The dark grey assassin and the light grey bomber… Who were these ponies, and who did they work for?

Motive was an interesting puzzle. Twilight Sparkle had mentioned offhand earlier that she was a princess, presumably like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Given that, it was easy to assume the attack on her was some sort of royal assassination attempt. However, they then tried to kill Fluttershy, who supposedly wasn’t royalty at all. Was it simply friendship that tied this librarian and this caretaker together? Or was there some other factor I wasn’t aware of?

And how did it all connect with where my body was?

Regardless, I knew my next move. I had to share these developments with Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight cried out as she ran in through the open cottage door. “Fluttershy, are you alright?! I saw the smoke and your roof blown up and…” Her speech petering off, she looked around in panic. The main room of the cottage seemed mostly unscathed, aside from a lot of fallen dust covering the floor and the central rug being a little curled up on the side facing the front door. That’s when she picked up movement coming from under the couch across the room. She walked cautiously over to it and peeked underneath. “Fluttershy…?”

Huddled in a ball half-hidden behind her pink mane was the mare in question, shaking harder than her cottage was a minute ago. With her were Angel, a few squirrels, some mice, and two porcupines, all in the process of trying to calm her down.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight declared, relief filling her voice. “Oh, thank Celestia you’re alright!”

“T-Twilight…?” Fluttershy’s voice squeaked. Twilight only heard it through the unnatural quiet that seemed to fill the room with tension. One eye peeked out from behind her bangs. “I… I’m not entirely sure I’m alright…”

It took several minutes – more than Twilight felt comfortable sparing considering the urgency of her investigation, but ones the pegasus needed more than she did – to get Fluttershy out from under the couch and calmed down enough to the point she could talk. The animals dusted the couch off so they could sit on it together, Twilight’s saddlebags leading against one of the legs.

“A… A little…” Fluttershy replied. “I-I think I’m ready to talk now…”

“I… I’m not entirely sure… It’s a little hard to sort out in my memories, but… I think I… may have died…”

“After I died…” Fluttershy muttered as she thought hard. “After I died, I… I heard Angel…” She hugged the rabbit closer to her. “He was dead, too…”

She nodded. The rabbit himself was slightly grumpy at being in something as embarrassing as a hug, satisfied at helping his mistress, and confused about what she was talking about.

“With a red kerchief tied around his neck?” She gestured the area around her neck with a hoof.

Before she could finish her question or Twilight could answer it, they heard a creaking sound. They looked towards the source to see one of the bird perches on the ceiling, the one closer to the front door, swinging on its hook. After a few swings, it swung off the hook and landed on the carpet.

Twilight stood up and walked over to it. “Sissel?” she asked the perch. “Is that you?”

After returning to the present, Sissel looked below the suitcase and saw, to his delight, the core for one of the bird perch hooks right below him. From there, getting down to the perch itself, and from there down to the cottage floor, was so simple as to require no explanation.

He reached out to Twilight after she finished her approach, starting a connection of communication between them within the timelessness of the Ghost World. Nearby, he could see Fluttershy, now possessing her own lingering core. “Glad to see you didn’t forget me,” he jokingly greeted her.

“I thought you were in my saddlebags,” she replied, confused. “I don’t think they went anywhere near enough to that perch for you to reach it… How’d you get up there?”

“Well I didn’t start up there, if that’s what you’re wondering,” he replied.

He wanted to continue, but Fluttershy spoke up. “Oh, Mr. Cat! I mean, Sissel. Sorry…”

“I just remembered something,” she continued. “I forgot to thank you for saving Angel’s life.” She smiled warmly, hot enough that Sissel could feel his heart melt. “So, thank you! I’m sure if Angel could talk to you, he’d thank you too.”

“So you did save Angel and Fluttershy’s lives,” Twilight addressed the cat. “What happened?”

Information in the Ghost World moves at the speed of thought. Thanks to that, it was quick and easy for both Fluttershy and myself to tell Twilight about the four minutes of the past we experienced together. It was as simple as sharing our memories of the event.

“Crystal bombs?” Twilight thought out loud (Even though in the Ghost World, all thinking is out loud.). “First crystal grenades, and now crystal bombs…?”

“Grenades…?” Fluttershy inquired. “Twilight, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you talking about?”

Another quick explanation, as Twilight and I caught Fluttershy up on the events of the night and how we had come to meet.

“Y-You died too?!” Fluttershy uttered in shock. Despite the attention of a shout, it somehow came out quieter than her normal speaking voice, not that they missed any of it thanks to the nature of the Ghost World.

“Yes,” Twilight answered. “Just like you, I was killed in my own home by an assassin with a crystal weapon, and Sissel rewound time and averted my fate.”

“Well,” Sissel announced. “Now that we’re all caught up and together, I’ve got some questions that need answers.”

