What to Howl At When You Can't See the Moon
“Something is wrong. They have been gone for too long.” Zecora had made her way to Zoe.
“Rarity and Pen and Parchment? I mean, they've only been gone for a little while, but we could check on them if you want.”
“We should see where they went. Something tells me the air tonight is very volatile. There is a strange magic at work; don't be nonchalant.” Zoe considered this for a moment and put down the glass she was holding. She felt a tug at a hoof. Looking down, she saw a small colt. He looked up at her, expectantly. Zoe blinked, looking at the colt.
“Um, are you coming back Mrs. Zebra?”
“Don't worry, little one. We'll be back as soon as we're done,” Zeocra assured.
“Mommy, I wanted to ask the Zebras something.” The colt ran over to a mare excitedly. The mare looked down wamrly.
“It looks like they're heading out, dear. We can ask them it when they come back.” The rest of the conversation between the two faded away as Zoe and Zecora left Carousel Boutique.
The night sky was cloudless. Zecora could easily see in the soft moonlight, even though it wasn't a full moon. Zecora smelled the air. Zoe felt something off, something painful. The two looked at each other and started out in the same direction without a word.
“Something's over there.” Zoe nodded her head to the left of their current course. Zecora looked, noticing it, too. They shifted their direction.
“Can you tell if it's stallion or mare?”
“I can't see yet.” The two stopped short of a form lying on the ground. It's head swiveled and two eyes pierced the darkness. Zoe staggered back, catching her muzzle. “That's a bad smell!” Zecora pushed past Zoe and stooped over the form to get a better look. As soon as she did, there was a whimper and Zecora backed up quickly, walking backwards. “What's wrong?”
“This is a timber wolf who's bone must be reset. Why he would even be here, I cannot tell. Have you journeyed in these lands long?” Zoe shook her head. “Timberwolves are a magical animal native to these woods. The fact that this juvenile one is in town is not good.” There was another whimper as the creature seemed to know that they were talking about it.
“What can we do, it looks like it's in pain.” Zoe reached out a hoof. Zecora slapped it away.
“Be careful, otherwise your intentions will be in vain.” Zecora sighed. “See the how hind leg is crippled there? Take heed what I tell you and beware. We will be able to help this lost one. Hopefully he will return home when we are done.” Zoe nodded.
Suddenly, Zecora leaped on the form. She wrapped her forelegs around the neck of the struggling wolf. She hugged herself close to the back of the creature's neck. It struggled for a long while, but calmed down when it sensed the struggle was useless.
“Now come find the legs on the back. One of them is plagued by a crippling crack.” Zoe approached the timberwolf. Looking closely in the moonlight, she rubbed her muzzle with a hoof. She was surprised to see that the creature was animated and made completely out of wood. When Zecora told her that one of the legs was cracked, she hadn't expected to find the creature made completely out of wood; nor did she expect to see a literal crack that had immobilized one of the legs.
“Zecora, this thing's made out of wood!”
“You see that now, very good.” Zoe nodded, then remembered that Zecora wasn't facing her.
“Zecora, the leg's cracked!” Zecora's attempts to find any response were stymied. She let the painfully obvious comment go.
“Do exactly what I tell you and do not fear. When that is complete, we will be in the clear.” Zoe nodded again, oblivious. “Bring your hoof down upon the top of the leg with all your might. Do that, and the leg will right.” Zoe looked at her teacher. That didn't sound right at all. She thought Zecora was joking at first, but her teacher's silence let her know that this was no joke. Seeing no reason not to do otherwise, Zoe whispered an apology and brought one hoof down on the leg. There was a loud yelp and the force of the blow shocked Zecora. Zecora leaped backwards off of the timberwolf. She pulled Zoe back as she did. Zoe's hoof hadn't only shattered the leg, but had made a deep dent in the wooden body below. Zecora noted the strength required to do that kind of damage.
“You are strong my student. I waited to see if you would doubt me, you didn't.” Zoe, on the other hand, was speechless. The shards of the wolf's leg began to glow. Piece by piece, they started to reconnect themselves. After a few moments, the timberwolf got up, howled at the moon, and ran toward the edge of town with amazing speed. “Come, let us go back to the party. There has been enough excitement for one night to see.”
Zoe nodded, "Rarity and Pen are probably back inside by now." The two galloped back toward Carousel Boutique. As they left, however, neither had noticed the small hoof print that still showed on the flank of the timberwolf.
A Bird in the Boutique Is Worth Two on the Field... of Honor
Creatures of prey understand what it is like to hunt. The ability to think like prey, the instinct required to trail prey, and the speed required to prevent prey from escape are what is needed to hunt. Skill with the materials available is what is needed to kill prey. Killing the prey means eating. Eating means survival. Letting prey escape or simply failing to catch it means going hungry. Going hungry means death.
“That's clever. Where did they find you?” The two griffons circled, looking for any weakness, any advantage.
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever's hunting me must have thought a look alike would draw me in and make me let down my guard.”
“Hah! Only the one involved in such a cheap trick would think of it. You're the fake.”
“Um, if I may, what's going on here?” Rarity interrupted.
“Only a fake would accuse me of being a fake.”
“All I know is that a fake would never have the skill or prowess of the real thing. Prepare to be put in your place!”
“You're right. That's why I'm going to wind up on top.” The griffons continued to circle. Their eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me? I asked you a question. I demand that both of you explain what's going on this instant!” Both cringed. One griffon rubbed his temple. The other rubbed his forehead.
“Is that pony always like that?”
“You have no idea. The sister is even worse.”
“You leave Sweetie Belle out of this! Hey, are you listening to me?” A griffon looked at Rarity and sneered. The other griffon flew over in an instant and slashed him. Momentary shock showed on his face as a line of red and a small trickle of blood made its way down his face, staining his chest feathers.
“Alright.” He flew back a few feet and reached for his weapon. As he landed, his weapon and armor came off in one motion. He lifted off his helmet and threw it to the side. The other griffon did the same. As he reached for his helmet, however, the other griffon flew in close and slashed at his chest. A small red stain started to grow. The helmet came off in an instant and they were on each other.
