• Published 26th Dec 2012
  • 3,635 Views, 300 Comments

Thweet Geniuth - JMac



Twist has won the right to compete in the most illustrious candy making competition in Equestria. But her friend Quizzical Greystone has discovered something fishy happening behind the scenes. The sequel to "Quizzical."

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The Hard Part

Thweet Geniuth

Chapter 11 The Hard Part

“Quiz, are you going to knock on the door?” asked Apple Bloom.

“That is my plan, yes,” said Quiz. “In time.”

Quiz did not move.

“It’s just that you can’t talk to Rarity until you knock on the door.”

“Yes,” agreed Quiz. “And knowledge of this is precisely what is preventing me from knocking on the door.”

Quiz did not move.

“Come on, Quiz, it’s just Rarity,” said Dinky. “There’s no reason to be so scared.”

“I agree, it is unreasonable,” said Quiz. “I am willing to accept that I am unreasonable, as I continue to be terrified.”

Quiz still didn’t move.

“Forget this,” grumbled Scootaloo. “We’re going to miss the train!” She darted forward and pounded furiously on the door.

“Scootaloo, she wasn’t ready!” cried Dinky.

Scootaloo pounded again. Then, at the sound of approaching hoof steps she ran and hid behind Quiz. “Don’t worry, Quiz, we’ll be right here.”

“Oh, good, I may need you back there,” said Quiz. “Though I do not believe you will need to prevent me from fleeing. I seem to be unable to move.”

“Really, the door is open, there is no call to… oh,” Rarity had stuck her head out the door. She continued, the sharp tone gone from her voice. “Girls, Quizzical, you may not see Sweetie Belle.”

“Y-y-yes, Miss Rarity,” stammered Quiz. “It is actually y-y-you we wish to speak to.”

It had been a trying week for Rarity. She was taking care of Sweetie Belle as their parents were once again on vacation, and Sweetie Belle had been miserable the entire time. Seeing her little sister so very sad had dampened Rarity’s righteous indignation. She had very little anger left to summon upon seeing Quiz.

“What is it you wish to say, Quizzical?”

“I… had hoped… perhaps… you might… r-r-reconsider allowing Sweetie Belle to go to Manehattan.”

“And just why would I want to do that?”

“I… I… I…” Quiz gave up and hung her head. “I have no idea, Miss Rarity.”

It was easy to demonize Quiz when she wasn’t there, much harder when Quiz was standing right in front of you, trembling. Derpy had told Rarity to look Quiz in the eyes. Rarity tried it, and when she looked at Quiz she just could not see a demon. All she could see was Quiz.

The poor dear’s absolutely petrified! thought Rarity, Have I really been that beastly to her? Yet here she stands, despite how very frightened she is, trying to help a friend.

Rarity looked at Quiz and couldn’t even remember how angry she had been. Rarity remembered something else, instead.

Rarity remembered that she had actually quite liked Quiz.

Quizzical really is a good girl, Rarity thought, and she has been a good friend to Sweetie Bell, at least when she wasn’t tempting the elemental forces of the universe… still, that would have to be addressed.

“I am sorry, Girls,” said Rarity, “But I fear you won’t have learned your lesson if I simply change my mind.”

Quiz needs back up, thought Dinky, time to bring the cute! Dinky stepped forward, cocked her head and fluttered her eye lashes. “Please, Rarity!”

Applebloom and Scootaloo knew this trick, and they were quite good at it. They fell in line next to Dinky and repeated her performance. “Please, Rarity!”

Then Quiz glimpsed out of the corner of her eye what the other fillies were doing. She decided to give it a try herself.

“Yes… well… um… please, Miss Rarity.”

What happened next might partially be explained by the sudden release of the tremendous tension of the moment.

But really, it was because of Quiz’s attempt at an eyelash flutter.

Rarity fought bravely. But eventually a little snort of laughter escaped, and once that was out she was lost. Soon Rarity was on the ground at her door step, laughing uncontrollably.

