The Glowmelon Mystery

by Legendary Emerald

Chapter 2: The Journey

The room was dark, lit by candlelight and the obtrusive sun rays that made their way through the drawn curtain. Thin smoke wafted through the air, carrying with it a pleasant burning scent. Twilight lounged on her bed, staring at a plate it in front of her. It contained a slice of glowmelon, still faintly pulsating with green light.

“Oh, glowmelon, we've been going at it for hours... don't you think we should slow down?” Twilight's voice was low and seductive as she gazed at the fruit with ravenous eyes. “Well, I suppose you're right. One more tiny nibble couldn't hurt...”

Twilight slinked across the bed towards her prize, tail twitching. She took the melon chunk into her hooves, slowly bringing it to her lips.

“Hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie greeted Twilight from outside the bedside window.

“Sun of Celestia!” Twilight screamed, throwing the glowmelon into the air to splat against the ground. She started to hyperventilate, and looked at her friend in surprise.

“What'cha doin'?” Pinkie asked curiously.

“Nothing! Nothing at all!” Twilight answered quickly. She rapidly blew out all the candles surrounding the bed and snuffed the incense sticks.

“Really? Because you were reminding me a lot of Rarity at the first Glowmelon Festival just now,” Pinkie said. “Ooh, maybe I should go get the pictures and compare the two of you!”

“T-that won't be necessary,” Twilight echoed Fluttershy's earlier statement. “Why are you here? How are you here?”

“Oh, Fluttershy asked me to come get you. Her and Rainbow Dash have been knocking on your door for the past five minutes, but you haven't been answering,” Pinkie explained. “As for how I'm here, well...”

A look of confusion passed over Pinkie's features as she tilted her head to the side, looking above herself and then below. She stared at Twilight for a single second before falling out of view. Twilight heard a loud ''thump''.

The unicorn sighed while she picked up her alarm clock and checked the time. It was 1:00.

“Darn, that's right. I was supposed to meet those two an hour ago so we could start our investigation,” Twilight thought to herself as she set the device down, lighting up her horn. The lights in the room lit up as well, following her lead. She hopped out of bed and next to the remains of her glowmelon, which she stared at with pouting lips. Then she trotted downstairs with her head hung low.

She opened the front door and saw Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie waiting for her. Pinkie was already talking a mile a minute.

“And then it looked like she was going to start making out with it or something, and I said 'Hiya Twilight', and then-” Pinkie stopped talking when she saw that Twilight was looking at her with rosy red cheeks. “Ooh, do you want to finish the story yourself?”

“So! Glowmelina! We're going to go find her, right?” Twilight spoke quickly, her voice wavering slightly under Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's curious stares.

“Oh, I'd love to come, Twilight! But I'm still having to clean up the mess I made around town,” Pinkie Pie giggled, pulling out a mop and a wash-bin. “Would you believe this is the second time I've done this?”

“I believe it. I was stuck to Applejack's flank for nearly half a day the last time,” Rainbow Dash replied with a laugh. Pinkie giggled as well.

“Oh yeah, I remember that now. Anyways, I have to go. Have fun, everypony!” Pinkie waved and bounced off towards something that needed cleaning.

“What about you, Spike? Do you want to come along with us?” Twilight turned to ask her assistant, who was busy adjusting the cuffs on his tuxedo.

“Huh? Oh sorry, but I'm kind of busy,” Spike answered as he took a small bouquet of flowers out of his pocket and started to head up the stairs. “Tonight I've got a date with a lovely glowmelon.”

“Not on my bed!” Twilight frantically shouted after her apprentice as the door closed behind the dragon. Her two friends again looked at her with odd expressions. Twilight smiled back awkwardly, and pushed the two out of the doorway. “C'mon, we have to get moving before the caravan leaves!”

Twilight shut the door behind them and followed her two friends as they led the way. It didn't take long for them to find the group of animals and their wagons. Many ponies were walking up towards the small animals and depositing glowmelon seeds into the platters.

