Chapter 6
There was something subtly unnerving about seeing Ponyville so completely deserted that there weren’t even ponies to stare at her as she walked past outside their windows. She knew they must still be there, cowering somewhere. Ponyville’s population had learned well by now to lay low whenever there was danger and wait for the princess and her friends to make the town safe again.
Unfortunately for them, the princess and her friends were exactly the danger right now. Twilight didn’t feel particularly dangerous as she made her way through town, though there was a part of her that grew increasingly frustrated with her dirty paws. She’d never minded the dirt on her hooves before, so why was this so upsetting?
She wouldn’t let it bother her, not when she had Pinkie to keep an eye on. Pinkie, and Sweetie Belle, who had quickly grown nervous around the bow-tie fox and wanted somewhere else to ride. Twilight obliged her, reluctantly, mostly because it seemed like she would be a better influence. Maybe the kit would grow up to be a little more like her.
“What did you do to the Crusaders?” Twilight asked, as they approached the boutique. “What kind of spell can… ribbon foxes cast?”
“I don’t think that’s what I’m called,” Pinkie said, scrunching up her nose. “But come to think of it, I don’t really know what I am. I guess I should think about it. Probably there’s a good name.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That isn’t what I asked. What did you do to the Crusaders?”
Pinkie skipped along ahead of her, ribbons moving through the air without any regard for the way the wind was blowing. “I don’t know. They just… seemed like they wanted to make a promise with me. It didn’t seem right not to agree. They just had that look, and I knew how to help them. Wouldn’t you?”
There must be some instinct in our new species. Pinkie is being controlled by it as much as the rest of us are.
If only Twilight had her unicorn powers, she might’ve been able to learn some of what was going on. As it was, she could only rely on old-fashioned observation. “What about you, Sweetie. Do you know what happened?”
The kit squirmed on her back—she was much smaller up there than any filly would’ve been. Some part of Twilight wondered if there was enough room in that little brain for a whole pony. “I, uh… I think… I saw Pinkie, but I didn’t know what she was. She started talking to us, but it didn’t sound like talking. Just… ‘Sylveon,’ over and over.”
“Sylveon!” Pinkie repeated, beaming. “That’s what I’m called! It’s so obvious, I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out. I mean, I’m still Pinkie, but now I know which Pinkie. Sylveon Pinkie.”
Twilight ignored her, and she waited for Sweetie to do the same. But the kit didn’t have much more to say. “When we, uh… we tried to figure out whose pet she was. She seemed magical, so we thought she was yours, or maybe Princess Cadance’s with how pink she was. But then she started singing, and we just… sorta sang along?”
Twilight groaned. “So you don’t remember agreeing to be turned into a fox?”
“No!” Sweetie squeaked. “We didn’t, um… even understand her, really. Except that she was being friendly. And maybe that she was trying to give us something? It’s a little confusing trying to remember it…”
“And I did,” Pinkie declared. “If it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else. It’s just a matter of time.”
Twilight ignored that too, though the terrifying implications were enough to revive some of her old pony fears. So far she’d seen no further sign one of them might be contagious, but Pinkie seemed so sure…
They reached the Carousel Boutique without further trouble, and Pinkie opened the door with one of her ribbons. She seemed able to use them almost as well as a unicorn would’ve done with their magic. Maybe that was why she didn’t mind being a fox as much?
“Closed…” Sweetie muttered, peering up at the sign. “She would’ve turned it around by now for sure.”
“Unless she’s hiding,” Pinkie declared. “Because she’s a fox too. Or… not a fox. I’m Sylveon, I don’t know what the others are. Did you hear, Twilight?”
“Espeon,” she repeated. She wasn’t even sure where the name had come from. Maybe Spike had said it? She’d heard it somewhere for sure. Or heard someone thinking it. “That’s not my name, though.” Twilight shivered once, watching her breath puff out in front of her. Even Sweetie Belle ducked lower into her fur, the only warm patch on her back.
“She’s here,” Pinkie declared, pointing towards the stairs. A faint mist billowed about the room, flowing slowly down like a waterfall. “Let’s get her outside as quick as we can. I don’t wanna freeze.”
Twilight followed her in a series of delicate hops, shivering and shaking out her paws with each step. Her fur was better at keeping out the cold than it had ever been as a pony, though she still didn’t like it. The sooner she was back into the sun, the better.
At the top of the stairs were several open doors and one that was shut. Rarity’s studio, Sweetie’s room, and the bathroom were all open, with only Rarity’s own bedroom still shut.
Twilight approached, tapping it a few times with her paw. It seemed the proper thing to do.
“Go away!” came Rarity’s voice from inside, just a little panicked. “I’m, uh… I’m not decent! I don’t think I’ll be… coming out for a good long while. I’m sorry, Sweetie. Buy yourself whatever you want for dinner.”
“It’s not about dinner,” Sweetie called back. “There’s no point waiting for her, Twilight.”
