Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic

by nightelf37

Chapter 17: Stare Master

Here's a piece of trivia for you guys: I was planning a ship tease between Rarity and Mystic Shield, but then I remembered Spike, so I decided to discard it.

Disclaimer: I own only the following: My originally designed OCs, and anything that doesn't happen in the show proper.

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Chapter 17: Stare Master

One day in Ponyville…

Chronicle was with nothing to do. Again. Mystic Shield was down with the flu and had also contracted the poison joke thanks to a prankster (who was not Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash), rendering him weak in magic and disaster-prone. Effectively, he is unable to protect anyone, let alone himself, which is his cutie mark's meaning. He sent a request for that special bubble bath from the spa, and the Blossom twins (Lotus and Aloe) said they would get in touch with him soon as possible since they were very busy at the moment.

Twilight Sparkle had plans on going to the Everfree Forest and despite his insistence she didn't wish for him to accompany her for reasons he couldn't recall for the moment. He managed to ask her to get some ingredients for the poison joke cure. Already bored of library work with Spike, he decided to head for Carousel Boutique to ask for a little more improvement on his suit for the Grand Galloping Gala. Upon hearing him head there, the baby dragon asked if he could get something else for him from her.

He shook off the thought as he finally reached Rarity's home and workplace. Just as he reached the door however, he bumped into somepony, knocking him back a bit. "Oww…"

"I'm so sorry.", a familiar voice came.

"Me too…", he replied as he opened his eyes to see— "Fluttershy?!"

Indeed it was her and she reacted similarly. "Chronicle?!"

"Man, this is the second time around, huh?" The first one being from the last brunch that was later followed up with the fiasco involving Princes Celestia's pet phoenix Philomena.

"I guess."

"Hey, what's that?" A distance away was a pretty basket with a blanket tucked over the contents. Thankfully, it had remained upright in spite of their collision.

"Oh, it's Opalescence. I was just bringing her back from her grooming."

"I see. Let's not keep her waiting, shall we?"

They knocked on the closed door first, but there was no answer, even though the sign read "OPEN". "Maybe she's upstairs working.", Fluttershy suggested as she hoisted the basket back on her back.

The blue unicorn nodded. "That must be the case. Now where's the doorbell?" His question was answered as his friend did just that, pushing on something on the wall he never noticed before. "Oh." The door then creaked open. "Let's go."

And they did just that, reaching the second floor, where they found another doorbell next to a door where they heard voices. They rang that and the door opened, revealing Rarity, who was hard at work on a sewing machine. He also saw Sweetie Belle there, having learned at some point that the two were sisters. She hasn't learned any magic yet, so Mystic Shield hadn't taken interest in taking her in as a student, not that Rarity would allow it even if it were the case.

"What now?!", they heard the designer groan as Fluttershy put down the basket.

"Oh! Sorry. I thought the OPEN sign meant you were open, but…" The pegasus began to back out. "…I-I must have been mistaken." Chronicle stopped her shortly.

"It's not a mistake. We just caught her at a bad time.", the unicorn stallion whispered to her.

Rarity noticed the two and gasped. "Fluttershy!", she greeted as she crossed the room. "Forgive me. I was so wrapped up in my work that I forgot you were bringing Opalescence back from her grooming."

Fluttershy came in again. "No worries, Rarity." A fold of the blanket on the basket came loose revealing the cat’s face in the shade beneath it. "I’ve left her there in the basket." Opal promptly jumped out with a grumbly meow to show off her spotless coat.

"Ooh, she looks great. I just don’t understand how you’re able to do it.", said the designer as her sister joined her. "Oh, Chronicle! What brings you here?"

"Just here for another 'practical revision' on my suit." He 'procured' the draft and passed it to Rarity, who 'took' it and 'placed' it somewhere before leaning down to Opal, who was now rubbing her head against Fluttershy’s foreleg and purring contentedly.

"You know, I can’t get near Opal without getting a swipe from her claws.", she commented. Then she got one aimed at her nose, with a complimentary snarl to boot. She then turned to face Fluttershy. "Did you use…" Her eyes widened at this. "…the Stare on her?"

Chronicle was shocked at this news. Mystic Shield had fallen victim to this once when he accidentally injured a manticore cub while doing a request on the Request Board. He stumbled into the animal empath while doing so and she misinterpreted the situation. And so the Stare had been used on him. Mystic had told this to him sometime after the parasprite incident.

Fluttershy's response to Rarity's question was, "Oh, no! I wouldn’t! I couldn’t! I-I don’t really have any control over when that happens. I-It just happens."

Chronicle rolled his eyes. Liar. You have control over it. You just don't have the personality to use it liberally.

"No. I’m just good with animals." She knelt to nuzzle Opal’s cheek. "It’s my special gift, you know."

Rarity gave a wink. "Well, you should have a picture of Opal as a cutie mark instead of those butterflies."

Just then, Sweetie got an idea and rushed to Opal. "Oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh! Oh! Maybe I can be good with animals too!" The cat was clearly not thrilled with this suggestion and took a swipe at her mane, severing one of its curls. A big nasty smile stitched itself across the fluffy white face. "Or not." She then galloped away as the two mares had a laugh, the stallion giving a groan. Once it died out, Opal made her own stately exit.

"I’m sorry I can’t invite you to stay and chat, Fluttershy.", Rarity apologized. "I’ve bitten off a bit more than I can chew with this order."

Sweetie was now by the sewing machine, the curl Opal had cut now having grown back out. "But you’re not eating anything."

Her older sister went over to her. "No, Sweetie, it’s an expression. It means that I’ve taken on more work than I can handle. I’ve got twenty of these special robes to make tonight. They’re due in Trottingham tomorrow morning." Ducking her head briefly to the floor, she came up with the edge of a piece of glittering yellow fabric that briefly waved across their faces. Both of Rarity's visitors gasped happily when it settled. She then held the material up on a foreleg. "See? I’ve lined them in this special gold silk. It took so long to make, but I think it adds just the right touch, don’t you?" While she spoke, her younger sister was eying the silk with undiluted wonder.

"These are lovely, but twenty?", asked Fluttershy. "By tonight? How will you get it all done?"

"Well, I, uh…"

"Oh, oh, oh!", cried out Sweetie. "Maybe I could…" She lost steam as Rarity glared at her. She began to trot away. "…just…just stand over here and watch."

"I’ll manage."

