“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and manifique…oh, hello Twilight.”
“Hello, Rarity.” Twilight casually stepped into the Boutique. The mid morning sun glared through one of the windows, causing Twilight to squint. Rarity saw it and immediately ran over to close the curtains.
“I’m ever so sorry, Twilight. I’ve been meaning to get that window tinted, but I can never decide on the right color…”
“It’s fine, Rarity.” Twilight reassured, blinking the brightness out of her eyes. “Just fine.”
Rarity nodded. “So, whatever brings you here? How’s Spike doing?”
Twilight sighed. “Spike isn’t feeling too well. I think he exhausted himself at his sleepover and came down with something…”
Rarity’s eyes went wide with concern. “Oh my! He’s not terribly ill, is he?”
“No, but he needs a lot of quiet and a lot of rest. That’s why I decided to come in, actually. You have black opals, right?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes, I do! I have a good collection of them. A few of my Canterlot clients are hoping for a big return of dark chic. I doubt that will ever happen, but black is always classy.”
Trotting to a nearby closet, Rarity opened it up to present a huge assortment of gemstones. All the colors of the rainbow, ranging from vivid rubies to subtle amethysts. Even in the enclosed space of the closet, they were all perfectly color coordinated for maximum beauty. In fact, they seemed to be organized as a reference for what colors go best with each other.
But all Twilight noticed were the black opals. A nice big pile of black opals, dark as night and perfectly smooth. Rarity picked up a decent hoofful of them with her telekinesis and brought them over to Twilight.
“Will this be enough?” Rarity asked.
Twilight thought for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, that should be good for now. I’ll let you know if I need any more.”
Rarity moved the opals into a convenient bag. “I do hope Spike will be alright…is there anything else I can do for him?”
Twilight shook her head as she took the bag. “I don’t think so, Rarity. Right now, the best thing for him is to get plenty of rest. He really didn’t sleep at that sleepover. I’ve closed the library for the day, so I won’t wake him up with any noisy visitors…”
Rarity froze, blinking in confusion. “You closed the library? That’s…”
“What?”
“I’m just…surprised, that’s all. You never close the library. I mean…I realize you don’t want any disruptions for Spike, but most of the ponies in town would understand enough to be quiet in the library…”
Twilight chuckled. “Maybe, but ponies in this town have a really bad habit of crashing in completely unannounced and making a lot of noise – “
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOING! TOOODLEY OODLEY- LALALA-BOOM-PARP-PING-HONK tingaling WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO CRAASSSSSSH! YAAAAAAAY!
Twilight groaned, looking up at the ceiling in annoyance. “…Case in point.”
BA-DUM-TISH!
While they were talking, Pinkie had abruptly bounded into the room carrying the remnants of her one-pony band outfit. Musical instruments rattled into each other as Pinkie tapped her hooves in excitement. The element around her neck looked as bright and blue as her eyes.
“Hey Rarity!” She exclaimed after she’d removed her mouth from her harmonica. “Do you still have that flute? I’ve come up with a new super fun song, but I need a flute and the only one I know about was here when the Parasprites attacked and I left it here! Do you know where it is?”
Rarity gaped at Pinkie’s sudden appearance before shaking her head clear. “I…see what you mean, Twilight.”
Pinkie spun around as if she had just noticed Twilight. “Hey Twilight! What were you doing? Doing anything fun? Huh? Huh? You don’t look happy. I can help with that!”
Twilight picked up the bag of opals. “I was getting some stuff for Spike. He’s not feeling too good, and he needs peace and quiet…” With a flash, she was right up in Pinkie’s face, her eyes warped into a ferocious glare. “SO DON’T GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE LIBRARY TODAY! UNDERSTAND?!”
The sudden forcefulness of Twilight’s voice caught the other two ponies off guard. Pinkie and Rarity both took a step back, but Pinkie recovered quickly. “Okie-dokie, Twilight! I’ll just play my new song outside of town! See ya later, Rarity!” And the pink party pony left as quickly as she had arrived.
“But…what about…that flute…you were…?” Rarity stammered for a second before turning to Twilight. “Darling, did you really need to be so… harsh with Pinkie?”