“Right.” Twilight focused on the door, twisting the knob. It was locked, but that was hardly enough to dissuade her. She twisted the lock around from the other side with her magic, then pushed it open.
A wave of superchilled air hit her like a physical blow, turning to frost on her coat and making poor Sweetie start shivering. Twilight shook herself out, carefully enough that she wouldn’t dislodge the little fox on her back.
“We know what happened,” Pinkie called, bouncing her way in. The ground was covered in a thin layer of ice, but Pinkie somehow managed to step only on clear spots. “You don’t need to hide, Rarity. We got changed too.”
Rarity’s bedroom was an absolute mess, with clothes scattered all over the floor, and several large forts of blankets piled up around her oversized bed. A bed with just a mattress on it now.
For a few seconds there was no response, then something emerged from the corner of the room. Twilight was beyond being surprised by the strange way they looked by now—a pale blue fox, with what looked like little crystals of water trailing from her head. Or… no, they were too flexible for that. She could see a little of her friend’s characteristic elegance there, despite her distress. Her fur looked especially radiant compared to theirs.
“I’m not the only one? I haven’t just been… cursed with something?”
“You have been cursed,” Twilight said honestly. “But we all were. You can share it instead of going alone.”
“I’m not sure that makes me feel better.” Rarity emerged from the blankets, shaking herself out. Somehow the air got even colder around her, as though the room were going to start snowing. A faint mist of chill followed her paws with every step. Twilight didn’t get much closer, even if Sweetie obviously wanted her to.
After a few seconds of frustration, Sweetie Belle leapt off her back, darting over to her sister. “Rarity!” The kit leaned up to embrace her, apparently oblivious of the cold. Maybe all that fluff was good for something after all.
“Sweetie, dear,” Rarity said, stroking her back with a paw. “I’m… I can’t say I’m thrilled you’re part of this too.”
Twilight almost told her the truth about that—but thought better of it. It wasn’t like Rarity wouldn’t find out on her own eventually. And if we don’t do something about this, Sweetie might just be the first of many. “We’re trying to gather everypony in my castle,” she said. “I’m hoping Starlight Glimmer should be able to figure out how to fix it.”
“Your… apprentice, right.” Rarity finally released the kit, stalking her way over to Twilight and sniffing at her. There were a few seconds of discomfort between them, as though they were about to disagree about whose territory this was. But Twilight backed away a little, her ears flattening. This was Rarity’s bedroom, so it made sense. “Do you know what we are?”
“I’m a Sylveon!” Pinkie said, grinning. “And Twilight’s an Espeon. I don’t know about you or your sister, but we’ll figure it out. We just need to get some other ponies to tell us.”
“Espeon,” Rarity repeated, shaking her head. “Can’t say I’ve heard of the creature. That’s a fetching gem on your forehead though. I’ve never seen that particular shade of crimson.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said, puffing out her chest a little, before turning for the stairs. “Get anything you want to carry and meet us downstairs. We’re going to the castle.”
“Nopony minds?” Rarity asked, confused. “I mean… if I don’t know what we are, I’m sure the others don’t either.”
“They’re terrified of us,” Pinkie said. “But they didn’t bother us on the way out here.”
“Fantastic,” Rarity whispered. “Well, no matter. I’ll just, uh…” She bent down, taking a light blue scarf from the ground and wrapping it once around her neck. “There we are. Accessorized. That way ponies will know I’m not somepony’s escaped pet. Let’s go.”
Twilight led the way, hopping down the stairs several at a time. By the time she was outside again, her tail was high behind her. There was no reason not to think that she was their leader. Wasn’t she a princess? That… mattered, didn’t it?”
“I thought I heard you stalking around this morning,” Rarity muttered, as they made their way outside. “Were you cursed this morning too, Sweetie? I’m sorry I locked you out.”
“No,” Sweetie said. She was scampering alongside them now, having to take several little steps to every one of their long strides. “Pinkie changed me and the Crusaders, uh… maybe an hour ago?”
“Did she?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure she’s got an excellent explanation for why she would’ve done that.”
Twilight interrupted Pinkie, silencing her with a glare. She didn’t want to turn this into an argument now. “I don’t think she could control it,” Twilight said, meeting Rarity’s eyes. “We’re, uh… I think the other ponies might be right to be afraid of us. The best thing we can do is get into the castle as soon as possible, so we can’t hurt anypony else.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” Rarity said, sounding entirely unconvinced. “I’ll… yes, the castle.” She looked around the street, glancing up and down at the ponies who were just now making their way out of their homes. Any who looked in their direction quickly darted the other way, and by the time they’d made it back to main street, it was completely deserted.
At least there were no royal guards to attack them on their way back to the castle. Twilight walked at the front of the group, glaring at the others when they tried to move past her. She was the leader, and she’d push them back with her powers if she needed to. She was the biggest, it was only natural.
Things had definitely changed at the tree-castle. Celestia’s carriage was now parked outside, with several Solar Guard to draw it. Instead of trying to fight them, the ponies backed away as they approached, clearing the way to the door but slowly closing in behind them.
