S1 CH 14. Ponyville under watch
Twilight let out a soft sigh of relief when the small town came into view off in the distance. The wind blew through her mane and the cold nipped at her hooves, but finally they were almost there and everything would be better soon.
Two pegasi pulled the chariot, two guards who had been more than happy to give her a lift. She couldn't deny that they also looked a tad sheepish when they offered. She idly wondered if they had been some of the ones who had been mad at her for her apparent betrayal to Celestia. At least most the guards seemed to understand what she was doing finally.
Or, if they didn't, they were at least keeping it to themselves.
The chariot began to lower and then gently came to a rest on the ground in the city's courtyard. She let out a soft sigh of relief before jumping out. “Okay, Spike, let's--” She paused and looked around. “Spike?”
“Ohhhhhhh...” She heard coming from the chariot.
She glanced back and cringed at the sight. The poor dragon was on the ground, clutching his stomach. She trotted closer and gently pulled him close. “Spike? Are you okay?”
“F-fine,” he groaned.
“Have you ever flown before?”
“N-no,” he mumbled.
“But you're a dragon! You have wings and...” She glanced to his back. “Oh. You WILL have wings.”
“I-I'm fine,” he lied, closing his eyes.
She sighed again and gently rocked him. “There there. Let's get you a soda water, okay? The bubbles will calm your stomach.” She then looked to the guards. “Thank you for the ride. You can head back whenever you wish, I'll take the train back.” She paused for a minute. “If you want to stick around for a few hours and take in the sights, you can say I asked you to wait for a bit and then changed my mind after.”
The two guards shared a grin before saluting her. “Of course, Lady Twilight.”
She nodded before, gently, nudging Spike onto her back and trotting to the nearest shop. Soon armed with a bottle of carbonated beverage and less nauseous Spike, the two made their way towards the Carousel Boutique.
She frowned when she came close. Every single light on it seemed to be on. Every room was lit up and she could see lamps through the windows. “Is she having a party? I hope I'm not intruding.”
She gently knocked on the door.
After a few moments the door opened and Rarity lunged out, wielding a bat. The bat shrieked indignantly. Twilight squeaked and recoiled. “It's me! Twilight!”
“Twilight? What? Come in!” the mare yelled, grabbing her hooves and yanking her inside. Twilight let out another shriek before toppling in, the door slamming shut behind her. She laid there in a heap on the floor, bewildered.
“Err... Rarity? Is everything okay?”
“No! Everything is not okay! It's watching, I can feel it. It's here, even with all the lights on! I know it is, I know!”
“Err... Rarity?”
“It's always there! Always somewhere, the moment the lights come out, it comes. But no pony believes me! But you believe me, right Twilight?” Rarity asked. The poor unicorn looked horrendously disheveled. Her normally pristine mane was wild with loose hairs and she had bags under her eyes.
“Err... are you... ummm... what? Have you been sleeping okay?”
“No! Can't sleep! Lights might go out if I sleep! What if it trips a breaker? What if it shuts off the power? No no no no! Have to keep the lights on, all the time, only way!”
Twilight cocked her head to the side before looking to Spike. “She's normally not like this, I swear.”
“WHAT'S THAT?!” Rarity shrieked, pointing the bat at him.
“I'm Spike,” he said with a huff. “A dragon.”
“Dragon? You sure? Right! Dragon, good. Dragons use fire, right? Yes yes!”
Twilight just stared. She couldn't imagine what horror was going on here to drive her friend into such a state. She slowly guided Spike over towards the couch and softly put him on it. “Rarity? How about I make us some tea and we can talk it out, okay? You can tell me everything that's going on!”
“No! No no! Tea makes me sleepy! Can't sleep! Coffee, just, just coffee!”
“I'm going to say tea,” Twilight said before slowly moving to her friend. Gently she nudged the bat out of her grip, who flew up to the rafters and glowered angrily at them both, squeaking indignantly. She then gently guided Rarity down to the couch. “Here. Just sit down. Okay? Relax. I'll be right back.”
“B-but the lights, if they--”
“I'll make sure none of the lights go out. I promise. Okay?”