"Well, maybe I should get out of your mane so you can work.", the pegasus offered.

"Yeah, I think we should.", the sole stallion agreed. Before they could reach the door, the hunched-down figures of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo barreled in past them.

"As they raced along, they greeted the two and Rarity simultaneously as they passed them by (the designer giving off a weak reply) and stopped dead just in front of their fellow Cutie Mark Crusader, who was looking quite glum.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle!", they both greeted.

And suddenly Sweetie was all smiles as she greeted them back. "Scootaloo! Apple Bloom!"

"You ready for tonight?", asked Scootaloo.

Sweetie gave a salute. "Yep! Cutie mark planning session is a go!"

"Tonight is the night we each try to find our own special talent!", announced Bloom.

"Even if it takes us all night!", said the pegasus filly as Bloom leaned over to her.

"I’m ready. You ready?"

Scootaloo gave a wink. "Very ready."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SLEEPOVER AT RARITY’S!!", all three of them cried out. "YAY!!" The force of their triplicate yell was enough to shake the whole building and every pony in it.

"Aaand…look what I made us!", Sweetie announced as she donned a red cape with a blue patch that displayed the yellow silhouette of a caped, rearing filly. There was enthusiastic approval from her fellow Crusaders.

"What does that patch on your cape mean?", Chronicle dared to ask as he and Fluttershy walked over. He felt like he knew the answer.

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!! YAY!!", they all answered, blowing the two's faces as they squinched them up against the intensity.

"We’re on a crusade!", said Scootaloo. "A mission!"

"To find our cutie marks!" Bloom.

"Yep, and look." Sweetie then lifted one foreleg, exposing the inner lining of the cape—a very familiar-looking yellow fabric. "I lined ’em with this special gold silk. It took so long to make, but I think it adds just the right touch, don’t you?"

***k., thought Chronicle as he saw the silk.

Rarity saw it too as her face went slack with a very unpleasant thought, then here eyes contracted to panicked pinpoints and one of them starts twitching on its own.

"Ooooh!", cried out the other two Crusaders.

With a rising moan, Rarity flashed past everypony to reach her sewing machine. She grabbed the edge of the gold silk in her teeth and pulled it free, exposing three rectangular holes where Sweetie cut it out. ""Sweetie Belle!", she gasped as the culprit gave a sheepish grin. "What have you done?!" She then let the scrap fall to the floor. "That was the last of the gold silk! Oh, now I’ll have to make more!" She gave a shudder. "Oh, I hope I can make more. I’m gonna have to work all night! Which means…" She turned to face the Crusaders. "…sorry, girls. I’m afraid the Crusader sleepover is canceled."

"What?!?", gasped her younger sister.

"Nice job breaking it, Sweetie Belle.", snarked the sole stallion in the room.

"I just won’t have any time to watch you if I want to get these robes delivered on time."

"But—"

"No buts this time. I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, it’s just the way it has to be."

All the Crusaders dropped their heads. "Awww…"

Fluttershy then walked to them. "I, uh…I suppose I could take them for the night."

Three little heads bobbed up and aimed huge ingratiating smiles toward Rarity. "I couldn’t ask you to do that."

"Oh, it’s no problem at all."

"Have you met my sister and her friends?" The Crusaders' smiles vanished. "A problem is all it would be."

"Did I have a problem with Opal? You’ve seen how well I handle small creatures." There were smaller smiles from the three now.

"I suppose that’s true, and I do have a lot of work to do."

"Come on, it’ll be fun." The smiles vanished.

"I assure you, they’re quite a handful." The smiles widened.

"These sweet little angels?"

The smiles became positively beatific as a halo appeared above each Crusader’s head. Chronicle was a bit confused as to how they did it, but he knew they were anything but 'good little girls'.

"Well…all right.", Rarity relented as the halos vanished.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SLEEPOVER AT FLUTTERSHY’S COTTAGE!!", the trio of fillies cried out, eliciting the usual reaction from the others as they zipped out the door. "YAY!!"

"So cute.", Fluttershy said as she looked warmly after them, then suddenly panicked. "Wait for me!" She kicked her wings into top gear and flew out, leaving the overworked designer to voice an uneasy moan by herself as Chronicle swiftly followed.

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Eyecatch (picture-type) - The screen is filled with gold silk, save for a cut out rectangle shape in the center, where the Cutie Mark Crusaders smile at the camera with halos over their heads. The show's logo is seen on the upper left.

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Outdoors…

The Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped through Ponyville, Sweetie having ditched her cape. Chronicle and Fluttershy were bringing up the rear.

"Maybe we should hire a foalsitter.", the unicorn stallion suggested to his friend. "I know somepony who has moved from Cloudsdale who is very good with children."

But he was ignored as Fluttershy began to wonder. "Oh, won’t this be ever so fun? We can have a nice little tea party, and braid each others' tails, and sit quietly and color, and tell each other fairy tales, and—"

She was cut off by Chronicle coming up from below her. "No time to dawdle lest we lose the kids." He then sped off with her on his back.

A short distance ahead, the Crusaders flashed past Twilight Sparkle in a giggling mini-stampede that left her spinning in place. Once she regained her balance and got her eyes re-focused, she found them goofing around at a well. Turning away from the scene, turned back and saw her bodyguard coming up with Fluttershy on his back.

"Hello, Fluttershy, Chronicle.", she greeted as the two came over.

"Oh! Hello, Twilight.", Fluttershy greeted in return. "Where are you off to?"

"I’m heading to the Everfree Forest, to Zecora’s, to get some of my favorite tea."

Fluttershy was suddenly unnerved. "The…th-th-the Everfree Forest? Uh, you’ll be careful, won’t you?"

"And you're sure you don't need me?", asked Chronicle.

"Of course." Twilight answered both questions. "How about you? What are you two doing with the girls?"

Fluttershy jumped off of Chronicle and landed to his right. "Rarity has a big order to fill tonight, so I volunteered to take the girls over to my cottage for a sleepover."

"Wow! Sounds like everypony has their hooves full today."

"I was considering getting Skyla to foalsit them.", said the blue unicorn. "She's very good with children."

"Unfortunately, I just saw her already taking care of some other foals. I think it was Snips and Snails."

"Oh. That's a shame."

His charge then turned back to Fluttershy as the three Crusaders popped up from the well. Bloom was on its roof, Scootaloo behind it, and Sweetie in its bucket. "Taking care of those three fillies all by yourself? You sure you can handle it?" The three ducked away.

