Wrath

by FishyCrackers431

Envy

They had been traveling for what was almost the rest of the day, and when Twilight finally stopped to check, the sun was hanging low in the sky.

Spike had been seemingly wrestling with it with his tongue for the whole trip, judging by the look on his face. This didn't do anything to ease Twilight's mind; it was just a constant reminder that something had caused one of the hardest substances in the land, a dragon's tooth, to break.

Soon enough, Twilight stopped and gave the baby dragon a pleading look. "Spike, could you please stop that? It's getting distracting" Even if she couldn't see his face without turning, she could hear his tongue-work with ease, and it was quite disgusting.

Spike gave a muffled sound of agreement, which thankfully allowed Twilight to continue on her way through the forest with little distraction. For a few minutes or so, at least. Then, with at least some effort put into trying to be quiet, Twilight heard him start up again and let out a loud groan. "Okay, hold on, we're taking a detour"

Spike tried to give a feeble protest of mumbles -still not willing to open his mouth-, but Twilight ignored this. She instead stepped off the beaten path, through the trees. "Don't bother, I'll need to bring you here eventually either way" She spoke back to him.

The density of the forest was increasing, and rather quickly and though Twilight had gone through this area many times before, it was not necessarily from this direction. Even Spike, by now, recognized this area of the forest. He didn't like it.

Then, just as the trees seemed they could get no thicker, there were none. The two of them entered a wide open clearing, still covered in darkness by the leaves overhead, but at least giving off a warmth of safety. This warmth came from the hut that sat in the middle of the clearing, light pouring out from its windows and smoke pouring up from its roof.

Spike, never breaking eye contact with the hut, lowered himself down from Twilight's back. While she approached the door, he took in the sight of it, only coming to his senses and going to catch up with her once he'd heard her giving three quick raps on the door.

There was a sound of rustling from within, and seconds later, a shaman of source in the form of the zebra Zecora opened the door. Her face seemed to light up at the sight of the two of them. "Ah! Twilight Sparkle and Spike, my friends, to what pleasure do I owe this end?" She asked, stepping aside to allow the two to enter.

Even now, annoyed as she was, Twilight had to smile at the words of the zebra, and entered into the warmth of the hut with Spike following after. While Spike looked between the many hanging and shelved oddities that lined the hut, Twilight spoke.

"Thanks, it's great to see you too. We've had a bit of a rough day" As usual, the building had its customary smell of all things bizarre and sour. While it had first stunk, Twilight soon came to know it as one of the most reassuring scents there were. "Spike has a bit of a problem" She added on, grabbing Spike and spinning him around, interrupting his thoughts, to face Zecora.

Still, Spike kept his mouth firmly shut, and would have kept it as such if Twilight hadn't given him a quick nudge in his side. With some reluctance, he opened wide to let Zecora peer around the inside of his mouth for a short time. She spotted the problem more quickly than Twilight had.

"Now there's a sight known most uncouth! A baby dragon with a chipped tooth..." The zebra hurried off to the other side of the room, grabbing ingredients down from her shelves to fix the problem most haste. "I have no remedy for such a thing, so we'll see what good then this can bring"

With an eager start, she began brewing and mixing all sorts of liquids and seeds of different colors into the central cauldron of the room. "This brew is meant for Ponies, true, but I see no reason it wont work for you" With these words, she took a ladle full of the remedy and poured it into a waiting bowl. Were Apple Bloom here, she'd have recognized the remedy as the one that had helped her in a similar situation.

"Drink that all down, now Twilight, let's speak" Zecora finally finished her work, approached Twilight again while Spike lifted the bowl to his lips and began to consume the tonic. "At your temple, did you find what you seek?" Zecora had been a destination on both their leave and return; her hut lay almost right on the path.

Keeping an eye on Spike as she spoke, Twilight answered. "Actually no, that's why we're here" Twilight had only just began fishing for the blue jewel when a muffled yell from Spike rang out, drawing both ponyies' attentions.

Twilight's jaw hit the ground. Spike seemed to be panicking where he stood, yet he didn't dare move. She could imagine that he couldn't see; his entire face was missing, and in its place was just another coat of purple scales.