Rarity nodded and gave a little whimper, lightly rubbing her hooves together anxiously.
Twilight sighed and trotted towards the kitchen, pushing the door open. The smell of coffee grounds filled her nostril and she could see the remains of used beans over filling the trash can, some spilling on the floor. She couldn't imagine how much the mare had drank in the last few days. Or week. There were five lamps in the room as well, all plugged in.
She was tempted to shut a few of them off, but she was afraid to set Rarity off again. Instead she merely tried to clean out the coffee maker, before finally she dumped it out and just trashed the whole thing. It was so burnt she couldn't imagine how foul the coffee had tasted. She then pulled out a pot and some tea bags and began brewing it up.
She just couldn't believe how horrible the place looked. While she waited for the water to boil, she started picking up trash, half eaten meals, broken light bulbs, empty boxes of light bulbs, coffee grounds. By the time she was all finished there were two more bags filled with trash.
She'd never imagined the mare living in such a way. Whatever had done this to her must have been horrible. The tea finally boiled and she quickly filled up a tea pot and put it on the tray, trotting outside.
Spike, meanwhile, was once again finding himself being used as a stuffed animal as Rarity hugged him to her chest, nervously petting his scales. She suspected he was getting used to it by now.
“Okay. Now why don't you tell me exactly what happened?” Twilight asked. She gently put the tea on the coffee table and started pouring a cup. She then held one out to the mare. Rarity took it in her magic and took a soft, gentle sip.
“It... it was horrible. Some kind of... some kind of monster!”
“Where?”
“It was in my house! I didn't think it was here. In fact, I was sure I was just imagining it. That it didn't, that it was just...” she gave another shudder, spilling some of her tea over herself and Spike.
“Hey, watch it!” the dragon objected, before pulling free.
Rarity merely hugged herself and gave a light sniffle. “I just... I... I was just...” She sighed again. “I thought it was one of my ponyquins. Or a trick of the shadows. I turned off my lights and there it was, in my creation room. But then when I turned the lights back on, it was gone. I was so sure it was my imagination, I tried not to think anything of it.” She then shuddered. “Then... then it came into my room. I turned off my light and it was there, in the room. I turned off my light and then back on and... and I burned out the bulb.” She shuddered again. “Then it... it was horrible.” She gave a light sob. “It was so, so horrible. It had a... it had no face! It was some kind of ghost, just... just...”
Twilight blinked, her mouth falling open. “Gray, two empty eyes, no mouth or nose?”
“Exactly!” Rarity said with a nod. “I-I left the house as quick as I could, before it could get me! But it followed me! Nopony else seemed to notice it, though. I brought Rainbow here but she said I was imagining it!” Her breathing was getting faster and her eyes going to little pinpricks. “I-I just, every shadow might be it I-I don't know what it wants, I don't know--”
“Rarity, it's okay. You're okay,” Twilight said, cutting the mare off.
“I'm not crazy! I know it's there! I know it is! I--”
“It's real,” Twilight said quickly.
The unicorn blinked. “You... you believe me?”
“It's called a shade. It's one of Nightmare Moon's creatures.”
Rarity blinked, slowly lowering the cup. “What.”
“It's...” She paused. “Long story short. Vampires and wereponies are real. They, along with these shades, have been hiding amongst us for a very long time and now that Nightmare Moon is back, they're revealing themselves. But they're friendly, they won't do anything to harm us. I don't know what this shade wants, but it won't hurt you, okay?”
Rarity stared at her. “W-what? You mean this... this thing is...”
“As... far as I could tell, it was some kind of cursed pony. Trapped in... well... it's likely more scared of us than we are of it. Now, we need to make contact.”
“M-make contact? With that?!” Rarity shrieked, shaking her head. “W-we can't! There's no telling what--”
“It's okay. It's going to be okay. I promise. I know what these things are and they won't hurt you. I'm pretty sure they CAN'T hurt you.”
Rarity gulped, nervously setting her tea down. She then looked uneasily at Twilight. “And... and you're CERTAIN, absolutely CERTAIN that it won't do anything?”
“I give my word. Now. I need to go find it, okay?”