“That’s right, we came down here to ask about the Everfree Forest,” Twilight remembered.

“T-The Everfree Forest…?” Fluttershy stuttered, the fear in her voice transparent.

“Not just that,” the cat added. “There’s a few questions that I think Twilight Sparkle may also be able to help with.”

“Me?” Twilight replied. “Well, a good librarian does know how to answer questions.”

Sissel decided to start with an icebreaker of a topic. “First of all, this room is missing something.”

“That’s right…” Fluttershy replied. “Harry isn’t here… I’m afraid I don’t know what happened to him, sorry…”

“I think I have an idea,” Twilight chimed in. “He was sleeping on the rug during Fluttershy’s last four minutes, right? Well, look at the carpet now. It’s shifted position and scrunched up a little, like something moved across it quickly. Also, when I got here, the door was wide open and looked a little bent out. I think he got frightened from the explosion like Fluttershy did, and responded by fleeing out the front door.”

“Oh dear, that explosion from above and the dust falling must’ve reminded him of his cave…!” Fluttershy spoke. “The poor thing, he must be so scared…! I have to go find him as soon as I can!”

In the world of the living, Fluttershy got off the couch and started trotting for the door when Twilight stuck an arm in front of her.

“Wait, Fluttershy,” she explained. “You can’t just go out wandering into the night like that, not with your life at risk. If you die again, we won’t know where to find you.”

“But Twilight, it’s cold, and dark, and he doesn’t have a home right now…!” Fluttershy pleaded.

“Harry’s a big bear,” Twilight replied. “He can take care of himself for one night.”

“That’s something you don’t hear every day,” Sissel commented to himself.

“He knows to avoid the Everfree, so he won’t get in trouble. Right now, we need you here, to help us figure out what’s going on.”

Fluttershy was silent for a few moments, thinking it over, before giving Twilight a small nod and stepping back a few paces.

Sissel re-established their connection with the Ghost World. “Next question. Twilight Sparkle, on our way out of the library, I think I heard you mention to Spike that you were a princess, right?”

“You didn’t tell Mr. Sissel you were a princess…?” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Well I didn’t feel like I had time to tell him everything about us after he saved me,” Twilight explained. “I being a princess was one of the things that got left out.”

How the idea you’re royalty gets “left out” is beyond me… Sissel mused.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle was coronated as the Princess of Friendship last month,” Fluttershy proudly informed Sissel.

“Fluttershy, please,” Twilight interjected. “I’ve told you and the others multiple times, I don’t want my friends using my title. I’m still the same pony as I was before I got these wings.”

“We’re getting off topic here,” Sissel rerailed. “As I was saying, since Twilight Sparkle is a princess, I had guessed that was the reason an assassin was sent after her. However, now we know for sure… Fluttershy, you’re not a princess too, right?”

“Oh no, I could never do that,” she replied timidly. “I don’t even know how Twilight does it.”

“And yet you were targeted anyway. We know, or can at least easily infer, from the similar M.O.s that the same organization sent both killers. So there must be some connection between you two that’s important enough to them to off you both. You’re good friends, but there’s something more to it, isn’t there?”

“Yes,” Twilight answered. “Fluttershy and I are two of the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It’s the only other thing major enough that we both have in common.”

“Elements of Harmony?” Sissel asked. “That wasn’t something I was introduced to during my orientation, Twilight Sparkle.”

“And it’s something I probably should’ve talked about, given how important they are,” she replied. “The Elements of Harmony are six very powerful magical gems, each the embodiment of one of ponykind’s virtues of Harmony and Order. Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, and Magic. In the hooves of their rightful bearers, they are capable of power that can free Equestria from almost any threat it faces; in our darkest hour, it is the light that brings hope and strength to all ponies.”

A ray of light in the darkness… It’s funny how many memories of that night are being brought up by this new adventure. “And you two are some of these ‘bearers’?”

“Yes. I bear the Element of Magic, while Fluttershy bears the Element of Kindness.”

I can believe that. “So it’s one element to a pony, it seems. And I think I can guess the other four…”

Twilight nodded. “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity bear Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, and Generosity respectively. The story of how we all became friends and bearers is very long, and while the night is young, I’d rather not waste any more time than I could.”

“Twilight…” Fear was starting to creep back into Fluttershy’s voice. “If we were attacked because we bear the Elements, then that would mean our friends are in danger too…!”

“My theory exactly,” Sissel replied. “And since you two were attacked tonight, it’s not too much of a stretch to think they’ll attack them tonight as well.”

“Oh no…” Twilight muttered, holding a hoof to her face as if nursing a migraine. “This is bad… We can’t go looking for the margrave oaks now…”

Fluttershy’s fear was tempered off by confusion. “Margrave oaks…? Why would you want to find those?”

