Spike and Thorax didn’t get far in their flight before a trio of pegasus city guards appeared behind them, giving chase. Spike quickly spied them after they hadn’t gotten much further than a block away from Fly’s shop. “We’ve been spotted!” he cried anxiously to Thorax.
Thorax shot a glance back at the pursuing guards and immediately upped the speed of his flight. “Hold tight!” he told Spike. “I’m going to try and lose them!”
Spike tightened his grip about Thorax’s neck as instructed, and did so in time for Thorax to drop altitude so to be flying between more obstructing buildings, then turn sharply as he twisted around a street corner and onto a new street. The turn was so sharp that Spike felt his stomach get compressed into his liver as inertia tried to hurl him off Thorax’s back, but he maintained his secure hold of Thorax. The guards still kept on their tail though, and recognizing their targets were trying to lose them, they upped their own speed too. Undeterred, Thorax kept at it, weaving dangerously fast and sharply around buildings and anything else that could be put between them and their pursuers, trying to keep themselves out of the sight of the guards as much as he could. At most, though, the guards lost a little ground but otherwise successfully maintained their pursuit.
Deciding he couldn’t keep this up forever, Thorax changed tactics, and the next time he sharply turned around the corner, instead of continuing to follow the street below them, he used the small gap of time they had while they were out of sight of the guards to loop around one building and come shooting back onto the street they had just left, appearing behind the guards as they surged on ahead, not yet realizing that their targets were now behind them. Using their momentary confusion to their advantage, Thorax used the chance to try and put as much distance between them and the guards as they could. For a moment afterwards it looked like they had successfully lost the guards, but to play it safe, Thorax opted not to resume course for the airship yard just yet, and instead chose to follow a false course pointing in the direction of the Vanhoover train station. He was ultimately glad that they did, because abruptly the guards reappeared and resumed the chase, though neither Thorax nor Spike could tell if they were the same guards or in fact a different set.
At any rate, it didn’t matter. They weren’t losing them fast enough. “All right, enough of this,” Thorax decided, allowing his horn to reappear on his disguise as he planned out his next move.
“What are you planning to do?” Spike asked, having to shout in order to be heard over the rushing wind during their rapid flight.
“Something I hope will actually work, or it could end this chase very quickly!” Thorax admitted, deeply concerned the trick he was about to attempt would only go awry.
He didn’t have any better ideas though, and Spike made no attempt to suggest any alternative either, so Thorax proceeded with the plan, putting on first a burst of speed, going as fast as he could force himself to go, so to put as much distance between himself and the pursuing guards. He then did another sharp and abrupt turn around another street corner, but after getting little further than halfway down the street they had turned onto, he came to an abrupt halt, twisting around to face back the direction they had come, hovering in place. In that same moment, he cast a spell that created a sphere of faint cyan mist around them, shrouding them almost like a fog, but it tingled like the energy it was.
As the guards rounded the corner ahead of them and started heading right their way though, Spike started to panic and he pressed the side of his head into Thorax’s. “What are you do—?”
“Shh!” Thorax shushed, quickly clamping a hoof over Spike’s mouth, silencing the dragon.
The guards drew nearer and nearer to where they hovered, the tension growing thicker and thicker as they bore down on the dragon and changeling’s motionless location. Then, just when it seemed certain that the guards would be springing themselves upon the two, the guards instead abruptly flew on past them as if they didn’t even notice them, continuing to fly on down the street without slowing. Spike and Thorax twisted around to watch them fly off before vanishing from sight as they rounded the next corner at the other end of the street, continuing to search for targets they had already passed right on by. Once they were gone from sight, Thorax slowly flew over to a nearby rooftop to land, the sphere of cyan mist Thorax’s spell maintained following them tightly as they went. Only once he had all four hooves solidly on the rooftop did Thorax slowly remove his hoof from Spike’s mouth.
“Sorry about that,” he whispered to the dragon as he reoriented himself. “But I wasn’t sure the spell was going to mask sound too, so it was best we both stayed silent.”
“What did you do?” Spike asked in a similar whisper, regarding the mist shrouding them with puzzlement. His eyes widened slightly. “Did you make us invisible?”