Rarity nodded nervously. “O-okay. But... leave the light on?”
“Of course. I'll have to turn off the other lights, but I'll leave the ones in here. Spike? Keep an eye on her.”
“Aye aye,” the dragon muttered.
Twilight took another soft sigh before walking to the kitchen. One by one she shut off all the lights and looked around. “Shade? Are you in here?” she called out. There was nothing. She then shrugged and started going, one by one, to all of the rooms in the house. She didn't envy Rarity's next electricity bill.
Finally, she came to the room filled with ponyquins and saw an extra one standing in front of them. She couldn't blame Rarity for feeling so unsettled by the creature. It looked like a statue in the darkness, unmoving. She tapped her hoof on the ground. “Hey, you. Shade.”
It turned and stared at her with empty, hollow eyes.
“Come on, we're having tea. I'm not sure why you're here, but you really freaked Rarity out and you should at least apologize. Come on, I'll shut off the lights so you can come.”
The creature merely nodded. She started walking down the hall, a light chill going down her spine. Even though she couldn't see it with the lights on, she was certain it was still there. Following her. Once she came down to the front room, she started turning off the other lights. Rarity let out a soft, frightened squeak.
“It's okay,” Twilight said quickly. “It won't hurt you. I'm here. I promise.”
Rarity nodded meekly. One by one the lights went off until, finally, only the dimmest one remained. Twilight set it up near them, allowing the shadows to spread across the room.
After a few moments a shadowy figure appeared on the steps. Rarity let out another shriek, but Twilight quickly reached out and pet her back. “Easy, easy. It's okay. See? You're not a danger, right?” she called out to the creature.
It stepped into the room fully and shook its head. There was just enough light to reveal it. Twilight shuddered. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be here with that thing watching over her. “So, why are you here?”
The shade merely stared at her.
“Right, shoot. You can't speak,” Twilight said with a sigh. She tried to imagine why the creature would be here of all places. “Are you lost?”
It shook its head.
“So you meant to come to Rarity's?”
It nodded.
She blinked and her eyes narrowed. “Did Nightmare Moon send you?”
Slowly the creature nodded.
Twilight glanced to Rarity. “To watch my friends?”
Another nod.
“Are you planning to hurt her?”
The creature rapidly shook its head, so fast its entire body shook.
“You know you were scaring her, don't you?”
The creature didn't move for a few minutes. Then, slowly, it nodded.
“How long were you supposed to...” She paused. “Were you supposed to watch her much longer?”
It shook its head.
The earth pony cocked her head to the side. “Were you supposed to stop by now?”
There was a long moment and then it nodded. Somehow it managed to look ashamed.
“Were... you supposed to stop before now?”
It then nodded again.
“Then why didn't you?”
It stared at her again, before pointing a hoof up the steps. Twilight blinked and glanced to Rarity. “I think it wants us to follow it?”
“Are... are you absolutely sure it's safe? It can't hurt us?”
“Yes, I'm sure. Nightmare Moon would... likely be furious if anything happened to us. And I don't think it can do anything, anyway. It's really just a pony that's... a bit different looking. I think. Come on.” She started to trot towards the shade. It turned and started walking up the steps. The creature disappeared back into the fabric room and Twilight turned the hallway light on, sending a little bit of light into the room. The creature stood by one of the ponyquins and pointed towards it.
“What?” Twilight asked. “You wanted one of them?”
It shook its head.
Rarity frowned and rubbed her chin. Her eyes went wide. “You... liked them?”
It nodded quickly.
Twilight blinked. “Wait, they can do that? Nightmare Moon said...” She paused. “Well... maybe she just doesn't know everything about them. Okay. So... ummmm...” She looked to Rarity. “Okay, shade. You need to leave. You're scaring my friend and you can't stay here anymore. Understand?”
The shade hung its head before giving a nod. Rarity stared for a moment before sighing. “Wait.”
“Wait?” Twilight asked. “Why?”
“It's... harmless you said, right?” Rarity asked, before slowly stepping forward.
“Err, Rarity, what are you doing?”
