//------------------------------// // In Search of Fungi // Story: In Search of Knowledge // by thehalfelf //------------------------------// In Search of Fungi Rarity was in the workroom behind the show floor of the Carousel Boutique when she heard the peal of the bell hung above the front door.  She glanced over at a mirror strategically place to allow view of the front of the shop from her preferred workplace, confirming her suspicion that her visitor was nothing more than Sweetie Belle coming home from school.  “I’m in the back room!” Rarity shouted over her shoulder, after turning off her sewing machine and letting the needle come to a stop. She was in the process of removing the fabric and placing it on a form when her sister finally entered the room, dropping her bag by the door.  “Hey, sis,” Sweetie Belle squeaked, craning her neck up to see the top of the table and the sewing machine.  “What are ya workin’ on?” “It is an order for a friend in Canterlot.”  Rarity pointed with a hoof to five identical dresses adorning dress forms, next to the half-finished one.  “It’s a bit droll, actually.  She wants a very specific pattern, which was interesting the first time, but by the third repetition is just becomes so... routine.  Anyway, how was your day?  Any more difficult questions?” “Nope.  The subject was canceled.”  Rarity made an understanding noise and turned back to grab a stencil tossed haphazardly on the edge of the table.  The filly, however, counted the seconds with a suppressed smile.  It took far longer than she initially thought for her sister to spin back around with questions written all over her face, but it was worth the wait. “The textbook is being rewritten,” Sweetie Belle clarified. “Ah, so whatever it was Twilight was doing worked then?” Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow.  “She was doing something?” “Yes, I spoke with her about it a few days ago.  She told me she was trying to find a replacement from other publishing companies.  I was under the impression that she wasn’t having much success, but I suppose it worked out in the end.”  Finally certain that she reached the end of the matter, Rarity turned back to her machine. “I guess.  Cheerilee told us yesterday that she was writing it with Twilight.”  Still talking, Sweetie Belle didn’t notice the sound of the stencil hitting the table top.  “So, I guess it worked out...?” Hundreds of questions whirled through Rarity’s head  “They are doing what?”  Out of all of the things to say... “Yeah, and I guess they were working on it last night, because Miss Cheerilee walked into class later than normal, and her mane was still kinda wet.”  Oblivious to her sister’s mental loop-the-loops, Sweetie Belle trotted back to her bag.  “I’m going to go do my homework, and then go meet the girls at the treehouse, okay?” “Just make sure to be home before dark.”  Rarity didn’t watch her sister bound from the room, nor did she pay attention when the filly trounced up the stairs.  In the fashionista’s mind, several things--whether they were real or imagined--clicked together, triggering a small smile that grew to encompass her entire face.  It was short lived, however, as the door chimed once again a few moments later. “Just one minute!” Rarity sing-songed, quickly fighting down her smile and sticking a needle in a half-finished piece of cloth. “Hello, Rarity,” called a quiet voice from the front room of the shop.  “I’m here to help, if you still need it.” “Fluttershy!  Thank goodness you’re here.  This order is getting on my nerves.  It’ll be nice to take a break, even if it is to work on those dreadful Nightmare Night costumes with you.”  Rarity rose from her chair, ignoring the popping in her joints from remaining seated so long, to give Fluttershy a hug as the pegasus entered the workroom. “Your costumes aren’t dreadful, they are lovely.”  The butter pegasus pulled back from the hug to shoot her friend a half-serious glare. “Maybe not, but I never actually see them on Nightmare Night.”  The unicorn sighed.  “Ah well, maybe this year...” Fluttershy used the lapse in conversation to glance around the back room, usually reserved for working on dresses for clients.  “Oh, these are nice,” she said, moving to look at the dark blue dresses on the forms.  “Who ordered these...?” “It doesn’t matter,” Rarity deflected, waving a hoof towards the door to the main room.  “Shall we go?” “O-Okay...”  Fluttershy slowly trotted past her friend’s hoof and, as soon as Rarity emerged, followed her up the stairs to a large room on the second floor, the unicorn’s personal studio.  Already, with the holiday almost upon them, various costume materials still littered the area.  Large rolls of multicolored cloth and spools of invisible thread were piled in a corner, next to bags of various bits to make accessories out of.  Instead of the usual dress form for modeling, a makeshift stage had been set up, for the dummies had been replaced in this instance by a live pony. “I will never understand why some ponies leave this stuff until the last minute...” Rarity said, drawing Fluttershy’s attention back to her and the list resting on a table in the corner.  “Now then, we’re still waiting on the peghoof for Pipsqueak’s costume, and Surprise wants me to use her own sequins that she hasn’t brought in, so all we can actually work on today is Lyra’s costume.” “Okay.”  Gently resting her saddlebags by one of the legs of a table, Fluttershy walked over to the bolts of fabric.  “What should we use?” “Black fabric, I think.”  Hearing the smile in Rarity’s voice, the pegasus looked back   “She ordered a Batmare costume in what I think is her measurements.” Fluttershy giggled.  “Alright, black fabric it is.”  So saying, she gently bit down on the leading edge and pulled it back towards where Rarity sat.  “If you want to start on the actual outfit, I’ll work on the cape...?”  Jobs decided, sewing machine and needles dispensed, and various snacks brought up from the kitchen, the two mares sat down to work. Though she focused on the needle and thread delicately guided with a hoof, Fluttershy’s gaze occasionally slipped down towards her saddlebag.  She worked for the better part of half an hour, cutting and resewing the jagged edge of the cape before working up the courage to look over at the unicorn seated next to her.  “Um, Rarity?” “Yes, darling?”  Rarity’s reply was barely audible over the hum of her sewing machine. “Twilight came to visit me today...” “Did she now?”  The unicorn turned to look at Fluttershy.  Idle chatter while working was not uncommon between the two, but it rarely ever had to do with one of their friends.  “What for?” “Well, she came to check on Owlowiscious, because he has been staying with me while I nurse him back to health, but while we were talking, Twilight told me some, um, some things about... about Cheerilee.”  As Fluttershy finished her sentence, Rarity turned off her machine and turned to look at her. “Do tell.  I’ve heard some rather interesting things about those two recently as well.” “I don’t... I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell or not...”  Suddenly regretting her decision, Fluttershy turned her attention back to the needle, letting her hair fall between her and the unicorn. “You can tell me anything, Fluttershy.  I promise I won’t tell anypony else.” “You... You promise?” Rarity gave her friend a reassuring smile.  “Of course.  I would never betray your trust.”  Fears allayed, Fluttershy wasted no time recounting the story Twilight had told her earlier to her eagerly listening friend. “I just don’t understand at all.”  Pausing at the end of her narrative, the pegasus reached down and pulled Her Only Stallion from her saddlebag.  “I didn’t want to pry, and it seemed like Twilight didn’t know, but why would this book make Cheerilee act so weird, if you don’t mind me asking?” Curious, Rarity levitated the book over to read the title.  “Interesting...  This doesn’t seem like the sort of thing our Twilight would read, now does it?”   Fluttershy shook her head.  “And you say that Twilight tried to read it because Cheerilee was reading the series?”  Rarity nodded slowly, smoothly adding the new information into her mental web of intrigue.  “And why would Twilight care how Cheerilee was acting unless...  Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!”  She sat up and wiggled her forehooves in excitement.  “I think Twilight has a crush on Cheerilee!” --_--_--_-- Twilight paced back and forth across the path leading from Ponyville into the Everfree Forest.  Nearby, always in eyesight, sat a pair of lavender saddlebags, loaded to the brim with paper, quills, and various measuring equipment.  A few more passes later, with no signs Fluttershy, Twilight sighed and plopped herself down next to her saddlebags to wait. Her stationary reprieve only lasted a few short minutes before she was back on her hooves and pacing, in circles this time.  It was like this that Fluttershy found the unicorn, approaching while her back was turned.  “Twilight, are you alright?” the pegasus asked as soon as she was within earshot. “Aah!”  Twilight jumped into the air, whirling around to face her quiet ambusher.  “Oh, it’s just you, Fluttershy.  Why’d you sneak up on me like that?” “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to.”  Fluttershy lowered her head, looking more at Twilight’s hooves than her face. “It’s fine, I’m just a little jumpy today.”  With a mental stretch, Twilight lifted her saddlebag onto her back.  “Ready to get going?”  The pegasus nodded, waiting for the unicorn to take the first step before falling in behind along the overgrown path into the Everfree Forest. As the canopy stretched overhead and the light beyond shrank, Fluttershy drew closer to Twilight and softly cleared her throat.  “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so anxious?” Twilight looked over and met her friend’s eyes for a moment before darting away.  “It’s... It’s nothing...” “Oh...”  The two walked on in silence, passing the slightly more overgrown split that lead to Zecora’s cottage, instead working their way further into the forest, to a small lake they were told plenty of fungus grew.  Wasting no time, Twilight shucked her saddlebags and began setting up various pieces of equipment.  As soon as the lights on the machines were blinking, she levitated samples of fungus collected from the lake and surrounding area and placed it into the instruments, carefully noting the results in multiple notebooks floating around her head. The research progressed swiftly with both mares working together.  Twilight sat surrounded by various flashing and whirring instruments on the ground, while a circle of notebooks constantly rotated around her head.  Fluttershy wandered slowly around the area--provided she was within eyesight of Twilight--looking for fungus for her unicorn friend to place under her instruments. It was during one of her stops to return samples that the pegasus took a seat.  “Um, Twilight?”  The unicorn grunted her response, not looking up from her work.  “Can I ask you something?” “One second...”  Twilight jotted down a few more notes before removing the current samples and sealing them in bags.  Slowing the notebooks to a halt around her head, she finally turned to look at Fluttershy.  “What’s on your mind?” “I was just wondering... a-about you and Cheerilee,” Fluttershy said, taking a seat just outside of the ring of machines. The librarian cocked her head slightly.  “Like I told you, we’re working on the textbook for the Equestrian Education Board.  She was just acting... strange is all.  I figured a teacher would be more focused.” “Maybe she was just tired.” “Maybe...”  Twilight glanced back at her machines to levitate a few new samples in.  “I’ll know more Saturday when I see her.” “Are you two going to Pinkie’s party?” Fluttershy asked, getting to her hooves to try and search for fungus Twilight hadn’t used yet. “Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!”  For a moment, her concentration wavered, causing the floating notebooks to fall for a brief moment before Twilight reasserted control and pulled them back up.  “I’m sure Cheerilee won’t mind if we go.  Besides, if we didn’t, I don’t want to think what Pinkie Pie would do.” “I don’t know, it might be kinda funny...”  Fluttershy joined her friend in a quick laugh.  “Hopefully, you’ll know what was going on before then,” she said almost a minute later, voice muffled by the bush she was currently looking through. Twilight’s eyebrows knitted together briefly.  “Yeah, me too.”