As they tumbled, only a flurry of feathers and claws could be seen. Taking wing, the melee danced into the air until one of them kicked the other in the stomach. The other spat out a rush of air with the force of the blow, but clenched his talons into a fist and implanted that fist into the other griffon's face. The first lost his wings and fell to the earth. The other, gasping for air, had a slower descent to the earth, but doubled over, coughing.
“So, now you're both ignoring me, is that it? Well fine, beat the feathers off each other. See if I care.” Rarity lay on the ground, crossed her hooves, and started to pout. The griffons seemed to heed her advice.
The griffon that fell to the earth was first on his feet. He tried to fly, but couldn't get his balance. Shaking his head, he ran at the griffon sputtering at the ground. His target glanced up at the last moment, saw what was about to happen, and dove into the feet of his charging attacker, sending him head over tail. Getting up, he sucked in a large breath of air, getting his wind back, but was bucked from the ground by the other's paws. The griffon stayed on his feet and backed up, but his eyes were wide as he fought for air.
Pen looked anxious and confused. “Rarity, I don't understand, is one of them a changeling?”
“I can't say Pen, but let's see if we can find out. Now look here!” The griffons ignored her. Her horn started to glow. “Rrgh! I swear, whichever one of you takes another step is getting used for STUFFING MY FALL PILLOWS!” The two griffons stopped. The one had gone to a knee, but had regained his wind for a second time. The other held a talon to his head and stood there, bleeding.
“Fall pillows?"
“Why of course, Pen. Just because pillows are comfortable doesn't mean they can't be season appropriate. Now, which one of you want's to become pillow stuffing?” Both griffons pointed a talon at the other. Rarity growled a stifled scream.
“Rarity, we can ask them both questions only your griffon would know. Then we can find the changeling.”
“How very acute, Pen. Yes, well then, what to ask... hm?” Rarity glanced at Pen, her horn still aglow. Pen thought for a moment.
“Is Sweetie Belle older or younger?” Pen asked the griffon holding his head.
“Younger,” he replied.
“What color is Sweetie Belle's coat?” Pen asked the griffon on one knee.
“White.”
“Okay, how good is she at flying?”
“Well she doesn't fly very well.”
“A ha, she's not a pegasus.”
“No, but she still flies if her sister levitates her.”
“Well, that's true,” Pen considered. Rarity looked at the other griffon.
“My sister, how well does she cook?” The griffon turned his head and looked at Rarity with one eye. He smelled a trap.
“How honest do you want me to be?”
“If you're not, you'll be sporting orange and yellow by morning,” Rarity chimed merrily. Pen and Parchment shuddered, Rarity was starting to scare him. The griffon looked at Rarity, Pen, and the other griffon.
“Honestly? Fine. She's terrible.”
“So what does that mean Rarity?”
“Th-that's correct,” Rarity breathed, impressed.
“But that means we're right back to where we started.”
“Don't you worry Pen,” Rarity grinned, Pen shivered, “I've made up my mind what I should do.” Her horn glowed brighter. She pointed it near the griffon on one knee, then toward the one holding his head, repeated that process, and then centered her horn between them. “Why there you are, Mr. Tom! Do be a dear and help me out, would you?” The griffons looked at each other, confused... and suddenly their world went black.
The Migh tie st Warrior
Back at the Boutique, the colt lit up and ran toward the two zebras entering the room. “Hey! Mom says I can ask you my question now.”
A mare approached and nodded. She then turned to her colt. “But only if they say it's okay.” She turned back to the zebra. “He's never seen a zebra before,” she explained, “and he seems to really like you both.” Zecora and Zoe looked at each other and smiled. Zoe looked back at the colt.
“Sure, what would you like to know?” The colt looked up happily.
“Well, my name's Shadow Front and I like you.”
“I'm Zoe, pleased to you. Was that what you wanted to ask, my name?”
“Nope! I wanted to know if you were gonna get eaten up by the clouds.”
“I assure you young one, there were no clouds where we came from,” Zecora added.
“There sure were! I saw 'em. There were six, and they were angry looking and had all sorts of lightning. Then they came and gobbled you up.” The mother looked horrified.
“Shadow! How could you say such awful things? I thought you said you wanted Zoe to be your friend.”
“I do, mommy! That's why I don't want the scary clouds to come and eat her whole!” The mare looked up, her cheeks flushed.
“I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say.”
“That's... okay?”
The mare brought her colt close with a hoof and shepherded him away. “I'm very disappointed in you Shadow...” her voice trailed off into the crowd.
Zoe and Zecora shared a look. Zoe shrugged and walked off to get another glass of punch. She liked the punch for some reason. She also loved to dance, though she didn't seem to remember how. Looking around, she saw Fluttershy standing near the edge of the floor, smiling and bobbing her head in time with the music. A small purple dragon with green scales danced next to her, wearing sunglasses and doing the hustle. She got another glass of punch. Seems easy enough, she thought. She knocked back the glass of punch in one draught and went to the middle of the floor. A purple mare got Zoe's attention.
“Careful with that punch.” The mare was almost yelling to be heard over the music.
“Why? It's great!” Zoe replied. The purple mare laughed.
“It is! Believe me, that's why you have to be careful. I'm Berry Punch. I mean, I'm in charge of the punch. I'm also Berry Punch, though. Punch is my specialty.”
“Good to meet you!”
“You too! Care for a dance?” Zoe responded by moving over and starting to dance. Berry Punch did the same. By the end of the song, the entire dance floor had made way for the two star dancers, giving quite a show to all who were paying attention. Everypony was having such a good time that not a single party goer noticed the sound of two bumps from an adjacent room.
The door opened and Rarity made a grand entrance. “Well hello again!” The crowd inside cheered, some even clopped applause. “Oh thank you, thank you! I do trust you have all been enjoying yourselves without me.” Pen and Parchment made his way inside, looking around. The party didn't seem to notice or care how long they had been gone. He relaxed.
In the other room, however, was a different story. One griffon's eyes fluttered open. He tried to right himself, but fell onto his side. Arching his neck, he saw that while he was upside down, his paws and talons were up in the air. He was hog tied. Rope, he thought, this will be easy. He wiggled on his back, trying to flip over. He started to tip over, but his talons caught on something.
