Chapter 9 - Reconciliation
Twilight woke up, gasping for air. She struggled fervently as panic gripped her heart, her limbs getting tangled in the bedsheets and —
It was just a nightmare.
With a shuddering gasp Twilight fell still and allowed her racing heart to settle down. She was safe, in her bed. None of what she had witnessed was real.
After taking several deep breaths, she let out a long yawn and pushed her sweat soaked sheets aside as she got out of bed. It was certainly an effective nightmare. She felt exhausted, like she had barely gotten any rest at all. I suppose that’s what I get for reading until I fell asleep.
Reading about that stuff was one thing, but actually experiencing it, even in a dream… No. She shouldn’t dwell on it too much. The memory would probably pass in a few hours.
There had been something else though, at the end. A voice... and a string of numbers?
Pulling a parchment and quill from her bedside drawer, Twilight wrote down the letters and numbers still burned into her memory. They looked familiar somehow, but she couldn’t quite place it.
She yawned again and stretched before looking at her disheveled form in the mirror. The dark circles around her eyes and the unkempt state of her mane reflected exactly how she felt.
After making a few silly faces at herself, Twilight let out a sigh as the full memory of what all had transpired yesterday came back to her.
“This is going to be a long day,” she grumbled as she shuffled towards the bedroom door.
“Hey, Twilight. You feeling alright?”
Twilight groaned in response as she slumped over the kitchen table, watching Spike make breakfast out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, my mighty dragon breakfast special ought to give you some energy!” Spike said, turning and flashing Twilight a winning smile, before it fell to a more concerned expression. “But seriously… I know you’re not much for mornings, but this Fluttershy thing must be pretty bad.”
“It’s…” Twilight paused, closing her eyes and allowing the smell of breakfast to clear her head before continuing. “That smells really good, Spike. But this situation is pretty complicated. There’s probably a lesson about friendship in here somewhere, though I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
“Do you need me to write up a letter?” Spike asked, smirking.
Twilight laughed, pushing herself up from the table and stretching her neck. “No, that won’t be necessary. At least not yet anyway.”
Glancing down at the paper on the table, she levitated it over to where Spike was cooking. “Hey, does this mean anything to you?”
Spike pulled away from the pot he was stirring and stared at the paper, scratching his chin. “Hmm… Isn’t this some kind of library thing?”
A library thing? It didn’t seem like…
Twilight pulled the paper back, reciting the string out loud. “PZ1.K775 Bd…”
Realization flashed in Twilight’s mind, and she smacked herself in the face over how obvious it was. “Of course! This is a book classification for the Library of Celestia! It’s a very particular sorting method meant for large collections of books, but it’s generally only used in academic libraries.”
Spike looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “So you’re looking for a book we don’t have?”
“I’m not sure!” Twilight said excitedly. She got up and trotted over to the bookshelf and began scanning back and forth, her earlier lethargy forgotten. “I don’t know what this code refers to specifically, but we have a reference guide for that system here somewhere.”
“Is Fluttershy giving you really obscure books to look up or something?” Spike asked.
“Huh? No, nothing like that,” Twilight said, finding the guide she was looking for and beginning to page through it. “Actually, I was told to look up this book in a dream.”
Spike stared at her, blankly. “You’re receiving book recommendations in your dreams now? What’s next, sleep reading?”
Sleep reading? If only she could be that productive. Maybe she should have a chat with Luna.
Twilight matched the code to a book and, with delight, realized it was one they had here in the library. After a minute of searching, she found it and pulled the dusty tome off the shelves.
“’A Treatise on Mysteries,’ by Roan A. Knocks,” Twilight announced, holding the book up proudly.
“A mystery novel?” Spike asked. “Isn’t that one almost a century old?”
“It’s not so much a mystery novel as it is a collection of essays on the various facets of the mystery genre as a whole, including a somewhat famous set of ‘rules’ mystery authors should follow,” Twilight explained. This would be perfect for Fluttershy.