It was some time before Rarity could gasp enough air between guffaws to speak. “Sweetie Belle… hee, hee, hee, hee… your friends are here… hee, hee, hee, hee… do hurry… hee, hee, hee… or you will miss your train… hee, hee, hee, hee, hee… oh, and Quizzical? Hee, hee, hee… please… hee, hee… never… hee, hee, hee… ever… hee, hee, hee… do that again… hee, Hee, Hee, HEE!!!”

#

All the girls might have soon been lost to the infectious laughter (except Quiz, who was just puzzled) had not Sweetie Belle come galloping up to them. She stopped, and regarded Quiz gravely.

“Quiz, you do know that you are about to get glomped but good, right?”

Quiz nodded. “I accept that you cannot resist, Sweetie Belle. Thank you for allowing me a moment to brace myself.”

The others had been waiting until Sweetie Belle joined them for this.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Group Hug!!!”

Under the fillies delighted squeals you could just hear Quiz’s muted muttering, “Oh, dear… oh, dear me….”

#

“…dear, oh, dear, me,” muttered Quiz. “Everything had gone so very well. It never occurred to me that the hard part of getting you all to your train would be the actual getting to the train.”

“The train left early! The trains never leave early!” This was the tenth time in the last hour that Dinky had made this observation.

“Apparently, someone in a big hurry to get back to Manehattan gave the conductor a bunch of bits to jump ahead of schedule,” said Scootaloo. “But look on the bright side. We only missed it by fifteen minutes.”

“How is that a bright side?” demanded Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know,” cried Scootaloo. “I can’t do all the thinking!”

“You could do some!”

“Stop it, you two! We’ve been apart forever, and you are already bickering again.” Sweetie Belle turned to Quiz. “You tried, Quiz, you really, really tried.”

“But I have failed,” said Quiz, miserably.

The fillies sat in silence, staring at the empty train platform.

“I still can’t believe the train left early,” whined Dinky.

“Wait a minute!” cried Scootaloo, suddenly. “One of us knows somepony who could get us to Manehattan in time.”

The others were all looking at her before Quiz understood. “Oh, I do not think that would be appropriate.”

“She owes you a favor, Quiz,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“She thinks she owes me a favor,” corrected Quiz. “She does not. She feels guilty that it took three days to free me from the diamond dogs. She can hardly be blamed for that, and I will not take advantage of her feelings.”

“But it wouldn’t hurt to ask her nicely,” said Sweetie Belle.

Quiz considered this. “We shall need Spike to take a letter.”

#

“Spike, you have to send a letter to Princess Luna for us!” cried Dinky.

Spike shrieked, and ducked low in the tub, trying to hide under a layer of bath bubbles. “Come on, Girls, give a guy some privacy!”

“You have to help us, Spike!” demanded Scootaloo, handing him a towel. “It’s an emergency!”

“Fine!” grumbled Spike. He hopped out of the tub and went to fetch a quill and parchment. He began to write, “Dear Princess Luna, It’s an emergency…”

“Please, do not tell the Princess that it is an emergency,” said Quiz.

“But it is an emergency,” said Scootaloo.

“Yes, but we cannot tell the Princess that,” said Quiz.

“If it’s an emergency we can say it’s an emergency,” insisted Apple Bloom.

“Will one of you please tell me what to write?” yelled Spike. “So I can get back to my bath.”

“We need a ride to Manehattan, because we missed our train,” said Sweetie Belle.

“The train left early, even though they never leave early,” said Dinky.

“And it’s an emergency,” said Scootaloo.

“We must not tell the Princess it is an emergency.”

“But you just agreed that it’s an emergency, Quiz,” said Apple Bloom

“Yes, and it is,” said Quiz, “But it is not the sort of emergency that you bring to the Princesses’ attention…”

“Quiz, is this, or is this not, an emergency?” demanded Spike.

“Well, it is… though really, it is not… but in a way it is…”

“Just send the letter, Spike,” said Scootaloo.

“Arrgh!” cried Spike. The parchment disappeared in a gout of green flame.

“Do you think it will take her long to get back to us?” asked Sweetie Belle.

She was answered almost immediately by a tremendous ‘BOOM’ from the airspace just outside the library.

“Spike?” asked Quiz. “Did you tell the Princess we had an emergency?”

“Maybe, I don’t know,” said Spike, his head in his hands. “You had me so confused!”