Arching his neck again, he made out another set of talons. Following them down, he saw his rival. They both seemed to have been dumped in a dark room. Whoever dumped them in here forgot to shut the window, too. It was getting cold as wind whipped in. Shifting wasn't working, so he started to wriggle a talon. After a few minutes of working the rope, he freed the talon. Focusing, he started to scratch at the rope. He hissed sharply. The first thing he scratched was his own arm. There was a groan.
“You're awake?”
“Oooohh, my head.” The other griffon opened his eyes to take stock of his surroundings. He wiggled his hog tied talons. Looking over, he saw his rival. “Oh. It's you.” The griffon worked a talon free and started to scratch at his rope.
“I tried that, it's not going to work.”
“Ow!” There was a sigh. “Look, usually rope wouldn't be a problem, I've gotten out of way worse than this.”
“Me too.”
“Okay, fine. I don't know where you came from, and you still might be a spy-”
“You're the spy.”
“No, you're the...,” the griffon paused and sighed. “I think we're gonna have to work together to get out.”
“Okay. I have a question first. How did you know Rarity's sister was a terrible cook?”
“Rarity was the white pony, right?” The other griffon nodded. “Well, she was getting suspicious and I needed a break, so I guessed.”
“I knew I was me. I mean, that you weren't me.”
“Yeah, me too. Alright, over here.” The griffon pointed his head at a dresser. He then made his way over to it like an inch worm. The other griffon followed... slowly. Eventually, the two made it. “Now, go ahead and use me to get upright. Then you can bite off the ropes. The other griffon nodded. He started to arch his back and right himself, using his rival as a sort of ramp. Inch by inch, he went sideways, then vertical. The griffon twisted his head and gingerly started to nip at the other's rope. There was a small clicking sound and then a squawk as the griffon's center of mass started to shift. He bit down on the rope and there was another squawk as part of his beak nicked the other griffon's leg. The rest of his body shifted, and he fell to his side.
“No no no.” His body then slowly twisted vertical again, but this time leaving him up side down and right back where he started. The griffon stared at his bonds. A worthy adversary. Unfortunately for you, your time is almost at an end. The rope stared back at him, mocking with its unfeeling cruelty. Looking over, he noticed the other griffon was glaring at the rope binding him.
“Soon, you will be mine,” the other griffon laughed to himself.
“Okay, your turn.” The griffon wriggled until he fell over on his side. “I was trying to go the other way.” The other griffon noticed that his counterpart was now on his side, his appendages pointed away. Sensing what he was trying to do, the other griffon started to writhe his way toward the limbs resting on the ground on the other side of the room. A few minutes later, his back had started to ache, but his beak lay inches from the rope ensnaring his counterpart.
“Okay, hold still.” There was some more struggling and some clicking sounds. “I- I can't get it.”
“What do you mean? It's right there.”
“Yeah,” his beak snapped a few more times, “But I can't reach it. It's in a weird spot. Stupid rope! Stop being a butt. I'm your superior!” The griffon started to get anxious. Using his head, he pulled the other griffon's bound limbs toward him. With a squawk, the other griffon tilted toward him. Ever closer the rope came to his beak. Closer and closer, until it finally came to rest... just out of reach. The griffon had no idea how it was even possible. However, both he and his counterpart were twisting their heads, snapping, and reaching to cut rope that was just out of reach. Letting out a grunt of effort, the other griffon reached, stretched, and nipped at the rope.
“Almost... have... it!” The griffon bent himself to bring the rope closer. He felt a tug. The tug became a pull. He then noticed that bringing the rope closer put more pressure on the other griffon's legs. “Muuff, mm fuff! I'fe ulmoft. Noff, Noff, waa!” The griffon tried to undo what he did (whatever that was), but this only pushed the griffon over faster. The other griffon's muffled commands became a cry as he flopped over, his body rolling. This left them in the opposite position. The griffon was now on his back, talons suspended in the air, swaying slightly. The other griffon was now on his side, talons pointed away.
The two griffons shared a look. They knew that the rope had become their undoing. The rope had come to unravel the strands of their very existence. “Look. I know we haven't gotten along. Perhaps in another time, another place, we could have even been friends.”
“More than that. Brothers in arms.”
“Yes. That would have been glorious. Even so, it has been an honor to both challenge you and fight by your side.”
“The honor is all mine.” A bright light filled the room. Their eyes rebelled at the change with a dull, aching, pain. Clearly their doom had come. And, apparently, it was a black, stripey doom.
“Okay, but Rarity, this room's taken.”
“Not that room, right next to it, darling, not that one!”
“Okay.” The zebra turned to leave.
“Wait!” the other griffon called out.
“Yes, please! No more. All we ask is a clean death!”
“Well, a quick one would be nice, too,” the other griffon added.
Nodding, the griffon agreed, “Quick would be nice.”
“Rarity? Do you have anything for crushing griffon heads?”
“For, what was that? I have a battle axe, was that what you said you needed?”
“A battle axe,” the zebra called back, surprised, “where did you get a battle axe? Wait, why do you even have a battle axe?”
“Period raiment, of course. Honestly,” the voice from the other room grew louder as it grew closer, “what kind of pony even thinks about designing ancient guard garments without a battle... oh, dear.” Rarity leaned her battle axe against the door by its head.
“Why are there two suicidal griffons in the guest bedroom?” Asked Zoe.
“Hum. Pen!” Pen and Parchment's face appeared at the door.
“Yes?”
“Pen, why are there two griffons here?” Rarity demanded.
“Well, because you put them there,” Pen and Parchment huffed.
“Yes, but Zoe says they're suicidal? When did that happen?” Pen and Parchment opened his muzzle to say something, but closed it again. After a moment's thought, he opened it again.
“I have no idea,” he added delightfully. A griffon spoke up.
“We have been captured and can't escape.” The other nodded agreement.
“We'd rather face execution than torture.” Rarity let a luscious giggle bubble out from behind a hoof. The two griffons looked at each other.
“Please, we'd never plan on harming you. I just needed to bring you back easily and make sure you didn't damage each other before we had a chance to talk. Execution! Honestly, you two are a regular Cleocloptra and Mark Cantorry. That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?” The griffons looked at each other. One of them looked up at Rarity.
“Does that mean you'll let us go?”
