What is a Tatzlpony?

by Skylight77

Chapter 54: Nora

It was like a Gong Bell sound had resonated across the atmosphere after the revelation of the food Fluttershy prepared. Rainbow wasn’t expecting what she saw, but could believe it. X however couldn’t fathom how this was possible. She swore both the table and the room just grew twice or possibly three times the size in order to fit this spread.

The spread that Fluttershy prepared consisted of tomato soup, salads, diced fruit mixes, apple fritters with apple cinnamon crisps with a basket of apples to the side, four oat burgers and hay burgers each with a mountain of horseshoe shaped fries to the side, a strawberry gelatin that was in the shape of the Crystal Castle, onions on a stick, a cupcake tower, two giant pizzas with one having mushroom and tomato toppings while the other had broccoli and cupcakes, chili peppers with hot sauce dippings, sandwiches varying with cheese, cucumbers, or daisies in them, chocolate donuts connected together like a necklace, and in the center of it all was a giant four layer cake with pony shaped chocolate candy bars surrounding each layer like candles, the very top being a crown shape.

The entire table was laid out like a buffet at a party in Canterlot’s Castle. X couldn’t begin to question how this was possible. And she wanted to know. Fortunately, Rainbow started speaking after what felt like a two minute silence in the room.

“Whoa. Nice going, Fluttershy. I didn’t even know Twilight had this much food on her.”

Fluttershy smiled and looked away. “Well… she didn’t actually.”

“Then how did-”

“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy interrupted.

“Ahh.”

X blinked and looked towards the duo in confusion. Nothing they said answered how Fluttershy managed to make all this in such a short time. She wanted to ask, but the words just wouldn’t form in her mouth.

“I never learned what X liked, so I thought I’d make a few choices.” It looked like X wanted so badly to scream, ‘A few?!’, but all that came out was a squeak. “It’s a good thing Pinkie loves to keep a lot of emergency supplies everywhere.”

“You’re telling me,” Rainbow replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew we’d be here looking for food.” She and Fluttershy glanced over at X, witnessing just how desperately her eyes were scanning the food. They knew that she probably hadn’t eaten for days, but she looked like she was practically trying to stop her mouth from salivating. The Alpine in her mouth dropped without her registering it. Looking back to each other, they nodded and turned back to X.

“So X? You get to pick first,” Rainbow started. “Choose whichever you like.” She then dropped the leash she was holding. X’s eyes darted to it in shock as it hit the ground. They turned to Rainbow, then to Fluttershy, then to the door leading outside the kitchen. At least, she tried to, but all that food sitting in the table was blocking the view.

Instead of trying to escape, X walked towards the food. She literally had to jump on the table and walk around it to scan which one she would try first. Maybe it was hunger, but it looked like X hadn’t seen food like this in forever… maybe even never…

The more X looked around, the more her eyes lit up. Eventually, she stopped in front of the two pizzas that were laid out, switching her eyes between them both. Her eyes turned to the door, then back towards the pizza. They could see her eyes close as she visibly tried to stop shaking, taking in the scent of the pizza. All she could do was sweat as her hooves took her towards the one with mushroom and tomato toppings. Sweat formed on her face the moment her snout took a whiff of the steam coming out of it. She bent down and took her first bite, pupils slowly enlarging in delight. Her body even stopped shaking entirely. Cheese stretched out even from the crust as she pulled back to enjoy her first bite. But the moment it disappeared in her mouth, reality bashed its presence to her.

Rainbow and Fluttershy had swiftly begun digging into the spread, causing food to fly everywhere. X could barely see the blurs when Rainbow suddenly landed next to her. “Better dig in before it’s all gone!” she said as she chomped through the pizza that X barely took a bite of, cutting it in half with a noticeable amount just gone in a flash. Whether surprised or noticing how fast the food was fading, X swallowed and quickly joined in.

Fluttershy was taking quick and large bites out of one of the hay burgers while Rainbow swept by and crammed the other three in her mouth, munching them fast before swallowing them. Rainbow darted into the cupcake tower and sent them flying. Both Fluttershy and X had to catch the falling cupcakes to have their share and ate them. They both then jumped into the Crystal Castle shaped gelatin and bit through as much as they could before Rainbow used her tongues to pry the castle from off the table, knocking X and Fluttershy off, and ate the whole thing like it was a monster attacking the city.

At this point, it was practically a race to eat as much as they could before Rainbow got to it. Everything she went to was disappearing quickly, but there were many options to choose from. And then the options were sometimes flung towards them. X had every opportunity to escape right now in the middle of this chaos. But she didn’t. She ate. Fluttershy ate. And Rainbow was cleaning up.

___

The kitchen had transformed into a massive party’s mess when it was over. But instead of confetti everywhere, it was crumbs of food. Food that Rainbow was wiping up with her tongues. Fluttershy and X found themselves both near the center of the table, on their backs, groaning over how full their bellies were. When they both opened their eyes, they found that the giant four layer cake just behind them was still untouched. It was also the only thing left.

Despite how full she was, Fluttershy desperately wanted to reach out for it. She noticed X already trying to do just that. The look in X’s eyes were practically saying that she’s never had food that tasted this good before. It’s no wonder she didn’t try to escape when she had the chance. But it made Fluttershy wonder just what had she gone through in the past.

Before X could make another attempt to reach out for the cake, Rainbow landed in front of it. “You two really let yourselves go. Guess I’ll be taking this!” Rainbow leaped in the air and dove straight to the top of the cake. One bite and an entire layer was gone. Another one caused the next to disappear. And another. There wasn’t even a bulge forming in her mouth. It was like the cake was disappearing the moment it was entering her mouth.

As Rainbow got to the bottom layer, pieces of the cake splatter on to Fluttershy’s and X’s face. Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she could handle another bite. But she thought, maybe one last lick couldn’t hurt. So as she watched what X did, she licked it off her face using only her tongue. X wiped the piece off with a hoof. After taking a small lick, her eyes bulged at the taste. And then she started sucking on her hoof to slurp up the rest, not caring about how full she already was.

Fluttershy could only giggle at their display. Here they were, sprawled on the floor with very full bellies, yet even combined, they only ate a fraction of what Rainbow feasted on. Despite that, Rainbow was-

Fluttershy’s thoughts were interrupted by multiple tongues quickly lathering her body. The mess of food that was covering her body disappeared in seconds. They left her body shivering with her eye stunned and shrunk. It wasn't that she was afraid of them or cold, but rather for that brief moment, those feelings she had for Rainbow Dash returned, then left so quickly. After a moment, one of the tongues came back to her like it was offering itself to help her up. Ignoring the thoughts in her mind, she held a hoof to it and allowed it to lift her up.

“Come on, X,” Rainbow said. “Now that we’re done eating, we’re going to the library.” At some point, Rainbow had already re-attached the collar and its leash to X’s neck. X was already attempting to take it off, but didn’t get much time as Rainbow already began dragging her. It was just as Fluttershy was thinking before her thoughts were interrupted. She and X were sluggish from all the food they ate, yet Rainbow looked no fuller than before they ate.