“This leads into my last question, actually,” Sissel answered. “Remember that carpentry cart we saw while we were in the past? The one outside your cottage the bomber ran for after we foiled her plan? That cart, or one just like it, is the one I woke up on, if you remember. It had planks made of margrave oak wood on it. We came out here to ask you if you’ve seen any suspicious activity in the Everfree Forest tonight.”

“Sorry, no…” Fluttershy apologized. “I was too busy with the animals all day to pay attention to the forest, and I usually try to ignore it as much as I can…”

“That’s right, the cart was parked outside, wasn’t it…?” Twilight thought out loud.

Time resumed, and Twilight levitated her saddlebags over and put them back into place. Not understanding what she was up to, Sissel quickly possessed them once they were close enough. “Fluttershy, could you come with me? With the whole situation, I think I’d feel more comfortable if I knew you were close.”

“Oh, OK…” she quietly replied as she followed the alicorn out the front door.

From the bags, Sissel watched as Twilight’s horn started glowing with light again and she trotted over the bridge to the dirt road beyond it. On her left, it went the way she came to get here towards Ponyville. On her right, not more than twenty meters away, stood the boundary of the Everfree Forest. Sissel felt a chill as he looked at the trees and the darkness they contained. Even though the pony’s manually-operated way of life was unnatural to him, the Everfree felt even more unnerving, probably about as much as it was to the ponies the first time they encountered it.

Twilight raised her head again. “As I thought. I’m no expert, but there are quite clearly tracks for a common wagon and two ponies side by side, most likely drawing it.”

“Tracks in the dirt,” Sissel thought with a small amount of glee. “Now you’re talking my language. But I didn’t see any tracks outside the library…”

“Any exposed ground in Ponyville is packed tight by all the ponies that walk over it every day. It’s too tightly packed to leave much of a trail. Out here, however, that’s not the case.”

Twilight looked over the markings on the ground again. “This is where the wagon you two saw was for sure, comparing against your memories of it. The tops of the hooves of the ponies are pointing this way…” She looked along the direction the tracks were going in and looked up… only to be greeted by the entrance to the Everfree Forest.

“As we thought!” Sissel declared happily. “They did go into the forest! Let’s go after them!”

Sissel’s good mood was quickly deflated. “Why not?! Something about the forest has a clue to where my body is!”

“Well, for one, there’s no guarantee the ground in the Everfree will be soft enough to hold tracks, and even if there was, I can’t read tracks that well. Two…”

Two: her friends are very likely in mortal danger.

And until she’s sure they’re all safe, she’s not going somewhere no pony likes going. I doubt I’ll be able to change her mind on that.

Sorry, body, you’ll have to wait a little while longer…

Fluttershy walked up to Twilight’s side. “So, uh… what do we do now…?”

“We need to get back to Ponyville and make sure the others are alright,” the other answered. “Once we’re altogether, then we might consider braving the Everfree.”

“Got it,” Sissel responded, though he other thoughts on the matter. So this is what it’s going to take to find my body, eh? Make sure Twilight Sparkle and her friends all survive this night? I can do that. I may be a black cat, but I’m pretty sure I’m good luck. Not that I don’t see why I’m not good luck… A trip back to Ponyville might be nice anyway, allow me to look into a certain assassin-shaped lead… Though…

“Something he told me about earlier,” Twilight replied. “There’re some sort of device that ponies use to talk to each other over long distances without letters or possibly even magic. He’s able to move between them.”

“You could talk to anypony without having to leave your own home? That’s amazing.”

“Well not ‘anypony,’” Sissel clarified. “You have to have their telephone number.”

“I assume it’s how they tell each other apart,” he answered. “You dial the number into the telephone, and it connects with another phone depending on the number. And I can move across that connection.”

“I see,” Twilight mused. “A unique identification number for each device.”

“That could probably be even more efficient. I should be writing this all down! The Department of Communications up in Canterlot would love to hear about this!”

Sissel could barely hear her, but he understood her loud and clear: Twilight was getting off-topic again. “Well until then, they’re not here,” he pointed out. “And without them, I’m more or less stuck in Twilight Sparkle’s saddlebags here when it comes from getting from place to place.”

“That is rather inconvenient…” Twilight’s mind refocused. “If we could move independently, we’d be able to multitask on this case, which with time being of essence would be invaluable.”

She trotted back across the bridge to her house and entered. A minute later, she emerged carrying something clenched in her teeth, something Sissel vaguely recognized the shape of.

When she arrived next to the unicorn, Fluttershy placed down the plush pony, now revealed to be of a unicorn stallion made of orange knitted yarn for the main body with a somewhat pointy blonde mane and sunglasses, so it was lying on its stomach. “It’s an old toy of mine I kept in the chest at the foot of my bed. Mr. Sissel possessed it while he was saving me.”