“Of course. As long as you're not planning on fighting anymore. We wouldn't want a visit from Tom, would we?” A large rock floated in and dropped to the ground with a thud. One griffon nodded his head furiously. The other griffon shook his head vigorously. “Good, now then.” With the smallest flash of magic from her horn, both the griffon's bonds fell slack. “A little trick Applejack showed me. I can do it twice at the same time with magic, of course,” she beamed confidently.
Trying not to get up too quickly or look too excited, both griffons threw off their bonds and got to their feet as if they had been strapped down for two days straight. One of them stretched his wings, filling a large portion of the room. The other put his talons on the floor and stretched himself much like a cat. “You know what Pen? I don't think either of them are a changeling. I've seen changelings revert back to their true form if they get hurt. They were both hurt and they're both still griffons. Now, which one of you is Mr. Griffy?” The griffon stepped back and did his best to look kind of offended; he didn't want Tom to get any more animated than he had been not that long ago.
“That's not-”
“I know, it's not your name. Well, I had this made for you. We simply have to do something. We know the names of every-er, we know all the other names, but yours. Now that you have an equally adorable playmate,” both the griffons cringed, “now don't be like that! You two are adorable, and, as I was saying, you'll both be even more adorable with these!” Rarity floated a medal woven into a neckline ribbon over the head of Mr. Griffy. The medal sported an ornate “A” engraved on it. She floated a similar ribbon over the head of the other griffon. This medal had an ornate “B” engraved into it. The griffon angled the medal to the light, let it fall back into place, and took a heroic stance, puffing out his chest proudly. He stopped, noticing that Mr. Griffy had already taken an embarrassingly similar pose. All shared a merry laugh. “Now I propose we all make our way to the main room, we have to discuss some important things.”
All made their way back to the main room of Carousel Boutique. The entire party had dispersed with some notable exceptions. Shiny had curled up in a corner near a fireplace. Pinkie Pie lay on her back, using Shiny as a pillow. Occasionally one of Pinkie's hind legs twitched. Rarity circled the group around her. Joey had joined them at her beckon.
“Well, that certainly was a party to remember.” All nodded agreement. “But, we all must be off to sleep for now. I see that our numbers have grown, however, so we must decide what to do. From Pen and Parchment, Zoe, and Shiny, I've heard that all of our new friends seem to have lost their memories. This can't be an accident, not with so many of you. I have a friend, Twilight Sparkle, who may be able to help, but she's on a special assignment for Princess Celestia in Canterlot itself. She's very gifted in magic, and she's very intelligent. I know she'll be able to find what you all have in common, why you've shown up without being able to remember anything.” Fluttershy looked worried.
“Canterlot? Where's that?” Pen asked.
“Well, it is about a day's train ride away.”
“So, you want us to buy some tickets?”
“Only if you happen to have some spare bits on you, dear.”
“Oh.”
“Don't look so glum, that's the bad news. The marvelous news is that-” Fluttershy gasped in surprise, and burst in.
“We're taking a train to Canterlot tomorrow. Twilight's having a party and we're all going. Pen! You get to come with us and see Twilight.” Rarity nodded. Fluttershy looked worried again. “But we don't have tickets for them all.”
“Why, we don't need them, we have the whole train car. Of course, some of you may have to make yourselves comfortable on the floor but-” This time Rarity was cut short by the breath being squeezed out of her by an exuberant Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity wheezed. Fluttershy realized what she was doing and let Rarity go.
“I'm so sorry,” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Not to worry. Now, the train leaves the station at 9 A.M., sharp. Well, what do you all think?” All were excited. Some nodded, others applauded, Zoe did a little jig, but all gave their support to the plan. “Wonderful. Now, everypony go get some sleep. We have a large day ahead of us tomorrow. Griffon A, Griffon B, and Zoe, you can stay here tonight. Is there any pony without a place to stay?”
Applejack, stepped out, “It's kind of late to travel back to Sweet-” she started, but Rarity waved at her with a hoof.
“Except you. Don't even ask, you're staying here too.” Three tiny fillies chattered on the floor.
“Rarity, can Scootaloo and Applebloom sleep over?” Rarity did a quick head count.
“Would you three be okay with the floor? I can get some extra blankets.”
Fluttershy flew over to talk to Rarity, hovering a few inches off the ground. “I can take them. That way they can have a bed.” The three fillies looked up excitedly.
“Yeah, can we?”
“Okay Sweetie Belle, but promise me you will go right to bed when you get there.”
“We will!” Fluttershy made her way over to Pen and Parchment. “So, um, Pen?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
“Do you uh, think you might be able to help me with the fillies?”
“I'd be delighted!” Fluttershy beamed at this response, flying in a small circle around the room.
“Oh thank you.”
Rarity looked over at Joey. “How about you, Joey?”
“I'm fine. Don't worry about me.”
“Why not, where are you going?”
“I'm staying with the cakes, I'll be fine.”
“So you know how to get back to Sugarcube Corner?”
“Yeah... Actually, you think you might be able to give me some directions?”
“Absolutely.”
Zecora tucked a nearly unconscious Zoe into bed. It turns out that the mare hadn't taken Berry Punch's advice. Rarity started to give Joey directions. Pen looked all that was happening and observed that after having no direction and no idea what he was going to do, Rarity had given him hope. She had given them all hope. Now they were going somewhere. Now they had some real hope finding out who they were and what they were doing here. And if things didn't work out like that, then they had found something perhaps even better: friends who would be with them whatever happened next.
When Clouds Can't Make Up Their Mind, Make it for Them
Joey looked up at the night sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, but he still felt strange. The air smelled like a normal night (there didn't seem to be any storms approaching), the wind was calm, the moon was nearing its full cycle, nothing looked out of place. He watched Pen and Parchment and Fluttershy make their way toward her cottage, three tiny fillies in tow. He gave a chuckle and started flying toward Sugarcube Corner. On his way, he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. The night felt like it was keeping a secret.
“Huh, think I'll take a look around,” Joey said aloud to himself. He flew higher and started toward the edge of the small town. He was about to reach the edge of the town when he heard something. He stopped and hovered in mid air, looking left and right, he didn't see anything. He continued to fly toward Sugarcube Corner, but stopped when he heard it again. It sounded like... shouting? He looked around him again, still nothing.