Fluttershy was trying to ignore her feelings for Rainbow Dash right now. There were much more important matters. One thing was certain on her mind though. When this was all over, she wanted to do whatever it took to figure out just how much a tatzlpony could really eat before they got full, even if she had to bring Pinkie Pie into this.

And by that, not just use her emergency stash.

___

The group reached the library without much struggle from X this time. But Fluttershy did notice X slowing down upon entering, gazing around the room with her ears down. It seemed this room unsettled X more than the others. Or maybe it was something else.

After coming to the center of the room, Rainbow turned around and began speaking sternly to X. “When you first met your client, you said that she was reading a book. You couldn’t tell us about it because you didn't understand the language. But did your client say anything?” X answered with a shake of her head. “You also said that when you came here to return the book, Clang and Strike didn’t know about it. Did she not want them to know about it?”

X looked down, taking a moment to answer. “I-I don’t know. She-e… just wa-anted me to return i-it.” Looking up, she continued. “I just thought… t-the reason why she asked me-e to do it was because… she… di-idn’t want to be seen… by the princess.”

Rainbow’s eyes tilted to the side, thinking back to that hole in the wall. She didn’t want to think too much on this yet, so her thoughts went back to that book. “So you don’t know anything about it, and you couldn’t understand its language. But you still remember what it looks like, right?”

X’s eyes turned back to Rainbow curiously at that. “You’re… g-going to try and de-ecipher it?”

That was when Fluttershy came up next to X to chime in. “Well, not exactly. If it really is in a different language, we would need Twilight to tell us what it says. But if we have a look at it, maybe we can figure it out in a different way.”

X’s attention shifted to Fluttershy, then Rainbow, then Fluttershy again before turning towards the bookcases. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of books in this very room. They expected that it would take a while before X could remember exactly where it was that she returned the book. But it didn’t take that long at all. In fact, when she walked towards one section of the bookcases, her eyes scanned the books briefly, then only focused on one. For some reason, her hooves didn’t move to grab the book, so Rainbow had to grab it for her.

“Is this the one?” Fluttershy asked as Rainbow showed it. X nodded her head. So they all looked closely at the book they found. The cover was mostly green with a wavy yet circular pattern. Inside that circle were the words which seemed to title the book. But it was just like X said. It was using a language that was different from what most ponies understood.

Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other and nodded. While they couldn’t understand the language either, they still recognized it from somewhere else. They opened the book and turned its pages a few times. The language was something only those who were studying high levels of magic could understand. Twilight knew the language. If she were around, she could tell them what this book was instantly.

But thankfully, most of Twilight’s books also came with picture references. As long as they could understand what these pictures were about, then learning what this book was would be simple.

It took some time though. As they flipped through the pages, they didn’t find many pictures. Most of the ones they did find just seemed to be detailing the unicorn’s horn. Others just showed a full body display in different poses. Their poses sometimes showed different colors of aura surrounding their body.

However, they eventually started seeing different types of animals which showed these ponies in a similar pose, and an arrow pointing from the ponies to the animals. And once they got to the last few pages, they started showing a single picture of a unicorn per page. They would always be on the right side of the page, while the words were on the left. For the first page, the unicorn held its head down while its horn was glowing. The second page, its tail disappeared. Third page took away its legs. And then its ears. Then body. Every page had its eyes closed with its horn being completely unchanged.

Eventually, even the horn disappeared, and all that was left was the aura. The picture was the exact same for three pages, until the fourth page, where the body came back entirely. But it was not the same. There were now wings on its body, but not pegasus or alicorn wings. In fact, they practically looked like the wings of a dragonfly. Its legs, or rather its hooves have turned into paws. The ears were longer and hairy while its horns had been replaced with antennas, which is where the aura now came from. And the tail… actually looked exactly like Rainbow’s tail right now. A long lizard-like limb with hair standing on its end side, finishing with a fish-like tail with a pointed end.

Rainbow and Fluttershy both looked at each other when they saw this. Their eyes told each other that they were thinking the same thing. “I knew it.” Rainbow said as they turned to X. “This book…” She slid the book towards X for her to see.

Fluttershy finished Rainbow’s line in a regretful tone. “It seems to be a book on transformation spells.” They turned the pages to show more sources of spells being casted and other creatures being displayed afterward. X’s shaking intensified from the sight.

“This… c-can’t be right.” X said. “She t-told me… she to-old us all… she didn’t want a-anything to do with the pri-incess.” She placed a hoof on the book, then said in a softer tone. “Has she... h-has she really been working with her-r from the start?”

With the way X was speaking, it made Fluttershy wonder. “X. You told us that Clang and Strike didn’t want to take this job, but you did. Would you have taken the job if you knew she was working with Twilight?”

X didn’t look away from the book. But she answered with a shake of her head. “We never di-id tell her… but…” There was a pause. She turned towards Rainbow and Fluttershy, then continued. “The last day we saw h-her… she sounded like she-e didn’t want to meet the princess.” Her head turned down. “I-I was so sure…”

It was then that X began telling her tale of the last day she and her team ever saw Jenkal. Fluttershy had questions about why they were so keen on not wanting to be involved with Twilight, but she and Rainbow remained quiet to listen.

“The last thing she-e said that day…”

___

Their meeting with the Client was to be held in a specified location deep in the Everfree Forest. Only X knew where it was at the time. As she was leading, Clang and Strike were arguing.

“I’m telling you, all of my research describes this forest as being unnatural, packing with predators, and harsh climates far worse than being in the presence of any beast we’ve seen.” Strike said.

“And this is the third time I’ve had to listen to your silly description.” Clang responded. “Yet some ponies are still crazy enough to come here, even if most of them are still scared stiff about it.” He chuckled.

“I don’t care for your amusement. What I DO care is WHY she wants us to meet HERE of all places?!”

“Hey I don’t want to be here either you know.”

“Then why are we continuing with this charade? We should leave now and tell her to meet us on stable grounds.”

“You’re not the one leading this group.” Strike gave off a silent but deep growl. In response, Clang gave a daring smug. “You’re always welcome to prove us wrong though.”

Strike glared daggers at Clang, then at X. The whole time, X had her head held low with her ears dropped, shivering with every step. He wanted to make a remark so bad that his face shook. In the end, he changed the topic. “So you said you’ve met the princess here before?” Clang released a chuckle. “Shut up!”

Clang held back the rest of his chuckle out of pity, He answered. “I have seen her from time to time. Though I’ve never actually talked to her. Wasn’t interested. I can tell you what I know about her.”

“No. I’d rather hear it straight from her. It’s about the only thing I’m looking forward to while waiting for this mission to start.”

“If you’re so interested in learning about our newest princess, why’d you wait until now to meet her?”