“I don’t see how a plushie can-” Twilight started, but then it dawned on her. “Wait… Are you saying that… you want Sissel to try manipulating the plush into walking…?”

“He’s looking for his body, right…? This was the first thing I could think of… I mean, I know it’s not the same, but… Ohh, maybe this was a bad idea…”

“Wait,” Twilight instructed her before looking to her saddlebags. “Sissel, do you think you can make this toy move?”

Could I? Could I really use a pony plush as a substitute for my own body, at least until I found it? Were my powers of the dead strong enough for that?

I thought back to Yomiel. He had had his ghost tricks for ten years when I first remember meeting him after my death. His entire ability set was based around possession and manipulation, including the ability to do so to living creatures, but could it also had been age? His powers changed and grew stronger over time, allowing him to possess bigger objects and eventually people. He even made connecting jumps between cores I couldn’t even dream of making back then, and that entire substitute body made out of separate scrap parts was incredible.

I had taken the Temsik fragment for Yomiel. I had been a ghost longer than he had ever been; ten years and counting. And lately I’ve found I’d been able to reach my paw out further than I was able to on that night.

Had I gotten stronger too?

The plush did have a core, and he did indeed recognize it as the one he possessed in the past. A quick trip back and forth from the Ghost World was all that was needed to cling to the toy.

“All right, Sissel. Focus. It’s not your body, but it’s got four legs. You’re good with four legs. You’ve been on four legs for your entire life. And death. Except the time I thought I was human. You just have to move them the same way. One with the plush… One with the plush… Ye gods, I hope this works…”

It would be half a minute before the pony’s right forehoof twitched. Slowly, the legs moved, getting themselves into position before pushing the body back up. Slowly the head raised itself and looked up though the miniature sunglasses it was wearing.

To begin with, I was in a town of talking pastel-colored ponies where a library was based in a tree and all the wild animals were treated like pets, and the ponies are all trying to kill each other with exploding crystals.

And now I’d taken on a substitute body in the form of an orange pony plush toy with an appearance that seems almost a little too familiar to be coincidence.

I swear, even if I continue on for a thousand years, this will be the weirdest night I will ever know.

Sissel spent several moments examining and testing out his new plush body. Standing up was one of the hardest parts, since he had to provide the plush’s structure himself; he found it easiest to sort of spread himself among all the fluff and cotton that acted as stuffing. This wasn’t completely new to him, as this was the method by which he manipulated his body when he had it; It seems my powers have indeed changed. Next was walking; he knew how to do that, but starting out he had to go slowly as he got a feel for balance and the weight of each limb. He tripped a few times, but Fluttershy was quick to help him back up.

“I have an idea,” Twilight suggested. “You can practice walking on the way back to Ponyville.”

“Smart,” Sissel replied. “Let’s get going. The night is still young.”

With that, the three of them set off back for town. It wasn’t too far along that Sissel got the hang of his new temporary body and was soon keeping a good walking pace with the others. He wasn’t as fast as he was as a cat, but he could keep up with their usual walking speed.

“Carousel Boutique’s closest to here, so we’ll check in on Rarity first,” Twilight answered.

“…Well, warn her at the very least,” Twilight replied after thinking it over a moment. “Maybe see if we can get her to help round up the others. We’re all in danger tonight, so we have to cover each other.”

“She told me that she got a large order for somepony important when we were at the spa yesterday,” Fluttershy commented. “I think she’s still working on it, and… well, I don’t mean to gossip, but you know how set on a job Rarity can be…”

“We’ll just have to see what happens when we get there,” Twilight responded.

“And hope for once the first time I see a pony in this place,” Sissel added, “she isn’t dead.”

The walk back to Ponyville was uneventful. Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle continued their small talk, but my thoughts were occupied with other questions. Like, how long would it take to check on all four of the remaining ponies?

Hopefully not too long. I didn’t have to worry about my body rotting at least, thanks to the Temsik fragment, but if I didn’t find it… I don’t know what I’d do. I know Kamila will be wondering why their kitten hasn’t come home. I haven’t seen her cry – at least not in this life – and I wasn’t about to start now.

This is going to gnaw at me all night…

Before long, we were back in Ponyville. Carousel Boutique was only a few steps away.

The building was just as round as the last time Sissel saw it, with walls the blue of a noon sky and giant windows even larger than the purple front door, which had a “Closed” sign hanging from it. It was also quite tall, reaching up into a large spire, with a second floor with a pair of pony-shaped iron statues decorating it. Kamila had once taken him to a park with a carousel, and indeed the design of the building seemed very much inspired by the ride.

“The first floor lights are on,” Twilight noted. “Rarity must be working on that big order.”