"What? These sweet little angels?" The three zipped up and smiled hugely with halos popping up over their heads. "They’ll be no problem at all."

"And since you obviously don't want me to escort you, I guess I'll just help her out." Chronicle then went in closer and whispered. "You sure you don't want me to at least have a clone of mine accompany you?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay." He then turned serious. "But if anything bad happens to you there, you're not going to the forest ever again without an escort, you understand me?"

"I understand. But you're still watching me, right?"

"While my Surveillance can see you, given I'll be busy foalsitting with Futtershy, I won't be able to check."

C—TS—AB—F—S—SB—C—TS—AB—F—S—SB

Sunset at Fluttershy's cottage…

Having a better look at the place in spite of the setting sun as the rest went inside, Chronicle could'nt help but feel impressed that Fluttershy's penchant for taking care of animals extended even up to this level. A couple of birdhouses were mounted on the sides of the chimney as well as around the house. He circled the place and began summoning magical clones to stand guard. He was able to at least make four now. He also allowed himself a relatively quiet tour of the place, keeping watch of the Everfree Forest nearby.

Evening came and the lights were turned on. The owner of the place closed the top falf of her front door. Inside, the Crusaders were making themselves heard in an excited cacophony.

"Wow, look at this place!", Sweetie Belle cried out as she and the other Crusaders flung off saddlebags they had picked up back home and packed for their sleepover. One nearly hit a squirrel and bird in their dwellings as the trio of fillies zipped from one place to another, rooting out every surprise they can find in drawers and cabinets.

"No problem at all.", Fluttershy said to herself in a fixed smile. She then addressed the Crusaders. "Okay, girls, uh, what should we do?"

"I’m gonna get my mark first!", Scootaloo said, ignoring their caretaker.

"Girls?"

Sweetie was next. "Nuh-uh!"

"Should we—"

Bloom followed after. "I am!"

"Girls…o-okay now, settle."

The three of them then leaped into the basket Angel was using as a bed, its owner waking up and jumpig clear as Scootaloo entered first, who briefly knocked herself cockeyed upon landing.

"I’m staying up all night!", the pegasus filly said as the others jumped on in time.

"Me too!", agreed Bloom.

"Me three!", Sweetie added.

"Uh, I know you’re excited, but—" Fluttershy was cut off upon noticing that the basket was now empty; the Crusaders had quickly departed. "Girls…"

Back outside, Chronicle finished his little tour of the place, checking for any possible places where intruders and spies could come in or where any of the animals in Fluttershy's care could escape. He quietly 'patched up' those places, then made certain his clones were standing guard. Once he was sure everything was covered, he decided to take a quick break and access his Surveillance.

He first checked on Rarity, who was busy at making the robes to be sent to Trottingham. She looked seriously stressed. He then checked on Rainbow Dash, who was sound asleep in her cloud bed, drooling a bit. He then checked Pinkie Pie, who was snoozing like a baby, embracing Gummy around her front hooves. The little alligator didn't seem to mind one bit. Applejack was next; she was sound asleep on her bed, looking almost tired. He then checked on Twilight Sparkle; she was just on her way out and Spike bid her farewell.

Though he worried for Twilight, he decided to let her go by herself for once and made his way back to the cottage. He needed to relax a bit on his bodyguarding. Upon passing through the door, he saw the Scootaloo on Fluttershy's left, Bloom on her right, and Sweetie on top.

"A-And…and we…um…yeah! What they said!", the little unicorn was saying.

"Mmm—I don’t know.", the already-harried babysitter said as sweat began to run down her face. "How about a nice, quiet little tea party?"

"Or…" Scootaloo looked out the window. "…we could go adventuring in the Everfree Forest!"

"Yeah!", her fellow Crusaders agreed. They made a beeline for the door, but Chronicle stopped them short with a force field around himself. Since the door was behind him, it was effectively blocked. Fluttershy joined him.

"Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh.", he warned. "The Everfree Forest is much too dangerous for little girls like you."

"It’s filled with far too many strange creatures.", his friend added.

"But you could go with us and we could catch those creatures.", Sweetie suggested. "We could be…um…creature catchers!"

"YAAAY!! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CREATURE CATCHERS!!", the three chorused, the usual effect they had occurring in the cottage and the two grown-ups.

Scootaloo then flipped an empty basket onto her head, then grabbed a rug in her teeth and wrapped it around herself and Bloom while standing on the latter’s back. Somehow, Scootaloo’s eyes glowed beneath the basket’s shade. as the “creature” tottered forward.

The little pegasus gave a growl. "I am a dangerous creature from the Everfree Forest!"

While Chronicle rolled his eyes, Sweetie flipped her eyes one way and another for a few seconds before catching on to the game. She then advanced slowly. "Halt, dangerous creature of the Everfree Forest! I am Sweetie Belle, the creature catcher, and I’m here to catch you!"

"You can never catch me! I am far too powerful and dangerous!"

"You cannot run from me!"

The “creature” growled and fled across the room, with a laughing Sweetie in hot pursuit. A moment later, the unicorn filly was the one trying to get away.

Fluttershy watched the spectacle with visible fear that her house would not be standing at the end of this game. "Um…oh, maybe that’s not such a…uh, now, girls, how about we do some nice coloring—" Sweetie bounced off her back and Chronicle's as the “creature” passed by. "…oh!"

The only male in the room rolled his eyes again as the unicorn filly cried out, "Come back, dangerous creature…" Fluttershy ended up sitting on her haunches and chewing her lower lip. She then jumped onto and off a table. "…so I can catch you!"

"Never!", 'it' replied.

"Careful…you don’t…" There came a crash. "…break anything.", Fluttershy warned too late.

The table Sweetie jumped from was smashed into pieces. Scootaloo had dismounted from Bloom’s back, but was still wearing the basket on her head, and the trio and the pieces are sitting on the rug they used as a creature pelt.

The only reason Chronicle didn't make a move to stop them was because he once took up a foalsitter request on the Canterlot Request Board. The client's foals weren't as rambunctious as the Crusaders, but he had realized it was a much more difficult job than bodyguarding; his charges in the request weren't too behaved and he can't treat them like his usual adult charges. He didn't want to be too hard on them.

"Sorry, Fluttershy.", Sweetie apologized.