“Did you remember to save your seeds, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, uh, no. Pinkie even told me to, but I forgot,” Twilight admitted, looking a bit ashamed.

“Psh. Who lets a little thing like seeds bother them? I just swallow 'em,” Rainbow Dash stated proudly.

“Oh no, Rainbow Dash. Don't you know what happens to ponies when they swallow glowmelon seeds?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes narrowing but a small smile creeping across her face. “They start to grow a glowmelon in their stomach.”

Rainbow Dash just laughed at Fluttershy's attempt to sound sinister, and Twilight chuckled as well.

“Actually, considering that we don't know anything about the glowmelons or this Glowmelina pony, that could actually happen.” Twilight shook her head. “Just one more reason to expose the mystery behind this festival.”

The manticore roared ferociously, and ponies who'd been going to deposit their seeds scattered. The other animals seemed to take this as a sign, and they began to hitch themselves back up to the wagons.

“Okay, they must be getting ready to head back. All we gotta do is follow them,” Rainbow Dash explained the plan.

“Yes, but quietly,” Twilight whispered back, watching the manticore stand up and shoulder its burden.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Fluttershy asked. She gulped as the manticore stared at her with mild interest.

“Of course. It's up to us to solve this mystery, for all of Ponyville,” Twilight's voice was resolute and her expression was firm.

The animals finished their preparation, and started to walk down the path that led out of Ponyville. A few ponies were cheering and waving goodbye, so Twilight joined in.

“Be seeing you again soon.” Twilight smiled craftily. “Real soon.”

---

“Hmm. Okay, they're still just moving forward. Keep up the pace, everypony,” Rainbow Dash called out from up above before landing down on the grass next to Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. The three friends trotted side by side.

“Okay, phase 1 of... 1 is going pretty well then,” Twilight responded, nodding her head. “All we have to do is keep following them at a safe distance, and we shouldn't be found out.”

“Unless they have very sharp eyes or very sharp hearing.” Fluttershy stared at the large empty meadow that surrounded them.

“Or very sharp teeth!” Rainbow Dash stood up on her back legs and posed as if she were ready to attack the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy backed up a bit but didn't change her expression.

“I don't think teeth are sensitive in the same way,” she replied coolly before she continued to walk at her previous pace.

“Rainbow Dash, keep it down. You too, Fluttershy,” Twilight spoke softy, cocking her head to the side with an odd expression. “Wow, there's something I never thought I'd say.”

“Sorry...” Fluttershy whispered so quietly that she was almost inaudible.

“This is all so weird. The squirrels that showed up at night to post the announcement of the festival? Weird. The parade of animals into Ponyville? Also weird. But a manticore? That's just so beyond weird!” Rainbow Dash's voice scared away a nearby butterfly.

“Thanks for the recap, but what did I just say about being quiet?” Twilight asked, eyes narrowed.

“Sorry. It's just weird. And I know I keep saying that, but, well, it is,” Dash retorted, her voice only slightly lowered. “This ''ish'' is so not natural.”

“Shh! And I wouldn't even be out here if I didn't think something was going on,” Twilight answered as she turned to the quieter pegasus. “What's your opinion on this, Fluttershy?”

“M-my opinion?” she answered Twilight's question with another question, though her friends could barely hear her. “Well, I guess it's... weird. I suppose...”

“Hah, see? Everyone agrees with me, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash loudly boasted.

“I never disagreed with you!” Twilight shouted.

“Shh, Twilight, keep your voice down,” Fluttershy whispered, causing the purple unicorn to sigh in frustration. Rainbow Dash laughed into her hoofs to stifle the noise.

“Okay, new rule. No one is allowed to say the word ''weird'',” Twilight decreed.

“What should we say instead, then?” Fluttershy asked innocently.

“I don't know. Abnormal, mysterious, kooky, spooky, queer...” Twilight rattled off synonyms.