Twilight groaned. “Come on, Rarity. It’s Pinkie. You’ve got to be as subtle as a hammer with her, or she gets the wrong idea. Remember Cranky Doodle?”
“I suppose, but she has gotten a lot better…”
Twilight didn’t seem convinced. “Thanks for the opals, Rarity. I’ve gotta get back to Spike. We’ll talk later.” With that said, Twilight started walking purposefully out.
“Oh…um, goodbye, Twilight. You will tell me when Spike’s feeling better, right?”
“Of course. See you later.”
Just as Twilight was walking out, she almost bumped into another Pegasus coming in. Fluttershy gasped and took a step back to avoid any collision. “Oh…I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t know you were here…”
Twilight flinched involuntarily, tensing up before taking a deep breath and putting on a smile. “Oh. Hi, Fluttershy. I was just picking something up.”
Fluttershy shrunk away slightly. “I was just picking something up too…” She hesitated for a second before continuing. “Um…Twilight? Please don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but…is everything alright?”
Twilight gave Fluttershy an odd look. “Spike’s a little sick, but everything’s fine. Why?”
“Oh dear…Um, well, yesterday you left in such a mood…”
“Oh that!” Twilight chuckled nervously. “I just…Discord caught me off guard, that’s all. I guess I’m still getting used to him being around.”
“Oh…okay.” Fluttershy accepted that answer. “Did…did you say Spike was sick? Is there anything I can do to help? I want to help, but I wouldn’t want to impose…”
Twilight shook her head. “Spike is okay, he just needs some rest. Honestly, I’d feel better if you just kept an eye on Discord…”
Glancing behind Fluttershy, Twilight noticed that Fluttershy’s cottage had sprouted giant wings and was fluttering just above Ponyville. Twilight was amazed that nopony gave the flying building a second glance. How long had Discord been around now? Or were they just willfully ignoring it?
“Okay, if that’s what you feel…”
“Look, Fluttershy. I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” She nodded goodbye before trotting away.
“Oh…okay, Twilight. We’ll talk later…you will let me know if there’s anything I can…”
But Twilight was already gone, walking rather quickly to the library.
“…do…for…Spike…” Fluttershy stared at the retreating form of her friend, a confused expression on her face. Something wasn’t right, but she just couldn’t put her hoof on it…
A tin can suddenly materialized out of thin air and placed itself over Fluttershy’s ears. “Fluuuuu-ters! Are you picking up Opalescence or not?” it demanded, bending itself like a metal mouth.
“Erm…right. Right away! Of course.” Fluttershy shook her head clear and walked into the Boutique. She’d just have to wait to get answers.
Twilight shut the door behind her and took a deep breath. She was glad to be away from that Pegasus, even though she didn’t understand why. This Fluttershy hadn’t done anything to her. She was harmless. Beyond harmless. In a way, this was the same Pegasus who saved her from the dragon, but not the one who…ruined everything. There was no logical reason for her to be uncomfortable with this Fluttershy. She was her friend.
Maybe it was that houseguest…Discord. Yes, it was Discord. Both Fluttershys were too kind for their own good, trusting their houseguests way too much. This Fluttershy with the spirit of chaos, the other one with…those things…
No. Don’t think about them. Not now. One thing at a time. Twilight decided. Checking to make sure the windows were closed, (I didn’t want the sun to keep Spike awake, she rehearsed under her breath) Twilight mentally decided that once Discord had been taken care of, she’d feel better around Fluttershy. And everything would be back to normal.
Right now, she had to deal with Spike.
-----------------------------------------
Elsewhere…
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Twilight snapped her eyes open the second she had finished casting the teleportation spell. Whatever her current situation was, she had to figure out where she was and what she was going to do next. She felt something under her hooves. Looking down, she saw that she had been stepping on the photo album when she cast the teleportation spell, so it had been brought with her to... where was she, anyway?
Twilight raised her head and looked around. Pastel walls, wood floors, lots of birdcages and mouse holes, butterflies carved everywhere…Fluttershy’s cottage! She must have subconsciously picked the location because it was the safest place she could think of. Twilight was amazed she had teleported so far without any difficulties, but right now, none of that mattered. She was safe…enough, and she could get her breath back and figure things out before…
A familiar voice gasped, and Twilight spun around to see Fluttershy staring at her in shock with one wide eye. Her bangs were hanging over her face as usual, so it was difficult to see her face. But it was her, no doubt. A tray that carried sandwiches had clattered to the floor, having been dropped in shock.