Strike glared at Clang. “You know as well as I do why. Our policy. Even though they rejected us, we still vowed to never get involved with their business. Under no obligations are we to make them our enemies.” He paused to smirk. “Which leaves me with the perfect excuse as to why I should meet with her in the first place. Not just because I want to, but if I hear anything about our Client from the princess, working, or being a threat at the current time, I’m stepping out of this mission regardless of what anypony tells me.”

“That’s all well and good,” Clang responded. “But remember. You can’t let her know about what we’re hunting. If you want to see if she knows anything about that creature, she has to be the one to bring it up first. Not you.”

“I know…” Strike grumbled. “But if there is any connection, I’ll find it. Better than trying to listen to HER. Speaking of which, what do you think our Client’s gonna look like?”

Clang grinned. “Well if she’s brave enough to come to a place like this, she’s gotta be hardcore and well built.”

“Are you kidding me?” Strike responded. “If she was that, there’d be no need for our help. And given that she’s asked us in such a discreet location, I think she’ll look like the fragile type who can’t even say her words correctly.”

“You know,” Clang responded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if-”

(”We’re here.”) X said through her mind. Thanks to the power of the ring on Strike’s horn, they both heard it and immediately stopped their conversation. Up ahead, they saw a small patch of flowers. Purple petals, yellow floral disks. They were the Alpine. And standing before them was their client, Jenkal.

Both Clang and Strike sighed. “Nevermind,” they both said disappointingly before they approached. Jenkal wasn’t looking at them. Her attention remained on the flowers.

“Alpines,” Jenkal said softly. “They’re practically my only haven. If-”

“Enough of your babbling,” Strike interrupted with a wave of his hoof. “We came here for a reason, so we’re gonna start with that first.”

Jenkal was displeased, but she responded. “Very well.”

The four of them gathered around the patch of flowers. They bowed their heads close to each other so that Strike could activate the ring on his horn. There was already a link created with him, Clang, and X. And with Jenkal here, they could now add her to the link. With a flash of the ring, the link was created, and the four brought their heads back up.

“Hmm… Not a very subtle line. I can feel its magical presence surrounding me.” Jenkal mentioned.

“Nothing to be concerned about,” Strike responded. “Only those with experience in magic would be able to notice its presence. And even then, they’d have to have very powerful magic to track each source. Of course, breaking the link will remove the trail, but then we’d have to meet up again to recreate the link. So don’t let that happen.” He turned towards the others. “That goes the same for you two as well.”

Clang nodded and added something else. “Not to mention if just one of us breaks the link, they’d have to meet with the rest of us just to reconnect.”

“Exactly.” Strike turned back to Jenkal. “Now, unless you have anything else for us, besides talking, we’ll be leaving. The rest, you can tell us through the ring.” He pointed at his horn as he said that.

There was silence for a few seconds from Jenkal. Then, she closed her eyes and pulled out six flowers from the patch with her magic, giving two to each of them.

“And this is for?” Clang asked.

Jenkal turned away from them and responded. “My only source of comfort. It could be yours as well.”

“Sure, whatever,” Clang said as he turned around to leave, Strike doing the same.

“When you run into trouble, return here,” Jenkal said as she began walking too.

X was in the middle, watching both party’s exchanges. Neither side had been cooperative. And all she was left with was whether to leave with Clang and Strike, or follow Jenkal and listen to her babble. Although that’s what it was to Clang and Strike, X was curious about all the things Jenkal said. She decided to follow Jenkal to listen to more.

“Every day, it’s always the same,” Jenkal started. “I tell my story. It falls on deaf ears. My words can never express the emotions I want to convey.”

The two kept traveling deeper in the forest together. X stayed silent while Jenkal kept speaking. “The illness that I suffer prevents me from being able to share what I feel. The more I feel, the deeper the pain. A pain that I’ve felt for as long as I can remember. Regardless of how long it has been, it has never been any easier to bear.”

Jenkal glanced towards X. “This creature, the one that you’ll be going after, if it is left alone, others will suffer the same illness. Others will feel… will begin to feel the suffering that I have felt for so long. The only difference is, for them exists a cure. A cure that I hoped I had already found. But no. My luck is not so grand. It is a curse that sticks with me even to this day.”

“If the fortune I seek comes true, then this mission will grant it. This creature will be the key that ends my suffering. This is why no harm must come to it once it arrives. And if word gets out, others may either deal with it or get to it before I do. I can’t let that happen. Surely you must understand. The others must too.”

Jenkal’s speech went on and on about the creature she was seeking, about herself, and how her suffering could come to an end if this mission was successful without incident. X never interrupted. She would listen for as long as the words continued, and as far as their walk would take them. The fear of the predators and hostile nature of this forest still remained in her mind, yet neither ever made itself present during this journey. It was like Jenkal knew a path that would hold none of these dangerous elements, despite how deep they were going. Maybe the path they followed to get to the meeting point was the same.

“This creature… perhaps a name is in order for it. I should think about that later.” Hours had passed and the words still came, with none of them coming from X. Clang and Strike probably tried reaching her a few times, but she muted her side of the connection so that she wouldn’t miss any words that Jenkal spoke. When this speech was over, she would unmute the connection and let them know only what they needed to know like they wanted.

“I never thought you’d listen for as long as you have, and without a word to give out yourself. It’s soothing, because I know you’ve been listening. The more you listen, the easier it is to keep myself contained. But you know, it’s strange. When it comes to other ponies, I always wonder how it feels to live like them, to live without having to suffer this illness. But you…”

Jenkal turned around and faced X. “That first day that I met you, I’m sure you remember what happened. What I saw in you was something that really surprised me. It probably surprised me more than anything else I’ve ever experienced. The reaction I had was not a pleasant one. And you prevented what could've been a disaster." She looked away only for a moment, then continued. "I guess the point I'm making is... X... there's something I want to ask-”

Jenkal stopped speaking all of a sudden. The silence lasted for a while, like she was in deep thought. Her eyes turned to the side, and then they closed. “No, I shouldn’t. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell me anyway. And besides, once this mission is over, we won’t ever see each other again.”

This statement made X gasp. What did she mean by that? Although her tone didn’t give any hints to it, X could tell that Jenkal said that like she was convinced that would happen. Why would she be so confident about it?

“Before you go, I have one small favor to ask. Whenever you get the chance, return this book back to the library for me.” When receiving the book, X took a look at its cover. She couldn’t understand the language though, so there wasn’t much to take from it. “The library is in the princess’s castle. Strike wishes to go there if I heard correctly.” Another gasp from X. Did she actually hear their bickering earlier? “I would return it myself, but it’s best that she and I don’t meet. If you show her this, she’ll understand why.”

Those were the last words that came from Jenkal that day. She wouldn’t say anymore, and X wasn’t sure what she could say. All she could wonder was why Jenkal was so sure they wouldn’t meet again. Her goal was to get cured right? Maybe what she really wanted was something else. And she really didn’t like what it could imply.

___

X finished her story with a sad sigh. “'It's be-est that she and I-I don't meet'," she repeated. "W-When she said that… I tho-ought she wanted nothing to do-o with the princess. Thought she was like u-us. “I… Was I wrong…?” Those were the last words she could get out.