Thorax hemmed and hawed to himself for a moment while he got his bearings for the direction the airship yard laid once more. “Sort of…more like I just made us…unnoticeable,” he explained. “It’s kind of a combination of spells using both pony and changeling magic that I had devised once during my studies, but I had never actually attempted to physically cast before now. I wasn’t even sure it was going to work.”
Spike winced, realizing just how big a risk Thorax took. “Glad that it did work.”
“Me too,” Thorax said as he took to the air again. “But the point is that we’ve given the guards the slip, and so long as I maintain the spell, it should at least be hard for them to pick it up again, so hopefully we can take a straight shot to the airship yard without problem now.”
“And get the hay out of here before something else goes wrong,” Spike added in agreement, warily watching their surroundings for trouble.
A table had been set out on the second floor of the shop and Fly Leaf sat down at it, under guard still, so to be interrogated by Twilight. By this point in time, word had reached the princess that Spike and the changeling had managed to give the city guard the slip, to the princess of friendship’s great concern. However, the city guard was quite confident that they were still in the city, were still actively searching for them, and were now beginning work to bring in the aide of the Vanhoover police as well. Regardless, the tense situation was still at its tipping point, and it was anyone’s guess still whose favor it was ultimately going to lean towards.
It made Twilight anxious, and it showed as she worked to question Fly Leaf while Applejack hovered in the background behind her, listening. “Miss Leaf,” Twilight stated, trying to keep her patience in light of the antics of the stubborn mare. “I realize this is all very distressing and difficult for you…but I really need to know anything, anything at all, you can tell me about where the changeling plans to take Spike.”
“Away,” Fly simply replied, for the fifth time since the interrogation of sorts began, being stubbornly unenlightening as she glared defiantly at Twilight.
Twilight frowned at this, but Applejack leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Y’know, she really may not know,” she pointed out to the purple mare.
Twilight refused to believe that. She was quite certain Fly knew something that would be vital to their search, but the shop owner was deliberately withholding it out of what appeared to be pure rebellion at this point. And it was really starting to try Twilight’s patience. “Miss Leaf, please,” she begged. “It would be to the benefit of both of us and Equestria at large if you would just tell us what you know.”
“I’m still waiting for you to explain why,” Fly replied curtly.
Twilight sighed. “I’ve already explained the situation to you, so…”
“You’ve explained your version of the situation, but you haven’t given me any definitive evidence proving it.”
Twilight frowned. “Miss Leaf, I get you don’t want to believe it, but your two employees are not who they have claimed. You have been deceived.”
“You underestimate what I know, your highness.”
Twilight perked up slightly, as this was the first time Fly had made any real comment that she knew more than she had said, but didn’t want to get her hopes up, knowing Fly wasn’t going to surrender whatever knowledge she had so easily. “Why don’t you enlighten me, then?” she asked, still trying to be patient.
“I already tried,” Fly snorted. “You aren’t listening.”
Twilight licked her lips, already having an idea where this was going, but steeled herself so to humor the mare. “I am now.”
Fly regarded Twilight skeptically for a moment. “Thornton and Spike are innocent,” she said bluntly.
Outwardly, Twilight sighed as her expectations were unfortunately met. Inwardly, she was fuming at the mare’s stubbornness. “Spike certainly is,” Twilight relented. “But he has been misled, if not worse still, by the changeling. The changeling, however, most certainly is not innocent.”
“So you keep telling me, but princess,” Fly Leaf leaned closer, “just because he’s a changeling doesn’t mean Thornton is trouble.”
“Miss Leaf, I don’t think you know the changeling as well as you think.”
“Look who’s calling the kettle black. How long have you interacted with him? I’ve been working closely with those two for the past four moons, and have gotten to know them and their characters very well. Neither of them are capable of the criminal feats you’re trying to accuse them of. In the whole four moons they have been here, neither of them have done anything to cause harm or trouble for anyone, and in fact have actively looked to prevent such things!”