"Yeah, sorry.", agreed Scootaloo as the two and Bloom huddled down.

"I guess we aren’t creature catchers." The two grown-up ponies walked over.

"Oh, girls, it’s okay. I—", Fluttershy began before being cut off again.

"I know!", said Bloom. "We could be…Cutie Mark Crusader carpenters!"

"Carpenters?"

The three aspiring woodworkers galloped past the two grown-ups and returned to the wreckage one by one. Each now had a stethoscope around her neck and a doctor’s reflector strapped to her forehead.
Left to right: Bloom, Sweetie, Scootaloo.)

"Hammer!", Bloom called. She was at one end of the line.

"Hammer!", Scootaloo replied before picking one up in her teeth and passed it to Sweetie, who stood between the two and passed it to Bloom.

"Hammer!", the unicorn said.

"Hammer!" And the pegasus filly got a second one and passed it to her. "Hammer!" A brief pause. "Hammer!" Having realized that she must get the tool herself, she picked up a third one and the three glanced sideways at each other with a nod.

Once the three got to work, Fluttershy got startled clean off the floor and into a huddle at the sound of vigorous power tool operation. Chronicle could only stand confused as he picked up the sound of not just hammers, but also a saw and a power drill from the dust cloud that had kicked up from the table, blocking it and the working Crusaders from view. The ruckus was enough to scare the bird and squirrel from before back into their homes near the ceiling.

When it ended and the dust cleared, Chronicle could see that the four pieces that made up the top have been sloppily nailed together into a shape that might very vaguely resemble a humanoid if he had been completely inebriated on a whole bottle of wine, which he had taken only thrice in his entire life, and he had very good reasons for drinking during those times. This shape stood atop the upside-down base. The Crusaders have done away with their hammers and medical gear.

"Um, that doesn’t look like a table.", Sweetie commented.

"We were making a table?", Scootaloo asked.

"Somepony needs to put this thing out of its misery.", Bloom said.

"We are definitely not Cutie Mark carpenters." As she and Sweetie walked away, Fluttershy reached in and whisked the "table" away. Chronicle would request for it later and collect it for his "training range".

"Who wants a picture of a hammer on their flank, anyway?", commented Sweetie.

Chronicle took offense and retorted, "Hey, Mjölna has a hammer on her flank and she's—apart from a carpenter—an awesome blacksmith. She makes shields and armor." He specifically left out the mention of weapons.

"Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how about a game?", Fluttershy asked as she flew across.

"A game?", Bloom parroted. Elsewhere, the other two Crusaders have already taken seats on a couch.

"It’s called “Shhh.”" Bloom then popped up behind the couch.

"What’s that?", Scootaloo asked.

"Well, it’s a game about who can be quiet the longest. Sound fun?"

"Sounds interesting.", Chronicle quipped.

As for the Crusaders however, they gave a three-way combo of skeptical stares, but Fluttershy soldiered on.

"I’m the world champ, you know. I bet you can’t beat me." Throwing them a big squeaky grin, she sucked in a huge breath and clamped her mouth shut so that the air bulged out her cheeks.

Chronicle merely slowed in his breath and made himself discreet. His horn glowed, but he was able to make the shimmer near-inaudible as well. Dead silence reigned in the cottage for perhaps three seconds.

"I lose!", Scootaloo yelled.

"Me too!", Sweetie chorused.

"Me three!", Bloom followed. They then took off like a shot, but were stopped by a force field from Chronicle, who only winced a bit.

Ooh. They're too clever for the quiet game.

"Hey! What's the big idea?", Scootaloo asked as the three of them pushed at the barrier. They were answered by him pointing at Fluttershy, then at himself, then he made a zip-your-mouth-closed gesture.

"Oh, they're still playin'.", Bloom realized. She then turned to the other two. They all grinned, turned to the barrier's conjurer, and started attacking the barrier with their front hooves.

In spite of how pathetically weak they were, Chronicle resisted the urge to taunt; he would lose the game to Fluttershy if he did. Still, if he concentrated too much, his horn's shimmer would become audible enough to be heard. Eventually, as he continued to concentrate on keeping the barrier up, he felt a hoof fall on his back. He turned to see Fluttershy, who had quietly let out her breath, shook her head, and then made a few gestures to signal that she heard his horn's shimmer. Sighing in defeat, he dismissed the force field, freeing the Crusaders as they cheered and zipped off.

Scootaloo started jumping on the cushions in Angel’s basket, Sweetie climbed on a cabinet, and Bloom popped up from a corner.

"Okay, now what can we do?", asked the pegasus Crusader as Bloom galloped across the room and into the fireplace.

"Ooh!", the earth pony Crusader popped her head out—upside down, covered in soot. "How about Cutie Mark Crusader coal miners?" The other two emerged next to her.

"Yeah!"

"No!", said Fluttershy.

"Awww…" They filed sullenly past her and Chronicle, no longer streaked with fireplace residue.

"I mean, it’s time for bed, don’t you think? Aren’t you excited to get all toasty and warm in your snuggly-wuggly wittle beds?

“Snuggly-wuggly?”, retorted Bloom. "But we have more crusading to do!"

"We’ve got plans!", added Scootaloo.

Sweetie laid their Crusader capes by their saddlebags. "And capes!", she finished. But they continued heading glumly up the stairs.

"Uh, okay, um, maybe the crusading can wait until morning…when it’s light…and not so…dark?", Fluttershy suggested as she shepherded them along.

As Chronicle followed right behind, just as he was halfway there, his horn began to spark wildly with magic. "Huh?", he said as he paused for a few seconds. Once the sparks stopped, he suddenly felt stiff all over and couldn't move, although he could still see and think. "Hhhnnnggg…" He could also still breathe, but not as much since he cannot move his body enough.

After making certain the Crusaders were upstairs, Fluttershy turned to see him not moving. "Chronicle, let's go.", she urged. But he didn't budge. Curious, she walked back down and poked him, but he seemed to be as hard as stone. She then pushed at his mane, then his tail, and found that each strand was just as stiff as the rest of his body. Just before she could panic, he was mobile again, breathing heavily for some reason. She went to his assistance and helped him catch his breath, panic coming in for a different reason. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.", he replied between breaths. "I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. All of a sudden, Twilight came to mind, my horn was spewing sparks of magic, and then I was suddenly unable to move, like my body was turned to stone. I'm fine, though. Don't worry about me." But what was that?