As glad as she was for this discovery, the circumstances surrounding it were weird. Was her subconscious trying to show her a way to make peace with her friend?
“Ooookay then,” Spike said, rolling his eyes. “Only you could get excited about something like that, Twilight. Anyway, breakfast is ready.”
Twilight’s heart fluttered as she ate. Not only had she found this book, but Spike was wrong. For once, she might not be the only pony who cared about something like this. Fluttershy had taken her first steps into the wide world of literature. Okay, maybe the attempt had ended in a total disaster, and that would usually be enough to scare Fluttershy away from something new, but if Twilight could handle it right, she might be able to coax her newfound interest into something greater.
All she had to do was go see Fluttershy, apologize profusely, and they could put the whole thing behind them.
Twilight’s face scrunched up as images of Fluttershy flickered through her mind. Her determination about the mystery, and her heartbreak as Twilight had vented her frustrations on her. Sure, it might be possible to forget about this whole thing and pretend it never happened. But Twilight had a feeling that Fluttershy was hoping for something more.
She had re-read the entire novel last night, but wasn’t any closer to solving the mystery. There were some things she hadn’t noticed at first that she caught the second time around, but nothing definitive. Still, she had to move forward and do the best she could. For Fluttershy’s sake.
“Uh, does it taste okay, Twilight?” Spike asked, a worried look on his face. “You look like something bit your tongue.”
Twilight swallowed her food, blushing slightly. “Sorry, Spike. It’s delicious. I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
Spike frowned, nodding as he drummed his claws on the table. “If you say so, Twilight. So what are your plans then?”
“Well…” Twilight said as she levitated her empty plate to the sink. “I plan to stop by the market to pick up a few things first, but after that I need to go to Fluttershy’s and apologize. I just hope she’ll give me the chance.”
“Uhhuh,” Spike said, crossing his arms and looking Twilight up and down. “Well, good luck.”
Twilight let out a sigh. “Thanks. I’m probably going to need it.”
Twilight walked through the Ponyville market with a satchel slung over her shoulder, soaking in the warm sunlight and the thrum of the ponies around her. As ragged as she felt both physically and mentally, the life and energy of the quiet little village she called home always had a rejuvenating effect on her.
“Hey, you there! The purple one with the wings and the horn! Over here!”
Twilight frowned as the unfamiliar voice called out to her and snapped her out of her reverie. She glanced around the market, trying to find out who it belonged to. Eventually she saw a light pink unicorn mare with a blond mane waving at her frantically from behind a stall.
Twilight trotted over to the stall in question. “Um… can I help you?” It wasn’t a stall or a pony she recognized, and a sloppily written banner spelled out, “We’re Absolutely Certain you’ll be satisfied!”
“Hiya! You must be that new princess I’ve heard so much about. I’m Absolute Certainty. Welcome to my candy shop!” she said, bowing slightly and tipping her pink beret.
Twilight grimaced inwardly, keeping her face a smiling mask. “Hi there, nice to meet you! I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle. I don’t think we’ve met before, so if you’re new here, then welcome to Ponyville!” She took a quick glance at Certainty’s cutie mark. It appeared to be an image of a solar system, except the stars and the planets were made out of candy.
“My candies are perfect if you or someone you know is feeling down. All of them exquisitely crafted by yours truly,” Certainty said, beaming with pride. “I put my heart and soul into everything I create!”
Twilight nodded politely at the sales pitch, idly scanning the shelves. She supposed it would be best if she went ahead and bought something. It’s not like candy would be unwelcome.
Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell upon the grisly display on the bottom shelf. “What is…?”
“Do you like it?” Certainty asked, grinning widely. “Those are my specially made bone-marzipan, gummy brains, and cotton candy gore!”