“Hmm, I get it! So like, Fluttershy is pretty queer, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, causing Twilight's head to jerk backwards as if she'd been hit in the face with a bucket of water.

“Excuse me?” Fluttershy asked with a small hint of indignation.

“Yeah. I mean, you gotta know most of the animals in and around Ponyville, but they haven't told you anything about Glowmelina?” Dash asked, her tone of voice entirely serious.

“Well, they aren't exactly the most conversational creatures...” Fluttershy admitted, hanging her head low. “They've never shown me anything to do with it, so I've just assumed that I'm not meant to find out.”

“That is bit weird. I mean, odd. But why is she coming with us then?” Twilight wondered to herself. “Maybe it's like that time we tried to throw a surprise party for Pinkie Pie, and she got the wrong idea. Maybe Fluttershy feels left out.”

“Don't worry, Fluttershy. After today, we'll know whether or not they've had any reason to keep it a secret from you.” Twilight smiled genuinely. “After all, what good is a mystery if you don't solve it?'.”

“Daring Do, whoop whoop!” Rainbow Dash cheered loudly, causing Twilight to cringe.

“Yay...” Fluttershy sighed, sounding very unenthusiastic.

“Well, at least I 'cheered' one of them up,” Twilight thought with an awkward smile. “I should kick myself just for thinking that.”

“You should probably check our heading soon, Dash,” Twilight advised her friend. Rainbow Dash gave an informal salute before taking off. She returned almost as quickly as she'd left.

“We're gonna wanna start leaning left-ish.“ Rainbow Dash motioned vaguely with her hoof. “Like, about 20 degrees lefter.”

“Huh. That's the same report you had a few minutes ago. You don't think these animals are leading us on a wild goose chase, do you?” Twilight asked her two friends, looking around the rolling meadow apprehensively.

“Psh, no way. There aren't even any geese in that pack; trust me, I would remember. Me and geese go waaaay back.” Rainbow Dash swept her hoof out wide. Twilight and Fluttershy both shared a perplexed stare, but followed Dash's directions.

---

“Wait, are those hoof-prints?” Twilight spoke up, calling Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to her side. Indeed, there was a distinct hoof-print in the patch of dirt. Twilight placed her hoof in the indent; it was a perfect fit.

“Okay, so maybe there was a goose, and I just didn't see it.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I don't have griffon eyes, you know.”

“This is a very wild goose...” Fluttershy lamented, hovering over the ground and massaging her legs. Twilight sighed.

“Okay girls, we're obviously going about this the wrong way. I'm not sure how, but the animals seem to know we're following them. Maybe its because some of us can't keep quiet for ten seconds, or maybe its because one of Dash's goose friends is acting as a double agent?” Twilight accused, and Rainbow Dash glared at her. “Sorry. I'm just a little tense.”

“Maybe we should just go home?” Fluttershy asked hopefully, but Twilight shook her mane.

“I'm not ready to give up yet. We've come too far to back down now. We just need to come up with a new plan,” the unicorn responded, taking a rest and sitting down.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her lead, lowering themselves onto the grass and forming a small circle. They sat in silence, intermittently staring at the ground or the sky. Rainbow Dash entertained herself by ruffling her mane and blowing it out of her face. When she grew bored of that, she started to tap at the ground idly, and, as time wore on, the tapping gradually grew louder and louder.

“Augh, this is so hard!” Rainbow Dash finally exploded.

“We've barely been thinking for a minute,” Twilight said.

“I mean, if it was just me and Fluttershy, we could just fly way up and track them from the sky. But noooo, you have to go and ruin everything by not having any wings!” Rainbow Dash accused the flightless unicorn.

“Oh, Dash, I'm so sorry. If I'd have known you felt that way, I would have gone back in time and come out of my mother as a pegasus,” Twilight said this with the utmost sincerity, which caused Rainbow Dash and even Fluttershy to giggle.