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Everypony was now at Fluttershy's bedroom, which had its own fireplace and plenty of small-animal dwellings, a bookcase, and various bits of artwork. Bloom and Scootaloo were thoroughly discontented. Sweetie stood by the footboard, also not too jazzed at the prospect of turning in.

"How are we gonna find our special talent in our sleep?", Bloom complained.

Fluttershy flew up and blew out a candle on the mantelpiece, leaving the room dark. "Maybe you’ll have a lovely little dream about your special talent."

"But we’re not even tired!", Scootaloo said, all of them now tucked in by Chronicle, who then nipped the blanket in with his teeth as Fluttershy joined in.

"How about I sing you a lullaby?", she suggested.

"Yeah!", agreed the unicorn Crusader.

"Mmm-hmm!", said the other two in unison with her.

Fluttershy cleared her throat, then came a slow quiet music-box tune in A flat major.

Now Playing: Hush Now Lullaby

Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head♪

Bloom and Scootaloo started to nod off, but Sweetie stayed wide awake.

Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed♪

End Song

"I know this one!", Sweetie cried out.

"Oh, how wonderful! Why don’t you sing it with me?"

The little unicorn nodded, coughed a bit, startling her two cohorts out of their half-doze, and threw them a knowing smile before standing up in the bed. The other two crusaders put hooves over their ears, apparently knowing what's about to go down.

C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB

Outside…

The four Chronicle clones standing guard outside were mildly startled at the sound of loud music.

"I wonder what they're doing at this hour?", one of them asked.

"I have no buckin' clue.", said another.

"Why are we even speaking to each other?", asked a third.

"He started it.", the fourth pointed to the first.

"Well, he talked back."

"Could we just stop? We're all extensions of the same pony." The second.

"Hey—" The third.

"And don't start with the cloning blues." Fourth.

"Aww, come on." Second.

"Let's just shut up and quit while we're ahead." Third.

"I'm with you there." Fourth. "The real us is going to know about this."

"Ugh." First.

The avian residents of the chicken coop in the backyard were spooked into a full panic from the song and they started squawking. The closest two clones noticed this.

C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C—C

Back at the bedroom…

Bloom and Scootaloo have dived under the covers, but the latter looked up at the sound of the panicked flock. "What is that?", she asked.

Fluttershy and the real Chronicle meanwhile fixed everything that had fallen off due to the song. They then turned back to see that the bed was empty, then the unicorn got a small migraine. One of his clones had been tackled and dissipated, its memories coming to him.

"They're outside at the backyard.", he said as he turned on the light.

Fluttershy didn't ask him how he knew and looked out the window instead to verify his words. "Girls!"

Indeed they were there. Presumably, they were why he has three copies left.

"Fluttershy, your chickens are on the loose!", Bloom said.

"I wonder what could have caused that.", Sweetie said pensively.

Bloom and Scootaloo glanced disgustedly at her.

“Are you really that dumb?”, asked one of the Chronicle clones nearby. "YOUR singing did it."

Scootaloo then addressed the window. "Don’t worry, Fluttershy!" She then gave a salute. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders will handle this!"

"Cutie Mark Crusader chicken herders!", said the unicorn Crusader as all three raced off. "Yaaaaay!"

"No…I don’t think that’s a…come back!", Fluttershy stuttered. At the fenced-off chicken yard, the fillies were chasing the birds back and forth. "Please…" Fluttershy took off from the window and landed in the yard while the real Chronicle teleported there. "Come on, girls, the chickens are fine…oh…girls…" One of the chickens roosted on her head and another on his horn; this move, coupled with Sweetie’s lunge toward it, finally made the animal caretaker blow her cool. "Girls!"

All three stopped in their tracks, Scootaloo and one chicken peeking out from beneath the ramp that leads to the coop entrance. Chronicle clicked his tongue in warning to the Crusaders. "You wouldn't like Fluttershy when she's angry."

This also got the chickens on the two grown-ups to drop to the ground, much to the stallion's mild surprise, then Fluttershy gently nudged several back toward the coop. "Come on…" The little birds stopped on the ramp. "…in you go…" Upon receiving a chorus of uncooperative cackling that annoyed her considerably, she leaned in with her eyes wide open, giving the poultry a good view of a surprisingly intense gaze.

Chronicle gulped at the sight of the chickens’ noise giving way to frightened little squawks as they slowly back up the ramp while the Crusades watched, dumbstruck. He hasn't ever been on its receiving end before, but he just knew that this was the so-called “Stare”.

Fluttershy gave them a final one-eyed dose to persuade them to enter the coop, where three briefly got stuck abreast in the entrance before popping in. After they have done so, she resumed her usual sweet demeanor. "There’s some good chickens." She then turned to the Crusaders. "Okay. You three. Isn’t it about time you got into bed?"

"But—", they began to protest.

"Please?" Behind her, Chronicle made a couple of frightful gestures to tell them to do as she says. He wasn't really frightened; but hopefully showing that he was (given his reputation as a very brave pony) would persuade them. Thankfully, it did. The Crusaders dropped their heads sadly, getting a little smile from Fluttershy in return.

C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB

Back at the bedroom…

The light was out, and the Crusaders were tucked back in and Fluttershy was on her way out. Chronicle was downstairs fixing things up, and shortly went to sleep on the couch.

"So, no more crusading for tonight, all right?", she said.

"Yes, Fluttershy!", replied Scootaloo.

"We promise, Fluttershy!" Sweetie.

"Good night, Fluttershy!" Bloom. They then closed their eyes.

"Okay. Good night." She then exited the room to relax right next to Chronicle on the couch, making sure not to disturb him, not that it takes little to do so.

C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB—C—AB—F—S—SB

In the dreamscape…

Chronicle was reminiscing a past event.

It was a day in Mystic Shield's Self-Defense Academy For Unicorns. Since there haven't been any new spells to implement in the lesson plan, Mystic had to come up with a couple more ideas. After a casual chat with Elphaba Trot, the teacher of the karate dojo, he decided to implement physical maneuvers in his lesson plan.

"All right, class.", he announced. "We have a new lesson. Today, we'll be doing a physical exercise. Chronicle, help me demonstrate."

Ushering the class to the side, Mystic went to the center of the room and 'held up' a stick. Chronicle had went to one corner of the mat, then made a running start. Just as he reached the levitated stick, he jumped over it, rolled, did a one-eighty upon landing, and conjured a barrier instantly.