“This is, uh…” Twilight paused, trying to find a tactful thing to say as she looked over the gruesome candies. “Um, I’m pretty sure Nightmare Night isn’t for another four months…”
“Ponies should be able to enjoy gruesomely mundane spectacles any day of the year, if you ask me! Kind of makes you contemplate you own mortality and the fragility of life, don’t you think?” Certainty leaned forward, getting uncomfortably close to Twilight as she grinned wildly, a manic glint in her eyes.
Twilight was reminded of Pinkie Pie somewhat, but this pony came off a bit creepy rather than warm and full of smiles. “Uh, that’s definitely an interesting way of looking at things.”
Certainty pulled back and lowered her head. Her beret slipped down and pushed her short blonde mane into her eyes as she looked up at Twilight, pouting. “Nobody else seems to think so. I never sell any of them. Do you have any idea how much work it is to get the texture right on the brains?”
Twilight fought to keep her expression neutral. She was being played, she could feel it. “I guess I’ll take a couple of them.”
“That’s wonderful,” Certainty said, bouncing up. She levitated a number of the candies into a bag and wrapped it up, closing it with a ribbon and a pumpkin sticker. “That’ll be seven bits. And remember. If you desire something with absolute certainty, than come to Absolute Certainty!”
Twilight paid for the candies and bowed, leaving quickly. Maybe Spike would get a kick out of these.
Applejack finished lifting the last of the boxes onto the cart, wiping the sweat from her brow. "That oughta do it.”
"I cannot thank you enough for lending me a hoof with this, darling," Rarity said, telekinetically attaching the cart's harness to Applejack. "I try not to order in bulk very often, but these materials came at a great bargain."
"Ain't no sweat, Rar," Applejack said, grunting as she began to pull the heavy cart down the road. "Anything fer a friend."
The two of them walked side by side in silence for awhile, until Applejack noticed a familiar purple princess meandering through the crowd.
"Hey, Twilight!" Applejack called out with a wave. "How're you doin’?"
"Oh, hey!" Twilight brightened as she saw who it was, and waved back enthusiastically before trotting over. "Hi Applejack! And hi... Rarity?"
Twilight stopped, her mouth working soundlessly as she glanced between the two of them. Her face slowly turned beet red. "W-what are you two doing here? Together?"
Rarity raised an eyebrow, glancing at Applejack. "She's just helping me move some goods to the boutique."
Twilight stared at them blankly, still blushing before the words finally reached her and she jumped up, forcing a smile that was way too wide. "Ehehe... Just delivering goods! Of course, what else would it be..."
Applejack and Rarity shared another glance before looking back to Twilight, concerned. "Uh, sugarcube? You feelin' alright? No offense, but you're looking a bit run down."
"Me? Nope! I'm fine! Definitely, totally fine. I just happened to bump into two of my best friends in the marketplace. Together. Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Twilight backed away, gesticulating wildly as she spoke.
"Twilight, darling," Rarity said, fixing Twilight with a stern glare. "We know you well enough by now that we can tell when something is up. If you can't talk about it for whatever reason that's understandable, but don't pretend that everything is 'fine' when it clearly isn't."
"I..." Twilight let out a sigh, lowering her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. I can't really give you the details, but I kind of got into a fight with Fluttershy. I'm on my way to apologize to her right now."
Rarity hissed sharply, pursing her lips while Applejack stared blankly, blinking several times before letting out a low whistle.
"Shoot. Never expected that answer. You need help with anything? We all know how delicate Fluttershy can be."
Twilight shook her head. “No… I think this is something I have to handle on my own.”
“This… ‘fight’ you had,” Rarity said, glancing about before leaning in close and speaking with a low whisper. “Just what was it about, exactly?”
“It’s… complicated,” Twilight said. “I really shouldn’t get into details, but let’s just say I rather explicitly disliked a book Fluttershy obviously cared a lot about. I may have gone a little overboard in expressing my opinion.”
Rarity blinked, taken aback. “A… book? I see. Well, uh, good luck, Twilight. Do let me know if you need any assistance with this matter, will you?”