Relieved beyond belief to see her friend, Twilight forgot everything for a second and started babbling. “Fluttershy! I’m so glad to see you. Something screwy is going on, and I have no idea what’s going on! The Changelings are everywhere, and they’re all after me, and…”
Twilight stopped when she noticed Fluttershy’s expression. Her visible eye was shaking with terror, her mouth gaping in total shock. “Fluttershy?” Twilight asked with a concerned voice. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Fluttershy just kept staring, and when Twilight stepped closer she backed away. She was scuttling into a corner, the fear never leaving her eye.
“I…I’m sorry I just crashed in like this, but…um…wait…” Twilight suddenly noticed something through the pegasus’ bangs.
“…what happened to your eye?”
CLUNK
Twilight swayed for a second before crumpling to the floor, a big bruise right above her closed eyes. Angel was standing on a shelf above her, holding a big frying pan in his tiny paws. The bunny scowled furiously at the unicorn below him, raising the frying pan to inflict more pain.
He stopped when he heard Fluttershy gasping for breath. The small Pegasus took wheezing breaths as she tried to process what had just happened. Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn who attacked her nursery and took out her eye, had just…reappeared, completely out of the blue, in the middle of her home…
The door opened, and one of the guards stationed at the nursery stepped inside. “Fluttershy, I’ve just received word that…” The Changeling did a double take when he saw the purple unicorn lying on the floor. “What?! How did she…what…?” Getting over his initial shock, he sent the unicorn’s location through the hivemind. Knowing what this unicorn was capable of, he couldn’t waste any time.
That sentiment was shared, as almost immediately several other unicorns and changelings teleported into the cottage. A magic suppressor ring was quickly shoved onto the unconscious Twilight’s horn, and several chains were bound around her hooves.
One of the Changelings present couldn’t hide his disgust. “She has some nerve, returning here.”
“I’m surprised she even managed to get here.” A unicorn commented. “I thought a protective spell was cast here to repel her magic…”
“Those things are unreliable. It doesn’t matter. We have her in custody, and nopony died in the process.” Another unicorn glanced up to see the still-shaking Fluttershy. “Are you alright, Miss Fluttershy? Did she try to hurt you?”
“I’ll see to her.” The Changeling guard buzzed over to the pegasus’ side, steadying her with his feet. “Everything’s fine. Can you stand, Fluttershy? Do you need anything?”
“I-I-I-I’m…” Fluttershy stuttered, before a tiny voice made her ears prick up.
“Miss Fluttershy? What’s going on? What’s all that noise?” One of the hatchlings was at the back door. Fluttershy had let them have a picnic in the backyard, so they were thankfully out of the house when Twilight had reappeared.
Hearing the hatchling’s voice snapped Fluttershy out of her shocked stupor. She bolted over to the hatchling, blocking his view of Twilight. Even if she was being restrained and taken away, the last thing the little ones needed to see was the unicorn that tried to kill them. “It’s nothing, dears! Everything is all right. Come along now…” Fluttershy reassured, gently pushing the hatchling out the door. She was followed by Angel and the guard, who made sure to shut the door behind them.
Once Fluttershy was gone, another Changeling growled. “We should kill her now. She’s too dangerous.”
“You’ll just make her a martyr. Remember, she still has a lot of followers.”
“That’s the excuse everyone uses…”
“Enough. We have our orders.” The chained Twilight Sparkle was lifted up with telekinesis. “Take her to the prison hive, and send word to the Ruler. We’d best do it while she’s unconscious.”
The Changeling growled, but didn’t argue the point any further. At any rate, a dangerous terrorist had been neutralized and brought into custody. How laughable that a rabbit with a frying pan was more successful than an entire contingent of guards. The gossip columns would have a field day with that.
The unicorns among them cast another teleportation spell, and in a flash everypony was gone. The cottage was left quiet once again.
In all the confusion, nopony noticed the photo album lying on the floor.