Both unicorn and zebra rushed over to his side, Zecora so that she could quickly look through her shelves in hopes of finding something to perhaps fix what she'd done, and Twilight to look after her helper. "Spike! Can you hear me?" Twilight asked, alarmed. It was met only with a series of muffled words she couldn't make out. At least he didn't seem to be in any pain...

"Can you breathe alright? One mumble for yes, two for no" Spike let a single grunt out in response, patting down the space where his face had been not five minutes ago. Twilight let a sigh of relief free, looking over her shoulder to Zecora who didn't seem to be having any luck. "How did this happen?"

"The remedy he took just now, was meant for ponies, not dragon mouths" She stood up on her hind legs to look through the higher shelves, though with no apparent luck if her continued frantic searching was anything to go by.

"So, can you fix him?" Twilight asked, giving Spike a soft nudge when he started leaning to one side, unable to see.

Zecora only glanced over to the two of them once before continuing her search. "Er, yes i think. Give me an hour, or two I'll bet. Come back then, he'll be all set..."

Twilight looked between the zebra and dragon. Spike at least had stopped panicking, though he did occasionally pat down his former face and let out a string of mumbles that neither mare could understand. "Are you sure? I could help you here if you needed it..." The unicorn offered.

Zecora stepped down from her shelf and rushed off to the other side of the room, straight past Twilight as she did. There, she began pulling drawers open and pushing between their contents, looking for one thing or another. It was becoming oddly aware that even she didn't have much an idea what she was looking for.

"No Twilight Sparkle, you mustn't stay. I would not have you watch this display" The zebra finally pulled her head back up from the drawer, with a bottle bearing an odd green flower label clenched beneath her teeth. Spike let out another mumble of uncertainty.

Twilight, giving quick glances between the two, slowly backed towards the door, not entirely sure how the zebra would expect Spike to drink anything she made without a mouth. "After all, to tell the truth to you; I've no idea what this will do"

On the final word, Twilight stepped outside and shut the door. Her mind was suddenly in a haze by all that she'd just seen, and she wasn't entirely sure how she should be reacting to this. Zecora could be trusted, this wasn't a question of that, nor was it one of the zebra's efficiency.

Still, Twilight left herself a silent reminder to look up a spell concerning missing faces before she came back.

Finally, when the sun could only barely be seen over the horizon, did Twilight pull herself free of the Everfree Forest. She still felt herself in somewhat of a daze from the events that had occurred in the forest, all of them. The jewel's appearance, its sinister nature, its apparent unbreakability... and of course her mind was troubled with the thoughts of Spike's... problem.

Twilight would have shown Zecora the jewel, hoping the zebra might have known something of it, but Spike's predicament had called to their attention and she had forgotten in an instant.

Going back now would just make it all feel pointless, though she could not in good conscience send a letter off to the Princess without knowing what would happen. There was also the added problem that with Spike being mouthless, she had no way of sending off any letters.

Finally she stepped onto the familiar dirt roads of Ponyville. The streets were just about devoid of life now, most people just finishing up their deeds for the day.

Not Twilight though, she didn't as much have any set destination, but rather, she just tried to walk and think. At one point Scootaloo had gone on by, forcing her to quickly dodge out of the pegasus's path. Scootaloo had at least waved and given a quick hello, though with Twilight's thoughts quickly returning to mind, the unicorn gave only a half-hearted "Hi" as Scootaloo sped away.

What would she do? The only two people she could actually speak to about the jewel, Celestia and Zecora, weren't exactly available- or at least she couldn't in good conscience go to speak with either.

So what was she to do? Twilight finally sat herself down in a seat outside Sugarcube Corner. She could hear the faint rattling off of Pinkie Pie within the building, though to be honest the pink Earth Pony was more likely to confuse Twilight than help.

Then the idea struck her. No, there weren't just Celestia and Zecora. Twilight stood up and retrieved the jewel from her bag, looking it over quickly. True, Rarity had claimed to be busy that day with a big order, but if anyone in Ponyville would know about a gem of any kind, it was the designer herself.

