Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

75 The Beast

The five unicorns and Doug walk out of the Ponyville Day Spa. Shining Armor and Night Light have a relaxed stupor about them, as Aloe and Lotus had worked some of their earth pony magic on the two with one of their massages. Neither had wanted to leave, but Twilight Velvet kept insisting that she wanted to meet up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Rarity and Twilight had skipped out on the professional massage this time, as to not make Doug too jealous, and find themselves in the unenviable spot of not being terribly relaxed as Velvet continues needling Doug. At least he doesn’t seem too bothered by it, but her constant interruptions and suggestions had disrupted the massage he was giving them.

Twilight Velvet spots Bon Bon walking down the road with Lyra Heartstrings at almost exactly the same time the beige earth pony spots her. The two pause in their conversations for a split second as Bon Bon breaks away, nonchalantly walking towards Velvet. The gray unicorn does the same, walking away from the group with such suddenness that nopony thinks to follow. The two stop just as they would have passed each other, their heads turning to briefly nod.

Velvet’s smirk grows larger as she calls out, “So, get the drop on any bugs today?”

Bon Bon shakes her head, pulling out an apple core and biting into it. “Nope. Seen any mangy ants?”

“Can’t say that I have.” Velvet raises a hoof, Bon Bon reaching over and bumping it.

“So, what brings you to Ponyville? It can’t just be your daughter getting married or you would have been here a fortnight ago.” Bon Bon looks over at the unicorns and Doug that Velvet left behind. “And you already had tabs on the fam.”

“I need to get in touch with Dr. Mareau,” Velvet whispers conspiratorially, glancing back to the others.

Bon Bon flatly states, “You know she’s going to say she’s retired.”

“C’s orders,” Velvet responds just as flatly, tired of the song and dance they have to go through. “You know where she is?”

“Cottage just outside of town, by the Everfree. But you didn’t hear it from me.” Bon Bon warily glances to the south, shuddering as she shakes her head. “She’s friends with bears, Night. Pony eating bears.”

Velvet huffs, “Spare me, one of us would’ve locked it up if it did eat a pony. Not her fault you’re an arcotophobic.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that,” Bon Bon grunts out. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” She leans in close, whispering, “Well, bears just kill you.” She glances again to the south, a muttered, “Good hunting.” She briefly raises her head in goodbye as she turns, walking back to Lyra.

Twilight Velvet returns to Doug and the rest, apologetically saying, “Oh, gee, I do want to go and play with you all, but something’s come up, don’tcha know? I’ll be round just as soon as I can.” Velvet waves at the confused ponies, quickly making her way to the south as the others continue to Sweet Apple Acres.

Velvet finds herself standing on the edge of town, looking over the dark, looming depths of the Everfree Forest. A dirt path runs along the ground, crossing the stream at a small stone bridge. A plethora of small bird houses are strewn around almost randomly, peeking out from nearby trees or shrubs or the roof of the cottage. Random sets of eyes can be seen, shrouded in the shadow of their homes, following her every move.

Velvet starts along the path, noting how quiet the birds have gotten. She spots more than one creature peel away from the trees they are observing her from, a flying squirrel leaping to an upper window and darting inside the cottage. The chittering of the critters inside gets louder as Velvet walks up to the front door, instantly stopping when she raises a hoof to knock. Velvet pauses before her hoof comes down anyway, two quick raps against the wood.

At first nothing happens, Velvet keeping her chipper smile as she waits. She debates lighting her horn and peering inside the house, but the creeping shadow from underneath the door imparts that she needn't be patient much longer. The door cracks opens, Velvet offering her largest smile to the yellow mare peeking at her from behind a flowing pink mane.

“H-hello,” Fluttershy greets her quietly, slowly growing more confident at Velvet’s beaming grin. Her cyan eyes open slightly as if trying to place the mare in front of her, going up to her manecut.

“Why, hello there!” Velvet offers a cheery wave, the door creaking as it opens further. “It’s a right pleasure to meet’cha! I’m Twilight Velvet!”

“I-I’m Fluttershy,” comes in a whisper, though Fluttershy swishes her mane behind her face. She says a little louder, “You must be Twilight’s dam! Please, come in!” The door opens wider, now barely enough to admit a pony as slender as Fluttershy.