“Am I going crazy or something?”
“I said STOP RIGHT THERE!” Joey looked up and dove to the right instinctively. He thought he saw a blue blur, but he wasn't sure in the dark. Getting his wings back under him, he looked in the direction the blur had gone. The blur was, in fact, a pegasus like him. Although, this pegasus was giving him a nasty look. “Who are you and where are you going?” it demanded. He couldn't get a good look at the pegasus in the moonlight, but he was sure it wasn't carrying any weapons. He stopped to consider why he was thinking about weapons. “HEY! I asked you a question!”
“Oh, right. I'm Joey.”
“What are you doing?” Joey flew in place, looking blankly at the demanding pony.
“It's just, I thought, you were going to tell me who you were.”
“Yeah, I don't really have time for introductions right now. I'm really busy.”
“Okay. Doing what?”
“Hey, I'm asking the questions here.”
“Okay.” Joey started to fly off. In a flash, the surly pegasus blocked his path, looking fierce. “Look, can't I just get to Sugarcube Corner?”
“Why do you need to go there?”
“Well, I was going back there. I'm staying with the Cakes.”
“The Cakes, huh?”
“Yeah, I was helping with the shop after Pinkie Pie left. I guess she was getting ready for the party-”
“Whoa whoa whoa. You know Pinkie Pie?”
“Yeah, I met her earlier today and she was at the party tonight.”
The pegasus' face fell, “Pinkie Pie told me that she had met a new friend and that there was a party tonight.” The pegasus seemed to get more nervous, “I wanted to be there, but we had sort of a weather emergency. Hey, if you see her, could you let her know that I normally wouldn't just leave her hanging like that?” The pegasus looked away nervously. “You see, I kinda told her that I'd come.”
“Wait, who should I tell her the message is from when I give her the message?”
“Right, I'm Rainbow Dash! Perhaps you've heard of me?” Joey shook his head. This reaction seemed to perk up Rainbow Dash's mood. “Well you're in luck, because I'm only Ponyville's best flier and weather pony. Yep, I'm pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash's wings continued to hold her aloft as she looked askance and struck a pose.
“Wait,” Joey started, blithely ignorant of Rainbow Dash's awesome pose, “why can't you deliver that message to her yourself? She's still at Carousel Boutique.” Rainbow Dash looked at Joey with a startled expression, holding her pose for a moment, then everything about her, except her wings, sagged with gloom.
“You know what? Forget it.” With that, Rainbow Dash flew away.
“Wait up!” Joey called out after her, hesitated a moment, and then took off after her. Rainbow Dash didn't notice him until he pulled up next to her. “What are you doing?” Seeing him, determination washed over her face and she started to fly faster. “Hey! I want to help.” She stopped suddenly.
“Oh yeah? We had a cloud emergency earlier tonight and now I've got to patrol all of Ponyville to make sure no clouds are left. You go that way around the town and I'll go this way. When you reach the opposite side I'll be waiting. Tell me if you see any clouds.” Without waiting for a response, Rainbow dashed off.
About a quarter way around the town, she started to feel guilty. She'd already made her way around the side of town she told Joey to check out. She was going to finish this side and head home. Joey clearly didn't want to help her deliver the message, tonight had been a real pain, and she let her friend down without meaning to. He wasn't going to help her out so she had no reason to give him her time. She thought of Joey floating by the bridge, looking around for her, alone.
“Ugh!” She couldn't do that. She wiped a hoof over her face and put on more speed. A lot more speed. It didn't take long for her to see that there were no clouds on this side of town, either. “Good, let's just get this over with and get home.” She had planned on landing on the bridge, but she pulled up short when she saw Joey already there. “How- ? When did you- ?”
“I didn't see any clouds.”
“But, but. How long have you been here?”
“I don't know. Thirty seconds, maybe?”
“And you went around the whole town, you're sure?”
“Uh-huh.” Joey nodded.
“Great job. Emergency patrol, gotta go!” Rainbow Dash flew off. Joey followed after her. “What are you doing?” she called back.
“I wanted to patrol with you, if that's okay.”
“You'd just get left behind.” With a grin Joey accelerated, passing Rainbow Dash. Her mouth dropped open. She smirked and redoubled her effort. This time she left Joey behind. Smiling, she looked back. Aghast, she noticed Joey was still behind her. She continued to fly faster, eventually turning vertical and leaving the town far below. Gritting her teeth with effort, she performed and aerial maneuver that pointed her back toward the ground. This time she smiled at the effort, because gravity was working with her as she accelerated. She softened her angle as she approached the ground and flew parallel with a field. She swung around and stopped. Grinning, she didn't see Joey. Panting, she lowered to the ground and started to catch her breath. One of her breaths turned into a gasp as the wind from a flight wake washed over her. Her face and mouth went limp and she slowly turned her head. Joey lay on his back, gasping for air.
“That's the... hardest... I've flown... in awhile,” he managed between breaths. Rainbow Dash trotted over slowly and stood over him.
“Say,” she smiled, “you're pretty fast. Not as fast as me, but you're still fast. I think I got a name for you: Slow Poke.” Joey slowed his breathing a little.
“Please don't call me that.” Rainbow Dash deadpanned.
“Oooo'kay. Listen, this pony needs her shuteye, but stop by next time you're in Ponyville. See you around, Slow Poke.”
“Please don't call me that,” Joey said again, but he looked up to find that he was already alone.
Who needs sleep? Certainly not I's!
Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Pen and Parchment all made their way into the cottage. Fluttershy got their attention. “Okay girls, now straight to bed.”
“Aaaww, but we don't wanna,” Applebloom protested.
“Can't we stay up a little longer?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Now girls-” Fluttershy was cut short by a sudden commotion outside. “What was that?” Peering outside, she shut the door and came back. “Pen, there's a storm outside and my chickens are out of their coop. They're panicking, it's simply awful!”
“I can watch the fillies if you need to take care of them.”
“Could you? Thank you so much!” Fluttershy flew toward the door. “Yes, Hennrietta! I know it's scary.” Her voice trailed off as she left the cottage.
Three little fillies looked up at Pen expectantly. “So, who'd like to play a game.” They all perked up.