A minute later, Twilight found herself running through the streets toward Carousel Boutique. It took no time at all with such little traffic of ponies. It wasn't until Twilight was approaching the designer's store did she slow to catch her breath.

A grey coated yellow-maned Pegasus was happily trotting out the door with a package in her mouth and a happy look on her face which suggested she only had a vague idea of what she'd just bought. She gave a mumbled "Hello" while passing. Twilight could only bring herself to give a smile and nod to keep from letting out a laugh.

The unicorn approached the doorway just as it shut, the sign in the window being quickly changed from "Come In, We're OPEN" to "Sorry, we're CLOSED" as she did.

Twilight gave a few light raps on the door with her hoof, provoking a yell from Rarity inside. "Sorry, no more business today! Come back tomorrow!". She sounded as though the Pegasus had given her a bit of trouble.

Twilight gave a few more knocks, followed by her own hushed yelling of "Rarity! It's Twilight!"

A quick click and slam later of the lock being undone, the door was pulled open from within, revealing the most dazzling pony in all of Ponyville; Rarity. Or at least she would be. Twilight hadn't seen her looking so distraught since their little gang had displayed their "revised" dresses at the fashion show so long ago. Even in this state of disaster she now wore, pure beauty could be seen underneath.

"Oh, Twilight, sorry about that, always a pleasure" Her mane was lightly ruffled, and her eyes had bags under them. The designer's glasses also seemed to have a tilt to them, which, by her look, Rarity had not noticed yet. "Come in, come in" Rarity waved the other unicorn inside, stepping in herself.

Twilight stepped in as well, and just for a moment was surprised by the look of pure disaster that had overtaken the place. Fabrics and quilts seemed to have been thrown randomly over the building, and a few dressing mannequins were completely overturned in a corner as though someone had thrown them out of the way in frustration.

"Sorry for the wreck, this place really has seen better days..." Rarity murmured, hurriedly beginning to use her horn to pick up whatever she could find out a place- a process that would surely take her all night at best.

Twilight lifted the large pile of overturned mannequins, taking a moment to separate them from each other, before setting them down. "Long day?"

Rarity turned and gave Twilight a pleading look. "Has Derpy ever visited your library?" she asked.

"Wait, all of this was just for one pony?"

Rarity went back to her cleaning, giving a quick "I'll take that as a no."

Twilight lifted a few things with her own magic off the floor, eager to help, though mostly in hopes of cheering up her stressed friend. Rarity certainly didn't look like she needed to be bothering with any of Twilight's problems at the moment... or would she?

Once Rarity trotted over and pulled away just about everything Twilight had picked up away, to be sorted, Twilight cleared her throat loudly and spoke up. "Rarity? Could i ask for your help on something?"

Rarity seemed to hesitate for a moment as she was setting rolls of fabric back into their usual positions on the shelf. She continued on with her work, talking without looking. "Uh, could it maybe wait a while? You know I always have time for you, but I'm a bit busy..."

"Trust me, you'll like this" Twilight spoke with confidence, fishing out the dull blue jewel once again and holding it before her with her magic.

Rarity finally set down a quilt she'd picked up by mouth, and turned. "Well, alright, but just for a mo-" She froze at the sight of the gem, jaw nearly hitting the floor. She'd rushed over to Twilight in under five seconds, grabbing it from the air and holding it between her two hooves. "My... oh my dear! Where did you ever find something like this? Why, I've never seen anything so... so... beautiful..."

"We... found it" Twilight spoke cautiously, not sure if Rarity was even listening to her at this point. The designer was turning the jewel over in her hooves, studying every inch of it. "Me and Spike? While we were in the abandoned castle of the princess sisters?"

Rarity gave a quick "Mhm", turning over the gem once more so that the eye was facing her. It gave off a dull blue glow that Twilight, from her angle at least, couldn't see. In fact Rarity herself wouldn't have spotted it if it hadn't been dark out, should the sun's rays be lighting up the building even more.