Twilight thumped her hoof on the table between them, her frustration about to reach a breaking point. “Miss Leaf, I will remind you that changelings are masters of deception and manipulation! I’ve seen them first-hoof go to incredible lengths to get what they want, and they aren’t afraid to go about it unethically! And this particular changeling is guilty of kidnapping, impersonation, threating the royal family, trespassing, plotting treason and conspiracy, assault, and potentially more that we don’t know about yet! It’s nothing short of a miracle that no one’s been killed by this changeling yet!”
Fly Leaf actually laughed scornfully. “Thornton isn’t capable of any of that!” she declared. “He can’t even kill a spider that’s fallen into a bathtub! On the contrary, he’d sooner help a pony than do them harm! I’ve seen him do it. I don’t know if I’ve ever met a gentler soul than his!”
“But I’m afraid your observations prove nothing,” Twilight replied flatly. “This changeling is cunning enough that he’s demonstrated he can manipulate others to believe what he wants startlingly well. I fear he has tried the same thing on you, Miss Leaf. I have little doubt that all of these traits you have mentioned are simply tricks of his to convince others that he is something that he is not.”
Fly Leaf gaped at Twilight for a long moment, staring at the princess as the depth of refusal to listen sank in. “You really won’t see him any other way, will you?” she breathed, her expression and tone a mixture of shock, disappointment, and dismay.
Twilight’s frown deepened, and she averted her gaze to glance through the notes she had been taking during her questioning of Fly. She decided she wasn’t going to dignify the comment with a response. But then Fly, seeing this, kept talking.
“Spike was right about you. You really are a lost cause.”
Twilight was suddenly on her hooves, slamming her front legs hard on the tabletop as she glared at Fly with a barely contained fury. Before she could do anything reckless though, Applejack was immediately at Twilight’s side, pulling her aside so to intervene.
“Twilight,” she said sharply. “Maybe it’s time ya took a break.”
“There isn’t time for a break,” Twilight hissed back at Applejack. “The longer this takes, the longer Spike—”
“Losin’ yer temper ain’t gonna help with that either, Twi,” Applejack pointed out simply, cutting the retort short.
Twilight shot a glare back at Fly Leaf (which was returned), then let out her breath in a long exhale through her nose, deflating a little. “Fine,” she conceded. “Maybe I do need to do something to clear my thoughts a little…there’s something I wanted to investigate further upstairs anyway.” She jabbed a hoof at the guard that was standing beside Fly though. “Keep her under close guard though. She is to not leave this building for anything without my okay, and monitor her actions closely.”
“Yes your highness,” the guard replied with a nod.
Twilight then jabbed her hoof at another guard who had taken a monitoring post at the second floor staircase landing. “As for you, I want to make it as hard as we can for them to flee the city. Keep patrolling the city border, the train stations, and the harbor, and I want ponies sent out to have any public means of transportation in and out of the city shut down. If they are going to try and escape, I’m at least going to make them work for it.”
“What about the airship yard, princess?” the guard inquired.
“Have them ground all flights until further notice,” Twilight instructed. Fly glanced up suddenly at this.
“Yes ma’am,” the guard said, and proceeded downstairs to spread the word.
Twilight turned for the stairs herself, but she twisted her head back for a parting glance at Fly. “We’re not done discussing this though, Miss Leaf,” she assured.
“Lovely,” Fly replied. Her voice lacked sincerity.
“I’ll be upstairs trying to open a safe if you need me,” Twilight then stated to no one in particular and proceeded to head up the stairs, vanishing from sight. Applejack gave Fly one last parting glance herself, her expression troubled but otherwise uninterpretable, before following Twilight upstairs.
Fly Leaf watched them go then allowed the silence to settle in the room in their absence, mulling upon her situation. She was frankly shocked and disturbed by Twilight’s attitude to all of this. When Spike had conveyed to her that trying to peacefully talk this out with Twilight was a lost cause, Fly had wanted to believe this wasn’t the case, that one just needed to keep trying until the right approach was found and that Spike was simply being faithless. But now that she had personally interacted with Twilight, she could see Spike hadn’t been exaggerating. Worse, it was almost tragic seeing just how much Twilight had deluded herself into thinking there were no other explanations for their situation than her own…and Fly worried that the fact that Spike, someone she suspected Twilight actually did still care deeply for, was caught exactly in the middle of all of this had only worsened this delusion of the princess’s.