“I would!”
“Me too!”
“Me three!”
“Alright, this game's called 'I Spy'. I pick something that I see and you have to guess what it is. You can ask yes or no questions to try and figure out what it is, too. Got it?” Scootaloo nodded furiously while the other two waited, breath bated. “I spy with my little eye something that's orange.”
“Is it an orange?'
“Nope,” Pen replied.
“I know, it's the couch!”
“It can't be the couch, Sweetie Belle, that wood's wood colored.”
“The clock, then?”
“Nah, that's wood colored, too.”
Pen and Parchment interrupted, “You could ask me some questions to help figure out what it is.” Scootaloo looked down, gasped, and looked up, excited.
“I know! It's me!”
“That's correct,” Pen added. Scootaloo jumped into the air, her tiny wings fluttering.
“Yay ,we did it!” Applebloom started to circle herself like a dog chasing it's tail. She stopped and pouted.
“Guess there's no cutie mark for 'I Spy'.” Pen noticed Applebloom's dismay.
“Hey, why don't you try next?” Applebloom perked up.
“Really?”
“Sure, you three play while I go check on Fluttershy.”
“Alright. I spy, with my little eye, something... that's red!” Pen exited the cottage as a flurry of guesses started to pour out.
He braced himself as he headed toward the coop. The wind was howling and clouds had blown in very low. He reached the gate surrounding the chicken's home. After entering the small chicken yard, he saw Fluttershy standing at the entrance to the coop. She was standing perfectly still, statuesque, even. “Fluttershy?” She didn't respond, but Pen could see that she was staring at a lone chicken. The chicken froze and slowly backed up into its home. Fluttershy became animate again.
“Hi Pen.”
“I just came to check up on you. What was that, by the way?” Fluttershy blushed.
“How nice of you. That, that was nothing.”
“But you stared that chicken down and it went into the coop.”
“Yes, it's just a way with animals, I guess. Oh my, look at those clouds!” Pen looked up.
“Let's head inside.” Fluttershy nodded in response.
Back inside, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were still guessing. What was worse, they had started bringing over every object they guessed. A small horde of items had piled up in front of Applebloom, making her look like the pirate queen of household objects.
“GIRLS!” Shouted Fluttershy. The room stood still. “Bed! Now! Um, please.” The three fillies clamored up the stairs. Fluttershy stared after them, then at the pile, dismayed.
“I- I could go put them to bed if you like.” A tear started to form in Fluttershy's eye. “Don't cry, I can clean up here, what what can I do?” Pen started to panic.
“N- no, it's not that, it's just...,” Fluttershy's voice hitched, Pen's heart skipped a beat, “y-you're so nice.” She sniffled, put a hoof to her eye, and started to sob. Pen stumbled over to her. She leaned against his chest and sobbed some more. “There's just been so much, g-going on t-today!”
“Don't worry about that.” Pen let her cry for awhile before he continued. “Look, just go to bed. There's been enough for one day.” Fluttershy pulled back and looked at him.
“You mean it?” Pen nodded. Fluttershy let out a wail. “W-why are you so nice?”
“Don't do that, come on now. It'll be okay.” After a few minutes, she had calmed down a little and Pen brought her upstairs and let her into her room. He went back downstairs and put away the pile the best he could. After that, he went back upstairs. He was going to guess which room the fillies were in, but he saw a tiny hoof shut a door just as he reached the second floor. He chuckled to himself as he moved up to the door and into the room.
The three fillies were in the bed. They had been tucked in, but the corners of the sheets were still popping out, and Scootaloo was popping out of her side. Pen thought to himself that Sweetie Belle might have tried to use her magic to tuck them in when she didn't know how to do so properly. Scootaloo yawned, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were whispering to each other. “Mr. Pen?” Applebloom asked, looking concerned.
“What can I do for you?”
“Did we make Fluttershy angry?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
“She got really angry.” Replied Sweetie Belle
“And she yelled at us,” Scootaloo added.
“Yeah, and she cried.”
“What makes you think she was crying?”
“We saw her,” Applebloom blurted out. “...oh.” Applebloom looked sheepishly down at the covers.
“When she asked you to get into bed, you should have listened to her.” The three started to get anxious.
“We're sorry.” Applebloom looked down and apologized to a pillow. The other two avoided looking at Pen.
“Oh, it's okay,” Pen soothed, “You see, Fluttershy wanted you girls to be in bed for your own good. She wasn't angry at any of you, she was just upset, and she didn't want you to see her like that. Fluttershy had been through so much today that she was really tired.” The fillies went from being anxious to being curious. “When her house started to get stacked into a pile in front of Applebloom, she was overwhelmed. It's not your fault, you couldn't have known. If anything, I should have been there.” Scootaloo pondered that for a moment, then broke the silence that had started to settle on the conversation.
“But that doesn't make sense, you went to help Fluttershy. How could you have known that she'd be upset when she got back?” Pen took that in and smiled.
“I guess you're right. Sounds like I ought to listen to my own advice. Now, I don't want any of you to worry about anything else. Everything's all cleaned up and Fluttershy is getting the rest she needs.” The fillies looked contented and Pen got up to leave. A small voice called out after him.
“Mr. Pen?”
“Yes, Sweeite Belle?”
“Do you think you could tell us a story?” The other two nodded excitedly.
“Of course!” He moved back to their bedside. “Hm. Let's see. Once there were three fillies that made their way into a dark forest-”
“Three fillies like us!” Scootaloo put her hooves on the blanket, flared her tiny wings, and put on a determined look.
“A forest like the Everfree forest?” Applebloom asked.
“Sure. Now these fillies were in the forest to gather some special berries for their grandmare to bake a special pie.” All three looked excited at the word 'pie.' “Once they entered the forest, they found the berries and got ready to head back. However, the path they found lead them around and around, until they couldn't tell which direction was home anymore. 'We passed the way home,' cried one. 'It's getting cold and dark,' the second one noticed. 'I-I can't tell which way we're going,' the third added nervously. They started to argue as night grew closer. But then they heard some of the scary sounds of the forest, and bushes started rustling around them. They became scared,” the three fillies started to get scared, “but then the first filly said something very important. 'I'm sorry we argued,' she started, 'We're in this scary forest but we're only all alone. At least we will be alone if we remain angry and keep fighting with each other. You two are my closest friends, and no matter what happens, I won't let anything get in the way of our friendship.' They apologized to each other and promised that they'd never let anything come between them again. Whatever happened, they would have each other as long as they didn't fight. Suddenly, what was rustling in the forest bushes popped out. It was another filly, but this filly was a zebra.”