That answered quite a few questions Rainbow and Fluttershy had, such as why they didn’t seem to know much about a tatzlpony, or why they struggled so hard to learn about them. Their client wasn’t very cooperative with telling them, but at the same time, Clang and Strike weren’t very cooperative with listening. Only X listened, and she wasn’t very talkative.

The story raised back a question they thought was answered. Was Twilight really working with Jenkal before all this? If she was, and if Clang and Strike knew about that, they never would’ve worked with her. Not just them, but X too. Did that mean X would now be willing to tell them everything she knew?

Before all that, there was something Fluttershy was curious about. “X, you said your Client gave you each two Alpines. But when we found them in your bag, there were three. Where did the third one come from? Did Clang and Strike give you theirs?”

X shook her head. “Clang did. But Stri-ike kept his…”

Fluttershy nodded. “Did he have them with him when you two followed us in the Everfree Forest.”

X nodded. “The-ey were kept in his ba-ag.”

A spark of hope flashed in Fluttershy’s eye. “Rainbow? Were you ever able to find Strike’s bag before we left?”

“Well, I found a bag,” Rainbow said as she dragged the bag in question from across the room. “It wasn’t ours, so I assumed it was X’s.” She unzipped the bag and proceeded to slide all of its contents on to the ground, and in front of everypony for them to see.

The contents of the bag was completely bare of anything either Rainbow or Fluttershy could recognize. If they had to guess, some of them looked like parts for machinery, or empty containers. The only pony who could tell them what they were was X. As X rummaged through them, they noticed that both the syringe and snake cannon weren’t in this pile. But most importantly, no flowers.

“T-This was Strike’s stu-uff…” X answered. That small hope that Fluttershy had was gone. Rainbow groaned. It now dawned on her that the Alpines that she found after Strike’s attack, weren't the ones they got from X. They were the ones Strike had. Unless Jenkal had more with her, this meant that the two Aplines they had right now, one with Fluttershy, and the other in X’s mouth, were the only ones left in Equestria.

A long quiet gasp suddenly came from X. She pulled something out from the pile. Whatever it was, it was shaped like a half spherical cube with a flat bottom It was completely black, and the top of it seemed to have a small green glass.

“What is that, X?” Fluttershy asked. X’s eyes were pulsating at the sight of this device. What could this be that made her so interested?

“Strike’s… jou-urnal…”

Rainbow blinked hard and bobbed her head. “A journal?!”

Fluttershy was confused as well. “That’s… a journal?”

“He speaks to i-it and it rec-cords his voice. He uses it a-a lot.” X answered.

“Oh,” Fluttershy responded, now understanding what she meant.

“Can you make it play?” Rainbow asked.

X looked up from the device. She first looked to Rainbow, then to Fluttershy, then her eyes briefly looked around the room, and last to the pile. Her teeth gritted in despair as her eyes looked back up. For some reason, she was looking even more nervous than before. The Alpine in her mouth dropped and her shivering got worse.

X slowly started flaring her wings. One of them bent towards her face while she moved her head closer to it. The closer it got, the worse her shivering became. They could even start to hear her whimper. Rainbow and Fluttershy both lightly gasped when they saw what X was doing. She hesitantly bit down on one of the feathers on her wing. Then… she yanked.

A painful sounding moan came from X while tears practically poured from her eyes. Rainbow and Fluttershy winced. They were no strangers to having their feathers plucked, but that looked extremely unpleasant for X.

“I guess X really doesn’t like having her feathers plucked,” Rainbow said quietly to Fluttershy.

“Even I don’t think they’re that bad,” Fluttershy responded back. “But why did she do that?”

“I think we’re about to find out,” Rainbow answered.

With the feather still in her mouth, X moved the pin of the feather towards the bottom of that device. There was a small hole underneath it, which X inserted the feather into. She began to fiddle with it.

Rainbow and Fluttershy watched as X fiddled with the feather. She fiddled, and fiddled… and fiddled…

One. Two. Three. The atmosphere started spiking up their coat just watching X continue to fiddle with that thing. Rainbow scratched her neck, Fluttershy looked away and laid down. They were beginning to wonder if X even knew what she was doing. X’s shivering was settling down as the time passed, but this was taking forever.

Rainbow finally decided that this wasn’t even worth waiting for. She opened her mouth to speak.

“There…” X said followed by a click in the device. All Rainbow could do was sigh. Although it was probably only five minutes, it felt like a half hour passed waiting for that. Maybe her heavy shivering was interfering with her work.

After the click, the device left X’s hooves and floated just above the ground in front of them. A green light came from the top of it, displaying what looked like a hologram of an audio line. It moved the moment a voice started speaking from it.

“This is Renard Strike. I didn’t think I’d have to do this, but from now on, I’m creating a separate log of the details that I’ll be encountering from here on. We just received our latest mission, though not a lot of info's come to us yet. All we know now is that our mission is to capture a certain creature that’ll appear from this forest called Everfree, which is near a town called Ponyville.”

“Ponyville huh? I hear that the newest princess resides there. I think I’ll take my chance to learn more about her before this mission starts. Who knows? If this creature has our client so worried she requests our help, we may even be helping out a princess without them knowing. Sounds like a good job. But the more I dig into this, the more skeptical it all seems.”

“First, the Everfree Forest. My research has shown me that that forest is very unnatural in more ways than I ever imagined. Usually forests are dangerous for the predators that lurk about. But this forest? The predators seem to be the least of your concern. Clouds move and activate on their own, making the skies hostile. There are beasts that could turn you into stone if you so much as just look at them. The plants there contain carnivorous monsters in disguise, or even some that could change your very shape. And then this part I can’t even believe. They say some of the trees in the forest are actually ponies who never found their way out of it. You could end up as one of those trees!”

“According to our client, this creature we’re hunting will appear from this forest and enter Ponyville. Tomorrow we’ll be meeting with her to get more details. But I have a better idea. We’ll meet, but I want them to let me make a connection with them through this ring I made. That way we can stay in contact at any time, and get all the information we need no matter where we are.”

“But here’s the problem.” Strike’s voices started to sound angry from here on. “Our client wants us to meet inside the forest. If they have no trouble being inside the forest, why do they need our help dealing with this creature?! I’m starting to wonder about this client, but I don’t know much about them yet. I don’t even know if they’re a mare, stallion, or even a pony at all yet. X met them though. And according to the client’s letter, they said that X was given a safe path that would allow us to meet where they want.”

Strike’s voice made a sigh. “I could be making guesses too soon. They probably thought X would explain to us everything we’d want to know before going through with this. But just in case, I’m making this right now while I have the chance. I’ll keep this updated as I gain more information.”

It sounded like the recordings were gonna be very long and take forever to get through. Impatient, Rainbow decided to ask. “X, is there any way you can fast forward through that?” X nodded. The Alpine was back in her mouth. “Skip to where you guys started following us in the forest.”