"I call this the quick response. Sometimes you're on the run and you simply can't turn around or blindly make a force field around yourself. Or maybe there's an obstacle ahead that can buy you some time from your pursuer. There can be any number of reasons this maneuver can be useful. You just have to use your imagination. Plus, I figured we all need some form of physical exercise. There's always a time when running is your best choice."

And so this jump-roll-turn-and-shield routine became an integral part in the lesson plan. At present, few unicorns are getting the hang of it. Greatstone and Heartstrings were the only ones apart from the teachers to get it easily. Still—

C—MS—C—MS—C—MS—C—MS—C—MS—C—MS—C—MS—C—MS

He was interrupted from his dream by a couple of generous kicks on from a certain bunny.

"Thank goodness.", Fluttershy's voice rang in his ears as he opened his eyes. "I thought you would never wake."

"Well, I am a deep sleeper. Why'd you wake me?", he asked as he followed her out of the cottage and into the backyard.

"I noticed the place was quiet. Too quiet. And when I checked the bed, the girls were gone."

"What? Just how did they get past my clones?" As they looked around, they could not find any trace of Chronicle's clones. "They can't have dissipated. I would've known first thing like a splash of cold water to my face."

As they then reached the coop, Fluttershy peeked in it. "Girls?", she called, then her eyes popped. "Elizabeak! She’s missing!" She then looked back. "Girls?"

"Umm…" He gestured to a hole in the fence and tracks.

"Oh, no!" There were tracks leading off the property as well as a scrap of cloth on a post, which could only come from a Cutie Mark Crusader's cape judging by the golden silk. "They must have gone looking for my missing chicken!" The two of them trotted onto the tracks. "Which means…they must have gone into…" She gave a hard swallow and let her ears droop, her eyes contract, and her body shiver.

"The Everfree Forest!", Chronicle finished for her, then looked down on the tracks. "And it looks like my clones have followed them." The two then started trotting along the path leading into the forest.

"Those girls have really done it this time! They’ve really bitten off more than they can chew…" Fluttershy stopped for a bit. "…oh, just like me. I never should have offered to watch them."

"It's my fault too, Fluttershy. I haven't been putting as much effort on helping you as a true friend should, no matter how little experience I have with them. But now's not the time to go beating yourself up. Right now, we have to save Elizabeak and the Crusaders. Come on."

With that, he got moving. Behind him, Fluttershy took a deep breath, then put her wings to work and flew ahead, catching up with her braver unicorn friend, who gave a smile as she came up beside him.

C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F

Eyecatch (picture-type) - The Everfree Forest looms on the left. Fluttershy and Chronicle begin to head towards it from the right, the former hovering a few inches, the latter with his horn glowing, and both with resolute glares. The show's logo is seen on the lower left.

C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F

Further in the forest…

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, escorted by the three missing Chronicle clones, who were somehow convinced to come along rather than keep them in. Sweetie Belle was in the lead, Apple Bloom following, and Scootaloo bringing up the rear. The three clones covered their backs and sides as they all heard an owl hoot over their heads from a tree branch.

"Here, chick-chick-chick-chick-chick!", Bloom called, then squawked.

"What are you doing?", Scootaloo asked.

"Callin’ for the chicken."

"That is not how you call a chicken."

"Oh, and you know how to call a chicken."

"I know that’s not the way."

"Then show me." At this point, Sweetie had gone ahead as well as one of the three clones.

I don’t have to show you!"

"You’re just chicken."

"Am not!"

"Oh, wait! Now I know how to call a chicken!" Bloom then said the following in singsong SCOOTA-LOO-OO!! SCOOT- SCOOTA-LOO-OO!!"

The two as well as the other remaining clones stopped in front of a pitch-dark cavern, inside which quite a few glowing eyes opened due to Bloom’s “call”. As they moved ahead again, one of the clones gave a glare at the eyes and flared his horn.

"That’s so funny I forgot to laugh!", snarked the addressed.

"I didn't.", the other clone said as he then laughed.

"You also forgot how to call a chicken.", Bloom said as she blew a raspberry.

"Why, you—"

"Come on, guys.", Sweetie called, a branch above her creaking in the wind. We’re not gonna find the chicken or our cutie marks by arguing. She walked off just before it could seem to grab her.

"Maybe that’s our special talent! Arguing!", said Bloom.

"Is not!", countered Scootaloo.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!" Bloom turned to present her haunch. "Anything yet?"

"Nope."

"Darn!" The two Crusaders laughed in the wind, then carried on, Bloom continuing her call.

"You girls think of the weirdest things.", commented one of the clones.

AB—C—C—S—SB—C—AB—C—C—S—SB—C

Meanwhile…

Fluttershy was doing everything not to let nerves do her in, despite Chronicle being at her side. "Girls?" She gave a gulp. "Girls?" She huddled down with a little whimper as the wind kicked up. She flicked her eyes from side to side and then constricted in terror. She then let off a gasp as her friend got her on her feet again.

"Come on, Fluttershy. Get a hold of yourself.", he pleaded as the two moved on. "…just put one hoof in front of the other." Just then, he stepped on a fallen branch, the snapping sound causing his friend to yelp and back up.

"What was that?"

"Just a branch." She then bumped into a tree, screamed shrilly, and galloped ahead at full speed, leaving Chronicle in the dust. "Dammit!", he cussed as he went after her. At the path they were going, they could see Twilight’s silhouette framed against the night sky. "Twilight? Is that you?"

A hopeful little smile played across both their faces as they reached the inky figure and stopped. While Chronicle stopped to catch his breath, blaming his quick fatigue on the paralysis he had a few hours ago, Fluttershy spoke. "Oh, Twilight, it is you! Thank goodness you’re here. I need your help." Just then, the clouds drifted away from the moon so that its light shone full. "The girls are out here somewhere and I’m afraid that they’re—" She cut herself off once enough of the moonlight had illuminated the unicorn’s figure. As it turned out, she had been talking to a “statue” made of solid rock and happened to be in Twilight's likeness. Her terrified gasp caught Chronicle's attention and he gave a short yelp upon seeing the statue. "What’s happened to you?"