“A zebra like Zecora?” Applebloom excitedly inquired.
“Yes and no. This was a girl zebra, but she was the same age as the fillies.”
“Does she rhyme? I like it when Zecora rhymes!” Sweetie Belle chimed. Pen looked around nervously.
“The zebra approached and let them know that she was friendly. 'I have seen your fight... in the middle of your plight. But you put your differences aside... so you could... in your friendship abide.'” Sweetie Belle looked ecstatic. Pen continued. “'Now I know you are good ponies, come I will help lead you to your... homies.'”
“That's not a word,” scorned Scootaloo.
“Have you studied zebrican? Do you know that they don't have a special word for houses?” Scootaloo had no response. “As I was saying, the zebra found the three fillies. All four made their way quietly through the deep, dark forest. They almost ran into a sleeping manticore, but the zebra guided them silently around the sleeping lion without waking him. After more danger, they got out of the forest and found their house. Their grandmare listened to their story and invited the zebra to stay over. Then they got all the berries together, and had so many that they baked two pies and everypony (and zebra) ate their fill. After that they all played together and got safely tucked in to their big, comfy bed. The zebra slept with them that night, too. The end.” By the time Pen had finished, all three fillies were fast asleep. He quietly went to the door, opened it, and shut it again. Sighing, he realized that he hadn't thought to ask Fluttershy where he would be able to sleep. “Archimedes?”
“Hoo.” After a few moments, an owl waddled up the stairs.
“Where do you think we should sleep tonight?”
“Hoo, hoo hoo.”
“You're right, I don't think we should stay on the couch, either. Let's try this room.” Pen opened a room he hadn't been in yet. He was in luck, for to one side of the room was a bed, while the moonlight shone through the window on the adjacent wall. The wind was howling. Sighing, Pen barely made it into bed before he fell asleep.
Pen's eyes shot open. Looking at the night stand, he saw that an hour had passed. It was strange, though, because Pen felt as though his head had just hit the pillow. The room around him was silent. Strange sounds were making their way inside, however. He heard the wind whipping through trees, the distant sound of a tree branch splitting. A sudden groan caused him to shoot up in bed. The cottage itself was complaining. Pen didn’t feel safe anymore.
He was a full grown stallion, he told himself; being scared was silly. His self-comfort didn’t stop the knot in his stomach, and was doing even less for the strange feeling creeping up his back. He looked left, he looked right, but he still felt uneasy. He slowly turned his gaze upward and whinnied in surprise when two gold eyes and a mass of feathers came muzzle to beak with him.
“Hoo!” The owl complained with a flutter of wings, adjusting his perch.
“Archimedes!” Pen exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were on the bed,” he chuckled, “that makes sense.” Pen wondered if that did, in fact, make sense. Deciding he was too tired to care, he put his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.
Pen's eyes shot open. Looking at the clock again, Pen saw that another two hours had passed. He shot up in bed. He still felt uneasy. Now, he couldn’t sleep. Nervously, he looked up. He saw Archimedes was still there. In fact, the owl seemed to be taking a nap. Pen would have found this funny, but that meant the owl perching on the bed’s headboard wasn’t the reason why he felt so uneasy.
“Archimedes...” he tried to rouse the owl quietly. Archimedes shifted, but didn’t open his eyes. “Hey, Archimedes, wake up.” Pen gently nudged the owl with a hoof. Archimedes nipped at the hoof, causing Pen to pull it away suddenly. “So you are awake. Something doesn’t feel right, I’m going downstairs to check it out.”
“Hoo.” Archimedes kept his eyes closed.
“Want to join me? Perhaps you’d like to look outside? You are nocturnal, after all.” Archimedes didn’t respond. Instead, his head slowly turned around until it was almost facing the opposite direction. Pen couldn’t speak for a solid minute while he took time to recover from the effect.
“Fine, be that way.”
Pen got out of bed and left the room quietly. The corridor outside was lined in shadow. Pen slowly made his way to the stairs. Along the way, he cracked open the door to the fillies’ room. A small shaft of moonlight bathed the room in blue. He made out three tiny fillies, sleeping their cares away. “Good.” He closed the door and continued on.
Heading downstairs did nothing to lighten his mood. His hooves sounded like drums as he clumsily made his way down the stairs in the dark. Pen felt compelled to announce his presence to the stairwell. “They’ll call me old hammer hooves before long.”
Downstairs had morphed into a subterranean underworld. Half a dozen misshapen forms stood still around the room. Pen felt like he had intruded on a monstrous party, causing all its participants to freeze in place until he went away. He stared at one form in particular, daring it to move. Although, if it did, he had no idea what he would do. The strange creature slowly revealed itself. It was apparently what happened when a chair mated with a lamp. Although Pen could clearly see the outline of a rocking chair and that of a lamp behind it, he couldn’t tell where one ended and another began.
“Okay, there’s nothing here- as I suspected.” Pen turned to go back upstairs. That’s when he heard it. It was a slow, steady sound. He was almost certain he was imagining it, but he was sure it hadn’t been there a moment ago. Nervously he went to a window. It seemed to grow louder as he approached. Cautiously, he felt around for a latch. The sound continued its monotonous beat. Pen wiped away some sweat with his foreleg. There had to be a latch. Something, anything, had to open the window on this side of the cottage. The noise continued. It was hypnotic and seemed to emanate from within Pen’s head. Pen let out a groan of frustration, turned, and bucked the window’s sill. It opened with a creak. He fell to his haunches, chuckling nervously.
“Of course it doesn’t have a latch. That would be useful. Useful and stupid. Usefully stupid.” The beat continued. Pen approached the window with a sigh. He poked his head through, trying to hide his nerves beneath a face of nonchalance. Unfortunately, something attacked the cool countenance, which was replaced by a more fitting mask of panic.