“Thanks, Rarity. I’ll do my best.” Twilight smiled, nodding to both mares. “I’d better get going. You two, um…” Twilight looked away, her blush returning. “Uh, have fun… helping each other.”
Turning away, Twilight practically galloped down the road.
After watching Twilight disappear into the distance, Applejack took off her hat, scratching her head. “Just what in tarnation was that all about?”
Rarity shook her head and clicked her tongue. “I have a bad feeling about this. Whenever Twilight gets into one of her ‘odd’ moods, nopony can predict what’s going to happen. I do hope Fluttershy will be alright, but it’s not our place to interfere.”
Applejack turned to her and raised an eyebrow, causing Rarity to blush.
“Not yet, anyway.”
Twilight slowed down to a walk, safely outside of town on the road to Fluttershy’s cottage, her heart still pounding in her chest. It was all just fictional. There was no good reason for her to be acting so foalish.
She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. This was shaping up to be a pretty awful day so far. Terrible, yet weirdly informative nightmares, crazy ponies selling candy, and she just had to bump into Applejack and Rarity during one of the odd occasions when they decided to spend time together. If she was a more superstitious pony, she might have taken it as a sign to turn around, go home, and try working things out with Fluttershy another day.
It only took a few more minutes to reach the cottage, and Twilight paused, hesitating outside the front door. She hoped Fluttershy would at least be willing to talk to her. Running through her carefully prepared speech one last time, Twilight reached a hoof up and knocked on the door.
After a minute with no answer, Twilight tried again, her confidence slipping. “Fluttershy? Are you in there? It’s me, Twilight. Look, I just want to talk, okay?”
There was shuffling sound from behind the door, and Twilight let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Forcing a warm smile as the door opened, her face fell and she blinked in surprise when, instead of Fluttershy, Angel opened the door.
“Oh… Uh, hey, Angel. Is Fluttershy in?” Twilight asked, trying to peer past him.
Angel began gesticulating wildly, shaking his fist at Twilight and pointing inside, all while chattering incomprehensibly. He pulled the door all the way open and scampered off, glancing back over his shoulder to angrily motion for her to follow.
Angel led her up to Fluttershy’s room, stopping outside and turning back to Twilight, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.
Twilight peeked around the corner and saw Fluttershy sitting there, hunched over a table with a quill in her mouth, furiously writing. She immediately noticed that the place was an absolute wreck. Candy wrappers, discarded sheets of paper, empty ink bottles, and other various bits of trash were strewn about the floor.
“Fluttershy…” Twilight mumbled, her mouth hanging open.
Fluttershy lazily turned to look at Twilight, and smiled softly. “Oh, hey Twilight. Good to see you. Um, sorry about the mess.”
Twilight stared, her planned apology evaporating from her mind in an instant. Fluttershy’s eyes were bloodshot, and there were thick dark circles under them. Her mane was frazzled, with stray hairs sticking up all over the place, and it generally looked like she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.
“Are you… okay?” Twilight said weakly, licking her lips and swallowing. “I know I said some hurtful things last night…”
Fluttershy turned her head slightly, staring at Twilight in incomprehension. She blinked several times, before the spark of understanding finally lit up in her eyes and she gasped lightly, her face falling as she looked to the floor.
“Oh, right. I’m sorry, Twilight. It was really all my fault. I’m not a very good writer, please forgive me.”
Twilight let out a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with a hoof. This wasn’t going at all like she had planned, and Fluttershy was barely conscious besides.
“That’s not true, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, moving over and placing a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “You’re a pretty good writer, especially considering it’s your first novel. I just… had some personal reservations about the direction of the plot. I’m sorry. I acted completely out of line, and said some mean things. I was lashing out because I was angry and hurt, but that’s no excuse to act like a jerk to a friend.”
Her words once again took time to reach the sleep deprived mind of Fluttershy, and she watched the delayed reaction as Fluttershy slowly turned a deep crimson, her eyes going wide.
