The Stolen Acorn: A RariTwi Exquisite Corpse

by SigmasonicX

2 - Nonchalant

At least City Hall was fine.

Rarity cast a critical eye over the scene. It looked like the majority of the audience had already had the good sense to clear out, but the manticore rolling across the ground had already caused enough damage regardless.

“Oh no!” Pinkie, standing on Twilight’s back, was squinting at the unicorn helplessly waving her hooves around, unable to contain the disaster. “I told her that she should have used the hula hoop only while the manticore was on top of the carpet I got her!” She shook her head, dismounting from Rarity’s marefriend.

Twilight, for her part, was sighing and taking off her saddlebags. “Alright. I think I know what we can do here. I’m gonna make my way to Trixie,” she said. “Pinkie? Watch my stuff.”

Maybe it was Rarity’s imagination, but the way that she said that sounded far more… meaningful than usual. As the alicorn teleported over to the stage, Rarity swung around to her friend. “Pinkie, dear, I need something from those saddleba--”

“Nope” Pinkie Pie danced out of her reach. “Twilight said I had to watch her stuff.”

“Well, I know, but I’m her marefriend and…”

The pink pony stopped her bouncing at a nearby storefront. “Rarity!” She gasped. “Stuff-watching is a sacred tradition. You’re not trying to sneak anything from these bags, are you?”

Upon receiving no answer, Pinkie nodded sagely and slunk away, the jingle of the local markers-and-iceboxes salespony’s door marking her disappearance.

Shaking her head and staring at the acorn she now levitated in front of her eyes, Rarity sighed. She tucked it more securely into her hat, securing it with the ribbon around the outside.

Rarity ran towards the chaos, noting with surprise that there was even less screaming than usual for a Ponyville disaster.

Luckily for her, the manticore was currently rolling across the far side of the town square, where she could now see its legs restricted by a bright silver hula hoop. She took the opportunity to run onto Trixie’s small stage, where Twilight was in hushed conversation with the stage magician.

“Oh, thank Celestia you’re here, Rarity,” Trixie broke off her whispering, bowing her head. A head which, Rarity noted, was missing its signature hat. “As you can see, Trixie was preparing to start her great and spectacular show, and… well… the manticore didn’t get along well with the… you know.” She waved a hoof and sighed. “The only one who didn’t know this would happen was Trixie, it seems.”

Twilight stared blankly at the performer. “The what? Pinkie didn’t say anything, and all I could get out of Starlight this morning was that you were working with forces beyond the control of all ponykind!”

Trixie put her hoof to her face, then dragged it off and pointed towards the middle of the square. Everypony looked, and they saw… a parrot?

“Uhhh, what’s the problem?” Rarity had never seen that parrot around town before, though she supposed she wouldn’t want to, what with its being surrounded by tatters of purple fabric.

“I don’t see anything, Trixie. Is it behind the parrot?” Twilight looked even more confused.

Trixie groaned. “No, it is the parrot!” She cried.

Rarity ventured a step closer--to the edge of the stage. “Are you sure? It looks like it’s… dead?”

Trixie dragged her back forcefully. “No! You’re wrong! It’s just resting!” She stopped, and looked at Rarity. “You have to believe me. It was like that just before it…” she paused and swiped the hat from Rarity’s head. “Why are you wearing this?”

Even as Twilight, her brave and heroic marefriend, backed away from the lunatic who just went around snatching ponies’ hats as if they weren’t hiding important items they’d recently “liberated” from their marefriends’ belongings in them, Rarity sought to keep her composure. “Well, Trixie,” she began, “sometimes ponies like to look presentable, while keeping the sun out of their eyes.” The whole time she was fixated on the tell-tale bump in her hat’s sash that hid the acorn, praying that Twilight wouldn’t notice it.

“If you wish to be presentable, you will thank Trixie for what she’s about to do,” the magician said before dramatically throwing the hat with her magic. Its roundness let the hat sail cleanly over the parrot, which suddenly snapped into action.

In seconds, it had grasped the hat--easily three times its size--and flown away with the hat, the acorn, and possibly Rarity’s entire relationship in its talons.

“Trust me,” Trixie crowed, “that was a lesson Trixie had to learn the hard way. You’re welcome.”

With an inarticulate yell, Rarity leapt off the stage and chased after the parrot. She leapt over the manticore, which had by now quieted down and was mewling softly in the middle of Mane Street.

Rarity looked into the sky, flaring out her magic to catch a lone, blue feather that was fluttering down towards her. The parrot’s flying was clumsy, but driven. The unicorn shook her head and sped up, ignoring her marefriend’s cries and Trixie’s nigh-apocalyptic warnings as she pushed her hooves to take her ever faster towards a line of trees in the distance.

Comments

[PresentPerfect]

nice, nice

Love "markers and iceboxes", gotta remember that one. :)