Sissel trotted up to beside the door and laid his plush form down. Like with the other two’s homes, this one also had a core in the doorknob. “Hope you don’t mind if I check this place out on my own while you’re talking,” he told Twilight. “I’ll just leave the plush here for now.”

“OK,” Twilight replied, levitating her saddlebags to lay beside the plush. “And hopefully this’ll deter any late-night miscreants.”

“I’m sure nopony in Ponyville is mean enough to steal from a princess,” Fluttershy commented.

“I know that,” the other pony answered. “I just hope empty saddlebags and a plush toy aren’t worth stealing to the ponies trying to kill us.”

As Twilight knocked her hoof on the door, Sissel clung to the doorknob and examined the inside of the boutique. His first impression was pink. A lot of pink. Well, maybe a little too purple for straight pink, but pink was pink as far as he was concerned. The main room was rather oval in general shape, though the exact shape was different thanks to a wall on the left that seemed to curve inwards. This back wall was divided into two sections by sets of purple curtains, one containing a rack of elaborate pony-fitted dresses, the other a sequence of stations with a mirror and tub each. Past that was a stairway leading upwards, a brown “Employees Only” door, a pink Western-like pair of double doors leading into an enclosure of purple curtains (Probably some sort of changing room.), and a stage-like area surrounded by three mirrors hung from a chandelier-like device hanging from the ceiling. Or maybe carousel-like, he reflected. One of the chandelier bars had a small length of black fabric of some sort hanging from it. A large shelf filled with books and what looked like craft supplies stood in the back, tucked into the corner where customers weren’t likely to see it.

His second impression came from the pony mannequins standing in the room. There were four of them, all of which were adorned in black robes. Most of them had gold trimming and strange runes embroidered into them, while one other had only the trimming. They surrounded a worktable in the center of the room, covered with papers and craft supplies, mainly balls of thread and copious amounts of black fabric. Near the door was a medium-sized basket filled with a large amount of even more fabric, sitting on a low-lying gurney.

In the middle of the room, next to the half-finished mannequin with just trimming on its robe, stood a very beautiful white unicorn with a lightly curled royal purple mane and bright blue eyes; balanced on her snout were a pair of large red glasses. She carried an air of gracefulness about her, like she made an effort to not look anything less than her best at any time on the offchance someone was watching.

At the sound of Twilight’s knock, her attention was turned from the mannequin she was tending to the door. “Sorry, we’re closed for the day,” she called, her voice’s beauty easily being a perfect match for her appearance. “Come back tomorrow.”

Twilight let loose a breath she had been holding at the sound of the unicorn before replying. “Rarity, it’s me, Twilight. I’ve got Fluttershy with me too. Can you please let us in? It’s really important.”

“Twilight? Fluttershy?” Rarity reacted with surprise. “Well this is certainly an odd hour for you to be calling.” Her horn lit up, this one a bright blue, and the latch on the door slid open and the doorknob turned. The door then swung open to admit passage to the two ponies; Sissel took this chance to hop over to the nearby fabric basket. “I hope you forgive me for not giving the proper formalities, Princess,” she continued. “I’m afraid I’m quite busy.”

“Rarity, it’s OK,” Twilight replied as she entered, making sure the door was firmly shut behind them once everyone was inside. “Like I told you and the others a thousand times, I don’t want my friends treating me any different just because I’m a princess now.”

“Umm… aren’t you normally open until 10…?” Fluttershy asked, then quickly added, “That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all, dear,” the unicorn replied. As she spoke, her attention seemed mostly focused on “Normally I do stay open until 10 p.m., but this is a special case.”

“Special case?” Twilight inquired. “You mean your big order? Fluttershy mentioned it to me earlier.”

“Precisely,” Rarity replied. “And tonight is that holiest of all nights – my deadline. I have to make sure every single one of these outfits are perfect by midnight tonight.”

“The client was very clear on the matter,” Rarity replied. “Their agent said he was going to be here by midnight tonight, and I was to have everything ready by then. So I closed early to give myself enough time.”

“Don’t you usually do your work upstairs?” Twilight questioned, looking over the strange garment on the closest mannequin.

“Normally, yes,” Rarity replied as she telekinetically pulled the gurney bearing the basket Sissel was occupying near the door right next to her. “However, I had so many robes made upstairs it was getting too crowded, so I had to move operations down here.” Then she said, “Oh dear, this one’s getting too full.”

And to Sissel’s surprise, she levitated the basket off the gurney and across the room, where she grabbed a second emptier basket off a shelf and pulled it over, placing the first one, with the ghost in it, where the second originally stood. Afterwards, the new basket was place where the old one once stood.

“No, I’ll be fine,” he replied. “I’ll find my own way back. Don’t worry.”