X went back to the feather underneath the device and fiddled with it. This time, the device responded instantly and started going through all sorts of audio waves that couldn’t be heard. It went by very quickly. And just like Rainbow asked, X stopped at a part of the log that seemed to involve them inside the forest.

“This is the first day that’s passed since our mission finally started. So far, everything’s been going wrong. Our client told us that this tatzlpony we were looking for would emerge from the forest alone. But somepony else got to it first and is now not only taking care of it, but protecting it. We were supposed to capture the tatzlpony without causing harm to anypony else, but the way things are looking, that’s not an option anymore.”

“Clang already attempted to capture it by force, but was overpowered by the tatzlpony, and even swallowed. I didn’t think it was possible for a creature that size, but he said that’s exactly what happened. He also said the pony who was taking care of the tatzlpony was named Fluttershy. And now they’ve gone into the Everfree Forest.”

“I’ve come up with a pretty risky plan to get her to give up the tatzlpony willingly. While we were following them, X managed to knock out and capture a rattlesnake. We’re gonna use that snake to threaten them into giving up. If they don’t comply, we’ll make it bite Fluttershy. That will show them how serious we are.”

“We’re preparing an anti-venom right now if it ever comes to that. Our client still doesn’t want us to cause harm to anypony else involved.” Strike’s voice suddenly drew a darker tone. “And that’s exactly what I intend to do. After all. Our client, who doesn't want her name known, also doesn’t even want anypony to know the real reason why these tatzlponies are so dangerous. And the way things are going, Fluttershy’s gonna find that out the hard way. That’s gonna be our client’s fault, not us.”

Strike’s voice returned to normal. “Speaking of which, ever since Clang’s failed attempt, we haven’t been able to get in contact with our client anyway. I’m starting to get the feeling that she broke the link with my ring. If that’s the case, she should’ve told us everything we needed to know from the start. So I’ll assume there really is nothing else we need to know.”

The log ended there. Rainbow and Fluttershy pondered if continuing to listen to these logs would be worth it. So far, they didn’t seem to hear anything useful that they didn’t already know. If anything, these logs were lining up to the things that X told them, and that Strike didn’t know much about the tatzlponies either.

“Play one more,” Rainbow decided. If this one didn’t tell them anything useful, then they would stop. X played the next log.

“THIS IS A LOAD OF HORSE-BUCKING HAY-”

Everypony yelped at the sudden blast in volume that the device was making. The audio waves cranked so high, no silent waves could be seen at all while it was speaking.

“OF ALL THE FRIVOLOUS FEATHERING NINCOM-”

Fluttershy had her hooves buried in her ears. “I can’t take all this foul language!” she cried. In the middle of her saying that, X managed to silence the device. Her teeth were gritting nervously as she attempted to skip all the yelling that was recorded.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have played one more,” Rainbow said as she removed her wing tips from her ears. But it didn’t take long for X to find the spot where Strike’s shouting stopped. Even when muted, the audio waves would still show the volume of Strike’s voice while it played. X unmuted the device.

“It’s like all of Equestria has turned against me!” The rage in Strike’s voice was still clear. “Ever since Clang brought X into our organization, everything has gone downhill! I was supposed to be the leader in this group! Me! But Clang found her, brought her in, and tested her abilities against us. It should’ve been no contest. But no. Somehow she made a mockery of me, of all of us, dethroned my talents, and stole everything that I worked up for! And the worst part is, ever since that day. Clang stopped listening to my orders unless it met his criteria.”

“Well no more. This mission is the last straw. This was supposed to be a simple and easy mission, but everything continues to grow worse and worse. And it’s all her fault for choosing this mission. But even worse, it’s all our client’s fault. Jenkal, I don't care anymore. Mark my words, when I get out of this forest, I’ll make sure you wish you never met X. All that information you kept from us. I bet you did that on purpose. You told X everything we needed to know. And you knew that X would never tell us, yet you could use her to hide your excuse.”

“I can’t believe I’ve had to resort to using my cylinder just to survive in this forest. My body is still shaking after having to obliterate that bug bear. I’ve tried everything I can to find my way out of here. But it’s like this forest is purposely leading me away from the exits every chance it gets, like these trees really are alive.”

“No! I refuse to end up as one of these trees. I don’t care if it even is true that they were once other ponies. If I have to burn every single one of these trees to find my way out of this forest, then so be it. Without my ring, I can’t contact any of the others. There’s no other choice I have.”

“Wait a minute… the ground’s rumbling. Not another beast already. Fine. I have no choice but to end the log here. Whatever’s coming this way is history.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy sighed in awe at this one. It sounded like this was taken just before they ran into him that day. The hairs on Fluttershy’s coat spiked up. She’ll never forget the power that Strike’s wrath unleashed on them. Even now, she could still feel the pain in her eye. And it was unbearable.

Rainbow wasn’t sure what to make of this log. She remembered that Strike was yelling about this during his assault, but it wasn’t very clear what he meant. Even now, it wasn’t that much clearer. It sounded like Strike was supposed to be the leader in their group instead of X. But when Clang found X, he brought her in and tested her abilities against Strike. Something happened then that made Strike lose his position as leader, and gave X that position instead. What was it that happened?

“T-There’s… one more log…” X said, causing Rainbow and Fluttershy to gasp lightly.

“What?” Fluttershy whispered.

“How could there be one more log?” Rainbow asked. “That last one was just before we ran into him, and then he was swallowed by-” she stopped mid-sentence, noticing Fluttershy wincing at the memory. Obviously, X didn’t know the answer. There was only one way to find out, as much as it goes against what she said earlier. “Play it.” X let the final log play.

“This is Renard Strike.” His tone had changed considerably from the previous log. It was completely calm and collected. “Stallion unicorn. Light-brown coat. Grey-hair. I was born in a city known as Horizon Coral.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other awkwardly. Why did it sound like Strike was speaking like he knew he was about to receive a grim fate? While they were listening, they noticed X’s shivering was settling down from listening to this log.

“This journal is my creation. I have designed its features and functions. I leave this message at the very end to ensure that this information doesn’t get lost or mixed up with the rest of the logs that it contains. I can’t afford to lose it. And now I will begin the purpose of this log.”

There was a long moment of silence. It was like the journal was about to play another log within the same log. The next word was spoken in a much deeper tone.

“X…” X’s eyes widened from her name being called. “I know you’ve been listening to this journal. I designed this journal so that only magic could be used to activate it. Yet somehow, you’ve figured out how to do so. I won't ask how. But since you’re that desperate to learn what I know, let’s take you through memory lane.” A chill was spreading through the atmosphere, being its coldest around X. She breathed slowly, but heavily.

“Nora…”

A huge gasp escaped X and she hastily removed the feather from the journal, shutting down the device.

“What the… hey!” Rainbow shouted. “Play that!” X shook her head and squealed, clutching the device closely. “Play it!” She squeezed her eyes shut while her shaking intensified, and her voice was practically crying out hoping for mercy. Getting her to play the rest of that wasn’t gonna be possible now. Did it matter though?