“Just... ummm... trying something.” The unicorn moved a little closer, inch by inch. Finally, she reached out and touched the shade's side. The thing didn't move. “It's very... cold.”
“So you can feel it?”
“Kind of. It's not really...” Rarity eeped and pulled back. “I'm sorry, did that bother you?”
The shade shook its head.
“Do you mind me touching you?”
It shook its head again.
She nodded and reached out and touched it again. “If... its harm...” She paused again. “Are you a mare or a stallion?”
It shook its head.
She sighed again. “Are you a mare?”
It shrugged.
“A stallion?”
Another shrug.
“You don't know?”
It nodded.
“Are you okay with us calling you... uhhh... it?”
It nodded.
“Okay. If it's harmless and is just admiring my dresses, I... don't suppose its so bad it coming around here. You can't stay, though,” she said quickly. “But... you may visit. So long as you swear not to sneak up on me or give me any more startles like that, okay?”
It gave a nod. Twilight couldn't be sure, but she thought it looked oddly happy. For something without a face.
She let out another sigh of relief. “Nightmare Moon knows a spell to talk with them,” Twilight said.
“Really? Perhaps I'll look into that, then. Well, if she reveals that information to other ponies at least,” Rarity said before trotting out from the room. “If you don't mind, though, this whole ordeal has left me a little... rattled. I think I need a nice, long bath and a very, very long nap. I don't think I'll be able to look at a cup of coffee for weeks.”
Twilight nodded. “Definitely. I'll see you--” Her eyes went wide. “Rainbow! Fluttershy!”
“Come again?”
“If Nightmare Moon sent something to watch you, she might have sent something to watch them, too!”
Rarity blinked, before giving a nod. “I... suppose. I couldn't imagine why she'd send somepony to spy on Fluttershy, though. But Rainbow, yes. Though I saw her a few days ago, she was going on and on about some Shadowbolts. I'm afraid I couldn't quite grasp what she meant, though. I was still in a bit of a... tizzy.”
Twilight blinked. “So she was okay?”
“Of course. And Fluttershy... well... I haven't seen her in a while. Though I suppose that is my fault. If you see her, do let her know I still intend to make our next spa session, okay? I think I may have missed a few... The last few... well... it has been positively dreadful.” She shook her head and gave a light yawn. “I'm sure they're fine, though. I'm sure Nightmare Moon only sent that to watch me because of the work I've been doing on the castle. There is nothing to worry about.”
Twilight nodded. “Still, I'd feel a lot better if I went and checked on them.” She looked the unicorn up and down. “Get some sleep, okay Rarity? I'll see you later. I need to talk with them about some things anyway.” She trotted down the hall and paused. “I cleaned up the kitchen a bit too. Just get some sleep, okay?”
“I will, darling. Trust me, now that this is... over...” Rarity glanced towards the fabric room again, eying the shade. It was staring at one of her gowns. “I like that one as well. I think it'll be truly fabulous once I'm finished. Perhaps a red ribbon?”
The shade nodded.
Twilight started to head towards the door, before stopping. “Ummm, Rarity?”
“Yes, Twilight darling?”
“Where do Rainbow and Fluttershy live?”
The fashionista gave a soft sigh of exasperation.
------
Twilight trotted through the town towards Rainbow's home. Or, at least, where she suspected Rainbow lived. She'd been told it was a great cloud house and Ponyville wasn't exactly drowning in them. She was already feeling her nerves beginning to calm and rest easy.
It made sense that Rarity was being watched. On top of that, the unicorn had seen Rainbow a little while ago, so everything was likely good. The shade had been a bit intimidating, but it hadn't meant any harm, so whatever was going on with Rainbow was likely fine.
While she didn't have exact directions, she could see three cloud houses from the town. She chose the most over the top one first. It stuck out like a great neon cloud that yelled 'look at me' and she couldn't imagine Rainbow living anywhere else.
She trotted through the town towards it, shaking her head. There was a light on, so she suspected at least somepony was home. However, when she arrived by it, a frown formed on her face as she hit a small conundrum. She rubbed her chin and looked up.
“So... how are we going to get up there?” Spike asked.
“I... haven't thought that far ahead,” she said sheepishly.