He took a moment to look over the shelf’s contents in better detail. From the perspective of someone looking at it, the basket was in the top right. The books and fabrics here couldn’t do anything for him, leaving the only core on the left side one shelf down, in what looked like some sort of large ink bottle. Out of further ideas, he moved into it and waited for the situation to change.

“Rarity, I’ve seen your bedroom before,” Twilight inquired. “It’s not that big, but big enough that that many robes… I’m surprised you even have enough mannequins for them all. Why does your customer need so many of them?”

“I’m a professional, darling,” Rarity replied. “I don’t ask those sort of questions. That’s what the customer wants, that’s what the customer gets. And the customer was quite detailed about what they want. Very much so. Honestly, the inner stitching is the only creative space they’re giving me here, and it’s driving me absolutely bonkers. I mean, look at this!” She telekinetically pulled the mannequin with the finished robe over. “Black with gold trim is fine and dandy when it’s only one outfit, but two dozen?! It doesn’t stand out at all! They blend in too well with any environment darker than dim light! And you know what I have to trace the runes out in before I embroider it?! Ink! I’m working with INK! Ink on fabric, have they gone mad?! It’s scandalous, is what it is! Whoever came up with this design had no fashion sense at all! If they hadn’t made an offer I couldn’t refuse, I wouldn’t touch this thing with a ten-foot roll!”

“So, um,” Twilight said, trying to overcome the absolute barrage of Rarity’s rant, “their… agent told you how to make each one?”

“Actually, he gave me a diagram,” the seamstress replied. “It’s upstairs right now and rather blocked off by all the robes, but by now it’s been burned into my mind. I could probably make these in my sleep now.” She magically grabbed a small paint brush from the table and dipped it in a small vial, but nothing was on it when she pulled it out. “Oh drats, it’s empty again.” She gripped the larger bottle that Sissel was possessing and pulled it across the room, tilting to pour its contents into the vial.

Now’s my chance, Sissel thought; vial, twine ball on the table, scrap basket then gurney. But something held him back. He was getting curious about upstairs and how many more of these unsettling robes there were. I’m sure I’ve never seen them before, but they seem… strangely familiar. While I have the chance to get back to the front door now, I’ll be losing a chance to investigate more of the boutique.

Only a single drop came out of the bottle and splashed inside the vial. “Oh double drats. Would you girls please excuse me? I have to get another ink bottle.”

“Thanks!” Rarity replied as she walked away towards the staircase leading up. Sissel, still within the ink bottle, had no choice but to follow her up.

There was a small hallway at the top of the staircase. It contained two doors, one at the end and one on the left, while the right wall had a small window looking out (framed in curtains of that same pink-purple). Rarity opened the right door and entered the room beyond, using her magic to flick on the lights. This room was circular and smaller than the room below, and was clearly her bedroom. The far end of the room had a canopy bed, with the canopy in question being pink-purple (She just loves that color, doesn’t she?) and red covers enveloping the mattress. Next to it was a fancy nightstand with a lamp on it and a large dresser. Nearer the door was a large curtained window, currently closed, and a workbench with an array of fabric rolls and a space where a sewing machine would be. The workbench was occupied with several bottles, spools of thread, a spare pincushion with needles, and a few pieces of parchment, some of which had writing.

So many mannequins…! Sissel thought. More than he could count, for sure; one consequence of being a cat is that he didn’t know a lot of numbers. All of them were wearing identical black and gold robes with embroidered runes that itched the back of his head thinking about them.

Rarity placed the ink bottle next to one of the largest ones, that seemed to be filled with a larger amount of ink; likely one of those industrial-sized bottles. Removing the stoppers, he telekinetically lifted the larger bottle and began refilling the smaller one.

“Keep it together, Rarity…” she said to herself as she poured. “This will all be over soon enough...”

Well, if she’s referring to the robes, they are due at midnight, Sissel figured. I need to ride this bottle back down, but before that…

He took another look around as red filled his vision and Rarity’s pouring halted in mid-air. There were only a few cores among the workbench items; along with the bottles the unicorn was interacting with, there was two of the parchments lying on top of the others and a spool of thread lying on its side. He moved over to it and looked it over; if he set it rolling into motion, it would go off the table and carry him across the room, at least until he hit the base of the mannequin stands. I wouldn’t be able to get back up here, though, so no thanks. If I ever find myself needing to get across this room, this would probably work.

Next he checked one of the parchments. This one had a drawing of a pony on it dressed in one of the robes in the middle, surrounding by little notes and lines. This must be the diagram Rarity’s client gave her so she could make the robes. Didn’t she say it was blocked off a minute ago? Maybe she’s forgetting a few details she doesn’t think is important. Like when Detective Jowd occasionally forgets he eats Alma’s last cupcake. And he’s usually much better about remembering stuff…

Last, the other parchment. Unfortunately, it was entirely writing. Even a couple years of being with Kamina while Jowd was reading her bedtime stories couldn’t teach a cat to read. He could feel it had a little importance, but until he could somehow to get a pony up here to read it out loud, best not to dwell on it.