You’re lucky I wanted to come here. You couldn’t make me stay if I didn’t want to.
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
1,044 users online
2,388,586 hits today, 2,732,798 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well, huh. That really doesn't bode well.
Loved the update! Still say Twi is treating Sweetie like she is her kitten
Rarity, I waited until the end of the chapter because I was hoping someone else would point it out first, but... you've never been embarrassed about walking around buck-naked. For all that you affected an accent so hard that it replaced your natural one, you aren't anywhere near fancy enough for that to work.
10097402
I think that's just her being feline.
Glaceon eh? That most likely leaves Flareon for Applejack then. Hopefully Pinkie doesn't take it into her head to turn Luna into an Umbreon or something silly like that...
Come to think about it, I thought Espeon is a psychic-type? How comes Twilight couldn't project her thought to others? I mean telepathy, right?
The Sylveon flesh ribbons are disturbing.
Probably not.
The personality changes are concerning.
10097431 She probably doesn’t know how to.
Why is Rarity acting unfamiliar with Starlight?
Just one more of the gang and we'll be set. If there's one more pony out there, I'm betting it'll be Luna as an umbreon.
Glaceon was my initial guess for Rarity though I convinced myself otherwise through Zutcha's artwork. Still, I'm 80% sure Applejack will be a walking fire hazard to her farm though.
10097422
Hopefully all the type relationships between them all don't get too awkward. If Rainbow can feel it, the others can too.
10097431
Not entirely sure if that's actually an ability with all psychic-types. Though I guess if it was, she wouldn't know how to use it (like any pony who suddenly got a horn) and wouldn't see a need to as she's communicating just fine with her friends. Would certainly be useful for the normal ponies though. If they're willing to believe their princess is now a telepathic fox.
10097402
Why? Those are just normal cat thoughts. They should be honored to be allowed to be around her.
Called it with the glaceon. Hmm, if Celestia and Luna are also involved they could be jolteon and umbreon. Then again, Celestia looks more like a shiny sylveon and Luna a shiny umbreon.
That's the most frustrating part about the fae. They genuinely can't help some of their behavior. Some.
And now I'm imagining nearby timelines where she turned into other Pokémon. Slurpuff, Alcremie, Feraligatr...
As earlier comments noted, the cover art's a touch misleading. Rarity came out of this even cooler than Rainbow Dash.
As the root of all Eevees, it makes sense the base form would be decent at dealing with all forms of weather, even before taking Normal typing into account.
And here comes the sun. Surely this will swiftly lead to a solution and absolutely nothing else going wrong.
10097417
Hardly the first time.
10097402
Pokémon instincts are getting stronger. If this not fixed soon, they all might forget they were ponies to begin with.
10097536
...But in all seriousness, Feraligatr does makes some sense for Pinkie, given the presence of Gummy.
One of these Pokemon is not like the others.
The most insidious part about mental and personality changes is that, by definition, it's very difficult to realize when they are happening. Sure, your body changing can be drastic and problematic, but it's obvious that it's happening. But if your mind and your ability to judge and evaluate things starts to turn into something else, it's going to inevitably affect your ability to realize your actual self is being compromised as well.
10097536
That's exactly the point, though: when she tried to pull that stunt in the show, she was immediately called out on how obviously terrible an excuse it is.
So the folks looking at the cover art were looking at a red herring. I knew glaceon was perfect for Rarity. All those crystal-y bits!
edit: and don't think I didn't catch that bit about Applebloom being silver-furred. SHINY!
Hmm, shouldn't Twilight be more of a ponyta?
What happened to chapter seven?
Glaceon doesn't have the Ability "Snow Warning", which...starts a hailstorm. Odd name; not accurate at all. Snow isn't hail. Why isn't it named "Hail Warning"? It still fits the old 12-character limit that was in place before the 3DS. Even the Japanese name, which is translated as "Snowfall", isn't accurate - you can't get hurt by falling snow, but falling ice chunks you can. Game Freak...sigh. You need better namers, really. I mean, before this you named the Kanto Legendary birds "Freezer", "Thunder" and "Fire". What the hell were you thinking?
Oh, uh, according to the Pokedex, Glaceon can "freeze the air around it to create a diamond-dust flurry". It's never really made clear just how far this effect can spread, just "around it". Does that mean an entire room? Or only about a metre or so? This effect's done by "lowering its body temperature to -60°C", so the effect's local?
Just how quickly can a Glaceon, unable to control its body temperature (due to, say, suddenly being turned into a Glaceon), freeze an entire bedroom? The floor can only become slippery if it was already wet before; otherwise it just becomes cold to the touch. Does a Glaceon cry ice bits instead of tears?
First, I'd say "Guard" should be pluralised here.
Second, Celestia's no longer a princess; does she still need guards? Not to mention she's an alicorn; she should be able to fly or teleport here without them.
That's the strategy of the entirety of Equestria...
And it seems to work out so far.
10098907
"Been there, done that! Now hush!"