Stranger still though was the fact that Fly wondered if Twilight was alone in this pattern of behavior, as she noticed other ponies didn’t seem to be thinking quite as resolutely on the matter as Twilight was. Applejack had largely kept her personal thoughts to herself while in Fly’s presence, but Fly could still see in the country pony’s eyes that she had her misgivings about Twilight’s strict approach to all of this, and Fly felt that it was Applejack’s reacting to those misgivings of Twilight’s various actions, being the voice of reason from time to time, that was keeping this matter from exploding even more out of control than it already was…and Fly felt Applejack knew it. Even more alarming was that Fly sensed that even some of the guards were reacting with slight hesitation to Twilight’s almost obsessive behavior.
Unfortunately, none of this especially helped Fly’s current situation, and it wasn’t so much herself she was worried about at the moment, it was Thornton and Spike. She took comfort in the fact that they had managed to elude capture thus far, but would they be able to continue to do so long enough to escape Vanhoover? And wherever it was they chose to go next after that, would they be any safer there? What worried Fly the greatest though was the fact that the longer Twilight Sparkle failed to find them, the more inclined she seemed to seal off any ways in and out of the city.
This most recent order wouldn’t be so problematic if it had kept to just grounding any means of public transportation in and out of the city, as Fly assumed Spike and Thornton would be taking the Vergilius, a private means of transportation. But then Twilight ordered all flights at the airship yard grounded, and that would certainly include the Vergilius, private or otherwise. And even then, knowing how much Thornton’s recent love of airships would be clearly reflected on things he possessed in his room, Twilight could put two with two even sooner than that and move to raid the whole airship yard. If Spike and Thornton weren’t out of the city by then…
Fly thought she’d feel a lot better about the matter if she could just get out of here and to their side, at least long enough to ensure their safe departure. But how could she do so when she was trapped inside her own shop and under constant guard? There was no way she could slip away undetected. Of course, that may not be a big problem if she simply got large enough of a head start. And it was around then that Fly, in watching her sole guard—an earth pony—keeping watch over her, the lithe stallion having moved to stand at the other end of the table from Fly to stand sentry, noticed that her one guard seemed fairly youthful in comparison to some of the others and she started to get a hunch.
She folded her forehooves on top of the table and leaned closer to the guard. “So…stuck watching little ol’ me, huh?” she quipped with a grin.
The guard, to his credit, acted unfazed. “I have my orders, ma’am.”
Fly gave him a mock salute, still grinning. “Understood. It’s nothing personal, then. You seem like you’ve got plenty of experience at this sort of thing anyway.”
At this, however, the guard shifted positions slightly, as if uneasy for split second. “Well…actually I’m still a relatively new recruit.”
Fly raised her eyebrows. “Oh really?” she asked, sounding intrigued, but inwardly was thinking, Bingo.
“Uh, yeah, they needed everyone they could for this little incident,” the guard elaborated, but then quickly added, “Not to say that I don’t still have enough training and experience for this, of course.”
“Of course, I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t,” Fly said. She shrugged. “Just so long as you have the ability to take orders and beat ponies senseless on demand, right?”
The guard chuckled nervously a little. “There’s more to being a guard than beating ponies up, ma’am,” he pointed out. “Besides, I’ve only just recently completed basic combat training, so…”
“Oh really?” Fly inquired, this time intrigued for real. “Basic combat…what does that include? Any martial art stuff?”
“Uh no, just basic hoof-to-hoof combat and a series of basic defensive spells for the unicorns,” the guard explained. “I won’t be getting any martial art training until the advanced combat training course that starts this spring.”
“So then you wouldn’t know any martial arts like, say…” Fly waved one hoof about casually. “…guizhou fa?”
“Uh, no, I guess I wouldn’t.” The guard then frowned and tilted his head at her. “Why do you ask, ma’am?”
Fly simply grinned sweetly at him. “No special reason,” she lied.
Oh my. Action Fly to the rescue. I'll admit, I didn't expect guizhou fa to come up again. But I have a feeling this is going to end badly for her.
