re right, they probably just need the right moment. I know another couple of ponies who didn’t take the hints right away…” Her voice trailed off and a smirk grew on her face as she shoved Dash playfully.
“Why, whoever could you mean, dearest Twilight?” Dash replied in one of those snobby accents that she knew got under Twilight’s skin. She stuck her tongue out at her, the same playful smirk spreading over her own face.
“Oh come here you.” Twilight said as she pulled the Pegasus into a deep kiss. She felt the Pegasus push back into the kiss. Her heart sped up and she could feel the flood of emotions well up inside of her. The moment was short lived, however, as they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They broke the kiss, both of them blushing furiously, awkward smiles on their faces.
“Really guys?” Spike said, closing his book and heading for the kitchen, presumably to start dinner.
“Well I should probably get to writing that letter to the Princess.” Twilight said and started walking over to her writing desk. “But don’t even think I’m finished with you yet.” She teased, flicking Dash with the end of her tail as she walked away. She sat down in front of her desk and used her magic to pull out a blank sheet of parchment and a quill. Dipping the quill in the inkwell she began her letter:
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing this letter to inform you that we have made a new discovery that may be related to the events I described in my previous letter. One of my friends, Fluttershy, was in the Everfree Forest today, when she spotted a strange creature that walked on two legs and looked like a monkey, only without fur or a tail. Soon after we went to Sweet Apple Acres, only to find that Applejack and her brother had subdued a creature that seemed to fit Fluttershy’s description of the creature she had seen in the forest. We found a second creature nearby that had been severely wounded. Both creatures are now being taking care of at the Ponyville Clinic. I respectfully request that you pay a visit to the clinic and see if you are able to shed any light on what these mysterious creatures may be.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Halfway through the letter, she had felt the breath of somepony on her neck, and knew that Dash had been reading over her shoulder as she wrote. “What do you think?” She asked Dash.
“Sounds good to me.”
Twilight rolled up the letter and tied a ribbon around it, and sealing it before standing up and walking towards the kitchen. The smells of whatever spike had started for dinner reminded her of just how hungry she was. Her stomach decided that it needed to voice its opinion on the matter and let loose a hearty growl, which earned a chuckle from Rainbow. Her laughter was short lived, however, as her own stomach gave a growl of its own in reply. Smiling sheepishly she got up and followed Twilight into the kitchen.
“That smells amazing Spike! What’s cooking?” Rainbow said upon entering the kitchen.
“Grilled daisy sandwiches and tomato soup with a dash of rose petals.” Spike said, beaming proudly at the compliment to his culinary skills.
Dash heard the hum of magic and looked over to see Twilight levitating plates, bowls, and glasses out of a nearby cabinet and setting them neatly on the table. Dash opened the drawer where she knew the silverware was kept and brought out three spoons, setting them down beside the plates. Twilight’s horn flashed once more and the spoons aligned themselves perfectly with the plates. Dash gave her a deadpan look, as if to say ‘Really?’. Twilight just stuck her tongue out at the cyan Pegasus and took her seat.
“Oh, Spike, I have a letter that I need you to send. It can wait till after dinner though, no hurry.” Twilight said. Spike just nodded in response, paying more attention to his cooking than to the conversation.
Taking a sip from the spoon that he had been stirring with, he declared the meal ready to eat and brought the pot over and set it on the table, before heading back and grabbing the plate of sandwiches. He ladled out the soup and they all started digging in.
“So what are these strange creatures you guys were talking about earlier?” Spike spoke up after swallowing a bite of his sandwich.
Twilight finished chewing and swallowed before answering. “Nopony knows what they are. They might have something to do with the strange object that Dash and I saw after that storm. I’m asking the Princess to come and see them to see if she can shed any light as to what they are or where they came from. That’s what is in the letter I need you to send.”
“I still say they’re aliens!” Dash said, earning a glare from Twilight.
The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Once they finished, there was a unanimous agreement that the meal had been excellent. Twilight helped spike clear the dishes from the table and Dash went to retrieve the letter from Twilight’s desk. After depositing it on the kitchen table, she made her way to the bathroom for a nice hot shower.
Twilight helped Spike finish up the dishes and had him send the letter off before making her way up to the bathroom, only to find it still occupied by the blue Pegasus.
“You better not use up all the hot water again!” Twilight yelled through the door. She heard a mumbled response from the other side, but couldn’t make out what was said. Letting out a huff, she turned around and went back to the main room of the library.
She levitated a book off of a nearby shelf and set it on her desk. She opened it to where the bookmark was and continued reading where she had left off while she waited for Dash to finish showering.
Spike told her goodnight as he walked passed on the way to his room. They had cleared out one of the storage rooms, and refurnished it into a bedroom for the dragon after Rainbow Dash had moved in, to prevent any kind of… awkward incidents from happening. Twilight told him goodnight as well and went back to her reading.
About fifteen minutes later she heard the bathroom door open. Tucking her bookmark back into the book, she returned it to its place on the shelf. She started down the hallway, meeting Rainbow halfway to the bathroom, her mane still wrapped up in a towel.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t use up all the hot water.” Dash told her. Twilight gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, you heading to bed?”
“Nah, not yet. I think I’m going to read a bit more of that new Daring Do book first.” Dash said before returning the kiss and heading off into the library.
Twilight took her shower and came back out to find Dash asleep on the couch, sprawled out on her back, her book face down on the floor where it had fallen. Her hind leg twitched in her sleep and Twilight shook her head, a small smile on her mouth.
“What am I going to do with you Dash?” She asked the sleeping Pegasus.
Using her magic, she set the book on a nearby table and levitated the sleeping Pegasus up to their bed. Tucking her in, she gently climbed in beside her and wrapped her hooves around the sleeping mare, taking care not to wake her. The worries of the day melted away and Twilight was asleep almost instantly.