He gave a little snort. “Really?”
“S-shut up! I don't see you coming up with any ideas!”
“Going home?”
“Any GOOD ideas.”
She looked around for a few minutes before finally her eyes lit up. “I've got it!” She grabbed a stone, tossed it up and bucked as hard as she could.
It flew up barely ten feet and in the wrong direction. Spike fell over laughing.
Her cheeks burned red. “S-shut up! I-I've never been good at hoofball okay!”
He just laughed, pretending to cover his mouth while shaking his head. She glowered at him.
“What's going on down there?” Rainbow called from above.
“Nothing! I'm fine, don't even--” She paused and blinked, looking up. “Rainbow?”
“Yeah, who else? Twilight, is that you? What are you doing down there?”
“Oh, I needed to talk to you! Can I come up!” She then paused. “Well, actually, can you come down?”
“Yeah, sure.” There was a light flapping of wings then Rainbow shot off the side of the house, drifting down. “What's up?”
“So, I just saw Rarity and--”
“Oh my gosh, is she okay? Like, she was totally flipping out last time I saw her. Kept talking about ghosts and stuff. I tried to get her to go to Applejack's or something, but she kicked me out of her house!”
“Yeah, she's fine. Turns out Nightmare Moon sent a shade to spy on her.”
“A what?”
“A shade. It's... kind of like a ghost. It's fine, though. It was completely harmless and had absolutely no intention of hurting her in any way. She's completely safe and secure now. I need to talk to you, though. Has there been anypony... strange lately? Have you seen anything watching you in the shadows? Ponies that are there when the lights are out, but disappear when they come on?”
“You sound kind of like Rarity now...”
“Listen, have you?”
“No, I haven't seen anything like that! Just what in the world is going on with you two?” Rainbow asked, giving a quizzical look.
She sighed and relaxed. “It's a long story. I'm just happy you're okay. Has anything been going on?”
She frowned and rubbed her chin, before shrugging. “Well, I got invited into the Shadowbolts.”
“The what a what?”
“The Shadowbolts! They're like, a new flying team! Apparently a bunch of the Wonderbolts are making them up! Rebranding with the whole... ummmm... eternal night thing. They were scouting fresh talent and I was their number one pick! They'll be getting back to me about training! It's going to be sooooo coooooool!” She gave a little squeal of delight.
Twilight blinked, cocking her head to the side. “Oh. Err... in that case. Congratulations,” she said with a nod. “So nothing bad has been happening? At all?”
“Nope. Nopony has been spying on me. Met with a few of the others. Shadowbolts. You should see our uniforms! We're looking AWESOME! I still need to train my replacement, though. You know, for the whole... taking care of the weather thing. But other than that, it's super awesome!”
She nodded. “Oh. Okay then. I guess all that's left is Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy? Why?”
“Well... I thought if she was spying on Rarity, she might be spying on you and Fluttershy too. But if you're not being spied on, I'm sure Fluttershy isn't either. It's probably just me worrying about nothing.”
Rainbow frowned and gave a nod. “Maybe. But, hey. How about I come with you? I mean, even if it's nothing, Fluttershy is still my best bud. Gotta keep an eye out for her and everything.”
She nodded. “If you want.”
“Cool. So. Can't help but notice you got a pet iquana.”
“DRAGON!” Spike yelled.
“Yeah, that. When'd that happen? You have it all along, or that new?”
Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead. “It's a long story. Spike, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Spike. He's... kind of my pet. Though I like to think of him as more of an assistant.”
There was a long moment of silence. Then Spike spoke up. “You think of me as an assistant?”
“Sure. My number one assistant,” she said with a smile. “Now, come on. There's a lot to tell you. You're never going to believe what I found out this week, working with Nightmare Moon. Vampires, wereponies and shades are all real! So she...”
------
Twilight cringed when they came up the path to Fluttershy's cabin. The lights were all off. “You... you don't think she's sleeping, do you?”
“Maybe. It's kind of hard to know when anypony is sleeping anymore. No sun and all that,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Maybe? She--” The pegasus stopped. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Do you hear that?”