“Fine,” Rainbow said as she stepped back. “If you won’t play it, then at least tell us. That last thing Strike said. Nora. What does that mean to you?” X looked up briefly, then went back to clutching the device. There was heavy breathing coming from her.

It was strange. X was always showcasing fear at every opportunity. But in some cases, she would have moments where her reactions were much more drastic than the others. If the tamer moments were just fakes like Strike claims, then these were the real ones. When Jenkal’s name was mentioned, X displayed that same drastic behavior. Which means whatever Nora was, must've been very important.

“I think I might know,” Fluttershy suddenly stated. Rainbow’s eyes turned to Fluttershy who was walking closer to X. “X… I know Strike was trying to tell us that this fear that you show isn’t real. But I don’t believe that. When I look at you, I see somepony who’s been through something tragic. Somepony who’s lost something that can never be replaced. I think this is where it’s all coming from.”

Fluttershy paused once she closed the distance from X, who was still breathing heavily. Her expression hadn’t changed, but it was clear she was listening. “You’ve been talking in your sleep, X” X’s breathing froze. “You haven’t said much about what happened to you in the past. But one thing you have mentioned, was your sister.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened slightly, now understanding where Fluttershy was going with this. “When you mentioned your sister, you said you were scared. And you never called her by name. Strike mentioned Nora. That sounds like a name. And from what he said, it sounded like that name has something to do with you, X.”

X’s breathing slowed down as her eyes lowered to the device. They looked like they were in awe. “Could that name be your sister?” Fluttershy finished. If this was true, then the rest of that journal was probably gonna talk about what Strike learned about her sister. But X was too afraid to relive that experience.

Or at least, that’s what it looked like when X heard that name. But after Fluttershy’s explanation, X’s fears seemed to soften. She was just looking at the device with her shaking settling down more and more. But her eyes kept that expression of awe, like the device she was holding was now the most important thing in all of Equestria to her right now.

“No…” Somepony spoke. Rainbow and Fluttershy’s ears twitched at that voice. They looked around, Fluttershy having trouble trying to process what she just heard. That tone, it didn’t sound like X. Yet, with how close it was, she knew it couldn’t have come from anypony else, but X.

“No…” X repeated, looking up from the device. “I don’t have a sister.” Fluttershy’s eye widened in a gasp. It was X’s voice, but the tone was so calm and collected all of a sudden, like all her fears were gone. “I don’t…” Her eyes dropped back to the device. “...have a sister.” Not even shaking or sputtering in her words. But more surprising than that were her words alone.

“What?” Fluttershy asked in shock.

“But we’ve heard you talking about your sister multiple times,” Rainbow declared. She stepped forward and stood next to Fluttershy. “How can you say you don’t have a sister after all the times you mentioned her?”

X didn’t answer. She just kept her eyes on that device with that same expression. If X had told any lies to them, this would probably be the one. But with how serious her tone was this time, it was hard to believe that she would lie right now. Maybe there was something she learned that she didn’t realize until now?

Rainbow shook her head. “Forget it,” she said. “That’s not important right now. Let’s get back to talking about your client, X.” At the mention of the client, X’s fear seemed to return. She was looking up at Rainbow while shivering. Fluttershy was looking at Rainbow as well.

“In your story, your client said that she was sick. And she’s been sick ever since she was born. She’s been looking for a cure all her life. And then she discovered me, a tatzlpony. Maybe through Twilight, maybe through that book, or maybe from something else. Either way, it sounds like she needs me for that cure. She captured me, turned me into one, and hired you guys to capture me if I ever escaped.”

Rainbow’s eyes glared. “She needs me to get herself cured. Am I close?”

Fluttershy started backing away. While Rainbow was asking X this, she couldn’t stop pondering over X’s earlier response about her sister. She tried listening to what Rainbow was saying. As important as her questions were, she just couldn’t focus on them right now.

“I… d-don’t know…” X replied. Even her sputtering returned.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Rainbow asked. “You just told us your story of what she said.”

X looked down, holding a moment of silence before replying. “In her wor-rds… ‘If the fortune tha-at I seek comes true, then this mi-ission will grant it. This cre-eature will be the key that ends my su-uffering.’” A few heavy breaths escaped X. “It sounds like i-it. But… I don’t know. The-ere’s something… she’s not telling me. S-something…” Her words fell silent after that.

Those words sounded familiar. Rainbow remembered X saying something about that. It wasn’t clear what it was, but there was only one way to find out.

“Where is she,” Rainbow asked. The question snapped Fluttershy out of her thoughts and she gasped, along with X. “Where is your client?”

“Wha…” X stammered. “But d-does that mean you-u’re…” Rainbow just answered with a nod. “B-But…” Before X could continue, Rainbow replied with more.

“Your client ordered you to capture me and take me to her, and that I had to be restrained when you do so. But if the reason why she wants me is for her cure, Why does she need that?” Rainbow waited for like a second before giving her own answer. “It must be because of something that I’m not gonna like. Or at least, that’s what she believes. Which is why I want to see her now. I need to hear from her what she needs from me first. She never told anypony else. And it sounds like that’s what she’s not telling you.”

Rainbow stepped closer. “So tell me where she is. I’ll listen to her, then I’ll decide.”

X stammered further. “B-B-But… U-U-Uh…” Rainbow just sharpened her glare further. It was like X was trying to find a reason why she couldn’t let Rainbow know. But if that was the case, wouldn’t she just say she didn’t know where the client was right now? At least, that’s what Fluttershy thought. But X didn’t do that. Instead, X looked to Fluttershy, then Rainbow, and finally answered.

“S-She’s in… or she’ll be-e in Arkwood Forest.”

“Arkwood Forest?!” Fluttershy asked. There was surprise in her tone. “But, but that’s…” She went silent. Rainbow looked back to X.

“Are you sure she’s there?”

X nodded. “She told u-us to meet there… in a shack... if we e-ever lost contact with her. But… I don’t know how long she’ll wait…”

Rainbow smiled. “Then we’d better get going right aw-”

“Nooo!” Somepony shouted. That sounded like…

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked as she looked at her. Fluttershy was trembling.

“We can’t go there! Please, we can’t!” Her eye was tearing up.

“What’s wrong with going to Arkwood?” Rainbow asked. “Is it really that bad a forest?” Fluttershy didn’t answer. She just shook her head and closed her eye while she continued to tear up. What was up with her all of a sudden? Seeing this, Rainbow walked over to her and gently placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Hey. What’s up, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked in a soft tone. Slowly, Fluttershy opened her eye, but she didn’t look up. She began speaking.

“Day Five, Rainbow. That was the day we entered the Everfree Forest. Day Twelve, technically Day Thirteen if midnight’s passed already… that’s when we finally came back. We’ve been away from Ponyville for more than a week. When we finally came back, I was really hoping we could finally put an end to all this, finally have time to rest. But no! We have to leave already? We have to go away from Ponyville again? All this adventuring… I hate it! I wanted to rest... I wanted for us to stop... I wanted...”