“Y-you’re too kind, Twilight… I let myself get too wrapped up in the story I created, and in my idea on how everything would turn out, I didn’t really consider how it would make you feel.”
Twilight grinned, throwing her forelegs around Fluttershy in a hug. “Guess we can both go a little overboard sometimes, huh?”
“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, smiling. She pulled out of the hug, shaking her head and vigorously rubbing at her eyes.
“Seriously though, are you okay? You look absolutely exhausted,” Twilight said.
Fluttershy nodded, her eyelids drooping as she let out a yawn. “Nnn… I’m fine, Twilight, it’s okay. I’m almost finished anyways.”
“Finished with… what, exactly?” Twilight asked, a note of apprehension in her voice.
“The sequel, of course,” Fluttershy said as she moved back to her desk and picked up a quill.
Twilight stared blankly at the large stack of papers on the table. Had Fluttershy seriously written all of them in just one night? The idea of it was completely insane.
“How can there possibly be a sequel when everypony died at the end?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.”
“You’ll just have to read it and find out,” Fluttershy said, nodding absentmindedly. She stopped, turned to look at Twilight, and then blushed, shaking her head. “No, that’s not right. I can’t ask you to read this again… I’m just writing this for me.”
The thought of diving back into that literary world of nightmare twisted Twilight’s stomach, but she also felt that burning spark of curiosity in the back of her mind. “Did you plan to have a sequel this whole time, or did you just expand on it when I couldn’t figure it out?”
Fluttershy frowned, raising a hoof to her chin. “I’m not quite sure… I think I always had the basic idea that there would be more. The way I imagined everything and what I ended up writing didn’t match up the way I hoped they would. I don’t think I did a very good job of making the mystery solvable. I’m sorry. But, um, I’m still trying my best.”
“I see…” Twilight said, taking a deep breath. “Why… what made you decide to do all of this in the first place, Fluttershy? What are you trying to accomplish here?”
“O-oh…” Fluttershy closed her eyes and hung her head to the floor, pawing at the ground. She remained silent for a full minute before finally speaking up in a weak voice, refusing to look at Twilight. “They say a mystery novel is basically a puzzle. A contest between the author and the reader.
“I…” Fluttershy swallowed, looking up to meet Twilight’s gaze, blushing. “I wanted to create a puzzle that you would enjoy solving.”
Twilight found herself smiling. It was certainly an interesting sentiment, even if the execution had left something to be desired. “I suppose I can see what you’re trying to get at. I feel the same way about mystery novels, really. But if your goal is to get me to solve a puzzle, why not just make the puzzle and leave out all the extraneous narrative involving murder?”
Fluttershy raised a hoof to her chin, her brow furrowing as she considered the point. Eventually, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “A narrative can be just as much of a puzzle. And both the author’s and the reader’s investment in the answer is much higher.”
That was definitely true. A bare bones puzzle could be stimulating on an intellectual level, but a good narrative meant that you would care about the answer for more than just the answer’s sake.
Twilight chuckled softly, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize you had such a high concept view on writing, Fluttershy. When you first came to me asking me to read what you wrote, I expected something totally different. Had you explained your perspective from the start, well, this whole mess might have turned out a bit differently.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I’m not very good at explaining things,” Fluttershy said, ducking her head again.
“And I think that’s enough apologies for the both of us, for now,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I tried reading your story again last night, to see if there was anything I missed, but I’m afraid I still couldn’t figure it out. In any case, I brought something that might interest you as an author.”
Fluttershy perked up as Twilight levitated the satchel off her back and opened it up. She reached for the book she had found, but a thought occurred to her at the last minute instead.
“Here, I uh, brought you some candy,” Twilight said, levitating over the bag she had purchased earlier.
Fluttershy blinked a few times before smiling and opening up the bag. “Oh, thank you very much, Twilight. That’s very sweet of you, and –“
She stopped mid sentence, holding up the brain shaped gummy, staring at it in utter confusion.