“Hah, that's alright, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, “not everypony can be as cool and feathered as me. We'll think of something that doesn't involve bending, uh, space-time.”

“Glad to see all those books are improving your vocabulary.” Twilight chuckled for a moment and then stopped. “Wait. Maybe the sky is the answer!”

Twilight's two friends just stared at her, confused. The unicorn stood up excitedly.

“If you two fly up and create a big enough cloud, I could use my cloud-walking spell to sit on it, and then we could all follow the animals from the air!” she explained her plan, Rainbow Dash's smile growing wider by the second.

“Great idea!” Dash congratulated. “Wait right here!”

The speedster took off by herself, leaving Fluttershy in the dust. She ascended high into the sky, until she was able to touch the fluffy white wisps that populated it. Rainbow Dash pounded her hooves together and began to punch and kick the clouds into a pile. A particularly large cloud tried to escape in the chaos, but Dash dashed towards it and grabbed it from behind. She flipped into the air and drove the errant cloud into the rest of the wisps she'd gathered.

Rainbow Dash wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead, moved behind the makeshift sky raft, and lowered it to the ground where Twilight and Fluttershy were waiting.

“Alright, hop on!” Dash said excitedly.

“Hold on, I need to get the spell working first.” Twilight concentrated, and closed her eyes as her horn began to glow with its characteristic purple tinge. A purple aura covered her hooves and dissipated. After that she hopped atop the cloud and, thankfully, did not fall through. Fluttershy joined Twilight wordlessly.

“Alright, and now we're off to find Glowmelina!” Rainbow Dash said, and she proceeded to rocket the cloud back into the sky at high speed. Fluttershy screamed.

---

“Augh, just go into the Everfree Forest already!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the animals below from her perch on the cloud.

“This is getting a bit dull. They just keep going around and around in circles.” Twilight's eyes followed the herd as it continued to aimlessly wander. “The sun will be going down in another hour or so.”

“This is hardly the adventure I was looking forward to,” Dash huffed and pouted.

“But it is much safer,” Fluttershy said as she snuggled into the cloud with a faint smile. Rainbow Dash groaned pitifully and began to beat her hooves against the cloud. Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, turning to look back at the animals. Her eyes shot open wide.

“Actually Rainbow, you just might get your wish yet!” Twilight remarked, waving her hoof and calling the blue pegasus over to the edge. “You see that? This is the first time I've seen them heading in a straight line since we got up here.”

Indeed, the animals finally seemed to have a distinct heading. They were already nearing the forest.

“If they continue in their current direction, they'll reach the edge of the Everfree Forest in under a minute,” Twilight calculated.

“Awww yeah!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She jumped off of the cloud without another word, flying behind the skyward platform and pushing it at sub-sonic speed straight towards the tree-line. Fluttershy squealed, but her voice was devoured by the whipping wind. The cloud abruptly stopped, nearly sending Twilight and the yellow pegasus flying into the forest.

“And now we just have to wait until they enter the forest!” Rainbow Dash climbed back onto the stationary cloud and began to stomp her hooves in anticipation. She monitored the animals below anxiously, a manic smile on her face.

The manticore stopped just short of walking into the woods, the rest of the animals following its lead. A stray sheep ''baa'd'' in a questioning tone, and a boar replied with a haughty snort. The manticore silenced both of them with a leer and then pointed with two clawed fingers in two separate directions.

The animals nodded in unison and started to split up. Most of the wilder creatures braved the entrance to the Everfree Forest, while the animals carrying carts and bowls all followed the manticore's new path alongside the tree-line.

“Wow! Twilight, tell me this is not so totally queer!” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight smacked the side of her head with a hoof.

“This is just too bad. We can't follow all of them. I guess we'll just have to head home.” Fluttershy opened her wings and began to daintily flutter off the edge of the cloud, but Rainbow Dash grabbed the poor actress by the tail before she could get away.