"I have two theories behind this.", "One is that somepony had the bright idea to bring this statue here, although the expression of this one here could not have been maintained for such a long time. I'll have to ask Twilight later if she had posed for a sculptor before. The other is…" His mind flashed back to the moment his horn sparked and he felt stiff for a few seconds. "…is that Twilight had encountered something that inflicts petrification. There are only a few beasts that I know of that can do this. The gorgon, the basilisk if not looked at the eye directly (direct eye contact results in instant death), the Catoblepas, and one other beast whose name escapes me." Luckily, I have a blindfold for these "stone gaze" kinds of creatures.

Fluttershy poked the statue and when it toppled over, she gave off a strangled cry. "Oh, no! If you’ve been turned to stone, it must mean…oh…oh, no! The girls!" She and Chronicle then took off ahead, then zipped back. "Don’t move! I’ll be back for you."

"Like she can go anywhere.", Chronicle told her as he then summoned yet another magical clone, feeling a bit woozy after. "Make sure nothing moves her.", he ordered, then he and Fluttershy took off, the latter to the air, leaving the unicorn to follow by ground.

"Girls!"

C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F—C—F

Back with the Crusaders and the clones…

As the group continued to follow the chicken tracks, Bloom and Scootaloo had resumed arguing on the subject on whether or not arguing is their special talent.

Finally, Sweetie had enough of this. "Girls!", she cried out and everypony stopped. "Our special talent is not arguing! Besides, what would the cutie mark of somepony whose talent is arguing even look like?"

"Who knows? But if there indeed is one, maybe you could be the first.", said one of the clones.

"Girls? Girls?", a familiar voice came.

"Fluttershy?" The mentioned pegasus landed in front of them.

"Girls!", another voice came.

"There's our boss." The real Chronicle arrived shortly after.

"Thank goodness we’ve found you!"

"Fluttershy, what—", Bloom began before the Crusaders were forced to step back.

"Girls, we have to leave the forest at once."

"But—we haven’t found the chicken yet.", Sweetie pointed out.

"There’s no time for that. There’s a cockatrice on the loose!

"A cocka-what now?"

"A cockatrice! It’s a frightening creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a snake. Now come on!"

"Oh, so that's that other one I wasn't able to name earlier.", Chronicle realized as he

"The head of a chicken and the body of a snake?", Sweetie parroted as she and the other Crusaders passed a gasping Fluttershy with a smile.

"That doesn’t sound scary, that sounds silly.", remarked Scootaloo.

"Why, if I ever saw one of them cocka-thingies face to face, I’d laugh at how silly it was!", said Bloom before bumping into Chronicle without realizing it. The others stopped as well.

"Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh.", he warned. "Any beast from the Everfree Forest, no matter how much you want to laugh at it, is dangerous. Remember the parasprites? I'm sure you've seen what they can do. And another thing. Never look a cockatrice in the eye." Just then, a chicken, presumably the missing Elizabeak, ran out of a bush. "If you look a cockatrice in the eye—"

"The chicken!", Bloom interrupted him as she and the other Crusaders dashed after her.

"Girls! Wait!", Fluttershy cried out as she took off after them.

"Dammit, I think Zecora and our trips to the forest are a bad influence for them.", Chronicle said as he followed, his clones running ahead.

"Why do you say that?"

"From what other ponies had told me, nopony has ever ventured to the Everfree Forest because of the old suspicions on Zecora being an evil enchantress. That lessened when we ventured in there to look for the Elements of Harmony. And since discovering Zecora to be friendly, other ponies have been braving it. Still, it's a stretch for foals to brave it for any reason at all."

Ahead, as the Crusaders followed Elizabeak, with the three clones behind them, they suddenly stopped upon hearing a low guttural roar. Sweetie was the first to spot something. From a bush, a white feathered head protruded. "There he is!", she said.

An identical head then popped up. "Two chickens?", Scootaloo was confused now, as were the others.

"I-I thought only one escaped!", said Bloom.

"Grab them both!"

Bloom reached in for the snatch, but Elizabeak jumped clear and dropped out of sight. She then went for the other head as she stepped up to eye it closely. It whipped back into the bush, then rose again as she stared in bewilderment. The head was attached to a long, winged, snakelike body with a pair of chicken legs near the front end to allow for running movement. That same grating roar threw a genuine scare into the would-be poultry wranglers, and it opened its eyes fully to expose them as beady red orbs; the beak, filled with deadly pointed teeth, let off a raucous screech. One of the Chronicle clones was caught in its gaze and was petrified, but nopony noticed it.

Elizabeak was thrown into a noisy panic, running to and fro. When the cockatrice hit the ground, its glare petrified her in seconds. The stone bird dropped headfirst and ended up half-buried in the dirt, right in front of the Crusaders. As the beast turned its attention to them, they bailed out with a three-part scream, bumping into another of the clones as they fled with them, dissipating him on impact. Scootaloo, in the lead, stumbled on a rock and went down, taking the other two with her, but not the last one as he stopped short. They ended up inches from the toppled Twilight, whose face had been slimed by a passing snail. The three fillies gasped, the got up and looked her over, ready to jump right out of their hides.

"See?", Fluttershy said as she landed behind them. "Now we have to—" Her—and the real Chronicle's—sudden arrival startled them into a scream that almost ripped their manes off and started racing around them, also bumping into the clone left behind to watch over the petrified Twilight, dissipating him as a result. "Girls, please…girls…listen to me, girls, I, uh…please!" It was no good. She looked off in another direction, gasping as her eyes popped. Down the way, the cockatrice emerged from the bushes and started to close in.

Fluttershy quickly averted and covered her eyes. The remaining clone, who was facing away from the cockatrice, remained turned away. As for the real Chronicle, he 'produced' a blindfold from hammerspace and covered his eyes with it.

"Girls! Chronicle!", Fluttershy called. "Behind me, now!"

Everypony save the clone fell in before the caterwauling creature got within hoof’s reach of Fluttershy. Risking a backward glance to make sure they were following orders, she inadvertently turned her eye toward the front. Before running into the Crusaders again, Chronicle had warned Fluttershy that he was not adept in fighting blind and would not be able to assist much.