“Um….” Fluttershy mumbled, looking to Twilight, glancing at the rest of the candy in the bag, then back at Twilight.
“It’s a joke! Because, you know, you wrote a novel that involves gore and stuff, so I bought some gory candy…” Twilight rambled, baring her teeth in a forced smile.
“Oh. Oh! Ahaha, now um, I get it…” Fluttershy said, her smile equally forced.
Twilight smacked her face with her hoof, groaning. “I’m sorry. That was dumb, forget it. Anyway, I also brought a book for you.”
“What? No, it was funny, Twilight, really. I’m just tired, that’s all…” Fluttershy said, the lie plain on her face.
Sighing, Twilight offered her the book. “This is ‘A Treatise on Mysteries,’ by Roan A. Knocks. He was a prolific mystery writer about a century ago, and was part of the golden age that codified many of the tropes and conventions mystery is known for. This book is sort of a collection of essays about the genre as a whole, including a somewhat famous list of ten commandments for mystery writers to follow, ‘Knocks’ Decalogue.’”
Twilight beamed as Fluttershy skimmed the old tome.
“Actually, Twilight, I have this book already. I did a lot of research for this, and it’s hard to write a mystery without at least considering Knocks' perspective. But thank you.”
Twilight blinked, her smile fading. That couldn’t be right. “Your story, Fluttershy, it’s not exactly…”
Fluttershy interrupted her, shaking her head. “I followed the rules, Twilight.”
She thought back, about the Decalogue and Fluttershy’s novel. Surely it had broken a rule somewhere? “What about the sequel?”
“Yep. I made sure to stick to it,” Fluttershy said, nodding.
There it was again. That burning spark of curiosity. To say Twilight was unsatisfied with the ending would be an understatement. In part because it was all so needlessly horrific. But also because she wanted to know the truth of what had happened to her fictional counterpart. Even if she couldn’t see how it was possible, Fluttershy was saying that there was more to this story.
There was something she noticed in the way Fluttershy had apologized, before and now. She was sorry for hurting Twilight. She was sorry for failing to make the mystery clear enough, and sorry for being inconsiderate of Twilight’s perspective. But she never once apologized for writing what she did, and how she did it. For whatever reason, her conviction was absolute.
So here she was. The sequel was liable to be more of the same. Death. Suffering. Tragedy. It would be easy enough to walk away, here and now, and never step into that world again. Fluttershy would be disappointed, but she would understand. Twilight had no obligation to continue reading, especially after what had already happened. Like a cat trapped in a box, if she never bothered to read what was on those pages, she would never know the answer, but would also never have to experience whatever suffering they might contain.
Twilight chuckled softly, mumbling something under her breath.
“Um, what was that?” Fluttershy asked. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I said…” Twilight paused, looking up as a grin stretched across her face. “I’ll read it. Your sequel.”
Fluttershy’s eyes went wide and she dropped the book she was holding to the floor. “N-no, you don’t have to do that because of me, Twilight, I mean it. It’s more of the same. I’m sure you’d really hate going through all of that again.”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m serious, I want to read it. Does this one have a happy ending?”
Fluttershy pursed her lips, looking away. “That depends on you…”
A flare of excitement welled up in Twilight’s heart. Fluttershy had some unconventional ideas about storytelling and audience participation. But now that she had experienced loss once… she was the protagonist. She wanted to fight, to win, and to see justice done.
“That settles it, Fluttershy. I’m going to do my best to solve your mystery. That is, if you think it’s ready.”
Fluttershy’s expression changed slowly, her smile growing radiant and her eyes filling with a bright hope that seemed to wash away her exhaustion.
“Oh thank you thank you thank you!” Fluttershy leapt forward, throwing her forelegs around Twilight’s next and bouncing excitedly. “I worked oh so hard on this one! Now, the theme is a bit different, and I’ve tried to clarify some things better and the puzzles are a little more explicit and the conflict is –“
Smiling, Twilight put a hoof over Fluttershy’s mouth and then extracted herself from her grasp. “No need to spoil everything. Don’t worry, I’ll get to it.”