“Oh, thank you kindly,” Velvet smiles as she steps inside, her sides scraping against the wooden frame. The inside of the cottage is quite cozy, with dozens of critter habitats stacked by every one of the walls. Picture frames with various animals are sprinkled next to holes complete with beady little eyes staring at her from every direction. “This is a lovely home you have here!”

“Thank you!” Fluttershy says, perking up as she quietly shuts the door. “It’s been a lot of fun building those homes with Doug, and going out and meeting all the critters around here.” She fondly gazes at a few of the pictures, such as Harry the Bear standing outside of his house by the Everfree, or Angel Bunny on top of a bowl of lettuce and carrots and shaking his paws at the camera.

“Sounds exciting! And I do love exciting things!” Velvet continues inspecting the otherwise sparsely decorated cottage, looking for any sort of hidden passages. “Don’t you?” Her horn flares as Fluttershy looks away, though no such entrances exist, at least to her cursory inspection. She should have known they would be concealed better than that.

“Oh, um, well,” Fluttershy stammers, looking ready to disappear behind her mane again.

Velvet turns, slowly but resolutely advancing towards Fluttershy. The pegasus worriedly glances around, finding herself backed into a corner. “As it turns out, I need the services of a... certain somepony. One Dr. Mareau.”

“Um, I, um, don’t know who you’re talking about,” Fluttershy says, cowering down.

“Really?” Twilight Velvet says, raising an eyebrow. She leaves Fluttershy in the corner as she raises a hoof to one of the pictures, a chicken partially concealed in a bush. And, if one inspects closely, a blue-green scaly tail barely visible. “Then you have no idea that one of your pictures is of a cockatrice and not, as it might originally appear, a chicken.”

Fluttershy shakes her head, “N-no, I knew, she just needed help with some of her brood. And I don’t want to scare anypony who comes in here.”

“Fine, I shall cut to the chase.” Velvet huffs slightly, “As it turns out, my employer has use of your services again.”

“Oh, dear.” Fluttershy sinks down, shaking her head. “I can’t… I mean, I don’t think that she can meet with you. Not after what happened the last time.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Velvet says quickly. “You had no way of knowing that operating on an alligator’s jaws could cause such extensive brain damage! You saved that poor gator’s life!”

“I know!” Fluttershy wails, tears streaming from her face. “But, now he’s condemned to a life of eating sweets! He’ll never know the delight of tearing into another creature’s flesh, the ecstasy of a death roll, and you can see it in his expressionless, joyless eyes!”

“Well, maybe this is your chance to fix that,” Velvet says, laying a comforting hoof on Fluttershy’s withers. “But I need to speak to Dr. Mareau, and perhaps we can find a way to solve both of our problems.”

“O...Okay,” Fluttershy stammers, slowly getting to her hooves. She pulls away from Velvet, avoiding a nuzzle, as she steps out of the room.

Less than a second later and a yellow pegasus walks back into the room. She is wearing a double buttoned white lab coat that covers her down to her flanks. Blue, black and red pens are in the front pocket, each with little color coded butterflies on the lids. Her pink mane is drawn up in a tight bun, almost hidden under a blue surgeon’s cap. Her tail is similarly done up, a short ponytail without her extensions, poking through the coat. Her hooves are also covered in blue booties that slip against the wooden floor. Her smile is a tight line, pursed like the line of ethics she is about to violate.

A deep and loud, yet still feminine, voice emanates from the pegasus. “You remember what a skilled vivisector can do with living things, yes?” She confidently struts forward, regarding the gray unicorn in front of her. Twilight Velvet returns a fast smile, going over in her mind of the sort of things that she needs to ask. “Then what assistance do you need of Dr. Mareau? I am a busy mare, and I cannot afford to waste a single hour, much less a day, with your idle pursuits!”

Twilight Velvet withdraws a letter from her mane, presenting it to the yellow pegasus. “C is willing to offer a temporary indulgence to attempt a single uplift.”

She snorts, “Pah! A single uplift is hardly worth my time. Now, begone, as I am a busy mare.” Her head lifts up, nose upturned at the unicorn deigning to waste her time.

“Perhaps she can be persuaded to allow you a chance with the alligator again. For him to again be more than a bump on a log, sitting around and eating sweets all day?”