Would have liked to see more of Twilight and Fly's conversation, if only because it looked like Fly only revealed that she knew Thorax was a changeling all along during the short amount of it we got to see - but I'm sure that it would have been extremely one note. Twilight's being a brick wall about this. Hopefully Applejack can talk some sense into her - after all, she never met Thorax for herself. And she has a good sense for when a pony's being honest...
Mate, you mispelled evil.
And boy, when the story ends and Twily finally realizes that Thorax was never evil...
...well, I would ask you to make her collapse with complete, agonizing, and excruciating guilt and terror...
...but that's kinda an understatement, don't ya think?
Assuming if the brick wall pony is even convinced at the end.
NOOOO! Don't end it there! Blast it! Stupid story, why are you so good and engaging and amazing to read?!?!?!?! AUGH!!!
I don't think Twilight fully realises how bad it is to shut down an entire city's transportation service. Important shipments will be late, ponies needing to got to and from important meetings or appointments are going to miss them, and the mail will be held up for hours. I can't see this not ending with her in deep trouble for this. Then again, she's not exactly in a stable mindset, so she's not likely putting much thought towards her actions.
If Fly busts through a wall to save them while wearing an eyepatch and kicking every guard in sight, I would love you forever.
Oh golly, if Twilight wasn't so outrageously unbalanced by this unexpected turn of events, and Fly's jab, I'd say she intentionally left the rookie down there in hopes that Fly would try something and lead them to Thorax and Spike. Regardless, the poor greenhorn's gonna probably get smashed.
UGH, WANT MORE NOW.
8320942 I do hope she might be baffled by the stuff she finds upstairs, and I half expect a sort of time peeking spell to be used, something that can replay recent events that have occurred in an area. A first crack in that stonewall attitude.
8320982
If she can replay events, what do you think she would do if she learned Fluttershy was there? I'm leaning towards blowing her top at AJ, accusing her and her friends from withholding information.
There would be a point to have the conversation be much more in depth. Twilight wouldn't be swayed, but both Applejack and the guards were also listening. If they heard Twilight just hurling blind accusations while Fly countered with actual evidence and experience, it might have swayed them towards letting Spike and Thorax slip away. Heck, it might've even caused Applejack to bring up Discord, Luna, Starlight, and Lesson Zero. Also, Applejack is being uncharacteristicly shy in calling Twilight out.
Can't wait to read more
MOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
That poor rookie's gonna get his ass handed to him, I just know it.
It's too bad no one knows to ask Twilight about the falsifiability of her hypothesis.
8320956
Twilight is handling this very badly in general. She's doesn't know what she's doing and refuses to delegate. She can't see that her impatience to get the bottom of things is, ironically, wasting time. She should be dealing with the stuff that she's the expert on and let the experts in other areas do their business.
She doesn't need to debate Fly Leaf, for instance; if the mare doesn't want to talk, toss her in a cell and let the real interrogators take care of her.
8320956
In fairness to Twilight, it was in and out of the city, not the intracity transit.
I am actually seizing in anticipation.
if a friend leaving can make starlight glimmer steal cutie marks and mess with time itself I shudder to think what twilight might do eventually... i wonder if that scares her student to see?
So it turns out there's a ninth circle of hell, and the only evil that can get you there is ENDING THE CHAPTER SO SOON AAUUGGHH
I think I've forgotten what it is they keep in the safe, was it just money? Can you imagine how crazy she'd go if she spent days trying to open the safe because of the changeling magic, only to find there's like some bits in it, or even better if thorax or Spike left some kind of 'Gotcha! :P' in there
Personally I cannot wait for Fluttershy and/or trixie to come into play
For places to flee, I really hope they go through the mirror. This should fall after Legend of Everfree, so Sunset could easily just read Spike and/or Thorax's minds to see they're innocent (and she's the most likely to give them a chance anyways) and with her friends easily fend off Twilight. Plus, they have allies in Ponyville (Discord, Fluttershy, maybe Trixie) so if they can sneak out of Vanhoover, they can probably beat Twilight back and make it through the portal before she gets a chance to stop them.
Twi...honey....to quote Glossaryck, "You're making it worse!"