Fluttershy continued to bounce around the room as if she had been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie.
“So, when do you think it’ll be ready?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, right now should be fine. I only needed to put a few more things in at the end.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Really? Are you certain about that? You don’t want to maybe take a step back, get some sleep, do some editing…”
Fluttershy nodded. “Absolutely. I’m confident that I nailed it this time Twilight, so we can start whenever you’re ready.”
Twilight watched as Fluttershy started slowly leaning to one side. She nearly toppled over before Twilight reached out and caught her with her magic. “I think you should probably get some rest first. “
“Oh, no, I’ll be fine, really…” Fluttershy rubbed at her eyes, yawning. “And I still have to take care of my animals. I may have been a bit neglectful.”
Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight saw Angel Bunny still waiting in the door frame, rolling his eyes. “How about we head back to the library, then? I can send Spike over to watch the animals for a day, and then I’ll get started on the sequel, and you can take a nap in peace and quiet.”
Angel Bunny seemed to dislike this idea rather emphatically, but Fluttershy smiled and began packing up her things. “That sounds like a great idea, Twilight.”
Getting back to the library with Fluttershy was more of a chore than it should have been, since she kept nodding off mid stride. By the time Twilight reached her front door, she was practically carrying the pegasus with levitation to make sure she kept going in a straight line.
“Nnnn…” Fluttershy yawned, pawing at the ground. “Is this for me, Twilight? You really shouldn’t have…”
“Is what—“ Twilight began to ask, but saw that Fluttershy had noticed what appeared to be a present in the bushes outside her house.
“Sorry, but I’m not sure what this is. Maybe it’s something Spike ordered,” Twilight said, levitating the package along as she opened the door.
“Spike, I’m home! Come here, I’ve got something I need you to do!” Twilight called out as she entered the library.
“What do you need, Twilight?” Spike asked as he came down the stairs.
“Can you go watch over Fluttershy’s animals for the day? We’ve got some uh… stuff we need to work out.”
Spike raised an eyebrow, looking over the two of them. Fluttershy was very poignantly interested in a particular spot on the wall. “Is uh, everything okay?’
Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy and winced slightly. “Yeah… Don’t worry, I can handle everything. I’ll explain this all to you later, I promise.”
Spike sighed, sinking his face into his palm. “I guess I’ll go get my rabbit caretaking kit,” he said as he moved towards the cupboard where the pots and pans were kept.
Spike begrudgingly set off while Fluttershy collapsed onto the cushions, eyelids flickering as she slipped in and out of consciousness.
Shoot. She had forgotten to ask Spike about the package. It wasn’t labeled, though, so it wouldn’t really be a problem if she just went ahead and opened it.
Yellow eyes stared at her from within.
“Mrw.”
Her mouth hanging open, Twilight watched as a sleek black cat stretched inside the present-box then lazily stepped out, looking around the library with feline indifference.
“Awww… I didn’t know you were getting a cat, Twilight. You should have said something,” Fluttershy said, the presence of a cute animal apparently enough to rouse her from her stupor.
“I didn’t…” Twilight mumbled. Who in Equestria would send her a cat? This was a little off the wall, even for Pinkie Pie. And the punchline was missing, besides.
The cat walked across the table, jumped down, found a cushion, and settled in, yawning.
“Do you have a name, little one? Cats really shouldn’t be delivered in boxes like that, but you seem to be okay, so I’m glad,” Fluttershy said, continuing her adoration of the mysterious animal.
Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea why there was a cat at my doorstep, Fluttershy, and I’m not really in the market for another pet right now. If nopony shows up later to claim her, would you mind taking her in?”
“Aww, but I think she likes you, Twilight!”
The cat stared at Twilight with cold indifference, blinking once before turning to lick her paw.
Twilight pursed her lips, staring back at the animal. This was all really too out of the blue to deal with right now. It was just a cat, and she had more important things to worry about at the moment. She had a feeling this would work itself out later, anyway.