“Oh no you don't,” Rainbow Dash admonished her friend, reeling the pink tail in and depositing Fluttershy back on the cloud. “This is easy. All we have to do is split up.”

“Hmm, I'm not so sure about that.” Twilight said, her face twisting in thought. “In the past, we've always succeeded by staying together.”

“I agree, I agree!” Fluttershy emphatically agreed with her unicorn friend, nodding her head repeatedly.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'll handle the big bad forest.” Dash thumped a hoof against her own chest. “You and Twi can just follow the silly old manticore.”

“I don't agree, I don't agree!” Fluttershy squealed and shook her head back and forth, but Dash had already flown off the cloud. The pegasus gently pushed the cloud back down to the ground.

“You two can hoof it from here, right?” Dash asked rhetorically, knocking the cloud away with a dismissive motion of her arm.

“Hold on, I'm not sure this is even necessary,” Twilight spoke up. “All the creatures carrying the wagons and bowls are heading off in one direction; if either of the two groups were heading back to Glowmelina, it would be them.”

“Hmm, an interesting theory,” Rainbow Dash admitted, before starting down the path through Everfree Forest, “but the rumors say Glowmelina lives in the forest. We can't leave any stone unturned, or any path unfollowed.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight worriedly called after her friend. The pegasus began to disappear into the shadows.

“Don't worry, I'll be fine!” The pegasus dismissed them. She heard a rustling in the bushes next to her. She stuck her head into the bush, and then pulled it out. “Oh hey Fluttershy, I think one of your chickens got loose agai-.”

There was a freakish hiss, and, in an instant, Rainbow Dash was turned to stone.

“Cockatrice...” Twilight sighed. “Of course.”

---

Twilight struggled to push the stone-gray Rainbow Dash up the gentle slope; Fluttershy tried to help, but could add little to the effort. The two struggled for an eternity, and finally made it to the top. Twilight looked out and saw that the entourage of animals was still out in front of them.

“Good, we haven't lost them,” Twilight Sparkle said, panting heavily and leaning against the petrified pegasus.

“Shouldn't we be trying to fix Rainbow Dash right now?” Fluttershy asked concernedly.

“There'll be time for that later. Besides, she did this to herself,” Twilight reasoned, hopping up and taking a seat on the statue's back. “Even if it was a reckless thing to do, Rainbow Dash got herself turned to stone trying to help us solve this mystery. She wouldn't want us to drop what we're doing just to help her.”

“Did you ask her that?” Fluttershy muttered under her breath.

“What?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy didn't repeat herself. “Anyways, I have the cure for petrification back at the library. As soon as we figure this thing out, we'll have Rainbow Dash good as new.”

“If you say so,” Fluttershy sighed, looking at the confused expression on Rainbow Dash's frozen face.

“Right. We won't let Rainbow Dash's sacrifice be in vain,” Twilight answered with a too-cheery smile. She looked back towards the animals, and her mouth fell open.

Where previously she had seen a line of animals carrying wagons and bowls, she now saw nothing at all. The tracks in the grass simply disappeared, just as if the animals had disappeared into thin air.

“No!” Twilight finally shouted as realization sunk in. “No! We came so far! We did so well! Except for Rainbow Dash, but, she'll get better!”

Fluttershy looked at what Twilight was seeing and sighed in relief.

“There there, Twilight. You did your best.” Fluttershy placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “Maybe it's like I said before. Maybe we just aren't supposed to find out about some things.”

“But that's not true! All my life I've been charged with finding the answers to questions that other ponies don't even ask. Even my job right now is to find out the nature of an abstract concept – friendship,” Twilight rapidly explained. “This glowmelon mystery is huge, and I can't just sweep it under the rug like I did with Pinkie Pie's pinkie sense.”

“I'm... I'm sorry, Twilight.” Fluttershy backed off a bit. Twilight's shoulders slumped and she shook her head.