I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation for hire this turns out!
oh shit...dun do it Fly!
8321028
It may be at this point that Applejack knows it won't do any good. She's already tried getting Twilight to tone down a notch and nothing she says gets through to her.
Ooh! It would have been more of a cut if she admitted that spike that accused her of giving twilight another chance to betray him. I wonder what her reaction would have been then!
Now that I've reread this chapter again, because it is awesome, I really hope that Fly's next move doesn't make Twilight more convinced that Thorax has hypnotized/mind-controlled others....or that'll show just how far Twilight will go here.
I have a feeling that Fly is gonna inadvertently lead Twilight right to them. If she can even find them anyhow. The only way I can really think of for a clean getaway is through the sewer system. On second thought, maybe not clean per se but point stands.
I really don't feel there is any hope for Twilight now. Honestly, not a shred. And if she DOES go and do something to Thorax, Spike has one thing that will utterly destroy her: Discord. Call up Discord and let her know she threw away her best and oldest friend, betraying her own principles for the sake of hate and revenge.
So... The Nine Hells of Faur'e have been unleashed because one Pony PHYSICALLY can't get it through her skull that Thorax does not mean harm and if she spent more than half an hour talking to him and Spike like for example: Luna and Discord Then she would see that a true bond of friendship is all broken because of her hell bent, revenge set, psychotic MIND!
8321229
Discord, Trixie, Luna, and co. will probably be enough to stop her. I mean they are important for a reason right?
Is Twilight going to stop being as deaf as a wall soon?
Twilight just can't admit she was wrong and failed at something to do with friendship.
Can't wait for THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!
8321151
8321028
I remember Scyphi saying in the comments that this will build to some sort of alternate "To Where and Back". It's possible that AJ being uncharacteristic about her interactions with Twilight is because AJ's already been replaced by a changeling. Twilight's hyper-focus on bringing Spike back would plausibly blind her to unusual behavior among other ponies she knows.
8321072
Even so, stopping trains from delivering goods and transporting ponies, ships from loading and unloading their cargo (the guards are unlikely going to let workers move cargo while their searching the premises for fugitives), keeping airships from grounded, and stopping the postal service from delivering outside the city would cause some serious problems. If this were someplace small like Ponyville or Appleloosa where they only have trains to bring goods in and out, it might upset the locals somewhat, but a city as big as Vanhoover? That would cause more than a stir from the populace. Basically, I don't envy her or Celestia the complaints they'd receive after this.
You make a good point though. She's not in the best at delegation, nor is she in the right mindset to be making sound decisions.
I think its high time somepony slapped some sense back into Twilight.
Buck you Twilight. Buck you to Tartarus.
Spike and Thorax have Fluttershy, Discord (Fluttershy's friend who will bring time and space to a hault to have her voice heard), and Luna in their pocket. Once word gets to any of them, I think Twilight is going to figure out just how crusadish her actions are.
i like how every one that meets twilight remains optimistic and then that optimism is shattered XD
When Twi and Jack go back to Fly, they'll find a knocked out guard strapped to a chair. 2 bits that she'll gonna get a friendship laser through the chest because Fly is in the perfect story position to just be killed off.
Come to think of it... I wonder if Fluttershy didn't leave some yellow feathers for Fly to find; she might ask Applejack abaut yellow pegasuses Spike knows who could heal Thorax... That could finally drive Applejack to act against Twi.
The question now becomes:
Where is Celestia in all this?
Grief is the price we pay. I originally thought it was Spikes grief for the price of Thorax friendship but now.. no, it's going to be Twilight's grief when she realises how far she has gone. She's going to do something she will regret, and grief is all she will have left.
Yes! Yes! SO MUCH EXCITMENT! IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY HAVING TO WAIT!!!
8321625
What the-why do you want Fly to get killed? She's awesome! She's a great character! She better not die, and Twilight's not a murderer.
That poor guard.
And, Fly Leaf, just got hotter!
8321028
Applejack is currently a bit torn on where she stands presently. She wants to trust Twilight, but she's slowly seeing that perhaps things are either not as they seem, or Twilight's letting things get out of hand, regardless of whether she's right about Thorax or not. Further, Twilight's her friend, and she knows the mare's hurting deeply over the matter too, and knows that would require a bit of tact she's unsure how to give.