"Spike chipped a tooth on it? You know he eats gems, right? You've seen him do it" Rarity turned the gem over once more, this time not even managing out a response of any kind. Twilight, quickly growing frustrated, finally said. "And then we went to Zecora's and she made his face disappear"

Rarity, once again, only let out a quick "Mhm" Before turning and calmly walking back to her desk, jewel in hoof. Twilight stared at her as she went, before flipping open the satchel to her pack and fishing out the purple tuft of tail found within. She followed over after Rarity, who had set the gem down and was now silently examining it from all sides.

Twilight lifted the gem high in the air, just out of reach of Rarity who instinctively tried and failed to grab for it. Then, Twilight lifted the tail above Rarity's head and let it drop.

Rarity, who had been looking up at the gem, had the purple mass of hair cover her face when it fell, and could only stand dumbstruck for a few short moments. "Twilight, is this my tail?" Her muffled voice came out from under the tufts.

"Yes it is" Twilight pulled the gemstone back down to her, this time keeping it safely in reach just in case the designer unicorn tried to grab for it again.

"Ah" Rarity's voice sounded again, and she slowly pulled the swirl of purple hair off her face to lay it down on the desk. She spun, eyeing the gemstone but now at least with her attention fully at Twilight. "I take it you met the Serpent again, then?"

"Yeah, listen, can we talk about the gem now?" Twilight asked. She was quickly growing tired of this whole ordeal, but was at least relieved to have her friend's full attention. Or most of it anyway.

"Oh, yes, of course" Rarity quickly straightened her glasses and set her mane back to form. "I haven't actually ever seen a gem like that before" She leaned slightly towards Twilight's direction, hoof held out as if expecting it to be given to her. "But i could look into it if you'd like, it'd be no trouble at all! Just leave it here with me..."

Twilight stepped back, away from her friend while moving the gem back as well. "Sorry, but I'm not letting this out of my sight until i have the Princess's say so"

Rarity stepped forward, still smiling widely. "Oh come now, what harm could it do? Such a beautiful gem, you know I'd never let anything happen to it..." Her own horn lit up, and Twilight felt a tug on the gemstone. She tugged it back towards her.

Rarity's smile disappeared into a glare. "Give me that gem" Rarity tugged the gem her way once more. Rarity's eye gave a quick twitch of annoyance.

"You are not getting this gem, Rarity!" Twilight growled in response, pulling it back towards her.

Rarity's horn lit up brightly, and the next thing Twilight knew, she couldn't see. She felt her whole body being wrapped in a flurry of fabrics and sheets until she could neither see nor move. Twilight could hear the gem letting out a few 'dinks' as it fell to the floor and bounced several times.

"Much better" Rarity's spoke, her voice slightly muffled. Twilight could hear the familiar hum of Rarity's horn starting up again, and she knew that the designer was picking up the gemstone.

Taking a deep breath in her prison, Twilight jabbed her head forward so that her horn partially cut through some of the fabric. She repeated this process several times, until before finally poking her head up and out of the ball of sheets she'd been wrapped in.

From here, she could see Rarity just about to head upstairs to her room, probably to hide the jewel. After all, she couldn't keep Twilight wrapped up forever.

Thinking fast of whatever spell might help her -as she was still unable to move-, Twilight put all of her effort into a single burst of magic from her horn. Rarity only just turned to see her friend when it hit her, and after a brief moment of glowing brightly, Rarity transformed into a potted cactus.

Twilight lay in her ball for a few seconds more, thinking over what she'd just done. Not about Rarity's safety- she had full confidence changing her friend back would be no trouble at all.

What alarmed her was that she hadn't used that spell for at least ten years, and the last time she'd done it had been to her father during her entrance examination to Celestia's school. The energy is must have taken to pull off a spell to change a living being into that... Last time she'd been surprised. This time... was it anger?

Struggling a few more moments, Twilight eventually had to pull herself free of the fabric by hoof and teeth; she was woven into such a knot that even her magic hadn't been able to sort it out.

Finally free of the ball of sheets, Twilight hurried over to Rarity and the gem, which had fallen to the floor on her transformation. She grabbed the gem in her teeth, and quickly hurried out of the store. She only just stopped by the window, and barely brought herself to quickly undo the spell from there before trotting away.

Inside the shop, a very confused Rarity was lying upside-down on the floor, trying to figure out what just happened.