‘Aaahh! Aah, aaaahhhh! My face!” Pen’s four hooves locked as he scrambled around the room. A casual observer might have thought an overzealous brush had separated itself from a street sweeper and was now bent on making the wood floor sparkle. Either that, or a feather duster. Feathers? Pen stopped short in realization. A flurry continued to orbit his head.
“Archimedes? Archimedes!” The flapping mass descended, turning into an owl, once more. “Thank goodness!” Pen scooped up the owl who hooted once and then gasped in the crook of Pen’s foreleg. “You must have been searching outside like I asked.”
“Hhh-uuhhh,” was the only whisper the constricted owl managed.
“Oh, sorry.” Pen gently put the owl down. “You must have been looking for something strange. I guess my head looked pretty strange poking out from the cottage.”
“Hoo.”
“Well, good job Archimedes.” The owl turned his wing and held it to his forehead in salute. Pen returned the salute, closed the window with his magic, and went upstairs. Outside, the wind continued to howl. Inside, Pen was warm. There was nothing to be afraid of. He was really just being a silly pony after all.
Pen lumbered upstairs and wiped a hoof across his eyes. He let out a yawn as he turned into his room. He shut the door with his magic and stared out of the window by his bed. The window looked out onto the backyard. Beyond the back yard was the edge of the Everfree forest. Pen yawned and then chewed at nothing two or three times. The back yard stared back at Pen; the trees were swaying, the clouds inched their way across the sky, the eyes were staring at him. Pen’s muscles tightened as he froze in place.
Two eyes stared at Pen from the darkness of the forest. Pen couldn’t make any form out clearly except for the two eyes. It was as if the eyes themselves were illuminated, but provided no light. They didn’t glow, but could be clearly seen amidst the blackness.
“Wh- wh- wha?’ he stammered. He checked left, then right, he was the only one in the room. His mind frantically looked for a reason that the eyes couldn’t have seen him yet. Afraid to move, but terrified that he might be spotted, Pen whimpered. A few moments passed by. The need to know for sure overcame his fear of moving. Gulping again, he twisted his body in place. As best he could, he started to move out of the window’s view. He was trying to concentrate to see if eyes were following him when a fore hoof caught on the floor. Pen hit the ground with a thud.
Pen got to his hooves, but was too scared to lift himself up completely to look out the window. He lifted himself inch by inch up the wall. With another whimper, Pen passed the window frame and peered over the edge of the window sill. The eyes moved to look at the pony that had just come into view.
“Wait! Archimedes! Is that you out there?”
“Hoo?” A riptide of dread cut Pen’s wave of relief tragically short. He looked up and glimpsed the owl looking at him questioningly.
“Oh gosh. Oh no…,” Pen’s weak exclamation trailed off. He kept his eyes glued to the eyes hovering between the trees amidst the darkness. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” he called. There was no response. Fear gave a way to momentary panic. “FLUTTERSHY!” Still nothing. Pen froze for a moment while his mind worked. His eyes lit up.
Pen quickly glanced right, then back at the window, keeping an eye on the eyes. He had seen a book on the nightstand. Concentrating, his horn lit up.
Pen did his best to imagine where the book was, and tried to lift it. His magic wrapped itself around something that started to float. For a moment, Pen felt disheartened as he realized it was going to be too difficult to guess where the book was and where it would be going. An idea made its way past his nerves and to the surface of his mind. Pen smiled at the idea, despite himself.
Pen imagined levitating the book in front of him as he faced the door to the room. That would be just like normal levitation. Continuing to hold onto the book, he would have to open the door to walk out. As the little pony inside his head opened the door with magic, Pen heard a latch click and the room’s door creak. It was working!
Next, the little pony made his way down the hall, book floating beside him. In the real world the eyes were still there, watching. While they still made him nervous, Pen knew they couldn’t see that reinforcements were on their way; pink-maned, yellow-coated, animal loving reinforcements. Pen’s heart warmed as he thought of Fluttershy smiling as she flapped her wings, bobbed softly in place, and holding a white bunny rabbit.
There was a sudden thud. “Oh no!” Pen fretted for a moment but regained his composure. He needed to stay focused. “It’s okay, my little pony. You dropped your book. Just look for it, you can find it.” Turning back to his imagination, the pony had dropped his book, but it had been right next to him a moment ago. He imagined himself finding the book right near his hooves and picking it back up with his horn. The little pony quickly moved up to Fluttershy’s door and banged on it with the levitating book.
There was a crash. “Wait, what?” Pen dare not look away. A few moments later there was the sound of a door softly opening.
“Um, hello?” There was a gasp. "What happened to Angel Bunny's favorite lamp?"
“Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Another wave of relief overcame the riptide and triumphantly flooded over Pen.
“Pen, is that you? Pen, what’s wrong?”
“In here Fluttershy!” There was the hushed sound of beating wings and Pen felt like he was being watched…
“What’s wrong Pen?” This time the question came from out of Pen’s field of vision, but from directly behind him.
Everything came tumbling out. “I finished putting everything away but I woke up feeling weird, but then I looked up and saw it was just Archimedes, so I went back to bed. But then I got woken up again, and I went downstairs and it was scary with the wind and weird shapes at night. But then I looked outside and got attacked. But it was only Archimedes again. Then I thought everything was safe and fine, but no! It's not fine! There's these eyes staring at me, and they’re still there!” Pen gasped for air.
“Eyes? Where?”
“Right... there,” Pen jabbed at the window, exasperated. “Sorry this has just bothering me all night,” Pen added, realizing how he must sound. Fluttershy flew up next to him and looked out of the window. “You see them?” Fluttershy arched her neck and tilted her head, staring.
“Sorry Pen, I don't see anything out there.” Pen lifted himself completely up. The eyes narrowed, following his movement. Pen whimpered and pranced in place. “My dear, Pen. What do you want to do?” Pen was already nervously fiddling with the window. His hooves couldn't seem to find the latch on this window, either.
“Bu- pu, what? Rrrgghh! Stupid windows!” Pen sputtered.
“Here, like this.” Fluttershy put her hooves on the window, blocking Pen's vision for a single moment. The window creaked open. Fluttershy landed and looked at her flustered friend, concerned. The eyes were gone.