While his view within the Ghost World was limited to his immediate surroundings for the most part, he was still capable of looking at things he couldn’t reach, such as the mannequins that were closest to the workbench.

…That’s strange. That mannequin with the incomplete robe downstairs had a core on it, so it stands to reason these mannequins should have cores too. But while I can see their outlines in the Ghost World, I can’t see any cores that I can connect to.

He focused a little closer and felt something he didn’t expect; an invisible force pushing him back. He reached out a paw only for the force to push against it, keeping him away from the robe. The force was also sending a sensation through him that he wasn’t very familiar with, but one that stirred unpleasant memories.

Why is Rarity making clothing that can cause me pain…? No wait, I know the answer to that. Her client hired her to make these robes. So the question is, why would this “client” need her to make these? Do they work against all powers of the dead, or are they somehow restricted to just me…?

There’s many mysteries surrounding Carousel Boutique tonight… Right now, though, I have to focus on getting back to the front door.

Repossessing the ink bottle, Sissel resumed time. Rarity finished her pouring, restoppered the bottles, and started back downstairs. Nothing much had happened in the brief time Rarity was away, though Twilight and Fluttershy were whispering to each other. He tried to listen in, but they stopped as soon as they noticed their friend return.

“Sorry for that,” the seamstress said, uncorking the bottle and refilling the vial. While she did so, Sissel followed his earlier travel plan to move to the gurney closer to the door, but held there. He was so used to keeping his ghostly true nature a secret from everyone – except Missile and Detective Jowd, of course – that he didn’t want to draw Rarity’s undue attention. “With how busy I’ve been, I’ve admittedly gotten a little disorganized.”

“It’s alright, Rarity,” Twilight replied. “Even for someone as skilled as you, it’s still a lot of dresses, er, robes.”

“Thanks,” he replied, their conversation moving at the speed of thought like most of his conversations did. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you and Twilight Sparkle whispering about just now?”

It was clear Fluttershy was struggling to communicate with the ghost cat without making an especially large amount of movement. “See, Rarity can get a little… dramatic.”

“She’s a romantic at heart, and that includes those bit-shelf romance novels I’ve seen at the library. She’s prone to, well… overreacting.”

“I see,” Sissel summarized. “Can’t say I’m unfamiliar with that sort of behavior.” He chuckled as he recalled a particular lady in purple. “With the hunters in the night, anything that can draw too much attention is dangerous.”

“Also,” Fluttershy continued, “Twilight suggested we not tell her about you, and I agreed.”

“She said she wanted to do it all at once if she could, once we’ve gotten everyone together. We don’t have time to explain you and your powers to every single pony one by one.”

“OK, just pretend I’m not here for now,” Sissel instructed. “I’m going to observe for a while, and return to that plush after we’re done here.”

His conversation with Fluttershy finished, Sissel turned his attention to the talk between Twilight and Rarity.

“Yes, well, I’ve dealt with large orders before,” Rarity replied as she got back to work, levitating fabric tools around in a way Sissel couldn’t quite understand. “Not of this grand scale, mind you, but nothing I can’t handle. There’s only three more after this; I might actually have enough time for a short break once this one’s finished. Anyways, enough of my babbling,” she concluded. “If I recall, you came over here because of something important?”

“What?!” Rarity exclaimed. In her shock, all the items she was levitating dropped to the floor with a clatter.

Well, that’s one way of telling someone something, Sissel snarked to himself.

“Sorry, too forward,” Twilight apologized. “To sum up, some group of assassins tried to kill me and Fluttershy tonight. We think they’re targeting all six bearers of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Good news, just looked,” Sissel announced, “she’s still alive. Do ponies usually lock up like that when they get bad news?”

Before either of them could answer, Rarity burst into motion, embracing Fluttershy in a giant hug. “Oh thank Celestia you’re both alright!” she cried. “I can’t even imagine how much you’ve both gone through! Never in my wildest dreams…! Or darkest nightmares, for that matter! How did you both escape?!”

Sissel could tell Fluttershy was clearly uncomfortable with how long Rarity was holding on, but she was putting on a brave face for her friend’s sake.

“We don’t have the time to talk about that,” Twilight replied. “We have to get everyone else together so we can figure out what to do about it before one of them actually…” She choked on the word, but Sissel could hear her think, succeed. “Anyways, Rarity, we need to get going.”

Silence fell over the shop. Slowly, Rarity let go of Fluttershy and backed away from both of her friends a few steps before turning away.