Fluttershy ended her speech by crying. Looking at her figure, Rainbow could understand why Fluttershy was so upset by this. Even though they recently ate and cleaned up, that wasn’t enough to cover the rest of the damages, especially that eye patch. That’s probably what was hurting Fluttershy the most. Not just physically, but mentally too.

“Okay,” Rainbow answered. “You can stay here, Fluttershy.” It took a moment for Fluttershy to process what she heard. When it did, she looked up and gasped. “It might be better that way. After all, the client never wanted anything to do with you. She’s wanted me from the start. If I go alone, you won’t have to go through anymore trouble. Matter of fact, it might be a good idea in case I’m wrong.”

“Wrong?” Fluttershy questioned. Rainbow waved her hoof upward.

“The whole reason we came here? To find Twilight. She’s obviously not here right now, or we would’ve found her already. It’s also like when Strike and X tried to look for her too. She wasn’t here back then either. Why isn’t she here, and where has she been all this time?”

Rainbow paused and narrowed her eyes “I think I know now. She’s with the client. And she must’ve been with her since Day Four.”

Fluttershy gasped. “S-Since Day Four?! But Rainbow Dash… does that mean… do you really think that…”

Rainbow gave a sad sigh. “I really thought Twilight was a victim just like me. But what we just learned from X, I believe she really was involved. The difference is, I think I understand why now. She wanted to help the client just like how I want to now. I want to know how I can help her. But I also want to know why Twilight didn’t say any of this to us back in Day Three. That’s where you come in. If I’m wrong, and Twilight’s not with the client, you can stay here and find out where she really is.”

Fluttershy’s heart ached at this. Rainbow decided that she would meet with the client alone. Was this really okay? “And X?” she asked out loud as she looked behind Rainbow and towards X. Surprisingly, X hadn’t moved from her spot and stayed where she was, listening the whole time. Nopony was holding her leash, yet she never made an attempt to flee at all.

“She’ll be coming with me,” Rainbow answered. “She can show me where the client is when we reach Arkwood Forest. All I need is for you to tell me where it is. It sounded like you already knew about it.” Fluttershy stammered from that. “So where is it?”

Fluttershy moaned sadly. She wasn’t sure if this was what she wanted. But at the same time, everything sounded like a good idea, especially if she was getting a chance to rest. But…

“Are you going now?” Fluttershy asked. “You’re not gonna rest?”

Rainbow shook her head. “I’ve rested long enough here. And if we wait too long, we might miss our chance to meet with the client. Not to mention…” She tilted her head towards X. “Those might be the only Alpines left. Once we use those up, we’ll be out of time anyway.”

Fluttershy released a depressing sigh. That last remark was too good to deny. She turned around and started speaking. “Go back to where we last exited the Everfree Forest. From there while facing Ponyville, go west. It’s almost at the edge of Equestria, but you should be able to make it there in about half a day.”

With that, Fluttershy decided to start leaving. If Rainbow had any more questions, she would ask them. But she didn’t. Upon reaching the door out of this room, Fluttershy took one last look towards them. Rainbow said nothing. The one who looked like they were trying to say something was X. Her lips were moving around, trying to form words, maybe even whispering them. It almost looked like she was trying to say, 'don't go', or, 'you can't go', but that didn't sound right. If there was something she wanted to say, it was too late. Fluttershy turned away and exited the room.

___

Fluttershy looked out the window from the room she was in. The mist outside was so thick, even the building’s silhouettes were barely visible. However, she knew where her cottage was from here. She turned back to look around. Where she was was one of the guest rooms in the castle. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, and Fluttershy could sleep here. But right now, what she wanted more was to go back to her cottage.

Fluttershy exited through the window. She wasn’t sure if Rainbow left with X yet. If they did, she didn’t hear them. As she walked, she continued wondering if this really was a good idea, or if it was just another selfish thing that she wanted. Rainbow made it sound like it was a good idea, but what about everything they learned?

One of the things that kept going through Fluttershy’s mind was X’s sister. There was no doubt that X kept talking about having one while she was dreaming. But now she was saying that she didn’t have one. Not just that, but her tone changed so drastically at the mention of her sister. Why was that?

Fluttershy’s ear twitched, causing her to gasp. She stopped walking and took a look at her surroundings. For some reason, she felt like she was being followed. But in this fog, she couldn’t see anything. And there were no sounds of hoofsteps or any of the sort.

Fluttershy sighed and continued walking. She decided to drop her thoughts on X’s sister. It didn’t even matter right now. What mattered was what was going on right now. Rainbow was still a tatzlpony. And the client, Jenkal, wanted to capture her. According to X, only a tatzlpony could put an end to her illness. Rainbow was going to her to find out how, so Fluttershy’s job now was to figure out if and why Twilight-

Fluttershy moaned. Twilight. Back in Day Three, Fluttershy had taken Rainbow to Twilight to transform her back into a pegasus. She did. But then the next day, Rainbow turned back into a tatzlpony for some unknown reason. The thought that Twilight botched the spell on purpose really pained at her mind. Or maybe it did work, yet Twilight changed her back while they were both sleeping.

Fluttershy shook her head. All these thoughts kept tormenting her mind. She didn’t want to believe any of this. Up ahead, she saw that her cottage was close. Finally. Maybe she could let her mind rest and clear her head. But as she walked, more thoughts kept swimming in her mind. How much did they learn, and how many of them were connected? Her mind listed out all the ponies she’s heard about since this started, and who they were. First, the Spellcaster, the one who turned Rainbow into a tatzlpony. Today, they learned that it was Jenkal, who was also the Client who hired Clang, Strike, and X. They were tasked to capture the tatzlpony, Rainbow Dash, if she escaped after being transformed.

And then there were the ones they still haven’t learned much about. The Rescuer, the one who sacrificed herself to help Rainbow Dash escape after being transformed, X’s sister, which she now says she doesn’t have, an Unnamed pony, who Jenkal was very vaguely talking about through her journal, and now Nora. Whoever Nora was, hearing that name gave X a very similar reaction to when they spoke Jenkal’s name. If Nora wasn’t X’s sister, then why did she react that way?

Fluttershy’s thoughts were cut short when she realized she had reached the door to her cottage. How did that happen? She glanced around and called out. “H-Hello? Anypony?” Only silence followed. That wasn’t right. Where were all her animals? If it wasn’t for the mist, she could see if there were any around.

Fluttershy turned back to her door and opened it. It was dark inside, and covered in the same fog. She tried turning on the lights. They didn’t work. She called out again. “I’m home.” Nothing. Not a single sound from any of the animals.

Fluttershy released a sad moan. She knew where they were. All her animals must’ve gone to the sanctuary due to her being gone for so long. Which means she would have to spend the night all alone. It went completely against the reason why she didn’t want to settle for the guest room in the castle. Too late now as she was already here.