The pegasus pauses, considering her options. “It would bring much joy to the pink one, yes. For him to again have a driving force in life.” She turns, regarding Velvet. “If you can promise me that, then I will attempt your uplift. What creature have you brought?”

Velvet spreads her open hooves, “I was provided with no creature. Instead, the instructions that you might have an animal on hoof. It is to be an assistant to my daughter, Twilight Sparkle, to aid her in the library during the evening and early hours of night. It will need to understand her occasionally vague instructions, to read in the low light of the stars through a window, and convey at a minimum acknowledgement back.”

A pad of paper flips open, withdrawn from one of the many pockets in the lab coat. A blue butterfly capped pen withdraws, notes taken in the most illegible of shorthoof scribbled down. “If there are no other requirements, then it shall be no issue.” The notepad flips shut with finality, a short nod to Velvet. The pegasus takes a single stride forward, staring Velvet in the eye, “Now, on to the matter of the alligator. You are confident C will allow this? She was more than disappointed in the results, though no more so than I was. Reversion is a difficult topic to predict and counter in the best of cases.”

“I am,” Velvet says confidently, a firm nod. “She has no more desire than you to see any innocent creature in such a state.”

“Very well. Please excuse me, I must inform the creature of our intention, and in disguise travel to the laboratory under the library. Barring any unforeseen complications, I shall meet you there in five hours time.” Her deep voice rumbles in her throat for a few seconds, “Have you spoken with Meringue?”

“N-no?” comes Velvet’s response, trying to hide her confusion. Why would they need Pinkie Pie’s younger filly?

A shake of the head. “No matter. She shall inform you of any delay.” She turns, walking out of the room.

A split second later and Fluttershy is back, the only hint that anything is out of the ordinary a small notepad being tucked and hidden under a wing. She offers a small smile before exiting the cottage, heading towards the Everfree Forest.

Comments

[badninja]

[WanderingPony]

As we know well with Fluttershy, clothes maketh the mare.

Or the Mareau.

[Eclipse_Nova]

So, Owlowlicious is the royal spy?
Also, WHAT THE HAY, FLUTTERS???!!

[wildredlifer]

Getting Split Vibes here only instead of flashes of light triggering the personalities it's clothes.

[Doug Graves]

9454169
9454315
You put Fluttershy in a dress and all of a sudden she's a runway model, or a hippie salesmare, or goth. Is good times.

9454206
And yet Twilight Sparkle is the one writing Celestia detailed reports on every going on. That or Celestia likes to know everything

9454051

[ArchAngelGundam]

So. That's a thing. A thing that happened. And we now have both Abathur and Moreau. If I wasn't already convinced this world had no sanity left, I'd fear for it.

[Luna is back]

Sigh*
Why am I not surprised...?

[kord]

I know I'm way late to this but at this point it's getting silly how hard you are trying to turn everyone into something extra. Experimenting on animals is so out of character for Fluttershy is comes off as forced to shoehorne in some subplot about a animal spy.

Now I'm expecting to meet Pinkies family in a few chapters and it turns out they are secretly making the crazy attack golems because Celestia needs them to keep the diamond dog population in check. Then next we find out Rainbow Dash's parents are actually working for Celestia to keep tabs on gryphons in Cloudsdale to make sure they never get a foothold strong enough to allow them to live together and establish themselves enough to bring their species out of poverty. After that Rarity's parents are part of a Unicorn cabal working to keep earth ponies from mastering their magic and upsetting the balance between the tribes. Next Applejack will learn her parents are not dead but out in the everfree fighting chaos creatures, because so far it seems like no one is just a normal citizen.

[cdragon]

10177737
I like your crazy ideas.

[DarkPhoenixx]

Ok....what was w the clothes?? Like it wasn't completely obvious it was Fluttershy in a lab coat

[Sorenleonidas5]

Fluttershy has a Split personality disorder welp didn't see that coming😱😱😱😱

[PirateLord93]

10231413
Getting into character, like when she was working in one of Rarity's stores.

[f0st3r21]

For some reason, I picture this personality to have a riders whip and a slight German accent.

Have not seen any of Agent Sweetie Drops’ activities in a while. Wonder how those reports have been going.