“No, I'm the one who should apologize. It was clear you never wanted to come along with Dash and I, but I dragged you along anyway,” Twilight's voice was heavy with sadness and disappointment. “We'll take Rainbow Dash back to my place, and I'll fix her up with the potion Zecora gave me.”

“Okay. But please don't beat yourself up about this, Twilight,” Fluttershy responded, sounding almost as depressed as her friend. Twilight's head shook again.

“Don't worry about me, I'm fine,” Twilight replied, though her voice still carried the tinge of sadness. She hopped off of Rainbow Dash's back and stared back into the nothingness that the animal caravan had disappeared into. “I guess this is just one mystery that I won't be able to solve...”

Twilight continued to stare out into the distance for a while longer. But there was nothing out there. Just the setting sun, the sky, the grass, and the odd green glow.

“Wait... odd green glow?”

Twilight rubbed her eyes and looked again. Indeed, a small pulse of green light could just barely be made out against the duller green of the grass.

“Fluttershy, look!” Twilight grabbed Fluttershy's cheeks and pointed her face towards the glow.

“I don' shee anyshing,” the pegasus answered, squinting her eyes. But then the light grew much larger, and a portal began to open up.

All of a sudden, animals started to pour out of the empty space as if they had just walked out from behind a curtain. They were no longer carrying carts or bowls, and they dispersed throughout the field from the point where they had originated.

“This is great! Rainbow Dash, we'll be able to find out about Glowmelina after all!” Twilight dropped her friend's head to the ground and spoke to the statue.

“She can't hear you, you know,” Fluttershy pointed out with a raised eyebrow. Twilight barely noticed, paying full attention to where the animals were coming out of.

Soon, the trickle of critters slowed down and came to a complete stop, but, if the slight green glow was any indication, the door or portal that they'd come through was still open.

“Alright, it should be safe now. Let's go!” Twilight wiggled her rear like a cat eying a toy before bounding down the hill and towards the light.

“But what about...” Fluttershy began to speak, but Twilight was already out of earshot. Fluttershy sighed, and then felt a tiny foot against her hoof. She looked down to see a small white rabbit. “Oh, hi, Angel Bunny. Would you mind helping me get my friend down the hill?”

Angel stomped the ground a single time.

“I thought not.” Fluttershy sighed once more, and then moved behind the statue and began to push.

---

Twilight Sparkle passed a few animals as she ran towards the entrance. None of them were dangerous, so she didn't pay them much attention. Though she did spot a lone goose, which almost made her laugh.

It was only a short jog to the source of the light, and Twilight made it there at a good clip. She could see now that the glow seemed to be peering out of a crack, as if a door hadn't been fully closed. Using her intuition, she decided to see if there actually was a door. Her horn lit up, and a purple glow began to feel around the empty space in front of her. It latched onto something round and pulled, opening the portal wide.

“Wow!” Twilight couldn't help but remark at what she saw. Behind the door was a small garden, with glowmelons still fresh on the vine, pulsating with the light that had gained her attention. Twilight took a step inside. She could see the wagons and the bowls of seeds sitting against a wall that couldn't be seen, similar to how the door had been hidden.

“It's like an invisible shed. Except, I can still feel the wind and the sun,” Twilight thought to herself as she entered. The door closed behind her automatically, but she didn't pay it any attention. “This place is amazing!”

Twilight didn't see anypony or any other creature around. A few indiscernible posters decorated the invisible room, but otherwise, it appeared uninhabited.

“Hello? Is anypony here?” she called out, looking around eagerly. Nothing answered her, but she did hear a rustling from the far side of the shed. Twilight noticed a single glowmelon begin to slowly and dramatically rise into the air. “Glowmelina?!”

The glowmelon suddenly shot upwards, and underneath it, wearing the glowmelon like a hat, was the manticore. All of the color drained from Twilight's body.

“G-glowmelina?” Twilight asked a second time, much more hesitantly. The manticore replied with a ferocious roar.

The manticore charged straight for her.