“Alright, I guess we’ll just have a bit of an audience, then. Is that okay?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy continued to coo sweet nothings at the cat, so Twilight levitated the roughly written stack of papers before her and took a deep breath. Here I go again...
“This is a work of fiction. Names, characters…” Twilight started to read out loud, but stopped, turning to raise an eyebrow at Fluttershy. “Uh, I think it’s a little late for a disclaimer like this, don’t you think?”
Fluttershy blushed and looked away. “I just wanted to make it clear…”
Twilight smiled, shaking her head with a sigh. “If you say so.” She quickly skimmed down the rest of the page, noticing something odd.
“Uh, Fluttershy, is Applejack the protagonist now?”
Fluttershy blinked and then shook her head. “No. Well, I mean, she’s the protagonist for the prologue chapters, but you’re still the main protagonist.”
“Despite being dead?” Twilight asked incredulously.
“Like I said, you’ll see,” Fluttershy said, yawning.
“I think I’ll read to myself this time, if you don’t mind. You need to get some sleep.”
Fluttershy nodded, her eyes already drooping closed.
Twilight glanced up to the top of the page, noting that Fluttershy had bothered to put the title in this time.
“The Challenge of Golden Wish.”
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I would say that I'm absolutely certain that this new character is too perky to be trusted, but I am above such bad puns. So I will settle for "reasonably confident." It lacks conviction, but has the upside of not being a pun.
The awkwardness between sheepish Twi and sleepy Shy was oddly enjoyable (might I just point out how much trouble I'm having saying "sheepish Twi and sleepy Shy" out loud? I even made a mistake while typing it...). Looking forward to the sequel, most apparently just to find out how there possibly can be a sequel.
I can't believe I never thought to check the Library of Congress... Though now that I think of it, I don't believe I've ever been there, either in person or on the LoC website. Maybe my forgetfulness can be excused on those grounds.
I'm going to visit it right now just to change that.
Ugh, someday I will catch up to date on this fic!
I am a terrible mystery reader, I cannot seem to note clues unless they are blatantly obvious. Everything that is going on here is making little sense to me, and that just makes me want to read on and see if things will clarify more. Great work so far man, keep it up!
4489802 Glad you're still sticking with it!
Though I can't say that things get easier moving forward. Probably the opposite, really.
But even if mystery isn't your strong point, I'd like to think the ride should be an entertaining one, to the point where it all makes sense in the end.
I am so engrossed right now. But I need to understand the name of the game. So the first mystery was actually solvable? The rules will help us. Each arc will cover a mystery that can be reasoned with if the reader can get past the gore? However, the mystery of why Shy would do this seems to be the hardest of all. I'll enjoy the challenge but I am going to tear my brains out for trying to solve the mystery.
Uh oh. Berkanstel expy first and now a Lambdadelta expy. Bad things happen with those two. Really bad things.
....
Twilight?
I know you're not normally ... cruel.
But it might be a good idea to feed the cat to the candy seller, and then fire them both into the sun.
The fact that Twilight noticed the deliberate construction of the apology meant the author wanted to draw our attention to this. Being who I am, I noted it anyway, but it means that the author was very mindful of the state of the character's mind (even in this sleep deprived state) which shows that Fluttershy can be rather calculating. Which, as far as I could guess by this point, supposed to indicate something insidious is within FS's mind, be it native or invasive.
Looking forward to seeing what this amounts to.
I'm still very much enjoying this. It's rare that a story manages to subvert my expectations so completely.
umm is is bad that i didnt get the first mystery down
5934743 Twilight Sparkle didn't get it, and she's a huge bookworm.
4167288 This is based of Umineko, the new charcter called herself absolute certainty... Oh... oh.. her
Challenge Accepted ya stupid freak. This is our second chance to discover the "Truth". Gonna need the right music to listen to. *plays the Phoenix Wright soundtrack.*