With no warning, just as with the "dragon in the mountain" incident, as the cockatrice was about to lash out at the last clone, she let her voice lash out with a degree of anger that was a complete turnaround from her usual mild tone. "You!" The cockatrice backed up as she looked it straight on. "Just who do you think you are, going around turning others into stone?" Caught off guard, the cockatrice recovered, changed its target to her, and gave her both barrels. As Fluttershy continued, she was slowly being petrified from the tail forward.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! I have half a mind to find your mother and tell her what you’ve been up to, young man!" Sweating buckets, it dropped to the ground with a shocked gasp, then redoubled its effort. The last clone could see tht Fluttershy was supremely fed-up at this point. "Now you go over there and turn Elizabeak and my friend Twilight back to normal—" During this, she opened her eyes fully to give the cockatrice the same Stare she used on her chickens, giving off the same effect as before. "—and don’t ever let me catch you doing this again!"

As the Crusaders' apprehensive looks turned to smiles, Fluttershy's stone transformation, which had spread to the entire rear half of her body, cracked away like an eggshell to leave a perfectly normal yellow pegasus. Some of the shards hit Chronicle on the side, but he didn't flinch. "Do you understand me?"

The cockatrice can only manage a timid little nod and sound of agreement, after which it ran yelping for the trees. The Crusaders watched it flee and Chronicle removed his blindfold, glad to see that nopony else had been petrified.

Fluttershy turned to the trio of fillies. "Are you girls all right? I was so worried."

"Yeah. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to go into the forest?", Chronicle scolded.

"Yeah, fine.", answered Scootaloo.

"Thanks to that Stare of yours.", Sweetie added, addressing Fluttershy as the pegasus Crusader leaned in.

"You’re like the queen of Stares! You’re the—" She was joined in by the other two Crusaders. "Stare Master!" They then backed off.

"We’re sorry we snuck out of the house and into the forest."

"Yeah. We’ll listen to you from now on.", said Bloom.

"We promise.", Scootaloo finished.

Fluttershy then playfully narrowed her eyes and said. "Oh, you do, do you? Well, you better, or I’ll give you…the Stare!"

Turning her head sideways, she aimed one eye at them and succeeded in hypnotizing Scootaloo, much to her own surprise. Once the latter recovered from her trance, all six had a good laugh, the surviving clone glancing the cockatrice flee. Meanwhile, a dazed and back-to-normal Twilight walks up to them. "What…what happened?", she asked as she shook a bit.

"What happened is that you're not going off on your own ever again without me personally or a magical clone.", Chronicle stated as his once-petrified clone now brought back Elizabeak, who was squawking and flapping furiously, her upper half matted in dirt. "I may not take my job as bodyguard as rigidly as most, but I value the safety of my charges all the same."

C—TS—AB—F—S—SB—C—TS—AB—F—S—SB

The following morning…

As the Crusaders galloped by with a laugh, Chronicle and Fluttershy explained to Twilight last night's events. The three of them were seated on cushions at a table, having tea, the purple unicorn levitating a quill and scroll overhead to write up a report.

"And that’s when it brought you back from stone.", Fluttershy finished.

"This is gonna make quite a letter to the Princess. I was wrong about you. You certainly do know how to handle those girls."

"Oh, I wouldn’t go that far."

"Hmm? How so?"

"I assumed that I’d be just as good with kids as I am with animals. Boy, was I wrong. I really learned the hard way not to bite off more than I could chew."

"You and Rarity both."

"She certainly did.", said Chronicle as his charge rolled up the scroll. "Speaking of which…" He glanced her walking up to them and said, "Good morning, Rarity."

"Did you finish all those capes?", Fluttershy asked.

Rarity gave a sigh of relief. "Just delivered them. "I have to admit, if you hadn’t come along, I might not have." As she approached them, she nuzzled Fluttershy’s cheek briefly. "Thanks again."

"Won’t you stay for some tea?"

"I really must get back to the shop and clean up." She then turned to face the yard. "Girls, get your things. Time to go." The other two mares gave a shared smile, which was broken by urgency of Rarity’s next words. As it was, the Crusaders were still playing. "Girls! Girls! Time…oh…girls! Your things!" Then with rising impatience. "Girls…it’s time to…girls!"

Fluttershy stepped up. "Allow me." She proceeded to clear her throat. "Girls…"

They instantly fell quiet and fell in, one by one. "Yes, Fluttershy.", Bloom said.

"You called?" Scootaloo.

"Go and get your things. Rarity is here to see you home."

"Of course, Fluttershy!", said Sweetie. "Right away!" And they all zip off, leaving one full-grown and very puzzled white unicorn in their wake.

"H…how did you…how did you do that?", she asked.

Fluttershy just tipped a wink over her shoulder and got a big smile from Twilight. "I guess I’m just as good with kids as I am with animals."

"Took her a while to reach out to these ones though.", Chronicle added as the Crusaders galloped past, all wearing their saddlebags and shouting thanks to their unconventionally successful babysitters. "They are a very special case."

"Uh…speaking of which, I could use your help with Opal.", Rarity asked sheepishly as she walked a few paces ahead.

"Of course. How about later today?"

There was a loud, displeased yowl and Rarity turned to present her other flank to the others. Opal was there, with all four sets of claws dug in to attach herself firmly to the white hide. "How about…now?" She winced at the pain those claws were obviously causing her as her cat then gave a yowl and strained moan.

The two unicorns joined Fluttershy, then while the mares laughed softly, the stallion just gave a knowing groan. "Next time, let Skyla give the Crusaders a try. I wanna see how she will fare with these."

"Yeah.", Rarity agreed. "I guess. Although we'll have to ask Applejack as well as Scootaloo's—"

"I get it, I get it. Well…" He turned to Fluttershy. "I should be going, then. Hopefully, Mystic Shield's all better. Also, I forgot to fetch something for Spike from—"

"I know just what to give him.", Sweetie's older sister cut him off. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure."

Author's Note:

1. The "somepony who has moved from Cloudsdale", named Skyla, will be introduced in the "Sonic Rainboom" chapter, which takes place before "A Dog and Pony Show" and after "Fall Weather Friends". It will be written after this chapter. "Owl's Well That Ends Well" and "Winter Wrap Up" will be written after that.

2. Yeah, I skipped Sweetie Belle's version of the song, because I'm a dick sometimes.

3. Elphaba Trot is a name I picked up in the MLP Wiki. She's one of the more obscure background ponies.

4. I've been taking aikido and it's the inspiration for the rolling routine.

5. Another slight move of the eyecatch, just like from the second chapter.

6. I cut Rarity off because I don't want to conflict with any upcoming canon of Scootaloo's caretakers, be they parents (foster or otherwise) or an orphanage.

See ya on Third!