“I heard what you said, Twilight.” Her voice had switched tones so fast, Sissel couldn’t tell when it happened. Where before it was panic followed by relief, now it was cold and somewhat distant. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go.”

Rarity’s telekinesis picked the tools and materials off the floor. “This order has to be finished by midnight tonight.”

“Wha…?” The princess stuttered in utter disbelief. “Rarity, our friends could be getting killed right now! There’s no way a dress order is more important than that!”

“…The client made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. That’s all I can say.”

“Now,” the unicorn interrupted, “if that’s everything, I’m going to have to ask you both to leave. I have to concentrate.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, then just shook her head. “Fine,” she spat. “We have to get going. You know, friends to save. Come on, Fluttershy.”

As Twilight started back towards the front door, Fluttershy stepped a little closer. “Um, Rarity…?”

“Yes, Fluttershy?” Her voice wasn’t as bitter as before, but still had a hint of impatience which was only made more prominent by how she refused to look away from her workbench.

“S-Sorry to interrupt you…” she apologized. “Please promise me you’ll be careful tonight…”

“The boutique is just as locked up for closing as it is any other night. I’ll be fine.”

I’m not sure what just happened. The tension in the air is thick. But it seems this friend won’t be of much help. At least, not until after midnight. Not that I was looking forward to waiting that long.

She’s certainly… emotional, but I can’t believe a good friend of Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy would just turn them down so harshly with something so important. I wonder what sort of offer her client gave her that she would place more value over than this…?

We’ll just have to come back for her later. Let’s just hope she doesn’t die in the meanwhile.

With Rarity so focused on her work, she didn’t even notice the gurney wheeling its way to beside the front door.

The boutique door locked soundly behind the two ponies. Twilight shook her hanging-low head. “I just don’t get it…” she thought out loud. “I know that she has to think about her business, but to neglect something like your friends being killed…!”

“I don’t understand either…” Fluttershy replied sadly. “B-But she’s made it quite clear what she intends to do…”

“Hate to talk about something I know nothing about,” Sissel added, “but I don’t think we’re going to get her help before midnight. Whatever her reasons, we’ll just have to come back for her later. Right now, we need to focus on saving the remaining three bearers.”

Twilight sighed. “You’re right… This isn’t like Rarity, but we’re not going to get the reason for her abnormal behavior now and we can’t waste any more time. Now I’m just worried of what she’ll do if the assassins come after her…”

“She’ll be safe here…” the pegasus tried to console her. “She told me she upgraded all her security after the Diamond Dogs broke in last year… Shatter-proof glass windows, reinforced doors…”

“Right, I remember Pinkie telling me about that,” Twilight recalled. “Those crystal grenades didn’t do a lot of damage to the library, and I don’t think they can use so big explosives like they tried with Fluttershy in Ponyville proper, so they’ll at least have a tough time getting in.”

“OK, safety of white unicorn seamstress established,” Sissel replied impatiently, wanting to keep the investigation going. “What’s next?”

“Well…” Twilight stated. “I was really hoping to have Rarity on this, but the best course of action might be to… split up.”

“S-Split up…?!” Fluttershy stuttered. “W-With everything that’s happened…?!”

“I don’t like it either, but if we’re going to get everyone else together the fastest, that’s the best way.”

“Fluttershy, we’re not too far from the part of the outskirts Rainbow Dash’s house floats over. Knowing her, she’s probably out cold in bed at this hour. I need you to go there and give her the news. Sissel and I will get Pinkie Pie and Applejack. We’ll rendezvous back at the library once we have everyone, then we can discuss what to do next.”

Sissel poked at Twilight’s arm with a plush hoof. “Question: why am I coming with you? You’re basically leaving Fluttershy alone.”

“Most of the stuff in Rainbow’s home are Cloudsdale items made out of clouds,” she replied, levitating both of their saddle bags back on. “I have no idea if any of them are going to have cores. You’ll be able to do more down here.”

“Get Rainbow Dash, meet at the library…” Fluttershy repeated. “Got it.”

“Sissel, we’re going to have to get around quickly, so I hope you don’t mind if I do this,” said Twilight.

“Do wh-AAAAH!” he screeched as he found himself flying through the air into her saddle bags. “…Well, I suppose I can live with this.”

Twilight’s heart raced. “I hope I’m wrong, but… that sounded like Pinkie Pie!”

It took only a moment for Twilight to break into a full gallop, rounding the boutique and darting into the town’s inner streets.

Already we’re on our way to the next scene. And I’m pretty sure, unlike the one we just left, there’s going to be another death at the end of it.

I have more questions than ever before. Where is my body? Why are these assassins doing this? Why are they hiding in the forest?

And what power could possibly be strong enough to force a pony to turn her back on her best friends…?

MLP x Ghost Trick: Death Wish

by supercomputer276

Chapter 3 - 8:39 pm