Fluttershy went inside and closed the door. Without her animals, this place was stuck in darkness. Not only was it dark, but it was completely silent. So silent, she could only hear the wind sounds coming from this fog. She closed her eye in sadness. Home sweet home, but she was alone.

An image of Rainbow Dash flashed in her mind, causing her to gasp and open her eye. She looked around the room, then towards the ground. Images of the first day Rainbow came to her house as a tatzlpony came to her mind. Fluttershy moved away from the door and looked towards it. The images became clear. Rainbow was sitting there, looking like a lost and confused animal.

Fluttershy turned away from the image. The thoughts were spiking up her coat. She made her way to one of the desks in her living room. Despite the darkness and mist, she knew where it was. Inside the desk, she pulled out some of her night candles and lit one on. It wasn’t much, but it would bring some light to her cottage. Not just that, but expel some of the fog too.

Fluttershy left one candle on that desk, lit another, and took that with her. As she was heading towards the kitchen though, she caught a glimpse of the source of where all this fog was coming from. There was a giant hole in her wall. Planks were covering it, but the fog could still get in through it. Images of what caused that hole popped in her mind.

Clang had been trapped in a cage at the time. Rainbow Dash was so angry and kicked the cage, which sent it hurtling towards the wall and smashed through it. Fluttershy shook her head. Why were these images thumping her mind right now? She wanted to think about something else. But all she could think of was wanting to be with her animals right now.

As Fluttershy came to the kitchen, more images flashed in her mind. This time, they were images of all the times she saw Rainbow eating food. First, the image of Rainbow eating strawberries at the front of the cottage flashed. Next was Fluttershy tossing berries towards Rainbow at her Cloudominium. Then there was the scene here, where Rainbow chomped down a large pancake stack. These images were bringing back the feelings that Fluttershy had for Rainbow before her memories came back.

Fluttershy moaned, finding her hooves heavy as she continued walking. She set the candle in the middle of her kitchen as she went to one of the cabinets. It was so quiet here. All she wanted was for the silence to stop so that her mind wouldn’t go through anymore thoughts. After reaching the cabinet, she opened it.

Nothing happened. Of course nothing happened, but it felt like she wanted something to happen when she did. When she opened that cabinet, she expected, and hoped, that spiders would come crawling out. For some reason, the thought of spiders crawling out of this cabinet would’ve comforted her better than this torturous silence. So instead, the images continued flashing.

Fluttershy was petting Rainbow and comforting her. She saw herself placing a collar around Rainbow’s neck, and Rainbow accepting it while smiling. These images warmed her out. And that’s what was so painful, especially when the images started showing Rainbow licking Fluttershy’s cheek, and Fluttershy laughing in response.

Fluttershy squeezed her eye. These images were bringing back these feelings for Rainbow quite harshly. Ever since Rainbow got her memories back, she couldn’t feel these feelings anymore. Was this why?

The images halted long enough for Fluttershy to see what was inside the cabinet she opened. She took out the object that was inside and set it down on the counter where the candle was. Her eye took a long look at the object as she contemplated on what she really wanted. The object she was looking at was a small container. It’s contents? Sleeping Pills.

Fluttershy allowed the images to swirl in her mind one more time. There were two things all these images had in common. They were all images of Rainbow Dash as a tatzlpony, and they were all before Rainbow got her memory back. These feelings for Rainbow… did they disappear because Rainbow got her memory back. Did she really prefer Rainbow’s memories being gone?

No, that wasn’t it. It was her behavior because her memory was gone. Rainbow behaved like an animal, a lost animal who needed Fluttershy’s care. That’s what kept sparking these feelings for Fluttershy. And now that Rainbow had her memories, that behavior was no longer present.

Or was it, and Fluttershy didn’t notice? Rainbow remembered all those moments they had, yet didn’t seem offended or embarrassed by any of them. She didn’t even say anything about the collar she was still wearing at the time. Those feelings were gone, but Fluttershy felt like she really wanted those feelings to return, or at least, feel it one more time. But the only way that was going to happen was if she talked with Rainbow Dash about them. Would she be angry, embarrassed, deny it even? It was a scary thought, but Fluttershy knew that she would have to eventually. Maybe when this was all over, she would. Until then, Fluttershy reached towards the Sleeping Pills so that she could get the rest that she needed.

…

Fluttershy’s hoof froze before it reached it. What if it was already too late to talk to Rainbow about it? Rainbow was about to meet with the Client, the one who turned her into a tatzlpony in the first place. If there was anypony who could turn her back, it was the client. And when this was all over, no doubt that would happen.

Did she want that? If Rainbow turned back into a pegasus, would Fluttershy ever feel those feelings for her again? Fluttershy suddenly found it very hard to breathe as these thoughts pounded in her mind. This could be her last chance to figure out if those feelings are true.

Fluttershy let out a whined moan. The thing she wished the most was to get some rest over this. And the answer to her rest was in the grasp of her hoof right now. She could take them right now. But then her decision would be final. Why did it turn out like this?

“Why is it so quiet?!” She shouted, moreso to eliminate the silence rather than questioning it.

But… it sounded like something thumped right after Fluttershy shouted. The sound made her gasp and freeze. Looking around, the rooms had mostly been expelled of all the fog. Nopony was there. Suddenly, an ominous wind sounded. It was brief, and silence followed after.

“H-Hello?” Fluttershy whispered, suddenly feeling terrified. She walked away from the sleeping pills and hesitantly looked around. Very silent winds, followed by rustling kept coming to her ears, it almost felt like she was just imagining them.

Then for some reason, very subtle shadow movements became apparent. It was like the movements of clouds, but Fluttershy didn’t believe it was that. She backed away from those movements, shaking. Her thoughts went back to a few minutes earlier, when she believed something was following her.

Fluttershy really wished she hadn’t shouted now. She wished she was alone again. Whatever was out there, if there was something out there, it was creeping up on her very eerily. It was silent again, and she began wondering if it was all just in her mind. But she took steps back from the last direction she thought she heard it, breathing very carefully. All she could do was try and focus her ears and eye for those sounds or movements again, and wait. And the wait agonized her.

Suddenly, she heard it again. It was very close, definitely real, and directly behind her. Fluttershy’s scream echoed around the cottage.

Author's Note:

Despite how long it's been, this story has still been on my mind. Don't worry. It's not dead yet.

--
Find any errors? Please notify.

Feed back and criticism are appreciated.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

Comments

[Kiper]

IT LIVES!

[Prysmkitsune]

10500562
it would appear i need to make a risen from the dead folder

fiting considering the month

[superfun]

And the plot continues to thicken

[blondishmeat61]

10500562
You just got bamboozled.

[Diogenis]

IT'S BACK

[Keep Calm and Use Fusion]

10500740
Is it risen from the dead? I'm not so sure, but I hope it hasn't been forgotten. I'd really like to see more of this story...

[sinewystatue382]

more more more!