8321108
Guilty as charged.
As for the safe, yes, mostly just money, as well a couple of other things they'd want to keep in a secure place. You know, sensitive paperwork and all that (not that they have much of that).
8321227
You underestimate the power that is guizhou fa.
8321229
Which reminds me, I'm probably going to have to bring him up again here soon in an upcoming chapter...
8321309
Soon-ish. But then other things come up that sort of...distracts everybody.
8321334
That is precisely what scares her the most. A large part of this is simply her being terrified of facing the possibility that she messed up, BIG time. So long as she has the possibility of pinning all the blame on Thorax, she can spare herself from having to face that...but obviously it's a trick that's only going to work for so long.
8321512
I dunno...slapping Twilight just might result in her slapping back.
8321618
It does seem to be something of an unfortunate trend, doesn't it?
8321632
Word hasn't reached her yet, helped by the fact that Twilight hasn't yet taken the time to notify her personally either. And this is Equestria; word of something doesn't instantly get around like it does in our world. And Celestia's certainly not all-knowing.
8321795
Both is sort of true, really.
8321851
Word of advice, then: don't do any baking while in this state of mind. And put your book of cupcake recipes under lock and key, then dig a hole, then bury the key, then build a house on top of the hole where you buried the key, then move into the house on top of the hole.
8321015
True, but there are roughly four months of events, so if it did happen I would expect an event we actually haven't seen yet. Though from a emotional perspective the Fluttershy event ranks high for impact, so it is a strong contender.
8321351 I was thinking things were heading towards something bad, and then Scyphi mentioned everyone gets distracted and I assumed it was Twi having a full breakdown with all the fallout that entails but now you've got me going: media0.giphy.com/media/jkxxpf41BPcnC/giphy.gif
Twilight you blind Bitch
Fly Leave kick those guards asses
And Spike and Thorax.....run like there is no tomorrow
8321957
And that would've been the point of a longer conversation, for Applejack to see that Twilight has no case whatsoever. Her entire argument is "because I said so". This isn't even a case like A Canterlot Wedding where only Twilight knew Shining and Cadance along with Twilight actually seeing the mind control happen. Applejack knows Spike well enough at this point to know that this isn't out of character for him (between Owls Well That Ends Well, The Dragon Migration, and Power Ponies, she's seen Spike's insecurities and how all of them miss what's right under their noses with him). Plus, Applejack was at the invasion and knows how pathetic the drones are. Twilight's argument would fall apart at just how powerful she's making out the single drone to be (even though Thorax's is incredibly talented, they don't know that and if drones were capable of even a quarter of what Twilight was saying, the invasion would've been a complete curb stomp). At this point, I highly doubt anyone has called Twilight out on her argument (her friends were too scared to call her out on her self destructive behavior for a long time and I doubt any random pony would be willing to say anything, if they even knew about the situation). Fly is the first real pony in the position to do so.
Note, I'm not saying that that's how the story should've gone, I'm just saying that would be the point of a longer conversation.
8321957
Sensitive paperwork you say? Airship will definitely be found then. And maybe some of Trixie's letters that Thorax might've squirreled away.
Edit: If you think about it there's a possibility of many sensitive things that would both light a fire under Twilight's tail and make her doubt if she's really right on Spike being mind controlled or Thorax evil. Trixie's letters for one, Fluttershy may have left them some instructions if Thorax gets sick again, any of Spike's little stories he would rather not be out in the open. Not to mention the room itself. Doctor Hooves and Sky Trek whatnots everywhere and Trixie's poster. Of course that depends on the items I mentioned being in the safe in the first place.
8321929
I don't want Fly to die. I try to predict what can happen. Scyphi wants to squish as many feels out of us as possible, so it would be a viable way to go. Even if tragical.
She would be like Obi-Wan dying. That's a good example on how dramas utilize deaths. Or cheap fantazys in space, depending on your point abaut modern Star Wars.
Oh please let Luna appear and smack some sense into Twilight!
8321957
Know from experience? Lol