Twilight frowned and listened. “I don't hear anything. It's not even windy.”
“Exactly,” Rainbow said, looking worried. “There's no sounds of animals. No chirping, no meowing, no splashing. Nothing,” she said softly.
Twilight blinked a few more times. “Is that bad?”
“That's horrible!” the pegasus yelled before galloping forward. Twilight galloped after her, though her heart sunk into her hooves when they came closer.
The front door of the house was off its hinges, laying on the ground. Rainbow raced in first, before letting out a shriek of pain. Twilight raced after her and gasped. A little bunny had latched onto the pegasus' face and was beating her senseless with a carrot. Rainbow shook her head, finally flinging it off, fury in her eyes. “Why you little--”
“Wait!” Twilight said, grabbing her hoof. The bunny stood, armed and dangerous, but then it stopped and stared at them. It dropped the carrot and started gesturing wildly with its little paws, hopping around and then holding up two paws over its mouth. The earth pony sighed and then looked around.
The house had been trashed. All manners of little toys and exercise areas for pets had been scattered across the floor, scratching posts had been knocked over, bird cages lay broken on the floor. There were still a few animals in the room, huddled in broken homes and staring out fearfully. Worst of all, though, was the blood. Smeared into the carpet by the coffee table and on the edge. There wasn't a lot of it, but there was enough.
“What... happened here?” The bunny started making gestures wildly again, though she couldn't make heads or tails of it. “We need to go back to town,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “We need to get help, there's no time for--”
“Buck that!” Rainbow yelled. “Fluttershy could need us! Whoever did this might still have her.” Her voice was flooded with panic. “We need to find her, now!”
“Find her how? We don't know where she is! We don't know-- OW!” Twilight let out a shriek when the bunny hopped on her head. He gave her a solid thump before grabbing her ears and steering her outside. “Ow ow ow ow! Stop it! Stop it!” Once she was out, he hopped down and gestured towards the woods.
“She was taken there?” the earth pony asked. The bunny nodded rapidly.
Rainbow nodded. “Then that's where I'm going. If you need to, go get help. But I'm not making Fluttershy wait a moment longer than normal.”
Twilight watched helplessly as the rainbow maned pony started off, then it clicked. “Wait! Rainbow, wait a few seconds.”
“Twilight, time is wasting, Fluttershy--”
“Yes, but we might need help, and I'm going to call for it.” She rummaged in her bags and tore out a piece of paper and pen, quickly writing on it before holding it out to the bunny. “Take this, let them know where we went.” She then looked to Rainbow. “Okay, good to go.”
Rainbow stared at the bunny, watching it hop away. He then nodded. “Never really liked that bunny,” she muttered before galloping off.
Twilight nodded and galloped after her, the two racing into the forest with Spike close behind.
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Not much I can say other than thanks very much for getting the next chapter up. I really appreciate you going to the effort. Once again, the exchanges, emotional content and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I particularly liked how Twi helped Rarity in communicating with that one shade, as well as seeing Twi check up on both Rainbow and Flutters. I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.
Rarity's designs are about to get more... spirited!
In sports tonight, Rainbow Dash transferred to Crystal Prep! Sponsored by Crystal Pepsi!
Pet hoarder gone batty: Fluttershy says apples bite!
All this and more, on CMCBS! Action! News! at 11!
It might be because I haven't slept in almost a week, but this made me laugh a lot.
Change "minutes" to "moments" and we've got a deal. I think if nothing happened for a few minutes Twilight would've asked more things (did that make sense? Like I said, no sleep for about a week).
Anyway, great chapter (as usual) and I'm looking forward to the next ones!
great chapter.
I got so excited when I saw a new chapter was out! So excited for more, too!
I don't have a lot to say beyond "I like this story". But I do like it.
7679177 Finally, someone who understands my pet peeve - people writing "a few minutes" when they mean "a few seconds".
Fluttershys been abducted? Why? when? how?
Awwww www so adorable
now i want a vampire twilight
Oh my god.
FLUTTERSHY HOLY CREPES. WHY?
7683158
Far better than a Twilight vampire, at least.
7706064
I just caught that lol.